Archimandrite Fotiĭ

Life & Legacy

Archimandrite Photius (Russian: Архимандрит Фотий, romanized: Arkhimandrit Fotii, secular name Pyotr Nikitich Spassky, Russian: Пётр Никитич Спасский; Julian calendar: 4 June 1792, Novgorodsky Uyezd – 26 February 1838, Novgorod) was an influential and reactionary Russian Orthodox priest and mystic. In 1822, he was appointed the Archimandrite of Yuriev Monastery in Novgorod. From 1823 to 1825, he and Alexey Arakcheyev plotted the downfall of Arakcheyev's political rival, Alexander Nikolaevich Golitsyn, Minister of Education and Spiritual Affairs. As in the later reign of Tsar Nicholas II, this was an age of rebellion, dissent and disputed succession, and Photius, a "theatrical and hypnotic character", has been compared to Rasputin.