Golgotha of PATRIARCH Tikhon

This exhibition, presented through documents, photographs, and video materials, reflects the life path of the saint from birth to his blessed repose. It aims to help visitors understand and appreciate the feat of service that in the harsh times of persecution was assumed and nobly carried by Saint Tikhon. Special attention is given to his Patriarchal ministry, which fell during the tragic years of national history – 1917–1925.

“In the year marking the 100th anniversary of the blessed repose of Saint Tikhon, we celebrate not the triumph of death but the triumph of life over death,” said Metropolitan Pavel (Ponomaryov) of Krutitsy and Kolomna, Chairman of the Church and Public Council under the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia for perpetuating the memory of the new martyrs and confessors of the Russian Church, at the exhibition’s opening. "Patriarch Tikhon endured terrible suffering, trials, oppression, and even imprisonment, but he did not renounce God, did not relinquish the patriarchal rank, and bore his patriarchal cross with dignity."

An employee of the Historical Park and the scientific curator of the exhibition, Ivan Privalov, spoke about the preparation and content of the exhibition. "Each hall is designed in its own color scheme, carrying a certain symbolic meaning," noted Ivan Privalov. According to the artistic concept, it is a kind of representation of the liturgical year’s cycle of priestly vestments, which change from feast to feast. Through the brightness of colors, the organizers wanted to show that at every stage the life of Patriarch Tikhon was permeated with the Paschal light that illuminated all those who encountered him, even in repeatedly sorrowful circumstances. It is no accident that the exhibition, breaking chronological order, begins with the theme of his election as Patriarch—in a hall called ‘The Kindest.’ And this line of kindness—the main weapon with which Patriarch Tikhon fought the tragic circumstances of his time—runs through the entire exhibition," emphasized the scientific director Ivan Privalov.

In ten thematic halls of the exhibition, telling about different stages of the patriarch’s life, multimedia materials are presented—collages, computer graphics, video mapping, video projections, sensor interactive screens, interactive books, and Kinects.

With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, a series of month-long multimedia exhibitions “Golgotha of Patriarch Tikhon,” after its launch in Moscow, will be presented during 2025–2026 at historical parks “Russia – My History” from Saint Petersburg to Vladivostok and from Surgut to Makhachkala, including two cities in the new regions of the Russian Federation—Melitopol and Lugansk. The first one has already opened in Tver, the birthplace of Patriarch Tikhon. The exhibition “Golgotha of Patriarch Tikhon” was visited by acting abbot of the Holy Assumption Zheltikov Monastery, Hieromonk Agapit (Evdokimov), and a monk of the monastery, Archimandrite Sergiy (Shvyrkov), together with the monastery’s parishioners. "The word 'Golgotha' in the exhibition's title is no exaggeration," shared Archimandrite Sergiy after viewing the exposition. "It is an exact and bitter definition of what His Holiness Tikhon and the whole Russian Church experienced."