Gavriil (Petrov-Shaposhnikov) (1730-1801), metropolitan, clergy figure

Subject / Religion. Church/Personnel
Gavriil (Petr Petrovich Petrov-Shaposhnikov; 1730-1803), a metropolitan, clergy figure. P.P. Petrov-Shaposhnikov was born in the famoly of a priest, in 1753 he was graduated from the Slave-Greek-Latin Academy in Moscow. Since 1754 he worked in the Synodal printing-house, since 1758 he worked as a Rhetoric teacher in the Troitsky Ecclesiastical Seminary. In 1758 he became the first concillar hieromonk of the Lavra, the rector of the Troitsky Ecclesiastical Seminary and a theology teacher, a governor of the Lavra of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius. In 1761 he was appointed the rector of the Slave-Greek-Latin Academy and an archimandrite of the Zaikonospassky monastery in Moscow. In 1763 Gavriil became a bishop of Tver, in 1765 he was appointed a member of the Commission for developing new laws, in 1766 he was appointed a member of the Commission for preparing the college reform. In 1768 he became a deputy of the Holy Synod in the Commission for developing the new code. Since 1769 he became a member of the Synod. Since 1770 Gavriil was the Archbishop of St. Petersburg and Revel, since 1775 he became the Archbishop of St. Petersburg and Revel and Novgorod and the most important member of Synod. Since 1783 he became Metropolitan of Novgorod, St. Petersburg and Olonets. Gavriil exerted great influence on the church policy of Catherine II. From 1774 gavriil led building the Alexander Nevsky Monastery which was ranked as a Lavra according to his petition. In 1788 Gavriil united the St. Petersburg Ecclesiastical Seminary and the Novgorod Ecclesiastical Seminary into the Main Ecclesiastical Seminary which was transformed in St. Petersburg Ecclesiastical Academy in 1797. Gavriil helped to establishing the Edinoverie (the same religion), took care of the ecclesiastical education and missionary work. Under Gavriil the Konevets Munastery of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, Valaam Monastery, Cheremenetsky Monastery of St. John the Theologian were included in the St.Petersburg Eparchy. Gavriil was a great theologian, philosopher, church historian, archaeologist and philologist, the author of many published works, an initiator of the publication of a collection of ascetic works ""Dobrotolyubie"" (The Philokalia, 1793). In 1776 he was elected an honour member of the Academy of Sciences, in 1773 he was elected a full member of the Academy of Sciences, unofficially Gavriil was acting vice-president and president of the Academy. He was the chairman of the Commission for composing the dictionary of the Russian language. Gavriil was the first who swore the oath to Paul I when he come to the Emperor throne. Later gavriil fell into disgrace. In 1800 according his application Gavriil was dismissed from the Synod and etired from affairs. He died in Novgorod and was buried in the Novgorod Cathedral of St. Sophia. Shkarovsky, Mikhail Vitalyevich
Bertash, Aleksandr Vitalyevich
Catherine II, Empress
Gavriil (Petrov), metropolitan
Paul I, Emperor
Neighbouring Territories/Novgorod City
Очерки истории Санкт-Петербургской епархии. СПб., 1994., С.94-100
Рункевич С.Г. Свято-Троицкая Александро-Невская лавра. 1713-1913. Т. 2. СПб., 2001., С.23-30, 245-248
Руководители Санкт-Петербурга. СПб., 2003., С.291-293
Cheremenetsky Monastery of St. John the Theologian
Konevets Munastery of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary