Professor-priest Valentin Voino-Yasenetsky: «... If it pleases God! »

Abstract

One of the results of the elevation of Professor V.F. Yasenetsky-Voino of Turkestan State University and Tashkent surgeon to the priesthood (1921) was the best achievements of 1921–1923 in his scientific activity compared with the results of the previous period. They became possible despite his appointment as a junior priest at the Cathedral of Tashkent, his hasty study of theology, and his weekly (Sunday) sermons to the parishioners, which required Valentin (Voino-Yasenetsky) to pay considerable attention to them. A new historical fact has been established about the selfless refusal of a professor-priest to participate in the XV Congress of Russian Surgeons (Petrograd, 1922) for spiritual reasons, where he was expected to present

four original scientific reports. Despite his thorough preparation for the presentations, he was forced to cancel his research trip just days before the forum was scheduled to open. The reason for the refusal was explained by urgent commitments. One of them was related to the professor-priest’s personal participation in an anti-religious debate in Tashkent, where he made a speech in defense of Orthodoxy. Another obligation was to attend an extraordinary meeting of the clergy and laity in Tashkent, where Valentin Voino-Yasenetsky was expected to be elected as a candidate for ordination as a bishop. At the same time, both the debate and the meeting took place in Tashkent during the Petrograd Congress of Surgeons. The participation of the professor-priest confirmed the superiority of the spiritual aspect over secular duties. This feature later became an integral part of his professional activity. It testified not only to the unity of both aspects in the life and work of St. Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky), but also to the primacy of the spiritual principle.