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Hieromartyr, '''St. Hieromartyr Peter of Krutitsy''' (Священномученик Петр Крутицкий), born '''Petr Pyotr Fyodorovich Polyansky''' (Петр Федорович , Пётр Фёдорович Полянский) (; [[June 28]], 1862 – [[September 27]], 1937), was a Russian Orthodox [[bishop]] and [[martyr]]. From [[April 12]] till [[December 9]], 1925 he was the head of the [[Russian Orthodox Church]], serving as the Patriarchal [[locum tenens]]. Despite his imprisonment, he remained technically locum tenens until his death in 1937.

Peter was born in the village of Storozhevoye of the Korotoyaksk district of Voronezh region, to the family of a parish [[priest]]. In 1885 he completed the course of the [[Voronezh Theological Seminary]] and in 1892 graduated from the [[Moscow Theological Academy and Seminary|Moscow Theological Academy]]. He remained in the Academy in the position of Assistant Dean of Students ("Inspector") and in 1897 he defended his Master’s thesis. Upon graduation, Polyansky did not seek an ordained ministry, but rather for the most of his life, he served as a layman in various official ecclesiastical establishments. From 1906 to 1918, Polyansky worked at the Education Committee of the Most [[Holy Synod]] of the [[Russian Orthodox Church]], by 1915 becoming Secretary, with the rank of "Actual Civil Counsellor" (''deistvitelniy statskiy sovietnik'', Class IV on the Russian Table of Ranks]), equivalent to a Major General in the Russian Imperial Army), serving as Inspector of all theological schools in the Russian Empire. His duties required him to travel extensively, and during this time, he developed a close acquiaintance with the future Patriarchs [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]] (Bellavin) ]] and [[Sergius I (Stragorodsky) of Moscow|Sergius]] (Stragorodsky).

Peter was tonsured a [[monk]] by Metropolitan [[Sergius (Stragorodsky) of Moscow|Sergius (Stragorodsky) ]] and quickly advanced through the clerical ranks to be [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated]] as Bishop of Podolsk by Patriarch Tikhon on [[October 8]], 1920. Almost immediately, he was arrested and spent 1920-1923 in exile in Veliky Ustiug . Upon his return from exile in 1923, Bishop Peter became one of the prominent members of church government and a close ally of Patriarch Tikhon. In 1923 he was elevated to the rank of [[archbishop]] and in 1924 became a [[Metropolitan]] of Krutitsy – a [[titular bishop|titular]] [[see]] in the vicinity of Moscow.

On [[December 25]], 1924, Patriarch Tikhon made a “will” where he designated three possible successors to the Patriarchal Throne upon his death. This step was clearly unforeseen either by the [[canon law|church canons]] or the Statutes of the Russian Church, but was dictated by the circumstances under which a proper Patriarchal election by an independent church council was impossible. In his will, Tikhon named three candidates: Metropolitan [[Kirill Cyril (Smirnov) of Kazan]], Metropolitan [[Agathangel (Preobrazhensky) of Yaroslavl]] and Metropolitan '''Peter (Polyansky) of Krutitsy'''. Since Peter was the only candidate who was not in prison or exile at the time, on [[April 12]], 1925 (the day of Tikhon’s funeral), he was confirmed as the Patriarchal [[locum tenens]].

Metropolitan Peter of Krutitsy was [[Glorification|canonized]] as [[Hieromartyr]] and [[Confessor]]<!-- If he's a Martyr, I don't think he can be a Confessor --> by the decision of Hierarchical Council of the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] on [[February 23]], 1997. His [[feast day]] is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, September 27. He is also remembered, by the Church, on [[October 5]] with the [[Synaxis of the Hierarchs of Moscow]] since 2005.

{{start box}}{{succession|before=-|title=Bishop of Podolsk|years=1920&mdash;1924|after=Seraphim (Silichev)}}{{succession|before=SourceNicander (Fenomenov)|title =Metropolitan of Krutitsy|years = 1924-1937|*after = [[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?Nicholas (Yarushevich) of Krutitsy|Nicholas (Yarushevich)]]}}{{succession|before = [[Stephen (Yavorsky) of Ryazan|Stephen Yavorsky]] |title=Peter_of_Krutitsy&oldidPatriarchal locus tenens|years = 1925-1937|after =230958555 wikipedia[[Sergius (Stragorodsky) of Moscow|Sergius (Stragorodsky)]]}}{{end box}}