damaged yachts for sale europe

BOAT SALVAGE the UK's Premier Salvage Boat Dealer

With over 45 years in salvaging, buying and repairing salvage boats, we are experts in suppling repairable boats at great prices!

We have built a world-wide network of experts who buy salvage boats as well as working closely with all the major marine insurance firms. This enables us to offer damage-repairable and stolen-recovered boats at low prices. We deal with any salvage boat from small boats to power cruisers and all sizes of sailing boat.

WHY BOAT SALVAGE?

• Buy a boat at a fraction of the cost
• Repair the boat in your own time to your budget
• We can carry out any level of works to the boat for you

Our Services

Damaged boat, value my boat, help to recover a boat, insurance claim advice, latest boats.

2016 Sunseeker Predator-57

Salvage 2016 Sunseeker Predator 57 for sale as a project. This salvage vessel took on water after suffering damage to the lower half of the hull. The damage has been fully and professionally repaired here at our Essex Marina. The interior is in need of a completely new fit out. The two engines will be included in the sale they are Volvo Penta D13 diesels but do not run, reconditioning of these...

• LOA: 18.35 m
• Price £ 349,000

2019 Hallberg-Rassy 412

PROJECT YACHT 2019 Hallberg Rassy 41.This is an excellent opportunity to purchase a modern day classic Yacht. The Hallbertg Rassy suffered from storm damage to the starboard side of the hull. There was impact damage that breached the hull and water ingressed into the yacht. The boat was not fully submerged. The hull has now been professionally repaired to a high level.It still requires some...

• Engine: Volvo Penta D2-75
• Power (HP): 75
• LOA: 12.61 m
• Price £ 204,950

2006 Princess 50-Flybridge

2006 PRINCESS 50 FLYBRIDGE (PROJECT MOTOR BOAT). This is a fantastic opportunity to purchase a 2007 Princess 50 project boat for a fraction of the cost. This Princess hit an underwater object whist cruising and that damaged the stern gear and hull. The impact pulled one shaft & stern gear out the port side of the vessel. That gear box (Port) was damaged beyond repair and the water went into...

• Engine: Volvo Penta D12
• LOA: 15.32 m
• Price £ 129,950

2020 Caterpillar CAT C7.1 (350hp)

Here we have for sale is a used 2020 Caterpillar C7.1 (350HP) diesel engine with approx 20 hours use. This engine was replace under warranty due to being fitted incorrectly allowing water to back flush into the engine. The engine was then first aided and run. Engine is sold running with no warranty given or implied from us or the main Caterpillar dealers.

• Engine: Caterpillar
• Power (HP): 350
• Price £ 19,950 VAT paid

1988 Victoria 34

(Project Yacht) 1988 Victoria 34 Cruiser water damaged as submerged due to running aground. This yacht was damaged in a storm to the skeg and rudder (now repaired in photos) which caused the yacht to sink. The engine has been run and is not seized, It will require a service. It is fitted with an array of navigation and domestic equipment that is untested and is being sold as seen. Mast...

• LOA: 10.36 m
• Price £ 19,950

1900 Morcambe Bay Prawner 42

Morecambe Bay Prawner 42FT built in the year 1900. This is a very unique opportunity to own a classic Yacht that was originally built as a trawler and then later converted.This is being sold as a project boat as it needs refurbishment. The last owner had it for over 60 years and its now in need of a new home and someone to take it back to its former glory. It has been sat unattended for the...

• Engine: David Brown Diesel engine
• Price £ 17,950

1925 Dutch Barge

Stolen recovered Dutch wide beam Barge originally Built in 1925 - Length : 14.1 metres ( 46 feet 3 inches ) - Beam : 2.9 metres ( 9 feet 6 inches ). There is no engine as this was stolen. The Barge underwent a refurbishment back in 2015 and has a lot of potential. This would make an ideal project. There is no survey or inventory so on site inspections are welcomed. All offers are considered....

• Engine: No Engine
• LOA: 14.1 m
• Price £ 12,950

1997 Sea Ray 270 Sundancer

PROJECT BOAT. 2000 Sea Ray 270 Sundancer fitted with twin Mercruiser 4.3 EFI (220hp) petrol engines. This Sea Ray is being sold as a project boat due to damage to the windscreen, pulpit and bow area. The damage was caused by the vessel impacting a bridge. The vessel has not been submerged. It is fitted with an array of navigation and domestic equipment that is untested and is being sold as...

• Engine: Mercruiser 4.3L
• LOA: 9.09 m
• Price £ 10,950

1991 Fairline Squadron 43

PROJECT BOAT. FIRE DAMAGED. This is a Mid 1990's Fairline Squadron 43 that has had a fire. The topside hull and flybridge are no longer there. The hull has got 2 X CAT Diesel engines. They are have not been tested but would work mechanically. The boat also has its stern gear and a passerelle. Not tested, No warranty given or implied. Boat must leave within 2 weeks of sale by collection only. On...

• Power (HP): 426
• LOA: 13.5 m
• Price £ 9,950

1978 Birchwood 33 Gt

PROJECT BOAT. Birchwood Marine 33GT with Twin Ford 6 cylinder Diesel Engines.The boat was submerged due to sustaining impact damage to the P Bracket of the hull. (See pictures). The engines were first aided and are running. No warranty given or implied. Boat must leave within 2 weeks of sale by collection only. On site viewings are welcome and all offers are considered.To make an appointment...

• Engine: Ford
• LOA: 10.21 m

2021 Kawasaki STX 160LX

2021 Kawasaki STX 160LX - 2 seater Jetski with 152hp -1500 cc engine with 32 hours. This has suffered significant water ingress, we have got the Jetski to a good running condition. We have covered over 2 hours of testing since rework, and Jetski performs great again, only note is the stereo doesn't work, this is reflected in the price. This ski is sold with no warranty due to previous damage. ...

• Engine: 1498cc, Water-cooled, 4-stroke In-Line Four
• Power (HP): 152
• LOA: 3.15 m
• Price £ 7,500

Versatility 30 MK11

Versatility 30MK11 (Project boat.)The boat slipped its mooring and ran around on a beach. Sustaining impact damage to the keel and the hull. The Ford engine is a runner. It will require servicing and maintenance. No warranty given or implied. Boat must leave within 2 weeks of sale by collection only. On site viewings are welcome and all offers are considered.To make an appointment to view...

• Price £ 5,950

Cobra 33"

Project Boat: 1970'S Cobra 33 GRP Motor Cruiser / Fishing Boat. Fitted with twin Perkins 4107 Diesel engines with Enfield Outdrives. This Cobra is being sold as a project as has not been used for a while. Engines and systems have not been tested and the boat is sold as seen with no warranty. The engines are not seized but will require attention. On site inspections are welcome. Contact Darren @...

• Engine: Perkins 4107
• LOA: 10.06 m
• Price £ 5,500

1980 Plymouth Pilot 18

(PROJECT BOAT) Plymouth Pilot 18. Supplied with a Mermaid MP332 Diesel engine. This Plymouth Pilot 18 was submerged and the engine was first aided and is running. It will require servicing and maintenance. No warranty given or implied. Boat must leave within 2 weeks of sale by collection only. On site viewings are welcome and all offers are considered. To make an appointment to view please...

• Engine: Mermaid
• Price £ 2,950

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Repossessed Boats for Sale and Distressed Yachts – The Eurozone Crisis

17 October 2015

BANK REPOS AND DISTRESSED YACHTS

Allied Yachting develops its repossessed boats and distressed yachts program mainly in Europe and works with various European Banks and other Financial Institutions. For knowledgeable yachtsmen, these are often excellent deals to purchase a yacht .

Since 2008 Europe is submerged in a difficult economical downfall called the “Eurozone Crisis”, which has particularly affected the yachting industry. Our company has been in permanent contact with selected banks, leasing companies, law firms and private corporations or individuals who have become trustees of illiquid assets. These Sellers work with us in order to find the most effective way to sell seized, repossessed and distressed yachts.

Our program is not limited to bank repos, it also presents opportunities from leasing and other financial institutions, private owners urged to sell and boats in stock.

Bank repossessed boats and distressed boats may frequently be neglected and in questionable aesthetic and technical condition. Indeed, when dealing with such inventory, you are generally negotiating with bankers, accountants or lawyers who don’t want to spend more money in the vessel(s) they’ve just seized or reclaimed.

Generally, this type of transaction also presents complex formalities, legal and tax implications which we’re very efficient in solving. In most cases, this is different from private sellers urged to sell or boats in stock, where you have someone who understands yachting in front of you. Normally, this type of purchase is “as-is; where-is”.

We receive quarterly lists of inventory which provide great opportunities to our clients as they’re informed first-hand about emerging deals.

How we Work

Our main objective at Allied Yachting is to benefit the buyer and the seller, seeking always the best deal for both parties, and mostly by assuring a safe transaction and managing all the appropriate paperwork and formalities involved in buying or selling a bank repo or distressed boat.

In short, a comprehensive program for the whole process of purchasing or selling a financially distressed vessel.

The Bidding and Purchasing Process

• Help you identify and locate the yacht of interest.
• Provide you with a preliminary report of the vessel in order to assess if it’s worth your time.
• Objectively help you evaluate the condition of the boat.
• Organize and attend your inspection.
• Advise you on how to submit a bid in writing.
• Await response patiently, indeed this sometimes takes a few days since it often involves a committee decision from the Seller(s).
• If your bid is accepted, a contract is drawn up, including formalities, fiscal and legislative compliance requirements.
• The boat will then be surveyed and sea-trialled by a qualified marine surveyor, as appointed and paid for by the buyer.
• The surveyor(s) will then provide a written appraisal of the boat, engines, drives and other relevant components.
• If the survey report is acceptable, the sale will be completed as per the agreed terms on the sales contract.

While we recommend the use of the Mediterranean Yacht Brokers Association Memorandum of Agreement (MYBA MoA), some institutions may ask their counsel to prepare and submit an alternative contract.

Safeguard of Funds in Escrow (Stakeholders)

Allied Yachting provides an escrow account for clients’ funds and ensures that at closing, as stakeholders, any existing loan or other encumbrances are paid off, as well as the fees of other parties involved in the transaction. This safeguard is of especially critical importance to the buyer and seller and can be a potentially serious hazard in a transaction like this.

Some financial institutions may prefer to use an independent Law Firm or Notary Public as an escrow agent.

Survey & Sea-Trial

The buyer is responsible for the appointment and payment of a qualified marine surveyor to inspect the boat.

A sea-trial, also borne by the buyer, is necessary as the yacht may have been immobilized for a significant period of time. The costs involved in survey and sea-trial are generally the manoeuvres of bringing the yacht ashore and back into the water, fuel, crew and sometimes careening, antifouling and anodes, so the boat performs adequately.

The surveyor’s report will generally be determining whether the sale proceeds or not.

Legal & Tax Advice

Most of this inventory is generally Ex-VAT and Allied Yachting can provide all the necessary tax and legal solutions to acquire this kind of marine inventory.

Many yacht Sellers may also decide to liquidate a marine inventory through boat auctions.

Whilst these auctions are open to the public and retail buyers as well as nautical professionals, they don’t happen very often.

Some auctions occur yearly on the French Riviera in Cannes and Antibes. Other auctions are also held in Italy, Spain and Great Britain.

Even if the nautical sector is picking up in Europe, contact Allied Yachting to have an update on repossessed boats for sales, distressed yachts for sale and the following auctions!

Selected Repossessed Boats for Sale

Magic Yachts Jamadhar 100 Catamaran (2014)

Mangusta 72 Open (2005)

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BOAT OF THE MONTH

42' Chris Craft 1986 - 426 Catalina

This well cared for Chris-Craft shows well and ran well from Dayton Beach, FL to St Augustine, FL for haul and land storage.

Search Our Inventory

We specialize in the sale of yachts, boats and more…, this week’s featured listings.

44' Gulfstar 1978 Motor Cruiser

39' Silverton 2000 392

33' Wellcraft 2001 3300 Martinique

• salvage boat

Salvage Boat for Sale - Bid Online

1979 SKEETER OTHER

• Odometer 1 mi
• Damage NORMAL WEAR & TEAR
• Title Type NC CLEAR NO DUPLICATE TITLE AVAILABLE
• Sale Date 04/15/2024
• Location CONCORD , NC

1994 FOUR WINNS OTHER

• Odometer 0 mi
• Damage RIGHT SIDE
• Title Type MN CLEAR NO DOCUMENTS FOR TRAILER
• Location RANDOLPH , MN

1986 BAYLINER OTHER

• Damage MECHANICAL
• Title Type CA JUNK TRAILER SALVAGE CERT #2769748
• Location FREMONT , CA

2022 SEADOO PERSONAL WATERCRAFT

• Damage LEFT SIDE
• Title Type CA JUNK
• Location SAN DIEGO , CA

2008 BOSTON WHALER RECREATIONAL

• Damage LEFT & RIGHT
• Title Type FL CLEAR
• Sale Date 04/16/2024
• Location TAMPA , FL

2004 BOSTON WHALER OTHER

• Damage SALT WATER
• Title Type FL VESSEL
• Location CLEWISTON , FL

2007 SEA RAY OTHER

• Damage FLOOD

2005 GODFREY OTHER

• Title Type FL BILL OF SALE BILL OF SALE/PARTS ONLY

2006 ACTION CRAFT OTHER

• Title Type FL VESSEL FLOOD
• Location NORTH FORT MYERS , FL

1999 HYDRA-SPORTS 2000CC

• Damage REPOSSESSION
• Title Type NC CERTIFICATE OF VESSEL BILL OF SALE FOR TRAILER/ REPOSESSION NO EXPORTER
• Location CASTLE HAYNE , NC

2022 SEA HUNT OTHER

1987 GRADY WHITE OTHER

• Damage REAR
• Title Type NY CLEAR FLOOD
• Location MEDFORD , NY

2019 MAURELL OTHER

• Damage STORM DAMAGE

2021 CROWNLINE OTHER

1999 CRUISERS YACHTS OTHER

• Title Type NY CLEAR

1987 COBIA OTHER

1989 BAYLINER OTHER

• Damage FRESH WATER
• Title Type NY MV-907A
• Location SCHENECTADY , NY

2015 BENNINGTON OTHER

2021 BARLETTA TRITOON

2010 CHAPARRAL OTHER

2011 LUND OTHER

• Damage FRONT END
• Title Type MI WATERCRAFT TRAILER CAN BE SOLD ON BOS
• Location FLINT , MI

2006 POLARCRAFT OTHER

1986 GRADY WHITE OTHER

1996 NITRO OTHER

• Damage TOTAL BURN
• Title Type FL VESSEL HULL DAMAGE
• Location JACKSONVILLE , FL

1992 SEA RAY OTHER

1988 BAYLINER 3450 AVANTI SUNBRIDGE

• Damage none
• Title Type NY BILL OF SALE

Boats from Europe sales auctions

The Successors of St. Stephen of Perm

In memory of three holy hierarchs of perm.

Maria Marchenko

Here I am, O Lord, send me. Here I am, O God, in good time. And I shall glorify Thy Name, Here I am, O Lord, here I am.

Though the rays of Christ’s light did struggle through into the depths of the pagan forest, there were still many villages that, as before, had not yet heard the Gospel. Now, after the death of St. Stephen whom they hated, the pagan priests who were scattered across the Urals and had seemingly lost ground, hoped to get even with the newly-established Church of Perm. Among their plans were to bring their former flock back to the old beliefs, destroy the altars erected by St. Stephen, and resume their economic exploitation of the peace-loving Zyryans [“Zyryane”: the old-fashioned Russian name for the Komi—the people of what is now the Komi Autonomous Republic, belonging to the Finno-Ugric family.—Trans.]. Most of the shaman priests came from the Vogul people [“Voguly”: the obsolete name of the Mansi—the indigenous people living mainly in the Ob River basin in Western Siberia and related to the Finno-Ugric family; now most of them live in the Khanty-Mansi autonomous area within Russia’s Tyumen region.—Trans.] who converted to Orthodoxy very reluctantly.

The new diocese’s link to the Moscow Metropolis seemed (and was in many respects) nominal and illusory; in the late fourteenth century it was still extremely far from there to the Grand Prince (and the Metropolitan) of Moscow. The defenselessness of local clerics in the face of a hostile and often aggressive population frightened the newly-arrived priests and jeopardized the clergy who were Zyryan converts. Moreover, the new diocese needed not just priests but missionaries who were ready to put their lives at risk in open conflicts with the rebellious Ostyaks (the Khanty and the Mansi). It needed monks who were not bound to their families and children. This caused a shortage of clergy.

Another threat came from local government officials ( zemsky dyaks ) who as secular masters were gradually taking over the authority of bishops who governed the huge territory. This territory fell under the patronage of the Grand Prince of Moscow primarily under the auspices of the religious solidarity of Moscow and the newly-converted people of Perm, but the laws of the development of Muscovy demanded rendering to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and sometimes these demands took cruel and even bloodthirsty forms.

The Archbishopric of Novgorod was indignant with Moscow, believing that the self-seeking Muscovites had lawlessly appropriated the territories that had belonged to the See of Novgorod from time immemorial 1 . Thus, some dishonest Church figures from among the ambitious lobbyists for Novgorod imperialism were ready to help the pagans who resisted the Muscovite expansion.

Thus St. Stephen’s work was threatened with serious danger. However, leaving the people of Perm physically, the holy hierarch had promised to remain with the Zyryans spiritually after his repose, provided they remain faithful Orthodoxy and keep their love for it. That is why after his repose, missionary work in his diocese was continued by three worthy successors: Sts. Gerasim, Pitirim and Jonah.

But Isaac, St. Stephen’s immediate successor in the diocese of Ust-Vym 2 , spent most his archpastoral ministry in Moscow, because being close to senior representatives of the Church hierarchy was his top priority as a hierarch. It is unknown whether his intercessions with the Metropolitan for the newly-converted Zyryans were successful; but what is known is that the name of Isaac was all but forgotten in the annals of Perm history, and his memory was almost erased and replaced by his immediate successors’ missionary exploits; because they preferred to share in the sorrows and joys of their flock in situ rather than send them exhortations from faraway Moscow.

St. Gerasim, the betrayed and murdered bishop

St. Gerasim’s self-sacrificing missionary endeavors, along with his consistent and energetic policy in the administrative sphere not only set the region’s development on the most progressive path but also provoked the envy of the less talented or charismatic functionaries of the state machine. The latter, wishing to get even with St. Gerasim who, in their view, exceeded his authority, decided to make use of the Vogul people’s deadly hatred for him. Officially, the local government officials who acted in collusion were right—St. Gerasim organized “groundwork at the bishop’s residence for the construction of a church” and entered into “conflict with the prince’s administration over disputed land ownership.” 5 In all probability, the bishop wanted to expand his estate (the bishop’s settlement [ vladychny gorodok .—Auth.] on the territory of which a bishop was equal to a feudal lord) without the secular authorities’ permission and get a part of the population involved in the work (compulsory but made to appear voluntary) on renovating a dilapidated church in Ust-Vym.

What made St. Gerasim firmly demand obedience to himself of the Prince of Moscow’s subjects in matters that were subject to Church jurisdiction? The fact is that the holy bishop presumed “in all fairness” Moscow government officials’ progress, along with cultural development and improvement in living conditions of inhabitants of humble Zyryan villages were the direct and immediate result of the success of Orthodox mission; and, therefore, there was nothing more important both for Moscow functionaries and local pastors than expanding the territory around the bishop’s residence and repairing the crumbling church.

But St. Gerasim’s opponents thought otherwise. Through slander they made a member of his household, a baptized Vogul, begin to hate him, and persuaded the man to murder the bishop for patriotic reasons, standing up for his people whom St. Gerasim supposedly persecuted. The most cynical thing about this treacherous murder was that it was committed by someone whom the saint had once taken into his home for care and for spiritual guidance. According to St. Gerasim’s plan, this Vogul would have eventually become a pastor and a missionary among his fellow-tribesmen.

On that fateful day, during a prayer service, the madman waited until St. German turned his back, grabbed his omophorion and strangled him with it. This is how the Vychegda-Vym Chronicle, written by the clergy of the Ust-Vym Monastery of the Archangel Michael in the late sixteenth century, recounts his tragic murder: “Bishop Gerasim of Perm has been murdered several stadia [an ancient measure of length, about 185 meters.—Trans.] from the bishop’s settlement, in the place called Mys 6 .”

St. Pitirim the Martyr

Chudov Monastery was known as the royal monastery, and its abbot would become a close advisor to the Grand Prince of Moscow. As abbot of Chudov Monastery St. Pitirim may have baptized the future Grand Prince Ivan III of Russia (1462—1505) in infancy, and after the news of the martyrdom of St. Gerasim of Ust-Vym had reached Moscow, the Metropolitan chose him as candidate, not without the influence of, or rather, on the initiative of the Grand Prince. St. Pitirim must have been shocked by St. Gerasim’s martyrdom; there was invisible warfare on the metropolia’s eastern frontiers, and representatives of the senior Moscow clergy were becoming its victims. By that time the fratricidal war between Princes Vasily II the Blind and appanage Prince Dmitry Shemyaka was already raging in Rus’. Its battlefront was precisely in Perm, and the bishopric couldn’t avoid “hostilities”. The future holy hierarch willy-nilly had to engage in bigtime politics. Well aware of this, he consciously and readily took the bishop’s duties on himself with humility and made his way to St. Gerasim’s bereaved flock.

In those first months, scrupulous analytical work to determine the strategy for future missionary work was carried out in the bishop’s office, St. Pitirim’s desk was covered with maps that he and his companions had drawn and marked. Long-time residents of the bishop’s quarters from among the clergy who had concelebrated with St. Gerasim reported to St. Pitirim what, when and how the people of Perm had been evangelized, in which districts of the region the inhabitants were the least enlightened by the missions of Sts. Stephen, Gerasim and their disciples, and where the pagan high priests whom St. Gerasim exposed had fled. It was finally decided to start a missionary campaign in the area of the Vashka basin, settled by the Udoren people. It was there, in the area called Udora, that the bastion of paganism (contemporary to St. Pitirim) was concentrated; it was there that the spiritual leaders of idol-worship and their followers had settled after being banished by St. Stephen several decades before.

By his personal example St. Pitirim instructed his priests how to find words that would reach the hearts of ordinary people. Those were the words of consolation and support, words that really staggered a populace who lived by the laws of vendetta and in the wildest pagan ways: “And he baptized and converted many, since those people were ignorant and notorious for their cruel customs; the blessed man enlightened and taught them in faith with great humility.” According to the Vychegda-Vym Chronicle, the success of the mission was full and unconditional: “Bishop Pitirim converted the Udoren people at the Vashka River to the holy faith, gave them abbots and priests, and erected holy churches there.”

Wandering across his diocese’s outlying districts, the holy bishop didn’t forget the people of Perm who made up the heart of his flock. St. Pitirim would often give targeted support to residents of Zyryan settlements, generously distribute alms from his private sources, and, most importantly, intercede with the Grand Prince to reduce the amount of tribute the people of Perm were obliged to pay.

Over his tenure the holy bishop visited Moscow several times to take part in the events that would be epoch-making for his contemporaries. The first of them was associated with the Synod of the Russian Bishop’s anathema of Prince Dmitry Shemyaka, who had blinded Grand Prince Vasily II of Moscow (1425–1462) in order to seize power and remove his most dangerous and legitimate rival from the political scene. It is remarkable with what unanimity Church figures (monks, like St. Gregory of Pelshem, as well as bishops) took Prince Vasily’s side in this political struggle.

Later, the modern historian Alexander Zimin (1920–1980) would say that Shemyaka fell victim to his own defeat. If the outcome of that conflict had been different, history with its historiographers would have taken his side 7 . However, the rigor of the hagiography’s heroes casts serious doubts on this hypothesis. The White Lake Monastery elders allowed Vasily to break his vow of not laying claim to Moscow, giving him full freedom to act. The Church hierarchs came to the capital occupied by Vasily to demonstrate their loyalty to him. One of the senior Church representatives of great authority who showed unconditional support for Vasily was Bishop Pitirim. He knew like no one else how much suffering Shemyaka’s ruinous campaigns had caused ordinary Russian people. Engaging the Perm Diocese’s most hardened enemies (the Vogul people and the inhabitants of Vyatka) for his purposes, Shemyaka scored repeated successes in his acts of banditry—blood was shed, and people in St. Pitirim’s flock were dying. Later Shemyaka took vengeance on the people of Perm by executing the Perm captains Emelka Luzkov and Euphemius Ezhvin for their willingness to fight on the side of the people of Veliky Ustyug, whose lands were being ravaged by his regiments 8 .

A few years later, Bishop Pitirim preached to the people of Vyatka who had cooperated with the rebellious prince’s excessive ambitions, and his words had a direct effect: Having laid siege to Ust-Vym in 1450, the Vyatchane’s army suddenly withdrew, leaving the town intact. The population of Perm remained indifferent to Dmitry’s calls. Everything seemed to indicate that the prince’s cherished ambitions were crumbling to dust, and the uncompromising and energetic Bishop Pitirim had largely contributed to that.

Shemyaka was determined to capture the bishop during one of his trips and by means of persuasion or promises force him to repeal the anathema against him. It remains unknown whether Dmitry hoped that psychological contact and mutual understanding might come during their talk tete-a-tete, or whether he believed in his own powers of persuasion, or had prepared some arguments which would justify his aggressive policy in the lands of Russia’s north, or perhaps meant to influence the bishop by threats and promises. 9 In any case, his main aim was to win St. Pitirim over.

This is how the Vychegda-Vym Chronicle describes this event: “In 6960 (1452) the cursed Shemyaka caught Bishop Pitirim on his way to Moscow, brought him to Ustyug, put him in jail and tortured him there; but the hierarch stood firm and did not repeal his anathema.” While in Ustyug in 1452, Dmitry followed all the movements of the Russian Church’s authoritative hierarch closely; and as soon as one of the prince’s spies reported St. Pitirim’s scheduled trip to Moscow, with the departure date and accompaniment (the bishop preferred to travel light, caring more about speed of travel than safety), Shemyaka didn’t fail to make use of such favorable circumstances.

St. Pitirim spent several months in confinement. Since the bishop yielded to no persuasion and flattering promises had no effect (Shemyaka saw in St. Pitirim a severe exposer of his heinous crimes, personal cruelty and dissoluteness), the prince’s arguments took another turn: he considered a prison cell, short rations, and threats of reprisal to be faster and safer means than heart-to-heart talks and attempts at self-justification. But that was in vain: St. Pitirim’s thoughts, words and deeds were only: “I am ready to die.” And St. Pitirim would have done his archpastoral duty and shown the cunning prince that he would not find the bishop to be a reed shaken with the wind (Lk. 7:24). However, this time God saved His servant’s life: The Muscovite army that was moving towards Uglich forced Dmitry to hastily retreat to Veliky Novgorod—the last bastion of anti-Moscow sentiment. St. Pitirim was released and resumed his archpastoral ministry with new enthusiasm.

The most important event St. Pitirim took part in was the Church Council of 1448 at which the Metropolitan of Moscow was elected and his appointment was confirmed without the Patriarch of Constantinople’s approval, for the first time in several centuries. In effect, the approval of the Synod of Russian Bishops of Bishop Jonah of Ryazan as the Metropolitan of Moscow meant the beginning of Russian autocephaly. This event seemed uncanonical to many hierarchs of the age, and the legitimacy of Jonah was questioned. Under the current circumstances (the falling away from Orthodoxy of Constantinople’s protégé Isidore, disorder in the Byzantine Empire) St. Pitirim couldn’t remain indifferent and expressed his stance with his characteristic straightforwardness and firmness: There shall be Russian autocephaly! With all the disadvantages that “breaking the cord” (connecting the Russian Church with Constantinople) entailed, now there was no alternative.

St. Pitirim’s life ended at the height of his archpastoral activity. Many years before, when he was being consecrated, standing by the gravestone of his predecessor in the Perm diocese St. Gerasim, St. Pitirim had been well aware that he could hardly expect a peaceful repose on his bed, surrounded by grateful disciples. The archpastoral ministry in a Perm that had not yet submitted to the Prince and the Metropolitan of Moscow was fraught with risks. On August 19, 1455, soon after a successful missionary journey to Great Perm and Cherdyn, after the end of the Sunday Liturgy at the Church of the Annunciation in Ust-Vym, St. Pitirim together with other clergymen and parishioners headed for a field between the Vym and the Vychegda to hold a prayer service 10 . But several miles away the Vogul Prince Asyka and his son Yushman were lying in ambush. Perhaps they decided to get even with St. Pitirim for baptizing the Vogul people living along the Pechora River, or they just seized the opportunity to make short work of their long-time antagonist in the person of the Bishop of Perm during another raid: “They were angry with the holy father because, contrary to their wishes, he tried his best to convert pagans to Orthodox faith and baptize them 11 .”

According to one version, some of the Vogul people found out about St. Pitirim’s plans by making inquiries with someone from a group of “heathen” who “had sailed up the Vychegda for a certain undertaking… in five days’ walk distance, in the place called Yur 12 .” When the whole procession appeared in the field of vision of Asyka’s detachment, the heathen rushed towards the defenseless worshippers from their hiding. Seeing the enemy, the holy bishop instantly ordered his companions to escape, hoping at the cost of his life to cover their retreat to the fortifications of Ust-Vym. St. Pitirim realized that he was the main target of the heathen attack and it was unlikely that his flock would be pursued. The holy hierarch met his death without murmuring, without making any attempts to defend himself: “And, seizing the saint with fury, they took turns beating him, tormenting him and putting the innocent man to death.” 13 The bishop’s body, which lay unburied for forty days, remained incorrupt, and his relics were enshrined at the Church of the Annunciation in Ust-Vym to the left of St. Gerasim’s shrine.

St. Jonah, baptizer of Great Perm

Over the course of St. Jonah’s tenure in the bishopric of Perm the political situation in the region considerably improved: Moscow, in the person of Vasily the Blind and his heirs, completely crushed the opposition of local pagan princelings who would gather savage hordes to lay waste to peace-loving Zyryan towns and villages, along with the envious raiding bands of Novgorodians 15 (in fact no less pagan) who threatened the region’s development. The prayers of the holy men were answered, and St. Jonah died in advanced old age with a sense of accomplishment: The clouds that had been gathering over St. Stephen’s legacy were scattered by the labors and prayers of the holy men. “What lies in store for Perm?” the venerable elder Jonah asked himself on his deathbed in 1472. But the answer didn’t come immediately: New Christians would be born; they too would pray to Christ in this land and in the churches consecrated by him and his predecessors, after his death, after the death of his successor, and so on till the end of time. St. Jonah’s remains were laid to rest in the shrine containing the relics of Sts. Gerasim and Pitirim.

The the ministry of these three holy hierarchs of Perm who contributed to the enlightenment of the pagan tribes in northeastern Russia’s border regions in the fifteenth century is a story of how at the right time and place, there were men found in the Russian Church who fearlessly answered the Lord’s call, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?: Here am I; send me (Is. 6:8).

Maria Marchenko Translated by Dmitry Lapa

Pravoslavie.ru

1  In 1385, “the Bishop of Novgorod was very angry with Pimen: how dared he establish a diocese in Perm, the age-old dominion of Novgorod? And he sent soldiers to take the Perm Diocese by force of arms.”

2  The so-called “bishop’s settlement” at the confluence of the Vym and the Vychegda Rivers.

3  The Vychegda-Vym Chronicle, p. 25.

4  M.B. Rogachev. The Perm Diocese in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries. P. 45.

5  The Vychegda-Vym Chronicle, p. 25.

6  Ibid.

7  A.A. Zimin. A Knight at the Crossroads: the Feudal War in Russia in the Fifteenth Century. Moscow, 1991.

8  It was the danger of war from Dmitry Shemyaka, threatening Great Perm, that caused Vasily the Blind to introduce the institution of “chief officer of the local administration” (namestnik) on that territory In 1452, Princes Ermolai and Vasily of Vereya became the first chief officers of the local administration.

9  You can always offer a metropolitan diocese to an unduly ambitious bishop.

10  According to another version, the assault took place on his way back from one of his missionary journeys: “The saint was seized during a journey like a defenseless lamb.”

11  The Tale of the Bishops of Perm. P. 72.

12  Ibid, p. 71.

13  Ibid, p. 73.

14  The Vychegda-Vym Chronicle. P. 26.

15  The Vychegda-Vym Chronicle in a solemn manner announces the military campaigns of Grand Prince Ivan III and the success of the military commander (voevoda) Prince Daniel of Kholm as an event that was directly related to the lives of the people of Perm // The Vychegda-Vym Chronicle, p. 26.

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