Преподобный Варсонофий Оптинский

The Monk Barsanuphius (in the world Pavel Ivanovich Plikhankov) was born on July 5, 1845 in Samara, into a merchant family. The boy’s grandfather and great-grandfather were very rich: almost all the houses on Kazanskaya Street belonged to their family, all of whose members were pious believers. After the death of his mother, his father got married, and his stepmother, a kind-hearted and deeply religious person, replaced Pavel’s own mother. She raised the true faith in her adopted son and taught him spiritual life. He went with his mother (that’s what he called his stepmother) to church, often took communion with her, and learned to pray in church. He later recalled: “Mom also loved to pray at home. Sometimes an akathist reads, and I sing in a thin voice throughout the whole apartment: “Most Holy Theotokos, save us!” From the age of five, Pavel already served at the altar and often heard from those around him: “You should be a priest!” Later, the Monk Barsanuphius recalled an amazing incident that happened when he was about six years old: “I was in the garden with my father. Suddenly a wanderer walks along the alley. And it’s amazing how he could get into the garden when the garden is surrounded by large dogs that don’t let anyone through without barking. The wanderer quietly approached his father and, pointing at me with his hand, said: “Remember, father, this child will one day drag souls from hell!” And after these words he left. Then we couldn't find him anywhere. And God knows who this stranger was.” At the age of nine, Pavel was enrolled in a gymnasium; he studied very well and read a lot. Later, as an old man, he often spoke about the benefits of book knowledge, first of all, about the importance of reading the lives of saints. He recalled about his studies at the gymnasium: “In the summer, we were moved to a picturesque estate for the holidays... There was a beautiful birch alley... The students usually got up at six o’clock, and I got up at five, went to that alley and, standing among those birch trees, prayed. And then I prayed as I had never prayed again: it was the pure prayer of an innocent youth. I think that’s where I begged for myself, begged God for monasticism.” But Pavel Ivanovich’s path to the monastery was long, where he entered only in the forty-seventh year of his life. In his youth, he chose the military path and studied in the cadet corps. Then military service, a brilliant career - he rose to the rank of colonel, was in the best standing in his service and was eventually to receive the rank of general. This was a direct path to all worldly benefits and privileges... But he gave up everything. Colleagues and acquaintances could not understand why this colonel, whose whole appearance was filled with some amazing inner nobility, was behaving so strangely. He avoids balls, dinner parties and other entertainment, does not marry... Those who knew Pavel Ivanovich sometimes even said: “He’s crazy, what a man he was!” Later, the elder himself recalled this time: “When I was thirty-five years old, my mother turned to me: “Why are you, Pavlusha, still avoiding women, soon your years will be over, no one will marry you.” For obedience, I fulfilled my mother’s wish. On this day, some friends were having a dinner party. Well, I think whoever I have to sit next to, I will enter into a lengthy conversation with. And suddenly a priest stood next to me, distinguished by his high spirituality. life, and started a conversation about the Jesus Prayer... When dinner was over, I had a firm decision not to get married.” One day Pavel Ivanovich met with the holy righteous John of Kronstadt. This is how he described this meeting: “When I was still an officer, I had to go to Moscow as part of my service. And at the station I find out that Father John is serving the liturgy in the church of one of the buildings. I immediately went there. When I entered the church, the service was already ending. I went to the altar. At this time, Father John transferred the Holy Gifts from the throne to the altar. Having put the Cup down, he suddenly comes up to me, kisses my hand and, without saying anything, goes back to the throne. All those present looked at each other and decided that I would be a priest... And now you see how inscrutable the fate of God is: I am not only a priest, but also a monk.” Thus, Pavel Ivanovich gradually became convinced of the idea of ​​going to a monastery. He thought about this more and more often, and when one day he read an article in a magazine about Optina Hermitage and the elder Ambrosy there, he decided to go to him - and immediately set off on the road. When Pavel Ivanovich came to the elder’s cell, he greeted him very joyfully and, despite his illness, even stood up, showing special honor to the newcomer. After the conversation, the elder ordered him to remain in the world for now, saying: “Come in two years, I will receive you.” By the appointed time, Colonel Plikhankov submitted his resignation and arrived in Optina on the last day of the period set by the Monk Ambrose, but did not find him alive. The elder had already died, but was not yet buried - he was lying in a coffin in the church, and Pavel Ivanovich was able to accompany him on his last journey. In February 1892, Pavel Ivanovich was enrolled in the brotherhood of St. John the Baptist Skete and dressed in a cassock. The elders Anatoly the Elder and Joseph saw their successor in the new novice, and every night for three years he went to them for conversations about spiritual life. In 1900, novice Pavel was tonsured into a mantle with the name Barsanuphius, and three years later he was ordained a hieromonk and appointed assistant to Elder Joseph and at the same time confessor of the Shamordino convent. After the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), during which Father Barsanuphius served as a front-line priest, he was elevated to the rank of abbot and appointed head of the Optina Hermitage monastery. Soon the fame of him as one of the great Optina elders spread throughout Russia. He saw the human soul, and through prayers the most hidden things in a person were revealed to him, and this gave him the opportunity to raise up the fallen, direct them from the wrong path to the true one, and heal mental and physical illnesses. His gift of insight was especially evident when he performed the Sacrament of Confession. S. M. Lopukhina told how, having arrived in Optina, she went to confession with Father Barsanuphius, and he told her her whole life, year after year, offense after offense, not only indicating the exact dates when they were committed, but also naming the names of the people with whom they were associated. And having completed this terrible retelling, he ordered: “Tomorrow you will come to me and repeat to me everything that I told you. I wanted to teach you how to confess.”... Believing people came from afar to Father Barsanuphius for help and consolation, and he, being in his old age and at the end of his life already exhausted from numerous painful illnesses, received everyone without refusal, treating physical and mental ailments, instructing them on the only saving path. However, his own suffering intensified, and during his dying illness it was truly martyrdom. Refusing the help of doctors, he only repeated: “Leave me alone, I’m already on the cross...” The elder took communion every day until his death, and on April 1/14, 1913, he gave up his pure soul to the Lord. The Monk Barsanuphius was buried in the Optina Hermitage, next to his spiritual father and teacher, the Monk Anatoly the Elder. His memory is celebrated on the day of his death - April 14 (new style). You might be interested in: