The last days of the Optina elder Hieroschemamonk Macarius

Contents I. Letter from His Eminence Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow II. Letter from the physician who treated the elder to one of the monastery brethren so that after printing the authorized number of copies of this book is submitted to the Censorship Committee. September 22 days, 1860. Censor, Archimandrite Porfiry Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. To her, they will rest from their labors (Rev. 14:13). Who will create and teach this great will be called in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:19). On September 7, at 7 o'clock in the morning, after a 12-day serious illness, one of the most famous modern ascetics of piety to the Russian Orthodox people, whose name was repeated with reverence in the most remote regions of Russia, peacefully surrendered his spirit into the hands of God, and his spiritual activity extended far beyond the boundaries of that desert monastery and cramped cell in which he spent his hidden life in God. Many of those who benefited from the spiritual instructions of the Elder turn to us verbally and in writing with a request to tell them details about the last days of life and the death of them and our father and mentor; these unskillful lines serve as an answer to their pious desire. August 23rd. The elder was present, at the monastery hotel, at the blessed death of one of the wives devoted to him, the noblewoman Maria 2, the mother of one of his disciples; Tearing up, the Elder called this quiet death, like an extinguished candle, “the venerable one,” saying: “I consider myself happy that God has vouchsafed me to see a righteous death!” 3 On August 25, on the eve of the celebration of the appearance of the miraculous icon of the Vladimir Mother of God, the Elder, who especially revered this icon, like his spiritual friend and companion Hieroschemamonk Leonid, according to his annual custom, sent an all-night vigil in honor of it, in his cell, with several of his close disciples, and went to bed in a sound state of spirit and body, having taught the usual blessing to the disciples who They dispersed in peace to their cells, apparently having no reason to expect the sorrow that the coming day gave them. On Friday 26th, while getting ready for mass, the Elder suddenly felt attacks of an illness called in medical language Ischuria, and its consequences, which, however, he had complained about at times before; At that time, the city Belevsky doctor, Mr. Bazelev, happened to be in the monastery, who, having been invited to the patient, immediately provided him with initial benefits, but unfortunately could not stay for some time in the monastery to observe the effect of this medicine. In the evening, when the patient began to feel worse, he blessed me, according to my proposal, to go to the prince’s estate D. A. Oh……..go, invite his private doctor to help. But to my extreme regret, I did not find him at the prince’s: he had already left a few days ago for his homeland. On the way back through Kozelsk, I stopped by the Kozelsk city doctor in the city of B.....vu, I took from him the necessary advice, which was immediately carried out upon my return to the monastery. 27, Saturday. There was no particular relief from medicinal benefits; The elder, having confessed the night before, after early mass, received Holy Communion and surrendered himself to the will of God. Meanwhile, according to the general advice, we sent to Mosalsk for the district doctor 4 I. L. Pletner, known to us for his skill and zeal. 28, Sunday. G. Pletner, arriving in the morning this day, provided relief to the patient; but he noticed a circumstance, the discovery of which was supposed to change the view of the disease. 29, Monday, day of the skete holiday: Beheading of the head of St. John the Baptist of the Lord. In the morning the patient felt worse. I. L. Pletner invited to help himself, to draw up a consultation, district doctors: Kozelsky, S……..go, and Belevsky, K……..go; according to the consultation, the previous remedy was used again, causing severe suffering to the patient; but their opinions were not similar about the internal cause of the disease. 30, Tuesday. At 6 o'clock in the morning the Elder received the Holy Mysteries for the second time during early mass, and after this, according to his own desire, the Sacrament of Anointing was performed on him, which was performed by o. Hegumen Anthony with 6 hieromonks. Despite the fact that, due to weakness of strength, the Elder could not only stand at this time, but also sit, and therefore reclined on his bed, he, having told the singers to sing all the prescribed chants in the Lenten melody, then twice reminded them of this melody in his voice. Although he was cheerful in spirit during the entire preceding period of illness, after the Sacrament of the Blessing of Unction, apparently for everyone, he became even stronger in spirit and body; with amazing calm, clarity of mind and strength of will, he made the necessary orders in the event of his death, down to the smallest detail; blessed everyone who came; comforting the sorrowful disciples in word and deed, he blessed them with icons, rosaries, books, etc., visible signs of his fatherly favor. 31, Wednesday. This was one of the days of hope for us: Father was completely calm in spirit, talked with those who came, taught them spiritual instructions briefly but expressively, so that everyone, despite the calmness of the elder and the hope this aroused in those around him, involuntarily felt that this was the last instruction, that the day and hour were not far off when these benevolent lips would close forever, and leaving the ever-instructive cell, under the influence of such a thought, “he cried bitterly!” Close disciples, without deceiving themselves regarding the patient’s situation, hastened to take advantage of the apparent vigor of his strength to ask for a solution to questions that can be called for each of those listening to themselves “questions of life,” using the example of whom he will bless to treat spiritually after his death, how to act in this or that foreseen case of the monastic path? And the Elder, without restraint, clearly and calmly, satisfied these questions, of course realizing internally that his days were already numbered before the Lord. September 1st, Thursday. The sick man had the consolation of receiving in his cell the God-loving Elders: the rector of the monastery, Father Archimandrite Moses, and his brother in flesh and spirit, Father Abbot Anthony, who had a contented conversation, especially with the first, and they taught each other mutual forgiveness and blessing. Father Archimandrite, imbued with a feeling of grief about the impending loss, expressed these feelings to many of the visitors to the monastery with humble words: “Apparently, for my sins, God is punishing me, taking away from the monastery an experienced Elder, and from me a spiritual friend and wise adviser.” Father Abbess Anthony, who visited the Elder several times afterwards, only cried and prayed, like many others. In the monastery churches, many hastily arrived, from different directions, people of both sexes and all classes, benefiting from the spiritual instructions of the Elder, continuously served prayer services, shedding hot tears in fervent prayers to the Lord for his recovery. And during the intervals of church services, they stood at the skete gates, eager to hear from those leaving them the good news about the Elder’s state of health, ready to believe every word of hope. Throughout this day, the brethren, both skete and monastery, entered freely to receive the blessing and last instructions of the Elder. By the evening, the combined requests of two doctors: I. L. Pletner and his friend V. O. Bakshansky (who arrived that day in the morning) convinced Father to allow him to again use the painful drug; and he endured new sufferings with unwavering patience. Justice requires mentioning that the above-mentioned doctors, friendly with each other, used the most friendly efforts to restore precious health, not just for us; It is obvious that a combination of many moral reasons and noble motives prompted them to this zeal. We could not keep silent about this because of our sincere gratitude to their unrewarded zeal. (see below the letter from one of the doctors on the death of the Elder). 2nd, Friday. Again a day of hope: the doctors, seeing that the patient’s pulse was in good condition, reassured themselves and us that if the danger from a real illness could be averted, the general state of the patient’s physical strength was such that it gave hope for a long life. We listened to them with pleasure, placing our main hope in the Physician of souls and bodies, Who alone has the power to live and kill, doing this according to His special consideration for each of us. On this day, his nieces, the nuns of the Sevsky nunnery, arrived as expected by the Elder; and in the afternoon one of his devoted spiritual daughters, arriving from Moscow, upon the first news of the elder’s illness, brought him from the elder, the metropolitan, a precious gift: an enamel icon of the Vladimir Mother of God and an equally precious promise - to pray for him to the Lord of hosts. Another God-loving person sent the Elder her family shrine, a cross with a particle of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord embedded in it. It was necessary to see with what tenderness and spiritual delight the Elder accepted both of these shrines, and with what a joyful look he later showed to those who visited him the gift of the Archpastor, deeply respected and revered by him, the icon hanging on his chest, along with the mentioned cross. 3rd, Saturday. After the monastery mass, the Elder took communion of the Holy Mysteries, which were brought to him from the church; After this, the doctors noticed a good sign for recovery; again our hearts revived with hope, but not for long; At night he developed a fever, and the patient spent that night almost without sleep. 4th, Sunday. The patient felt worse in the morning. I. L. Pletner had to leave, called by official duties, but promised to invite his friend Mr. Bakshansky (who left two days ago) to come on the same horses to monitor the progress of the illness. On this day, the Elder, feeling weakened in strength, received very few. The Secretary of State, Prince D. A. O—, who came on purpose with his family and Countess P— to inquire about his health, sent, through me, an icon from his figurative one for blessing, which the pious prince accepted with reverence, as the last blessing of an ascetic departing from the world. After Vespers, at about 8 o'clock, the patient wished to receive Communion again, and received the Holy Mysteries, already sitting in his chair. Despite the suffering situation, the Elder, as a spiritual warrior of Jesus Christ, did not abandon his monastic weapons and prayers until the end: quiet exclamations: “Mother of God! My Savior! - accompanied almost every painful breath he took. Throughout his illness, the brethren who followed him read the timely prescribed skete rules, and the Elder listened to the reading with deep attention and tenderness. He also asked himself to read some articles 5 from the writings of the Holy Fathers, whose anointed word constituted his daily spiritual food; - or, in the words of St. Nile of Sora, in them he placed his life and breath. By the way, the Elder announced to those around him that he was tired of the medicines and would no longer take them. 5th, Monday. The patient felt worse. In the morning, the doctor, who was impatiently expected by us, but not by him, arrived; Convinced by the personal requests of his close disciples, and apparently only to console them, the Elder agreed to accept the last benefits offered by the physician, but first, after a late monastic mass, he received Holy Communion. On the same day, on the advice of the physician, the patient was transferred to the next room and laid, at his own request, on the floor: with this, in addition to the large space for those serving and being in fresher air, the Elder brought comfort to the brethren and visitors, who could at least through the windows get a last look at their loving father, an experienced mentor, a quick solver of any perplexity, a comforter in spiritual sorrows and illnesses. On the night of Monday to Tuesday, 90-year-old schema monk Hilarion died in the monastery. After Matins, according to monastery custom, the bell struck three times to notify the brethren of the monastery about the departure of one from among them. This dull and drawn-out ringing, suddenly heard in the silence of the night, resonated heavily in the hearts of the multitude of disciples and disciples of the Elder who filled all the monastery hotels; They thought they were hearing news of the death of their father and mentor, and alarmed by this thought, they fled in disarray to the monastery gates, which they found, as usual, locked. This confusion lasted, however, only a few minutes and was calmed by the news from the monastery that another Elder had died. The patient spent the night, in comparison with the previous two, in less suffering, and even fell asleep for several hours in a sound and sweet sleep, which again revived our hopes. 6th, Tuesday. With the onset of morning, the spirit’s preoccupation appeared, the Old Man’s former constant illness, which in itself was already a bad sign. After late mass, the Elder received Holy Communion. In the morning, two more doctors arrived, brought by the rector of the Maloyaroslavl Chernoostrog Monastery, Archimandrite Nikodim, according to his own zeal, but it was already too late. It fell to their lot, after asking about the course of the illness, to only marvel at the valiant patience of the soldier of Christ, who strengthened himself with the memory of the suffering of the martyrs, protecting himself with the sign of the cross, accepted the most bitter medicine, suffered and was silent, or quietly groaned, and prayed together... By evening, the patient became much worse, and therefore he wished to partake of the Holy Mysteries a second time, which he did at 8 o’clock, sitting in an armchair, after which the suffering decreased somewhat. Around midnight he asked for his confessor, and after a half-hour conversation with him, having received his parting permission, he asked to read the waste letter, which he listened to while sitting. Then, at the patient’s own request and at his own request, the canon and akathist to the Mother of God were read in the evening, and during Matins, the canon and akathist to the Sweetest Jesus, and it was noticed that during the reading, the suffering not only decreased, but also completely calmed down: the patient often turned tearful, touching glances, then to the Icon of the Savior in the crown of thorns standing opposite his bed on the table, exclaiming: “Glory to Thee, my King and my God!” - then to the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, which he especially revered, saying: “Mother of God, help me!” - or finally, silently stretching out his hands to the Queen of heaven and earth, he prayed for a speedy resolution from bodily bonds. The suffering of the occupation of the spirit continued throughout the whole night, the patient rose and lay down, with the help of the brothers who followed him, then asked them to put him in a chair, but in spirit he was completely calm and quiet, like a child, expressing gratitude for the care of those around him, now with tender fatherly glances, now with blessings, now with a silent shake of the hand and tears. Thus came the morning of the day on which the Lord deigned to win over the soul of His faithful servant - that was the 7th day of September, the day of the pre-feast day of the Nativity of His Most Pure Mother, for Whom the Elder, like all Orthodox ascetics, nurtured deep heartfelt faith, expressing it constantly by invoking Her all-holy name, honoring the feasts of the Mother of God, cell all-night vigils in honor of some of the Theotokos icons, 50-year monastic life, reading the canons in Her honor daily, and on the appointed days the Akathist. At 6 am, for the last time, the Elder was honored to partake of the Holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ, which this time he received from bodily exhaustion while lying down, but in full memory and with a deep sense of tenderness 6 . Almost exactly an hour after everything, at 7 o’clock, at the end of the reading of the canon on the separation of the soul from the body, on the 9th song of the canon, the Elder gave up his righteous soul into the hands of God - quietly and painlessly, surrounded by a host of his close disciples and other persons devoted to him. I do not mention their names, they are well known to those for whose consolation these lines are written, their compassionate zeal and sleepless nights spent at the bedside of the sick, countless sighs are undoubtedly counted and weighed for future reward by the One who Himself is love, promised reward for the cup of ice water given to a neighbor in the name of the feeling so beloved by Him. The death of the Elder was peaceful and quiet, simple and at the same time majestic, like his whole life, which faded away like the dawn of a bright day, leaving in the hearts devoted to him a quiet night of sadness; Let the enlightenment in it be the sweetness of the divine and patristic words, which the ever-memorable Elder taught us every day, and the consolation will be the Gospel promise: whoever does and teaches, this one will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:19). 7, Wednesday. After serving the usual litia, the body was honestly hidden by the hands of nearby disciples, and the schema consecrated on the Holy Sepulcher, which I brought from the holy city as a gift to the Elder, was placed on the deceased, in accordance with his will, in 1859 7 . With the news of the death of the Elder-Ascetic, his cells were filled with people, at whose persistent request the service of a memorial service for the deceased immediately began, which continued both until the body was taken to the church and in the church, from early morning until late at night. The Skete Church, which during the entire stay of the Elder here was the subject of his special zeal and care, where therefore the zeal of all those who treated him was predominantly directed, was decorated with care and diligence, as on the Holy Feast. Numerous candles, lit by the zeal of those who came, burned brightly; Through the smoke of incense, one could see a coffin, lined with velvet through the zeal of one Lover of Christ, and covered with expensive brocade through the zeal of the Elder’s spiritual children. Immediately after the body was transferred to the church, a cathedral memorial service was held for the deceased Fr. Abbot Anthony with six hieromonks. Then funeral services followed one another until late at night; everyone crowded to the expensive coffin to bow to the sacrilegiously deceased reclining in it; funeral weeping merged with funeral singing, tears of unfeigned love watered the grave covers - it was a holiday of faith, the fulfillment in life of the Lord’s promise to “render to everyone according to his deeds!” 8, Thursday. Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary; there was a late mass in the monastery, and an early one in the Skete, after which the funeral services continued continuously until the end of the day. 9, Friday. Celebrating the memory of Saints Joachim and Anna, there was a vigil in the monastery, and in the monastery church there was only an early liturgy of the cathedral. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the entire monastery brethren gathered to transfer the body to the monastery, where, by order of the Abbot of the monastery, a resting place was prepared for the deceased Elder, on the right side of his spiritual friend Hieroschemamonk Leonid. In addition to the similarity between them in the spirit of the teachings of both, it is remarkable that both ended their careers in life at the age of 72 from birth, having bore the good yoke of Christ in monasticism for almost an equal number of years (46 and 47). By today's mail, to the great consolation of all those mourning the death of the Elder, a letter from the Metropolitan of Moscow was received, serving as a response to the notification of his illness received by His Eminence from a God-loving person, a letter that will remain an unforgettable monument for all who respect the deceased. We can share the contents of this letter with the elder’s many admirers (see the special appendix). At the same post office, a letter was received from a physician who used the elder: it is remarkable in its content because the writer does not belong to the Orthodox Church (see appendix). At 2 o'clock in the afternoon the body of the deceased in the Lord was transferred from the skete church to the monastery; Before the removal, a memorial service was performed by one of the elder’s disciples, the Rector of Tikhonova Hermitage, Fr. The builder Moses gathered together with all the hieromonks. The entire church and the space from it to the Holy Gates was occupied by people drawn to the desert not just by the opportunity to satisfy vain curiosity, as happens in cities, but who arrived mostly from afar, out of a feeling of love and zeal for the memory of their father, mentor and spiritual benefactor. Silently and sadly, baring their heads, the crowd, positioned on both sides of the path, waited for the body to be carried out; many cried quietly, but everyone felt that the natural feeling of sadness and regret was involuntarily dissolved by a feeling of hope, for all those present knew that in this lifeless body lived a pure, holy, loving soul, that the deceased was “an earthly angel, a heavenly man”, was not poor in spiritual gifts and the fruits of the spirit indicated by the Apostle: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, charity, faith, meekness, self-control (Gal. 5, 22), and as a faithful servant of his Master he did not hide the talent entrusted to him with zeal until the end of his days, serving the spiritual benefit of all those who seek it 8, and therefore the crown of life was prepared for him according to the promise: be faithful to Me even to death and I will give you the crown of life! On the way from the monastery to the monastery, the procession stopped six times to sing the litiya; at the Southern monastery gates they encountered the funeral bed of the abbot of the monastery, the venerable elder Archimandrite Moses in vestments, with all the hieromonks and brethren 9; after the last litany was buried here, the coffin was placed in the Church of the Mother of God of the Kazan Icon; This church has recently been decorated with wall paintings with renewed gilding, with the special zeal of persons devoted to the elder, and under his direct supervision. While the all-night vigil was going on in the cathedral (in honor of the Konevskaya Icon of the Mother of God), in Kazanskaya, where the deceased stood, one requiem service replaced another; Around the coffin, incense smoked and candles burned brightly, but, in the words of our famous church orbit, the hearts of those praying burned brighter than a candle, their flame reached to the sky, and the air around the coffin trembled with the voice of continuous prayers and sighs, and was watered with a rain of tears shed from pure love and zeal. So September 10th came, the day of the elder’s burial. At 4 o'clock the early liturgy was celebrated in the Kazan Church of Fr. Hegumen Anthony took the cathedral, and at half past 9 o'clock the coffin was transferred by him to the cathedral church. Despite the fact that during the three previous days the weather was warm, completely summer, and the coffin was oppressed by the people until it was lowered into the grave, it did not emit any mortal smell, which was noticed by all those present. At 9 o'clock the late liturgy began in the cathedral, which was performed by Father Archimandrite Moses with 6 hieromonks, and immediately after the mass was followed by the funeral service of the body, also performed by Father Archimandrite Moses with 14 hieromonks (skete and monastery), including the Builder of the Tikhon Kaluga Hermitage, 2 archpriests (Kozelsky and Belevsky) and 4 village priests. The farewell to the dear deceased lasted a long time: everyone wanted to pay their last veneration to the one who during his life, according to the Apostle, was everything and everyone, so that he would save everyone (1 Cor. 9:22), leading him to the Chief Shepherd Christ. On the way to the grave, the coffin was carried around the Kazan Church, performing a litany against the doors of the cathedral church after being taken out of them, then against the doors of the Kazan Church and against its altar, and finally at the grave just before the body was committed to the earth. Finally, they lowered the coffin into the grave prepared opposite the altar of the St. Nicholas chapel of the cathedral church, on the right side of the crypt, in which rests the body of Hieroschemamonk Leonid (Leo), the elder’s spiritual friend and fasting companion. When the singers sang: “Behold my coffin, remember my love!”, everyone shed tears and many sobbed, remembering the love of the elder, abundantly poured out on everyone who had ever turned to him for advice, solutions to perplexities, consolation in their sorrows; many of those present lost the spiritual support of their lives in him, for according to the word of the Apostle: even though many are imams who nurture Christ, but not many fathers (1 Cor. 4:15), and are all fathers as loving as this unforgettable father and our mentor was? In memory of the elder, from his admirers who wished to remain anonymous, a sufficient amount was donated to establish a meal both for the brethren of the monastery and skete, and for all those present at his burial, for more than 1000 people 10; Moreover, the poor brethren were not forgotten, whose needs the elder never forgot to point out to those who wished through deeds of mercy to earn the bliss of the merciful, or to atone for many of their sins in the handwriting... The meal in memory of the elder was a real supper of love, for at it people of all classes united, monastics and laymen, noble and simple, rich and poor, converging on a deserted monastery without a call or invitation, from cities and villages, bound together only by the unity of love and zeal for the ascetic of Christ who had departed from the world. Isn’t it true that during the life of the elder, for more than 20 years, they saw him either at the hotel or at the Skete gates, surrounded by people of both sexes, of all classes and ages, hungry and thirsty to hear the word of salvation from his God-speaking lips: the word is not eloquent, but active, the word is simple and humble, but at the same time strong, according to the Gospel saying, the word with power, granted to the true followers of Christ on common benefit, as a reward for Christian humility, which does not attribute the gifts of God to itself, giving God to God. As soon as they had time to cover the fresh grave with earth, a funeral chant with its final song was heard again over it: eternal memory! Eternal memory, we repeat, in our hearts, to you, our loving father, experienced mentor, wise leader and benefactor of our souls. There are no tears enough to mourn our loss. But having received boldness from the Almighty King and our God for your labors and exploits, and moreover for your abundant love and extreme humility for everyone, do not forget us who mourn and suffer about separation from you, and beg His goodness, that your abundance will be in our deprivation, and may we be worthy, having completed our earthly journey, to unite with you there, where there is no separation, there is no sadness and sighing that now overcomes us, but life and everlasting joy! I. Letter from His Eminence Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow What will someone weak in spirit say, looking at an ascetic who suffers in body but is not weak in spirit? - Be patient with the Lord, Father, take courage, and let your heart be strong. But, Lord, even if those who have not struggled and are worthy of rebuke are merciful, make it easier for those who struggle for Your sake. Is there a righteous desire for him to be allowed to be with You, but while he is still in the flesh, is it not right for him to eat for the sake of many? Look upon these and grant it to them again. Otherwise, You alone know the best and bestow the most useful. Thy will be done, and to Thee be the glory forever, Amen. II. Letter from the physician who treated the elder to one of the monastery brethren Only now can I say that I saw a person, spoke with a person. I don’t know why I hadn’t seen him before, but 18 years of knowing him, it seems, might have opened my eyes. - That’s how difficult it is to see perfection, and to achieve perfection, I thought, is not in human nature... Imagine now my position: to see a person as he should be. “I feel unwell—to accidentally see a living specimen of a person shocked me.” Oh! Why didn't you open my eyes before? - Now I am suffering. “Lord, save us the life of Father Macarius,” but the heart says, and the mind too, that such a person is a resident of another world, we are not worthy to have him. Note that the number 7 had a special meaning in the life of the Elder: on the 7th (March) he was tonsured into the mantle, and 43 years later on the same date into the schema. She died sitting in an armchair, ¼ hour after receiving the Holy Mysteries, saying to her confessor: “The joy and sweetness that I now feel cannot be expressed in any words!” When the same pious old woman, a year before this (in 1859), being on the edge of the tomb, asked the Elder, according to her faith in him, to pray to the Lord so that He would extend her days for a meeting with her beloved son (who was then absent from the monastery), the Elder told her affirmatively: “You will recover, and we will die together.” Having recovered, she told her loved ones: “Fear my death, the life of the Elder is connected with it; this is what he told me.” It can be said affirmatively that the Elder had a secret notification about the time of his departure from this world: he often expressed this to his disciples, saying: “It’s time, it’s time to go home!”, but they did not pay special attention to these words, for the thought of death, as one of the spiritual deeds, never left the Elder. But some drew attention to a circumstance that will be very understandable to those who know the area of ​​​​the Optina Skete and the state of the monastery. In the northeastern corner of the Skete there are three centuries-old pine trees; Father urgently saved them from the beating that other trees growing here suffered. When establishing a garden at this place, the monastery brethren said to each other: “These three pines (of which two grew from the same root) are a symbol of the union of our elders; two from the same root resemble the siblings of Father Archimandrite Moses and Father Abbot Anthony, and the one standing a little further away is our Father Father Macarius.” When in the summer, for no apparent reason, this last pine tree suddenly withered, the sight of it brought upon them an involuntary sadness, the reason for which everyone guessed, but no one wanted to express, fearing to be a harbinger of grief; when the Elder fell ill, they openly told each other what thoughts the sight of this suddenly withered tree involuntarily suggested, which, being at first indebted to the Elder for its preservation from being cut by human hands, then dried up, by the will of its Creator, and became a harbinger of the death of its benefactor. By the department of the Chamber of State Property. The messages from the articles read were: a word to Leontinus Abbot and the chapters of John of Carpathia (from the Philokalia). After Communion, he said three times with a sigh of grief in his hands: “Glory to Thee, our God! Glory to Thee, our God! Glory to Thee, our God!” And these were the last words from his blessed lips. The elder took monastic vows into the schema in private two years before his death, and the first thought about this was expressed upon receiving the news of the death of His Eminence Philaret, Metropolitan of Kiev (in the schema of Theodosius). The main distinguishing quality of the Elder was Christ-like humility. Looking with a feeling of tenderness at the funeral procession approaching from the Skete, accompanied by more than 1,500 people, Fr. The archimandrite said to those around him: “This is something extraordinary! I have been living in the world for 80 years, and I have never seen such a bright funeral. This is more like the transfer of relics than a burial.” There were up to 700 of them beggars.