Глава XXIII. Посмертные добродейства старца о. Мака-рия некоторым из почитателей его чрез сновидения: исцеления, утешения, ободрения, обличения

The righteous live forever (Wis. 5:15), said the wise one. And we believe him undoubtedly; for we see in practice that those who depart into the heavenly world, especially the ascetics of Christ who are close to us, are only separated from us in body, but remain with us in spirit. They appear to many, mainly those who had and still have love and zeal for them, and as proof of the truth of their appearance, they benefit them in one way or another. We present here several wonderful dreams that occurred after the death of the elder Fr. Macarius to some of his admirers. 1. Optina monk Fr. Akaki 139 was entrusted with very difficult obedience. He lived about eight miles from the monastery at a monastery dacha known as “Fishing”, where, in addition to fishing, along the river. In Zhizdra and adjacent lakes, a lot of hay was harvested from the meadows in the summer and there were stocks of up to a hundred bees. He was entrusted with overseeing all this. And since with ordinary household concerns Fr. Akaki himself, along with the brothers and hired workers who lived with him, bore great labors; and through this he acquired two hernias, which, from the inevitable everyday stresses, and at the same time from long standing at church services, when he came on holidays or to go to the monastery for fasting, grew more and more from time to time. Especially one, in the words of Fr. Akakia, at times, came out as big as a fist, filling up like glass; then he fell to the ground, unconscious from pain. This illness was known to many, especially to the elders - Fr. Macarius, Fr. Ambrose and Fr. Paphnutius, the monastery commander. In the year of the death of the elder Fr. Macarius, precisely in December 1860, Fr. Akaki, intending to prepare to receive the Holy Mysteries of Christ, arrived at the monastery and placed himself, as always happened, in the cell of his brother, the monk Callistus, who was at that time an assistant sexton. On the very first day of the fast, Fr. Akaki, although he felt severe pain from the hernias, nevertheless forced himself to defend the entire morning to the end. But as soon as he waited for the dismissal, the hieromonk’s exclamation at the funeral mass followed at the same hour, which, due to the zeal of the children of the late elder, was served exclusively for him throughout the year. This liturgy about. Akaki, due to the distance of the place and household chores, had never had to listen. Now his long-standing heartfelt desire to pray during this Liturgy for the repose of the soul of his beloved father and from minute to minute the intensifying pain put him in an extremely difficult position. Up to four times he tried to go to his brother’s cell, who was resting in his own place awaiting the second early Liturgy as an assistant sexton; but again and again he remained in the church of God. Finally, unbearable pain forced him to retire to his cell, where his brother met him with a reproach - why did he leave the priest’s mass. When the patient explained the reason, the brother immediately gave him his bed, and he lay down on the couch. Long o. Akaki, sick in body and spirit, could not calm down, finally dozed off and saw a significant dream. “It’s like I,” he later said, “was at my “Fishing.” And then the fathers came to me from the monastery - Flavian, Juvenaly, Sergius and Andrei (Glushkov). Wanting to treat them, as if I had gone to catch fish for them; but on the road, the pain from the hernia grabbed me so tightly that I fell to the ground and began to roll on the ground from intense suffering. Suddenly I see Father Fr. Macarius, dressed in a schema, asks me in the usual quick manner: “What are you doing? What hurts you? And I, lying on the ground with my stomach up, answered: “Well, father, I went to catch some fish for your skete monks to treat them; and now (you know my illness) I can’t even walk, the pain is so terrible!” “Let me fly,” said the old man who appeared, “but if you can bear it, I will press seven times.” But if you don’t die, there will never be a hernia.” - “Try it, father!” – I answered him, lying on my back. The elder grabbed me by the stomach and with his fingers began to press under my left rib. Each time he pressed, he counted: one, two, three and then up to seven. At this time, from the most severe unbearable suffering, I rushed here and there, groaned and did not expect to stay alive; The spirit almost left me. But at the same time, I felt that my insides in my left side seemed to rise and become stronger; but in my soul I felt great joy and some kind of fear - which I completely cannot express. In grateful and joyful trepidation, I rushed to the priest and, hugging his stomach, kissed his schema, and he kissed my head. At this time, I was hit with a kind of warm steam, and I woke up. In the middle of my sleep, due to strong movements in bed from unbearable pain, I fell to the floor; and when I came to my senses, I saw that I was sitting on the floor with outstretched arms, as in a dream I held them, hugging the old man. Joy and awe filled my soul. At this time the alarm clock came to call his brother to go and be a sexton at the second early mass. The brother, getting up and seeing me already sitting on the bed, asked: “What’s wrong with you?” I told him what I saw. “Well, what about your hernia? - he continued to ask, - feel it. I feel and answer: “There is no pain, no trace of a hernia.” Then the bell rang for mass, and we went to church together. At the end of the service, having arrived at the cell, my brother asked me again: “What about the hernia?” Although I was afraid to fully believe my healing, I still said again that there was no trace of her. After lunch, when I needed to go to the dacha, my brother asked his same question, and I gave him my same answer. And now, thanking God, I still don’t feel any pain, although I still work. Before, when I had a hernia, I could hardly lift half a pound; and now neither lifting three and four pounds, nor long standing, nor fever, nor any work at all let me know that I had a hernia before. About six months after my healing, my former fellow obedient monk, Fr. Pamvo, who lived here with me for ten years and more than once saw my suffering and heard my groans. When I began to tell him the story of my healing, he could not believe it, no matter how much I convinced him. Finally, the disbelieving interlocutor decided to examine my former sore spot himself. He examined it, he believed it; and immediately burst into tears of horror and surprise. 2. The monk Callistus mentioned in the above story, the brother of the monk Akakios, said that in September 1861 he had a very bad toothache. “For three days,” he said, “I did not have peace from them for a minute, and during that time I kept walking. Finally, I see that walking doesn’t help either. Give it to me, I think I’ll pull it out. They pulled it out for me, but after that the pain intensified even more. Today (September 14), during Vespers, my teeth hurt so much that I was almost ready to die. I buried my head in the pillow, it got even worse. Then, getting up, I saw through the window - the monk Fr. was walking past my cell. Leonid. “Father,” I tell him, “for God’s sake, bring me some butter from Father Fr.’s grave. Macaria, I’m dying!” O. Leonid quickly brought it; and as soon as I drank this oil, the pain immediately stopped. I shake my head on purpose and don’t feel any pain.” 3. The nun of the Belevsky Women's Monastery of the Exaltation of the Cross, M. Raisa, had a wonderful dream on the following occasion. Shortly before the death of the elder Fr. Macarius, a wealthy landowner Feodor Zakharovich and his wife Alexandra Nikolaevna (later a monk of M. Ambrose) Klyucharyovs, by mutual agreement and with the blessing of the elder, decided to change their worldly, scattered life to a monastic one. And Theodore Zakharovich entered the Optina monastery under the closest spiritual guidance of Elder Macarius; and Alexandra Nikolaevna to a convent in the city of Belev, which is also located not far from Optina Pustyn - about forty versts, so that she could also more often use the advice and instructions of the elder. And although Elder Macarius, during his lifetime, entrusted both Klyucharyovs to the spiritual leadership of Hieroschemamonk Ambrose, who would soon replace Elder Macarius; however, Alexandra Nikolaevna, who had been treating Elder Macarius for two years already, became so attached to him in soul that after his death she began to grieve and be very embarrassed, as a result of which she became completely ill and spent nights without sleep. On one of her difficult sleepless nights, M. Raisa saw in a dream: as if she was walking through her monastery courtyard and met the late elder Fr. Macarius, dressed in a cassock, in a simple monastic cap and with a stick in his hands. He was walking somewhere hastily. Overjoyed beyond words at this unexpected meeting, M. Raisa bowed at the elder’s feet, asking for his blessing. But the elder, blessing her, said: “Now I have no time, I’m hurrying to Alexandra Nikolaevna; she is sick; I need to console her." After these words, M. Raisa woke up in great joy. She then went to early mass; and upon returning from church I went to visit Alexandra Nikolaevna, who, it turned out, was quite healthy and at peace in spirit. When M. Raisa told what she had seen in a dream, then Alexandra Nikolaevna, in turn, announced that although she did not see the elder in a dream, she could not see it, because from a cloud of heart she could not sleep all night; but about the time that M. Raisa saw the elder in a dream, she, who was sick, felt relief from her mental illness and an unaccountable heartfelt joy; and with M. Raisa’s story she was completely consoled and soon completely recovered. 4. The famous Optina elder, Hieroschemamonk Ambrose, had such a dream around November 11, 1861. “It’s as if I’m sitting,” the elder said, “on my own bed; and opposite me, on the other side of the cell, stands hieromonk Fr. Leonid (Kavelin) with an image of the Mother of God in his hands, the image was two and a half inches long. Both of us, as if waiting for something, were silent. Suddenly it’s as if Father Fr. comes to us. Macarius places three prostrations before the image and venerates it. Then he quickly began to examine the front corner and sort through the papers on the table; then he again bowed three times and quietly, as if avoiding Fr. Leonida said to me in a low voice: “Thank God!” Finally, he went to the door and before leaving added: “Yes, change your underwear.” Soon after this dream, Elder Ambrose became so ill that the doctors lost hope for his recovery. 5. For a long time the doctor, who was using the sick elder Ambrose, tried to arouse even the slightest perspiration in him, but it was all in vain. Finally, on January 6 of the following year, 1862, the patient developed such a strong perspiration that it wet not only the flannel shirt he was wearing, but even his blanket and pillow. And on this day, the above-mentioned novice of the Belevsky convent, Alexandra Nikolaevna Klyuchareva, who was now spiritually related to Elder Ambrose and was warmly disposed towards him, unusually clearly saw a dream, which she wrote down: “On the 7th of January 1862,” she said, “I, oppressed by grief about the illness of Father Fr. Ambrosia couldn't sleep for a long time. Having taken a nap at about 12 o’clock at night, I see that the late priest (Fr. Macarius), dressed in a white robe, is greeting me. I fell at his feet in inexpressible joy and asked for his blessing. Father, as if hurrying somewhere, comes out the door from my cells and says with his usual liveliness: “We must thank God. Thank God for healing." When I stood in bewilderment, not knowing who exactly was healed, the priest added firmly and commandingly: “Thank you for being healed.” Although he didn’t say his name, I understood who he was talking about. After which he began to bless us, and first, it seemed to me, Father Ambrose, then me, and then the other persons present.” Alexandra Nikolaevna woke up in great joy due to the hope for a speedy recovery of her beloved spiritual father and elder Ambrose, who from that day, indeed, began to gradually recover in health and finally completely recovered. 6. A novice of the Belevsky convent, former landowner Nadezhda Egorovna, in the fall of 1861, while in Optina Pustyn and going to her homeland, according to her faith, she took sand from his grave to the late elder Macarius. During her stay on her estate in October, one of her servants suffered from severe toothache for about two months, especially at night, and therefore spent all nights without sleep. She was treated with some home remedies, but nothing helped. Compassionate for the sick woman, Nadezhda Egorovna, for her part, came up with ways to help her. And suddenly it occurred to her to apply the sand she had brought from Optina Pustyn to her sore cheek. She called the sick woman into her room and laid her with her before St. three bows to the ground with the icon of the Queen of Heaven, first she anointed her sore cheek with oil from the lamp in front of the icon, and then sprinkled sand all over it. She gave the same sand to the sick woman to drink in the water. Immediately after that the patient fell asleep; and the next day I got up completely healthy. Her toothache never returned. 7. When the above-mentioned courtyard woman, with the help of the Queen of Heaven, through the prayers of Elder Macarius, was healed of severe toothache; Then they reported to Nadezhda Egorovna that there was still a girl of about 15 years old on her estate who was suffering greatly from a sore throat. They gave the patient some sand in the water to drink and applied it to her throat; at the same time the girl received great relief. 8. Former landowner and then novice of the Diveevo convent in Nizhny Novgorod province Maria Vasilievna Ananyevskaya, shortly after the death of the elder Fr. Macaria told the following about herself: “In the first days after the death of Father Fr. Macarius, with great sadness at the deprivation of him, was subjected to some terrible disease, similar to the one that the common people call hairworms. The pain was unrelenting. Neither day nor night I had no peace from her; and I have already spent several days without sleep. The recommended remedies did not help. Having been in Optina Pustyn at that time, I was walking out of the monastery one day and thinking: let me go to the grave of Father Fr. Macarius and I’ll take some land from it for my finger - maybe it will make me feel better. She came, first took some oil from the lamp that was burning over his grave, smeared it on her sore finger, and then, showering it with earth from the grave, tied it up and went to the hotel. Here I soon fell into a deep sleep; and in the morning I got up completely healthy.” 9. One of the sisters of the Vyazemsky convent in the Smolensk province, Evdokia Smirnova, suffered from severe vomiting for more than two weeks and felt pain and relaxation in all members. I turned to the doctor for help; They put a patch on her and gave her oral medications, but the disease did not subside. Exhausted from frequent vomiting, the patient said to her sister in the evening of March 6 (year unknown): “Now I won’t go to the doctor anymore - there’s no benefit.” In front of the sofa where she lay, on the wall between other images hung a portrait of the late elder Macarius. She didn't know him personally, but she had heard a lot of good things about him. With faith and inner prayer to the elder, she gazed at his portrait. In this position, she imperceptibly fell asleep so soundly that she did not hear her sister coming in and out of her room. At this time, she saw in a dream that Father Fr. came to her. Macarius with the mother abbess of their monastery. And the elder asks: “Do you know what kind of mother this is?” The patient replies: “I know, father, that this is our mother.” Elder: “So why are you lying there?” Patient: “I can’t get up - I’m vomiting a lot.” The elder crossed his mouth, the patient’s chest and her entire chest and said: “There will be no vomiting; go and serve a prayer service to the Dormition of the Mother of God.” Patient: “And now I also have an akathist for Her.” Elder: “And serve with an akathist; and then come to me, I’ll give you butter.” The patient, accustomed to doing everything with the blessing of her mother abbess, answered: “If mother blesses.” Elder: “He will bless. Mother will come to me herself.” With these words, the elder stood up and sang: “Rise up, O Lord my God, may Thy hand be lifted up, do not forget Thy poor ones to the end.” Having woken up, the patient no longer felt pain in her body, and she no longer vomited. And all that day she felt inexpressibly joyful and at ease. 10. Oryol province of Maloarkhangelsk district, village of Strelka, the son of the rich peasant Ivan Afanasyev Dunaev, 24-year-old young man Ivan, was mute for six years and somewhat insane in his mind. Some acquaintances close to Ivan Afanasyev advised him to go with his sick son to Optina Pustyn to see Elder Macarius, who was still alive. After repeated such proposals, the parent finally decided to take his son to Optina. In October 1860, they arrived at the monastery, but did not find the elder alive: the fortieth day had already ended for him. Having grieved a lot over their failure, they in due time came to the church of God to attend the vigil, which was served in memory of the late elder Macarius. And their zeal for the deceased elder was rewarded with the great mercy of God: in the midst of the vigil, the dumb son began to speak and received the former lightness of thoughts. This healing became known in Optina Pustyn in 1863. 11. In the first half of February 1861, the wife of a stationmaster near the city of Orel, Anna Antonovna Zaitseva, a woman who, according to those who saw her, was intelligent, thorough and pious, came to Optina Pustyn for pilgrimage. Stopping at the monastery hotel, she told the hotel manager at that time, Fr. Alexey Kalinkin, the following circumstance that prompted her to this journey. “For about five years,” she said, “I suffered from a disease of relaxation throughout my body, so that I could not walk. Towards the end of 1860, my relaxation intensified, and my husband advised me to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. I didn’t agree for a long time; but my husband’s insistence forced me to give in to his demand. And then at night, on the eve of admonishing me with the Holy Mysteries, I saw the following dream: I was lying in bed, as usual, and two elders approached me - in front of me, unknown to me, and behind him, not far away, the well-known priest Fr. Macarius. The unknown person addresses me with the following speech: “Why do you demand Christ to come to you? You yourself go to Christ.” I answer: “How can I go when I can’t even get out of bed?” The unknown person continues: “You also go to Optina Pustyn, and on foot. Go and pray there; and you will receive healing." “Father! - I ask, - who are you? There's Father Fr. behind you. Macarius - I know him; and who are you?” He says: “I am Hieroschemamonk Leonid of Optina” 140. At this time, standing silently behind Elder Leonid, Fr. Macarius says in a sad voice: “Before (that is, during my life) I was treated to everything; and now they don’t care or think about me.” It was as if I jumped out of bed and began to quickly set the table. Having served what I could, I asked him to eat. Father walked up to the table, plucked off a few crumbs of bread with two fingers and put them in his mouth. I stand, bow and beg him to eat more, and he said: “I did this only for the sake of blessing the house.” When I woke up, I felt strengthening in all my limbs and got out of bed. After a few days I felt so healthy that, despite the winter time, I decided to go on foot on a pilgrimage to Optina Pustyn.” After staying for three days at the monastery, Mrs. Zaitseva set off on her way back. She was in such health that she did not take the horses offered to her to Orel, and in the winter, with still severe frosts, she set off on foot to her place of residence, 135 miles away. 12. Oryol province, Dmitrov district, parish of the village of Ostrovsky, village of Lubenets, 18-year-old peasant woman Evdokia Gryshaeva, around mid-November 1861, a year after her marriage, suffered a terrible illness. She became completely weak, and in particular her arms were completely paralyzed, so she couldn’t do anything with them. In addition, she felt a heaviness and anxious languor in her chest, and at times a strong painful sensation appeared, which she could not explain. About two months after that, her grief increased. On the night of January 7, 1862, Evdokia saw in a dream some ugly man who made a very unpleasant impression on her. It was as if he tore off her headdress, which he took with him, and cut some things in front of her into pieces and said: “You won’t get rid of me now,” - then he disappeared. Waking up, she told her vision to her family, who, upon inspection, to their general surprise, did not find her headdress; some things turned out to be cut into pieces. From that night on, the ugly man began to appear in Evdokia’s dreams, often with the same threat: “You won’t get rid of me now.” From time to time he took away her scarves or something else from her headdresses; and other things - sometimes a pillow or a shirt - he cut up on the spot. Having suffered like this for a month, the patient left the house of her husband and mother-in-law and went to live with her brother; but even there I didn’t find peace. The same dreams troubled her until the fifth week of Great Lent. At the beginning of this week, at one time, someone in reality hit her hard on the back of the head and said: “I don’t want to follow you.” The unfortunate woman fell to the floor without memory. When they lifted her up, it turned out that she had lost her tongue. For a whole week after that, Evdokia remained mute and in oblivion. A few days after this incident, Anna Evstafieva, who lived in the neighborhood, came to visit her, and during the life of Elder Macarius she sometimes visited him. Sympathizing with Gryshaeva’s plight, Evstafieva advised her to go to Optina Pustyn to pray to God; but the sick, mute, mentally disturbed woman did not answer her. One night, this mute woman saw in a dream (as she herself put it) some gray-haired old man who told her: “Go where the old woman called you to pray to God, you will feel better. And I will find your things: they lie in your husband’s house, in the cage behind the eaves (that is, between the rafter log and the roof). Just don’t go after them yourself, but send someone.” Having gotten up from sleep, she felt that her tongue had resolved from numbness and her mental state had improved - she had already begun to talk to her family, which surprised them a lot. That same day, Evdokia sent her sister to her husband’s house to look for the things that the old man who had appeared to her in a dream had told her about. Indeed, they found it in the cage - one handkerchief behind the eaves, and four handkerchiefs lay on the chest, although no one had seen them here before. After that, Gryshaeva, with her mother-in-law and her neighbor, the old woman Anna, and with some others came to St. Easter in Optina Pustyn to pray to God and bow to the grave of Elder Macarius, although the path was not short - up to 200 miles. This peasant woman was already in full mental health, but she still felt some residual weakness in her body. 13. Elder Fr. During his lifetime, Macarius predicted to the skete hieromonk Fr. Isaac that he cannot escape the abbotship in Optina Pustyn, although Fr. Isaac did not want this at all. Less than two years after the death of the elder, his prediction came true. In 1862, after the death of Fr. Archimandrite Moses, Fr. Isaac, indeed, was elected and confirmed as abbot. But since soon after the death of the elder Fr. Macarius and rector Fr. Archimandrite Moses, the order of eldership in Optina Pustyn, due to circumstances, could not be established as it should - then the new Fr. abbot, accustomed in life to being guided by the advice of the elder Fr. Macarius, with his constant reluctance to rule, was in great sorrow. Therefore, of course, not without the will of God, Fr. Isaac, more often than other brothers, was consoled by the appearance of Elder Macarius to him in sleepy visions. During the first 40 days after the death of the elder, he had more than ten such dreams. But since all of them are in the nature of private consolations, which actually related to Fr. Isaac - they are not listed here. Only one is given as an example. “It was as if I was standing with the brethren,” said Fr. Isaac, in the corridor of the hospital church, awaiting early mass. Not far from me stood Fr. Paisius (hieromonk), who was preparing to serve the early Liturgy, and someone else who spoke with him. Suddenly, Father Fr. appears at the main doors of the church. Macarius, dressed in a robe, is walking somewhere very quickly. Surprised by such an accident, filled to the core with joy, I exclaimed: “Father is coming!” O. Paisiy also said with delight: “Oh! Risen! Trembling with joy, I ran to him and fell on my knees in order to receive his blessing. He blessed me several times and then greeted me according to the monastic custom - kissing me on the shoulders. I grabbed his hand and held it tightly, not letting go; and he blessed me several more times. From the excess of joy, tears flowed from me in a stream, and I could not hold them back. Then suddenly the black monastic robe on the priest changed into clean, white, and he became invisible. When I woke up, I trembled with an abundance of joy and spiritual consolation.” 14. Optina Pustyn fraternal cook monk Fr. Sergius recounted a dream he had in 1862 or 1863: “I imagined that I was entering a small but bright room, somewhat similar to a chapel over the grave of Father Fr. Macaria. There was a tomb ahead, but it seemed to me higher and larger than the one that stood there. On my right side, in front of the tomb, our new abbot, Fr. the builder Isaac, very sad, and, looking at the tomb, says: “How unhappy we are that our priest is not with us! We really need him now.” I answered: “Yes, father, I would also like to look at him now.” After these words of mine, I look as if the late Father Fr. was lying on top of the tomb. Macarius, as if alive, and, looking at me, says: “Go, go, look! Did you want to see me? Here I am! Come here! At this phenomenon, Fr. the builder Isaac fell on his knees before the elder and, hugging his legs, shed tears. And the priest, looking at me, continued: “Come, come here!” I approached. And he says: “Here! Kiss me! You wanted to see me." I did not dare to kiss him, but he repeated: “Kiss, kiss me! You wished." I kissed. And he continued: “Kiss, kiss again!” I kissed again. The elder ordered me to kiss him for the third time. I kissed him a third time. Finally, turning to Fr. to the builder, the elder began to say to him in a tone of reproach: “What are you all grieving about? What do you want? After all, I am with you, constantly with you. I never leave your side. Hey you! And also the abbot!” Father our builder, indeed, was very grieving at that time and tried with all his might to leave his position as rector. I, a sinner, much consoled by the dream that had happened to me, woke up with a feeling of joy. 15. Dream of the Optina monk Fr. Matthew Popov. “Not very long after the death of Father Fr. Macaria,” he said, “such a misfortune happened to me through one father that I did not know what to do. I couldn’t find any consolation for myself anywhere - just lie down and die. But then one day I fell asleep and saw: as if I had come to the priest in his cell. He was sitting on the sofa in a white robe. His face is bright and cheerful. I wanted to go up to him to receive his blessing, but somehow I got my feet entangled in the bedding and fell right at his feet, and on the fly I hugged him. Then I say: “Forgive me, father, I got entangled in the bedding and fell.” He encouraged me and asked: “Why did you come?” I told him my grief. And he blessed me and said: “Nothing, nothing; will pass; this will all pass.” Then I woke up, and in my soul I felt such joy that it is impossible to express. Where did the grief go? From that hour on, the whole attack passed.” 16. One state-owned peasant of the Krapivensky district of the Tula province, named Peter, who had a wife and children, who knew him briefly during the life of Elder Macarius, had a desire for an ascetic life for a long time. One day he was greatly carried away by thoughts of leaving his wife and children in order to lead a hermit’s life for the sake of saving his soul. But then he saw in a dream a deceased elder who seemed to appear to him in the middle of the Optina monastery, dressed in a cassock; and on his head he had a simple monk's cap. Approaching Peter, the elder took him firmly by the hand with both his hands and, holding him like that, said: “Peter! Leave your intention. Feed your wife and children. It will be more useful for you. Look at your pride! (that is, so that he does not lose sight of the opinion about himself that he lived more piously than others). After this dream, day and night, the thoughts that troubled Peter disappeared like smoke, and he was already calmly leading his family life. 17. Landowner of the city of Belev, Tula province, Colonel Kakhno, spiritual daughter of the late elder Fr. Macaria, who suffered from a chronic illness for many years, had a commandment from him to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ as often as possible - if possible, then every month. At the end of 1861 she was particularly unwell. Constant physical illness, economic disorder and constant spiritual grief put her to bed. But she did not always fulfill the elder’s commandment, that is, she did not receive communion as often as she had been instructed to do. However, she did this not out of neglect of the elder’s commandment and not out of disrespect for the Holy Mysteries, but solely out of a misunderstanding. It seemed to her that in order to prepare for the communion of the Holy Mysteries, according to the established order, she must go to the church of God for several days for all church services; and not having the strength to do this, she partook less often than the elder commanded her. Now, with the complete impossibility of going to the church of God, the sick woman, although she expressed a desire to receive communion at home, was still embarrassed. When they sent for the priest and she was already listening to the rule for Holy Communion, she suddenly saw in reality the late Elder Macarius entering her room and slowly approaching St. icons, makes three bows before them and immediately leaves. Kakhno was so amazed by this unexpected joy that during this vision she could not utter a single word. By the way, this served as a sign for her that the seemingly necessary and insufficient preparation for communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ was not shameful. Her misunderstanding and embarrassment disappeared, and she joined in with faith and spiritual joy. 18. One young officer, who had little faith in Elder Macarius, had the following dream after his death. “It was as if I had come,” he said, “to the church of God, where preparations for the bishop’s service were taking place, and I saw some handsome man waving to me from the altar and saying: “Go, see where Fr. Macarius, whom you had little faith in.” He led me into the altar, and I saw a rich gilded shrine, went up to it and bowed to the ground to the righteous man lying in it with tears of repentance for my lack of faith. “Here,” the same husband told me, pointing to a gilded sheet attached to the wall of the altar, “here will be the image of your elder. Today the bishop will serve and there will be glorification of St. Macarius. Tell the choir to read and sing the canon to the saint of God Macarius.” The sister of the young officer who had the dream wrote to the monastery about this. 19. The aforementioned monk Dometius said: “Somehow I felt out of sorts and was unwell. When I went to bed, I was very confused in my thoughts and was cowardly about my poor health. Having fallen asleep, I see that I am standing in front of Father Fr. Macarius and explain to him my weaknesses and poor health. And he, having said a few words to my explanations for my edification and consolation, added: “But you should leave the tea on the side. This is not a monastic thing. We must leave it, we must leave it!” And I must admit, having become accustomed to sweet tea from an early age, I continued to drink sweet tea in the monastery out of weakness.” 20. There were many more similar wonderful dreams to some of the elder’s admirers, Fr. Macaria; but, so as not to prolong the words too much, we will limit ourselves to one more, last, dream, the former Oryol merchant Ivan Mikhailovich Nemytov, who was in close spiritual communion with the Optina elders, hieroschemamonks, Fr. Lev and Fr. Macarius and under their instructions went through high mental prayer. “I dreamed,” said Nemytov, “that I was in a garden of extraordinary beauty. All the trees and leaves on them shone as if they were silver. Two houses were visible here. Of these, one, standing on the right side, was majestic and indescribably beautiful, and from it such a wonderful ringing was heard that I shuddered with all my limbs and said to myself: “Oh, if only someone could tell me: whose chambers are these, where does this ringing come from!” Then I saw that Father Fr. came out of this wonderful house. Macarius in extraordinary glory. I was very happy with him, bowed at his feet and asked: “Father! Forgive my insolence, satisfy my curiosity. I would like to know whose magnificent house this is? Father, with his characteristic humility, answered: “God’s, God’s.” I bowed to him again and, pointing to another house, which was much inferior to the first in splendor, asked: “And who does this other house belong to?” The priest replied: “Go and ask the owner himself.” Looking back, I saw that the late Father Fr. had come out of this house. Lion. I approached him, bowed to the ground and asked: “I would like, father, to know why this house is less glorious and majestic than that house?” Father o. Leo answered me: “The humility of Father Fr. Macarius has surpassed my labors.” Here I already learned that the first house is Father Fr. Macaria; and, bowing to him again, said: “Now I have learned that this house belongs to you.” But Father Fr. Macarius again humbly answered: “God, God wants it so!” That’s how my dream ended.” More than 30 years have passed since the death of the elder Father Fr. Macarius, as did his successor, Elder Ambrose. When they were digging a grave for the newly deceased next to the grave of Elder Macarius, at the same time a brick fell off from the grave crypt above the latter. Some of the monks inserted a burning candle into the hole formed by this, and by its light they saw the coffin of Elder Macarius, not at all damaged by decay, and they did not even smell the rotten smell. This time, one monk dared to tear off a piece of gas from the elder’s coffin and on the same day suffered God’s punishment: he felt pain in his hand, so that he stopped using his fingers; which lasted about three weeks; but when he served several requiem services at the elder’s grave, the illness passed. The end, and to God be the glory and thanksgiving. This monk subsequently moved to the Root Hermitage in the Kursk province, where he received hieromonasticism and was a confessor there for a long time, and died there. The predecessor of Elder Macarius.