Глава VII. Природные способности старца Макария, его разумная внешняя обстановка, наружный вид, келлия и порядок ежедневных занятий

Just as when studying external sciences, external education and multiplicity of knowledge are more successfully acquired by gifted people: so when studying the science of sciences - spiritual life - the same order is noticed, of course, with the good will and zeal of those who strive 39 . Thus, one might think, the acquisition of the God-loving qualities of the soul and high spiritual gifts of Elder Macarius was greatly facilitated by his natural abilities, directed through his diligence by the Providence of God towards a good goal. The elder by nature had a bright and inquisitive mind. Having completed his school education at a parish school and entered the civil service in the county treasury at the age of 14, he obviously was not sufficiently trained in external sciences; but upon entering the holy monastery - this school of spiritual life - by doing the commandments of Christ with the deep humility that was always inherent in him and diligently reading the Divine and paternal writings and the lives of the holy saints of God, he soon achieved the high perfection of spiritual life. So, it seems that if he had to study secular sciences for a long time, he would have lost a lot of valuable time, which he used to achieve his main goal - the salvation of his soul. Through long labor, the Lord enlightened the mind of the humble ascetic to the knowledge of all the Divine Scriptures - so that one can see in him the fulfillment of the words of St. Isaac the Syrian: “To the humble the sacraments are revealed” 40. Elder Macarius had an amazing memory and, obviously, providentially given to him to help him in serving his neighbors. His contemporaries, the monks, said that when he suggested that any brother, for the benefit of his soul, read any place from the works of St. fathers, he even pointed out from memory the page of the book where one could find that place. Also: if someone was once with him for confession or revelation, then for a long time he remembered all the main circumstances that concerned him. One can imagine the joy of some poor old woman who, after many years of her first personal meeting with the elder, came to him again only once in her life, and was greeted by him with a greeting like the following: “Ah, hello, Daria! What's up kids? Are you healthy? How is your Irina doing? After all, it seems that she will have been given in marriage to you for three years already?..” And so, amazed by such unexpected attention and remembrance of the holy father about her, the old woman had already forgotten half the grief that brought her to the monastery, and at the same time the timidity with which she went to the elder disappeared, thinking: “Somehow I, a sinner, will show myself to him, how will I tell him what is in my soul?” And she easily and freely pours out her soul to him, at the same time drawing consolation from the words of his gracious lips. Until his very death, the elder retained his innate liveliness of character, which made him extremely mobile and quickly prepared for any good deed. This liveliness was manifested in all his actions - in reading, talking, walking, in all his activities and even in some body movements. The tongue-tiedness mentioned above was the result of quickly pronouncing words, which caused his tongue to be interrupted. Due to the same liveliness of character, he did not like slowness and lethargy in others, long preparations, etc. So, for example, if someone happened to go on the road with him, it was necessary to get ready quickly or in advance; because as soon as the horses were delivered, he was already ready to leave and went to mount. In matters of obedience, he also loved for the brethren to do everything quickly, or, more accurately, with diligence and diligence, for what is done diligently and carefully is done quickly and efficiently. He could not tolerate negligence even in unimportant matters. For example, if someone, having picked up a book, due to haste or simply without paying attention, puts it down with the bottom side up, seeing this, the elder will not fail to remark: “You laid the book carelessly - this is not good,” and he himself will correct it. Having a mind overshadowed by the grace of God and imbued with humility, the elder disposed of all his external surroundings wisely. In all bodily activities he adhered to the average, non-falling, so-called holy one. the fathers of the royal path, avoiding in every possible way extremes, which they also call demonic. So, regarding the use of food, following the advice of St. John Climacus, and at the same time covering his abstinence with humility, he ate at a certain time a little of everything that was offered, not forbidden to the monks; to the extent, as one could notice, he adhered to the rules of St. fathers - get up from the table with a feeling of incomplete satisfaction of hunger. But whoever wanted to know how much food the elder ate at one time, by looking, for example, at the bread left on his set after dinner, could make sure that he did not eat even one third of the usual portion of it, which is allotted to each brother for the meal, consisting of a medium-sized slice of bread. The same can be said about other food, whether it was at a fraternal meal, in someone’s house or in one’s cell. It is worth noting here that the refectory monks always saved the bread remaining on the elder’s set and then distributed it little by little to Father Fr.’s admirers. Macarius for blessing. Receiving in the evenings the monastery and monastery brethren who came to him for revelation of their thoughts, the elder did not always have the opportunity to participate in a timely manner at the common fraternal meal. Then the cell attendants brought him to his cell the usual refectory food - cabbage soup and porridge in two small clay pots, which they placed in the oven for a while so that the food would not get cold. Having finished the reception of the brothers, which lasted an hour or more, the tired old man refreshed himself with heated food, simply from the same pots. This was generally the order of Elder Macarius regarding the consumption of food. In preparation for communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, he aggravated his fast by eating food without oil, and sometimes limiting himself to dry eating. Likewise, during Lent, especially during Great Lent, and mainly during the first and Holy Weeks, he sometimes fasted until his bodily strength was exhausted. Instead of tea, once a day after Vespers, he drank one or maybe two cups of hot water infused with dill and was content with the strict skete meal in the most moderate quantities; why, in one letter to his nieces, he complained half-jokingly that “the food is bad” 41 . The clothes of Elder Macarius were simple and most modest. He usually went to his cell in a white linen or tarpaulin robe, sometimes with patches, which he did not change often and which was therefore quite worn out over time; had a black knitted cap on his head; for cell prayer rules he used a short robe; For reading and writing, he wore old-style steel-framed glasses. He went to the Church of God, like other monks, according to the established order in Optina Pustyn, wearing a simple fly-fly robe. When leaving his cell somewhere, in the summer the elder put on a black fly-fly cassock on top of his light calico black cassock, and had shoes on his feet; I didn’t wear galoshes either in winter or summer. In winter, over his cassock, he put on a very worn, light fur coat covered with a dark green drape, leaning on an old man’s staff or crutch, with a rosary in his hands, of which his favorite was the coral one, given to him when he was in Moscow in 1852 by the venerable elder, Metropolitan Philaret. The appearance of Elder Macarius was extremely attractive. The hair on his head and beard was short and gray, and he had a full beard. His hands were distinguished by softness and flexibility, as well as his entire figure - by slenderness. The face is white and clean, however, nothing striking at first glance and, due to the lack of eyes, it is somewhat irregular, even, according to ordinary concepts of physical beauty, not at all beautiful, moreover, with the stamp of constant self-deepening, therefore, in appearance, more strict than affectionate. But such is the power of God’s grace that this face, serving as a mirror of the elder’s pure, humble and loving soul, shone with some kind of unearthly beauty, reflecting in itself one or another of the properties of the inner man - the fruits of the Spirit, counted by the Apostle (Gal. 5:22, 23). The gaze is quiet, the word is humble and devoid of insolence. In general, he had a rare combination of intelligence and childish simplicity, greatness and at the same time quietness and humility, which made him accessible to everyone. According to the rank of skete commander, the elder occupied the cell building, located on the left side of the holy skete gates at the entrance to the skete from the outside, in which the skete leaders were always located (except for only one, who was the head - the elder Father Joseph Litovkin, †1911). This building, like other monastery buildings, is small, since 1858 the outside has been lined with brick, whitewashed and covered with iron, and inside it is divided into two halves by a warm corridor. The southern half was occupied by the elder himself, and the northern half by his two cell attendants 42 . The half that the elder occupied consisted of two rooms - both with front rooms and with exits to the corridor. The first hallway led to the reception room, the walls of which, except for the south-eastern corner, occupied by St. icons, were hung with views of Russian monastic monasteries and portraits of our most famous archpastors and men who shone with deeds of piety. On the western side, above the sofa, there were picturesque portraits of the eminences: Nikifor Feotoki of Astrakhan, Innocent of Penza, Lazar Baranovich of Chernigov; lithographed images: Patriarch of Alexandria Hierotheos and All-Russian Patriarch Nikon; His Eminence Metropolitans: Philaret of Moscow 43, Philaret of Kyiv, Nikanor, Gregory and Isidor of Novgorod and St. Petersburg; Archbishops of Voronezh Anthony and Ignatius; bishops: Belgorod Joasaph Gorlenka (now glorified by the Holy Church) and Kaluga - Gregory P. In addition to these, on the other walls of the cell there were also portraits of elders famous for their high life: Hilarion Nefedievich (or rather, Methodievich), who labored in fasting and prayer in the village of Troekurov, Lebedyansky district, Tambov province for more than 30 years at the church of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica 44; John, the Recluse of Sezenovsky, of the same province and district; Seraphim, the Elder of Sarov (now glorified by the Holy Church as a saint of God); Kiev-Pechersk Lavra of Hieroschemamonk Parthenius, confessor of His Eminence Philaret, Metropolitan of Kyiv; Archimandrite Macarius (Glukharev), former Altai missionary, and then abbot of the Volkhov Optina Monastery, who died in 1847; the founder of the Beloberezh Hermitage, Schemamonk Simeon; Abbot of the Valaam Monastery, Father Nazarius; Sarov Hieromonk Hilarion; Zadonsk recluse Georgy Mashurin; Elder Hieroschemamonk John of Optina, known for his writings against schismatics; Elder Hieroschemamonk Leonid of Optina; Sarov schemamonk Mark; Zadonsk schema-monk Mitrofan. In addition, portraits of worldly persons: Ivan Vasilyevich Kireevsky, lying in a coffin, and Ivan Akimovich Maltsev. Next to this reception room, which served the elder for receiving mainly honored guests, there was actually the so-called cell of the elder, in which he spent twenty years of his hidden life with Christ in God. This is a small oblong room, 6 arshins long and 4 1/2 wide, with one window to the south - onto the path leading from St. skete gates to the Baptist Church. In front of the window, hung with a green curtain, stood a simple wooden table, painted with white oil paint and upholstered in old oilcloth. In the side drawers below were kept letters and writing materials, as well as icons, crosses, rosaries and belts for distribution to visitors. On the table stood a writing instrument: on a wooden tray, a simple glass inkwell and a wooden sandbox, carved by the hands of the elder himself. Opposite the device, in the middle of the table, on top of other papers, there was always a letter that had been started. On its sides are piles of letters, divided into those requiring a speedy response and those suffering a delay, read and, due to lack of time, not yet read. Closer to the window are newly received spiritual journals or some newly received book, which the elder looked through in fits and starts and mostly in return for an afternoon rest, and, finally, one or two of the patristic books, in the reading of which, as noted above, the elder devoted his life and breath. At the desk stood an armchair upholstered in green draped leather with an oval back. There was a small embroidered pillow on the chair. Below, under the table, stood a copper candlestick with a green tin umbrella. The south-eastern corner of this room, as in the reception room, and most of the southern wall above the window were decorated with St. icons. Among them was the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, especially revered by Elder Macarius, before which an unquenchable lamp 45 glowed. Near her are various icons - the Mother of God and St. saints of God, who were sent to the elder from various Russian monasteries and St. eastern places, icons of various sizes, framed and without frames, painted on boards, on glass, on enamel and mother-of-pearl; crosses also of different sizes, wooden, painted, carved from cypress, mother-of-pearl, unicorn and ivory; some of them from St. relics. Under the icons, in the same corner, there is a wooden square. Opposite the square, on a special lectern for reading the usual cell rules, lay the Followed Psalter; on the sides are the Gospel and the Apostle, the Canon of the Theotokos of the Kyiv edition, in which there are only the daily Theotokos canons in all eight voices, a confession book. Along the western wall, with the head facing the window, there was a narrow wooden bed, on which the old man gave a short rest to his weary body. Above the headboard is a Crucifix, above it is the image of the Savior, lifting a lost sheep on a frame. The western wall above the crib was decorated with portraits. In the middle are two picturesque images of the Optina rector, Fr. Archimandrite Moses and his brother in flesh and spirit Fr. Abbot Anthony. Around them are photographic portraits of some of the disciples of Elder Macarius and a painting of the long-deceased father of Archpriest Theodore Aleksandrovich Golubinsky, a professor at the Moscow Academy, who at one time, as will be said below, took part in the publication of patristic books by Optina Hermitage. Above the door, on the north side, is a row of picturesque portraits of several men of blessed memory and close to the elder’s heart, such as: St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, currently glorified St. Church of the Saint of God; Schemamonk Simeon, founder of the Beloberezh Hermitage; Moscow Novospassky Monastery of Hieromonk Philaret; Ploshchanskaya hermitage of schemamonk Afanasy Zakharov, who was the elder of the elder Macarius described here; Ploshchanskaya Hermitage of Hieroschemamonk Joseph; Schemamonk Theodore, a disciple of Elder Paisius (Velichkovsky); Optina elder hieromonk Leonid (schema Leo), a student of the now mentioned schemamonk Theodore and the Optina monastery of the centenary elder monk Hilarion. This is the cramped cell in which Elder Macarius offered up his prayers to the Lord, in which over the course of many years he wrote many soul-helping letters to resolve various spiritual needs, where every day from morning to evening the thoughts of many hearts were opened, doubts were resolved, perplexities were abolished, the sacrament of repentance was celebrated, saving tears of tenderness and repentance were shed abundantly lawlessness, vows were made to correct life; from where those who entered sad came out rejoicing, the mourners - consoled, the desperate - raised to repentance in the hope of salvation, the arrogant - humbled. But speaking about the benefits that those who came to him received from the elder - which was in plain sight - we cannot describe in detail those hidden labors and illnesses that the humble ascetic suffered, jealous of his spiritual success. One can only believe that he, constantly keeping the name of God in his memory, clung more and more to the Lord with faith, hope and love burning in his heart, seeking and pressing with humility, fasting and unceasing prayer with tears at all times. By the grace of God, he found in his heart, according to the word of the Lord, a source of living water, from which he drank to quench his thirst to the point of satiety, at the same time giving it unenviably to all who sought it. Now let's talk about the order of the daily activities of the elder, Father Fr. Macaria. Every day he got up for the morning rule at the ringing of the monastery bell for Matins, that is, at about two o’clock in the morning. And if in the evening he sat longer than usual writing letters or felt unwell (because he suffered from insomnia since childhood), then no later than three hours. He himself went out into the corridor and woke up his cell attendants. His morning rule consisted of reading morning prayers, 12 selected psalms, the first hour, the daily Theotokos canon according to the voice of the week and an akathist to the Mother of God; and he sang irmos himself. Then the cell attendants dispersed to their cells, and the elder remained alone with God. At six o'clock, when early mass usually begins in the monastery, the elder again called his cell attendants to read the liturgical hours with pictorial ones. After this, he drank a cup or two (and never more than three) of tea and began to write a letter to someone or read his father’s book. From that time on, the elder began a general reception for everyone who had any need before him, spiritual or material. The early mass in the monastery has ended, and the ringing of the gate bell begins from time to time. At first there was no shack at the elder’s cell for accepting the female gender. “Father! - the cell attendant reports. “There, at the gate, the Bolkhov women are on their way back and want to accept your blessing. Yes, they gave me two bottles - one asks for butter, and the other asks for holy water.” The elder leaves the letter he just started, goes out to the gate, gives a blessing to those leaving, decorates them on the road with signs of his fatherly attention: crosses, icons, belts... He barely managed to return to his cell when the bell rang again: “Father! Nun N. of the monastery is completely ready to leave, she is only waiting for the response letters that you wanted to send with her.” Letters are prepared and sealed; and the elder himself goes to the gate to hand over the letters; At the same time, he gives the departing woman prosphora and several portions of skete bread... Having returned, the elder again writes a letter or reads a book, constantly breaking off to talk with the visiting brethren. Again they call to the porch: “Some sick person with Christ God conjures to come out to him, even for a minute, - he trudged several hundred miles away to receive the blessing...”, etc. These elders came out onto the porch and further to the gate not only in the summer, but also in the winter. The elder hastily, dressed lightly and wearing shoes on his bare feet, went out to the visitors. At this time, snow sometimes fell into his shoes. And he calmly, at the right opportunity, immediately threw them off his feet and shook out the snow. Despite the weakness of his bodily strength, the elder, as the old-timer monks of the monastery said, was not afraid of colds. At about 11 o'clock in the afternoon, after the end of the late mass in the monastery, when, as usual, the bell in the monastery was rung for the meal, the elder, together with other hermits, went to lunch. After the meal, he locked himself in his cell for half an hour or, at most, an hour. And this was the only free time he had during the whole day for rest, unentertained reading, writing, thinking... But as soon as the door creaked, the elder immediately came out of his retreat or asked: “Who is there?” And the same activity began again. After an hour or two, he walked, occasionally due to weakness, to the hotel, where many dozens were already waiting for him, and on great holidays and fasts, whole hundreds of people of all classes, both sexes and all ages, from different cities and villages with their spiritual and everyday needs. Returning from the hotel, instead of resting, the elder listened to a short prayer rule, which was read by his cell attendants. It consisted of the 9th hour, kathisma with prayers and the canon of St. Guardian Angel. Then, before the evening meal, and sometimes during it, he received the monastery brethren who came to him for the daily revelation of their thoughts, as well as some of the monastic brethren who did not have time to visit him during the day. Having finished receiving the brethren and having refreshed himself with meager food, the elder listened to the evening rule, to which, in addition to his cell attendants, one or two more disciples closest to him came. This rule consisted of Little Compline, prayers for those coming to bed, two chapters from the Apostolic Epistles and one chapter of the Gospel. Then the end of the evening prayers was read, starting with the prayer: “Master, Lover of Mankind, will this coffin really be my bed...”, “Weaken, leave...”, “Forgive those who hate and offend us, O Lord...”, “I confess to You, my Lord God...” (a brief confession of sins before God). And let go. After this, the elder’s disciples, who participated with him in administering the rule, having received his blessing, dispersed to their cells; and the elder was left alone for a short rest, preceded by a feat of prayer. And when it happened that the lights in the monastery cells had long gone out, the window of his cell was still illuminated by the light of a candle burning on his desk or in his crib. But finally this light went out. All that remained was the faint flickering of the unquenchable lamp before the holy icon of the One Who is called the Never-Sleeping Representative and Intercessor in prayer before Her Son and the Lord for the entire Christian race. The great Optina elders-ascetics: Archimandrite Schemamonk Moses (Putilov), his brother Schema-Abbot Anthony, hieroschemamonks Leo, the described Macarius and Ambrose - all had remarkable minds, although almost all of them did not receive sufficient school education. Words of St. Isaac the Syrian 56 and 66. The order in the monastery is as follows: on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday of the first week of Great Lent, boiled food is not provided for the brethren in the meal; and instead, after the Lenten hours, which end at two in the afternoon, the brothers have a snack of whatever they want - bread, kvass, cucumbers, pickled mushrooms and maybe something else, just not boiled. There is no dinner at all; and instead of this, after Vespers, the brethren eat some kind of herb like tea, for example, oregano, sage, or mostly mint with honey, and some weak ones also eat a little something uncooked. On Holy Week, after a long service with the reading of the Gospels, at two o'clock in the afternoon, due to the Liturgies scheduled for these days, lunch is served, which in the first three days of the week consists of only two dishes - cabbage soup and buckwheat porridge with the addition of a small amount of potatoes, and all of this is certainly without butter. Dinner, as in the first week of Lent, is not allowed. There is no meal on Great Friday, but the weak in the evening are content with dry eating. In the summer of 1910, this administrative building under the monastery's ruler, Abbot Barsanuphius, was somewhat expanded with an extension on the north side. In addition, there were also one portrait of this ruler in watercolor, and another in miniature painting. The latter was constantly on the elder’s desk. This elder ended his ascetic life on November 5, 1853 at a ripe old age. This village later belonged to Mr. Delyanov. The parent of Elder Macarius, out of his kindness, at one time gave this estate as guarantee for the debt of his friend, who did not pay the debt, and Mr. Ivanov’s estate went on sale. This wonderful locally revered miraculous icon, received for blessing by Schemamonk Theodore upon his departure from the Moldavian Nyametsky Monastery to Russia from Elder Paisius Velichkovsky and passed on after the death of Fr. Theodore in succession to the elder Fr. Leonid and then to the elder Fr. Macarius, was taken from the latter by the skete monk Ioannikiy (in schema Leonid), a relative of schemamonk Theodore, during his transition from the monastery to the Tikhon Hermitage. And although Fr. Ioannikiy returned to live in the Optina monastery; but St. icon, at the request of Tikhonovsky rector Fr. Abbot Gerontius, was left by him in the Tikhonova Hermitage and placed in the church in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord in a prominent place in a special icon case with an inscription.