Глава I. Время домашнего воспитания и школьного образования

“From my young days I asked and sought this, so that no one would hinder me from being unceasingly with God.” Rev. Feofan, in the world Georgy Vasilyevich Govorov, was born on January 10, 1815 in the village of Chernavsk, Yeletsk district, Oryol province. His father, the priest of this village, was a very capable man by nature, received a good education and was distinguished by a strictly pious life. He graduated from his native seminary with the title of student and was left with it in the position of educator of youth, the so-called “senior”. As an outstanding figure among the clergy, he was soon noticed by the diocesan authorities and appointed to the important and responsible position of dean, which he held with honor for 30 years, earning the approval of his superiors and the love and respect of his subordinates. The bishop's mother was a deeply religious woman, extremely modest and hardworking; A distinctive feature of her character was the gentleness and kindness of her heart, especially clearly expressed in her compassion and always readiness to come to the aid of all kinds of people in need. Having inherited a strong and deep mind from his father, Rev. Feofan inherited his entire moral character from his mother, along with his appearance. Being by nature very lively, impressionable and playful, at the same time, from early childhood, he was distinguished by a tender, loving heart and generally had a lot of feminine qualities in his nature. The first years of the boy’s life passed in the circle of such a happily formed family, and here his book learning began. Somewhat mechanical, not always sufficient in terms of mental development, our ancient elementary education had an unappreciated moral quality in its ecclesiastical direction. It began with a prayer service, was performed according to church books, and the church of God and the divine service, under the abundant influence of which the child was always under, ended beneficially and strengthened it, having the most favorable environment in a pious family. This was precisely the teaching of the Rev. Feofan in the circle of a large, religiously-minded family of a rural priest. He was closely led by two women - his mother and his aunt, under the guidance of his father, who, due to his work, did not have sufficient leisure for constant direct work with his son. The pious priest often took the boy with him to the church of God, where he stood on the choir or served at the altar. During these visits, the lively and playful child was sometimes not averse to making his way to the church bells and ringing them. One day after Vespers, he was locked in the bell tower by the watchman, who did not notice him. To avoid the hassle of waiting here for another day, the boy did not think about climbing down the rope stretched from the bell to the ground. There was a serious danger to life, but apparently the Lord protected his chosen one. A person’s first life impressions are usually the deepest and strongest, and therefore such family upbringing undoubtedly had great moral significance, unconsciously but firmly planting in the child’s soul the true seed of the future life of a great Christian ascetic. It is especially important that this seed was planted by the gentle hand of a loving mother. From this side, the happy time of the saint’s childhood is very reminiscent of a similar period in the life of the ecumenical teachers - Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom, when ancient Christian mothers, in a good family upbringing, laid the foundation for the future glory of their great children. A capable, well-prepared boy, in 1823 he was placed in the Livensky Theological School, the course of which he completed very easily, living among the most favorable moral conditions, in the family of one of the institution’s mentors. In 1829, Govorov, among the best students, moved to the Oryol Seminary. Now the boy had become a youth, and here the first work of his conscious thought began. At the same time, for the first time, some basic moral inclinations of his soul were expressed and clearly revealed, to which he remained faithful until the end of his life. The old theological school undoubtedly had many shortcomings. The dark sides of our bursa are known to everyone. But she could not be denied one important advantage: the unity and integrity of direction, the serious training of thought and character that was given to her best students. Education in theological schools of that time was based on the solid principles of classical education and significant development of written exercises. The so-called works were given important, developmental significance; success in them was especially encouraged and was considered a measure of mental maturity. Educationally, the school was strictly ecclesiastical in nature. In particular, one of the most valuable pedagogical qualities was the absence in her program of multi-subjects, which is so harmful in modern school life. In each class, the attention of students was focused on one main subject, while others were considered secondary, and the main ones were the sciences that were most important for the mental development of young men - in the lower class - literature (rhetoric), in the middle class - philosophy and in the higher class theology. The circle of knowledge of the old seminarian was not extensive, but, as acquired through independent, diligent labor, it bore the character of seriousness and strength. Non multo, sed multum 4 – this is the main beginning and at the same time the fruit of the educational system of the old school. By concentrating on a few subjects, the best students achieved remarkable success, especially in writing. It is not for nothing that the former seminarians’ skill in writing differed so favorably from the pupils of other types of the Russian school of that time and were significantly ahead of later and modern students of theological educational institutions. And the school had the kindest influence on the young Govorov, both in its direction and on the part of its leaders. The head of the Oryol Seminary was then Archimandrite Isidore, later a famous, wonderful hierarch - Metropolitan of Petrograd; Literature was taught by Hieromonk Platon, the future Metropolitan of Kyiv. But the beauty of the institution was the philosophy teacher Ostromyslensky, who captivated young seminarians with his wonderful lectures and had a great developing influence on them. From the very first days of entering the seminary, Govorov showed excellent progress and exemplary behavior. He was very inquisitive and studied with great eagerness and interest. His predominant love was the philosophical sciences and among them the especially important science of the human spirit - psychology. A clear proof of this interest is the fact that, being always among the best students, the young man of his own free will stayed for a repeat course in the philosophy class in order to have extra time to study his favorite subject, and because of this alone he deliberately extended the already long course of theological school by two whole years, spending eight years in the seminary instead of six. The student's decision was undoubtedly significantly influenced by the charming personality of his philosophy mentor, especially since the latter highly valued his abilities and brought him closer to himself. Reading the work of Rev. Feofana, we are amazed at the depth of the psychological analysis of spiritual phenomena and can undoubtedly say that the foundations for this were laid on the seminary bench. No less remarkable in the works of the saint is his extensive knowledge in the field of St. scriptures, and in this regard, seminary education served as a foundation. In the senior, so-called theological class, Govorov’s knowledge of the Word of God was so significant and thorough that during the exam they drew the attention of the then Rev. Orlovsky. Nicodemus, a remarkable expert on the biblical text. The latter, apparently a purely accidental circumstance, however, was very important, even decisive, in the fate of the young seminarian. A very modest young man, who at the end of his course (1837) was already preoccupied with the thought of finding a suitable rural parish and, although in the depths of his heart he dreamed of a higher school, but did not hope for such happiness, unexpectedly, by personal order of the diocesan bishop, received an appointment to the Kyiv Academy, although the then rector of the seminary, Arch. Zephaniah, who valued most of all in his students solid memorization of the textbook, which Govorov was not distinguished for, did not have it in mind and was even against it 5 . In Govorov’s behavior, a sharp, characteristic feature even then was the love of solitude, this is the true seed of the future life of a hermit. Thus, already in the first year of seminary training, he was noted in the report on behavior as “distinguished by a penchant for solitude and hard work,” as “edifying in his dealings with comrades and setting an example of hard work and good behavior.” The following year he received a certification: “prone to solitude, meek and silent” 6. And this desire for internal concentration was noticed in the young man not only within the walls of school, but also in complete freedom, during vacations at his parent’s house, and from a very early age it was of a religious nature. He ran away from the company of people in order to freely indulge in prayerful conversation with God. Distinguished by nature by his great sociability and cheerful disposition, the young seminarian, according to his relatives, during the holidays often “loved to be alone, they saw him immersed in some thoughts, they saw him at midnight praying earnestly and standing for a long time in prayer” 7 . It was at the seminary that Govorov first discovered his extraordinary love and reverence for the memory of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, unchanged until the end of his life. In the company of his relatives, the young man undertook and completed a hundred-mile journey on foot to the tomb of St. saint of God in Zadonsk. At the academy, mental education was completed and the general direction of Govorov’s moral life was clearly defined. High school had an even greater impact than middle school. During Govorov’s student life, the Kiev Academy was experiencing the most brilliant era of its history, the so-called Innocent period, when it was headed by the famous Innocent, later archbishop. Kherson. It was truly a flourishing time, both in terms of the good moral direction of school life and the abundance of talent in the professorial corporation. In addition to the rector at the academy at that time, the inspector and teacher of theology Archimandrite Dmitry (Muretov), ​​later the famous saint of Kherson, professor of homiletics - Amphitheaters, philosophy Skvortsov, etc. were in service. These were remarkable figures and each of them left a deep mark in the field of their science. The rector himself had an extraordinary ability to irresistibly influence and influence everyone around him and highly raised the spirit of his students. As an exemplary professor and church leader, he captivated and delighted his listeners with his inspired improvisations. Each of his lectures, each sermon in the student family was a whole event, causing a lot of talk and leading to many thoughts. Naturally lively and energetic, he closely monitored the students' activities and constantly excited them. Caring first of all about the most thorough philosophical and theological education of students, the rector then paid special attention to the development among them of a love for preaching and the art in it, he himself re-read student sermons, called upon the authors of the best of them and spent hours talking about how to write and deliver teachings, and with this visual, living homiletics he achieved excellent results. A remarkable feature for that time in Innocent’s views on education is that he, himself a comprehensively educated man, wanted the students of the Theological Academy not to be confined to the narrow circle of their specialized knowledge, which inevitably alienated them from living reality. He persistently advised them, not limiting themselves to the course of science taught at the academy, to expand their education through acquaintance with the best works in other branches of human knowledge, for example, astronomy, natural history, etc. The latter view was so ahead of its time that even at the present time it has not yet found full application in theological school. The rector most of all stimulated the hard work of his pupils by the example of his own extraordinary activity. “I’m surprised,” he once told students during a routine visit to their rooms, “how you don’t value your time and do little! in the past cheese week and the first week of Lent, I wrote about 80 sheets” 8. The example of the rector, especially combined with his charming personality, had an irresistible and profound influence on the young men. The work itself did not seem as hard as it actually was. The students worked tirelessly and grumblingly, knowing well that the demanding boss himself worked much harder than them. Inspector Archimandrite Dimitri also belonged to outstanding figures. His lectures on dogmatic theology, deeply meaningful and imbued with Christian love, made a strong impression on his listeners. The latter had the highest opinion of their professor. On this basis, a well-known legend arose that existed for a long time in the academic environment that the dogmatic theology of Metropolitan Macarius is nothing more than a reproduction of the lectures of his teacher Demetrius. Archim. Dimitri was also remarkable as a person. The young men were especially attracted to him and involuntarily attracted to him by the dovelike purity and endless kindness of his heart, complete and complete Christian non-covetousness. This was truly a man not of this world. The following characteristic fact is known from his life. Serving in Tula, Rev. Demetrius distributed all his bishop's allowance to the poor, so that upon his appointment to Odessa he had nothing to leave the city with. His admirers immediately collected the necessary funds, but, to their amazement, he also distributed the last to those in need. If necessary, we had to re-collect. Rev. Feofan retained the brightest memories of Demetrius. Living on Vyshe and one day talking about our modern hierarchs, he said that he considered the most gifted in intelligence, broad education and the best in life to be the Most Reverend. Demetrius of Kherson. In addition to the academic authorities, the professors of that time had a great influence on the students. Some of them stood in the closest relationships and took an active part in the lives of the young men, guiding and developing them not only in the classroom, but also through private conversations. Govorov had a particularly strong influence on the professor of church eloquence Y.K. Amphiteatrov, the author of the first famous Orthodox Russian homiletics. The latter was a fellow countryman of Govorov, often invited him to his house and took long walks with him. The student valued the closeness of his beloved mentor and made extensive use of it for his mental and moral enrichment, never missing an opportunity to draw from the rich spiritual treasury. It was very typical for the academic environment of that time that the attention of the secular professor and student was occupied with religious issues even in moments of rest, during walks. This is how subsequently Rev. Feofan recalled these walks. “It happened to me to walk with him (Amphitheater) through the grove. I asked, as if in passing, why there are such unevenness and unpleasant unevenness between objects of nature and aerial phenomena. Here is a nice color, but on the side there is nettle or dope... and the sky is either light or cloudy? - What an eccentric you are! - he answered. These irregularities are a great thing in the economy of God’s providence for our salvation. The merciful God Himself tells you: the sweat should never be wiped off from your face, exhausted and tired, but I sometimes allow you to taste the joy of life, I allow your eyes to be enlightened, your forehead to be open and a smile to appear on your lips, so that you do not lose hope and fall into despair; The earth should only grow thorns and thistles for you, but sometimes I command the earth to give you everything abundantly for pleasure, so that you do not lose confidence that there is still an opportunity to regain lost bliss” 9 . Amphitheater was distinguished by his extraordinary kindness and was always sympathetic to the needs of student youth, sometimes extending his concerns in this regard to the complete arrangement of the fate of those in need. In the memoirs of Rev. Feofan the following fact has been preserved. One day, while walking along the city streets, the professor met a group of blind beggars. Among the latter, the guide boy caught his eye with his liveliness and intelligent face. From questioning it turned out that he was the last son of a poor sexton in the Chernigov province. Amphiteatrov took him into his house and placed him in a theological school for training. The boy turned out to be very capable, successfully passed through lower and high school, completing his education at the academy, where he became a monk. This was later the Stavropol saint - Rev. Evgeny. Under the influence of such wonderful mentors, the mental abilities of young Govorov developed greatly, he developed a significant interest in theological sciences and especially a love for writing. In the latter respect, he achieved brilliant results. This is clearly evidenced by his master's work and student sermons, especially the sermon on the Ascension of the Lord. “No one wrote better than him,” his academy comrade Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow, later said about the Right Reverend Theophan, “only due to his modesty he could not read his work loudly” 10. In parallel with the mental progress, the student’s moral progress also occurred. In particular, his natural inclination towards solitude found favorable soil and developed in the academy. The academic life of that time, with a strictly ecclesiastical direction, was distinguished by some kind of special love, one might say, a passion for monasticism as an ideal public service. Learned monasticism truly flourished. It was worn by the best professors and bosses - like Innocent and Dimitri. The first, most talented students willingly accepted him. In addition, the shrines of Kyiv themselves were located with the mysterious darkness of their caves, these silent but eloquent witnesses of the great feats of Orthodox monasticism. There is no doubt that the young student often visited the Kyiv Lavra, in the depths of whose caves he experienced sublime religious sentiments. The impressions from such visits were so deep and strong that the saint recalled them with delight until the end of his life. “The Kyiv Lavra is an unearthly monastery. As you passed the gap, it happened that you felt that you had entered another world. And there is something inside - what, what is not there, my Lord, father! I am often transported (written in 1890) there with my thoughts... I could fly with my body” 11. All this taken together imperceptibly and gradually fueled his natural inclination, irresistibly attracted him and, finally, led the impressionable young man to accept monasticism. However, it was not easy to take such a serious step in life. The young student looked at monasticism as a difficult feat of serving the Church and finally decided on it only after long-term deep reflection, having experienced a difficult spiritual struggle. According to relatives, Govorov, during the holidays, upon entering his senior year, seemed withdrawn, concentrated, apparently deciding to take some important step in life, although he did not express this to anyone. Previously very sociable and cheerful, he now retired into the field, walked in solitude and seemed serious and gloomy 12. Finally, this spiritual struggle ended in the victory of ideal aspirations. Upon returning from vacation to the academy, Govorov submitted a petition for permission to become a monk, in which, among other things, he wrote: “Having constant zeal for studying theological subjects and for a solitary life, in order to combine both in the service of the Church assigned to me, I made a vow to devote my life to the monastic rank” 13. On February 15, 1841, the student was tonsured a monk with the name Feofan. The ceremony was performed by the then rector of the academy, Archimandrite Jeremiah, himself a true ascetic and ascetic, who loved the young man and had a strong influence on him in recent academic life. Around the same time, three of Govorov’s comrades and among them the subsequently famous Macarius of Moscow took monasticism. The young monks went to the Lavra to the hieroschemamonk Parthenius, famous for his exploits, to ask for blessings and advice for a new life. “Here you are, learned monks,” the elder told them, “having set your own rules, remember that one thing is most necessary - to pray and pray unceasingly with your mind in your heart to God - that’s what you strive for” 14. The words of the ascetic sank deeply into Theophan’s soul. They were a true testament for him, which he fulfilled so wonderfully in his life. After completing the academic course, one of the first masters, Hieromonk Theophanes, in August of the same year (1841), was appointed to the position of caretaker of the Kiev-Sophia Theological School. I. Krutikova. “Saint Theophan the recluse and ascetic of the Vyshensk Hermitage.” Page 11–15. Article about Rev. Feofan V. Rybinsky. Proceedings of the Kiev Academy, 1894, No. 3. F. Titov. "Makariy, Metropolitan of Moscow." T. 1, p. 57. Bishop Feofan. Letters on the Christian Life, vol. 2, pp. 116–118. “Church Gazette”, 1894, No. 8. “Collected letters of Rev. Feofana." Publication of the Russian Athos Panteleimon Monastery. Moscow, 1899, issue. 3, p. 33. Article about Rev. Feofan V. Rybinsky. Proceedings of the Kyiv Theological Academy. 1894, no. 3. “Soulful Reading”, 1894, No. 3, p. 521.