Глава III. Служба в заграничных миссиях

Rev. Theophan loved heartily and was deeply devoted to the important work of Christian education, but could not devote himself entirely and remain in this field forever. Since his educational service was always connected with administrative and economic worries and troubles, which his soul was never inclined to, he was often burdened by it. His spirit strove into the more congenial area of ​​prayerful communication with God and monastic life. The mood of the saint at that time (he served at the Academy) was clearly reflected in one of his letters in the following words: “Working at my position is boring to the point of nausea and distracts me from the church. There is paradise: I came to church, and would not leave from there” 33. An opportunity soon presented itself to satisfy the monk’s moral needs. In the middle of 1847, the Russian government sent a spiritual embassy to Jerusalem, whose task, through familiarization with the actual situation of Orthodoxy in the East, was to prepare the ground for the establishment of a permanent Russian mission in Palestine. The famous learned archaeologist Archimandrite Porfiry was appointed head of the embassy, ​​and Hieromonk Theophan, bachelor of the St. Petersburg Academy, was elected as a member, according to his wishes. One can imagine the enthusiastic joy of the young monk when he realized the idea of ​​visiting and enjoying his stay in the sacred places of Palestine! He had high hopes for his journey and was not mistaken. The mission, having permanent residence in Jerusalem, visited all the sacred places of the east - Palestine, Egypt, Syria, etc., with the purpose of familiarizing itself with and worshiping the shrines, everywhere satisfying the spiritual needs of numerous Russian pilgrims, protecting and supporting them from heterodox propaganda. Hieromonk Theophan zealously fulfilled the official duties assigned to him, but at the same time he immediately managed to do a lot for himself personally. He was interested mainly in the ancient Christian monasteries of monasticism, and when reviewing them, he focused special attention on studying the life of ascetics and monuments of ancient ascetic writing. So in the extensive library of the Palestine Lavra of St. Savva the Sanctified, he found and collected many ancient manuscripts of patristic literature; in Sinai - I saw and became acquainted in detail with the famous biblical manuscript of the 4th century, subsequently published by Tischendorf. In Egypt, he walked through and deliberately explored the ancient desert - this true cradle of Christian asceticism and the field of the first Christian ascetics; entered and breathed the air of the cave in which he labored for 90 years, famous even among the ancient desert dwellers of St. Pavel Fiveysky. Although Theophanes did not have to personally visit and venerate the shrines of Mount Athos, dear to every Russian, during his trip to the east he heard a lot about the life and exploits of the elders there, became so carried away by it and established such a strong moral connection with the monks that he subsequently retained it until the end of his life. At the same time, he borrowed many monuments of spiritual, especially ascetic literature from the ancient monasteries of Egypt and Athos. In Jerusalem, Theophanes for the first time entered into close and direct relations with representatives of both Greek Orthodoxy and heterodox confessions. According to his observations, the then Greek Church in Palestine experienced heavy moral oppression of dependence on the fanatical Muslim government and suffered great material needs. The patriarch himself often did not have much he needed. He didn’t even have a decent choir of singers, and some rabble sang at the services. When the patriarchal department had the means to hire and train several boys and a small choir was formed, such a fact was such an important event that the patriarch found it necessary to invite members of our mission to listen to new singers. But what kind of singing was that? Rev. Feofan later said that even he, who did not know music, long remembered the terrible scream and cacophony of zealous recruits 34 . Then the thought involuntarily occurred to him that in Orthodox Rus' the ordinary diocesan bishop was much better equipped than the head of the Eastern Church in the City of God. But despite their material and moral constraints, the Greek clergy was very proud of our mission that the Russian Church had borrowed the Orthodox faith from the Greeks, although, as Hieromonk Theophan noted, there was little real basis for such arrogance. True, the Greek clergy was quite firm in Orthodoxy, but their moral life was far from impeccable - they ate meat, many of its members led a licentious lifestyle, characteristic of an Eastern person, etc. Much seduced the young ascetic in the external behavior of the Greeks. So one day, invited to a ceremonial meal, he was very surprised when at the end of the dinner all the Greek clergy, not excluding the metropolitans and even the patriarch, lit the pipes that the patriarchal archdeacon made and distributed. Having become acquainted with the actual situation of heterodox confessions in the east, Theophan was amazed at the extraordinary energy and persistence with which the propaganda of Catholicism and Protestantism, especially the first, was carried out. Defending Orthodoxy, here for the first time he practically tested his strength in the field of an apologist. During these relations, it was necessary to thoroughly study the French language as a diplomatic language. Rotating constantly for seven years among Orthodox Greeks, partly Jews and Arabs, Theophanes perfectly studied the Greek language and became acquainted with Hebrew and Arabic. The mission returned home in 1855. Due to the war that was then taking place between Russia and Turkey, I had to travel through Europe. And this circumstance was important for the spiritual development of the monk. In the classical country of art - Italy, he, as a great lover and connoisseur of painting, was everywhere interested in exemplary works of art; in Florence, for example, I looked in detail at the paintings of the greatest European artist Raphael and acquired for myself many well-executed photographs from them. When passing through Rome, the embassy was presented to the pope. The latter complained bitterly that the Russian Emperor Nicholas arbitrarily disposed of the Catholic clergy, for example, transferring bishops wherever he pleased, completely failing to cope with the views of Rome. Such a phenomenon, the pope added, is the only one not only in Europe, but in the whole world where there are Catholics. In Germany I saw the centers of German learning and became acquainted with its treasures in libraries and museums. The seven-year service of Hieromonk Theophan in Palestine had a very important, irreplaceable influence for his entire subsequent life. We have an excellent custom of sending talented young people seeking teaching positions in higher schools abroad for training. And our national spiritual mentor, by the Providence of God, was destined abroad to receive preparation for the most important work of his life - the feat in retreat, but not in heterodox Europe, but in the Orthodox East - in the very homeland of Christianity. And the young monk made the best use of the time of this preparation. From the east, he brought a whole library of ancient patristic writing and an excellent knowledge of languages, especially the Greek language that was so necessary for him later. Even more significant was the moral benefit. While contemplating the sacred places, at every step imprinted with monuments to the earthly life of our Savior, His Most Pure Mother and St. Apostles, the monk vividly resurrected in his soul the most important biblical events, vividly and deeply experienced holy religious feelings that elevate and purify the sinful soul. Nowadays we are amazed at how deep all the writings of the Reverend. Theophanes are imbued with the spirit of ancient Christian ascetics. To acquire this great gift, it was not enough to study the life and works of St. fathers according to books. It was also essential to experimentally explore the very field of their exploits, breathe in the atmosphere and experience on the spot the feelings that animated them. It is quite possible that in the depths of one of the caves of the ancient desert dwellers the thought of his own hermit’s feat first appeared to the saint. At least, upon his return from Palestine, his life moves quickly towards this main goal. The most important moments of subsequent public service - with the rank of rector of the Academy and bishop in two departments - were only short stops along the way. In addition to Palestine, Rev. Theophanes spent one year in the Constantinople spiritual mission as its head. This was in 1857, during the religious struggle of Bulgaria with the Patriarchal Throne of Constantinople. Bulgaria demanded an independent Church for itself, with worship in its native language and a clergy from its own people. The Church of Constantinople denied her these legal demands. Archim. Theophanes, as an expert on the East, was instructed by his spiritual authorities to compile a note on this subject. He spoke out completely for the justice of the demands of the Bulgarian Church, which was approved by the Russian Holy Synod. Note: We consider it necessary to note, by the way, that what was said in one of the articles about Rev. Feofan (Transactions of the Kyiv Spiritual Academy. 1894, 3 books) the opinion about his compilation of spiritual and musical works is not correct. The saint had an ear for music, but did not know music and did not write anything. Here, obviously, there was a confusion between the Reverend. Theophan with Archimandrite Theophan, the author of wonderful musical church hymns - Easter hours, the stichera “Let God rise again,” the mercy of the world, etc.