A trip to Sura and return from there with Father John of Kronstadt

I didn’t think that the Lord would bring me to see the blessed Sura this year, 1894! When we were in Sura last year, I was very concerned and interested in how O. John was concerned (as I was then told) regarding the seeding of the meadows. Anyone who has been to the north knows how poor it is in vegetation: apart from dense forests of pine and spruce, and all kinds of moss, there is almost nothing - and nowhere in Russia have I seen such pitiful and rare grass as grows in Pinezhsky district. And they say that due to lack of feed, livestock deaths often occur. O. John is always concerned about how to fertilize the sandy soil on which everything grows so poorly. Last September, I accidentally came across an article in the newspapers about a new fodder plant for livestock, which, as the newspaper said, grows well in any soil and in any climate. I was delighted and showed this article to O. John. He fully approved of it, and he blessed me to take this herb to Sura for testing, and if it is really useful, to plant it in other places. God helped me find these roots in St. Petersburg, and, having received a telegram from Vologda on April 26 that the first ship would leave for Pinega on May 3, I, with the blessing of O. John, flew on a long journey, taking the roots with me. To tell the truth, it was scary for me to go alone, because I had to change boats several times, and in Arkhangelsk and Pinega I had to wait for several days for them. But God, apparently, blessed me with this road: in Vologda, Arkhangelsk, Pinega and other places, good friends, having learned for what purpose I was traveling, assisted my journey in every possible way, and in Ust-Pinega on the Volodin steamship they even offered free travel in first class to the Verkolsky Monastery (4 days). Finally, on May 16, I reached my dear Sura and was warmly welcomed by old friends and Sura residents. I cannot express in words how I felt when I again saw the most dear corner on earth for me: it was dear to me to breathe the air there, walk on that land and see the places where our great man of prayer was born and spent his childhood before God. From the first minutes of my arrival, I was involved in a wide variety of chores. Now they planted the roots, which managed to grow by the time O. John arrived (2 weeks later). They began to confer with the priest and the teacher on how to better and more solemnly meet dear Father, with whom, as rumors circulated, perhaps Archangel Bishop Nikanor would come. They cleaned the church, put the sacristy in order; at school - this favorite brainchild of O. John and the component that constituted his main concern - they were preparing for exams. We must give complete justice and sincere gratitude to the priest with the deacon and the teacher with the teacher for their impeccably conscientious attitude to their duty, as well as to the pupils of the school: on October 1 last 1893, education began, and the children, who entered the school as complete savages, barely able to speak, now, by the end of May 1894, read perfectly, knew a lot of prayers, learned the law of God, the Russian language, arithmetic, and they wrote so correctly and beautifully in Russian and Slavic that I, in all honesty, admit that even in the 2nd grade of the gymnasium I had never seen such correct and beautiful handwriting among students. All the boys and girls are good at sewing and knitting, and have made their own shirts; All the students in the school, 60 people, say they sing the notes perfectly. And I couldn’t believe that all this was achieved in 8 months of training; it is clear that both the teachers and students put their whole souls into learning - and God grant that this school in the homeland of St. John, in the most remote and remote corner of Russia, just like its founder himself, be a model for all of Russia... Everywhere in Sura there was vigorous work; Everyone seemed to be preparing for a bright holiday... In my free time, almost every day I went for a walk to the two most cherished places for me: the birthplace of St. John and Poklonnaya Hill. The first is at the opposite end of the village from the churches, completely in the field, near a barely alive ancient wooden chapel, among the loose sand; Last year, only fragments were visible (I carefully collected them then and keep them as material witnesses of the birth of St. John) of half-rotten logs from the hut in which on the blessed night of October 19, 1829, the wondrous chosen one of God was born... My God! with what thoughts my head and heart were filled then in this place: here, almost in the middle of a field, in a dilapidated hut, the contemporary star of the Russian land began to shine, and over the years it began to rise and shine higher and higher, brighter and brighter, and now it can be seen far beyond the borders of Rus' - and it shines for everyone with a living, strong faith in God, and it warms everyone with sincere, ardent love for people... Here is a patient sentenced to death by doctors; whether a bitter drunkard, or dissolute, but wanting to improve; whether spouses, exhausted by family discord; whether a loser in life, or an innocently defamed and driven into despair and other similar unfortunates - who should they turn to? Who will support and console them? And they, hearing about the warm prayer book of O. John, strive for him as the nearest star of their salvation... And he accepts them all with love, fervently prays for everyone, and according to their faith, the Lord gives many of them what they ask for. I sincerely confess that I am not as surprised by the numerous healings that occur through the prayer of St. John (and a skilled doctor can cure a sick person), as I am amazed by the gracious moral uplift of the spirit that occurs with the assistance of St. John’s prayer over the unfortunate souls who have died alive (everyone who has experienced it knows that moral illness is much more dangerous than physical illness). How many examples do we have to hear and see of how completely morally lost people found themselves in a general confession and heard the ardent, divinely inspired speech of O. John, or those who had the good fortune to talk with him, as if sobering up, came to their senses, abandoned their previous way of life and became good family men, honest and useful workers. Is it surprising after this that every year the mass of the people grows and surrounds St. John more closely! His all-encompassing love, like the rays of the sun, warms everyone and attracts everyone to himself... And in this seemingly wretched place where this great lamp of God was born, God led me to spend whole hours in deep thoughts. And sometimes involuntarily, with body and soul, you bow down at this place and press your head tightly to the stone... Now they are building a stone chapel here, and you will already lay the foundation. Another place for my thoughts was Mount Poklonnaya, a favorite place for walks of St. John, two miles from Sura, beyond the Sura River. Having passed a meadow, then, along the edge of the forest up the mountain, a small village, the area rises higher and higher into a mountain covered with forest. Leaning slightly to the left along the mountain, you will find yourself right at the cliff of the mountain and involuntarily cross yourself: the entire Sura with its churches immediately opens up before your eyes. The forest here thins out somewhat and goes downhill; right below the Sura River winds through the meadow like a wide ribbon; to the left is the Pinega river; right next to the village of Sura, and further and further on, forests and hills stretch as far as the eye can see. They say that Father John, in his free time, likes to spend whole hours here in prayer. Indeed, looking at the surrounding picturesque nature, among the greenery of which the white wonderful church of God rises, you involuntarily come into a prayerful and grateful mood to the Creator of everything, the visible wonderful creation - God. In all these walks and troubles, I didn’t even notice how I spent two weeks in Sura with my dear friend, a school teacher, A. A. Sosina, with whom I mostly shared my walks. On May 21, Saturday, permission was received to dismantle the old warm wooden church in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker due to its dilapidation, move it to the cemetery, and rebuild it there. On the same day, an all-night vigil was celebrated there, and on May 22, a liturgy was celebrated. It was the first time I was in this wretched, log, smoky church at a Divine service, and a reverent tenderness seized my soul: I vividly imagined how in the old days, in this low door of the church with a high threshold, over which, probably, the then small, but now great John, was still climbing, like him, standing just as barefoot, perhaps, as all his peers, with reverence and listened attentively to what was being sung and read in the choir; and how beneficially all our wonderful church hymns had a beneficial effect on his sensitive, impressionable childish soul; on what fertile soil they fell and what rich and abundant fruit they bore! I couldn’t help but wish that our modern children would learn to stand in church with reverence and attention, learning from it lessons of pious life. On May 23, in the morning, the clergy and the whole school went to the named church. The priest and the deacon in full vestments, having distributed to us the icons that were in the church, having prayed for the last time in front of the Holy Altar, raising the Holy Antimension and relics on the paten on their heads, while singing first the troparion: “the rule of faith and the image of meekness...”, and then the Easter stichera, with the solemn ringing of the bells, with a procession of the cross they headed to the old cold church, in which they laid the Holy Antimension and the icons, returned back, removed the Holy Altar (the pillars of which were deeply embedded in the floor, so that the floor had to be cut out in order to remove them intact), the remaining icons and the royal doors, and in the same order they were transferred there. Now they began to break the elegant old scaly five-domed dome, and huge blocks of scales, like boats, they say, whistled down the block to the ground; but the crosses from the domes were kept intact (which was entirely possible, thanks to the prudent stewardship of the priest). The cross on the main chapter was tied with a rope and the block was carefully pulled: the cross moved from its place.... At that moment the Easter bells rang. The cross quietly and solemnly began to descend in a vertical position and stood straight on the ground. It was impossible to see this sight without tears: high above, as if from the sky, a life-giving simple wooden cross, darkened with time and covered with white moss, descended onto our heads. The remaining 4 crosses were also carefully removed. Having numbered all the logs, they quickly began to dismantle the entire church. The most difficult thing was to disassemble the huge ancient stove, which occupied almost a third of the church meal. Within a week, everything was dismantled, the ground was leveled, and a pedestal was placed in the place where the Holy Altar was located. On May 29, news arrived that O. John was already going to Sura. Everyone perked up... I hired post horses (an amazing breed of northern horses: they are unsightly in appearance, shaggy, with short legs; but, sensing the harness, they unanimously pick up the tarantass and at an even trot, rush like a whirlwind, so that it takes your breath away... (they are great to ride!) and march to the Verkolsky monastery, to meet the priest. There they told me that O. John and the Archangel Bishop will arrive on the evening of June 1, and that the archimandrite is going to meet them at Karpov Gora (40 versts from the monastery). On June 1, at about two o'clock, I accidentally went ashore. Suddenly a steamer appeared, coming closer and closer to the pier: I saw the Bishop and O. John standing on the wheelhouse. The archimandrite went down to the pier, and the ship began to set sail. Out of surprise that Vladyka and O. John did not go ashore (I was told that they would spend the night in the monastery), I threw up my hands and asked O. John: “What should I do?” He leaned towards me and waved his hand towards him, and ordered the sailors to lower the ladder. They did it quickly, the archimandrite supported me below, and from above the sailors caught me, and in one minute I found myself next to St. John: what a joy it was for me! The ship was a government-owned military one, so there were no passengers except the commander’s wife and relatives and O. John’s companions. After lunch, O. John and I were all on the wheelhouse, impatiently waiting for Sura to appear; finally, at 9½ o'clock in the evening, at the last turn of the steamer to the left, Sura immediately opened up in front of us, and at the same time a solemn ringing was heard there. ABOUT. John joyfully took off his hat and with the words: “Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth,” Vladyka crossed himself, as I was told, turned to O. John and said: “I congratulate you, dear father, on your arrival to your homeland.” “And you, Vladyka, welcome to me in Sura,” O. John answered him cheerfully, and both heartily embraced. The ship was getting closer and closer. Father John, Vladyka and everyone on the ship were pleasantly surprised by the picture that opened: due to the shallow waters, the bridge went almost a third of the way to the river; at the end of them there was a triumphal arch, all decorated with red cloth, flags and wreaths of fresh flowers. The students of the school stood in order on the walkway: girls in uniform, boys in red shirts they had sewn themselves. Under the arch there was a choir of singers, with the clergy, a teacher and a teacher at the head, and everyone sang harmoniously: “Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth!”... The entire shore was covered with people, some climbed up to their knees in the water. It was necessary to see with what joy and pleasure O. John looked at all this. This joy shone in his eyes. When the singing ended, he bowed to everyone, saying: “Hello Suryans, sister and nephews!” The clergy and singers had arrived there earlier and met them on the porch: the clergy in full vestments with the Holy Cross and Holy Water, and the singers singing: “Thou art exalted in glory, Christ our God!” The bishop and O. John entered the church and apparently admired it, and indeed there was something: the entire church was covered with magnificent carpets (the main one was embroidered on canvas by us, Yaroslavl women), all the royal doors of the three altars were open, and the entire church was flooded with lights and rays of the setting sun, from which the richly gilded iconostasis glowed dazzlingly and seemed like some kind of unearthly palace. Involuntarily, while following O. John, the wonderful words of the prayer came to mind: “I see Your palace, my Savior, adorned, and the imam has no clothes...”. After Vespers, Vladyka made a passionate but simple speech to the Suryans, as they told me, pointing to St. John that the Lord had raised up such a wonderful patron and benefactor for them from among them, and proved how necessary it is to teach children the fear of God and piety. Having finished his speech, Vladyka began to bless everyone. Then he and O. John went to plan a new stone school, which they want to put between the current school (it is far from accommodating all the children who need to study) and the church. The whole place was cluttered with piles of stones prepared for laying. Having planned the place, O. John turned to the workers with a request to remove stones from this place by morning and dig around it, promising to generously reward them for this. And then the hectic work began (I didn’t sleep all night, admiring everything, and on this night, as bright as day, no one in Sura seemed to sleep). By 9 o'clock in the morning on June 2, everything was ready for laying. After the mass celebrated by the Bishop with O. John and other priests, in a religious procession with bells ringing, everyone headed to the laying site. A water blessing prayer was held there, after which the Bishop placed a tin board with the inscription engraved on it: when, by whom and what kind of building was being founded. Silver coins immediately fell on this board, and it was covered with a slab and sealed. On the remaining corners, the first stones were simply laid by Vladyka, O. John and others, and then they returned to the church in the same order. For the first time in my life, I attended the groundbreaking of a building, and this ceremony interested me very much. After tea, everyone went to the parochial school exam. The ruler of the first began to examine the girls; but the girls he summoned, for the first time in their lives, after the gray usual situation, seeing in front of them, as they put it, “the big ones” in crosses and orders, became afraid and embarrassed (in Sura, I noticed that the girls are surprisingly shy and in this they differ sharply from the boys). But the purely fatherly affection of O. John soon encouraged them, and they answered intelligently and quite satisfactorily. The boys looked out and answered smartly. The bishop distributed the brochures he had brought with him to everyone. After the general education exams, we went to the handicraft class, in which there was a whole mountain of linen sewn by the children. Here two little girls brought knitted napkins to Vladyka and Father John. The exams ended with the singing class, formed through the efforts of the new priest - O. F. Tsvetkov. In Sura, since the fall of last year, a small but, they say, wonderful choir has been formed, but now the whole school sings excellently. After the exams we toured the old, cold church. The day was red, the sun was burning purely in the south. While they were running to find the guard with the keys, O. John and Vladyka, apparently tired from the heat, sat down on a log that happened to come across here. It was dear to see how two lamps of the Church of God, preaching the word of God from the church pulpit, modestly sat on one log, on the porch of a wretched wooden church! Finally, the keys were brought, and everyone entered the church. Everything about it breathes deep antiquity, although it has been updated a little. All the altar utensils are made of tin, but decorated with ancient elegant carvings; in the sacristy, the Chinese surplice with flowers and Chinese characters painted on the shoulders is especially remarkable; it is said to be about 400 years old. Father John showed us another large image of the Holy Rule. Artemy Verkolsky, ancient writing; and there are quite a few other antiques there. I was so interested in this church that I didn’t want to leave it. After church we went to the chapel over the grave of O. John’s parent and then to the grave of his grandfather. Both here and there, Vladyka and Father John, with the participation of almost all those present, sang the litiya and “Eternal Memory” in chorus. Finally, tired, they returned to the house prepared for them. Father cordially invited all the guests to his place for lunch. It must be said that behind the government steamship on which we were traveling, a passenger steamer full of pilgrims was coming from Arkhangelsk; Therefore, it is not surprising that the priest had a house full of guests. At dinner the first toast was to the Emperor; Everyone stood up and sang in unison “God Save the Tsar!” It was expensive to drink to the health of everyone’s sincerely beloved Emperor, and where? - in the far north, in the hopeless wilderness, visiting O. John himself. While singing, St. John crossed himself several times, as if he was praying that the Lord would protect his Anointed One in all the paths of his life. Everyone was joyful, happy from the hours they had experienced under Father’s roof; time passed merrily and unnoticed. After lunch, Vladyka began to get ready to go to the Verkolsky Monastery. Even earlier, with his kindness and sincere simplicity, the Lord endeared himself to us all; and then I, sitting at the table, in only a dress and a cape, went to accompany him to the ship. Father John wanted to accompany Vladyka to Verkolsk in order to immediately return back, and he took me with him. By nightfall we arrived at the Verkolsky monastery and went straight to the cathedral, where a prayer service was served by the council of hieromonks, and when it was late everyone went off to rest. On June 3, in the morning, we, together with the teacher from Sura, went to the cathedral, but having learned that matins was going on in the Bishop’s cells, we headed there. Suddenly someone comes from the ship and reports to O. John. He shook his head worriedly and began to say something. I ask the teacher what this means, and she answers me: “they have now informed Father that the water in the river has completely dropped: the steamer cannot return, and Father decided to immediately go to Arkhangelsk after mass.” This news scalded me like boiling water. When Matins ended, I asked Father: what should I do? "Come with me!" was his answer to me. God! I can’t express how happy these words made me - it was as if a stone had been lifted from my soul. I was not embarrassed for a minute that I would have to travel almost two thousand miles in one dress; I had only one thought: “let everything be lost for me, so as not to lose O. John, who is dearer to me than everything on earth.” After mass, which was celebrated by the Bishop with O. John, the archimandrite and many hieromonks, a solemn prayer service to St. Righteous Artemy, during which St. John, looking at the shrine, prayed fervently and with tears.... and indeed, God led me a lot to travel around Rus' and venerate the relics of St. saints of God, who shone with their deeds and the holiness of their lives, but nowhere do I experience such a deeply reverent feeling as here, when looking at a small shrine with the relics of St. the youth Artemy: he was not distinguished by any special feats, he worked in the field and at home with his father; but what made him holy and righteous was the constant memory of God and the fear of God, which guided his every step from infancy, sown in his heart by his parents, although simple, uneducated farmers, but deeply wise in their piety, and from whom today’s enlightened, educated parents could learn a lot, giving their children a brilliant education, but not knowing how to sow in their souls the most important thing - piety, which, in the words of St. Apostle, “everything is useful.” After the prayer service, the Archimandrite cordially invited us all to dinner. There were too many guests here too. The first toast was also to the Tsar and again, like Father in Sura, everyone sang in chorus: “God save the Tsar!” Then there was a toast to Vladyka. When they began to drink to the health of Father John, the good Bishop said a wonderful speech, apparently pouring straight from his heart, which moved everyone to tears. Father John thanked him warmly. Here one circumstance surprised and pleased everyone: when I approached O. John with an ordinary-sized glass to clink, he, filling it with red wine from his glass, indicated that I should give it to everyone; I walked around the whole table, everyone drank from it, and There was enough wine for all the guests, who numbered up to 50 people. Finally, there was a toast to; all true admirers of St. John (and I sincerely asked God to put in the hearts of the people around him to honor Father not with their tongue, but with their soul, taking from him in practice a living example of love for everyone, meekness and complete unselfishness). Here they brought from the sacristy a large old silver ladle, all decorated with eagles and inscriptions, which, as the inscription says, was donated to the Verkola monastery in 1692 by a resident of Verkola Nikita Pestov “for the commemoration of the souls of his parents” and received by him from the royal governor. The Bishop poured red wine into it, and the ladle went around the whole table from hand to hand, everyone drank from it and everyone got enough. This dinner was also very lively, they talked about antiquity, of which there is a lot in Verkola. Then the good E.S. and I Rinina (from Arkhangelsk) still managed to travel two miles to the place where righteous Artemy was killed by lightning; There is a tiny wooden church there, without any decorations, but for believers this place is especially dear. At 4 o'clock in the evening, with the bells ringing, the Bishop and O. John left the monastery. A multitude of people gathered from nowhere in one night and filled the entire monastery. I had a great time on the ship: the kind commander of the ship, I. I. Zelenkovich, and his wife, who were devoted to O. John, warmly and calmly settled me in a first class cabin. At 11 a.m. on June 4 we stopped in Pinega, the smallest (but for us, admirers of St. John, also expensive) town. It has one church, a white stone cathedral on two floors. The lower one houses a warm church; in the upper one - cold - both are very splendid and impeccably clean. Vladyka and Father John went to the city for a short time and soon returned. All the Pinezh residents poured out onto the shore and saw off their dear guests with the ringing of bells. At 5 pm we arrived in Ust-Pinega. Wax candles were bought there, the bishop's choristers were transferred from the passenger ship; in the front part of the cabin they made a kind of throne, placed on it the images that were only found on the ship; They lit the candles and the all-night vigil began.... Lord, what a wonderful all-night vigil it was, perhaps the only one in my entire life! The steamer, like a bird, flew along the mighty waves of the Northern Dvina, and wonderful glorifications of the Holy Trinity rushed from it... I ask once: “What are they singing?” and they answer me: “To the heavenly King, the Comforter, the true Soul, who is everywhere and fulfills everything!...” And, indeed, the water, the sky and the forests and mountains visible on the sides were filled with this wondrous chant! It seemed that everything together with us in the Trinity glorified the one God!... Never before, it seems, has a service made such a beneficial impression on me as this all-night vigil among the Dvina waves. Father John stood in front of me and, apparently, prayed with his whole being, which I instinctively felt. At 10 o'clock the all-night vigil ended, and all of us, as if after Bright Matins, joyfully congratulated each other, and for a long time everyone, from the Vladyka to the last sailor, was in some kind of solemn mood and, apparently, were influenced by the end of the service. Everyone definitely felt and realized that in the last minutes we were in such close, intimate prayerful communication with St. John, and these minutes were dear to everyone and hardly any of us will erase them from memory. Then tea and dinner were served in the cabin. We all sat together, as if one family, near Vladyka and Father John. It was truly, as in the time of the Apostles, a “supper of love.” Everyone was cheerful and happy. Father John was also cheerful and talkative. Soon Arkhangelsk appeared. When we stopped at 1 o'clock in the morning, despite the fact that there was not even a whistle, there were a lot of people on the pier. An apartment was prepared for O. John by the steamship owner Bulychev, but at the request of Father, he spent the night with Vladyka. Here I had to say goodbye to the kind Archangel Bishop, who all the way surprised us all more and more with his spiritual qualities; and, saying goodbye, I sincerely told him; “Really, Vladyka, you are not only in rank, but also in soul, a true Bishop of God!” And, indeed, he, it seems, can boldly say, together with the Apostle, to his Archangel flock: “imitate me, as I imitate Christ.” What should I imitate? to this the Arkhangelsk people, and the main clergy of the Arkhangelsk diocese (who told me about him and sincerely love him) will themselves answer: “in kindness of heart, patience and love for everyone.” On June 5, the day of the Holy Trinity, there was a church holiday in the Archangel Cathedral. The bishop, co-served by O. John and a whole council of priests, performed a solemn Divine service. After mass, when they venerated the cross, Vladyka gave flowers to many. O. John spent this entire day on visits; but I came to spend the night with the Bulychevs. The next day, June 6, Father served matins at the seminary; he and I arrived there early: there was no one in the yard and the church was still locked. Father perked up there, quickly, like his own man, ran up the stairs, turned right and rang the bell at the rector’s door. While they unlocked the church, the seminarians gathered and put everything in order, a good half hour passed. Finally, everything was ready. Father John with the rector joyfully entered the church, prayed to the icons (which he probably prayed to while still a seminarian) and cheerfully greeted the students. They bowed to him and Matins began. The singers sang in both choirs. Father John stood on the choir almost all the time, reading and singing with them. In the church, on the left side, the rest of the seminarians stood in orderly rows; All of them and the singers did not take their eyes off him for almost the entire service. What thoughts were born in their young heads? I think that not one of them sincerely wished in their souls to be at least a little like their great predecessor; after all, the same seminary, as in his former time, now teaches and educates them. Grant, Lord, I prayed then, that this blessed seminary would give us at least one more such lamp of God. After Matins, St. John addressed the seminarians with a speech. Unfortunately, there was no one near me who could, even briefly, convey to me his words, and I myself do not hear anything; but she noticed that he spoke passionately, and with what attention his students listened: everyone seemed to freeze, many had tears in their eyes. After the speech, they all hurried to kiss his hand and he, blessing them all, left the church. Father John served late mass with Vladyka in the Arkhangelsk Monastery. The tall, bright, large church made a joyful impression on me. The bishop's choristers sang on the left choir, and the students of the diocesan school sang on the right. Before mass, Father approached them, greeted them affectionately and talked to them; their almost childish, pink faces shone with joy. Since last year, this church has been under renovation; on this day there was a solemn raising of the cross to the main dome. After mass, Vladyka, Father John and numerous clergy left the church and a water-blessing prayer was served by Vladyka in front of the western doors. The prepared huge cross, all tied with ropes, was sprinkled three times with St. water and with the ringing of bells while singing: “Save, Lord, Thy people...” quietly began to rise higher and higher. I remembered here how two weeks ago, also quietly, solemnly, St. descended on us in Sura. cross, and involuntarily the words from the canon of St. to the cross: “The cross will rise, and the spirits of the air will fall, the cross will descend, and the wicked will all be horrified, like lightning seeing the power of the cross.” On this day, O. John at 4 o'clock in the afternoon went to Mati Gora to visit his sister A.I. Arkhangelsk residents flocked from all sides to see off their dear fellow countryman. Father John arrived on the ship with the Bishop, and here we completely said goodbye to the good Bishop, who left me with the kindest memories. When we drove away from the pier, Father crossed himself with visible pleasure and admired the cross that had just been raised today, which, all carved and gilded, shone like heat high in the air under the bright rays of the sun, and for a long time it, like a star, saw us off. The steamer was again the Makarovs, which is so dear to me from the memories of last year’s trip on it. In addition to Makarov’s son and daughter, several Arkhangelsk residents also went with Father to Kholmogory; St. John talked with them almost all the way, and how much joy and mental health he brought them with his conversation! Toward midnight, which was as bright as noon, we began to approach Kholmogory, and we were the first to be greeted by the famous and indigenous inhabitants of this district - the Kholmogory cows, who, as if wanting to show off, marched pompously to the river bank. Father cheerfully admired this large, beautiful breed, which we, in Russia, seem to rarely see very often. For more than 2 hours, the steamer walked back and forth in sight of Mati Mountain, trying to land on the shore, and all to no avail: almost halfway up the river the water was almost waist-deep. Finally, they lowered the boat, and Father and I, leaving everyone accompanying us on the ship, safely sailed to the shore, where O. John’s horse had been waiting for a long time. At 3 o'clock in the morning we reached Mati Mountain. Needless to say, with what heartfelt joy the kind old lady and her husband met their dear great “Brother”. They expressed their cordiality so unpretentiously, patriarchally and at the same time sincerely that the three days I spent with them felt like at home, under my own roof. At 6 o'clock in the morning, Father John rose to serve matins and mass, during which he deigned to receive the Holy Mysteries for me, for which I thanked God with all my heart. The church in Mati Gora, in honor of the Resurrection of Christ, is very interesting: on July 10 last 1894 it turned two hundred (200) years old. He is tall and fair; five-tier iconostasis; the icons in it are much older than the temple; and transferred here from the old church in the village of Shiltseva, they are distinguished by the antiquity of the letter. The local image of the Mother of God “The Burning Bush” is especially remarkable in painting. The bells were also moved from the same church; the main one is 50 pounds with a Greek inscription, the other is 17 pounds - broken and completely blackened with age. Last year, O. John climbed the bell tower and struck each bell himself, testing the ringing. After dinner, for which many of O. John’s relatives had gathered, he went somewhere and, having rested, went out for a ride again. I was amazed to see my dear Father on some kind of two-wheeled carriage, incomprehensible to me, in which you have to sit with your knees almost to your chest, because instead of a seat there is a pile of hay and a pillow, and I thought what the St. Petersburg admirers who ride Father in carriages of thousands would say if they saw him in such a biblical chariot, which, judging by the pictures, looks a little like the chariot of Elijah the prophet, in which he was taken to heaven; only that chariot was of fire, and this one was the most ordinary, wooden. But the truth must be told: Father sat in this carriage with noticeably greater pleasure than in the St. Petersburg carriage. There he is forever under the escort of a whole crowd of people, who press and squeeze him from morning to night; here he was completely at ease and, apparently, enjoyed this freedom. Nowhere do I see him as cheerful and calm as in the Arkhangelsk Palestines: there he has everything to himself. Having finished riding, he walked around the house for a long time; no one bothered him. I also went for a walk to the churchyard and vividly remembered our walk last year with O. John at this place. Then, among the graves, his special attention was paid to the slab, the inscription of which reads as follows: “under this stone lies the ashes of the priest, Alexei Poromov, who died on July 27, 1826; priested in Mati Mountain for 16 years; made two trips on ships from Arkhangelsk to Kronstadt; for 1812 he received a pectoral cross.” Now, I thought, God has raised up another priest who makes annual trips from Kronstadt to Arkhangelsk, and how beneficial and beneficial these trips are for the Arkhangelsk province! The next day, June 8, the abbess of the Kholmogory monastery, Seraphima, sent horses for Father, and we went there (five miles from M. Mountain). O. John served; in the monastery in the newly decorated church there will be matins and mass. Towards the end of the mass, I remembered that today in Yaroslavl we are celebrating a bright celebration of the Yaroslavl Mother of God and the memory of the Holy Blessed Princes Vasily and Konstantin of Yaroslavl, wonderworkers, whose relics rest in the cathedral. Father John accurately guessed my thoughts, came out of the altar and with a gentle look gave me a large prosphora, as if he had given it to me for the sake of the holiday. Then the old abbess invited Father to her cell; He dined with her and rested. Mother asked me to spend the night with her, saying that O. John would serve in the cathedral tomorrow; but I didn’t have the courage to part with him, and after him I drove off to Mati Gora. And she did a great job: everyone at home went on a visit, and we spent the entire evening almost alone. Father was in such a calm mood; He gathered the little children around him, seated them on the sofa and began to drink tea from his hands, admiring the pleasure with which they drank sweet tea. At 6 o'clock in the morning, horses again came from Kholmogory for Father, this time he went to matins and mass in the cathedral. In last year’s description, I said that the Archangel Bishops are buried in this cathedral; Now, at the end of the liturgy, O. John, in the concelebration of other priests, solemnly celebrated a requiem mass for them, among which he himself walked around the inside of the church and covered all the tombs. It was touching to see this memorial service: Father John served with a special reverent feeling, and it seemed as if his soul, along with the singing, ascended to heaven. I didn’t hear anything, I just looked at his lips and didn’t feel at all that I was on the ground; It’s as if he took my soul somewhere, above all earthly things. After mass, Father made several visits, and again came to the abbess for dinner. Then the rest of St. John’s companions appeared from Sura on a carbass with their things, and we, having said our heartfelt goodbyes to the kind old abbess and her nuns, set off for the ship at 3 o’clock in the afternoon. A few hours later we were met by Bulychev’s steamer “Vychegda”. When O. John and we moved onto it, the Arkhangelsk people who accompanied him on the Makarov steamship cried, parting with their dear Father. He poured a lot of consolation and tranquility into their souls in these short days! Right there at Ust-Pinega we said goodbye to the Pinega River, which, pouring its sky-blue streams into the Northern Dvina on its left side, modestly makes its way near the shore, as if afraid to interfere with the majestic but muddy Dvina waves. Bulychev provided O. John with the entire first class; and here we were with O. John for almost six days. These days were precious and irreplaceable! They say that there is no complete happiness on earth, but, being near St. John, one can say with confidence: “there is!” By his closeness, through prayer to God, he can bring everyone closer to Him and infuse into their souls deep faith in the Lord, hope in His mercy, and love for God and neighbor; and this, in my opinion, is true happiness on earth! Almost all the way, O. John looked through and put his writings in order. Looking at the solid volumes of his works, I could not resist and simply remarked to him once: “And how, Father, could you come up with so many books full of deep edification!” To this he smiled and also simply answered (as they told me): “little by little, and little by little - that’s how much it has accumulated!” Lord, I thought, how great, holy and at the same time difficult are the duties of priests. They were given the command by God Himself: “preach the word, insist in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and edification,” and they, to the best of their ability and ability, on behalf of the Church, teach and ask us, for our own salvation, to live like Christians. How do we listen to them? While they are teaching us, we listen, and when they finish, we get out of our heads, justifying ourselves by saying that you never know what they (i.e., the priests) say or write there, you can’t change everything and you won’t listen again; and we turn, in the expression of St. Apostle Peter: “like a dog to vomit and a washed pig to mud,” to our heartlessness, hypocrisy and other passions and vices. What can we expect for our indifference? To this the Lord Himself answers in the Holy Gospel: “Whoever knows the will of God and does not fulfill it will be beaten a lot.” God save us from this sentence! Let us more firmly remember the words of the Apostle that “it is not the hearers, but the doers of the law who will be justified before God.” While I was thinking this way, O. John was completely concentrated in his work. At midnight we approached Krasnoborsk; there the villagers again greeted Father by singing: “It is worthy to eat as in the truth...”. Father John listened to them with a reverent look, bowed to them and said: “Thank you, brothers and sisters, for your attention and zeal!” They answered him with bows and accompanied him with harmonious singing: “Now do You let Thy servant go, Master." Here again those wonderful moments that so amazed me 3 years ago were repeated: the dawn was bright, light, and the whole appearance of St. John (who was apparently entirely concentrated in prayer) was illuminated by it. On June 12, at noon, they began to approach Ustyug the Great, and my heart beat with joy when I saw this wonderful ancient city with numerous churches of ancient elegant architecture, which were somehow all grouped on the embankment, like the Kremlin of Moscow. There, O. John was met by a mass of people who flocked like birds to the pier, and immediately he was taken to the city. His niece and I, and with his permission, went to the church where the relics of St. Procopius, the Holy Fool of Christ, the Ustyug Wonderworker, rest under cover. The church is old, but it has just been restored; tall, light, with a brightly gilded iconostasis. The canopy over the tomb is especially original. It is gilded, life-size angels are sitting on it in all corners, their legs dangling, you just expect them to fly down on our heads. After serving a prayer service and praying at St. relics, we left the church. Here I involuntarily drew attention to a five-pound gray stone lying on a pedestal in front of the entrance to the church. He, says legend, is one of those stones that fell from a thundercloud, which one day, during the life of St. Procopius, gathered over Ustyug, but through his prayer it passed by and 20 miles away burst into a terrible hail of stones, which destroyed a huge forest. With sincere pleasure, I drove through the streets of the city. Everything there breathes with dear antiquity. At 4 o'clock O. John arrived on the ship. The people of Ustyug saw him off cordially. By nightfall we admired the marvelous panorama of the mountains, the so-called place “Opoki”. On one side of the river, a rock rises vertically above the water, a fathom (they say) 50; its top is covered with dense forest; and on the other hand, on the top of a mountain almost the same height there is a village with a beautiful white church. Here the mountains go either in ridges endlessly receding into the depths, covered with forests, or in some bizarre cliffs, painted by the hands of nature to resemble marble in different colors, exactly like a painted picture of the “Chinese Pagoda.” Father John could not stop looking at these marvelous views and said: “How beautifully the Lord created everything!” What kind of architect would build something like that!” Indeed, God’s creativity is marvelous! It is a pity that many Russians disdain nature in Rus' and go abroad to admire it, while in Russia there are many places of wonderful, inexpressible beauty. Such Russians, indeed, according to the proverb, travel seven miles to eat jelly, when this jelly at home is much better and tastier than that abroad, as evidenced by the road from Vologda to Sura. In Ustyug, many new passengers boarded the ship; many of them, apparently, were traveling only to have the opportunity to talk with O. John, and he spoke attentively and for a long time to everyone who turned to him. Quite a few poor people were traveling; he fed them all the way and gave them money; He prayed over the sick, and with what love and care he did all this - as if they were all his relatives. Especially one “damaged” one touched everyone: she was brought onto the ship and laid on the deck; but as soon as O. John passed by her, she began to break down violently and she began to scream terribly. O John, leaving the cabin, grabbed her tightly with his arms. She began to beat even harder and scream: “I’m afraid, I’m afraid!” “It’s not you who are afraid, but the demon in you who is afraid,” said St. John. Who spoiled you? The woman began to call out a name. “The Lord will heal you, but he will punish her,” said Father and, taking her head with both hands, he began to pray without words, but fervently, raising his eyes to the sky. As he prayed, the woman became quieter and only occasionally frantically clung to him with her hands. At the end of the prayer, St. John, as they told me, said in a particularly strong, sovereign tone: “Oh, come out the spirit of malice!” In the name of the Lord I command you, come out!”... The woman fell to the floor as if dead... and O. John went to the wheelhouse and began to read the Gospel. This soul-stunning scene made a strong impression on the passengers; many were crying... At that moment my attention was diverted by another patient; but the next day and further I saw that woman, although weak, but healthy and calm. On June 13, in the evening we stopped in Totma; Father only went out to the pier for half an hour. Again the venerable old man, the Most Reverend Nathanael, who was, they say, two times Bishop of Arkhangelsk, came on board the ship to see O. John. But on the ship and on the pier there was such a crush of people, who ardently wanted, if not to receive a blessing, then at least to look at O. John, that Vladyka was not able to talk to Father for even five minutes. June 14 was the last day of our trip on the ship. Each blow of the steamship wheels on the water (which, although I cannot hear with my ears, I clearly feel with my body) resonated painfully in my heart, because it brought me closer to the moment of separation from O. John, which I expressed to him. Father took a pencil and wrote to me: “in faith in the Lord, in prayer, in worship, in a virtuous life, all the good is naked.” At 9 pm we arrived in Vologda. Here O. John was met by a countless mass of people. It seems that all of Vologda was on display. The priest from the wheelhouse greeted everyone, waving his hat. The governor and the mayor appeared on the ship, who immediately took him to the city. All of Father’s companions fled to visit their friends. I, too, although I have good friends there, but out of grief that I had lost my sunshine, and it was painful to look at the white light, I buried myself in the corner where O. John used to be located, and cried all night. On June 15, in the morning, we moved to the station. There were two separate carriages for O. John and we arranged everything there before his arrival. At 12 o'clock O. John arrived amid a sea of ​​heads, and soon the train began to move. For a long time, kind, warm-hearted Volga residents watched the quietly departing train, in the window of the carriage of which they saw St. John blessing them. There were crowds of people at all stations; but Father rested for the first time, and then during stops he blessed everyone from the window of the carriage. I was especially interested in the scene at one station: two boys, about 7 or 8 years old, barefoot, ragged, could not get to the window of St. John, ran away and, having climbed onto some boards, began to take turns lifting each other in their arms. I was moved to tears by the attention and reverence with which their black faces looked at the window they cherished: it is clear that their children’s hearts felt that they were seeing him, dear to everyone, St. John, about whom they had apparently already heard a lot. Approaching Danilov, Father said goodbye to us, and, seeing my grief, said: “The Lord has a lot of mercy, He will comfort you!” This was his last word to me: soon the train stopped. In Danilov, he got out of the carriage among a mass of people, rode off somewhere on horseback, and I returned to Yaroslavl. On June 18, our Yaroslavl diocesan Jonathan School held a year-long event. Our Bishop invited St. John to this celebration even earlier. At 9 o'clock in the morning the good news spread through the school: O. John has arrived! And indeed, from the other end of the courtyard, since the front porch was besieged by a crowd of people, O. John appeared and entered the apartment of the teacher of the law, priest O. M. T. (He arrived from Tolga by steamer, and crowds of people and a carriage were waiting for him at the station beyond the Volga). A few minutes later, he left there and went to the school’s house church. Seeing him, all the pupils joyfully greeted him with words (sincere thanks to the kind boss, M.A. Stanislavova: although I was next to O. John all the time, due to my deafness I did not hear anything; she very kindly later wrote down for me all the words of O. John, which I have the opportunity to share with readers): “Hello, Father! Thank you for visiting!” “Hello, dear ladies! glad to see you!” - they heard from him in response to their heartfelt greeting; “You are a nursery of spiritual flowers, the living flowers of Christ’s garden,” St. John said, caressing them, “today, dear young ladies, you have a holiday, a celebration, and I came here to share it with you, let’s go; let us pray to the Lord together.” All the disciples, without exception, cried with joy as they received his blessing. “And here is the church of the Lord!” – he said somehow solemnly. Indeed, this church in the name of the Intercession of the Mother of God amazes with its beauty: tall, bright; finely carved American cedar iconostasis; all icons are picturesque. Then those present in the church rushed to him, and he, blessing them, walked to the pulpit and, venerating the icons, went to the altar. All the students who had completed the course, already in light, non-uniform dresses, stood on the right choir. Suddenly, O. John came out to them from the southern door into the choir. "Will you sing?" – he asked them affectionately. “We, Father,” they answered. “Now you are like the angels serving at the throne of the Most High,” he said, blessing them. I was moved to tears by the heartfelt joy with which the pupils caught the hand blessing them. Decisively and everyone cried. Soon the Most Reverend Jonathan arrived. He was greeted with the singing: “It is worthy to eat...” and the liturgy began. This service was somehow especially solemn. Together with Vladyka and Father John, the archimandrite and a whole council of priests served... After mass and a prayer service, everyone headed to the assembly hall, where, at the chant “To the Heavenly King...”, the pupils sang a wonderful hymn to Saints Cyril and Methodius: “Slavs, with a high song we will honor the Slavic Apostles...”, and then the actual act began with the reading of reports. On the table at which the founder of the school, His Eminence Jonathan, O. John and the Governor were sitting, were laid out the Gospel, certificates and icons, previously drawn out by the Bishop from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. After the reading, the Bishop stood up and, addressing the pupils, said: “Well, beloved pupils, you are now entering a new life, be guided by the example of that saint whose name each of you bears!” and he began to bless them in turn, and each received from his hands an icon - an Angel of his name. I was touched by the caring love of our good Lord for his pets: the icons are small, but beautifully crafted, all in a silver-gilded robe. Together with Bishop O. John handed out the Gospels in excellent binding, and the Governor handed out certificates. When everything was distributed, the pupils sang the assembly song: “With the bright joy of grief, greet the solemn day!...” and the act ended with the hymn “God Save the Tsar!...” The Bishop and the guests went to the headmistress’s rooms, where they were offered tea and breakfast. After which we all went into the garden; there were relatively few people, and Vladyka and O. John walked freely and sat in the gazebo; all the time the pupils, like bees, surrounded them and sang. Between conversations, the Bishop asked O. John: “why are the people so eager for you? I think it’s not easy for you?” To this, O. John answered seriously and with a deep sigh: “What can I do, I am a sinful man, but this is the grace of God”; Having said this, he began to think... Soon dinner was served and everyone went to the dining room. Passing by the hall where the pupils were, Father John asked them: “What did you read the Gospel about today?” “About Martha and Mary,” they answered. "What was Maria doing?" - “I listened to the word of God and tried to fulfill It!” “What did Martha do?” - he asked again; “I also listened to the word of God and did housework,” they answered him. “So you imitate them,” said Father. According to the established order at the school, on this day all the students who completed the course had lunch with the Bishop, the headmistress and their guests, and so it was this time. Lunch was served on 4 tables; The first student was seated opposite the Bishop, near O. John, and he, noticing that she was not eating anything, said: “Why, dear young lady, are you not eating anything?” “She’s getting ready to recite poetry to the Eminence, so she’s worried,” the boss, sitting next to him, answered for her. Father John turned to the Bishop and said: “Vladyka, the young lady is preoccupied, she is preparing to tell you poetry and therefore does not eat anything!” To this the Lord replied: “Well, let her get rid of her worries and speak now!” Pupil S. stood up and with feeling recited a truly beautiful poem: Your Eminence Vladyka, Our good shepherd and father! Accept farewell greetings from us, Hello grateful hearts! The last day of separation has come With you, our dear shepherd, And the hour is near when we will appear For the last time we are in front of you! We thank you For everything you have done for us. You gave us all an education, You kept us under a good roof, He prayed for us before the throne, May God send us good things! But if there were misfortunes, - You didn’t leave us in them either, And you took part in them, Study, children, and work, More than once you told us here, And a word of truth into our souls, You saw off with meek affection. Feeding holy love for us, You taught us in faith, To live like the God of love Our whole life is in your shelter Our minds strived for science here, And the heart is for the knowledge of good. Love and meekness were instilled in us Like a bright ray of sunshine! God grant that everything that was inspired here And in our lives it remained Time has flown by forever... Now we all have to go back Go where your relatives are waiting! And in a new life, in a new measure, God will send us all different things; He will bear his cross in this life. But we are without fear, but with hope Let us ascend into this boundless space: Your blessing, Father Our entrance here will be illuminated! There will be a faithful guide here, And work, prayer and humility Everything in life can please! And so we must leave, We must enter into another life; We must say goodbye to you, Father; Thank you, Master, For all your concerns about us, May the Creator send for them And the bright angel, the angel of God, And your life is for the good of your neighbors May it last for many years! You should have seen with what attention, with his head bowed, St. John listened; it was as if he was afraid to utter even one word. At the end of the reading, he turned to the speaker and asked: “Well, dear young lady, did you compose these poems yourself?” “Herself,” she answered; “I really liked them - keep in your soul those feelings you just expressed!” At the first toast to the Emperor, almost everyone present sang in chorus “God Save the Tsar!...”. During the toast to O. John, one of the pupils, on behalf of all of them, sincerely thanked him for making their holiday happy with his presence, and wished him many years to come. “And I wish you all many summers and happiness in your new life!” - he answered. After lunch, Father began to say goodbye to everyone, and then I had to finally say goodbye to him. All the students surrounded O. John, trying for the last time to receive his blessing, and earnestly asked him to pray for their parents and their beloved singing teacher, regent of the bishop's choir, priest M.V., who had been lying in bed for two weeks, seriously ill. Father John promised them that he would visit the sick man himself, which he immediately fulfilled; from the school he went to the cathedral house to see the sick man; While serving a prayer service, he prayed for his recovery with the words: “Lord! raise up Your servant, the priest, diligently singing Your glory!” After this, Father greatly patted his sore chest and, encouraging him, wished him to sing the glory of God for many more years. In the presence of a huge crowd of people, O. John left by boat, as I was told, first to Uglich, and then to Saratov. On June 20, I visited the sick regent and found him, although weak, but already on his feet; On June 25, I accidentally met him on the street walking from the bishop’s house home (a distance of about a mile), cheerful and healthy; he himself told me earlier: “I sincerely believed that through the prayer of O. John, the Lord would give me health”; Here on it the words of the Savior were fulfilled: “According to your faith, it will be done for you!”