Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov) and the abbots of the monasteries

Contents I. Hegumen of the South Dorothea Hermitage Bartholomew Letters of St. Ignatius to the hegumen of the South Dorothea Hermitage Bartholomew No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 No. 6 No. 7 No. 8 No. 9 No. 10 No. 11 No. 12 No. 13 No. 14 No. 15 No. 16 No. 17 No. 18 No. 19 No. 20 No. 21 No. 22 No. 23 No. 24 No. 25 No. 26 No. 27 No. 28 No. 29 No. 30 No. 31 No. 32 No. 33 No. 34 No. 35 No. 36 No. 37 No. 38 No. 39 No. 40 No. 41 No. 42 No. 43 No. 44 No. 45 No. 46 No. 47 No. 48 No. 49 No. 50 No. 51 No. 52 No. 53 No. 54 No. 55 No. 56 No. 57 No. 58 Appendix to the section “Hegumen of the South Dorothea Hermitage Bartholomew” Letters from the monastics of the Ploshchanskaya Theotokos Kazan Hermitage to St. Ignatius No. 1 No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 II. Archimandrite Feofan of Novoezersk and Abbess Feofaniya (Gotovtseva) Letter of St. Ignatius to Abbess Feofaniya (Gotovtseva) Letters of Archimandrite Theophan to Alexandra Sergeevna Gotovtseva (Abbess Feofaniya) No. 1 No. 2 III. Archimandrite Photius Letter from Archimandrite Photius to Saint Ignatius Appendixes to the section “Archimandrite Photius” No. 1 Letter from Saint Ignatius to Countess A. A. Orlova-Chesmenskaya No. 2. Letter from Saint Ignatius to the widow of G. R. Derzhavin, Daria Alekseevna No. 3. Consecration of Archimandrite Photius, Hieromonk Anikita (Shikhmatov) Letter from the Athonite hieromonk Anikita to Saint Ignatius IV. A friend of Archimandrite Ignatius Brianchaninov - Father Isaiah Nikiforovsky Letters from the monk Isaiah, the builder of the Nikiforov hermitage, to Archimandrite Ignatius No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 V. Borodino Letter from the abbess of the Spaso-Borodinsky Monastery, Abbess Mary, to St. Ignatius Letter from St. Ignatius to the abbess Spaso-Borodinsky Monastery to Abbess Maria Letter from St. Ignatius to the sick old woman who entered the Spaso-Borodinsky Monastery with her two daughters VI. Letter of Saint Ignatius to Archimandrite of Rostov VII. Letter from Archimandrite Aaron of the Trinity-Zelenetsky Monastery to St. Ignatius VIII. Letter from the governor of the Moscow Simonov Monastery, Theophan, to St. Ignatius IX. Letter from Archimandrite Athanasius of the Kostroma Epiphany Monastery to St. Ignatius X. Letters from the rector of the Tikhvin Great Monastery, Archimandrite Hilarion, to St. Ignatius No. 1 No. 2 XI. Bishop Ignatius' remark on the testimony of Archimandrite Macarius, former rector of the Tver Seminary, now a censor, that evil spirits told him that a countless number of evil spirits were released to fight against the Orthodox Church, in unity with papism and Mohammedanism. XII. Letter from Saint Ignatius to Lev Alexandrovich (in monastic life Leonid) Kavelin XIII. Letters of the censor, Archimandrite Photius, to St. Ignatius No. 1 No. 2 XIV. Letters of Saint Ignatius to the abbots of various monasteries No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 No. 6 I. Hegumen of the Southern Dorothea Hermitage Bartholomew Dear Father! Apparently you didn’t come on someone else’s basis! And not to feed on other people’s labors, but to contribute your own. Among Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov’s long-term correspondents were two monks, Bartholomew and Alimpiy, relationships with whom once again testified to the constancy of his “heartfelt feelings about the Lord.” At the same time, Father Bartholomew can be included in the ranks of those monastics whose fate was formed under the direct influence of St. Ignatius. They met in April 1829 in the Bryansk Beloberezhnaya St. John the Baptist Hermitage of the Oryol Diocese, where two young novices, Dmitry Aleksandrovich Bryanchaninov and Mikhail Vasilyevich Chikhachev, arrived in the hope of finding refuge after being forced to leave the Ploshchanskaya Bogoroditskaya Kazan Hermitage. Despite their short communication, Father Bartholomew made the most favorable impression on Dmitry Alexandrovich, which he retained for the rest of his life (just as it was with Pavel Petrovich Yakovlev, with Pyotr Dmitrievich Myasnikov, the future Archimandrite of Ugresh). A month later, the young people moved to Optina Pustyn, where their elder, father Leonid (Nagolkin), had settled even earlier. From here, from the Optina Hermitage, the correspondence of Dmitry Alexandrovich - St. Ignatius with Beloberezh acquaintances began. In his first letters, Dmitry Alexandrovich told them about the famous events of his life before his elevation to the rank of archimandrite and appointment as rector of the Sergius Hermitage. And already in a letter dated November 8, 1836, Archimandrite Ignatius advises Father Bartholomew to take over the leadership of the Yuga Dorotheevsky Hermitage of the Yaroslavl diocese. At this time, Archbishop Filaret of Yaroslavl (future Metropolitan of Kiev) was on duty in St. Petersburg. Apparently, Archimandrite Ignatius told him about the positive qualities of Father Bartholomew, and the Archpastor wished to get him into his diocese 1. From the letters it is clear that Father Bartholomew had a very indecisive character and was full of doubts. It took almost a year for Archimandrite Ignatius to convince him “not to spoil our good undertaking.” Only towards the end of 1837 did Father Bartholomew finally make up his mind and was appointed builder of the Southern Desert. But by this time, the former Archbishop of Yaroslavl Filaret was already the Metropolitan of Kyiv, and Father Bartholomew suspected the new Bishop of having an unfavorable attitude towards himself and was going to write a letter of resignation. And again, Archimandrite Ignatius, showing amazing patience and care, took upon himself to settle this matter. In the end, Father Bartholomew turned out to be a very active leader of the Desert. But Saint Ignatius more than once had to restrain this ward of his from rash actions and settle their consequences with his superiors. Only twice in their entire lives did they meet again. The first time was in 1848, when Father Bartholomew visited Archimandrite Ignatius in the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery. Archimandrite Ignatius then wrote to his governor in the Sergius Hermitage: “The other day the South Father Hegumen Bartholomew visited me and showed me a lot of love.” And another time, in February 1853, when Father Bartholomew was forced to come to St. Petersburg to explain himself to the Holy Synod about his refusal to abbot the Solovetsky Monastery. Nevertheless, the relationship between them remained the same. “I am greatly consoled,” Archimandrite Ignatius wrote to Father Bartholomew in 1845, “seeing that you retain the same love for me; and by the grace of God I constantly remain in the same feelings of love for you.” Similar words appear repeatedly in letters. According to the feelings, the letters were frank: sometimes from them you can learn the details of certain circumstances. For example, from a letter dated May 17, 1840. it is clear that in the well-known temptation that Saint Ignatius had to endure because of the story with the French envoy Barant, Andrei Nikolaevich Muravyov played a certain role, although unintentionally. From letters dated November 30, 1840 and subsequent ones, we learn about the work of the Saint on translations of the books of Saint Isaiah the Hermit and Saint Cassian the Roman. From a letter dated October 29, 1843 - about Father Bartholomew receiving the rank of abbot. In the same letter, the Saint reported “pleasant news for all monasticism”: the decision of the four Counts Potemkins to restore the Svyatogorsk Monastery in Ukraine 2 . In the correspondence of Saint Ignatius with Father Bartholomew, some of the brethren of the Ploshchanskaya Theotokos of the Kazan Hermitage are mentioned. In this Desert, young novices, Dmitry Aleksandrovich Bryanchaninov and Mikhail Vasilyevich Chikhachev, spent the winter of 1829. Here, with the permission of Father Leonid, they separated from the crowded meeting of his students, lived in solitude, avoiding idle talk, spending time in contemplation and prayer. The brethren of the monastery were very kind to them. And they, too, were remembered by the brethren for their kindness. From correspondence with Father Bartholomew, the residents of Ploshchan knew that Archimandrite Ignatius retained this kindness even later, becoming an influential abbot of the capital’s monastery. Therefore, they did not fail to turn to him for advice and help in the urgent need to increase the staff in their Desert. The essence of the matter is clear from the letters below from the Ploshchansky monks and their Lord. The results of the efforts were most likely positive, since on January 31, 1838, Archimandrite Ignatius wrote to Father Bartholomew: “They [the Shrouds] are promised to have more staff.” In just 32 years, 58 letters from St. Ignatius to Father Bartholomew are known. The last of them was written on April 23, 1862. Letters of Saint Ignatius to the Abbot of the South Dorothea Hermitage, Bartholomew Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Dearest and Most Honorable Fathers! Father Bartholomew and Father Alimpiy! We earnestly wish you to rejoice and be healthy in the Lord! Having arrived in Optina Pustyn, we impatiently wanted to write to you; but my illness, increased by the journey, stopped what my heart felt to do. – Accepted by Fr. The builder very kindly, we remained to live in the monastery: our circumstances, monastic and skete, prompted us to do this. The cells are assigned to us upstairs, in that wooden outbuilding, which is located opposite the new meal and forms symmetry with the abbot’s cells. Mikhailo Vasilyevich goes to the choir; - I, like a sick person, should have the refuge of my hope not in my labors, not in my merits, but in the mercy and merits of the God-man Jesus. First of all, we described our circumstances to you, because it seems to us that you accompany us with your participation, and we would be guilty of this expensive and lengthy participation if we did not satisfy it, at least somewhat, with a description of our circumstances. Perhaps it has already reproached us with condescension and reproached us with love for our slowness... Jesus has prepared hundredfold rewards for good deeds, and human praise is superfluous to those who do good: and therefore, with a brief but sincere thanksgiving for your love, affection, hospitality, satisfying the demands of our hearts, we leave all compliments, these outfits, in which for the most part uncleanness is dressed - the harlot - flattery. Finally, asking for your holy prayers (especially during the service of the Holy Liturgy) and blessings, we have the honor to remain Most honorable Fathers! Your unworthy novices are sinful: Dmitry Bryanchaninov and Mikhail Chikhachev. P.S. I bow to you asking for holy prayers and blessings from Fr. Mitrofan, our cell neighbor; poor! - He is tormented by fever. If this is not too impudent from us, then we ask you to say our zealous bow to Fr. Moses asking for his holy prayers and blessings with thanksgiving for his kind hospitality. Say our respects to Fr. Theophylact; also about. To Joasaph the hierodeacon, our conscience cannot be at peace from the fact that we left without saying goodbye to him. We ask you to generously forgive those responsible. News. One monk died in the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery; he was buried next to the late famous Fr. Theodore, and on this occasion they looked at the remains of this Elder. Both the body and clothes had completely decayed, only yellow bones remained. Fr. told us this. Gabriel Hieromonk - Skitian, who read about this in a letter that came from Svirsky to Fr. Leonid, and, telling, to the words yellow, he added: like wax. About ink. To make up the ink, take 1/2 pound of ink nuts and, crushing them into large pieces, put them in a saucepan; and, having poured 3/4 of a bottle of fusel milk, leave it to stand for 2 days (preferably on a warm bed); then, having burned 1/8 pound of cobbler's sulfate in the oven on a plate, put it in a saucepan and boil it on coals once, so that it does not escape; if they run away, they will be worse. After cooling, drain. This produces ink suitable for statutory writing. Here they are: Troublesome Prayers, sower on the stone Having drained this first number of ink, pour as much tea water onto the grounds as the wine was poured before, and, putting the same amount of vitriol, boil it up to three times; you will get a second number of ink, suitable for cursive writing and for adding to the first ones when these become too thick. This letter lay in my cell, already written for a week. This evening the novice who was with you to deliver Fr. Theophylact of his money and things, and told us what you ordered him to say and what I had already foreseen, and therefore wrote an answer to in advance. - Fr. Anthony Skitsky said his bow to us from you, for which we humbly thank you. Through the prayers of the Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us! I am starting to write to you again; Your love prompts me to do this, leaving an indelible impression on my heart. – I already wrote to you upon my arrival in Optina Pustyn; I don’t know if my letter did not reach you, or if your answer to it could not come to me, but was delayed at some ordeal. I don’t want to go into a subtle study about this; I don’t want to name the person who could be suspected not without good reason; I will accuse the One who commanded us to accuse Himself, so that we would be at peace and avoid human condemnation - right and wrong; I’ll say: apparently, it’s God’s will! Although you probably do not need our thanks at all, we are obliged to confess with our lips what we feel in our hearts: and therefore allow us to bring you our most sincere gratitude for your kindness, hospitality and love. Your own feeling can assure you that we write this not out of flattery, but out of an abundance of heart. Now we live in the Vologda province, where, apparently, we can choose the most advantageous and thorough place to live. However, even now, despite all the benefits, my health is in very poor condition. – What can I tell you about our stay in Optina Desert? It was quite painful, and we would have been very upset if we had not rushed to leave. O. Mitrofan was our good neighbor; He fell ill with fever twice while we were there; We promised to write him a letter, but we just can’t make up our minds; for letters, apparently, do not reach Kozelsky Bryuzgin; We conclude this from what we write, but we do not receive answers. – Since this letter should not be in the Kozelsk Postal Expedition, I have reason to hope that you will receive it; and therefore I ask you not to leave us without an answer if this correspondence is not burdensome for you. My address: to Vologda, Dmitry Aleksandrovich Bryanchaninov. In my last letter there was the following anecdote: In the Svir Monastery, 1829, on Holy Week, the ryasophore monk Israel, who was a student of Schemamonk Theodore, died. Before his death, he asked that his body be placed with the remains of his Elder, which was done. On this occasion it became known that the body of the deceased Fr. Theodore was completely rotten, as were his clothes; only yellow bones remained; Fr. told us this. Gabriel of Skete Hieromonk. In the same letter, I described to you a way to make ink, which I repeat here: 1/2 pound of ink nuts, crushed into pieces, put in a cast iron pot and pour 3/4 of a glass of half-burnt wine, letting it sit for two days on a bench, putting in 3 or 4 spools of finely crushed gum, and 1/8 pound of burnt vitriol; Boil everything over coals, watching so that it doesn’t escape; if they escape, then although they will be good, they will no longer be the same as those who did not escape. Then, after cooling, strain, through which you get 1 number of ink, suitable for a statutory letter. - Grind the remaining thick so that it becomes like dough; then pour half a glass of strong tea water and let it stand for the same amount of time, then, adding 4 or 5 spools of gum and 1/8 lb. burnt vitriol, boil, as stated above; Having cooled and drained, you will get 2 nos. of ink, suitable for writing letters and for adding to 1 no. when the latter becomes too thick. This letter is written in number 2. Here is a sample of issue 1: Flame, Death, Sting, W. I purposely wrote it in such thick letters so that you can see the goodness of this ink, which, despite all its brilliance, does not stain at all and dries very quickly. Finally, congratulating you on the past holiday of the Nativity of Christ and on the upcoming new year, wishing you all the best, asking for your prayers and blessings, we have the honor to be Your Reverence’s unworthy novices Most reverend and most beloved Father Bartholomew in the Lord! I received your most pleasant letter to my great pleasure. Forgive me for my laziness, which is why I did not answer your last letter written to me at the Lopotov Monastery. In this Vologda monastery the location is low, the atmosphere is filled with rotten fumes; all this, together with great harm, had an effect on my health, in the weak state of which I was overburdened with bodily labor. Last year, 1833, in the month of May, he was promoted to Igumny. Meanwhile, the Sovereign Emperor, whose pupil I was, was pleased to order that they find and notify Him where I am. At that time, by decree of the Holy Synod, I was transferred to the Moscow St. Nicholas Ugresh Monastery. The Sovereign Emperor ordered the Metropolitan to demand me to St. Petersburg, and then gave me the Sergius Hermitage, where I am to this day. Fr. lives with me. Mikhail, and the position of Golovshchik rules on the right wing. The health of my body in this monastery has improved a little; Apparently the Lord is still giving me time to repent. Then forgive me, Most Honorable Father Bartholomew; I congratulate you on the upcoming holidays, I ask for holy prayers and have the honor to be Your most humble servant and prayer book Most honest and most beloved Father Bartholomew in the Lord! I wish you good health and joy in the Lord. On behalf of His Eminence Archbishop Philaret of Yaroslavl, I have the honor to ask you whether you agree to take on the leadership of the cenobitic South Hermitage, located in the Yaroslavl Diocese? His Eminence Philaret believes that the pillar of our Orthodox faith is monasticism, and the pillar of monasticism is cenobitic monasteries. But the hostels of the north, where bodily labor is most praised, are lower in their improvement than the hostels of southern Russia, where, during bodily labor, special attention is paid to the purification of the soul and its good management by frequent confession of thoughts and heartfelt battles, frequent advice with skilled [elders], study of the writings of the Fathers, and, finally, with a lot of Divine praise. – The South Hermitage is one of the best cenobitic monasteries in the Russian North, if not the best. According to her means, she can support up to two hundred brethren; beautifully rebuilt; the churches in it are beautifully decorated; stands in a beautiful place, in a healthy climate. There is a lack of order in it: for there is no skillful Superior. The pious and virtuous Shepherd of Yaroslavl, beloved by everyone and most of all for Christian charity and unshakable Orthodoxy, turned his attentive gaze to you, with full hope that you will restore order in this Desert, reverent brethren will flock, the desert will become a hotbed of monasticism in the Diocese - a luminary whose rays will abundantly illuminate others neighboring monasteries. The Bishop believes that it is necessary for you to take with you several unanimous brethren from the Beloberezhskaya Hermitage for the initial establishment of the Yuzhskaya monastery. You probably think so too. Entrust the responsibility for transportation to His Eminence; On your part, please only notify me by letter of your consent. Then, while awaiting your response, I have the honor to be with my true devotion to you 1836 November 8th day Most beloved Father Bartholomew in the Lord! A long illness does not allow me to be in St. Petersburg to this day. Meanwhile, Vladyka of Yaroslavl cleared the rector’s vacation of the Southern Hermitage for you and, seeing that I was not going to him due to illness, sent me a letter 3, which I am forwarding to you. I took your letter to him, to which he said that whatever he considered useful and necessary, Fr. Bartholomew, I am ready to approve and support with all my might. “For my part, I advise you not to refuse in any way, because you cannot have a better opportunity in your life.” This Archpastor is the best of all Russian Bishops. You will see from his letter how well-intentioned he is and how good an opinion he has of you. He will send you travel money. I told him this in words, and even now I remind him in a letter. Do not give up your happiness, which the hand of God gives you! Having worked in your youth or in your manhood, you can expect pleasant peace in old age - and the most spiritual success in this case can be much more successful and abundant. I advised the Eminence of Yaroslavl that he fulfill his assumption, attributed in his letter, and along with this send you travel money. O. Bartholomew, do not spoil our good undertaking. Address the letter of His Eminence of Yaroslavl to me. Wishing you good health, asking for holy prayers and a speedy response, I have the honor to be Sorry, I can’t write much due to my eye disease, but I’m sending me a letter from the Bishop of Yaroslavl, from which you will see the progress of the matter and its end. I repeat: do not reject what Providence provides! Sorry! I ask for your Holy prayers and have the honor to be your humble servant and prayer partner I have the honor to congratulate you on the upcoming Feast of the Bright Resurrection of Christ! Metropolitan Philaret of Kyiv blesses you to abandon the Construction of the Southern Hermitage. He prepared the Abbot's staff for you upon your arrival in Yaroslavl; now he is talking about the Archimandrite; I earnestly wish for the fulfillment of these words of the kindest Archpastor! He was very touched by your last letter to me, in which you depict that you do not want the abbot of the South if He does not remain in the Yaroslavl Diocese. Wishing you all the best, I have the honor to be Most Honest Father Builder Bartholomew! Forgive me for disturbing you again with my writing; but there is a good reason for this. Soon, His Eminence Metropolitan of Kyiv Philaret, who has been so involved with you in the Lord, should be here. He will certainly ask me about you - and it will seem very strange to him that I know nothing about you. Why do I humbly ask you to notify me, even in short lines, whether you are satisfied with your present condition, so that I can give a decent answer to the Questioner. However, wishing you all the best from the generous right hand of the Lord and asking for your holy prayers, with true respect and brotherly love I have the honor to be Most beloved in the Lord, Father Builder Bartholomew! I had the honor to receive your letter, and I see how guilty I am for not writing to you earlier, expecting a letter from you upon arrival, so that the troubles encountered now could be prevented. Those who have sinned like a man: forgive for God’s sake. We are waiting for the Kyiv Metropolitan from hour to hour, but he is still not there. As soon as he arrives, I will not fail to present him with the icon and your letter. Regarding all your affairs that can be corrected here, dispose of me as a designated novice of the Southern Dorofeevskaya Hermitage. I wish in the Lord to serve you to the best of my ability. When the Kyiv Metropolitan arrives and what he tells me, I will immediately try to write back to you. Dear Father! Apparently you didn’t come on someone else’s basis! And not to feed on the labors of others, but to contribute to your own. And when I arrived in the Sergius Hermitage, I had no place to lay my head, I had to stay in a stranger’s house and live in it for the first winter. Starting from the Collegiate Church, everything was nothing but ruins. And with the brethren it was necessary not only to shed tears, but also to shed blood. What can we do? Such is the fate of abbots. And at first the Diocesan Administration gave me a hard time, so that I myself was forbidden to leave the monastery. But what you do without grief is fragile. And whatever you sow and don’t water with tears comes up poorly. Forgive my idle talk, father. Out of the abundance of my heart and sympathy I told you this. I express my deepest gratitude for the icon you sent. I ask for your Holy prayers, and with sincere devotion, I have the honor to be Upon the arrival of His Eminence the Metropolitan of Kyiv, I immediately presented him with the Holy Icon and your letter. He thanks for the icon, and regarding the current circumstances, he immediately intended to write to Your Eminence about the acceptance of Fr. Alimpiya, - to Orlovsky about the vacation of Fr. Joannikia and Fr. Anastasia, the latter may perhaps be decided to be translated by Synodical decree. However, he asks you to be patient. If spiritual sowing, he said, does not flow with tears, then one cannot expect joyful hands. Bringing you gratitude for the Icon and asking for your Holy Prayers, with true devotion I have the honor to be Your Reverence's most humble novice Your Reverence! Most Honest Father Bartholomew! I had the honor to receive your letter dated December 4th. Having visited the Eminence of Kyiv even before receiving this letter, I spoke about your circumstances. The archpastor said the following: “Your Eminence of Yaroslavl, a wise man, if I send letters to him more often about Fr. Bartholomew, then so as not to make things even worse. I have already experienced this. It takes some time: he himself will see the good side of Fr. Builder and, being very monastic-loving, will help him in everything.” – Father Ioannikiy of Optina left before receiving your invitation to visit you. He talked about this himself. Now Fr. is visiting me. Ioannikiy, the Ploshchansky hieromonk, with the treasurer Paisius - came to take care of the staff for the monastery. I still can’t go into town with them due to ill health. And I did not have the opportunity to ask Kievsky about Archimandrite Sergius, although I visited him on holidays, with many other visitors. When I see you in private, I will not fail to ask and write to you. Then, congratulating you on the past holidays of the Nativity of Christ and the New Year, asking for your holy prayers, I have the honor to always be most humble novice and prayer-goer Dearest O. Bartholomew! I had the honor to receive your letter and delivered it to the Kiev [Vladyka]. Ploshchansky hieromonk Ioannikiy was here, but refused to move to you. They are promised more staff. I am going today or tomorrow to Valaam to establish silence there, if the Lord helps. And upon arrival Fr. Anastasia, let’s start petitioning, we need him to send a request to you in the name of your Bishop - you can petition! This is the second time since the New Year that I am writing to you. I notice that I did not receive one of your letters - apparently it somehow got lost in the mail. Asking for your Holy prayers, I have the honor to be Your most humble novice and prayer leader This letter-bearer expressed to me a desire to join a monastery. But since the local climate turned out to be very harmful for his weak health, and the staff position of our monastery was incompatible in spirit, I advised him to turn to you, especially since he is a native of Rostov, although his form has a stain, but it can be erased by his good behavior and the testimony of the people by whom he is known. Asking for your Holy prayers, I have the honor to be Your most humble novice I did not answer your last letter for a long time. But what should I answer? What form of petition can I deliver to the Holy Synod? Your very request for dismissal, if you wish it, should be submitted to your Diocesan authorities, who, as we know here, are very pleased with you and, probably, with the further passage of time, will be more and more disposed for your benefit. About myself, I have the honor to inform you that at this time I am boasting quite a bit; Due to the weakness of my health, the local climate has a harmful effect on me. Not to mention other things, I often suffer with my eyes, which deprives me of the sweetest and most useful activity - reading. However, I don’t think of suddenly leaving everything, so that by premature evasion from positions I would not lose the spiritual fruits delivered by timely evasion according to the will of God and for God’s sake. I delivered your letter to the Metropolitan of Kyiv; and he is sorry for your feelings. Then, asking for your Holy prayers to strengthen my mental and physical weaknesses, I have the honor to be Your Reverence's most humble novice 1838 June 9th day P.S. Ready to print this letter, I receive a letter from some acquaintance of mine, in which he writes that he visited His Eminence of Yaroslavl, who treated you with special praise, and said that you have to work to gather a new brethren, for the present one is spoiled by the previous freedom. Most Honest Father Bartholomew! Happy New Year; It’s my fault that I left for such a long time without answering your most respected letter. But although I am lazy to write, my heart is constantly vigilant in love for you. Although the position of abbot often plunges the soul into earthly cares, especially in our monastery, which, one might say, is being established again, time sends forth memories of eternal joy and eternal torment. I hope to send your books to you soon. O. I ask Alimpia to say my deepest bow and congratulations on the New Year. Asking for your Holy prayers, I have the honor to be your most humble novice Optino-skete monk Ioannikiy travels to St. Petersburg to collect. Truly Christ is Risen! I received your most pleasant letter dated May 6th and thank you most earnestly for your frankness, which serves as a sure sign of true goodwill and which I ask you not to deprive me of in the future. Father Ioannikiy of Optina, who recently left St. Petersburg, intended to be in your Holy Monastery, and will tell you in detail about my circumstances, of which I am briefly informing you here. Exactly - I was forbidden to leave the monastery, but for a completely different reason than the one you write about. This is for my acquaintance with the envoy of the King of France, which the Sovereign Emperor found indecent and worthy of punishment, and to which I was forced by the Synodal official. This last circumstance is unknown to the Emperor, and I do not find it necessary to bring it to light. Fr. spread rumors here about some of the brothers leaving the monastery at night and pushing back the gates. Nathanael Tolgsky; when these rumors reached me, I immediately carried out the most rigorous investigation; It turned out that at 12 o'clock at night a package of two thousand was sent to the monastery, then the gates were opened and the sacristan received the things without leaving the monastery, and below from the cell. After this incident, in which Fr. Nathanael showed reckless rage; he had to leave the Sergius Hermitage, where he was accepted solely out of mercy at the strongest requests, and upon acceptance he immediately armed himself against his benefactor, Fr. Treasurer. I would be sincerely glad to give preference to Fr. Nathanael by his gray hairs, but his abilities and morality themselves placed him lower than many novices. Finally, I cannot say anything decisive about the dislike of the Synodal Chief Prosecutor towards me. He still receives me very kindly, and he promised to come to me. The disposition of the Sovereign Emperor from the last circumstance was revealed in full force. And I can only thank the Lord God for everything that happened - to see His Divine Providence, vigilant about the salvation of my soul and raising and caring for my infancy through these small temptations. Woe to you when all people say good things to you - this is dangerous; and to endure a little reproach is very salutary. And therefore we try to surrender to the will of God with thanksgiving, and with the help of the Almighty we strive to correct our mistakes to the best of our ability. Asking for your holy prayers, I have the honor to forever be with my most sincere devotion O. I express my sincerest respect to Alimpia. I had the honor to receive your most respected letter. First of all, I sincerely thank you for your cordial hospitality, which expressed all your abundant affection towards me. Secondly, I have the honor to inform you that I immediately asked to speed up the progress of your work in the Holy Synod and on September 24th I received the news: the Holy Synod has allowed to rebuild the Church of the Southern Dorofeevskaya Hermitage, about which a decree has already been sent to His Eminence of Yaroslavl. I ask you to testify to my sincere gratitude to Fr. Alimpia and all the brethren in the Lord for their love. Committing myself to your holy prayers, I have the honor to be forever 29th September [1840] Most Honorable Father Builder Bartholomew! I received your most pleasant letter dated November 16th and I sincerely thank you for your brotherly and fatherly disposition towards me. I hope that the mercy of God will grant me to live up to it. This God's mercy covers both me and our monastery until now; Although from time to time I am subject to physical ailments, I am constantly in mental illness. Currently I am translating the book of St. Isaiah the hermit of Skete, and I greatly delight in the spiritually gracious sayings of this Holy Father. If the Lord pleases, I intend to publish it, because I have never seen it in the Slavic and Russian languages, but its benefits should be extraordinary. Dear father! He is contemporary with Macarius of Egypt. St. Isaac the Syrian and Abba Dorotheos refer to him; there is a reference to it in the book of the great Barsanuphius. Perhaps your library has this book; in this case, please notify me and write exactly how many words or conversations there are in it and under what titles. I also hope to receive the book of St. Cassian the Roman in Latin, the language in which he wrote, and if the Lord is willing, then to begin translating it. The building of fraternal cells in the monastery was finally rebuilt, which greatly reassured the brethren; our agriculture is also being blessed until now; If it continues to be so blessed, we hope to have significant support for the organization and maintenance of the monastery. I thank the most honorable Fr. Alimpia for his memory of me; I sincerely rejoice at the return of his health and fervently bow to him, asking for Holy prayers. Then, wishing you good health and all the best, also asking your holy prayers, with sincere devotion, I have the honor to be forever Having received your letter, I compiled a note from it and handed it to Muravyov 4 for delivery and petition to G. Serbinovich. My health is poor; I’ve been whining almost all winter; however, the ineffable mercy of God helped to bring the translation from the Latin book of St. Isaiah almost to completion; I would very much like to compare it with the manuscript you have, and therefore I humbly ask you to send it to me by mail; I will try to quickly and safely return the book and the money for shipping to you. Some good people take it upon themselves to print. At the end of this book, after Easter, if the Lord pleases, I would like to begin translating Cassian the Roman also from Latin; I have all his works, the book is very useful. I ask for your holy prayers to strengthen my weak soul and body. Please do not delay in sending your manuscript. I remain forever your most devoted brother 1841 March 11th day Your book to St. Having used it a lot, I forward it to Isaiah the hermit with heartfelt gratitude. My completed translation is being rewritten completely, and if the Lord pleases, I think to print it for the common benefit of the monastics; Now, with the delight of my spirit, I am working on Cassian, that is, translating him into Russian. Being meager both in Christian activity and in wisdom, I will be very glad if I am able to open some spiritual treasuries, hitherto sealed by translation. I ask for your holy prayers to strengthen my mental and physical infirmities. With heartfelt sincere devotion I have the honor to be forever I received your most pleasant letter dated November 23rd. You especially consoled me by revealing your disposition to visit the Northern Capital. Accept my invitation! Not to mention the pleasure that you will give me, it will not be useful for you to personally meet the Filarets, both of whom are very disposed towards me. Of these, Kyiv is now reading the translation of Isaiah the Hermit and admires this book, saying that it certainly needs to be printed in the largest possible number of copies. I very much agree with you that this book can bring particular benefit to souls and therefore be an intercessor for me of God’s mercy. I am looking for this only payment, and the printing, if the Lord pleases, and the sale of it will be carried out by me. Cassian, of whom there are two monastic books, is being translated; Now we're halfway through the first book. Also a most precious monastic book! The available translation in the Philokalia is extremely abbreviated. The article on the spirit of gluttony, named in the Philokalia on abstinence of the belly and occupying one and a half pages there, takes up to 40 such pages in the original, filled with many moralizing stories. The article on despondency is the least abbreviated. The message to Leontin the Abbot was compiled from two separate conversations, abbreviated, and, moreover, Leontin was a Bishop, not an Abbot. I received a modest letter from Optina about the death of Father Leonid. They wrote it about. Macarius and Ioannikios. Some worldly people received fulfilled narrations of the Prophecies from others. We wish for ourselves and all those who seek truth, insight into our sins - the prophecy that even if we become careless or ascend in some way, we will fall into the hands of passions and move away from God. Such insight and prophecy can bring us significant benefit. I congratulate you on the upcoming holiday of the Nativity of Christ and, asking for your holy prayers with the usual brotherly love, I remain forever Your most humble servant and Bogomolets P.S.O. I testify to Alimpia my most ardent worship, thanks for his memory and love. My treasurer expresses his sincere gratitude to you for your favorable reception. He delivered the parcel - a napkin and linen to me, thank you very diligently! After sending the letter to you, I visited the Kyiv Metropolitan, and among other things told him about your intention to visit St. Petersburg, and that I was inviting you. He was very happy about this and said: repeat the invitation to him immediately and from me, I want to see him. Then, with his usual kindness, he added a lot about your account, from which I concluded that you should definitely come. Therefore, try to fulfill this as soon as possible. So, in the hope of seeing you soon, I have the honor to be with my usual devotion The High Metropolitan of Kiev wrote to your Bishop and asked that he deign to send you to the capital, to which your Archpastor expressed his consent. Why did V. Metropolitan instruct me in third order to write to you immediately, so that you too would hurry up and not hesitate. And therefore, make up your mind without hesitation. I am very pleased to see that your Archpastor has love for you, as can be seen from his letter to the Metropolitan. I hope to see you soon and, having enjoyed mutual love, to accompany you in peace to the holy and reverend fathers in the monastery of the Mother of God. Your most humble servant and prayer partner Most beloved Father Bartholomew in the Lord! I received your letter dated February 18th. Being extremely dissatisfied with your refusal to my invitation, and especially not to my invitation, but to the invitation of His Eminence the Metropolitan through me, I begin to quarrel with you. Deign to listen with complacency and console me by correcting your mistake. Why do you boast of failure to comply with the obedience entrusted to you by the Holy Synod? This praise is vain when you do not heed the voice of the First Synodal Member, do not obey his call, giving empty excuses. He who began a good work in you, and let him complete it, said the Apostle. And you must complete your obedience; and without a good end, a good beginning cannot bear any fruit. Has the Providence of God, which brought you to the Southern Desert, already ceased to watch over you? Do you really think so? Without assuming these thoughts of lack of faith in you, how can we explain your unsteadiness, your double-mindedness? And you go, and you don’t go; and took the passport, and didn’t move! What does it sound like? Such volatility, such inconstancy is forgivable in a beginner, but in Abba it is by no means excusable! I see! You were scared; You suspect that upon arrival you will encounter some kind of movement! Your body cried out: don’t go, I’m warm and soft here, otherwise, perhaps, they’ll put you there where I’ll suffer from the climate; Yes, and take pity on Alimpius: he was resurrected here, but in another place his previous illnesses may return to him. This is what your body advised you to do, and you obeyed it. The caresses of the body are very strong, said St. Isaac. You are in obedience to your body, and not to the Synod, as you boast, thinking that I am stupid and faint. In addition to the fact that by your lack of faith you are sinning before Providence, you are also falling into another important error. How to judge your opinion regarding His Eminence Metropolitan? This means that, being afraid to entrust yourself to him, you do not assume in him either love or spiritual reasoning! In a word, no matter how I look at your action, I find it decidedly reckless. So, get better! Putting aside all the Khokhlatsky stubbornness, and also the wisdom of evil cunning, come quickly, casting your sorrow on the Lord, and He will nourish you. I advise you not to anger the Metropolitan: for now there are many vacancies for rector, and he only has to be offered at the Synod; The Decree will immediately fly and the impudent disobedient, in his own opinion only a novice, will fly from Yuga to the north to mourn his self-righteousness and disobedience. With this I end my abuse, which I would not like to resort to, but there is nothing to do when honor is numb. I will make peace with you on a personal date! And I scold, but still I remain Your most zealous servant and brother Most beloved in the Lord, Fr. Bartholomew! You made it yours! We haven't arrived! And if they came, then, of course, they would not refuse to accept Archimandry and be the governor of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. The Metropolitan of Kyiv did well by paying attention to the worthy; I do not repent of the recommendation made in good faith. But Bartholomew was not touched by either praise or fortune telling! What should we do with you? You fell in love with the Yugskaya monastery. The Metropolitan often remembered you; for four months, while waiting for you, he did not give dismissal to his governor; On May 3rd he left for Kiev, with the intention of visiting Rostov. I congratulate you on the past Great Feast of Holidays and this present Pentecost, and for your non-appearance I make peace in absentia, always being filled with peace and love for you in the Lord. O. I show my most zealous respect to Alimpia. Asking your St. prayers, I have the honor to be forever It was especially joyful for my heart to receive your letter! For the consolation you have given me, may the Lord comfort you with the outpouring and action of His grace in your heart; for, according to the Holy Fathers, the key to spiritual gifts is given by love for one’s neighbor, which you, by writing a letter to me, expressed by your very deed. About myself, I inform you that, by the grace of God, I am still alive and, despite my many sins, I often enjoy unspeakable joy: for our Lord Jesus Christ came to save sinners. If the Lord pleases, I intend to establish a hostel in my monastery: for, in my opinion, the very circumstances and souls of the brethren are ripe for this. I continue to study the translation of the Holy Fathers, as much as my strength allows, and especially as much as my eyes, which have become extremely weak, allow. O. I humbly ask Alimpiya to say my most ardent bow. Then - asking for your holy prayers and the continuation of your precious fatherly and brotherly love for me, I have the honor to remain forever Most Reverend Father Abbot! I most earnestly congratulate you on receiving the rank of Abbot, in which may the Merciful Lord help you to serve the Holy Church with the same success with which you have served in your service hitherto, or even with greater success. What I didn’t write to you is because I am confident in your love for me in the Lord, and I didn’t come across any special reason to write. Moreover, I have now become extremely weak in the eyes, which I attribute to the influence of the local seaside air. As pleasant news for all monasticism, I inform you of the following: of course, you know that the Empress Catherine destroyed the Svyatogorsk Monastery, which is in the Kharkov province on the Northern Donets River, which has an excellent location - the most deserted. The Empress, having abolished the monastery, gave this place to the famous nobleman Count Potemkin. About two years ago this estate went to his grandson, married to Princess Golitsyna. Both of them are extremely kind-hearted and committed to the holy Church, especially she; Having abandoned all secular amusements, he engages in abundant almsgiving, practicing reading the Holy Fathers and prayer. Her eyes are like two inexhaustible sources of tears. The Lord inspired this couple to rebuild the monastery, and she, having verbally asked permission from the Sovereign, submitted a request for this to the Holy Synod, so that a communal hermitage would be established according to the statute of Sofronievsky and Glinsky 5. Regarding the community life in our monastery, I spoke about this to our new Metropolitan 6, who, although extremely disposed towards our monastery, did not express consent to this. Our place is extremely difficult; the monastery is completely cross-cutting; In the summer, the most famous St. Petersburg public moves into our neighborhood. Carefulness is involuntarily born, which leads to entertainment. And it would be nice if the inconvenience ended here! For this I wish you good health and all true blessings. By the grace of God, I remain constant in my affection for you, and I ask the same from you. Committing myself to your Holy prayers, I have the honor to be forever Your Reverence, to your most humble O. My most ardent bow to Alimpius! Most Honorable and Beloved Father Abbot Bartholomew in the Lord! I congratulate you on the most joyful Feast of the Resurrection of Christ, wishing most earnestly that our Lord, Jesus Christ, who suffered for us and resurrected us with Himself, would pour out gifts of grace upon you abundantly and arrange your external circumstances for the benefit of your spiritual salvation and temporary prosperity. I always answered all your letters with constant accuracy; If some of your letters remained unanswered, it is because I did not receive them. What could be the reason for this? It seems that the Strelny Postmaster is a very efficient person and always delivered letters to the Monastery without the slightest loss. Is there any oversight in your area? About myself I will tell you that by the grace of God I live quite well. Hieromonk Ioannikis, quite well known to you, arrived at our monastery to live in the Ploshchanskaya Hermitage. I am comforted by the arrival of this elder and hope that he will bring spiritual benefits both for myself and for the brotherhood entrusted to me. Committing myself to paternal and brotherly love and asking your holy prayers, with sincere respect and heartfelt devotion I have the honor to be most humble servant and prayer leader My deepest bow to Father Alimpius! I have seen your Father Rector, but have not yet talked. I bring you my heartfelt gratitude for your most pleasant letter, in which you congratulate me on the most joyful holiday of the Resurrection of Christ. I congratulate you evenly and respond to your greeting with heartfelt joy: Truly Christ is risen! I am greatly consoled by seeing that you retain the same love for me; and by the grace of God I constantly remain in the same feelings of love for you as before, rejoicing in the improvement of your monastery for the glory of God, for the honor of Christianity and monasticism, for the edification of many. I conveyed your regards to O. Ioannikios, for which he greatly thanks you and shows you his respect with worship. Although we both find this place very noisy, we submit to the will of God, which placed us both here completely unexpectedly for us. About myself, I inform you that I live quite prosperously: His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony, a man full of good intentions and truthfulness, consoles me a lot. Also comforting is the brotherhood, in which there are many members who are truly disposed to live according to Bose. My health is getting worse year by year. In winter I hardly leave my cell; your feet feel extremely cold, which causes a rush of blood to your head and relaxation throughout your body. O. I ask Alimpia to say my most ardent bow and congratulations on the Holidays. Wishing you all the best from the generous right hand of the Creator, entrusting myself to your Holy prayers and fatherly love, with sincere devotion and respect I have the honor to be Most Reverend Father Abbot Bartholomew! I sincerely congratulate you on the upcoming New Year; I wish you the longed-for health, perfect prosperity and many years to come. About myself, I inform you that I am extremely upset with my health, I have been ill all summer and autumn and now I am also ill. Be the will of God. Asking for your holy prayers and committing myself to your fatherly and brotherly love with heartfelt devotion and respect, I have the honor to be forever Your Reverence Do not grieve me that I could not visit your monastery on my way back from Babayki to St. Petersburg, despite my extreme desire to visit you. My journey took place straight from Kostroma to Vologda. I arrived in St. Petersburg on the very day of my vacation. Please accept my most sincere fraternal gratitude for the love you showed me, unworthy, for visiting me when I was sick and stinking, for enduring my infirmities. From your Archpastor I received a very favorable letter in response to mine, which I wrote to him from Babayki, apologizing for leaving that region without personally saying goodbye to him. Please take the trouble to convey my deepest regards to Fr. Treasurer Alimpiy and all your brethren in Christ. “Here, by the grace of God, everything is fine: the cholera that visited and punished the northern capital has decreased significantly. Requesting your holy prayers and committing myself to your paternal and brotherly love, with feelings of perfect reverence and devotion, I have the honor to be Your Reverence, my most humble novice Dear Father Abbot Bartholomew! I bring you my heartfelt gratitude for your kind letter! Please accept my sincere congratulations on the upcoming great Feast of Holidays! I greet you with an all-joyful spiritual greeting: “Christ is risen, risen indeed!” By grace, I feel significant relief from the cold that beset me, especially with the onset of spring: my life is renewed with youth and vigor, which I desired in order to work more zealously and stronger for the Lord God, Whom I had hitherto worked with extreme laziness and neglect. The main reason for such despondency was insufficient will; However, illness and extreme physical weakness contributed a lot to him. I stopped taking sarsaparilla decoction in the fall in September; now I use baths in which salts and soaps are added; I also use pure tar, which I use to rub and which I use to wet my stockings. There remains weakness and strong perspiration, through which the remnants of the disease come out from within. But I still can’t study properly due to severe weakness: especially writing is very difficult because the blood rushes to my head. His Eminence Metropolitan Nikanor 7, a shepherd of the kindest heart and bright mind, very disposed towards monasticism, calmed down and curbed a gang of swindlers, and, by the way, also Apollos, forbidding him from wandering around without his knowledge to St. Petersburg, in which the Ladoga Builder, having abandoned his monastery, lived incessantly, engaging in various tricks, looking for higher places and more cheerful than Ladoga, then in Riga, then in the Kherson Diocese, however, without success. It’s a pity for this man, who could, by his abilities, be a very useful person for monasticism, but became an empty adventurer. Tolgsky Sergius is transferred to the brotherhood of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Many here are very sorry for Your Eminence and wish that he would abandon his intention to retire. He wrote a letter to me in which he spoke about you with much love and, among other things, stated that you had gone to Moscow for a conference with doctors. I received a letter from Count Sheremetev on Easter. Everything is fine in our monastery: some benefactors propose to build a magnificent and spacious stone hotel at the monastery in place of the existing crappy and half-rotten wooden one. Also, other benefactors are thinking of surrounding the monastery with another, extensive fence. I wonder why you don’t receive my letters! Especially, having heartfelt love for you, I always answer carefully. This circumstance forces me to send this letter to the insurance companies. Please take the trouble to convey my deepest bow and congratulations on the holiday to Father Alimpius. Mine: Simeon (formerly Stefan) and Nikolai show you their deepest respect. Committing myself to your Fatherly and Brotherly love and asking for your holy prayers, with feelings of the most sincere devotion to the Lord, I have the honor to be Most venerable and most lovable Father Bartholomew! I thank you for your loving letter and mutually congratulate you on the upcoming Feast of Holidays, greeting you with an all-joyful greeting: “Christ is Risen!” About myself, I have the honor to inform you that upon returning from Babayki, for a very long time I was in a very weak state until the month of December, at the end of which I began to serve; I felt better in the summer of 1949, and even better this winter. However, my health is completely, so to speak, glued together, and not solid, and the slightest influence of air, food, cold quickly and greatly upsets me. Due to this weakness, it would be very necessary and useful to leave the position of abbot, especially in such a noisy monastery as our Sergius Hermitage, where the influence of the world, which has developed in all its strength, suppresses everything monastic. But we must be patient until the Lord, in His mercy, arranges what is pleasing to Him. How is your health? You don't say a word about him. I earnestly wish that your strength and the strength of Fr. Alimpia refreshed himself for the glory of God and for the common good. My cellmates bow to you most earnestly and ask for your holy prayers. Then - entrusting myself to your fatherly love with feelings of sincere devotion and heartfelt respect, I have the honor to be Your Reverence as a most sincere novice Most beloved Father Bartholomew in the Lord! I bring you my heartfelt gratitude for your memory of me, a sinner. Exactly when Fr. Archimandrite Alexander set off from Ustyuzhna to your region, I advised him to stop by your holy monastery, look at its structure and get to know you, which, however, due to the shortness of time, he could not do. My health is better than before, but the poisons of my previous ailments have not yet left me, and in Ustyuzhna itself I was covered with a rash, which for some time has been the manifestation of my internal illnesses. This place is very restless and intriguing, beyond my control. There are many visitors, and the most sensitive ones: please everyone, despite the fact that many of them have opposing demands. This takes up a lot of time, if not all of it; So be generous and forgive me if, due to extreme lack of time and a lot of letters, it happens that I do not answer your letter. But despite my silence, I always keep you in my memory, matching your fatherly and brotherly love with my unworthy love. Take the trouble to convey my most ardent bow to Fr. Alimpia. I returned from Ustyuzhna to St. Petersburg on the night of the 2nd to 3rd of August. Committing myself to your holy prayers, with feelings of sincere devotion and respect, I have the honor to be 1851, August 10th day Most honorable Father Abbot Bartholomew! The destinies of God are a vast abyss. I see in the report of the Most Reverend Eugene a desire not to contradict previous reports about you and your own reviews, especially since you are already well aware that in the Yaroslavl Diocese there are completely different rumors about the actions here than what these actions are in terms of their true meaning. However, according to this report, the Holy Synod can still leave you as abbot of the Southern Hermitage, as you have become accustomed to this monastery and its management, which the new abbot still needs to acquire, especially if you specifically asked for this. Today is the 13th, that is, the day of the report, and I received your letter this morning. All that remains is to pray to God: for you have already visited everyone and stated your request, and the authorities know what you want. From the end of the Right Reverend’s report, it is not clear that he pointed specifically to any monastery for promoting you; It is also clear that there is no rector in the South yet: then, if there is no vacancy for the Archimandrite, St. Synod, it is very likely that, having been awarded the rank, according to the Archbishop’s proposal, you will be sent to the South, which will resolve the confusion about the abbots stated at the end of the report. However, what God will arrange is His Holy Will, which often cuts off our will, no matter how outwardly it seems correct to us. Dear Father Bartholomew! Congratulating you on the past and upcoming Holidays, I have the honor to notify you that the case known to you has been resolved with the conviction of the informer, who, however, has been left in your monastery until another case concerning him is resolved. Wishing you all true blessings and asking for your Holy prayers, with my usual devotion I have the honor to be Most honorable Father Abbot Bartholomew! Based on your letter dated June 13th, I again made inquiries, which I am forwarding for your consideration. I received it already here in Ustyuzhna, where I am staying to review previous cases. I have a lot of letters: and therefore excuse the brevity of this letter. Committing himself to your Holy prayers Most amiable and respected Father Abbot Bartholomew! Of course, you already know the saying of Divine Providence about you! Let our enemies, and the Yaroslavl Consistory itself, know what the Holy Synod thinks of you. The Solovetsky Monastery is a completely separate department, and is one of the most important, and perhaps the most important point of Russian monasticism. By electing you, the Holy Synod wants this most populous and secluded Russian monastery to receive the character and direction befitting it, so that the spirit and rules of St. Savvaty and Zosima will once again waft in their monastery and form ascetics worthy of this Holy place. When I learned about your appointment, I remembered the prediction of one of the newest ascetics there - Theophan, who suffered many and fierce beatings from demons, the prediction that the Abbot would appear in the Solovetsky monastery, who would follow the paths of Zosima and under whom the monastery would especially prosper. May God grant you to be the fulfiller of this prophecy. Count Protasov acted during your election as a noble man and as a zealot of monasticism. You will find in him a most zealous assistant, ready to assist you in all your good endeavors: I heard this from his own lips. In the hope of seeing you soon, with feelings of deepest respect and sincere devotion, I have the honor to be 1852 September 8th day Upon receipt of your letter, I went to Count Protasov and informed him of your location; but he does not agree in any way to the fulfillment of your request, and instructed me to write to you so that you will certainly fulfill the requirement of the Holy Synod and the obedience it places on you. If you feel weak in health, then the Holy Synod does not force you to stay in Solovetsky for a long time, but a year or two. But the Holy Synod needs to find out, through the medium of a trustworthy person, as he recognizes you, the state of this remote and important monastery. The Holy Synod entrusts you with an assignment consisting of a most detailed audit of this monastery, which audit cannot be completed before a year, and after which, when you deliver detailed and accurate information to the Holy Synod, the Holy Synod, in the event of your illness, will have all the time to elect a worthy Abbot. These are the exact words of His Lordship. When he was young, he girded himself and walked, but he wanted to; when he grew old, he girded himself and walked even though he didn’t want to. Asking for Your Holy Prayers unworthy Archimandrite Ignatius. September 22nd [1852] The same letter was sent to Rybinsk: because I don’t know exactly where you are. Most Honest Father Abbot Bartholomew! What should I answer to your last letter? It and all your actions are answered by the circumstances themselves; and I, in my foolishness, should only remain silent before the spectacle of your actions, because they are completely incomprehensible to me. I only dare to reason, and then only for myself, that the Lord (who said: what good is it if a man gains the whole world but loses his soul) loved your soul and gives it a real temptation, renouncing everything, especially to draw closer to Him. I look with reverence at the sorrow that has befallen you and earnestly wish you an invisible victory over yourself. Asking your forgiveness and asking for your Holy prayers, I have the honor to be I received your letter dated November 12th. The destinies of God are many, and it is true that whom the Lord loves, he punishes. I, my dear Father, look with reverence at the temptation that has befallen you and pray to God to grant you the strength to endure it in imitation of the Saints who inherited the Kingdom of Heaven through many sorrows. Although, apparently, sorrow befell you from a person, in essence it was allowed by God for your improvement. I am touched, looking with intelligent eyes at your sorrow, and I think to myself: “What kind of temptation will I bear if the Lord God wants to send it to me? And what temptation will the Lord send me?” Thinking like this, condoling for you, I believed that you had already received the Decree on your dismissal, and therefore I wrote to you that the circumstances themselves are responsible. You cannot undo the past; but you would have done much better if you had come to St. Petersburg yourself and explained your painful condition before the Members of the Holy Synod and before Count Protasov. The members of the Holy Synod are all very kind Elders, and Count Protasov has the kindest heart; You could ask them for everything. But what to do? You can't turn back what's spilled. This was arranged from above: the hand of God is here, and people are only weapons. The reason for this event must be sought in God's providence for you; there it is hidden. Without sorrows it is impossible to purify our work in the Lord, and it is impossible for us to be crowned with the crown of the Gospel. I am fully convinced that you are in good spirits and by surrendering yourself to the will of God and thanking God, you are erasing the head of the serpent of sadness that seeks to devour you. Thank God for everything! God bless. With bitter medicine he heals souls who have resorted to Him, the Almighty Physician. Asking Your Holy Prayers Your unworthy novice 1852, December 1st day Most Honorable Father Abbot Bartholomew! Soon after sending my last letter to you in response to your insurance, the brother of our monastery, Alexei Nikolaevich Voskresensky, arrived to us on this 6th, who stayed for two months at your monastery and enjoyed your fatherly love. He told me about your grief and that you wish to have him again in your monastery to complete paperwork. I agree to this with love and, releasing him to you, I consider it worthwhile to write you these lines, entrusting, however, a lot to convey to you in words. – First of all, thank God for all the sorrowful things that happen to us! Whoever is allowed sorrow will, therefore, be remembered by God in His kingdom; and whoever lives painlessly is forgotten by God. I, my Father, due to the many sins that I fall into and the many stupidities that I do, should in no way judge the actions of my neighbor, nor insist that it be done as I propose. Alexey Nikolaevich told me that, upon receiving the decision of the Holy Synod, you saw that you too should have acted differently than what you did. You should have come here and humbly asked for what you wanted from the Holy Synod, which, out of respect for you, would have done everything pleasant for you, agreeing the obedience entrusted to you with your needs. But what did you do? You seduced those who expected to see you for edification for themselves, for the benefit of all monasticism. I especially feel sorry for Count Protasov, who took a very active part in you: he is a secular person who has a special influence on monasticism and the entire Russian Church; he must be taken care of very much, but in this case you did not take care of him, that is, you did not take care of his very soul. Forgive me, my Father, that I write to you so directly: I do this not to reproach you, but so that you deign to see the real state of affairs. What should you do now? My sincere advice: write a letter of apology to the Count; he is the kindest person and he will be pleased to see your monastic humility in your letter. Alexey Nikolaevich will tell you the rest. Then, asking for your holy prayers and bowing to you, I have the honor to remain with my usual devotion to you An unworthy novice of Your Reverence 1852, December 6th day Most Reverend Father Abbot Bartholomew! I have received your insurance letter, as well as the one sent on January 13th of this year, 1853; I received the last one, that is, dated January 13th, yesterday, and after it a letter from one of my acquaintances from Petersburg, who cares a lot about you. He writes to me that you would do the best thing if you came here yourself. Thus, you have come across the same idea that my kind friend expressed, and which, placing my trust in the Lord God, I believe, should be followed. If you decide to come to St. Petersburg, then I humbly ask you to come directly to me in the Sergius Hermitage, from where I will give you a monastic who can find an apartment for you. Your review, a copy of which is included in the insurance letter, is very good; and that you deign to write about the constancy of your feelings towards me, unworthy, I was and am quite sure; I only regretted that it was impossible to show your letters to anyone: for they, instead of arousing compassion in the reader, could only arouse temptation in him. But some asked: are you writing to me? Now I will be waiting for you in St. Petersburg. Committing myself to your fatherly love, I have the honor to be 1853, January 22nd day Do not be at all embarrassed, but go on your journey in peace, bowing to the Members of the Holy Synod and Gr. Protasov. Because the Members of the Synod have already decided that you should remain in the South: this decision cannot change in its essence, despite the change in some words in the definition. I find the action of G. Voitsekhovich to be thorough. And what is important is that you are left in place, and excessive and unreasonable goodwill can only harm the matter. I ask for your Holy prayers. Bringing you the most ardent gratitude for your congratulations on the Great Feast of Holidays, which you set out in your letter dated April 18, and equally congratulating you, I sincerely rejoice that everything turned out for the good according to the wishes of you and your brotherhood. I wrote a letter to Your Eminence regarding you and about how much you, having been and always devoted to him, now most feel the increase in this devotion. There is no answer. I do not intend to make excuses for the complaint of O. Theoktist; both his complaint and my justification should be just idle talk, as they cannot have any consequences. Take the trouble to convey my most zealous bow to O. Treasurer Alimpiy and your other brothers in Christ; All of us show our respects to you. Asking for the continuation of your fatherly love for me, with feelings of my usual devotion and respect, I have the honor to be 1853 April 28th day Most Reverend Father Abbot Bartholomew! I have the honor to recommend to your gracious favor this letter-bearer Feodor Feodorovich Mr. Strugovshchikov, who served in both the military and civil service. He wants to choose the good part, renouncing the world. I would be happy to keep him in the Sergius Hermitage, but he avoids Petersburg’s extensive circle of acquaintances, which is why he wants to take refuge somewhere far from the capital. He can be very useful in writing and business in any monastery. For this reason, I considered it my most pleasant duty to recommend G. Strugovshchikov to you. Asking for your Holy prayers, with the usual feelings of my heartfelt respect and devotion to you, I have the honor to be P.S.O. To Treasurer Alimpiy I express my sincere respect. To your most respected letter, I have the honor to reply that Archbishop Nil 8 from Irkutsk has been transferred to Yaroslavl. In 1834, he was the Rector of the Yaroslavl Seminary, and, having been here for a term, was promoted to Bishop of Vyatka. He is considered one of the best and most efficient Archpastors. Asking for your Holy prayers, with my usual devotion and respect, I have the honor to be Your Reverence, my most humble novice. O. Alimpiy – my most ardent bow. Please take the trouble to convey the attached letter to my Viceroy, Fr. Hilarion. I bring you my most sincere gratitude for your loving hospitality, which you showed to my Viceroy, as well as for your letter and congratulations on the Holiday, on which I equally congratulate you, wishing you all the true blessings. Take the trouble to convey my most ardent bow to Fr. Alimpia. I ask for your Holy prayers to support my increasing mental and physical weaknesses: I am extremely weak in strength, I am subjected to new attacks that I have never felt before, and in general I feel especially exhausted. And again, asking for your holy prayers, with feelings of sincere respect and devotion, I have the honor to be I bring you my heartfelt gratitude for your constant remembrance of me, a great sinner, very depleted in physical and mental strength. I spent this summer and autumn constantly in the monastery; According to the deanery, I was given an assistant, who was entrusted with traveling. Count Pushkin rightly conveyed to you that our warm church of St. Sergius, in which you were, has been broken down, and a new one is being built in the same place, which will be three times larger than the previous one and is already being completed. The previous one was very cramped. Granite was found near the monastery; beautiful columns emerged from it; also the base is granite and the door is carved from granite. By the grace of God, good people were found to help with the construction. I gave my Father the Viceroy your letter to read: he very much apologizes to you! Constantly getting ready to write to you, I put it off due to various idle times and put it off until now to thank you for your warm welcome. He took from me the manuscript of St. Nilus of Sorsky, translated into Russian, so that he could use it to correct the manuscript he had and forward it to you. I ask you to convey my most ardent bow to Father Treasurer Alimpiy; Father Mikhail and other brothers you know show their respect to you and thank you for remembering them. Alexei Voskresensky left our monastery because of one very thoughtless letter, which he decided to write to an important secular house. Our place is surrounded by temptations and I feel sorry for the poor brethren who are carried away from everywhere by the surrounding temptation. Please take the trouble to hand over the attached note to Fyodor Fedorovich Strugovshchikov. Asking for your holy prayers and blessings, with a feeling of sincere devotion, I have the honor to be Your Most Reverend novice Most Honorable and Beloved of the Lord I bring you my heartfelt gratitude for your congratulations on the Holidays, my Angel’s day and the New Year; I congratulate you evenly, I wish you to see through the coming year in the desired health and prosperity. About myself, I have the honor to inform you that after the end of the damp weather and the onset of frost, I feel somewhat better in health. Resurrection moved from us to the Old Ladoga Nikolaevsky Monastery of the local St. Petersburg Diocese, where he is very pleased and where they are happy with him; The air and water there are much better than ours. A. I conveyed your feedback to the Viceroy about his silence: he confesses to his guilt and asks for your forgiveness. I have not received any response from the Optina elders for a long time; some hieromonk from St. Petersburg from the courtyard, who formerly lived in Optina Pustyn, was recently there on leave and says that O. Moses and Father Macarius have become very old and dilapidated. Father Michael and the other brothers thank you for remembering them and bow down to you. To the Most Honorable Fr. Please take the trouble to convey my deepest regards to Alimpia. Committing myself and the monastery to your Holy prayers, with feelings of sincere devotion and perfect respect, I have the honor to be I bring you my sincere gratitude for your fatherly remembrance of me, a sinner, on the upcoming Great Feast, on which I evenly congratulate you, greeting you with an all-joyful greeting: Christ is Risen! Exactly - as you deign to write - the former Synodal Prosecutor, Count Protasov, died after being ill for a very short time. The position of Chief Prosecutor is filled by Privy Councilor Alexander Ivanovich Karasevsky; whether he will be confirmed in this position is unknown. Voskresensky definitely fit into the Old Ladoga St. Nicholas Monastery, where he is happy and happy with him; Leave his letter to you without attention. I don’t know - for some reason my heart doesn’t go to this person. Thank you for your attention to our situation regarding worship during the winter on the occasion of the reconstruction of the warm church. Our situation was very satisfactory: for under the Cathedral in the basement there were two pneumatic furnaces, which heated the Cathedral quite sufficiently; that is why Divine services were held in the Cathedral all winter. We are thinking about serving right there next winter, but we will stop decorating the warm church for a year to let it dry thoroughly and freeze out. Take the trouble to convey my most ardent bow to the Treasurer, Elder Alimpius. Father Michael and the other brethren thank you for your remembrance and mutually show their respect to you with worship. Asking for your Holy prayers to strengthen my many infirmities, I have the honor to be Please accept my most sincere congratulations on the upcoming Feast of Holidays and at the same time my sincere gratitude for the congratulations on it. I had the honor to receive your letter dated April 7th and I am very glad to see from it that the Most Reverend Nile favors your monastery. I also have some idea about the useful works of Optina Pustyn: for the Elders also deliver to me the books they publish. My health is very weak: I spent especially the end of Great Lent without leaving my room. The days of my years have turned away like the shadow 9. As for my portrait, I have not yet decided to have it lithographed; a fair amount of money is needed for this, and what happens is spent on other necessities, of which there are many in the vicinity of the capital’s monastery. O. Michael and the other brethren show you their most zealous respect, which I humbly ask you to convey from me to Elder O. Alimpius. Then, commending myself to Your Holy prayers, with feelings of sincere respect and devotion, I have the honor to be 1856 April 14th Please accept my sincere gratitude for your gracious remembrance of me on my Angel’s Day, for your congratulations on the Holidays and the upcoming New Year. Evenly congratulating you, I wish you all the true blessings, and between them the improvement of your precious health. Due to my increased illness, I rarely go to St. Petersburg. I visited the Most Reverend Nile once, but did not find him at home; he had never been to the Sergius Hermitage; I met him once at the Synodal Chief Prosecutor. You should not worry about the displeasure expressed by Hieromonk Anthony Bochkov and his companion Voskresensky. Anthony is very sick, and Voskresensky is sick: due to this disposition of spirit, they are sometimes dissatisfied with their neighbors, but then they change and are very happy. You can please them only with considerable patience. This spring I spent four weeks in the Optina Desert. God will save Father Macarius! The brothers and visitors live and breathe it! In terms of its external structure, the monastery became very open, the forest was cleared, and there were many visitors. The sulfur spring there brought me significant benefit. The books of the Great Barsanuphius and Abba Dorotheus have been translated into Russian very successfully. God will save the working fathers and brothers for such generally useful works! The hieromonk of your Monastery, who is in the retinue of His Grace of Yaroslavl, visited Sergius Hermitage in mid-July; I really liked him; but after that I didn’t see him anymore. O. Alimpia, take the trouble to bear witness to my most zealous bow, gratitude for the memory of me and my congratulations on the Holidays. Father Michael and the other brethren show their deepest respect to you and ask for your Holy prayers. Asking them for myself, with feelings of perfect respect and sincere devotion, I have the honor to be I bring you my sincere gratitude for your gracious remembrance of me and congratulations on the Feast of Holidays and the Triumph of all celebrations, on which, uniformly congratulating you, I wish you all the true blessings, temporal and eternal. I have the honor to inform you that I visited the Most Reverend Nile twice, at Christmas and Easter. I didn’t find him at home at Christmas, but at Easter I talked to him a little for the reason that he was in a hurry to go make visits. The Eminence promised to come to me in the Desert; Then I'll tell him about you. But only unfavorable rumors reached me about your favorite, and not from secular people, but from monastics: I am writing this for your and his precaution, for I myself, not only according to rumors, but in fact, am very bad. To your question about Metropolitan Gregory 10, I will tell you that he is the most pious and well-intentioned Shepherd, 74 years old, but strong in strength, and chose for himself a very good Vicar Agathangel, who was the Rector of the Kostroma Seminary when I was at the Babayevsky Monastery. To your question about the Chief Prosecutor, I will also say that he is very well-intentioned and is very disposed towards the Church, which is why they expect all the best from him, especially when he gets used to business. And we have news in our monastery: my former Vicar Hilarion has been promoted to Abbot of the Vladimir Diocese at the third-class Yuryev Monastery; In his place, according to my proposal, Hieromonk Ignatius from the family of merchants Makarov was made governor. Father Michael and the other brethren show their respect to you. O. I offer my deepest bow to Alimpiy, congratulations on the holiday and gratitude for his memory of me. Committing myself to your Holy prayers, with feelings of sincere devotion and respect, I have the honor to be From the 2nd to the 3rd of this month of August, the Most Reverend Nile spent the night in the Sergius Hermitage. In fulfillment of my promise, I told him about you; he answered me that he respects you and knows you for a kind person. Consequently, your Archpastor is disposed towards you, and minor troubles do not happen to anyone. Committing myself to your Holy prayers, with feelings of sincere respect and devotion, I have the honor to be August 3, 1857 Having received a letter from you and read it, I could not believe for a long time whether you really decided to take the action described in the letter. My heart was filled with inexplicable sorrow when I saw that you had begun a process and litigation with your Archpastor. - However, I visited the Most Reverend Nile and asked him to dissolve with mercy the measure of admonition that you yourself have made necessary for yourself. I advise you to write a letter to His Eminence and ask for forgiveness in your hobby. That's all I could do that would be useful for you in this case. And now I ask for your prayers for those leaving the northern capital for a distant country. Ignatius, Bishop of the Caucasus and Black Sea. God, by His ineffable mercy and love for mankind, gave me a quiet refuge to end my earthly wandering in it in self-attention and repentance. As a result of my all-submissive letter to the Sovereign, I was dismissed from the management of the Diocese, and I was given the management of the Babaevsky Monastery. In this regard, I need your advice: why, when you find out that I have arrived at the Monastery of St. Nicholas, then do not refuse to provide me with the requested service of love and hasten to visit me. Invoking God's blessing upon you, with feelings of sincere respect and devotion, I have the honor to be I bring you my sincere gratitude for your memory of me and your congratulations on the Feast of Holidays - the Bright Resurrection of Christ, on which, evenly congratulating you, I wish you all true and perfect blessings. By the inscrutable destinies of God, in order to cleanse my sins and sinfulness, I continue to feel sickness and extreme exhaustion. Glory to God, who punishes in time. I ask for your Holy prayers, that I may be granted to endure the Lord’s punishment with due humility and with due gratitude. Please convey to Fr. Alimpia has my blessing and gratitude for the memory. O. Justin testifies to Your Reverence his respect and brings congratulations on the holiday. With feelings of sincere devotion and respect, I have the honor to be Your Reverence, my most humble servant. Appendix to the section “Hegumen of the Southern Dorothea Hermitage Bartholomew” Letters from the monastics of the Ploshchanskaya Theotokos of the Kazan Hermitage to St. Ignatius 11 I. Letter from the Treasurer of the Desert, Hieromonk Hilarius Venerable Father Archimandrite Ignatius! Having the sure opportunity to deliver my wretched lines to you and the opportunity to verbally notify us about our holy monastery, I hasten, firstly, to bring my sincere congratulations, with which I pray to our All-Bountiful God that His right hand will strengthen and support you at the level you occupy, and every day may the love of faith grow in your heart, and may it make you a worthy defender of our Orthodox Church; which I truly believe, for the royal heart is in the hand of God! The Lord commanded you by choosing you - and the king did it! It is all the more joyful for us to see in you the chosen one of God, since you began in our humble monastery, which can be said, from the midst of our brotherhood the Lord lit a lamp. If you remember the builder who was with you, Father Markellin, then I consider it my duty to notify him that after a long illness, by the will of God, he died - but I am correcting the position of builder, a great sinner, for whom I also ask you not to leave in your prayers. Father Macarius Ivanov moved to the Kaluga Diocese to Father Leonid, the rest of the brethren show their respect and ask for the prayers of the saints. That's all the wonderful things we have after your departure. Father Archimandrite! I humbly ask and am confident that you will not deprive me of your answer; the brother who delivered this letter is Nikolai Petrovich Demoutier, who served in the navy and started it in our monastery; due to lack of staff, he leaves us, which I humbly ask you not to leave with your advice and assistance in our matter; the point is to increase the staff, which, just like under you, if you remember, is now up to thirty-five; for which our Master also labored; but it is not expected that the Eminence will condescend to our request! Therefore, the brethren disperse, and whether our situation will continue, then the monastery must eventually be deserted. This is our sorrow! If possible, do not refuse to move towards such a good deed, and even more so we urge you to help us, since you, knowing the monastery, can judge whether there are any means with seven people to maintain it in such a flourishing state, in which it stood for more than two centuries and provided refuge to those flowing to the Lord. Caressing with hope in your good disposition and peace to the holy monastery It is with true reverence that I have the honor to be Your Eminence! Most humble servant and humble worshiper Treasurer Hieromonk Hilarius. Here is a brief description of the desert and the need for more staff. The Bogoroditskaya Ploshchanskaya Hermitage is part of the Oryol Diocese in Sevsky district. She is seven-brotherly: she receives 300 rubles in alms, but the brethren in her range from 80 to 100 people, among whom there are many old and weak, who cannot bear any obedience. The main foundation of the Hermitage was especially approved in 1619 by the great Sovereign Mikhail Fedorovich with the blessing of two large local icons: the Savior and the Mother of God of Kazan, which still exist in the church, and for food he granted land in the circumference of this Hermitage - arable, hayfield and forest 2647 acres, as the records indicate. Inside the Hermitage there were built 4 stone churches, covered with iron and decorated with proper splendor, a fraternal stone refectory with cells and an exit, two buildings of stone cells, one one-story for 16 cells, the other two-story for 40 cells, covered with iron. Outside the Desert there is a living room, horse and cattle yards and 2 mills in different places. The improvement of the Desert necessarily requires a sufficient number of people living in it, ordered, capable of performing various and many obediences, and without adding more staff, it can fall into disorder and ruin. Why do we, since the brethren can feed themselves from willing donors and from land and mill benefits, without asking for an increase in the staff amount of money for the maintenance of this, in the past 1832 month of August, in the same sense, we asked our Archpastor to submit to the Holy Synod about adding 23 and 5 sick people to the 7 staff, for a total staff of 35 monastics. According to our request, by virtue of the resolution of His Eminence, the Consistory has long since completed the certificate, but the case has not yet been sent to the Holy Synod. Treasurer Hieromonk Hilarius with his brethren. II. Letters from the Builder of the Desert, Hieromonk Anatoly From your most respected letter to me, we can see your special favor towards the Ploshchanskaya monastery, for which I, on behalf of myself and all the brethren of my monastery, hereby offer you the most sensitive gratitude; a presentation from our Eminence was sent to the Holy Synod on the 1st of this month, the subject of which is the same as your petition to the authorities regarding this monastery. In the hope of your assurance on this occasion, informing you about it, I humbly ask you not to reject my desire with my brethren for the improvement of the Ploshchanskaya monastery, which will forever retain your beneficent name and will send earnest prayers to the Almighty for you. Then, coming to you with my highest reverence and spiritual devotion, I have the honor to be Your Reverence's most humble servant Builder Hieromonk Anatoly. Your Reverence, Most Revered Father Archimandrite Ignatius! Always remembering your gracious good deeds, I consider it my first duty to congratulate you on the highly solemn holiday of the all-joyful Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and I wish to celebrate it with heartfelt consolation, and by His mercy you will receive all the favorable and useful things in your life, and I most earnestly ask for your holy prayers and blessings. - I assign duties and am confident in your generosity, and in the hope of fatherly goodwill I dare to disturb: it is not unknown to you that we have bothered the highest authorities with a request to increase the staff of our monastery, but it was good for the Holy Synod to let us know: after replacing the missing fifteen monastics, the decree says; to ask for a second time, if necessary. But as the missing number was replaced, we are now in considerable difficulty: there is a staff of seven people, if necessary, in other monasteries, many trustworthy novices are afraid to take monastic vows, because they also avoid a small staff, therefore we are deprived of worthy people. . Therefore, I dare to humbly ask your prudent advice on whether it will be possible to disturb the Holy Synod again, and if your mercy is not difficult for you, I most sensitively dare to ask you to find out more reliably and to enlighten me with your instructions. And allow me to offer my opinion as to whether any of the monastics from the monastery should be sent to St. Petersburg, as you deign to see. And awaiting your gracious notice; What will give me much comfort in my old age, that your great blessings for me and my brothers will forever be unforgettable and you will be the culprits of the holy monastery for the fatherly prosperity, which will forever send to the Most High God and to the patroness of the Most Pure Mother of God fervent prayers for you and I will forever remain with you with due utmost respect and heartfelt love Your Reverence, I have the honor to be a humble pilgrim Bogoroditskaya Ploshchanskaya Hermitage Through the prayers of the Holy Fathers, our Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us. Most Reverend Father Archimandrite! Beloved, about the trustee of the monastery entrusted to me! I was made happy by your favorable writing, sent to me unworthy on December 15, 1836, which, upon receiving, I read with great joy, especially this: That now is a favorable time for the fulfillment of our common desire in the monastery, for the addition of staff, so much! Your Reverence! The Mother of God entrusts you with this monastery to make intercession. However, on our part, if anything can lead to success, we will not renounce with all our might to deserve your great Benefactor in all accuracy. And finally, having received this pleasant news, written by the hand of Your Eminence, I immediately go to HIS Eminence with this writing, and what follows, I will not hesitate to describe to you, feeding myself with the hope that now there is less difficulty in continuing this subject. And so, falling at the feet of Your Reverence, having both the Helper and the Intercessor of the monastery entrusted to me, a zealous Intercessor, by which I can sufficiently deserve you, unless your name and intercession will be known forever and throughout the generations! With humility, in all Your Reverence I am and will forever remain with the brethren a zealous pilgrim of the Theotokos who reveres you greatly Most Reverend Father I offer my sincere and heartfelt gratitude to Your Most Reverence from face to earth for your love and zeal for me, wretched, to remember me, and I ask you not to forget me, a sinner, in the prayers of your saints, and I, unworthy, dare to congratulate you on the upcoming solemn holiday, and may God grant you to spend your time in spiritual salvation and joy, and wish me the same, and I will always for you in my unworthy prayers, to the best of my ability. I leave, and will forever remain your pilgrim, My deepest respect to Father Evangel. And from me, a desert dweller, the most respectful respect to Your Reverence. Most venerable Benefactor to us poor people and our monastery! Father Archimandrite! Father Ignatius! The well-being and benefit of our monastery, accomplished through your exalted person, in addition to her staff, gave rise to the boldness in us to give thanks, with which we were filled to excess, boiling beyond measure before our unforgettable patron. - Reverently, firstly, glorifying the greatness of God and the intercession of His Most Pure Mother, the Most Blessed Lady, casting ourselves down to you as a whole, we are delighted with this humility of ours, which comes from the feeling of the heart, and not from any reasoning or flattering words. “Upon receiving only unexpected joy, my brothers and I, having held a vigil with thanksgiving to the Lord God and the zealous Intercessor, glorify and will continue to glorify His mercy. Abiding in such feelings, we will remain with gratitude forever before Your Reverence, and with the desire for your prosperity, health, and all the good things in Christ God, not only in this life, but also in the future life. Your Reverence! Most Gracious Father! Most humble novices! Oryol diocese in Sevsky district, Ploshchanskaya Pustyn - Rector and brethren. III. Letter from desert novice Nikolai Chistyakov All-merciful Benefactor. Your Reverence, in a letter to a person much respected by me, allowed me to be honored with a very flattering review, which is why, on the advice of the same person, I take the liberty of bothering you with a request to accept me under your protection. Having decided to dedicate the abilities given to me by God to the service of the Church in the rank of monk, I now ask you to deign to accept me into the brotherhood, nurtured by your personal leadership, in which I am ready to use all my efforts in order, according to your instructions, to try to achieve eternal salvation, the only goal of my existence. “Having explained my feelings in this way, I consider it my duty to report to Your Reverence that in your letter regarding me, the regency is mentioned, but although I know musical singing, I have never actually been a regent. In conclusion of this letter, leaving the method of transferring me from this monastery to the discretion and power of your influence, I repeat my request to honor me with the patronage and prayers of your saints, and with the deepest reverence and unlimited devotion I have the happiness to call myself Your Most Reverend Disciple IV. Letter from Nicodemus, Bishop of Oryol, to Saint Ignatius 12 Your Reverence! Dear Sir! I received your most respected and most pleasant letter dated January 26, 1838, on the 7th of last February and was slow in responding to it, for which I ask you to generously excuse me. I bring to Your Reverence my sincere gratitude for the petition you accepted to increase the regular number of monastics in the Mother of God Ploshchanskaya Hermitage known to you; deign, through your agency, to bring what has begun to a happy ending. The monastery is truly beautiful and well-appointed. Whenever I visit it, I always admire it. For this, allow me, Your Reverence, to congratulate you on the upcoming all-joyful holiday of the bright and life-giving Resurrection of Christ and heartily wish you to fully enjoy the incorruptible fruits of it. Let me still hope for the continuation of your goodwill towards me and, if necessary, to address you, which will oblige me to be forever grateful and grateful to you. Committing myself to your auspicious prayers with true reverence and complete devotion, I have the honor to be Your Most Reverend Gracious Sovereign Most humble servant and worshiper Nikodim, Bishop of Oryol. II. Archimandrite Feofan Novoezersky and Abbess Feofaniya (Gotovtseva) In a letter to the Most Reverend Iliodor, Archbishop of Kursk, Saint Ignatius, among other things, wrote: “Again I saw other abbots for whom leaving office and living in retirement was a means to achieving deep peace both in soul and body. As an example of the latter, I can imagine Father Theophan, Archimandrite of Novoezersk, who died in Bose and was known for his piety: I had the good fortune to see him, I had the good fortune to talk with him.” An outstanding ascetic of Catherine’s time, Archimandrite Theophan (in the world Theodore Sokolov, May 11, 1752 - December 3, 1832) at the age of 19 retired to the Sanaksar hermitage to Father Theodore Ushakov 13, and after the latter’s exile to the Solovetsky Monastery, he moved to the Vvedensky Monastery of the Vladimir diocese, then, in 1775 g., went to Moldova to the Tisman monastery, where he was tonsured. However, due to the intensified oppression of the Turks, he could not stay there and in 1780 he moved to the Sophronie Hermitage of the Kursk Diocese. From here he was transferred to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and, thanks to his humility and hard work, was taken into the cell-attendance of Metropolitan Gabriel and promoted to hieromonk. Here he had the opportunity to explain to his superiors the innocence of his former elder Theodore Ushakov, and he, by decree of Catherine II, was summoned from exile and returned to the Sanaksar hermitage. Subsequently, Metropolitan Gabriel elected Fr. Theophan was among the advisers to the Lavra scientists, who were entrusted with verifying the translation into Slavic of the Philokalia made by Paisius Velichkovsky 14. This election testified to the excellent knowledge of Fr. Theophan of the Greek language, as well as about his experienced understanding of spiritual life. In 1791 Fr. Theophan was made abbot of the Modena Monastery of the Novgorod diocese, but in 1793, at the request of the Beloezersky citizens, he was transferred to the Kirillo-Novoezersky Monastery, located on an island in Lake Novy. The Kirillo-Novoezersky Monastery was experiencing extreme decline at that time: there were only seven brethren, the buildings were all in a dilapidated state. Father Feofan, first of all, introduced a hostel and a new order of service. Reverent worship, the strictness of life of the monks, the meekness and wisdom of the abbot soon increased the number of brethren to 80 people, attracted pilgrims and benefactors, among whom were rich merchants, as well as members of the royal family. In 1799 Fr. Feofan was appointed dean of the monasteries, including the Goritsky maiden monastery. In 1819 he was summoned to St. Petersburg and elevated to archimandrite. For 36 years of management Fr. Feofan the Novoezersky Monastery was brought into excellent condition, its appearance completely changed, many stone buildings were built instead of dilapidated ugly buildings, and the outside was surrounded by a stone wall with six towers. Even more about. Theophan cared about the spiritual structure of the brethren, constantly teaching them privately or in a general meeting. Not only in his monastery, but also in the monasteries of his deanery. He paid especially much attention to the sisters of the Goritsky Monastery, with whom he maintained active correspondence. “His teachings, coming directly from the depths of the heart, could touch even the most hardened souls, not with the beauty and pomp of expression, but with that heartfelt tenderness and power that constitute true spiritual anointing.” In 1829, due to weakening bodily strength and severe illness of the legs, the seventy-seven-year-old old man was forced to ask for dismissal from his position. But he left in his place his student for 27 years, abbot Arkady, who continued his work for the benefit of the monastery. This was the situation in which the young novices, Dmitry Aleksandrovich Bryanchaninov and Mikhail Vasilievich Chikhachev, who arrived there in February 1830, found the Novoyezersky Monastery. Both the archimandrite and the brethren received them with great cordiality. Looking ahead, it should be noted that it was here that the future Archimandrite Ignatius found his faithful friend and associate, Pavel Petrovich Yakovlev. In a letter to his mother, Sofya Alexandrovna, Dmitry Alexandrovich wrote that he had heard about Fr. Feofane really wanted to get to know him: “besides, if I lived somewhere near Vologda, then I would not have peace until I visited Father Feofan in the Novozersky monastery - now this matter is already in the bag.” However, after the lessons of Father Leonid (Nagolkin), it seemed too simple to him: “I heard a lot about Novoyezersk and saw little of what I heard; order in the White Banks is much stricter and better, all-night vigils are exactly twice as long... The brethren are very free in their behavior... I saw Fr. Feofan several times, and he told about himself that he served in civilian service in Moscow, at the age of eighteen he left the world, lived for some time in the Sanaksar desert under Fr. Theodore Ushakov, then in Moldavia under Feodosiya, but Paisiy Nyametsky never saw him, he was the cell attendant of Metropolitan Gabriel for ten years and the local rector for more than 30 years.” Soon, however, the damp climate of the Novozersky monastery began to have a detrimental effect on the health of Dmitry Alexandrovich, and already in June 1830, his parents, completely ill, transported him to Vologda. Immediately after Dmitry Alexandrovich’s departure, correspondence was established between him and Pavel Petrovich Yakovlev. Particularly interesting is a letter dated December 1832, which spoke about literary works in the Novoezersky monastery. In recent years, Archimandrite Theophan has been compiling the life of Fr. Theodore Ushakov and editing his “Conversations”, and his students - the biography of Archimandrite Feofan himself. At the same time, knowing about the literary talents of Dmitry Alexandrovich, now the father of Ignatius Brianchaninov, they used his advice and corrections of texts. “Be it known to you,” he wrote to them, “that the life of Fr. Feofan I have quite carefully corrected, and as you wish, but beware of replacing the good with mediocre. Know that his moral teaching in the Life, added by me, has taken on such a form that for people with taste and knowledge it seems a very coherent, simple and powerful passage. This moral teaching, together with the description of his morality and death, constitutes the entire beauty of this biography. The fence, the sacristy, audiences, etc. These are the least interesting things in the life of a person who is famous for his lofty morality, humility and contempt for all vanity.” Dmitry Alexandrovich spent only four months in the Novoezersky Monastery, but it is clear that Father Feofan made a deep impression on him: he returned to memories of him more than once throughout his life. Thus, in 1838, while dealing with the circumstances in the Valaam Monastery on behalf of the Holy Synod, in a Report addressed to Metropolitan Seraphim, he cited as an example “the most venerable elder Fr. Theophan of Novoezersk,” who “in the likeness of the righteous Job, leaving the occupation to external objects to Fr. Benjamin, he himself was constantly engaged in prayers and the word of God.” In 1847, in the above letter to Archbishop Iliodor, he also appointed Fr. Feofan as an example, when “a rector living in retirement, if he loves to study in the Law of God, if he chooses Mary’s part as his lot, and is wary of any participation in Marfina’s part, then he will spend his days quietly, serenely, especially in a deserted and communal monastery,” and in 1861 in a letter to Abbot Anthony (Bochkov), he, discussing the “diversified monastic trends,” wrote: “In 1829, during the life of Elder Feofan, I came to Novoyezersk, having lived in Optina and Ploshchanskaya: the Novoyezersk monks seemed to me to be laymen, despite the excellent improvement of the monastery and the order of worship, which, however, was lower than Ploshchansky and Beloberezhsky. I asked the monks: do they go to the Elder for advice and revelation of thoughts. They answered: “no one goes, with the exception of Komarovsky 15, and mainly the Goritsky nuns and a large number of lay people turn to the Elder for advice.” I talked several times with the Elder: he directly rejected mental activity, as very convenient for the transition to delusion, and showed very little erudition. He lived a fasted life; went to services without missing a beat; I got up an hour before Matins and read the rule in my cell; He was of athletic build and short in stature. In accordance with his own direction, he led others: both the Novoyezersky brotherhood and the Goritsky brothers were alien to spiritual work; “all their attention is focused on the appearance of outward behavior and physical feats.” By the way, Saint Ignatius was familiar with some of the nuns of the Goritsky nunnery. With two of them, who in the future showed themselves to be great ascetics, he maintained friendly relations in the Lord for many years. The first is Mother Feofania (in the world Alexandra Sergeevna Gotovtseva, nee Shchulepnikova; February 15, 1787–May 16, 1866). In 1809, on January 15, she married Major General Semyon Stepanovich Gotovtsev, and on August 8 of the same year he died from wounds received in the battle with the Swedes; four years later, on November 13, 1813, her little daughter Anna died. While her daughter was still alive, Alexandra Sergeevna, having visited the Novoezersky Monastery, met Fr. Feofan, and after her death she corresponded with him, finding in his letters reinforcement and consolation in her sorrows. In 1818, she finally decided to go to the monastery, choosing Goritsky, known for its piety, for this purpose. She arrived there on March 9 and already on September 16 she was tonsured into the ryassophore and renamed Feofania; She was tonsured into the mantle almost 20 years later - on November 8, 1837. At that time, Mauritius (Khodneva) was the abbess of the monastery. Being herself one of the simple and illiterate, “she received from God a special gift to run the monastery, and the fame of her ascetic life attracted to her those seeking salvation from temptation and vanity in solitude and prayer” 16 . The number of nuns in the monastery under her extended to 600 people. At first, she treated the newcomer Feofania with great distrust, considering her a white-handed girl. But, seeing her sincere readiness to fulfill any obedience, her humility and submission, she fell in love with her and made her her trusted assistant and adviser. Alexandra Sergeevna’s departure to the monastery made a great impression on her family. After some time, her elder sister, Anna Sergeevna, arrived at the Goritsky monastery, on the third day she took monastic vows, and three years later - into the mantle, receiving the name Mauritius; She died as a schema-nun at the age of eighty-two in 1855. A year after Anna Sergeevna, three more of their relatives entered the monastery. Their brother, Pyotr Sergeevich Shchulepnikov, wished to enter the Novoezersky monastery, but being in poor health, he died in the Goritsky monastery before reaching there. The spiritual joy for nun Feofania was the entry into the monastery in 1824 of a pupil of Countess A. A. Orlova-Chesmenskaya 17, Maria Nikitichna Krymova (June 30, 1800 - February 2, 1866). A beauty who received an excellent education at the Smolny Institute, she was burdened by worldly joys and chose the Goritsky Monastery because she had heard a lot about its strict monastic rules and the pious life of its ascetics. A few months after her arrival, she was tonsured by Fr. Feofan Novozersky, and she was given the name Barsanuphia. Abbess Mauritius assigned her to Sister Feofania, and she “remained in her obedience and in her cells, although in different rooms, for more than forty-one years.” The seclusion of the Goritsy Monastery, its leadership by Abbess Mauritius, the strict life in labor - everything here corresponded to the ideal of monasticism, to which the nuns Feofania and Barsanuphia strove. But the temptation came in 1845, when a “strict decree” was received: nun Feofania must be in St. Petersburg by the first of July. In the capital, by the will of the Sovereign Emperor Nicholas I, a women's monastery was to be restored. The nun of the Goritsky Monastery, Feofania (Gotovtseva), was elected as the restorer. Mother Feofania was then already sixty years old, but those who chose her to bring the will of the Sovereign to life were perspicacious. “There was great confusion in the monastery,” Feofania herself and those who had to part with her shed many tears. The abbess “turned black with hidden grief.” But the orders from the authorities demanded execution. Mother Feofania took with her to St. Petersburg the nuns Barsanuphia, Julia and Hermione (the former maid of her youth, Dunya). A little later, by order of Metropolitan Anthony, twenty more nuns were sent to her from Goritsy. The ceremony of consecrating nun Feofania to the abbess took place on October 28, 1845. Metropolitan Anthony himself dedicated it. It was hard for everyone who arrived from the well-maintained Goritsky Monastery from scratch in indifferent St. Petersburg. The Mother Superior shed many tears, her charges shed many tears, but they also put in a lot of work before the magnificent Resurrection Novodevichy Convent began to rise. Abbess Feofania turned out to be a talented organizer, with a great sense of tact, which attracted both benefactors and employees. Her main assistant and inspirer in her work was the nun Barsanuphia, who more than once rescued the monastery in difficult moments with her ability to find new donors. She, who herself had a beautiful voice, helped the Mother Superior in selecting and training choir members for beautiful singing during services. Both of them managed to set up handicraft workshops in the monastery, attract teachers to teach the sisters icon painting, gold embroidery, and making church utensils. The products that came out of the workshops became the best decorations for churches. The modest workers gave twenty years of their lives to the monastery. This is quite a long time for a human life. But looking at the results of their work, at the newly emerged majestic churches, at their unique architecture, imagining how beautiful they looked from the inside, it seems incredible that all this was created in such a short period of time! Of course, God's providence was at work! There is every reason to believe that the first monastery with which Abbess Feofania established contacts upon her arrival in St. Petersburg was Sergius Hermitage. If only because there was Pavel Petrovich Yakovlev, whom she knew from childhood and experienced in monastic affairs, whose advice she used throughout the management of the monastery. She could also meet Saint Ignatius (then still Dmitry Alexandrovich Brianchaninov) during his stay at the Novozersky Monastery. Evidence that he was familiar with some of the nuns of the Goritsky monastery are his notes in letters to Yakovlev when he came to Goritsy to visit his mother: “Take the trouble to convey my all-zealous bow, firstly, to the most venerable parent of your mother Sophia, and secondly, to the most venerable Mrs. Abbess Elder Schema-nun, and to others who know me in the Lord.” Their acquaintance could have continued during the visits of Abbess Mauritius and Feofania, who accompanied her, to St. Petersburg on monastery business. The constant possibility of personal meetings between Abbess Feofaniya and Archimandrite Ignatius made correspondence unnecessary. Therefore, more detailed written evidence of their relationship is missing. But in 1847, Archimandrite Ignatius retired from St. Petersburg to the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery. Already in a letter dated September 7 to his governor, he writes: “When meeting with the Lady Abbess Feofaniya, show her, as well as Mother Barsanuphia, my most zealous bow”; in a letter written in October: “Take the trouble to congratulate Madam Abbess Feofania on her Angel’s Day, when it comes, I entrust myself to her holy prayers. “And Mother Barsanuphia, of course, I am sure, does not forget me”; dated December 25: “Give yourself or through someone two copies of the “Valaam Monastery” to the St. Petersburg Maiden Convent to Madam Abbess and Dean. I ask them to look into these notebooks themselves, but not to give them to anyone."... The abbess and dean of the Novodevichy Convent maintained close relations with the Sergius Hermitage even after Bishop Ignatius left St. Petersburg. Sincere friendship connected them with the successor of Bishop Ignatius, Archimandrite Ignatius (Malyshevym). On February 3, 1866, he concelebrated with two saints, Metropolitan Arseny of Kyiv and Bishop Nektary of Nizhny Novgorod at the Liturgy and funeral service for the deceased mother Barsanuphia. And on May 9 of the same year, a week before the death of Abbess Feofania herself, he came to pray for her. “Don’t leave mine!” – she repeated to him several times. During the entire time of Abbess Feofania’s last illness, Pavel Petrovich Yakovlev was with her almost without waste. “She often said that from his childhood he was ready to serve her, like a dutiful son to his mother... Gathering her strength, she conveyed to him her desires and orders for monastic affairs, since she had long been accustomed to using his experienced advice and willingness to serve her to the best of his ability” 18. The last request of Mother Superior Feofaniya to the sisters was: “Pray that our monastery will stand until the end of time!” Through her and their prayers, the Resurrection Novodevichy Convent is currently rising from ruins through the labors of their followers and admirers to once again take its rightful place among the historical shrines of St. Petersburg. Letter from Saint Ignatius to Abbess Feofaniya (Gotovtseva) 19 In your patience, gain your soul and the souls of your verbal sheep, committing them mentally to the Will and Providence of God: we, the abbots, are nothing more than instruments of God’s providence. We, on our own, mean nothing and, without the special help of God, we cannot care not only for our neighbors, but for ourselves. Such reflection will bring peace to your heart. I am talking to you as if to myself. There is no need to be very sad about those who disobey and do not heed the word of salvation; but, having told them what is appropriate, surrender them to the will of God, which can turn them to the right path through other weapons and means, of which there are countless in the right hand. Unfortunately for our time, just as you are pleased to say, many, when entering a monastery, are concerned only with earthly things and remain alien to the monastic goal and monastic direction; Moreover, with their example and influence they shake other unestablished ones. What to do? This situation is very disastrous; but even this plight must be placed on the will of God and we must admit from the heart that we do not deserve another position, and if we deserved it, then a just and merciful God would certainly grant it. Such reflections bring peace and tranquility to the soul that truly seeks God: because the Word of God has determined for us to find peace of mind in a single humility and self-reproach. Prayer for them has a stronger effect on neighbors than a word to them: because prayer brings into action the omnipotent God himself, and God does with His creation everything that is pleasing to Him. He opened the ears of his heart to listen to the words of Paul; and in those cases when the finger of God did not act on the listeners, the words of the great Paul himself remained fruitless. Let us, Most Reverend Mother, shepherd the sheep entrusted to us diligently and with many prayers for them, faith, humility, patience, soul-edifying, feasible and moderate words, so that the frequent word does not produce, as a certain great Father noted, an aversion to the word in the listeners. And may God cover us. Letters from Archimandrite Feofan to Alexandra Sergeevna Gotovtseva (Abbess Feofania) May God's mercy be with you! I received a letter from Your Excellency from the post office this October, the 9th, in which you deign to explain your sadness and the painful feelings touching your soul, that your heart is in constant agitation, the world is becoming unbearable, laziness is frightening to accept the strict life of an angelic image, and you are afraid of the embarrassment of monastic life, which supposedly you should not rely on without the calling of God. When you think of making a firm intention to change your life, all passions become agitated and strong horror takes hold; Do you require instruction from me on what to do to save you? Considering these circumstances, I find it difficult to resolve them, but I advise you to resort to the Lord God and ask for mercy from Him, like everyone around the Merciful Father, who cares about our salvation, and cry out to Him: Tell me, Lord, I will go the other way, for I have taken my soul to You! Lord, I have come to You, teach me to do Your will, for You are my God 21. The Lord God arranged the path to salvation, and everyone chose for himself according to his own zeal: they were saved in deserts, mountains and in the abysses of the earth, in wanderings, in foolishness, in seclusion and standing on pillars, but these paths are very cruel and regrettable; monastic life is organized according to the will of God, according to the word of our Savior: Where... two or three congregations are gathered in My name, I am in the midst of them 22, how much more in a larger congregation? Monastic life is also revered by the Holy Church and by the earthly heavens, where God is constantly glorified as by an angel in heaven; but just as in a large gathering, confusion occurs among themselves for a short time, because they gather from different places, different upbringings, different morals, and, not knowing how to calm each other down and bear each other’s burdens, because of this they are offended; but if someone has a sound mind, he can calm down himself and calm others with forgiveness and love. In the monasteries of the Holy Church, according to the rules, it is prescribed to have and prepare simple food, in order to obtain it conveniently and so as not to waste time on unnecessary care; Also, the clothes should be simple, and therefore the most comfortable, black, both for humility and for non-staining. In former times, Queens and Princesses entered the monasteries, and Tsars and Tsareviches entered the men’s monasteries, both in other states and in our Russian one, and they were not afraid; and it is impossible for them not to bear sorrows, but through this they are saved. God calls everyone to salvation with promises for future benefits. Come,” he says, “to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest: take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you will find rest for your souls 23.” If Your Excellency has no inclination towards worldly life, come to the Lord, work for Him in this short-term life; God does not require great feats, but only meekness and humility and purity of soul and body. Blessed are those who are pure in heart: for they will see God 24; For God to work a little in this life, but there is a lot of reward, which the human mind cannot comprehend. God is true, and there is no untruth in Him; He will fulfill what He promised, but God forbid that we should lose this for our weakness and unbelief! The death of His saints is honorable before the Lord; the righteous will be an eternal memory; he will not fear the hearing of evil; on the contrary: let sinners and lawless women disappear from the earth, as if they did not exist. Terrible reproach! I advise Your Excellency, in the first case, so that monastic life would not seem difficult without habit, try this: first, alternately live in the Goritsky Monastery (as in this monastery there is a rule corresponding to monastic life, and church singing, and decent reading), without changing your clothes, and when it seems boring, you can visit the house until you get used to this life. If it seems incongruous what to do, although you can spend your days at home, and as God calls you to Himself, and does not force you, in the same way, I offer Your Excellency only my opinion, and do not affirm it, and you, depending on your strength, choose the path, as I mentioned, according to the will of God. So, wishing Your Excellency every well-being, and may God’s blessing be upon you, I will remain Your Excellency’s zealous wisher of all blessings and worshiper, Abbot Feofan of Kirillo-Novoezersk. God's blessing to your sister and a prosphora to you; I am returning your brother's letter. Most Reverend Mother Feofania, may God’s mercy be with you! I received your letter from your mother Mauritius, in which you write about your mental disorder and don’t know what to do with yourself, that you are in a worse state, and even to the point of despair, and ask me to scold you. To this I answer you: whoever loves punishment and reproof and accepts it, for him this may be spiritual healing. The Holy Apostle Paul says in his letter to Timothy: All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for discipline in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, prepared for every good work 26 . Now things have come, at your request, to the point where you should be scolded, but I instruct you to do this: scold yourself well. Tell yourself: “Feofaniya, who are you? Earth, dust, ashes, food for worms, and how can you resist the word of God, the teachings of Heaven?” Christ, the Son of God, commands patience! In your patience you will gain your souls, but you do not want to endure the sorrowful adventures that happen. Christ, the Son of God, Himself deigned to endure ours for the sake of salvation, being sinless. And so tell yourself: “Come to your senses! If in this life unpleasant incidents lead you to such impatience that you rush to despair, then how will you endure eternal torment in the future endless life? Is it similar to the Christian life, and even more so to the spiritual life? The Lord called you into His service, ranked you among the angels, brought you into His heavenly fence, into the holy abode, but you are insensitive, what do you lack? Just moved into the Kingdom of Heaven? Be patient with humility, you will receive what the Lord promised. You are busy with empty thoughts, you leave the Lord God, you do not place hope in Him, you mentally flee from His face, He calls: Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest... and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble in heart: and you will find rest for your souls. Also tell yourself: “Feofaniya, look, what are you doing? You neglect the humble words of your Creator, the pleasant invocation: Come to me... I will give you rest. What is more precious than this? Even if someone had the treasure of the entire universe, could it bring peace? Can the Kingdom of Heaven give? But it can’t give anything eternal, and only one dream will show one to delight, as if in a dream. Having fallen asleep with her sleep and having risen, she found nothing in her hands 27. “If, Feofania,” tell yourself, “you don’t feel it and don’t want to humble yourself and surrender yourself to the Lord’s will, then you will hear the terrible saying of your Lord, the Benefactor, the Most Merciful Father: Go from Me... Where to? Into eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angel” 28. A terrible saying of the good, meek and Most Merciful Father! This is what rudeness, bitterness, and petrification, and our insensibility about all the mercies poured out on us bring us to! I, for my part, ask you to admit your sin before the Lord God, fall before His face and say: Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit away from Me. Reward me with the joy of Your salvation and strengthen me with the Spirit of the Lord 29. Then you will hear a blessed voice: Your sins are forgiven, be in peace and quiet and do not sin. We have enough examples: saints have sinned and received forgiveness; There were also great sinners and sinners, they turned to the Lord, repented, the Lord gave them the same lot as the saints. Do not be embarrassed, say to yourself the prophetic word: Turn, my soul, to your rest, for the Lord is good to you. As if my soul was taken away from death, my eyes from tears and my nose from crawling 30. If the carver and gilder give you anxiety, what should you do? Also resort to patience; God will fix everything, although somewhat later than we had planned. Was it not a good intention to allow vain thoughts that you would have time to bring your chapel to consecration before others, forgetting to ask for God’s help? And so, at the time appointed by you, it will not be fulfilled, but it will be fulfilled. Pray to the Lord God to help, and God will help, and you apply your efforts without embarrassment. So, wishing you a peaceful life, I will remain your reverence, a zealous wisher of all the best “Political figure, patriot of Russia” - this is what church historians who were well disposed towards him called the famous Archimandrite of the Novgorod Yuryev Monastery Photius. Archimandrite Photius (in the world Pyotr Nikitich Spassky, 1792–1838) was born into a poor family, his father was a reader of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord in the Spassky Pogost, Novgorod district. After graduating from the Novgorod seminary, he entered the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, but due to illness he was unable to graduate. In 1817 he was tonsured and sent as a teacher to the Cadet Corps. Already at this time, with his abilities, he attracted the attention of Metropolitan Seraphim and such outstanding spiritual writers as Innocent (Veniaminov) and Filaret (Drozdov). In 1821 he was appointed abbot of the Derevyanitsky monastery, in 1822 - of the Skovorodsky monastery, but in the same year he was transferred to the ancient Yuriev Monastery of the Novgorod diocese. Archimandrite Photius showed himself especially clearly as an opponent of Masonic lodges and mysticism, as well as the Bible Society 31, headed by the Minister of Spiritual Affairs and Public Education, Prince A. N. Golitsyn 32. At the request of Metropolitan Seraphim and Countess A.A. Orlova-Chesmenskaya 33 who supported Photius, he was received by Alexander I. The conversation with him made such an impression on the Sovereign Emperor that the activities of Masonic lodges in Russia were prohibited, and after a second audience in 1824, the Ministry headed by Prince A.N. Golitsyn was abolished. The activities of the Bible Society were suspended already under Nicholas I in 1826, as a result of the report of Metropolitans Seraphim and Evgeniy Bolkhovitinov. Photius then wrote to his friend, Archimandrite Gerasim of the Simonov Monastery: “Rejoice, elder reverend, wickedness has been stopped, the blasphemous army of the devil has fallen, heresies and schisms have rendered the tongue numb; All ungodly societies, like hell, were crushed.” The personality of Archimandrite Photius evoked different feelings among his contemporaries. On the one hand, with his anti-Masonic activities he made many enemies, who intrigued and spread many slander against him. But at the same time, his struggle for the purity of Orthodoxy, his activity as an abbot attracted to him a large number of true admirers from different strata of society. An admirer of Archimandrite Photius, Andrei Nikolaevich Muravyov, wrote about him: “His face will be remarkable in the chronicles of Novgorod: in addition to the extraordinary nature of his own life, the grueling fast during daily service, the forty-day silence during Lent and other feats. he really was not only the renovator of his monastery, but also a real archimandrite of all the Novgorod monasteries, according to the ancient appointment of the abbots of Yuryev” 34. It should also be added that Archimandrite Photius was also known as a writer: under his successors, the library of the Yuriev Monastery contained 24 books of his works. Among the people close to Photius were famous government and church leaders. His spiritual daughters were Princess Praskovya Mikhailovna Tolstaya - daughter of M. I. Kutuzov-Golenishchev; widow of G.R. Derzhavin, Daria Alekseevna; the daughter of the hero of Chesma, Countess Anna Alekseevna Orlova-Chesmenskaya and others. Their extensive correspondence remains a monument to the relationship with them. Among Photius' admirers there were many wealthy benefactors, their zeal greatly contributed to the renovation of the Yuryev Monastery. From 1821 to 1831, Archimandrite Photius received up to 300 thousand rubles from them. But the main benefactor was A. A. Orlova-Chesmenskaya. Countess Anna Alekseevna did charity to many monasteries, including the Sergius Hermitage, which she helped out more than once in difficult circumstances. However, she had the closest spiritual relationships with Archimandrite Photius and the Yuryev Monastery. Until 1832, she spent about 700 thousand rubles on the Yuriev Monastery. Thanks to these huge sums, Archimandrite Photius raised the monastery from ruins and turned it into one of the richest and most beautiful monasteries in Russia. But, according to A.N. Muravyov: “[He] poured out the same stream of generous deeds on other wretched monasteries of the ancient Slavic capital. And Saint Sophia, the sacred pledge of Novgorod’s glory, also became the subject of his concerns.” A.N. considered Photius’s greatest merit. Muravyov, there was “the restoration of the ancient rite of monastic life in one’s monastery, and through this arousal of the spirit of prayer, the very rite of worship and church melodies resonated with something long past, and therefore became close to the heart; unwittingly kindling the spirit of prayer by seeing and hearing ancient church life.” These words of A. N. Muravyov allow us to think that Photius’s direction in leading the monastery was akin to that pursued by Archimandrite Ignatius Brianchaninov in the Sergius Hermitage. Whether they met in person - there is no evidence of this. The biography of the saint only notes that in 1832 Mikhail Vasilyevich Chikhachev visited the Yuryev Monastery and introduced himself to the abbot there. But, in any case, Countess Anna Alekseevna, who maintained friendly relations with the Sergius Monastery, of course, told her spiritual father about its young abbot. And the above letter from Archimandrite Photius to Archimandrite Ignatius - from senior to junior - is very favorable. Archimandrite Ignatius Yuryev visited the monastery in 1847 on his way to the Nikolo-Babaevsky monastery. On July 12 of this year, he wrote to his governor in the Sergiev Hermitage: “...at the last station towards Novgorod, heavy rain began, accompanying us all the way to Yuryev. In Yuryev, Father Archimandrite received me very favorably; This morning I was at early mass in the lower cave Church; Father Vladimir celebrated mass with his disciple Hierodeacon Vitaly: they are very nice together. Father Vladimir serves reverently - what should an elder do? Vitaly - with pleasant simplicity. After the Liturgy, Father Archimandrite sent a memorial service to the cathedral for the deceased restorer of the Yuryev monastery. Father Vladimir will send you two portraits of Father Photius and a view of the Yuryev Monastery. Take one of the portraits for yourself; and they ordered another portrait and a view of the monastery to be made into paper frames for my cells. Today is Saturday; soon a loud and sonorous bell will ring for the all-night vigil; I’m thinking of participating in the Divine Service this evening and tomorrow morning, and tomorrow afternoon I’ll set off on my further journey.” Letter from Archimandrite Photius to Saint Ignatius 35 Rejoice, reverend father, I rejoice over you and thank Christ God that you care about your flock, love not only your children, but also have mercy on the sick who come. Your love prays that I accept to myself the sick man who is in your monastery: you are doing a good deed, that you want God to heal him from the devil: but I will tell you good advice: this kind of people are betrayed into the power of the enemy from above and the enemy torments them here, so that they do not suffer there; for the sake of our chastity it is given to such as you have a demon, so that his spirit may be saved. It happens that the soul of such people is always bound by the unclean spirit, not having the ability to do anything good, only at some time it is in its freedom, then it is in its full mind and action and does purer things, and sees that which of us is free from the evil one and does not endure temptation. The spirit torments another, having his dwelling in it, and in another he does not live at all, but serves another, like a slave to Satan, and is all of him, and for this reason he does not tempt, but protects him as his own, and different people have different judgments about themselves, and here they accept temptation for themselves. Some who suffer from demons, like gold, do not burn in fire; but others who do not suffer, only the enemy will attack them, like dry grass, will soon be burned by him and consumed. But for everyone there is a time when temptation will come. And so, from countless experiences, I will say, being merciful about myself: do not get involved at all with the demons: do not disdain the one who comes, do not drive him out, do not be afraid, do not be embarrassed, but do not cleave to him: the good spirit sometimes draws the sufferer there, where he does not want to go for his temporary and eternal good. The wicked spirit, a fisher of hell, often comes to catch in his net those who are not careful, tempting in various ways, and the Holy Spirit of Heaven delivers the enemy into the hands of those most caught: and the word of Scripture is fulfilled over the demon: a pit of destruction and a pit of fossils, and he himself will fall into it 36 ​​. Now you see the solution to your illness. And you must not hold, nor can I invite him, lest temptation come upon us. And the temptation here is great and terrible, as you cannot even imagine; If God Himself does not come to the rescue, then both the sick person and the one who has mercy on him without grace can perish. I am afraid to think what happens, but lack of art does not know this: let the demonic go where his spirit leads him; The state of such people is wonderful: one can say that they pass through fire and water for many years, and do not die anywhere, and find peace for themselves. I had many images of such inscrutable rogues of the earth. It happens that Satan and the devil appear in all their flattering powers, signs and wonders, and deceive, tempt, and destroy even those who fight with him: and many, like the cedars of Lebanon, great in exploits, lofty in vision, are crushed before the spirit of the enemy’s power, when, like a storm, the storm comes and finds the crusher. Nothing of ours can stand up for us except the grace of Christ: watch and pray, Holy Father, so that you do not fall into misfortune. Remember that the Doctor did not pass all the healings along the path where demons lived in tombs: but the Holy Gospel says that no one else could pass that way, and not only heal: it gives us prudent caution, so that we do not delve into what is above us, relying on ourselves. From this you see, God-wise Ignatius, that over your demonic affairs is not yours, and not mine, but God’s: leave him to the will of God, do not bind him, lest you bind yourself: do not tie him to me, lest you tie me to the temptation of me: whatever way he wants with God, let him go where his spirit leads him. Now he himself does not know where he is going: but God will lead him with the message of fate and will save him and have mercy. I ask your holy prayers to the Lord that my soul may be saved, like a chick from the snares of the enemy that exist from earth to heaven and as Anthony the Great saw. Rejoice, their humility passes away Appendixes to the section “Archimandrite Photius” Letter from Saint Ignatius to Countess A. A. Orlova-Chesmenskaya The Lord loves him, punishes him, and for whomever he prepares a blissful eternity, he sends sorrows and illnesses. Therefore, the one to whom illness is sent must spend time in thanksgiving to God, in glorifying God. By thanksgiving the soul is kept in patience and peace and thus increases its reward in heaven. You need to thank God like this: “I thank You, Lord my God, for everything that You deigned to send me to cleanse my sins. Thy will be done." We must praise God like this: “Lord, glory to You for everything that is happening to me! Thy holy will be done!” I advise you to repeat thanksgiving and doxology more often throughout the day. With them, little by little, peace and consolation will enter your soul, which will now be the guarantee of eternal consolation for you. Put aside vain activities. Accept my earnest advice for the consolation and salvation of your soul. May your spiritual exercise be pleasing to God, like fragrant incense, like a fat burnt offering. Your most zealous Bogomolets No. 2. Letter from St. Ignatius to the widow of G. R. Derzhavin, Daria Alekseevna 37 Dear Empress Daria Alekseevna! I received the 500 rubles you sent in banknotes, the amount being half the price that you agreed to pay to Sergius Hermitage for the daily service of the Divine Liturgy for a year. On Saturdays this service will begin at nine o'clock, no earlier, no later. With true respect, I have the honor to be your most humble servant and Bogomolets No. 3. Consecration of Archimandrite Photius, Hieromonk Anikita (Shikhmatov) On May 16, 1837, Saint Ignatius unexpectedly received a letter from Athens - from Hieromonk Anikita. Hieromonk Anikita, in the world Prince Sergius Alexandrovich Shirinsky-Shikhmatov (1783–1837) is a most interesting personality who has left a reverent memory in Russia and the East. He was born to pious parents in the village of Dernov, Smolensk province, which belonged to them. Already from childhood, he was distinguished by his extraordinary abilities, foreign languages ​​​​were especially easy for him - French and German. Also from an early age he learned the Slavic language, and his favorite reading were psalms and prayers. At the age of 10 he lost his father. At the age of 14 he was accepted into the Naval Cadet Corps, from which he was released in 1800 as a midshipman and assigned to the Scientific Committee of the Admiralty Collegium. From 1804 to 1827 he served in the naval cadet corps, from where he graduated with the rank of captain of the second rank. During his service, he continued to engage in self-education, studying English, Latin and Greek. He was also fond of poetry, writing patriotic poems and on evangelical themes. His “Ten-Stringed Psalter,” containing the transpositions of ten psalms, served as the reason for his election in 1809. full member of the Russian Academy. With all this, the pious lessons of childhood were increasingly manifested in the lifestyle of Prince Sergius Alexandrovich Shikhmatov: he attended God’s churches more often, was engaged in charity work, and was unusually abstinent. Back in 1817, he met the famous Archimandrite Photius of the Yuryev Monastery and at the same time became his follower in opposing the modernization of Orthodoxy. In this he differed from his older brothers, Pavel and Alexei Shirinsky-Shikhmatov. The brothers believed that Orthodoxy could borrow something from the practice of other Christian churches and foreign religious literature. Sergius Alexandrovich wrote to them about this: “I dare to note that I doubt whether it is useful to learn the perfection of faith from books written by heresy, to which the Spirit of God cannot reveal its secrets.” The brothers especially did not like the rapprochement between Sergius Alexandrovich and Archimandrite Photius and his intention to join the Yuryev Monastery. They believed that the Yuryev Monastery was a place where “opinions contrary to the Church have a home.” Sergius Alexandrovich tried to convince them: “Please believe me that the Yuryev Monastery is not a nest of heresy, but on the contrary, a repository of church Orthodoxy.” In November 1827, he left service and left the capital. First of all, he went home to visit his mother, and just managed to see her off on her last journey. “On the very first night he saw her in a dream and in response to a request to bless him for monastic asceticism, he heard: “There is a lot to bless, but you can allow it.” At the beginning of 1828 he moved to the Yuriev Monastery. The summer and autumn of the same year, having asked for leave from Photius, he spent in a pious wandering through ancient Russian shrines. On March 25, 1830, on the day of the Annunciation, Prince Sergius Alexandrovich Shirinsky-Shikhmatov was tonsured a monk and renamed Anikita. On March 30, he was ordained a hierodeacon, and on April 3, a hieromonk. In his person, Archimandrite Photius received a very valuable like-minded person and collaborator who helped him in his literary works and correspondence. His main obedience was to lead the Skete. He was offered abbotship in one of the monasteries. But Anikita’s aspirations were directed to the Holy Sepulcher. On May 5, 1834, having received the blessing of Archimandrite Photius, he set off and, visiting all the monasteries he encountered, arrived in Voronezh. Here the Archbishop of Voronezh, who knew about Anikita’s literary talents, asked him to write the life of St. Mitrofan 38. Then he stayed for another eight months in a monastery near Odessa due to a pestilence that had broken out in Constantinople. Thus, he arrived at Mount Athos on June 7, 1835. He settled in the Russian skete of the holy prophet Elijah, and the Abbot gave him his cell, which had previously been occupied by the builder of the monastery Paisiy (Velichkovsky). Having been imbued with the high ascetic spirit of this newly-minted Russian wonderworker while working on the life of Mitrofan of Voronezh, Anikita dreamed of building and consecrating a church in his name on Athos. To make his dream come true, he donated a significant sum of money to the Abbot of the Skete. In 1828, Prince Sergius Alexandrovich Shikhmatov (future hieromonk Anikita), heading to the Yuryevsky Monastery, visited Optina Pustyn along the way, where he met Dmitry Alexandrovich Brianchaninov (future Saint Ignatius). About this meeting of theirs, Fr. Anikita himself reminded Archimandrite Ignatius in his letter. Their life paths never crossed again. Having entered the monastery, then departed for distant lands, Fr. Anikita learned about the capital's news from the letters of his brother, Platon Aleksandrovich Shirinsky-Shikhmatov. Prince Platon Aleksandrovich Shirinsky-Shikhmatov (1790–1852) himself was also an extraordinary person. N.V. Elagin wrote about him: “For the general edification and adornment of mankind, there appear in the world people who, from an early age, are deeply imbued with true Christian piety, carefully and unshakably preserve it all the days of their lives, as a solid guarantee of heavenly mercy, help and strength.” Prince Platon Alexandrovich entered the Naval Cadet Corps in 1804, in which his brother, Sergius Alexandrovich, was appointed there as a cadet officer. Thus, during the years of study in the corps, the younger brother was under the tutelage and influence of the elder, which strengthened their family and spiritual closeness. In 1811, Platon Aleksandrovich was promoted to lieutenant, in 1813 he participated in foreign battles, and in 1816, due to health problems during campaigns, he retired and settled in the village. In 1820 he returned to public activity, but not to the military, but to public service. All these years, he continued to educate himself, like his brother, and wrote poetry. In 1824 he entered the Ministry of Public Education and remained here until the end of his days: more than a quarter of a century. On January 27, 1850 he was appointed Minister of Public Education. Unlike his older brothers, Anikita's younger brother treated Archimandrite Photius with respect: in September 1830, he and his whole family stayed at the Yuryev Monastery for a whole week. He died on May 4, 1852, having managed to write a small book before his death: “On the life and works of Hieromonk Anikita in the world of Prince Sergius Alexandrovich Shikhmatov” (St. Petersburg, 1853). Of course, while informing Anikita about the capital's news, Platon Alexandrovich also wrote to him about the influential abbot of the Sergius Hermitage, with whom he was on friendly terms. And why Anikita turned specifically to Archimandrite Ignatius, he himself writes about this in sufficient detail in his letter. ...On July 30 of the same 1835, Anikita set off on a further journey towards the goal of his journey, first by ship to Thessaloniki, then to Jaffa, and finally on September 10 arrived in Jerusalem. “With the onset of autumn,” he wrote to Platon Alexandrovich, “I locked myself in the Church of the Resurrection. Here, feeding on bread and water, I spent fourty days, and these days were for me the days of heaven... My soul burned with heavenly delight when with unclean lips I sang: Christ is risen from the dead, at the sacred rites of the Divine Mysteries there, in the sanctuary of the tomb of the Life-Giver, where He is truly risen and raised us with Himself.” On April 7, 1836, Anikita went back to Athos, but in Jaffa he learned that he had been appointed to serve in the church at the embassy in Athens. He asked for some time off to visit the Holy Mountain again. There he founded a church in the Skete in the name of St. Mitrofan, adding new sums received from pious persons to the previously donated sums. Upon arrival in Athens, Anikita's old illness worsened. The painful condition aggravated the disaster that befell the Skete on Athos, about which he writes in a letter to Saint Ignatius. On June 6, 1837, on the eve of the Feast of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, he took communion and died on June 7. After three years, the remains of Anikita were sent to Mount Athos to the Skete of the Holy Prophet Elijah. In May 1854, at the opening of the new church of St. Mitrofan, the remains of its founder were solemnly placed there in the wall near the right choir with the ringing of bells and choir singing of “Holy God.” And you, sacred dust, before rebirth, Rest in deep, hopeless silence. Then you will arise from darkness and the shadow of death, Like a fiery ray of arrows, Sparkling stream from the thickness of black clouds, From the grave you will shine in divine glory And you will soar with a splash and a song of praise, And marveling at myself in the delight of triumph, You will bow to the face of the good Deity. (From the poem “Night on the Coffins” by S. A. Shikhmatov) It should be added that with the death of Platon Alexandrovich, his family’s connection with the Sergius Hermitage did not stop. In 1869, the widow of Prince Platon Aleksandrovich Shirinsky-Shikhmatov, in memory of her deceased son Alexander Platonovich, donated 8,000 rubles to Pustyn, so that the interest from this amount would support six sick people there: four from the brethren and two from other classes. In addition, she donated another thousand rubles, the interest from which was to support two lamps: one in the hospital, the other in front of the icon of the Mother of God and the ark with holy relics, bequeathed by the princess to Pustyn after her death. Letter of the Athonite hieromonk Anikita to Saint Ignatius 39 (by the hand of St. Ignatius) Most Venerable Father Archimandrite, Beloved brother in the Lord! Thou hast set a limit, which shall not be passed, 40,” said the divine Psalmist about the waves of the sea and about the days of our fleeting life, like waves, one after another striving for eternity, and breaking on the steep shore of our universal mortality with more or less noise. How far each of us is from our limit, although we do not know; but we all know that everyone is close to it, and often we reach it suddenly, while we suppose ourselves to be in the middle of our current. Many of our formerly departed fathers and brothers have confirmed this truth with their own experience (yes, we remain vigilant on guard of our life) and, among others, our brother and your humble sheep, Father Palladius, who recently and accidentally moved from the temporary to the eternal common one, confirmed this truth. I don’t know whether rumors of his death have reached you, but I am delivering this to inform you correctly and in detail, so that his name may be remembered in your holy monastery for the salvation of his soul during the performance of a bloodless sacrifice of propitiation for the living and the dead. He was my most zealous companion of prayer in all the holy places of the holy city and the surrounding ones, and then on Holy Mount Athos, to which we returned together from Jerusalem, on which we parted, according to our assumption, for a short time, but according to the judgment of God, for an everlasting time. He went to Constantinople to apply for a new passport, intending to remain silent monastically on the Holy Mountain, and I hastened, solely out of obedience to our superior authorities, to the place assigned to me, more than any aspiration and against my will, at the local mission. From Constantinople he wrote a letter to me when he was leaving for the Holy Mountain, where he arrived on September 18 at our Russian skete monastery of the holy prophet Elijah, but unsuccessfully: for on the way he was still ill, upon his arrival he felt his mortal illness, and hastened and was honored to be endowed with the great Angelic image with the renaming of Paul, and on the 24th of the same month, with repentance departed to the Lord, having thus disposed of the remaining crumbs of his property. With his death, days of mourning began for the holy monastery, which received him into the mother’s bosom, for soon, from the saddest consequences, it turned out that his illness was a deadly plague, which he contracted in Constantinople upon his departure. From touching his body during burial, and then to his remaining belongings, the infection in the monastery became general, and the first victim of this was the most venerable abbot, Hieroschemamonk Father Parthenius (my spiritual father, whom I ask most earnestly to enroll in the Synodik of your holy monastery, as well as Schemamonk Theodore, who left after him, about whom there will be a word), and then the brethren followed abbot, so that in a short time 19 fathers lay down in the damp earth, each digging a grave for himself in advance, and 13 still survived, but are still trembling at the same fate, and are in a quarantine cordon. However, all precautions have been taken to ensure that the living remain alive. God's destinies are a vast abyss, but even His good destinies are good and we should not experience them, but should submit to them with humility and gratitude. The news of this disaster that accidentally befell the holy monastery of Ilyinskaya Russian Svyatogorsk (in which I enjoyed the most pleasant hospitality of strangers twice for two months to save my soul) disaster struck me to the depths of my heart, and this heart ulcer will not soon heal, but blessed be the name of the Lord, and not only do I hope that this paternal visit from the Lord will serve for the salvation of the brethren who have died and are living, but and I undoubtedly believe that the prayers of our holy great new Intercessor before God, Saint Mitrofan, will be the beginning of the renewal of the Svyatoilyinsky Svyatogorsk monastery, and the establishment and glorification. I heard a lot of good things, both before from various reliable persons, and after, from the late father Palladius - Paul about your monastic piety, the beginnings of which I myself joyfully witnessed in 1828 in the Optina Hermitage, which the Lord vouchsafed me to visit on my return journey from worshiping the saints of the Kiev Caves, and therefore, rejoicing at the abundant gift of grace poured out on you from above, As a brother beloved in the Lord, with brotherly frankness I will tell you the desire of my heart and ask most earnestly for your haste to fulfill it, leaving, however, completely to your will to take part in it or not, depending on the possibility, so that in the latter case your conscience is not at all disturbed. In the above-mentioned monastery visited from above, during my last stay there, the Lord vouchsafed me, together with the elder schema-monk Theodore, now resting in God (as was said above), to lay a new small church, but separate and special, in the name of the great saint of God, Mitrophan of Voronezh; and how I had to go here soon, having done with Fr. Theodore gave him a donation from the donations of pious admirers of the saint from our compatriots, sufficient for the construction of the pledged sacred building, to build it under a contract concluded on our common behalf with the craftsmen. All the materials were prepared, but the infection, not allowing the construction to begin, stole both the builder and other experienced elders skilled in this work. From the surviving brethren I received news that the money allocated for the building was intact and the materials were also intact, and after the quarantine was lifted, construction could begin. Moreover, they ask me most convincingly to personally lay the foundation for this building, and also to assist them in introducing the former monastic order into their deserted monastery, and I would very much like to fulfill their request, especially in relation to the first article, for I will not abandon using all my strength to ensure that the church founded in the name of the saint of God is built and consecrated and is resounding with the praise of God, especially when performing terrible Bloodless Sacrifice. The Lord is my helper and His Most Pure Mother, who last appeared to our Saint gave great honor, as he was the first of all our compatriot saints, on Her Holy Mountain, to be honored to be in the church named by His name, and the saint of the Lord Himself [will help] to accomplish a good deed in his honor with his wonderful help. But just as the glory of the saint of God on the Holy Mountain, the lot of his own Queen of Heaven, is the glory of all Orthodox Russians, and even more so of our most divinely crowned anointed one of God, whose reign, like many other experiences of God’s favor, was marked, so especially sealed by the appearance in his blessed days of a new intercessor for Him and His entire Kingdom, St. Mitrofan, from the incorruptible saints of his relics pouring out rivers of miracles for the benefit of the Tsar and the Orthodox Kingdom. And as the mentioned Ilyinskaya Russian skete monastery is the only place on the Holy Mountain in which during every divine service, especially during the Divine Liturgy, a prayer is offered to the Lord God for our most pious Autocrat and for all of His highest blood relatives by name, then honor for the sake of the saint of the Lord, and in alms to his zealous pilgrims, may our most pious Autocrat bow down and all His highest blood, with their generous donation, clothe the newly founded church of St. Mitrofan, like the house of God, in appropriate splendor, so that the Lord and His Most Pure Mother may glorify them, through the intercession of His saint, with His divine power for temporary prosperity and eternal bliss. But you, as by gift from above having boldness towards the Sovereign, are honored by the saint of God with the mercy of being an intercessor for this undertaking for his glory and the glory of God. And therefore, at an opportunity, if, I repeat again, you find this possible to fulfill (and if not, then be completely calm in your conscience, having abandoned this feat), ask for the Tsar’s generosity and the mercy of the holy monastery of Elias, generosity for the completion and decoration of the church, the mercy of charity for its desolation, so that, at the behest of our Orthodox Tsar, through the mediation of our envoy in Constantinople, This monastery was protected from the outside by the patronage of the Turkish government and, to the honor of the Russian name, would enjoy complete freedom from heavy taxes (which were righteously imposed by the Sultan on the Athos Greek monasteries for their participation in the general uprising of the Greeks against him and with which our compatriot hermits are innocently burdened) and would be provided with contentment inside, so that its children would joyfully and without sighing, they would lift up their hearts and souls to the Lord and to His Most Pure Mother, while remembering in their private and public prayers the highest name of the Tsar and all the Tsar’s blood branches and branches in which God-saved Russia sees hope and a guarantee of its future well-being. Thus, from your holy monastery, just as misfortune came to the St. Elias Svyatogorsk monastery, so from your own monastery may God’s mercy and renewal of prosperity flow for all the future. In the first case, you are not at all guilty, in the second, crowns of reward from above will be presented to you in this world and the future, may your name, as the creator of the monastery, be remembered in it forever and ever with prayers for your salvation and with verbal and heartfelt blessings from all those who monk there. Your labor before the Lord will not be in vain; but through the prayers of the Queen of Heaven for you, as a reverent admirer of the shrine of Her churches of the Holy Mount Athos, and through the prayers of St. Mitrofan for you, as a zealot for his glorification on earth for the salvation of many, the Lord will not leave His mercy on you and on your holy monastery. If you decide to ask a benefactor from above to ask for generous royal alms for the creation and worthy decoration of a new church in the name of our new saint, so that with its shining splendor to all ends of Athos it will testify now and in the future to everyone in all Greek monasteries to our monastic Orthodox fellow Greeks about the reverence of our most pious royal house for the shrine, like befits the house of the Lord, then do not leave, by the generosity of alms, to obtain for me a great mercy, which is necessary for the completion of the supposedly incipient building, namely, that the spiritual authorities dismiss me from my present place with the issuance, as usual, of those sent on the way back to Russia, and with permission, before this return, to live on the Holy Mountain for a year in order to properly bring it to an end the newly built St. Mitrophan Church in the monastery of St. the prophet Elijah, with the delivery of possible splendor to her. This dismissal, as we saw above, is necessary for me due to the death of my venerable colleague in the building and other elders of the monastery, on whom this sacred task could be entrusted. And since now His Highness the Tsarevich deigns to attend, as I was told, synodal meetings, having free access to him, you can conveniently free me from serving at the local mission, to serve the Lord and His Most Pure Mother on Holy Mountain by building a church in honor and memory of their great saint. This faith is pure and undefiled before God the Father, to visit the orphans and widows in their sorrows, and to keep itself undefiled from the world, according to the word of the holy Apostle Brother of God. And you, who observe this, are truly pure and undefiled from the world, by strict monastic life demonstrate this godly work of faith of visiting the orphans and widows in their sorrows. For great sorrow has come to the holy mentioned monastery, and truly she is a widow, and truly the orphans are her children. Visit them with consolation in sorrow, for which you have from the Lord a way and a means in your boldness from the persons of the Most High. This matter will go before you to the Lord and our great intercessor Mitrofan, with prayers, for your work in favor of the Svyatogorsk monastery, in which his name is magnified by his fellow tribesmen and by those close to him in the faith, will arrange for you a monastery in the house of the Heavenly Father. Desiring this from my heart, I ask you to generously forgive the boldness of my request to you, which, if possible, do not ignore, and if possible, do not blame me, for it is only out of the trust of my respect for you that I offered it to your love in the Lord. In any case, however, I ask you most humbly to honor me with your answer, which you deign to forward to me through my brother, who has these lines to deliver to you. I beg you not to forget me, a sinner, in your holy prayers to the Lord and to His holy saint, St. Sergius, whose holy name was given to me, a sinner, in holy baptism. As I remembered you today during the Divine Service in my unworthy prayers, I will not fail to do so in the future. Calling upon you and all your children in the Lord the blessing of the Lord, with true respect I have the honor to be your lowest servant and unworthy sinner of prayer February 8th day 1837 The monastery of the holy prophet Elijah on the Holy Mount Athos was founded and built by the famous elder Paisius, who was later abbot of the Nyamets Moldavian monastery; and now in the monastery that same cell still exists in which he, as abbot, lived and was engaged in compiling the most precious guide for monks to internal monasticism, the book of the Philokalia. Greek hermitages at monasteries are separate from the monasteries, but dependent on them, unions of monks who live, although in the same place, but separately, each in his own special cell, and only on Saturdays and Sundays gathering in a common church to perform common worship. Our Russian monastery is a small monastery in which the brethren live together, performing all church services together every day and working together in obedience for their common well-being, and is dependent on the Greek Pantocrator Monastery. The most important thing for the Russian monastery, in which the new Russian intercessor Saint Mitrofan is glorified, who marked with the appearance of his holy, incorruptible and multi-healing relics, the favor of our Heavenly Tsar to our earthly Tsar, and in which only one of all the monasteries on the Holy Mountain is offered to the Lord God and our Savior and His Most Pure Mother of God about the Orthodox Russian Tsar and about all his royal family and for his entire God-protected kingdom, always earnest and solemn prayer during church services - the greatest blessing would be if our embassy in Constantinople were ordered to accept this monastery under special protection, and enter into the closest consideration of its needs, in order to satisfy them and strengthen its well-being forever by interceding for him the Sultan's merciful firman, which would protect all his benefits and remain inviolable for future tense. This is a good feat, in which the one who struggles will receive the crown of righteousness! IV. Friend of Archimandrite Ignatius Brianchaninov - Father Isaiah Nikiforovsky The father builder of the Nikiforov Hermitage of the Olonets Diocese, Isaiah, stood out from all the friends of St. Ignatius in that he allowed himself to express critical thoughts about monastic work in the Sergius Hermitage. People who knew Father Isaiah said that he was an outstanding ascetic and practitioner of mental prayer. Tatyana Borisovna Potemkina recalled that he stayed in her house when he came to St. Petersburg “to seek the removal of his hermitage from the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery,” which was achieved thanks to her request addressed to the Minister of Spiritual Affairs, Prince A. N. Golitsyn. She talked about the impression that Elder Nikiforov made on her: “The kind of person Fr. Isaiah, I never saw him again, there was something special about him that involuntarily attracted my soul to him. In appearance he was very simple and silent, but when he began to speak, every word he said sounded with extraordinary power. Even in his silence, with his mere presence, he had a noticeable influence on his neighbors. One day we had quite a few visitors, including one of my relatives who was not at all inclined towards monasticism. Fr. Isaiah was also invited to the appetizer: he sat in the far corner of the hall and, in his simplicity, began to clean the fish bones of the dish served to him with his hands. My relative was apparently indignant at this. The elder, looking at her intently, took up his fork and knife. His gaze was so penetrating that my relative could not forget him for a long time. According to her, it was as if the power that touched her then shook her entire being. And how he prayed! Sometimes in church I did not dare to look at him, because the elder’s face seemed to be illuminated with an unearthly light during prayer. You used to ask him, pray, father, for this or that. “Why pray for so many things? - he will answer sternly. – You need to pray for one thing, for salvation, for pardon of the soul, for forgiveness of sins; and everything else, the Lord has spoken, will be added to you.” Our sorrows Fr. Isaiah considered priceless treasures, and was always surprised at my sometimes complaints, saying: “What kind of sorrow is this now? There will be sorrow when we don’t see the end of it - eternal torment. Before this sorrow, every temporary sorrow will seem like a joke” 41. It was in the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery that Saint Ignatius met Father Isaiah. On August 28, 1843, he wrote to P.P. Yakovlev: “I spent quite a pleasant time in Svirsky, met Father Isaiah, who came with me to Vvedensky.” They immediately felt mutual affection. From the letters below it is clear that the Saint repeatedly invited Father Isaiah to Sergius Hermitage. It is interesting that Father Isaiah made an excuse, in addition to feeling unwell, by also saying that he was worried about encountering “the structure of the monastery there, not spiritually, but spiritually. But in spiritual work they only multiply the mind, but do not enliven the souls, and the souls do not feel life.” But on February 10, 1844, the saint wrote to one of his disciples at the Old Ladoga Dormition Monastery: “Fr. Isaiah is currently staying with me, and I am consoled by seeing the abundant grace of God in him.” And to her, in connection with her desire to move to another monastery: “Fr. Isaiah advises you the path that he himself walked, on which the Lord covered him, but which is outside the general law and on which many will stumble.” Elder Isaiah once again visited his friend on that visit that T. B. Potemkina spoke about. On February 12, 1846, Archimandrite Ignatius wrote to Father Macarius of Optina: “Currently Father Isaiah, a monk, and now the Builder of the Nikiforov Hermitage, which was recently separated from the Svirsky Monastery and a monastery was formed from it, is visiting me. He, returning from Mount Athos, was in the Ploshchanskaya Hermitage, stayed there for three days, was received by you and the late elder Athanasius; he asked me to witness his worship to you with the request of Holy Prayers” 42. Fourteen years later, Saint Ignatius again remembered the Elder of Nikiforov. On August 10, 1860, he wrote to M.V. Chikhachev, sharing his doubts regarding the publication of his works: “Elder Isaiah used to tell me: “Don’t write! Not for anyone! "" Letters from the monk Isaiah, builder of the Nikiforov hermitage, to Archimandrite Ignatius 43 Most Honest Father Archimandrite and dear Brother Ignatius in Christ First, let us give thanks to the Lord God, who brought us to know each other, to see and enjoy Spiritual conversation and Like-mindedness at a certain time. As long as I have lived in the world, I have lived in different places and had conversations with many, but I have not found a person as close to my heart as you, Father Ignatius. I received your letter on October 28th and in it I read as in my heart all the disposition of Your Kind Soul. And I very much regret the disagreement of Father Apollos: I wrote to him and advised him in every possible way to reconcile with you with humility; but I did not receive an answer from him. What to do, this is a clear example for you, find out the Power of the present time: that we cannot live according to our fathers. And those who have zeal for salvation and faith in the Superior, while still new and unimportant, will continue peacefully and well. And when they enter into knowledge, then woe to the student and the teacher with him, seeing the present success and reason. You also write that you would like to see me in your Abode; This may be a good and zealous desire, but its fulfillment is inconvenient. And therefore I ask you, for God’s sake, release me from this obedience. Firstly, my summer doesn’t allow it, and my poor health also doesn’t allow it. And the main and most necessary thing is to move away from the World: remember that I have to go to the crowded City of S.P. and how many different circumstances, faces and morals I have to see; on my journey to you. See the structure of your monastery; singing red and in agreement in it; all this is good externally and for the world: but is there an internal order? Experience and see the current successes of Spiritual life; not Soulful, but Spiritual. If I come, I don’t expect to be able to use my advice from anyone. Yes, without faith one cannot say this to anyone. The Holy Fathers call idle talk. And so there is nothing to pay attention to except you yourself. And therefore I ask you for God’s sake, if you want my peace of mind, mental and physical, and love me in the Lord, which I have no doubt about, then I ask you for God’s sake, don’t want this yourself. And if God destined to bring me to see you again, then I will consider it a great pleasure. If you happen to be passing through Valaam, I ask you to humbly come to me in the Nikiforov Hermitage, you can drive not far from Valaam on country roads, I would rather see you in the desert than in St. Petersburg, notify me about this. Now I’ve refurbished my cell a little and I don’t want to part with the silence I love. If you don’t happen to stop by, then if God pleases you and we’re alive, I’ll decide to come to you in the spring, and for a long time, 5 or 6 months, to come to your Spiritual Feast. However, I think that with my presence I will not bring you pleasure, but on the contrary, there may be big troubles here, because if I see disorder in your monastery, then out of my ignorance I will not keep silent. And then you will lose faith in me. And from here I see that the structure of your monastery is not spiritual, but spiritual. But in Soul work, only the mind is multiplied, but the Souls are not revived and the belly is not felt. We ask for your Holy prayers and blessings. We remain the obliging pilgrims monk Isaiah in Christ with his brethren. October 13, 1843 Most Honorable Father Archimandrite and dear brother Ignatius in Christ I received your most pleasant letter on November 23rd and thank you for your simplicity and frankness. You still want to see me in your Abode and I would not refuse, but my weak health does not allow it. And now I’ve been so sick for two months that sometimes I despair in my stomach, and this happens to me almost every winter. And in the summer it’s easier for me, as you yourself have seen. That’s why I promised to visit you in the summer. And from your letter I see a great divergence in the concepts and in the deeds and actions of the prayer of Schemamonk Basilisk. I knew it before and now I read it. You write that he has reached the point of infantile simplicity. And I understand that he did not know the simplicity of an infant. Just as in one point we have a difference in concepts, so throughout the entire letter I explain to you that through a letter it is impossible to communicate exactly about concepts. And if God pleases and we live, we will see each other in person and explain. And now I am very weak in health, as soon as I get to the church, the spirit takes over, and it’s a little relief from the risky balzyanu sent from Father Apollos and it’s already finished, and Father Apollos promised to visit us, and you will bless him and deign to send me a risky balzyanu [nrzb. ] and two half pints of balzy vodka. I remain the sinful monk Isaiah, borrowed by you and demanding your holy prayers, Hierodeacon Mitrofan and all the brethren about Christ. (By the hand of St. Ignatius: “From Isaiah the hermit”) Your Reverence and about Christ brother Ignatius I am explaining to you about my situation. Now I feel relief from my illness, and, if the Lord pleases, I wish to come to your monastery for a personal meeting with you. And I have heard that it is very convenient and possible from the House Office from our Eminence Benedict, through you, to send me a pass or ticket to visit His Eminence Benedict. And if you can do it through such a case, it would be very easy for me to come to you. But it will certainly be very difficult and slow. And if it is impossible to do in such a case, then quickly ask Father Archimandrite Barsanuphius so that he deigns to let me go to you. And notify me about everything. I remain the sinful monk Isaiah, lent to you and demanding your holy prayers. Father Apollos also writes to notify you with a recommendation about the Ladoga nephew of Father Gerasim, Peter Sergeev. He lived with me before, and I had contact with him, and now I often have contact with him and his family and recommend it to you. They are very thorough in behavior and are faithful and trustworthy. Now, on the Borodino field, the faithful daughters of Russia are fulfilling their duty: over the ashes of the victims of love for the Fatherland, they sacrificed themselves to God, dying alive for the world. In the summer of 1847, Saint Ignatius, having received leave to improve his health, went to the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery. Along the way he visited several monasteries. So, on September 8, he wrote to his governor in the Sergius Hermitage: “In two monasteries on my way I was received like family: in Ugreshskaya and Borodino. ...Mistress Abbess of Borodino received me very cordially. The first day he spent talking with her alone, and Stepan was bothered by his sisters. The next day, some of them met me. And when he left, some of them, seeing him off with tears, said: You and I are like our own father, as if we had known a century. And I became related to them - there are such wonderful souls, many with a good secular education.” The lady abbess of the Spaso-Borodinsky Monastery, about whom St. Ignatius writes, is the famous Maria Tuchkova, whose ascetic life made a strong impression on everyone who knew her, from the Sovereign Emperor to the poor peasants from nearby villages. In the world, Margarita Mikhailovna, she was born on January 2, 1781 to parents who belonged to the most aristocratic families. Her father, Mikhail Petrovich Naryshkin, and mother, Varvara Alekseevna, nee Princess Volkonskaya, were related to the imperial house and to all the ancient nobility of Russia. And they raised their children accordingly, preparing for them a brilliant future. Life, however, took its own course. After an early and extremely unsuccessful marriage, Margarita Mikhailovna met and passionately fell in love with the guards officer Alexander Alekseevich Tuchkov. But her parents, despite the mutual love of the young people, did not dare to give their consent to their daughter’s new marriage for eight whole years, and they got married when she was already 25 years old. At this time there was a war with Sweden. Not wanting to part with her husband, Margarita Mikhailovna accompanied him, sharing with him the entire burden of military campaigns. Even then, her moral qualities appeared: she treated the villagers with great sympathy, trying to alleviate their plight. The year 1812 arrived. Margarita Mikhailovna has already buried her first son and has just weaned her second, Nikolai. She could not accompany her husband in this situation, although she was haunted by prophetic dreams about his death at Borodino. As soon as she came to her senses after receiving the fateful news, she went to the Borodino field. But she failed to find her husband’s remains among the huge number of corpses. Then she decided to build a church on the site of his death. Sovereign Emperor Alexander I supported this initiative and sent 10 thousand rubles, and she sold all her diamonds. And already in 1820, the newly built Spaso-Borodinsky Church was consecrated. A few years later, a new blow struck the poor widow: her son Kolya was enrolled in the Corps of Pages at the age of 14, and at the age of 15 he fell ill and died. Margarita Mikhailovna buried him in the new church. Deciding not to part with her dear deceased anymore, she built a small house for herself - a “gatehouse”. And other widows and women who decided to leave the world began to arrive and settle nearby. She accepted everyone - rich and poor, sick and suffering, no one was refused. The Spaso-Borodinsk women's community was formed. Margarita Mikhailovna was the first to propose the idea of ​​commemorating all those who died on the Borodino field every year on August 26th. To do this, she invited the clergy of the surrounding villages. Gradually a religious procession was formed, which was subsequently approved. So deeply personal grief grew into a prayer service in memory of all the soldiers who gave their lives here for the salvation of the Fatherland. Metropolitan of Moscow Filaret (Drozdov) paid a lot of attention to the Borodino community; in general, he had a great influence on Margarita Mikhailovna. On his advice, she took minor tonsure in 1837. He himself tonsured her and renamed her Melania. And at the beginning of 1838 the community was renamed the Spaso-Borodinsky Convent. At the same time, its founder turned to the Sovereign Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich with a request to approve her widow's pension as an eternal monastic income. The Emperor expressed his consent and, in addition, donated 25 thousand rubles in banknotes for a stone fence and for a church with a meal. On June 28, 1840, Metropolitan Philaret tonsured Mother Melania into a mantle with the name Maria and elevated her to the rank of abbess. In the same year, Abbess Maria Tuchkova was the successor of the future Empress Maria Alexandrovna, and in 1848 she was again summoned to St. Petersburg to participate in the anointing of Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna. Abbess Maria Tuchkova's acquaintance with Saint Ignatius probably occurred in 1840 during her stay in St. Petersburg. Because the only letters from their correspondence preserved by P. P. Yakovlev date back to 1841. Of course, there were other letters, especially after the saint’s visit to the Spaso-Borodinsky Monastery in 1847, but Abbess Maria burned all her correspondence shortly before her death on April 29, 1852, and Saint Ignatius did not keep any letters at all. He expressed his impression of visiting the Spaso-Borodinsky Monastery in the poetic article “Memories of the Borodino Monastery” (see: This edition, vol. 4, p. 473). Letter from the abbess of the Spaso-Borodinsky Monastery, Abbess Maria, to St. Ignatius 44 Lord Jesus Christ! Son of God! Have mercy on us sinners! Beloved Father in the Lord! Glory and thanksgiving to God who helped! I enclose here a testimony of peace - I thank You, my Father, for deigning me to serve in this godly work. I entrust myself to your prayers and remain devoted to your shrine Maria, Abbess of the Spaso-Borodinsky Monastery Address: Her Reverence, Abbess of the Spaso-Borodinsky Nunnery, Most Honorable Madame Abbess Maria. Dear Madam. Moscow province In the mountains Mozhaisk Letter from Saint Ignatius to the abbess of the Spaso-Borodinsky Monastery, Abbess Maria Most beloved Mother Mary in the Lord! Today the most honorable Sister of your monastery visited me and handed me your longed-for letter, with a letter from Mrs. Yaroslavova enclosed. By the way, she said that you didn’t recognize my hand in my previous letter: it’s my fault! My hand is very weakened by illness, perhaps somewhat damaged by speed, by writing in a statutory manner; I myself see that I have some kind of inconsistent handwriting; but I always write letters with my own hand. Speedy is better: the quick fulfillment of my request proves to me that I was not mistaken in making a request to your love. Tears flowed, and flowed for a long time, from the eyes of O. Mark, who was grateful and touched by many different feelings. This happened before his entry into the order of the Holy Office, during which he would pour out sighs of gratitude before the One who listens to the sighs of the poor and brings those bound by sorrow to the breadth of joy. But from the day I first saw you, I felt in my heart a message that the Lord would impart His love to you for me. I remain in this notice; led by this notice wrote to you. I am especially pleased that you immerse your mind and heart in the teaching of the Holy Fathers, feeding yourself and the flock with it. Your sister told me the sad circumstance that brought her to St. Petersburg. It was customary for Ishmael to offend Isaac; and the Heavenly Father prunes the vine that bears fruit voluntarily through involuntary temptations, so that it may bear abundant fruit. I humbly request that the attached letters be delivered according to the inscriptions. Repeating my sincere gratitude and committing myself to your Holy Prayers, with love in the Lord I remain forever your most humble servant and Bogomolet Letter from Saint Ignatius to a sick old woman who entered the Spaso-Borodinsky Monastery with her two daughters 45 Forgive me that, due to ignorance of your name, I dare to call you “Mother”. On my arrival at the holy monastery of Spaso-Borodinskaya, you greeted me with such cordial cordiality, as if you were your own son - remember when Madame Abbess introduced me to you at the monastery. Then you touched me deeply! You told me: “We were waiting for you and were waiting here.” Your words remained in my memory, contrary to my custom: I am very, funny, memoryless. I please you! I see some wonderful hand of God over you! You yourself are under the cross of illness; and your children - the fruit of your womb - have bowed their shoulders to the cross of Christ, rejecting the yoke of the world as indecent! “My mother was very upset when I entered the monastery; but on her deathbed, a few minutes before her death, she said: “Now, at this hour, I have one consolation: my eldest son is in a monastery.” I often think: what inexplicable grief will befall those parents at the Last Judgment of Christ who will be angrily and threateningly denounced and condemned by the impartial Judge for sacrificing their children to the world and the ruler of the world! – What incomparable joy will come over those parents whom this Judge will bless and praise for sacrificing their children to God, for preparing them to become residents of a bright paradise! – This joy awaits you! Two crowns await you: one for your own sorrows, the other for your children. Good - crowns of bliss! Would you like to try them on!.. They are given full possession in that life, but you can try them on here too. Do you want it? – By the grace of God, I will teach you how to grab them (they are subtle, spiritual; not everyone knows how they are stolen!) and how to try them on. – Make it a rule to thank the Lord daily for your cup, that is, for your ailments, for all your sorrows, for the lot of your daughters; especially thanks to God, sorrowful thoughts are driven away; When such thoughts invade, “thanksgiving” is pronounced in simple words, with attention and often, until the heart brings peace. There is no sense in sorrowful thoughts: they do not relieve sorrow, they do not bring any help, they only upset the soul and body. This means: they are from demons - and you need to drive them away from yourself. Sorrowful thoughts are driven away by “thanksgiving” to God. “Thanksgiving” first calms the heart, then brings it consolation, and subsequently brings heavenly joy - a guarantee, a foretaste of eternal joy. When you thank me, you try on the whisk. I would like to see the crown of Heaven tried on on your soul, the crown of spiritual joy! – “Thanksgiving” is a weapon bequeathed to Christians by the Holy Spirit through the Apostle. “Thanksgiving” is the Apostolic, God’s teaching and tradition. Thank God for signs and wonders! And these signs are seen not with the eyes of the body - but with the incomparably more excellent eyes of the soul - and in the spiritual cage; there, from the Divine touch, the fire of sorrow leaves Petrov’s mother-in-law painful - she begins to serve the Lord. Peter is the image of faith; his mother-in-law is the image of the soul, Peter’s closest relative. Thanks is due to God Almighty, to whom it is offered! Thanksgiving is strong through faith, which alone, absolutely alone, is capable of accepting everything and embracing the unlimited power of God: faith has no boundaries, just as God and everything that relates to God have none. Reason, no matter how reasonable, is limited: it is not suitable for the affairs of God. He meets everything of God, every sign with repulsion. "How?" “Really?” "Why?" - Away - obscene, rejected by God!.. Come - holy faith and the violence of Christ's preaching - save us! VI. Letter of Saint Ignatius to the Rostov Archimandrite 46 Most Honest Father Archimandrite! At this opportunity, allow me to testify to my true high regard and recommend you for a most pleasant acquaintance. Monastic needs forced me to send the monastic novice of my monastery, this letter-bearer, to the Rostov fair. I most humbly ask you not to deprive him of your patronage and guidance; I dare to so directly entrust it to your merciful attention, for I have heard that your love prepares a hospitable shelter for everyone who is strange, like ancient Abraham who received Angels. Instruct me with your holy prayers, reward me with fatherly favor. With true respect, I have the honor to be Your Reverence! Most humble servant and prayer leader VII. Letter from Archimandrite Aaron of the Trinity-Zelenetsky Monastery to St. Ignatius 47 Your Reverence, Father Archimandrite. I wish you to rejoice in the most sweet Lord! By order of His Eminence Seraphim Metropolitan, I inform you, Father Archimandrite: Paladius, the vicar of the Lavra, submitted a request on August 9 - he refused the vicarage due to illness, to be assigned to the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra in the hospital until he recovered, and the food opened the vacancy of the monastery. Therefore, the Bishop asks you to consult: be sure to come to him today, August 10, in the evening, even at nine or ten o’clock. Fr. is to be elected as governor. the rector of the Antonov Monastery, Father Anatoly of Novgorod, who is here on duty, however, the Bishop needs your advice. Tomorrow the Vladyka will go to the Synod and wants to present the petition of the father of the governor and with a proposal to his place, and therefore you are welcome here to the Vladyka for a short time, and for now you can turn back. Here's the news we have. I received information about this from the Master himself, and the brethren knew yesterday: for yesterday I was not among the rulers, however, you can understand it yourself from the circumstances; When dating, I need to talk to you in person. Your Reverence, Your well-wisher and novice, Economy of the Lavra Zelenetskaya Archimandrite Aaron. Archimandrite Aaron (A.D. Petrov; † 1844) - since 1821, hieromonk of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, one of those to whom Dmitry Aleksandrovich Brianchaninov (future Archimandrite Ignatius) turned for advice during his years at the Engineering School. It is possible that Metropolitan Seraphim, after the successful choice of abbot for the Valaam Monastery in the person of Fr. Damascene decided to consult with Archimandrite Ignatius regarding the appointment of a new governor to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. In 1842, Archimandrite Aaron was appointed governor of the Lavra. VIII. Letter from the governor of the Moscow Simonov Monastery, Theophan, to St. Ignatius 48 I rejoice, Most Honorable and Most Kind Father Archimandrite! And again I rejoice, because the all-good Wisdom of God, by which kings reign and the mighty write the truth, having chosen You from the womb of motherhood to serve in honor and righteousness to the God of Gods and the Lord of Lords, has justified over you what was said: If anyone serves me, My Father will honor him (John 12:26). And with this one temporary service, God’s chosen and difficult for our flesh and blood, will end! No! Let the world heed, who often reproaches our humble and wretched service, the God of our fathers Himself says to us: that we who have escaped his snares and his destructive catch will receive a hundredfold both in this age and in the next? But Lord, who believes our hearing? Leaving the world to rave as it wishes: I, without the gift of prophecy, say what was prophesied: “Now hear my servant Jacob and Israel, whom I have chosen: Here says the Lord God, who created you and formed you from the womb, will also help you: Do not be afraid, my servant Jacob, and beloved of Israel, whom you have chosen. For I will give water to those who thirst in the desolate place; I will put my spirit upon your seed, and my blessing upon your children, and they shall grow like grass in the midst of the water, and like a willow by the flowing water” (Isa. 44:1:4). In this absentee rant of a moment, my whole soul is directed to your peaceful and God-given Pagoda, to say a greeting from a pure heart and a wicked conscience: You who bear no fruit rejoice, you who do not give birth, cry and cry, for many are more empty children than those who have husbands - expand the place of your tabernacle and coverings of yours, set up no mercy, continue strengthen your snakes and strengthen your stakes... (Is. 54:1). To those who seek first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness, all things will be added. I dare not say anything more than this, except that I am glad for the opportunity that brought me to the Royal capital and acquainted me, by the will of Holy Providence, with your beautiful and God-loving soul, I am glad for my small service in fulfilling a tiny commission, and I am more glad that I had the opportunity to tell such inquisitive ones and does not seem very pure in spirit, like the local Av Sim M, that Good Providence heals and heals the weak. the one who is depleted, the one who replenishes - I believe not in the fall, but in the uprising of many in Israel. I will end by saying that Your Reverence’s letter brought me true consolation. Due to lack of leisure, I do not ask often, but at least every two or three months, for a single word that you and our dear brother Fr. Michael, praise this Lord in the land of the living. Your Most Reverence's most devoted and humble servant and novice IX. Letter from Archimandrite Athanasius of the Kostroma Epiphany Monastery to St. Ignatius 49 To the Most Honorable St. Petersburg Sergius Hermitage to the abbot Father Archimandrite Ignatius It is with pleasure that I hasten to inform Your Reverence that Hieromonk Seraphim was God of Kostroma throughout my reign. behaved very well at the monastery. From the meekness of his disposition, I expect that the one graciously accepted into your monastery will not cause any disgrace to you or to me. I sincerely thank you for giving me the opportunity to be useful to my brother, with special respect I have the honor to be X. Letters from the rector of the Tikhvin Great Monastery, Archimandrite Hilarion, to St. Ignatius 50 Most Reverend and Most God-loving Dear Benefactor! With all my soul I thank you for your kindness towards me - for sending me your report about the monasteries entrusted to your supervision. With this service you have done me a lot, you have provided me with the easiest way to communicate in this way. As a sign of gratitude, I ask you to accept the holy icon on cypress sent with this, and I send another enamel icon to the one who worked and wrote this paper. May the All-merciful, Merciful Lord God reward you for your good deeds with His blessings, temporary and eternal. My journey to Novgorod was safe. His Eminence Archpastor 51 received me graciously as usual on September 10, spoke graciously, and then announced his desire to visit our monastery next summer. That day I was invited to his place for breakfast. And I dined with him three times: 1) with Countess Orlova-Chesmenskaya. 2) in Khutyn with His Eminence the vicar. 3) in Yuryev with Archimandrite. On this day, September 15, His Eminence himself served there, and we (6 Archim) were with him. I stayed in Yuryev, where I was shown warm hospitality. I stayed there for 6 days and had six dinners. But after these dinners my stomach was so upset that I was sick for more than two weeks. On September 15 I left Novgorod; and Vladyka on the 16th. I tonsured Elder Theodore Khlebnikov into monasticism on your holiday, September 25, and named him Sergius, after the name of the saint celebrated on this day. - May the Lord instruct and strengthen him to imitate this Reverend. Committing myself to your goodwill and your holy prayers in the future, I remain grateful for the rest of my life, Your Eminence, always a pilgrim Elder Hilarion Archimandrite Tikhvinsky. Most Reverend and God-loving Your humble and meek elder informed me of your pleasant letter for me on the 5th day of this January. Thank you for your kindness towards me and for your New Year greetings. And I congratulate you, most Christ-loving Father, on entering the new summer; And I wish you to spend the entire New Year and your entire life for the glory of God - and for the benefit of your neighbors, in perfect health and well-being - and in generously enduring the sorrows inseparable from our lives. May the Lord fulfill this desire of mine! Having entrusted myself henceforth to your love for the Lord, and to your holy prayers, I have to remain for the rest of my life, Your Eminence, an ever-present pilgrim of God. XI. Bishop Ignatius' remark on the testimony of Archimandrite Macarius, former rector of the Tver Seminary, now a censor, that evil spirits told him that a countless number of evil spirits were released to fight against the Orthodox Church, in unity with papism and Mohammedanism. There is no doubt that the effect of perfume is enhanced. But it is impossible to believe their stories: if they sometimes tell the truth, it is in order to cover up treachery or to earn trust and then, all the more likely, to cause harm. At present, their main work is to drop all true ideas about God and everything Divine and to exalt the ideas about man in his fallen nature, thereby preparing the exaltation of that man who is exalted more than God, according to the prophecy of St. Ap. Pavel. The same idea that destroyed people in paradise! Only now it is developing more extensively. What papism! What Mohammedanism! This is just a disguise; these are private actions. Pope, Mohammed serve as a pre-image of the Antichrist; his closest image is Grishka Otrepiev. XII. Letter from Saint Ignatius to Lev Alexandrovich (in monastic life Leonid) Kavelin 52 Father Leo, most beloved in the Lord You gave me true pleasure with your letter, in which I found only one error, namely, when you say that you cannot express yourself as freely in writing as you express yourself face to face in a sincere conversation. I find that your love and sincerity are equally manifested from your pen and from your lips. I remember with particular pleasure the time I spent in Optina Pustyn, contemplating the souls of those being saved in the blessed ark of obedience. Your company aroused in me the liveliest sympathy that I have for all who have sacrificed themselves to God through monastic life. Naturally, that sacrifice in which the most earthly species is left is recognized as the most valuable. People who offered themselves to God in their fresh youth, having previously formed themselves with the education of the world, and subsequently learning the monastic life, become useful to the whole Church, not only to themselves. Keep me in your prayerful memory and count me among the people who are heartily devoted to you in the Lord, Your most humble novice P.S. Bow from you, Fr. I told Mikhail; he mutually bows to you and asks for your prayers. Please take the trouble to convey my most ardent bow to the most venerable Elder, Father Macarius, and the kindest non-elder, Father Juvenaly. In Tambov, the Rector of the local Academy, Bishop of Vinnitsa Macarius, was appointed, and the Rector of the Moscow Academy was appointed in his place; the whole situation here is changing - it is being compiled in this spirit, no longer in [nrzb. ]. The piety of Metropolitan Gregory is both edifying and comforting. Leonid Kavelin (1822–1891) – writer, historian, outstanding Slavic archaeographer, bibliographer, translator; from 1852 - novice in Optina Hermitage, in 1857 - tonsured; in 1857–1859 – member of the Jerusalem Orthodox Mission, since 1863 – archimandrite and head of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem. XIII. Letters of the censor, Archimandrite Photius, to St. Ignatius 53 I consider myself happy that I received the gracious handwriting of Your Eminence, I am extremely happy that it fell to me - and truly, it fell from the hand of God - a good lot - to read your works. For me it was not work, but a most pleasant activity and pleasure. I consider it a sin to flatter, especially before the hierarchical person of Your Eminence; I don’t dare to fully praise your works, according to my conviction, but I can’t sincerely help but express my impression that reading them made in me. I devoured them - they were so gratifying and nutritious: that’s why I kept them with me more than I should have, as His Excellency Pyotr Alexandrovich can tell Your Eminence. I learned from these edifying manuscripts. I dare to report to Your Eminence, - I paid tribute to the school for twenty-five years, having at that time been a mentor for thirteen years in two academies - Kyiv and Kazan - but in these subjects I am a complete ignoramus: this is already our teaching. The area of ​​ascetic objects for us is an unknown land. The works of Your Eminence are the first in this field, especially in modern times. You have undertaken great and important work, and you are offering many useful, saving fruits to those who seek salvation. I was filled with spiritual joy from your works. I will truly tell Your Eminence - may I not flatter the saintly person - after reading the “Ascetic Sermon” and “Offering to Monasticism” there was no desire to read, except official, any other works, even good spiritual literature: so these works seemed too small and unpalatable for tasting spiritually sweet fruits. XIV. Letters of Saint Ignatius to the abbots of various monasteries Upon my arrival at the monastery of St. Nicholas of Christ, I stopped for some time to write to you. I expected the entertainment, which my soul had acquired in such abundance during the long journey, to gradually subside, being gradually weakened by solitude. No! My hopes did not come true! I continue to have fun, losing precious, irretrievable, fleeting time, while I would like to devote it entirely to repentance. I had to stay, and stay for a long time, in Kostroma, I had to visit Yaroslavl, I had to take care of the organization of my cells: all this entertains, brings care for the earth into the soul, takes it away from the care of what is essential, care for heaven. And any concern for heaven, if it is not animated by repentance, is dead and untrue. “I will proclaim my iniquity and take care of my sin,” 54 sang the Inspired David. Due to the fact that I cannot tear myself away from the persistent entertainment that has stuck to me, it is unfair to deprive you of my letter, to which you have every right, as a tribute, as a duty, which you placed on my heart, having shown me so much love and trust. You and your beautiful verbal flock often appear in the eyes of my soul, appear so comfortingly, so close. The spirit shortens the material distance!.. I look at you and say with heartfelt love: “Lord, save them! God bless them! Lord, direct their paths to truly please You!” During our personal meeting, you told me that many reproach you for your mercy towards your neighbors, finding it unnecessary, excessive. You wanted to hear my opinion on this subject. At that time my soul was darkened by destructive entertainment; the heart became coarse in bitterness and insensibility - inevitable properties of the heart, in the absence of repentance. From repentance, tenderness is born: tenderness illuminates the spiritual cell, bringing into it spiritual light from the Light of Christ. This light was not in my soul - it is not there now. Solitude gives at least the opportunity to remember its existence. One memory of the Light already enlightens! With such a recollection, I will tell you my answer, which during the meeting was one of silence or a promise to answer in writing from solitude. Now I want to fulfill my promise! And then why was it necessary to move your lips and tongue fruitlessly just for reasons of the mind? – There was no answer in my soul. Guided by the Gospel, I begin to look into the depths and heights of Christ’s teaching. I invite you: let us stand on the top of the holy mountain, that is, let us immerse ourselves in repentance and prayer; from them, from the state generated by them, let us look at the miracles of God in the land of Egypt, on the field of Taneos 55, in the country of our exile and captivity. Let us ask the Lord to grant us to see these miracles: He opens the eyes of the soul - then they see miracles from His law 56. I consider the mercy commanded by the Lord: I see an unseen abyss, I see a height that is carried away from my eyes. He commands us: Be merciful, as your Heavenly Father is merciful 57. To fulfill this commandment, one must become as merciful as the infinitely merciful Lord is merciful. Broad, O Lord, is Your commandment! 58. Who will be able to fulfill it in a completely practical way? Is it that the one who, embraced by Your Holy Spirit, has abandoned the walking with difficulty and extreme slowness that is so characteristic of infants along the path of Your commandments - begin to walk along them with gigantic steps, more to fly than to march - to fly on the wings of the Spirit. But I, a sinner, a gloomy sinner, no matter how I look at myself, I always see the mixture of good and evil brought to the human race by its forefather, who boldly and sinfully ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I seem to people to be merciful; but, having accurately believed myself, examined myself, I find in myself one stupid mask of mercy. Vanity has mercy in me; passion is merciful in me; Selfishness is merciful in me; the flesh is merciful in me; the blood has mercy in me; but for the pure, holy commandment of Christ to move me to mercy, I do not find this in myself. When I, a gloomy sinner, come to my senses for a brief moment and wish to be merciful in accordance with the commandment of Christ, I see that I must inflict terrible violence on my heart. My heart disease is exposed to the holy commandment! Convinced by her, I admit that by nature I am merciful, I am hard-hearted and a man-hater in relation to the Gospel. My heart agrees to be merciful according to the movement of blood; but to be merciful according to the commandment of Christ is crucifixion for him. Seeing myself this way, comparing my state with the one depicted in the Gospel for the disciple of Christ, I find that I, who have a natural disposition towards mercy, should not entrust myself to this natural disposition, but should mortify it. I am obliged to force myself to show mercy in accordance with the commandments of the Gospel, even though this would be associated with the violence of the heart, which carries within itself the infection of sin, common to all people. Natural mercy, as a product of flesh and blood, cannot be a God-pleasing virtue. That's not enough! It is hostile to the commandments of the Gospel! To visit and kill him, the sword of the Gospel was brought to earth. Those led by natural mercy remain in darkness under the influence of a fierce, all-evil ruler of the world. The Lord, the Savior of the world, during His stay on earth, once announced to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer a lot there, be killed, and be resurrected on the third day. Then the supreme of the Apostles, Saint Peter, moved by natural mercy, began to contradict the Lord. You are merciful, Lord,” he said, “you should not have this 59.” To this expression of compassion and mercy - natural, the Lord answered Saint Peter: Follow me, Satan, you are the temptation of Me: you do not think that the essence of God is human, but human 60. Was it really only a reproachful word from Satan in the mouth of the God-man? God forbid that such blasphemy should be allowed! With this word, the Lord depicts that the thoughts and feelings of fallen man are under the power of Satan, although apparently they seem good; The actions of man according to the desire of his heart merge into one with the actions of Satan. Our nature is so damaged by the sad fall! Then, the Gospel narrates, Jesus said to His disciples: If anyone wants to walk after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and come after Me. Whoever wants to save his soul will destroy it; and whoever destroys his soul for My sake will find it 61. That mercy must be put to death, the cause of which is blood; must gain that mercy, the reason, the source of which is the bright and holy commandment of Christ; she is the Spirit, she is the eternal belly. Here is the answer I promised. I advise you what I recognize as necessary for myself: reject the mercy that acts in you from the blood, otherwise, from the feelings of the heart, go into the pursuit of mercy, proclaimed by the Gospel, which makes a person like God. A vast field of achievement and progress will open before you. Whatever success you may achieve in charity, it will seem insignificant to you in comparison with the example of mercy outlined in the Gospel. Your very success will teach you humility and lead you to it. This is the characteristic of spiritual success! On the contrary, the one who does not deny himself, does not destroy his soul, acts according to the attraction of the feelings of the heart, from the movement of the blood, he certainly realizes his self, sees good in his movements, his actions, revives himself, little by little acquires a high opinion of himself. Such a person, thinking, succeeds spiritually, succeeds only in a severe fall. A dark charm takes possession of his soul; alien to spiritual life and reason, he plunges deeper and deeper into the false mind and dark delusion. Prelest is the just reward of the one who loved and honored his fallen nature, and did not desire the state about which the Holy Apostle speaks: No one I live, but Christ lives in me 62 . ...Again I am transported on the wings of thought and love to you, to your sheep, to these earthly angels. All of them - so frank, hospitable, brotherly - are Angels. You taught them to be like this! - Tell everyone my deepest bow from me. - When some of them accompanied me on my departure from your Holy Monastery, the conversation turned, among other things, about the kind of exhaustion the winged ones are subjected to from their obedience. I, in turn, said that because of this exhaustion, a sequence for Matins and Vespers was established in our monastery. Half of the wingers stand on the wing during these services, but the other does not. The next day those who rested the day before sing, and those who sang the day before rest. At these same services, those newly admitted who have a voice and the ability to sing are taught to sing. Everyone comes to the Divine Liturgy and Vigils. Your brothers liked the order made in the Sergius Hermitage! They confessed to me that some of them feel severe exhaustion, even the very upset in the chest, which may be followed by loss of the ability to sing and chronic illnesses that quickly and directly lead to the grave. I have seen bitter examples of this. I promised your children to speak up for them in my letter to their child-loving Father, who is also my Father. That’s why I’m so bold before him! Over the dark, deep abyss of sorrow that has suddenly opened before you, be transported on the wings of faith! Do not test the waves with the distrustful foot of human thought - walk boldly along them with the courageous feet of faith - and under your feet the soft, wet waves will turn into solid marble or granite slabs. All the more timidity and doubt do not suit you, when you see the sea of ​​sorrow, when you see the strong wind, because the one who calls you to walk on the sea of ​​sorrows, who separates you from the rest of your brethren for such a walk, is the Lord Himself. This calling is together with the blessed election! Christ marks “His” with the seal of suffering! He found your soul useful to Himself and therefore seals it with His seal! And the small flock, part of Christ, stands separately from the multitude of other people; Those of Christ hold in their hands the sign of their election by Christ - the cup of Christ; on their shoulders is the banner of the Cross of Christ. Far, far away did the sons of the world recoil from them! In a countless crowd, with noise, in a strange rapture, they pursue temporary cares and pleasures. Time, in their eyes, was transformed into eternity! They lead a sorrowless life, succeed in perishable things, are forgotten by God, do not arouse the devil against themselves: they are pleasing to the Devil - they are part of him. The cup of Christ opens the entrance to the land of the spiritual mind, the spiritual state; whoever enters there and partakes of a meal of spiritual consolation becomes dead to the world, insensitive to temporary sorrows and hardships, and begins to make his earthly journey, as if flying through the air above all else, on the wings of faith. The shackles of the mind draw us to the earth - the land of torment; While on earth, we are involuntarily subjected to torment: “he who applies mind will apply disease,” says Scripture. Faith lifts you from the earth, frees you from shackles, removes you from the midst of torment, lifts you to heaven, and brings you into spiritual peace. Those who have entered this peace rest coolly and delightfully on the luxuriously furnished, precious beds of the Vision of God. Accept these lines, spoken from the heartfelt sympathy that, from the first meeting with you, was aroused in me by your soul, which carries in its depths some special pledge, a mysterious pledge, God-loving, a pledge of pleasing God. Take these lines from the land of suffering in which I settled a long time ago: God did not want me to follow the common, ordinary path! He put me on a separate path, in a very special country - and I rarely meet a traveler walking along this path, visiting this country, with whom I could exchange a word in the language that is spoken in that country and which has become somewhat familiar to me - it sounds comforting to the ears of my soul. I hear something familiar in its sounds. What, by the way, is happening in this wonderful country? There is an irreconcilable war, there are incessant battles, bloody battles between the Israelites and foreign peoples. Among the foreigners, the Giants and the sons of Anak rise up against the Israelites - sorrows that bring us into fear, into relaxation, into despair. The spy of Israel - the mind announces them to the soul and its powers: I saw the giants, the sons of Anak, and ran before them like giants, and so I ran before them. We cannot go against this language, for he who is stronger than us is 63. Exactly! Thinking based on the ordinary course of things, thoughts that are actually and uniquely human, bring the horror of the earth, even to the eyes of the south, to the children of Israel 64 . But the true Israelite, faithful to God, is guided by faith in God; he is fully equipped. “I will marry my enemies,” he exclaims, “and I will suffer, and will not return until they die.” I will insult you, and they will not be able to: they will fall under my feet. And I shall be as dust before the wind, as I shall smooth the clay of the paths 65. – In this war, many and subtle reflections are not approved, which the mind, relying on itself, on its strength, on the number and height of its knowledge, strives to oppose to the pressing crowds of foreigners. The sons of Ephraim are dancing and shooting bows,” the prophet proclaims, “returning on the day of battle” 66. Human thought cannot resist the dense hordes of foreigners! They will knock him down, argue with him, create indignation in the mind, confusion in thoughts - then victory is on their side! For sure success in the invisible battle with the princes of the air, with the spirits of evil, with the dark rulers of the world, you need to take up the weapons supplied by faith, supplied by the violence of the preaching of Christ. Man is more wise than God; and man is more powerful than God's weakness 67. The path and teaching of faith seem strange and terrible to the carnal mind; but as soon as a person sees through experience, sees with an inner spiritual sensation the power of faith, he immediately and joyfully surrenders to its guidance, as if he has unexpectedly found an invaluable mentor, he contemptuously pushes away from himself human wisdom, rejected by God. These are the weapons that the holy violence of Christ’s preaching hands over to the servant of Christ to fight the sons of Anakim - dark thoughts and feelings of sadness that appear to the soul in the form of terrible giants, ready to erase it, devour it: 1st – words: “Thank God for everything.” 2nd – words: “Lord! I surrender to Your Holy Will! Be Your Will with me." 3rd – words: “Lord! I thank You for everything that You have been pleased to send to me.” 4th – words: “I accept what is worthy according to my deeds; remember me, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom.” These short words, borrowed, as you see, from Scripture, were used by the venerable monks with excellent success against thoughts of sadness. The fathers did not enter into any reasoning with the thoughts that appeared; but as soon as a foreigner appeared before them, they grabbed the wonderful weapon, and they were right in the face, in the jaws of the foreigner! That is why they were so strong, they trampled all their enemies, became confidants of faith, and through faith - confidants of grace, with the arm of grace, they accomplished supernatural feats. When a sad thought or melancholy appears in your heart, begin with all your soul, with all your strength, to pronounce one of the above sentences; pronounce it quietly, slowly, without getting excited, with attention, in the hearing of only you - say it until the foreigner leaves completely, until your heart is notified of the coming of God’s gracious help. She appears to the soul in the taste of comforting, sweet peace, peace in the Lord, and not for any other reason. In time, the foreigner will again begin to approach you; but you again take up arms and, as the brilliant commander Caesar bequeathed to his soldiers, aim straight at the enemy’s face: blows to no part of the body are so severe, blows are so unbearable as to the face. Do not marvel at the strangeness and insignificance, apparently, of David’s weapons! Put them to work and you will see a sign! These weapons - a club, a stone - will accomplish more things than all the collected thoughtful judgments and research of theologians, theorists, sayers of letters - German, Spanish, English, American! The use of these weapons will gradually transfer you from the path of reason to the path of faith and along this path will lead you into the vast, wondrous land of the spiritual. There is a meal of hidden manna; According to the testimony of Scripture, Christ allows only winners to it. You have been brought into an invisible war in order to have the opportunity to become a winner and, with the dignity of a winner, to inherit spiritual treasures. Yet this is brought to you by Christ, who loved you, clearly distinguishing you among “His.” So, already from the very shore, looking at the dark, deep sea of ​​sorrows, at the distance where the blue of the waters merges with the blue of the skies, at this boundless distance, the frightening winds, listening to the angry talk of the waves, to their monotonous and insensitive splashing, do not indulge in despondency, do not let the sea of ​​sad thoughts into your soul. There are much more dangers here! It is much more convenient to drown in this sea than in the sea of ​​external sorrows. Rejoice! - and again the river: rejoice! You are on the shore of the sea of ​​sorrows in order to sail to the land of joys: the distance of the sea has an opposite shore, although not visible to the eyes of the human mind. This shore is a mental paradise, filled with spiritual pleasures. Those who reach this blissful shore forget, in the rapture of pleasure, all the sorrows they endured at sea. Place your fearless foot in the light boat of faith, rush like a winged one over the wet hillocks! Rather than you imagine, rather than you can imagine, you will be transported across the sea, transported to paradise. - But between the spiritual paradise and the carnal, spiritual, ordinary life that all people live in general, the cross and the crucifix are placed as a boundary - like a vast sea. – There is no other way to heaven! Whoever God wants to elevate to paradise, he first begins to lead him on the path to it - to the cross. “It is a sign of God’s election,” said some holy ascetic writer, “when incessant sorrows are sent to man.” Let us endure the mortification of the world through sorrows, in order to become capable of receiving into ourselves essential revival for God, by a clear, completely tangible action of the Spirit. Let us sacrifice corruption for the Spirit! - Surrender yourself completely to God! Throw yourself into the saving abyss of faith, as if into the sea - from a cliff! Leave people aside as an instrument of Providence! “These tools are blind; by themselves they have no power, no movement!” “Have no power over me,” the Lord said to Pilate, “unless it was given from above,” 68 although Pilate, guided by human judgment, recognized and affirmed (and in this, without any doubt, all those guided by such a judgment agreed with him!) that he had the power to crucify the prisoner standing before him and the power to release Him. – Do not worry about any relations with people, about any excuses before them! Such relationships and justifications will only disturb the peace of the heart - they will not bring any benefit. Weak people are flowers that appear for a short time on the surface of the earth! – You dream a lot about yourself, you ascribe a lot to yourself, and you are weak people! You are honored by autocracy, and at the same time you do not cease to be tools, blind tools, completely tools! And even you don’t see and don’t know that you are tools! You are autocratic - yes! You cannot help but accept bribes for your deeds! But in the infinitely wise destinies of God, these autocratic ones are agents without the slightest power, without any independence. “Jesus of Nazareth,” said the holy Apostle Peter to the Jews, “He was betrayed by the counsel and understanding of God, received, nailed by the hands of the lawless, killed 69.” We know that out of ignorance you did this, just as your princes did: God, who foreshadowed the lips of all His prophets to suffer Christ, fulfill this 70. In matters of God's Providence, people are blind instruments. That is why the Lord did not vouchsafe to people, apparently invested with full power, any answer! That is why He called the cup prepared by malefactors, disembodied demons and in the flesh, “the cup given by the Father.” Accept these lines as an echo of a soul that sincerely participates in you, sympathizes with your sorrow and earnestly wishes you consolation from the Lord. I allow myself to send to you the newly published book “The Life and Writings of the Moldavian Elder Paisius (Velichkovsky)”, that pious and spiritually enlightened man to whom the children of the Orthodox Church are indebted for the translation from Greek into the Slavic language of the Philokalia, Isaac of Syria and other Fathers. In the newly published book, which I have known in manuscript for a long time, a teaching is set out with particular clarity that is very appropriate for our time - the teaching about the Jesus Prayer, about which today, for the most part, they have the most obscure, confused concept. “Others,” who consider themselves to be gifted with spiritual reasoning and are revered by many as such, “fear” this prayer like some kind of infection, citing “charm” as the reason - as if an indispensable companion to the exercise of the Jesus Prayer - they themselves move away from it and teach others to move away. The inventor of such a teaching, in my opinion, is the devil, who hates the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, as it crushes all his power; he trembles at this all-powerful Name and therefore slandered Him before many Christians, so that they would reject the fiery weapon, terrible for their enemy, but saving for themselves. Others, while practicing the Jesus Prayer, want to immediately feel its spiritual effect, want to enjoy it, not understanding that the pleasure that God alone gives must be preceded by true repentance. One must cry long and bitterly before a spiritual action appears in the soul, which is grace, which, I repeat, is given by God alone at a time known to Him. We must first prove our loyalty to God by constancy and patience in the feat of prayer, discretion and cutting off all passions in the most petty actions and their branches. The “book” I present shows a charming image of practicing the Jesus Prayer, which consists of quietly pronouncing it with your lips or mind, certainly with “attention” and with a feeling of “repentance.” – The devil does not tolerate the stench of repentance; from the soul that emits this stench from itself, it runs away with its charms. The Jesus Prayer, practiced in this way, is an excellent weapon against all passions, an excellent occupation for the mind during handicrafts, travel, and in other cases when it is impossible to engage in reading and psalmody. Such exercise of the Jesus Prayer befits all Christians in general, both those living in monasteries and those living in the middle of the world. The desire to discover “heartfelt spiritual action” befits most, almost exclusively, monks - and then those who have known in detail the struggle with passions, with the conveniences provided by the place and other circumstances. - If “anyone,” driven, in the words of St. John the Climacus, by proud zeal, seeks to receive prematurely spiritual sweetness, or heartfelt prayerful action, or some other spiritual gift befitting a renewed nature; he will inevitably fall into delusion, no matter what type of prayer he engages in, whether psalmody or the Jesus Prayer. I was able to see this from experience. Mentioned in the life of Pachomius the Great, the seduced old man, standing on hot coals with bare feet due to the effects of delusion, said the Lord’s Prayer “Our Father.” The reason for delusion is not prayer, not psalms, not canons and akathists, not the Jesus Prayer - no! God save everyone from such blasphemy! Pride and lies are the causes of delusion! – Pride and lies, the culprit of which is the devil. And he, in order to shift the blame from himself, impudently and blasphemously slandered the Jesus Prayer, while he himself stood aside, as if guilty of nothing. Nowadays many are anxious, wary, and warn others against the Jesus Prayer, arguing that they should avoid it as something that causes delusion; but not a word was said about the devil, the real culprit of delusion—they completely forgot. Oh! what an obvious trick of the devil! How skillfully he hides! It saddens me very much that people today have so lost the true spiritual mind, and that various false, completely false thoughts have gained such power! Paisius's book has significant literary shortcomings. What about that? Often humble hermits, emerging from their deserts, only covered with rags, proclaimed the holy and saving Truth to the Christian world in meager and awkward words; On the contrary, how many books we see, filled with sonorous words, brilliant thoughts, in a harmonious, systematic order - and they contain poison that kills souls! Elder Paisios did not repent, as some who did not fully understand his words and did not have a definitive concept of mental prayer, divulged, in publishing the book “Philokalia,” which he translated from Greek into Slavic. He, penetrating the spirit of the times, foresaw the harm of many frivolous and arbitrary people who would be harmed by using the great benefit of mental prayer for evil. Moved by spiritual love and compassion for humanity, so damaged by the Fall that it turns the very means of its salvation into means for greater condemnation, for the multiplication of disasters caused by the Fall, Paisius was upset and sick, imitating the most merciful Lord Jesus, Who shed His most holy tears for Jerusalem, which rejected Him, and therefore not only rejected Him salvation brought by Him, but He also brought the cruelest executions upon himself and his children. – That was Paisius’s thought! Such was his sadness at the printing of the Philokalia, the translation and printing of which he had put so much effort into! This thought and these feelings are depicted by him in his letter to Theodosius, Archimandrite of the Sophronius Hermitage. More than one Philokalia has been used for evil! The Scriptures of the Holy Apostle Paul were used for evil, as Supreme Peter himself testified. All Holy Scripture has been used for evil by heretics. The Divine Gospel itself has been used and is still being used for evil, for their destruction, by many millions of Protestants, interpreting it incorrectly and dishonestly, allegedly moving away from unity with the universal Church, forming a separate soul-destroying heretical host, which they dare to call the Church of the Evangelical. The Apostle Paul testifies that they - the Apostles - are the fragrance of Christ in those who are being saved and in those who are perishing: for I have the stench of death in death, and I have the stench of animals in the belly. Even about the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy God-Receiver Simeon said: “This is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, and is a sign that can be reproached.” – Saint Isaac of Syria in the 54th Word says: “The word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. What follows from this? - Since this word of the cross seemed foolishness to those who did not feel the power of this word, should Paul have been silent and stopped preaching? But even to this day, the cross serves as a reason for stumbling and temptation for Jews and Greeks. - So, should we remain silent so that these will not be tempted? – Paul not only did not remain silent, but also cried out: Let me not boast except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The praise of the Cross was told here by the holy Apostle not in order to seduce others, but in order to proclaim the great power of the Cross.” Divine good should not be rejected if some or many have used it for evil. This should also apply to the Jesus Prayer. Jesus himself was a stumbling block to many; preaching about Him was a stumbling block; His cross was a stumbling block; How can His Holy Name not participate in the same circumstances? From what I can conclude from twenty years of observations of modern monasticism in the Orthodox Fatherland Church, being in the depths of it myself during this time, I give the following review. If there are still in our times, times of poverty, famine and spiritual darkness, monks who have partly true spiritual reasoning; then these are the very few who, having been enlightened by the intelligent Jesus Prayer, have known in detail their passions, the actions of evil spirits, and finally the action of the Spirit of God, which begins with the pouring into the soul of the sacred world of Christ. Whoever, in the light of mental prayer, has not seen his passions, has not known the action of evil spirits and has not tasted what the peace of Christ is, uniting mind, soul and body, has no concept of spiritual reasoning, although he thinks he has it, deceived by vanity. This opinion is characteristic of everyone who goes through the so-called Holy Simeon the New Theologian, the second way of attention and prayer. With good morals, one can have reasoning, or reason, both natural and active, and educated by sciences and reading, as St. Gregory of Sinai discusses this very thoroughly; but this is still not spiritual reasoning! Spiritual reasoning is as distant from such reason as heaven is from earth, and superior to it, just as the light of the sun is superior to the dim light of the night celestial bodies. What will I say in response to your letter? - Alas! I don’t see a trace of imperishable and blessed holiness in myself! Not from the action of grace-filled humility, but by my very experience, my very falls into sin, I am convinced that I am a sinner. I would like to continually contemplate my sins and cry over them; but my oblivion, absent-mindedness, and carelessness rob and darken me! You deign to write that in my letters to you I did not dare to say any word that would actually edify you. How could I decide on it, having a heavy log in the eye of my soul, blocking the sight of my sins from me and blocking the flow of my tears? I speak only to those who ask, and then when I am sure that they are asking sincerely, at the request of the soul, and not in passing or out of curiosity. And now, having received your letter, I am touched by my accursed heart and take up the pen to answer you, with the sole hope that the merciful Lord, seeing the true need of your soul and your faith, will grant a useful word, and will forgive me my daring in the tightness of the present time, in which true spiritual knowledge has become very scarce. Since I am writing to the servant of God and for the sake of God, I leave behind all considerations of the world, so that, being carried away by some human impulse, I do not become a traitor to your soul, which has come running to me for advice about the Lord, and who has to accuse me before the Lord at His Last Judgment, if in this vain age I damage my advice with hypocrisy, flattery and man-pleasing. I believe, according to the tradition of the Church and with the Church, that everyone who Orthodoxy believes in Christ and fulfills His commandments, and who cleanses the violation of commandments by repentance, will be saved. This is what the Lord Himself said to the young man who asked the Lord how he could be saved. But there is also another goal of the Christian, for which monks are especially appointed, a goal that is achieved and not achieved: Christian perfection. – The path to this perfection is purifying oneself with the commandments of the New Testament, the Gospel, guided by which the son of the Old Adam can be adopted by the New Adam. “Everyone who has this hope,” says St. John the Theologian, “purifies himself as He is pure.” 71 “But the New Commandment is very broad! The new commandment says: Whoever wants to gain his life must lose it. What does the destruction of the soul mean? – Rejection of actions based on one’s own feelings and forcing oneself to act according to the commandments of the Gospel. The Gospel communicates to the one who acts in this way his mind and his sensations, which belong to the nature of the new man, renewed in the likeness of our Creator and Redeemer. This is the coercion and self-rape prescribed by the Gospel. This means the advice so often repeated by the Holy Fathers: “Give blood and receive the Spirit.” Cut off from yourself the properties of the fallen nature and instill in yourself the properties of the nature renewed by Christ. Not only “flesh”, but also “blood” will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But since the Kingdom of God is within us, we must conclude from this that as long as the heart sensations are excited and accompanied in us by the movements of the blood, until then we are alien to the spiritual action flowing from God. With spiritual, Divine action, the blood becomes silent and there is a “silence of greatness.” That holy peace, which is not in our fallen nature, but is and is bestowed by the Lord, a peace that surpasses all understanding, descends into the soul. He pours sacred peace into the mind, heart and body of the servant of Christ, unites these three together and presents them to Christ, immersed in the abyss of humility, brought into a state of Christ. This state belongs to a renewed nature. Invited by you to give you spiritually beneficial advice, advice about the Lord, I divert attention from the stinking ulcers of my soul and, turning to you, I tell you for God’s sake with heartfelt tears the following. Your natural fire burns, and your blood is alive. For this reason, there is no place in your heart for that Divine fire that the Lord came to cast into us and with which natural fire is extinguished. “The verb to have both,” says St. John Climacus, “deceive yourself.” There are movements in you that depend precisely on the blood; they prevent the manifestation of spiritual movements, keep your soul in darkness and in some unresolved state, which you feel but do not understand. Incomprehensible, because such movements can only communicate the opinion of knowledge, and not the knowledge itself, clear, accurate, as true. That is why your conscience, when you examine yourself and delve into yourself, answers you with an indistinct, terrible voice of conceit. You need consolation: may the Truth console you! Let us consider the subject we are now discussing in two respects: in love for one’s neighbor and in the action of mental prayer. You are alive for people, you love them with natural fire. - That is why people are alive for you, but Christ is dead. (Do not be confused by my words: above I distinguished salvation from perfection, leaving to talk about the first, as true for you by the grace of God, I am talking about the path to the second, about purification.) In the 2nd part of the Philokalia, in the book of the monks Callistus and Ignatius, in chapter 37, the following words of the Great Barsanuphius are given: “Even if you are not considered a man, he will make you dwell in city, and if you die from every man, you will inherit the city and treasures.” Do not be afraid of this death; from it a new life is born. When you come to life with a new life, you will see that the life that God requires us to kill is death. This is the death that Adam died immediately after eating from the forbidden tree, reviving into mixed knowledge and sensations of good and evil. Tell God about all your living and deceased relatives, say about the brothers of your monastery, about all your loved ones: “Lord! This is all Yours, and who am I?” Exactly, all this is God’s; Let us not steal God's things for ourselves. And it is more accurate for us to be supposedly loved by God than by us. Isn't it true? If it is true, then let us accept the truth for salvation. Let us die to natural love for our neighbor and come to life with a new love for him, love in God. Then we will die with natural, mixed love for our neighbor, when we “do not consider ourselves,” according to the advice of the Great Barsanuphius, as “humans,” when we spit on ourselves as some kind of abomination. Let us serve our neighbors in our service, not as fathers to children, but as servants of the Lord, as indecent servants of the Holy Angels. This is what Paul wanted: and he thought so! “We preach not to ourselves,” he told the Corinthians, “but to Christ Jesus the Lord, and to ourselves, your servants Jesus the Lord, for the sake of 72.” Let us give what is Godly to God. Let us not arrogate God’s to ourselves through our opinion: God’s will not become ours through our opinion, but we will only be deceived by an empty self-delusion worthy of laughter and weeping. When we humble ourselves, God can give us His own; then it will surely become ours by grace. Thus, the Saints, having become vessels of the Holy Spirit, also became fathers in the Spirit, and had children in the Spirit. The commandment of Christ: Do not call yourself a father on earth, or a teacher on earth, remained unbreakable. When Ananias and Sapphira lied before the Apostle Peter, they fell dead; and the Apostle explained their guilt, that they lied to God, although before them they saw not God, but only a man - the Apostle. But this man was a vessel of the Holy Spirit; what was done to him was done to God. Many of the Saints called those to whom they imparted the life of the Spirit children. And that was true; because the words were accompanied by the action itself. But we, who do not have the obvious dwelling of the Spirit within ourselves, can we appropriate for ourselves what only God gives? Isn't this terrible sacrilege! Isn’t this self-delusion, worthy, due to the false state it produces, of bitter crying? – Those of the Holy Fathers, in whom the abundance of grace did not flow as in the Apostles and other greatest Saints of God, did not dare to call themselves teachers and fathers. Of these, the Monk Nil of Sorsky, in the preface to his Skete Rules, says: “I do not call you my disciples: we have one Teacher - Christ,” and so on. And this is according to the will of the Apostle, who speaks. If anyone speaks as the words of God, if anyone serves as with might, even as God gives, let God Jesus Christ be glorified in all things. The mortified self is everywhere! – Everywhere Christ is alive and gives life. Humility kills natural love. And if she dies of humility, then her life is composed of pride. Belonging to the properties of the old Adam, it requires mortification and regeneration by the Spirit. The idol of “I” lives in it, placed on the throne of the tate’s infiltrating conceit and bequeathed by a veil of supposed virtue. The Apostle Paul did not like this love in his disciples for himself; for her he called them carnal. Armed against her, he wrote against himself, wanting to depose, destroy, destroy himself in the opinion of his disciples. Will Paul be crucified for you? - he told them. Who is Paul anyway? Az planted, Apollos gave water, God will grow. By the same token, do not plant or drink anything, but God increases 74. You see how zealously the great Apostle seeks that those who believe in Christ should be dead to men! Revival for men is mortification in relation to Christ, and, consequently, to everything Divine and Spiritual: because Christ is the only intercessor between God and men. The disciples of John the Baptist once became jealous when they learned that everyone was following in the footsteps of Jesus, and the great Forerunner answered them: Having a bride, there is a groom, and a friend of the grooms: standing and listening to him, he rejoices with joy for the voice of the grooms: this is my joy being fulfilled. It is fitting for him to grow, but for me to grow small 75. - Great words! Holy words! Exactly - then mentors fulfill their duty when they seek so that in the souls they lead to Christ, Christ alone may be magnified and grow. They wish to diminish in the opinion of their guides, if only Christ would be magnified for them, then these mentors feel the fullness of joy, as if they have reached the end of their desires. On the contrary, those who lead the souls entrusted to their leadership to themselves, and not to Christ, I will say without fail, commit adultery. Now, with God’s help, a few words about prayer! When exercising it, there can be actions directly dependent on the blood, and an inexperienced doer can mistake them for grace, as stated in the 4th part of the Philokalia, in the article of His Holiness Callistus, Patriarch of Constantinople, entitled: “The manner of attention of prayer.” One can find a certain sweetness in the actions that come from the blood and imagine that this is a prayerful delight. Such a thought is erroneous; This is self-delusion, which the Fathers call “opinion.” St. John of Carpathia speaks about “opinion” at the end of the 49th chapter that it is the nourishment of the soul (the intoxication of the soul, satisfied with itself, with its supposedly sweet states) and the dullness of the “vain mind”, which comes from such contentment, or nourishment. In this state of self-delusion, called “opinion,” were those to whom the holy Apostle Paul wrote: Behold, you are full, behold, you are rich, behold, you are satisfied 76 . If they were definitely enriched, why would there be reproach? If the Apostle denounces them, it means that they only had the opinion of wealth. “Opinion does not allow something to be imaginary,” says Simeon the New Theologian. So, there may be an opinion of prayer that prevents one from knowing and tasting the true action of prayer. Our Most Holy Lady, the Mother of God, the Ever-Virgin Mary, said about such conceited people: Fill the hungry with blessings, but let go of the rich 77 . The essence is to be rich in oneself, says the Scripture, but to have nothing: and the essence is to humble oneself in much wealth 78 - How can one be rich with meager things? - Obviously - an opinion. But their fate is pitiable: while those who are hungry are filled with good things, they leave empty-handed. And in the next century, even the hedgehog who seems to have it will be taken from him (the opinor). Can imaginary wealth be significant? When exposed, when opinion itself is rejected at the court of God, what will those who had only one opinion be left with? - Empty-handed. What can you say about the actions you feel when you pray? – They are definitely bloody; You cannot help but admit that opinion also works. Your conscience, suspecting the justice and correctness of these actions, doubting them, can already serve as sufficient exposure. In addition, you are dark; The Divine action would enlighten and satisfy you, satisfy you not with a feeling of sweetness, but with the knowledge of the Truth, which is why a wonderful calmness and notification appears in your conscience. Warmth acts on the outside of your body; but you are completely unknown (this can only be comprehended by experience) in what way the soul moves into union with the mind; entails the body; how, in subtle cold and deep peace, a person, united with himself, above all struggle, alien to all sin, clothed in repentance, stands before the face of the Lord with pure prayer, embracing his entire being - and his very vision. Then the blood stops, the imaginary sweetness runs away, the person sees that he is a fallen being, is instructed in repentance, which should embrace him, make it possible for him to purify, through purification - union with God. Repentance should be the soul of prayer, without it it is dead, reeking of the stink of proud and seductive opinions! Repentance is the only door through which one can find saving pasture in the Lord. He who neglects repentance is alien to all good. Your blood is alive, but your soul is dead. The Spirit is needed to revive the soul. Adam was created with a living soul, that is, the Spirit of God was present with his soul and set it in motion, which is why this movement was a spiritual movement, in God. When Adam sinned, the Spirit of God departed from him; Adam's soul immediately died, and flesh and blood came to life. Through them, the devil began to act on the soul, to keep it in darkness, death, and captivity. That is why it is necessary to mortify not only the flesh, but also the blood; If the blood is not mortified, then, despite the silence of the carnal passions, it is enough for the devil to hold the soul captive through the blood through the action of spiritual passions. If the soul does not pre-purify itself and does not appease God with repentance, then it is in no way possible for it to feel the actions of the spiritual. If he does not come to life in this way (movement is a sure sign of life), then he will not be able to know and see spiritual passions. And without seeing his bonds, will he be able to free himself from them? Being in these bonds, she is in the realm of the devil, who keeps her in his darkness and abomination. What movement of the soul? – you ask. – I don’t go to the carnal mind and the carnal heart, I answer, so that the soul could be capable of such a movement, so that such a movement of the soul exists. Ask repentance: let it give you an experienced knowledge of this blessed movement. There is no other way to know it than by experience; words are weak to depict it: it does not belong to the perishable world. Believe, enter into repentance with simplicity - and “God’s gifts will come of their own accord” to you, as St. Isaac of Syria says. God is faithful: He opens to those who interpret, He comforts those who mourn, He gives the Kingdom of Heaven to the poor in spirit. Do not think about repentance lightly: this is the soul of all deeds, this is a common deed that should animate all other deeds. Some who were in true repentance achieved true prosperity. It is that essential work that prepares us for the manifestation of the Kingdom of Heaven in us. The Savior Himself announced this! Repent, He said, for the Kingdom of Heaven is drawing near. The merciful Lord has prepared for us a wondrous, heavenly, eternal Kingdom, showing us the door through which we can enter the saving pasture of the Spirit and Truth, the door of repentance. If we neglect repentance, we will undoubtedly remain outside. Good deeds that are natural, according to feelings, cannot in any way replace repentance. Saint Simeon the New Theologian, calculating the benefits he received from his Mentor, Simeon the Reverent, says: “he taught me repentance!” And how can one not consider it a blessing to indicate the means by which, alone, eternal, ineffable treasures are acquired? Repentance is the whole secret of salvation. How simple, how clear! - But what do we do? – We abandon the saving repentance indicated to us by God and strive to practice imaginary virtues, because they are pleasant to our feelings, then little by little, in an inconspicuous way, we become infected with an opinion and, as grace does not rush to overshadow and crown us, then we ourselves create sweet sensations within ourselves, reward ourselves and console ourselves! Isn't this funny? Isn't this stupid? Isn't it proud and insolent? Let's stop joking with God (forgive the indecent expression, which I did not stop using because it accurately describes our behavior!), Let's live before Him in constant repentance. The time has approached, a terrible judgment is being prepared for us, at which we will be judged not according to our opinions with which we flattered ourselves, but according to the Truth. Let us prevent a terrible disaster by repentance, and avert eternal weeping with temporary weeping. Let us come to our senses, sinners! The eleventh hour has already struck and the field of work will soon, soon end. But there is still time to condemn yourself so as not to be condemned by God. Until now we have justified ourselves. The beautiful style of your letters always reminds me of the letters of the Great Barsanuphius. Your expressions are lively, fiery, strong. This is the external side; but if judged spiritually, then something else must be said. The letters of the Great Barsanuphius are animated by the Spirit; in them the human is dead, only the Holy Spirit lives. Your letters are animated by blood and natural fire; in them you are alive, people are alive - there is no God! You deigned to write: “I did not find brotherly, friendly, reverent care for those in need of help” (i.e. you in my letters) and so on. – Here is a direct image of the blood action in you with the revival of a person! Why is the trembling you mention in your letters, if not from the blood brought into special motion? You would also like to write: “Wasn’t it pleasant for you to see your good child of the Holy Spirit, our brother,” and so on. - Here is the revival of a man with a charming and pompous opinion. I brought these articles to you as examples; but the whole whole is fermented with the same kvass, the kvass of Adam’s old age. Understand that in us, fallen people, there is a mixed knowledge and sense of good and evil, acquired by the Fall of Adam. Christ destroys this confusion with the Gospel, replacing complex knowledge and sensations with simple ones. But just as the fallen and perished are not characterized by pleasure, even natural, due to damage to nature (the consumption of a wonderful drink, in which even a little poison is dipped, is prohibited!); This was given to us by the Savior for common and unceasing work - precious repentance. The merciful Lord invested in it a meek and humble consolation, consisting in the relief of conscience, in the manifestation of the hope of salvation, which is called by the Holy Fathers - “notification”. What a fitting delight for sinners! How great and wise is the mercy of the Lord! For those who faithfully and constancy remain on the path of repentance, the ineffably good Lord increases consolation, increasing tenderness and the feeling of human insignificance. He seals His chosen and most faithful servants from now on with the Holy Spirit and introduces them from time to time to partake of the future age. From time to time they become partakers of unspeakable spiritual consolation. Who creates his own pleasure? he is in obvious demonic seduction! I think that I have completed the obedience you entrusted to me. Do something for me too. Pray to the Lord to forgive me, who in this letter dared to expose the secret shortcomings of my neighbor, for cleansing from which St. David prays, calling them, however, a great sin, as one that decisively stops spiritual progress. “Cleanse me from my secrets,” he says, “and from strangers spare Thy servant: then I will be blameless and cleansed from great sin 79.” My sins are actually committed, imprinted by insensibility! I should have remained silent: silence is characteristic of a criminal who has no justification and is sentenced to death. It is only because of the poverty of our times that I decided to write to you, seeing your exact need and realizing that, due to the sincerity of your character, you are capable of success. So, the news that I heard about you is true! You are going to Jerusalem, to those places where the Savior lived on earth, to those places about which He said to the Samaritan wife: woman, I have faith, for the hour is coming, when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father... But the hour is coming and now is, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and Truth: for the Father is looking for such as those who worship Him 80. Another thing that comes to my mind is the Jerusalem circumstance about which the paralytic of Bethesda complained to the Lord: Lord, man is not an imam!.. 81 And I would like to get to Jerusalem! I see it in the Gospel. Christ still lives there, saying to His disciples: Behold, I am with you until the end of the age 82. There is only one gate to this Jerusalem: repentance! I would like to get into the gate! I would like to go to the Holy City! I wouldn't want to be left out! I wouldn’t want night to catch me on the way! At night, wild beasts roam outside the city! The belated traveler conveniently becomes their victim!.. There was told a parable about the belated foolish virgins. They were left out; From inside we only heard a voice: We don’t know you. Get away!.. 83 These are the thoughts that came to me involuntarily as a result of your journey to Jerusalem. This news saddened me. Saint John Climacus said about our monastic path: “Woe to the one; and where two or three are gathered together in the Lord, there the Lord is in the midst of them.” It's a pity for the good companion who is leaving for a distant country! His good word, good deed, hidden from us by a long distance, will no longer have any effect on us! I take comfort in the fact that we are all in God’s power, that God’s Providence protects everyone, invisibly holds the hand of His sincere servants, instructs them on the path of His holy desires. What should I say to you as a parting word? What I repeat to myself constantly! Let us plunge into repentance, let us abide in it, let us cleanse our garments with it. Let's do our job; and God will certainly do His own: He enlightens those purified by repentance with the grace of His Holy Spirit. I wish you a safe journey. I ask you not to interrupt your love for me, a sinner! I ask for your holy prayers for me, a sinner! See letters from Metropolitan Philaret of Kyiv. pp. 34–45. For more details, see vol. 8, p. 124–127. See letters from Vladyka of Yaroslavl (Metropolitan of Kyiv) p. 34–45 About him, see this edition, vol. 5, p. 426 See also vol. 8, p. 124–127 Anthony (G. A. Rafalsky; 1789–1848) – Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg in 1843–1848 Nikanor (N. S. Klementyevsky; 1787–1856) – Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg in 1848–1856 Archbishop Neil... - About him, see p. 46–51 Wed:. My days are like a shifting shadow... (Ps. 101:12) Gregory (G.P. Postnikov; 1784–1860) – Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg in 1856–1860 RSL OR. F. 425. K. 4. No. 4. RSL OR. F. 425. K. 4. No. 9. The Venerable Elder Theodore Ushakov (in the world John; 1718–1791) is a great ascetic, restorer of the Nativity of the Theotokos Sanaksar Monastery and the Arzamas Alekseevsk women’s community. About him, see this edition, vol. 6, p. 516. S. I. Snessoreva. Abbess Feofania (Gotovtseva). St. Petersburg, 1868. P. 41. S. I. Snessoreva. Abbess Feofania (Gotovtseva). P. 189. RNB RO. F. 1927. No. 288. pp. 277–279. S. I. Snessoreva. Abbess Feofania (Gotovtseva). P. 297 Show me the path along which I should go, for to You I lift up my soul. Lord... I come to You. Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God (Ps. 143:8, 9:10) for... two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20) Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest; take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:28, 29:30) S. I. Snessoreva. Abbess Feofania (Gotovtseva). P. 323 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16:17) ... fell asleep in their sleep ... did not find ... the strength of their hands ( Ps. 75:6 ) Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and strengthen me with the sovereign Spirit (Ps. 50:13:14) Return, my soul, to your rest, for the Lord has blessed you. You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling (Ps. 115:7:8) The Bible Society was founded in England in 1804 by sectarians of different directions with the goal of distributing the Holy Scriptures in different languages ​​among people of different faiths. In 1812, members of British society turned to Alexander I through Prince Golitsyn with a request to allow them to establish a Bible Society in Russia to distribute the Old and New Testaments in Russia among residents of foreign faiths. On the same day, permission was received. Prince Golitsyn was elected Chairman of the Society. The darkest side of the activities of the Bible Society was that its leaders, under the influence of English teachers, directed the whole matter towards Protestantism. English Methodists expressed the hope that thanks to the Society, “Russia will soon enjoy the benefits of the Reformation.” As a result of this trend, the Bible Society became the focus of all kinds of sects that acted to the detriment of Orthodoxy. Not everything, however, in the Society’s activities was negative. For example, many found the translation and publication of the Holy Scriptures in Russian to be very useful. (Based on the book by Metropolitan John (Snychev) “The Life and Work of Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow”). Prince Golitsyn Alexander Nikolaevich (1773–1844) – friend of the Sovereign Emperor Alexander I, Minister of Spiritual Affairs and Public Education, mystic, chairman of the Bible Society. Under his patronage, books written by preachers of the Lutheran and Latin churches were translated and published, which caused indignation in society. For one of them, “An Appeal to People to Follow the Inner Attraction of the Spirit of Christ,” Archimandrite Photius wrote an “Accusatory Apology” and, in addition, sent two messages to Alexander I, in which he proved that this book was compiled for the revolution and was inspired by the satanic spirit. On May 15, 1824, Prince A. N. Golitsyn, by a special decree, was relieved of the post of minister and, at his request, was appointed Head of the Post Office. In 1839–1841 he presided over the general meetings of the State Council. He was involved in charity work. Archimandrite Ignatius in 1836 addressed the Secretary of State for Acceptance of Petitions A.N. Golitsyn with a petition: “Your Excellency, your usual condescension inspires me with courage to bother you with a humble request, however, very easy for you. It is as follows: our monastery has long been conducting a process for land according to the deeds of sale, the plan and the boundary book of the general survey that belongs to it, but is disputed by state-owned peasants who forcibly settled on it. The Minister of Finance, having examined the case, although he found that the land in all fairness belonged to the Sergius Hermitage, however, finding it difficult to resettle the peasants, he decided to divide the land as follows: the side on which the monastery stands should be given to the monastery, and on which the peasants settled - to the peasants. This opinion was submitted to the Committee of Ministers. I think that the Monk Sergius would better agree to cede part of his property than to cause grief to the peasants by relocating them, to which these simple people obey in no other way than by indulging in inconsolable sadness and bitter tears. Therefore, I, the confidant of St. Sergius, both in this matter and in others related to his monastery, must take into account the well-being of my Superior and the decision of the Minister of Finance to be satisfied. Support this decision in the Committee of Ministers. This is the entire request to Your Excellency from the trustee of the monastery, St. Sergius.” A. N. Muravyov. Travel to Russian holy places. St. Petersburg, 1846. P. 215. RSL OR. F. 425. K. 1. No. 26. Published for the first time (O. Shafranova). Wed: he dug a ditch, and dug it out, and fell into the hole that he had prepared (Ps. 7:16) RSL OR. F. 425. K. Z. No. 18. The opening of the holy relics of Mitrofan of Voronezh took place on the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, August 6, 1832. “Mitrofan of Voronezh! A man of unusual and amazing destiny. Preacher of the truth of Christ and educator. Organizer of monasteries and holy righteous man. Prayer book and miracle worker. One of the most beloved and revered saints in Rus'. A statesman and guardian of the glory of the Fatherland, a lamp of faith that illuminated the beginning of the glorious deeds of Peter I, the birth and first victories of young Russia. An accomplice to the blessed emperor in the construction of ships and a mentor in state and military affairs. A saint who has earned the right - along with Andrew the First-Called, Nicholas the Wonderworker, Panteleimon the Great Martyr, Admiral Fyodor Ushakov - to be called the patron of the Russian Navy! (Vladimir Maksimov. To God, the Fatherland and the Fleet // Akathist to the saint and wonderworker Mitrofan, Bishop of Voronezh. M., 2003). RSL OR. F. 425. K. 3. No. 23. Published for the first time (O. Shafranova) You have set a limit that they will not pass (Ps. 103:9) Soulful reading. M., 1870. January. S. 4; about T. B. Potemkina, see vol. 8, p. 124–127. This edition. T. 6. P. 567. RSL OR. F. 425. K. 3. No. 47. Published for the first time (O. Shafranova). RSL OR. F. 425. K. 1. No. 12. See about her in the letter to T. B. Potemkina - vol. 8, p. 128 RSL OR. F. 425. K. 3. No. 28. RSL OP. F. 425. K. 1. No. 25. RSL OR. F. 425. K. 1. Archimandrite Hilarion, the former governor of the Sergius Hermitage, left it in 1836. His Eminence Archpastor – Anthony (G. A. Rafalsky; 1789–1848) – Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg in 1843–1848 RSL OR. F. 148. K 12. No. 47. The letter is published for the first time (O. Shafranova). L. A. Sokolov. Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov, His life and moral and ascetic views. Part 2. Applications. pp. 23–24. I acknowledge my iniquity, I lament my sin (Ps. 37:19) ...be merciful to yourself, Lord! let this not happen to you (Matthew 16:22) ...get away from Me, Satan! you are a temptation to me! because you think not about the things of God, but about the things of men (Matthew 16:23) and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me (Gal. 2:20) There we also saw giants, the sons of Anakim, from the giant family; and we were in our sight [before them] like locusts, and so were we in their sight. ...We cannot go against this people, for they are stronger than us (Num. 13:34:32) I pursue my enemies and overtake them, and I do not return until I have destroyed them; I strike them, and they cannot rise up; they fall under my feet. I scatter them like dust before the wind, I trample them like the dirt of the streets (Ps. 17:38, 39:43) The sons of Ephraim, armed, shooting with bows, turned back in the day of battle (Ps. 77:9) because the foolish things of God are wiser than men, and the weak things of God are stronger than men (1 Cor. 1:25) ...if it had not been given to you from above (John 19:11) This one, according to the definite advice and foreknowledge of God, you took him and, nailing him with the hands of the wicked, you killed (Acts 2:23) However, I know, brothers, that you, like your leaders, did this out of ignorance; God, as He foretold through the mouth of all His prophets that Christ would suffer, so He fulfilled (Acts 3:17–18) ...everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, even as He is pure (1 John 3:3) ...we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and we are your servants for Jesus (2 Cor. 4:5) If anyone speaks, [speak] as the words of God; If anyone serves, [serve] according to the strength that God gives, so that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 4:11) ...was Paul crucified for you? Who is Pavel? I planted, Apollos watered, but God increased; therefore, he who plants and he who waters is nothing, but [everything] is God who increases (1 Cor. 1:13; 1 Cor. 3:5, 6:7) He who has the bride is the groom, and the friend of the groom, standing and listening to him, rejoices with joy, hearing the voice of the groom. This is my joy fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease (John 3:29:30) Wed: You are already full, you are already rich (1 Cor. 4:8) He filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty (Luke 1:53) Someone pretends to be rich, but he has nothing; another pretends to be poor, but he has much wealth (Prov. 13:7) and restrain Thy servant from those who are willful, so that they do not prevail over me. Then I will be blameless and pure from great corruption (Ps. 18:14) ...believe Me that the time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. But the time will come and has already come when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is looking for such worshipers for Himself (John 4:21:23)