Business correspondence

Contents Correspondence of Saint Ignatius with the Minister of the Court of His Imperial Majesty, Prince P. M. Volkonsky No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 No. 6 No. 7 No. 8 No. 9 No. 10 No. 11 No. 12 Letter from Metropolitan Seraphim to Prince P. M. Volkonsky No. 13 Letter from Prince P. M. Volkonsky to Metropolitan Seraphim Letter of St. Ignatius to the Minister of the Court of Her Imperial Majesty Letters of St. Ignatius to the Minister of the Court of His Imperial Majesty Count V.F. Adlerberg No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 No. 6 Letter of St. Ignatius to the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod Count N.A. Protasov Letters from St. Ignatius to the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, Count A.P. Tolstoy No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 Letter from Count A.P. Tolstoy to Prince G.D. Orbeliani Letters from St. Ignatius to the Director of the Department of State Property N.P. Dubensky Letters to St. Ignatius from the secretary of the Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg Seraphim A.I. Suslov No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 Letters from St. Ignatius to the Administrator of the Committee of Ministers F.P. Kornilov No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 Letter to St. Ignatius from Secretary of State Prince A.N. Golitsyn Letter to Saint Ignatius from Confessor Nikolai Muzovsky Letter of Saint Ignatius to Count Peter Andreevich Kleinmichel Letter of Saint Ignatius to a certain high-ranking official In this section, letters from Archimandrite Ignatius to some addressees relating to the period of his abbotship of the first-class monastery of Sergius Hermitage are published for the first time. That period in the Vladyka’s life was associated with numerous difficulties that he needed to overcome in order to bring the disturbed monastery into proper shape, decorate it and establish in it the saving monastic way of life for the brethren in Christ. Truly, it is only a feat - and nothing else - to call the service of Archimandrite Sergius, known throughout the capital, who managed, with his benevolence and his culture of communication with the most prominent talents among artists, musicians and architects, to attract them to cooperation with the monastery to enrich church art. At the same time, it was in the Sergius Hermitage that Archimandrite Ignatius showed himself to be an outstanding spiritual writer and theologian, the creator of the unique two-volume work “Ascetic Experiences,” and became firmly established in his direct defense of the vitality of the patristic heritage. All this is clearly presented in the letters of Archimandrite Ignatius from the Sergius Hermitage, published in this Complete Collection of his works. At the same time, in the archives of the country there are many letters of the great ascetic of God of a service nature, for example, in connection with the Christmas glorification of Christ in the chambers of the Sovereign Emperor. These letters were usually sent by Archimandrite Ignatius to the Minister of the Imperial Court, Prince Pyotr Mikhailovich Volkonsky (1776–1852) and, accordingly, received a response. Of course, both the request letters themselves and the responses to them were of a formal, purely etiquette nature, and repeated from year to year. This correspondence is given here without any editorial intervention and without abbreviations, keeping in mind that such texts can also be useful for biographers of the Saint - they mark the dates of his meetings with the Royal Family. Letters of the same content were sent to Count Vladimir Fedorovich Adlerberg (1791–1884). Letters to Count Alexander Petrovich Tolstoy (1801–1873), the famous chief prosecutor of the Holy Synod, concern the dismissal of His Grace Ignatius from the administration of the Caucasian diocese. They marked an important stage in the life of the Saint. The dismissal was followed by departure to the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery on the Volga. The published letters are preserved in the Central State Archive of Ancient Acts. All texts are given while preserving the peculiarities of writing official titles and in compliance with the rules of written etiquette. Correspondence of Saint Ignatius with the Minister of the Court of His Imperial Majesty, Prince P. M. Volkonsky 1 Last year, through your intercession, I was given the good fortune to introduce myself, together with the Monasticism of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, to His Imperial Majesty, my Sovereign and Benefactor. And this year, I dare to trouble you and most humbly ask - grant me this happiness - to me and to Chikhachev, who was brought up as a dependent of His Imperial Majesty and lives in my Monastery. If my request, having received your gracious attention and intercession, receives the desired success, then allow me to receive your Lordship’s answer from Adjutant General Kavelin. With true respect and devotion, I have the honor to be Your Lordship's most humble servant December 28, 1835 Through your intercession, I have repeatedly had the good fortune to be presented to His Imperial Majesty, my Sovereign and benefactor. And now I dare to trouble you and humbly ask you to bring this happiness to me, to me and to Chikhachev, who was brought up as a dependent of His Imperial Majesty and lives in my monastery. If my request, having received your gracious attention and intercession, receives the desired success, then allow me to receive Your Lordship’s answer from His Grace Seraphim, Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg. With true respect and devotion, I have the honor to be most humble servant and Bogomolets December 26th, 1840 His Lordship, Mr. Minister Through your intercession, I have repeatedly had the good fortune to be presented to His Imperial Majesty, my Sovereign and benefactor. And now I dare to trouble you and most humbly ask you to bring this happiness to me, to me and to Chikhachev, who was brought up as a dependent of His Imperial Majesty and lives in my Monastery. If my request, having received your gracious attention and intercession, receives the desired success, then allow me to receive Your Lordship’s answer from His Grace Seraphim, Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg. With true respect and devotion, I have the honor to be Your Lordship's most humble servant and Bogomolet His Lordship, Mr. Minister The Court of His Imperial Majesty, Prince Pyotr Mikhailovich Volkonsky. My illness, which kept me hopelessly in my rooms for two winters, deprived me of the happiness of appearing before the Face of His Imperial Majesty, the Sovereign Emperor, before the onset of 1846 and 1847, the only time when I have this happiness. Now I am going on vacation and, on the urgent advice of doctors, I must certainly spend the winter outside the local climate, for which I have the consent of His Grace the Metropolitan; therefore, even before the onset of 1848, I was not destined to see my High Benefactor, the Sovereign Emperor. Therefore, I allow myself to trouble Your Lordship with my most humble request: accept, Your Serene Highness, the work of asking His Imperial Majesty for permission, due to my impending departure for such a long time, to introduce myself to Their Imperial Majesties, the Sovereign Emperor and the Empress. With a feeling of complete high esteem and devotion, I have the honor to be By my most humble servant Bogomolets Court of His Imperial Majesty, Prince Pyotr Mikhailovich Volkonsky While I am temporarily in a remote, quiet desert, where I am healing with satisfied success from the ailments that have crushed me, I fly across a vast space in my thoughts and hearts, I stand on these solemn days before the sacred face of my High benefactors, Their Imperial Majesties the Sovereign Emperor and the Empress - I bring at Their feet the most reverent wish for Them and all Their Highest Family for many years perfect, indestructible prosperity and well-being. Most Serene Prince! I most humbly ask you to take it upon yourself, in accordance with your usual condescending attention to my requests, to report this to Their Imperial Majesties. I live in the Kostroma Diocese in the Nikolaev Babaevsky Monastery, and letters to me are addressed to Yaroslavl. With Your Lordship's wish for all true blessings, with the deepest respect and complete devotion, I have the honor to be most humble servant and Bogomolet Abbot of the first-class Sergius Hermitage. December 25th, 1847 According to the most humble report of my letter from Your Eminence dated December 25, the Sovereign Emperor and Sovereign Empress deigned to express to you Their Majesty's highest gratitude for the congratulations and wishes expressed in your letter. I humbly ask you to accept the assurance of my complete respect and devotion. Signed: Prince Volkonsky. His Eminence Archimandrite I have the honor to notify Your Reverence that, in accordance with my most humble report of your letter dated December 25, the Sovereign Emperor has expressed his Highest permission to receive you and the monk Chikhachev for the glorification of Christ, together with the monasticism of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, next Friday, December 31, in the Winter Palace, at one o'clock in the afternoon. Signed: Prince. Bolkonsky. Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on the upcoming New Year, which I wish you to enjoy in perfect health and prosperity. May God's blessing overshadow and protect you for wise advice to the Tsar, for advice useful to the Fatherland. I know from many of my relationships that many in Russia pray to God for you, I have a special reason to be grateful to you: because you, solely by the attraction of your well-intentioned heart, for many years have not ceased to do me the good that depends on you. Your actions towards me have left an indelible impression on my heart. May God prolong your days! My desires to you are all the stronger and more direct because they come from a heart that values ​​everything earthly at the smallest price. Viewer for fifteen years of central events and actions in the Russian kingdom - what can I say about them? “Man,” as Scripture says, “is like vanity.” Exactly: one virtue is coeternal with eternity! Some good deeds remain the property of a person beyond the grave. With feelings of deepest respect and perfect devotion, I have the honor to be Your Lordship With particular pleasure having received Your Reverence’s congratulations on the New Year, I consider it my duty to express my sincere gratitude to you for this and mutually congratulate you. Committing myself to your prayers, I humbly ask you to accept the assurance of my complete respect and devotion. Signed: Prince. Volkonsky. Correct: Secretary Wolf Your intercession has repeatedly brought me the happiness of being presented to His Imperial Majesty, my Sovereign and benefactor, together with the brethren of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. And now I dare to bother you and humbly ask you to bring this happiness to me, to me and to Chikhachev, who was brought up as a dependent of His Imperial Majesty and lives with me in the Monastery. If my request, having received your gracious attention and intercession, receives the desired success, then allow me to receive Your Lordship’s answer from the Most Reverend Nikanor, Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg. With feelings of true high esteem and perfect devotion, I have the honor to be Your Lordship most humble servant and Bogomolet. His Highness Archimandrite Ignatius. I have the honor to notify Your Reverence that, in accordance with my most humble report of your letter dated December 25th, the Sovereign Emperor has expressed his Highest permission to receive you and the monk Chikhachev for the glorification of Christ, together with the monasticism of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, on December 30, in the Winter Palace, after mass. I humbly ask you to accept the assurance of my utmost respect. [Note from the Secretary of the Chancery] By order of His Grace, it was written to the Metropolitan before receiving a letter from him about this subject, and since His Eminence Nikanor was notified of the reception with him of Archimandrite Ignatius and monk Chikhachev, then, according to the order of His Excellency, the letter was not sent to Archimandrite Ignatius, which is in accordance with the contents of his letter. December 28 [1851]. Secretary... Letter from Metropolitan Seraphim to Prince P. M. Volkonsky In continuation of the current holiday, I and the brethren of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, according to a long-established custom, glorified Christ every year at His Imperial Majesty. Why do I most humbly ask Your Grace to report to the Sovereign Emperor whether it would please His Majesty to appoint me now a time for this glorification; and in the future honor me with your notice. I have the honor to be with true respect and complete devotion Seraphim, Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg. Letter from Prince P. M. Volkonsky to Metropolitan Seraphim Your Eminence, Gracious Sovereign and Archpastor. To the attitude of Your Eminence of December 27, I have the honor to respond that the Sovereign Emperor will deign to receive you with the brethren of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, as well as the Archimandrite of the Sergius Hermitage with the monk Chikhachev, for the glorification of Christ, on December 31, in the Winter Palace. With utmost respect and devotion, I have the honor to be Your Eminence's most humble servant. Signed: Prince Peter Volkonsky Seraphim, Metropolitan of Novgorod Letter from Saint Ignatius to the Minister of the Court of Her Imperial Majesty Your Excellency! Dear Sir! I have the honor to inform you that the gilded wings arranged in the Trinity Cathedral Church of the monastery entrusted to me on the two hundred silver rubles most mercifully granted by Her Imperial Majesty have been brought to perfect completion and put in place. It is my duty to add that these wings constitute an extraordinary decoration of the Church, and so to speak they say that they were previously lacking to complete the splendor 2 . I would consider it my greatest blessing if the Empress deigns to allow me to personally introduce myself to Her Imperial Majesty to offer my most loyal gratitude. Awaiting your reply with utmost respect and devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency Letters from Saint Ignatius to the Minister of the Court of His Imperial Majesty, Count V. F. Adlerberg 3 Considering myself completely happy that I have the honor to address these lines to Your Excellency, I most humbly ask you to intercede for me and the monk Chikhachov who lives in my monastery the happiness of presenting myself to His Imperial Majesty the Sovereign Emperor, my Benefactor, together with the brotherhood of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra on the day when it will glorify before the Sovereign the temporary birth of the beginningless God. If my most humble request, having received your gracious attention, receives the desired success: then allow me to receive your Excellency’s answer through His Eminence Nikonor, Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg. With feelings of great respect and complete devotion, I have the honor to be 1852 December 25th Through the intercession of Your Excellency, I was given the happiness of being presented, together with the monasticism of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, on the eve of the New Year, to Their Imperial Majesties the Sovereign Emperor and the Empress. And now I dare to bother Your Excellency with a most humble request for the delivery of this happiness to me and the monk of the Sergius Hermitage, Mikhail Chikhachev, who was brought up at the Main Engineering School at the expense of His Imperial Majesty. If you deign to honor me with an answer, then I most humbly ask Your Excellency to order it to be delivered to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, to the house of His Eminence the Metropolitan, where I am now staying. With feelings of complete high esteem and devotion, I have the honor to be December 25th, 1853 His Excellency Mr. Minister of the Court His Imperial Majesty Count Vladimir Fedorovich Through the intercession of Your Excellency, I was given the happiness of presenting myself, together with the monastics of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, on the eve of the New Year to Their Imperial Majesties, the Sovereign Emperor and the Sovereign Empress. And now I dare to bother Your Excellency with a most humble request to bring this happiness to me and the monk of the Sergius Hermitage, Mikhail Chikhachev, who was brought up at the Main Engineering School at the expense of His Imperial Majesty. If you deign to honor me with your answer, then I most humbly ask Your Excellency to order it to be delivered to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, to the house of His Eminence the Metropolitan, where I am now staying. To His Excellency Mr. Minister Majesty Count Vladimir Through the intercession of Your Excellency, I was given the happiness of being presented, together with the monasticism of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, on the eve of the New Year, to Their Imperial Majesties. And now I dare to bother Your Excellency with the most humble request to grant me and the monk of the Sergius Hermitage Mikhail Chikhachev the happiness of presenting myself on this day to Their Imperial Majesties, Sovereign Emperor Alexander Nikolaevich, Sovereign Empress Maria Alexandrovna and Sovereign Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. If you deign to honor me with your answer, then I most humbly ask Your Excellency to order it to be delivered to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, to the house of His Eminence the Metropolitan, where I am now staying. Majesty Count Vladimir And now I dare to bother Your Excellency with a most humble request to grant me and the monk of the Sergius Hermitage Mikhail Chikhachev the happiness of presenting ourselves on this day to Their Imperial Majesties, the Sovereign Emperor Alexander Nikolaevich and the Empress Maria Alexandrovna. December 22nd, 1856 Court of His Imperial Majesty The late Sovereign Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich called Your Excellency his friend, and I was honored to be called His Majesty’s pupil. In memory of your Friend, do a good deed for the student. On June 24, that is, today, I sent a petition to the Holy Synod and together a letter to the Sovereign Emperor Alexander Nikolaevich about dismissing me from the management of the Diocese and about placing me, according to existing examples, in the management of the Babaevsky Monastery of the Kostroma Diocese. Do me a favor: say a word to the Emperor for me, so that my request, which I bring in a completely calm spirit, will be fulfilled. Having entered the monastery, I intended to be a desert monk: not only did I not prepare myself for the bishopric, but lower for any prominent position of abbot. The placement in the Sergius Hermitage and my current situation were arranged for me by the presence of circumstances, and I joyfully wish to get out of it, prompted and internalized by the direction and extreme exhaustion of strength from long-term forty years of illness. You actually see that I do not strive for honors, not for anything inspired by ambition and other passions, but for what is necessary according to my position. Back in 1847, I asked the late Sovereign in a letter, and my superiors with a formal request, to grant me shelter in the Babaevsky Monastery. And then I was bad; now it’s completely worn out. Your Excellency! By giving me the favor I ask for, you will do a true benefit for me. Your Excellency's most humble servant. Ignatius, Bishop of the Caucasus and Black Sea. Letter from Saint Ignatius to the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, Count N. A. Protasov 4 Your Excellency Count Nikolai Alexandrovich! I present herewith, at your discretion, a note delivered to me by Hieromonk George, removed from the post of Economist of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. His case has been received, or will soon be received by the Holy Synod with a resolution of the Metropolitan, in which it is determined: this Hieromonk, already deprived of his economic position and presence in the Office of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, should be removed from the Lavra upon his election to another monastery, and his offense should be entered into the formal list. O. George, bowing to the neck of both first members of the maxim, i.e., leaving office and removal from the Lavra, asks not to include his act in the formal list. Not daring to address you directly due to the usual timidity of our Clergy, he asked me to inform you of his most humble request, which is so easy that I do not think of burdening you with communicating it. The Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine was so softened by the gracious oil of mercy, with which, more than all virtues, true Christians become like God, that he used to say: if I saw a presbyter or monk [sinning], I would take off the imperial purple and cover the sinner with it. Honor or dishonor shown to a servant goes back to the Served. Wishing you all the true blessings from the generous hand of the Lord, with true respect I have the honor to be Your Lordship’s most humble novice Letters from Saint Ignatius to the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, Count A.P. Tolstoy 5 Your Excellency, most gracious sir! I had the honor to trouble Your Excellency with my most humble request personally and in writing, immediately after my ordination to the rank of bishop, while still in St. Petersburg, to provide me, following the example of my predecessors at the Caucasian Chair, with thousands of silver rubles to supplement my annual salary of 285 rubles. It is desirable that this last amount be used for medicines for my illness. My request is a consequence of need. She was graciously listened to by Your Excellency, and I received from you the repeated assurance that you will not deprive me of the necessary maintenance. Between the many more important matters with which you are busy, it is no wonder that you have not yet had time to pay attention to my most humble request, but I, standing face to face with extreme need, again allow myself to bother you by repeating the same request. I outlined in more detail the reasons for this repetition in my letter via the same mail to His Eminence the Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg. I asked His Eminence to show this letter to Your Lordship. I am confident in the kindness of your heart and that you will not want to imitate the evangelical rich man, who, in the short period of his earthly abundance, did not show compassion for the difficult condition of his neighbor. It was so arranged that the Gospel about this event was read at the liturgy at which I was ordained a bishop. With feelings of great respect and so on. For a very long time I had a desire to completely deviate from the world, both due to the monastic education and direction I received, and when contemplating my sickness, which did not promise me a long-term earthly life. Looking at myself more and more, I am convinced that my deserted direction has diverged from the direction required by service in the middle of the world. As a result of this consideration and long-standing disposition, I am sending this day a report to the Holy Synod about my situation, with a request for dismissal from the administration of the Diocese with the provision of me to the management of the cenobitic Nikolaev Babayevsky Monastery of the Kostroma Diocese. Notifying you of this, I humbly ask for your gracious assistance, which will do me a true favor. Invoking God's abundant blessing upon you, with feelings of perfect respect and devotion, I have the honor to be Your Lordship's most humble servant On September 11th, I received a decree from the Holy Synod dismissing me from the administration of the Caucasian Diocese and placing me under the management of the Nikolaev Babayevsky Monastery with the rights of a diocesan Bishop. I thanked God for the position given to me, which satisfied me to the utmost in all respects. Allow me to express my sincere gratitude to Your Excellency for your assistance in this matter, which I recognize as the greatest benefit for me. I expect to leave Stavropol on September 15th. With feelings of complete respect and devotion, I have the honor to be Letter from Count A.P. Tolstoy to Prince G.D. Orbeliani 8 Office of the Chief Prosecutor Prince Grigory Dmitrievich. By the highest decree given to the Holy Synod on the 5th day of this August, His Grace Bishop Ignatius of the Caucasus, in accordance with his request, was most mercifully dismissed from the administration of the Caucasian Diocese. Having notified Your Excellency of this, with perfect respect and devotion I have the honor to be His Excellency Prince G.D. Letters from Saint Ignatius to the Director of the Department of State Property N.P. Dubensky 9 Your Excellency! I had the honor to present to His Excellency the Minister of Finance a note in which I asked that the land be favored, according to the Plan and Boundary Books of the General Land Survey, belonging to the Sergius Hermitage, and occupied by both the Monastery and the State Peasants, either to be returned to the Monastery, or, if this is found impossible, then to divide it between the State Peasants and the Monastery. Judging by the time, I believe that the said note could have returned from the Treasury Chamber to the Department of State Property. Since the Monastery, from the solution of this matter, either must suffer significant damage, or the opportunity to improve the methods of its maintenance, I decide to turn to Your Excellency with a humble request, so that you would be pleased to pay beneficial attention to the state of this land. The land I sow, as I mentioned in the note, is owned by both the Monastery and the peasants together. It is in vain that the Treasury Chamber calls upon prescription to its aid. This long history is as much on the side of the State peasants as on the side of the monastery. For in the settlement of Podmonastyrskaya there are twelve houses of Kaz Kr and twelve houses of monastic full-time servants. They have vegetable gardens together, they herd livestock together, they use the same firewood. Deign to deal with this in kind; however, you have clear evidence of this in your Department: the Report of the Treasury Chamber dated October 12, 1826, in which this mixed ownership of the Monastery with the Treasury peasants is depicted, although with an admixture of some biased thoughts. Your Excellency! Deign to take a merciful part in this matter, in which the Desert decides to cede the best half of its property, not wanting to disturb the poor peasants, asks for the other half, consisting of swamps, bushes and firewood - in the hope of God, who loves and blesses economic hard work, delighting a piece of bread earned by sweat. If you squeeze even more the land of the Desert, then you will put it in a difficult situation: for on its shoulders, on its candle sum, the only source of our maintenance, the maintenance of regular servants with their families, who are now supported, using the land together with the State peasants, will fall. Let me expect everything good and fair from your gracious attention, from your noble rules. In this full confidence, I have the honor to be with true high esteem Your Excellency Most humble servant and Bogomolets March 24, 1836 No. 34 To His Excellency G. Director Department of State Property Privy Councilor and Senator Nikolai Porfiryevich Dubensky. Letters to Saint Ignatius from the secretary of Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg Seraphim A. I. Suslov 10 Most Reverend Father Archimandrite Ignatius, A Rector's Vacancy opens at the Cheremenets Monastery. And as His Eminence saw from the report you presented about the monastics entrusted to your discretion in the Sergius Hermitage for the year 1836, that, judging by your recommendations, there are quite a few hieromonks capable of superior positions, he ordered me to contact your Eminence, so that you, having chosen from among them a hieromonk reliable for this position, send him tomorrow in the morning to His Eminence with his report, with his service record attached. I have the honor to be with true high esteem and perfect devotion Your Most Reverend Gracious Sovereign The Bishop, having a need to talk with you about one matter, asks you to come to him this day, and no later than the sixth hour in the afternoon: for he will have a meeting at the 7th hour. Your Reverence's most humble servant I read your letter with pleasure, Vladyka. He diligently thanks Your Reverence for the participation that you deigned to take in a matter known to you, as well as for your good advice, which he finds very thorough. With my deepest respect for you, I have the duty to forever be your most humble servant. Letters from Saint Ignatius to the Administrator of the Committee of Ministers, F. P. Kornilov 11 Your Excellency's most gracious attention to me inspires me with the boldness to trouble you with my most humble request. It consists of the following: A tradesman of the city of Yaroslavl, Joseph Fedotov, a stone contractor, is building and finishing the construction of the Cathedral Church in the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery with his workers, but on the monastery’s bread, having also made other significant donations for this building. The value of the donations extends to more than 17 thousand silver rubles. Both the significance of the donation and the fact that Fedotov made his last contribution to the Church in favor of the Church, decided to nominate him for a significant award, a gold medal on the Vladimir Ribbon. The presentation was made to the Synodal Chief Prosecutor, and must go through the Committee of Ministers. Count Tolstoy 12 is so favorably disposed towards me that, for good reasons set out in my submission, he will in no way refuse to satisfy my petition if it receives the patronage of Your Excellency. I ask you for this patronage with such a free feeling of heart, with such a power of attorney, as if I had already received satisfaction of my request. Let me enclose herewith a copy of my presentation to Count Tolstoy and humbly request that your opinion be communicated to my brother, Actual State Councilor Brianchaninov, who will have the honor of personally appearing before Your Excellency and who will communicate your opinion to Count Tolstoy. Invoking upon you the abundant blessing of Heaven, with feelings of great respect and perfect devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency Your Excellency's most gracious attention to me inspires me with the boldness to trouble you with my most humble request. It consists of the following: A tradesman of the city of Yaroslavl, Joseph Fedotov, a stone contractor, is building and finishing the construction of the cathedral Church in the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery with his workers, but on the monastery’s bread, having made other significant donations for this building. The value of the donations extends to more than 17 thousand silver rubles. Both the significance of the donation and the fact that Fedotov made his last contribution to the Church in favor of the Church, decided to nominate him for a significant award, a gold medal on the Vladimir Ribbon. The presentation was made to Mr. Synodal Chief Prosecutor and must go through the Committee of Ministers. Count Tolstoy is so favorably disposed towards me that, for good reasons set out in my submission, he will not refuse to satisfy my petition if it receives the patronage of Your Excellency. I ask you for this patronage with such a free feeling of heart, with such a power of attorney, as if I had already received the satisfaction of my request. I allow myself to attach herewith a copy of my presentation to Count Tolstoy and humbly request that your opinion be communicated to my brother, Actual State Councilor Brianchaninov, who will have the honor of personally appearing before Your Excellency and who will communicate your opinion to Count Tolstoy. Invoking upon you the abundant blessing of Heaven, with a feeling of great respect and perfect devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency's most humble servant The bearer of this letter is my own brother, Pyotr Aleksandrovich Brianchaninov, about whom I had the honor to speak to Your Excellency in my letter to you dated January 28, sent by mail, and whom I asked to personally appear to Your Excellency to receive your instructions and orders on my recommendation about Fedotov’s award. Fedor Petrovich Kornilov (1809–1895) – manager of the office of the Moscow Military Governor-General Count A. A. Zakrevsky (1848–1859), manager of the affairs of the Committee of Ministers (1861–1874), member of the State Council. Letter to Saint Ignatius from Secretary of State Prince A. N. Golitsyn Most Reverend Father Archimandrite, Gracious Sovereign! According to your letter, I reported to the Sovereign Emperor and His Majesty deigned to indicate that Your Reverence should come on the first Sunday after the Sovereign’s return to St. Petersburg for mass at the Anichkov Palace. Committing myself to your prayers, I have the honor to be with true reverence and the same devotion Letter to Saint Ignatius from Confessor Nikolai Muzovsky Your Reverence, Dear Sir! The Sovereign Emperor deigned to command: the newly built Church at the Peterhof Military Hospital in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker to be consecrated on March 25, on the day of the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And how on this solemn holiday in the city of Peterhof the priests are all busy, except for Archpriest L.-G. Ulan Regiment Prokopovich, then I humbly ask Your Eminence to appoint two hieromonks and one hierodeacon for the consecration of the said Church. With true respect and complete devotion, I have the honor to be Your Most Reverend Gracious Sovereign Confessor Nikolai Muzovsky. Letter from Saint Ignatius to Count Peter Andreevich Kleinmichel Most merciful Sovereign! Count Pyotr Andreevich! Allow me to express my sincere gratitude to Your Excellency for the gracious attention that you, in the midst of your many activities, paid to the dilapidated chapels of the Sergius Hermitage. Their renewal will be entirely due to your diligence. Thus, you included yourself among those about whom this deep and powerful prayer is and will be pronounced daily in the churches of the Sergius Hermitage: Blessing, blessing Thee, O Lord, and sanctifying those who trust in Thee, save Thy people and bless Thy heritage, sanctify the loving splendor of Thy house: Thou glorify them with Divine power! Graph! May this blessing, this salvation, this sanctification sanctify you and your entire family to prosperity on earth and to bliss in heaven! With complete respect and devotion, I have the honor to be Letter from Saint Ignatius to a certain high-ranking official A misfortune has happened to me! On August 23, half-sick, I went to see His Grace the Metropolitan on matters of the Monastery and Deanery; at the 10th verst from Strelna, a road worker scared the horse of my carriage, which, jumping out of the lines, touched him and dropped him, from which he died. Having let everyone know about this, I returned to the monastery, struck down by illness, both heart and body. Now having recovered a little in body and mind, I dare to lay down at your feet... a request extracted from a heart torn by grief! Allow me... in deep solitude, outside of any position, as if dead alive, to end my days! For this purpose, order me to be dismissed from the Administration of the Sergius Hermitage with permission to choose a secluded place suitable for my poor health. - I will carry to my grave the heavy thought and the painful feeling that for all the mercies... flowing to me directly from the depths of your great soul, I brought you only grief! Casting my heart, wounded by the sharp sting of sorrow, at your feet, with the deepest reverence and complete, unlimited devotion, I have the happiness, although unworthy of it, to be... Sergius Hermitage Archimandrite Ignatius. Selection of letters and comments by A. N. Strizhev. Letters No. 2 to No. 13 – RGIA. F. 472. D. 4, 49, 78, 108, 155. Published for the first time (A. N. Strizhev). See: Complete biography of St. Ignatius of Caucasus. P. 102. Letters from No. 1 to No. 6. – RGIA. F. 472. D. 3, 28, 33, 43, 53, 62. Protasov Nikolai Alexandrovich (1798–1855) – Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod (1836–1855). Letters from Saint Ignatius to the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, Count A.P. Tolstoy dated July 24, August 21 and September 14, 1861, were published in this edition, vol. 2; For his other letters, see this edition, vol. 6, p. 748–762. RGIA. F. 797. D. 209. L. 1–1 vol. RSL OP. F. 425. K. 3. No. 6. RSL OR. F. 425. K. 4. No. 22. RNL PO (F. 379 (Kornilov F. P). Item 612. Publication, preparation of the text by A. M. Lyubomudrov. Published for the first time. Count A.D. Tolstoy – Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod in 1865–1880.