Life of Schemamonk Theodore

“The righteous will be an everlasting memory” (Ps. 112:6) The memory of the past is pleasant and useful: time, cutting the chains of addictions, reveals the darkness of alluring evil, reveals the beauty of unfeigned virtue. Centuries - eternity itself reveres great people; their deeds, their very names shine in our memory like magnificent lights in the vault of heaven. The events of ancestors become mentors of posterity in the vast field of life. I don’t want to talk here about famous heroes, about glorious rulers of the people: in their honor there are magnificent monuments, in their honor the lyres of poets and the sentences of historians thunder. I am not seduced by the Athenian sage, who saw the pride of this philosopher through the holes of Antisthenes' rags and showed his pride with caustic and contemptuous sayings, covered with a guise of generosity. The subject of my unworthy pen and weak heartfelt delight is a man from the sacred face of those truly great men who broke the yoke of passionate lusts, drew the spiritual sword against law-breaking thoughts, were persecuted - they did not persecute, were killed - did not kill, loved everyone, did good to their enemies and were given up to arbitrary death for their murderers - that sacred face, whose foundation and head sweetest Jesus. Torn out by his blessed death from the funeral feast of this painful and lamentable life, taken to the monastery of endless joys, Schemamonk Theodore was counted among this prosperous face by the mercy of the all-merciful Lord, who clearly proved by his deeds his burning desire for the Lord’s mercy. This man, truly wise and holy, was not seduced by this moon, which illuminated the night of these troubled times, was not seduced by vain, fleeting glory, was not blinded by the empty splendor of decaying wealth, did not plunge human nobility into the fetid swamp of voluptuousness. He longed for heavenly honors, was captivated by the treasures of the heart, and was stung by love for the indescribable sweetness of the Lord Jesus, the giver of all pleasures. To find this dearest bead, hidden in the soil of the heart of every Orthodox Christian, he sold the possessions of his passions, kissed spiritual poverty with the lips of unquestioning obedience and embraced it, as if with his hands, by doing all the life-giving divine commandments. He who, with a philanthropic and compassionate eye, looks at the meek and humble and trembles before His holy words, looked at the work and humility of the voluntary martyr and confessor, tore apart with His most holy spirit the bonds of his passions, clothed him in the shining scarlet of dispassion, rested him with the gift of the most excellent reasoning and, having purified him in the crucible, He lifted temptations, like pure gold, into the halls of the happiest eternity. Dearest fathers, orphaned children of the great elder! While still floating in the sea of ​​life, still lamenting outside your weak-willed refuge, you commanded my insignificance to compile, for some consolation of your grief, a biography of that luminary who guided you on the stormy stream of the lawless world. Your desire is worthy of praise, but fulfilling it is very difficult for me. My foolish thought is perplexed, and my trembling pen barely obeys it. I, a constant sinner, would not have dared to talk about who was the father of fathers, if I had not been afraid to violate the laws of holy obedience. May your prayers and blessings move my pen! Relying on them, with joyful fear and deep reverence I dare to begin to describe the life, virtues, and exploits with which this courageous knight of immaterial warfare delighted Heaven. The unworthy writer of the most worthy life asks Christ-loving readers to forgive the shortcomings of his wretched work: the actions of the holy man, depicted with a passionate pen, lose part of their beauty and power. So the diamond streams of cool spring waters oozing from the siliceous rock, then flowing through the muddy silt, become infected with its unpleasant smell and taste. Let us go with humble and simple words after Theodore, who shone with humility and simplicity, who throughout his entire course along the narrow path of the Gospel did not take his teary eyes off the inimitable Hero of the faithful, the dearest Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, who had nowhere to bow his head and commanded us from Him Himself to learn the divine art of highly creative humility. The son of pious parents, Theodore saw the light in Karachev, a district town in the Oryol province, in 1756, the year of the incarnation of God the Word. His father, whom he lost in infancy, was from the merchant class, his mother was from the spiritual class. The orphan boy was sent by his parent to the house of the Karachev archpriest to learn to read and write and sing. He soon discovered his ardent abilities with rapid progress, and in particular his extraordinary talent for singing, combined with an excellent voice, shone in him. While he repeated church songs in sensual language, the mysterious language of these hymns imperceptibly penetrated his heart. The heart of the youth, infancy with malice, not yet clogged with passions, conveniently dissolves to receive Divine impressions. The study of literacy gave him the key to the treasuries that store large pearls of the mental acquisitions of mankind - I’m talking about the books of the Holy Scriptures and paternal ones. Good deeds, obedience, simplicity, useful reading, time itself cultivated in Theodore that wisdom and those feelings with which he should have been fragrant on the altar of piety. From the priest's house he returned as a young man to his mother's house. At her request, he began to practice trading, opened a shop in Karachev and spent about two years in this occupation. But a heart that has tasted spiritual sweetness cannot come to terms with dreamy, deceptive vanity. Forced into a way of life contrary to his inclinations and thoughts, Theodore sighed in the depths of his soul for a quiet, weak-willed refuge. His intention to leave the world and accept the light burden of monasticism began to formulate in his mind. Unable to resist the just demands of conscience, the heartfelt feeling with which God Himself usually calls a person, he leaves his parental home, leaves Karachev at night, without revealing his goal to anyone, rushes to the Ploshchanskaya hermitage, which lies 80 miles from Karachev, where he hides from the machinations of a multi-protective world. The Ploshchanskaya hermitage, then ruled by the virtuous and rather skillful elder Serapion, was decorated with both the good behavior of the brethren and the orderly order of church services. Here young Theodore entered into the funeral feast of monastic obedience, in order to buy inner freedom through external slavery, to cultivate internal, spiritual nobility through external humiliation. I tried to combine patience with obedience, which holds and binds the entire edifice of virtues! Patience is based on humility. After a short time, the parent learned that her son lived in the Ploshchanskaya Hermitage. She hurries to this monastery, snatches the young man from the embrace of a calm monastic life and plunges him into a stream of worldly rumors and the temptations associated with it. O carnal love! Crazy love! You are unworthy of the holy name with which God Himself called himself: you, according to the Savior’s prediction, often arm blinded parents with lawless flame, and those who received physical life from them lose spiritual and true life from them. Again Theodore returns to the shop - and again a feeling of high desires excites his soul, again, taking advantage of the darkness of the night, he runs from home, from the city and reaches the monastery known as the White Banks, then still of little significance. From the White Shores he goes again to Ploshchanskaya, and again he is forcibly abducted from her by his mother, inflamed by the desire to make friends with the world, a desire that is hardly natural! Tired of so many obstacles, thinking that his enterprise to fight in a mental army was not pleasing to God, Theodore wanted at least not to be deprived of the sweet, life-giving commandments of the Lord; I wanted, holding on to them like a thread, to get out of the labyrinth of worldly life and with the sword of action to slay the monster that was devouring everyone who wandered through this labyrinth, not guided by the golden shining thread of the commandments of Christ. Its gates were open to strangers, the beggar did not leave his window, not pleased with alms, the sick were consoled by his compassion and services; his enemies could not say that he would repay evil with evil; He devoted his free time from homework to reading, and tried to kiss the sweetest name of Jesus constantly with both lips and thoughts. But man is subject to change: not only youth, flighty, fiery, wavers; old age, proud of its constancy and experience, often imaginary, also wavers. Deprived of the silence of the desert, deprived of the guidance of the elders, overwhelmed by incessant temptations, inflamed by the discordant lust of his youthful body, Theodore began to be darkened by criminal thoughts, little by little voluptuous feelings crept into his heart - he fell. Let us proceed to the touching and instructive story of his grave endeavors. Let us indicate the type of iniquities in which he lay, and we will recognize the great power of repentance when we see him at the highest level of virtues. The shipwreck of the righteous, says the divine Chrysostom, becomes a refuge for the sinner: when the righteous has fallen from heaven, then I no longer despair of my salvation. Warriors crippled by wounds are awarded special honors by the king, and the ascetics of mental warfare receive shining crowns when they appear before the King of kings, stained with the blood of their falls, having defeated their conqueror the devil through these very falls through repentance. While Theodore continued to practice his small trade, a profitable clerk's position opened in their city. A young man, prudent and dexterous, was invited to it. The owner of the house died; his widow, a chaste, but simple-minded woman of advanced years, could not enter into the management of affairs herself - she handed it over to Theodore. In this house there were nets spread out in which his foot was entangled: the widow was the mother of four beautiful adult daughters. Theodore, carried away by a criminal passion, plunged into lawless intercourse, first with his elder, then with his younger sister. For a long time he lay on the vicious bed of debauchery - voluptuousness closes the mental eyes of a person. Finally, wanting to cover up his sinful wounds, he united in marriage with his younger sister. But the knot of crimes is not untied, his conscience awakens in him, he recognizes the value of the treasures he lost, his heart is hurt by the desire to return them. He begins to diligently visit the churches of God, opens the doors of hospitality for wanderers and monks - in a word, he redoubles his efforts to fulfill all the duties of a Christian to the best of his ability. But the light that had previously shone in him from monastic obedience did not receive its former purity. Imbued with deep sadness, Theodore noticed great shortcomings in all his affairs, he noticed that the world had scattered obstacles to living a life pleasing to God everywhere. Not being able to bear the grave ulcer of grief over the loss of consoling feelings, not finding any joy in vain pursuits, he decides to leave his fatherland, his estate, his wife, his baby daughter and, having stripped himself of everything, again enter the field, the pleasures of which he has already tried. Concealing his true intention, he reveals to his friend that he wants to visit Kyiv and venerate the relics of the venerable fathers of Pechersk. With her consent, he goes to this city, taking with him four rubles and a half of money, there he devotes himself to the prayers of the saints of God, then hastily descends to the borders of Russia with Polish Podolia, crosses them and rushes to Moldavia, in which the great lamp was then shining - Elder Paisius, Archimandrite of the Nyametsky Monastery. This monastery lies below Iasi, 120 versts from them, at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains. Under his (Elder Paisius) leadership there were then about 700 brethren. The order of church services and the spiritual care of monastics was in a flourishing state. The yoke of the wicked Turks and poverty helped a lot to achieve success in the inner man. Theodore wanted to join this army, led by the wise leader Paisius. The archimandrite was then already in a sick state and almost never left his cell. Theodore begged those close to him to be accepted, but was refused. He was presented with the large number of brethren and the shortcomings of the monastery in terms of income. The young wanderer was in extremis - he had spent the money he had taken from Russia, the summer dress in which he left Karachev had become dilapidated from the journey. Winter was coming. Having gone far into the wrong direction, deprived of everything he needed, rejected by the elder’s associates, he asked them to at least allow him to accept Paisius’ blessing. This is allowed to him. He appeared to the face of an earthly angel; Paisius, seeing the rags and desperate situation of the young man, began to cry with compassion, consoled him with words strong in love, and included him in his God-saved flock. From that time on, this holy man strictly forbade that in future no one would be refused without his information. The delighted Theodore was taken to the bakery; there was no empty cell. For the revelation of thoughts and spiritual edification, entrusted to the confessor, Elder Sophrony, he confessed before him, according to the custom of that monastery, all the sins he had committed from his youth, and was excommunicated for five years from communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Having spent several days in the bakery, one night he sees in a dream many people, as if prepared for torture, and he was among them. A vast fire was burning before them; suddenly some extraordinary men appeared, stole him from the midst of the multitude and threw him into the flames. “Why,” he began to think, “out of so many people, am I the only one thrown into this fierce fire?” “It’s God’s will,” the men answered. Having woken up, he told this vision to the elder and received an answer from him that this flame foreshadows the flame of temptations that must befall him in the field of monasticism. From the grain store, Theodore entered into obedience to a strict elder who had charge of the monastery bees. Here he carried beehives on his shoulders, cleared the earth with a shovel and did similar heavy work, which was unusual for him. What pen can describe the patience with which he endured physical exploits and the reproaches of his superior, constantly reproaching himself and nourishing the humble thought that he was reaping the due punishment for his many sins! The sweat of labor, the cup of dishonor he constantly tasted, his own desire for humility gradually gave birth in him to a painful feeling of crying. This blessed sadness, crushing the heart, dissolved prayer with its special power. Jesus, called upon by deep sighs and an unfeigned awareness of his infirmities, little by little cleared his mind, dispelled the gloom of his passions and delighted the disciple crying out to him with strange and sweet sensations that the throat of a layman, buried in worldly cares, had never tasted. About two years passed. For his integrity of life, they dismissed him from beekeeping and made him an assistant in a malt mill located in the Sekule monastery, which depended on Nyametsky and lay 12 miles from him. Let us not talk in detail about his labors in this obedience; let us move on to the circumstances by which God elevated him to the heights of virtues. In the desert, on the Polyana Vorona stream, five miles from the monastery of the same name, lived the elder Onuphrius, adorned not only with the gray hairs of old age, but also with the gray hairs of divine wisdom. A Russian, a native of the city of Chernigov, from the nobility, Onufry loved Christ from his softest nails. For the sake of Christ, he acted like a fool in his youth for six years; for Christ’s sake, he abandoned his foolishness and retired to Ukraine with his friend, the chamber hieromonk Nicholas, and there, taking on the angelic form, they walked the royal path of moderation and mutual advice. Delighted by hearing about the high virtues of Paisius, they moved from Ukraine to Moldavia and entrusted themselves to the great elder. Fed with the pure wheat of his instructions, they received the blessing to settle in the desert on the aforementioned stream and be saturated there with the streams of divine speculation. Theodore, while in the malt, was more and more reveled in an inner feeling of tenderness and fervor. The more a person feeds on spiritual food, the more hungry he is for it. The same thing happened to Theodore. The young monk presents to the elder Sophronius his desire for the strictest desert life and asks for a blessing to serve the elderly and weakened Onuphrius. Approved by Sophronius, he announces his thoughts to the great elder. Paisius enthusiastically blesses his intention and sends him to Onuphrius. Here Theodore entered into perfect and detailed obedience. Cutting off his will before his elder, skillful and holy, confessing all his thoughts to him, he gradually died to the world and, stripping off his addictions, this dark clothing of the old man, put on the luminous tunic of the new - dispassion shining with holiness. The blessed tree of obedience grew for him its usual fruit - Christ-like humility. The humble, says Climacus, is enriched by God with the gift of reasoning; Theodore, humbled not by his appearance, but by his heart, was richly fragrant with them. These three ascetics: Onuphrius, Nicholas and Theodore, had the most wonderful custom of monthly communion of the Most Pure, Life-giving Mysteries of Christ, and were all the more purified, enlightened, strengthened for spiritual labors and inflamed by divine desires. Onuphry and Nikolai lived like brothers; At the door of Onuphrius, who was full of reasoning, crowds of people dejected with bewilderment flocked. Nicholas listened to himself and, in deep silence testing the thoughts of his heart, served the purest Being as a sacrifice of purity; Theodore went through the work that the Holy Fathers set along with confession - holy obedience. It seems that we can say without error that these three earthly angels, not only in triple number, but also in their very life, shone for the glory of the life-giving Trinity of God. I won’t talk about their patience, meekness, abstinence, the story will become too lengthy! It is enough to mention the one queen of virtues, that virtue, the name of which the Lord himself called himself - the most holy love. By her precious bonds these three heavenly people were united together with God and with each other, burning with her flame, they diligently and joyfully bore the infirmities of the weak and rejected all self-indulgence. Nicholas and Theodore forgot themselves, serving the weak body of Onuphrius, who, due to illness, ate the lightest food, and then in very small quantities. Onuphry forgot his weakness, looking at their strength, and could not admire the return of his own as much as he admired hers. It is impossible not to admit that the indescribably sweet Jesus dwelt among them, according to His unfalse promise by His power and commandments. For the harmony and unity of their lives, at one time they were visited by temptations, which clearly testified to the reverence of the Master for them, who said: I love him, I punish him. One day Theodore went to the monastery for the sacrament of confession and holy communion. In his absence, during the all-night vigil itself, robbers attacked their desert and, having stolen a small amount of food supplies that were in the cell, laid criminal hands of violence on the two elders and left them wounded, barely breathing. Theodore, having returned, participated in their plagues with compassion and zealous services. Little by little their strength began to return. Then Theodore was struck by a disease that put him on the edge of the grave. But God reserves the days of the righteous for the benefit of sinners. A new sadness is approaching - the death of Elder Onuphrius. Twelve hours before his death, the eyes of his heart opened. The judgment seat appeared before that decisive judgment that meets every soul that has flown out of the body. The righteous man, tortured by creatures invisible to his comrades, languished and gave answers, from which it was clearly seen that a strict judgment of human shortcomings was the cause of this terrible torture. However, the incorruptible head and percy testify to his undoubted salvation and holiness. Onuphry's death followed in the spring in March. Having buried the sacred remains of his father, Theodore continues to live with Nicholas. But the desert, deprived of Onuphrius, no longer seemed so kind to him; he was allowed to become despondent, probably so that the lamp would not remain hidden. With the consent of Nicholas, he leaves the desert, in which he lived for five years with Elder Onufriy and six months with Nicholas, having received a commandment from the latter after the winter to come for him and take him with him to the Nyametsky monastery. Theodore, received with joy by Archimandrite Paisius, began to undergo various monastic obediences: he copied the books of the Holy Fathers, translated by Paisius from Hellenic Greek into Slavic, sang in the choir, where he was later made a registrant. From then on, envy began to pursue him, and pursued him to the grave. After the winter, having received the blessing of the great elder, he goes into the desert to the Polyana Vorona stream, from there he takes the humble and silent Nicholas and returns with him to the monastery. Again, Nicholas and Theodore begin to live in the same cell and enjoy the mutual love with which the knot was tied by Christ. Illness and extreme old age began to eat away at Nicholas’s bodily strength. Already his leg did not move from the bed of illness, the cold of death froze his limbs. Theodore dissolved his depths and with the heat of his own body warmed the numb body of his spiritual friend, covered his ouds, illuminated by the purity of virginity and the abundant fire of divine grace, with burning kisses. The great Nicholas died in Theodore’s arms, and decay did not dare touch his relics. Theodore stayed in Neamtse until 1801. During this time, he saw the death of the eminent Nicholas, and saw the death of the famous Paisius. The successor of this latter in the reign of the monastery, bent by years, deprived of sight, Elder Sophrony, was also approaching the decline of his days. Meanwhile, Alexander the Blessed ascended the Russian throne; the merciful manifesto he issued allowed the free return to the fatherland of those who had fled from it. Sophrony, seeing the disorder of his monastery, prompted by some special presentiment, advises Theodore to take advantage of the royal favor and return to Russia. Theodore, a lover of obedience, immediately leaves Moldavia and appears within the borders of his own country, clothed in the great angelic image (schema) by the elder Sophronius, and carrying with him the blessing of this virtuous man, who had extraordinary love for him. Upon his arrival in Russia, he became the bishop of the Oryol diocese and, at the request of this shepherd, chose the Cholsky Monastery as his place of residence. Here he was engaged in organizing church services, digging a cave, and here, most importantly, he began to give to his neighbors from the treasures that he became the owner of during his stay in Moldova. But malice cannot look with an indifferent eye at the virtuous; she soon rebelled against Theodore, who, avoiding envy, left the Cholna Monastery and moved to the Beloberezh Hermitage, the builder of which was Hieromonk Leonid, who lived with him for some time in the Cholna Monastery and fed on the manna of his teaching. But even here he did not hide from envy; for he constantly rose in spiritual perfection, having no limits to height, according to the legend of the spirit-bearers. My weak pen would be exhausted if I wanted to describe in detail all his deeds; I would lack expressions if I wanted to express his great dignity! The brethren, burdened with the burden of passions, constantly flocked to his cell, and from this skillful doctor they received healing plasters for their spiritual ulcers. He did not hide from them the precious pearls, kept in the humble appearance of obedience, which he learned about not only through the hearing of sensual ears - through the hearing of deeds. He did not plunge them into the unknown of the sacrament of the frequent and constrained invocation of the terrible name of Jesus, with which a Christian first incinerates the thorns of passions, then kindles himself with love for God and enters the ocean of visions. Compassionate for the spiritual weaknesses of his neighbors, Theodore also sympathized with their physical illnesses. A fever was brought to the White Shores. Many monks became infected with it. They were followed and served by a merciful, loving schemamonk, this zealous admirer of the life-giving commandments of Jesus. But his illness also broke him. He became very weak, he had not eaten any food for nine days, everyone thought that the hour of death had come for the righteous man. Suddenly all his senses became numb, his open eyes remained constantly in the same position, his breathing was barely noticeable, all movement in his limbs stopped, his lips lit up with a heavenly smile, and a gentle bright blush played on his cheeks. He remained in this extraordinary frenzy for three days - then he woke up. The builder comes running: “Father! Are you running out? “No,” Theodore answers, “I will not die, that’s what I was told; Look, do dying people have such strength? - And with these words I gave him my hand. His favorite student comes running. “I considered you great, but God showed me that you are very small,” Theodore told him. Then, carried away and strengthened by the inner divine heat, he gets out of bed, and with one hand, leaning on a crutch supported by his disciples, hurries to the aid of his neighbors, of whom he probably became aware during his frenzy. It is impossible to tell in detail everything that was revealed to him; sensual language cannot accurately depict spiritual objects; it depicts them in the most allegorical way. It will also be allowed to note that many people who were touched by his vision are still enjoying temporary life, called to repentance by its continuation. A few days before his illness, one evening, when he was reconciling a certain student of his with the abbot, he felt an extraordinary consolation in his heart, and being unable to withstand its sweetness, he began to hint about his high feelings to Father Leonid. His illness itself had a strange course: throughout its entirety, Theodore was in complete sanity, the abundant internal effect of prayer was revealed on his face; The only noticeable things were heat and great weakness in the body. When he stepped out of himself, a certain formless youth appeared, felt only by the feeling of his heart, and led him along a narrow path to the left. “So,” said the humble Theodore with a thought to himself, “I have already died, it is not known whether I will be saved or perish?” “You are saved,” the voice answered him. And suddenly some force, like a swift whirlwind, kidnapped him and carried him to the right side. “Taste the sweetness of the heavenly betrothals that I give to those who love Me,” an invisible voice told him. - With these words, it seemed to him that the Savior Himself had laid His right hand on his heart, and he was raptured into an indescribably pleasant abode, completely formless, inexplicable in the words of earthly language. From this feeling he moved to another, even more excellent feeling, and then to a third, which, in his own words, he himself could only remember with his heart, could not understand with his mind. Then I saw a church, and in it, on the right side, near the altar, there was a hut in which there were five or six people. “For these people your death is canceled, for them you will still live,” said the mental voice. Then the spiritual age of some of his students was revealed to him. Finally, the Lord announced to him those temptations that should overwhelm the evening of his days. He even saw faces who later directed their anger against him. But the divine voice assured that the ship of his soul could not suffer anything from these fierce waves, for its invisible Ruler is Christ. In a short time, without medication, the old man’s health was restored. Desiring a more secluded and silent life, he announces his desire to the abbot and brethren. They arrange a cell for him in the forest, two miles from the monastery, in which Theodore begins to live together with the virtuous hieroschemamonk Cleopas; Father Leonid soon joined them, relinquishing his dignity as a builder. But the city standing on the top of the mountain cannot hide: soon the fame of the great virtues of schema-monk Theodore spread everywhere, numerous visitors constantly crowded at the doors of his cell and disturbed the silence of the desert dwellers. Theodore and his co-workers, tired of rumors, reveal to God the difficulty of their situation and pray to Him to arrange their affairs according to His holy will; soon a heartfelt feeling appears in them, compelling them to move to the northern borders of the Russian state. For three years this attraction continued constantly, and for three years they could not fulfill it in action. Providence determined that Theodora should leave the White Shores before her comrades. A lover of non-covetousness, he took with him on the road only thirty kopecks - a gift from the Svensky abbot. Knowing the righteous man’s contempt for money, born of strong trust in God, one of his devotees, schemamonk Athanasius, secretly invested him with a five-ruble note; Having walked sixty miles from the White Banks, he meets an elderly beggar and gives her a banknote. Theodore directed his steps to the Novozersky monastery, located in the eastern part of the Novgorod province, the head of which was then the famous Theophanes. Received by him lovingly, invited to renew the desert of the Nile of Sorsky and live in it with his like-minded people, Theodore receives from him a letter regarding this subject to Metropolitan Ambrose. Ambrose did not agree to Theophanes' proposal and sent Theodore to the Paleostrovskaya desert, then renewed and lying on the island of Lake Onega, in its northern part. Here providence destined this holy man to enter the fire of cruel temptations, here his virtues, tested by temptations, shone with even brighter rays. The rector of the Paleostrovskaya monastery was a certain Belousov, a merchant by origin, who first bought the nobility, then monasticism and with it the dignity of a builder. Having never known obedience, never conforming to the commandments of true Christianity and monasticism, Belousov begins to envy Theodore and begins to oppress him. But he could not satiate his anger with the abuse of construction power alone. Belousov stitches together various slander against the immaculate schemamonk and appears before the Metropolitan with them. The builder returned to the monastery with an order from His Eminence, which among other things said the following: “Do not let Schemamonk Theodore go anywhere, and do not enter into any monastic orders. If he does something obscene, contrary to his rank, then he who has been deprived of his rank will be sent to the secular team.” This was read at the meal, and Belousov forbade the virtuous elder to enter the cells of other monks, let them into his cell and talk with strangers. “All this,” said the humble Theodore, “happened because of my grave sins, because of my pride and because of my intemperate tongue. Glory to you, my merciful Creator and God, that you do not abandon me, a sinner and a bad person, but visit and punish my iniquities with Your mercy and paternal compassion.” After some time, Theodore asked permission to submit a request to the Valaam Monastery, but was refused. “Apparently,” he said, “it is so pleasing to the merciful God: Blessed be the name of the Lord from now on and forever.” Some time passed and a new decree was sent, in which it was written: “Theodore the schema-monk should not be allowed out of the monastery gates anywhere and not allowed into any councils.” “My merciful Lord and my Creator,” said Theodore, “give me what may happen in the future for my sins to endure with thanksgiving and complacency. Without Your help I cannot do anything good; let me, at least from now on, begin to live according to Your holy will and to love You, my merciful God, Creator and Redeemer.” Soon after this, Belousov forced him to leave the monastery to rake hay. “I cannot leave by force of decree,” answered Theodore. Belousov got excited and shouted: “I’ll put you in the cellar and feed you grass.” “Do as you please,” said Theodore, “but I believe in my merciful God, only what He will allow for my sins can be done to me, and what He will allow, I myself wish: it is better for me to be punished in this century than to suffer forever in the future.” For two years the oppression by the abbot continued; for two years, deprived of clothes and shoes, the courageous Theodore wove for himself the crowns of patience. Finally, seeing the extreme, incurable disorder of the Paleostrovskaya monastery, seeing the irreconcilable hatred of the builder, he decided to appear to the Metropolitan for a personal explanation. Moved by him to the Valaam monastery, he began to live in a monastery belonging to this monastery; however, for unauthorized excommunication from Paleoostrov he was deprived of his kamilavka for a year. Even before him, Hieroschemamonks Cleopas and Leonid with many other adherents of Father Theodore moved to the Valaam Monastery from the White Banks. He stayed in this famous monastery for about six years and, with his brilliant reasoning, attracted almost the entire brethren to him. Amazed by this spectacle, the leaders of the monastery began to seethe with envy. A crowd was formed, similar to the criminal synagogue of the Jews, who handed over the Son of God to blasphemous execution, and the imaginary Valaam saints wanted to tear the true righteous man from the face of the earth: the fulfiller of the Divine commandments, serving with purity of heart and correctness of thoughts to an infinitely pure mind, cannot be pleasant for the slaves of reckless fanaticism, contemplating in their minds the idols of pride, discordant waves in the heart passionate lusts. Let’s not spread the story of the temptations that forced him to leave the Valaam monastery; it will be enough, it seems, if we say that then the revelations he saw in the White Shores came true, and the deliverance promised to him by the Savior also came true. The satisfaction of the story is prohibited by the recency of the events. Having ordained Hieroschemamonk Cleopas in the monastery during his stay in Valaam, Theodore moved with Leonid to the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery in order to finish his life there. His chain of days was a chain of temptations. At the sunset of this luminary, clouds of the most severe misfortunes accumulated, as if in order to deliver to it the last blessedness of the saints, promised by the Savior in these Gospel words: Blessed are you, when they revile you and destroy you and say all kinds of evil words against you for lying to me (Matthew 5:11). He was already blessed, for through the consciousness of his weaknesses he had acquired spiritual poverty. He was blessed, for with true contrition of heart he tasted the sweetness of joyful crying. He was blessed, because by forcing himself to fulfill the life-giving commandments, he kissed meekness - the beginning of imitation of Christ, this door to the palace of the highest humility. He was blessed because he thirsted for righteousness and was satisfied with its royal meal. He was blessed, for he who was merciful to his neighbors for seventeen years was worthy to hear the divine voice: “You have received mercy.” He was blessed, for through the peace of all his thoughts and the sweet harmony of his heartfelt feelings he became a son of God by grace. A year and a half before his death, a serious illness befell him. Minutes of severe seizures were revealed by short, but filled with wisdom words: “Glory to God!” Bright Week of 1822 has arrived. On Holy Week, a vision of the moon, bowing to the west and exhausting almost all its light, foreshadowed Theodore's imminent dormition in nine days. The day before, a new vision again brilliantly announces his happiest death: he sees himself in a certain magnificent church filled with Belorizians, and from among them, from the right choir, he hears the solemn voice of his late friend, Hieroschemamonk Nicholas, saying: “Theodore! The time has come for you to rest. Come to us!” This time came on Friday at nine o'clock in the evening; a joyful smile began to play on Theodore’s lips, his face lit up, his features changed with a divine strange change. The disciples surrounding the elder’s bed forgot their tears and lamentations - they were immersed in the contemplation of his majestic, extraordinary death. Awe, sadness, joy, surprise suddenly took possession of their feelings: they clearly read on their father’s brow that his soul leaped with delight from his body into the arms of luminous angels. The death of the righteous is the birth of a new, joyful life, the death of the righteous is the sweet harvest of the fat classes, vegetated from the seed of temptations and exploits; the death of the righteous is the majestic exit of the soul, which by deed and vision has thrown off the passionate shackles from the prison of the body: on its way to heaven, this soul is not afraid of meeting evil demons. The death of the righteous is his swift, unstoppable flight on the wings of love to the source of love - the Lord Jesus. Holy Father! You now dwell in the heavenly chambers and are insatiably satisfied with the bread of heaven. Shed a prayer for us before the King of Kings, do not deliver your children to the jaws of the enemy, be our helper in the terrible moments of death and present us to the face of the Almighty, so that we too will unite our weak voices with your jubilant voice and be worthy to tremblingly glorify the Trinitarian God, glorified by the entire universe, into the eternal ages! Towards the publication of an early edition of “The Life of Schemamonk Theodore” by St. Ignatius With the blessing of Rev. Leo (later the famous Elder of Optina) and with his spiritual support, the first literary works of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov were written. In 1827, Dmitry Alexandrovich Brianchaninov entered the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery to undergo monastic life under the guidance of Elder Leo. It was there that he created his first spiritual works. At the beginning of 1828, Dmitry Alexandrovich wrote a short prose poem “A tree in winter before the windows of the cell” 1. In the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery, work began on the “Biography of Schemamonk Theodore” 2. Evidence of this is an early letter from novice Dimitri [Alexandrovich Brianchaninov], written in 1828 in the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery 3. Elder Theodore was the spiritual mentor of St. Leo, who greatly revered his teacher. All his letters written during Fr. Theodore, he signed with two names, emphasizing that he carries out each of his tasks only with the blessing of the elder: “the great sinner and obscene hieroschemamonk Lev wrote these articles, together with the advice of his like-minded schemamonk Fr. Theodora...” 4 Elder Leo instructed Dmitry Alexandrovich to compile a biography of his mentor. In the Preface to the biography, the novice noted: “I, an incessant sinner, would not have dared to talk about who was the father of fathers, if I had not been afraid to violate the laws of holy obedience...” “The Life of Schema-Monk Theodore,” compiled by Saint Ignatius, was not published during his lifetime. Already in our time, it was published as part of the 32nd collection of “Theological Works” (M, 1996, pp. 269–277). In it, the publishers noted that “this is the first creation of the Saint, when he was still a novice Dmitry. The novice objectively describes the elder’s exploits, sets out his view of monasticism and the “smart work” inherent in it, considering it the basis of a godly life. “Pious reader! - novice Dimitri addresses. “In this biography, both the valor and weaknesses of the elder are impartially revealed to you: imitate the valor, do not condemn the weakness.” The text of the biography was published based on materials from the dissertation of Abbot Mark (Lozinsky). In 2002, the same text of the essay “The Life of Schema-Monk Theodore” was published as part of the appendix to volume IV of “The Complete Works of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov” 5 based on materials from the manuscript collection of P. P. Yakovlev from the Russian State Library 6. Unfortunately, the compilers not only did not take into account, but did not even mention other surviving versions of the biography. Meanwhile, the published text represents a late, significantly edited version, devoid of the original freshness and vivid imagery. We were able to find an early edition of the biography in the manuscript collections of Optina Pustyn, stored in the Russian State Library. These are two handwritten notebooks of almost identical content 7, in the first there is a postscript: “From the cells of Hieroschemamonk Nifont, who died on March 8, 12, 1860”; in the second notebook notes are also made about the sources: The life and exploits of schema-monk Theodore. St. E. Ostr...sky. 1833. Eagle" (fol. 123 vol.) and a later pencil note above the text of the life, delivered by Archimandrite. Sergeeva Hermitage by Ignatius Brianchaninov (later Bishop of Stavropol, disciple of Elder Theodore" (l. 2437). A fragment of an early edition (8 sheets in total) has also been preserved in the collection of Optina Pustyn. This is a handwritten list, written in the period from 1857 to 1861, from the manuscript “located with Mrs. Av[dotya] T[erentyevna] Lesnikova 9, living at the hotel of Tikhon[ova] Hermitage, composed (according to her) by Archimandrite Sergius Hermitage Fr. Ignatius Brianchaninov, now Bishop of Stavropol." In 1839, “The Life of Schemamonk Theodore,” compiled by the monk of Optina Pustyn Porfiry (Grigorov), was published as a separate edition. In 1845, L. A. Kavelin prepared the publication of the biography of Fr. Theodora in the Mayak magazine. See this edition, vol. 1, p. 166–167. Some sources attribute the start of work on the biography to the period of his stay in the Ploshchanskaya hermitage, which is refuted by the letters of the saint that we discovered. For example, in the “Complete biography of Bishop Ignatius Bryanchaninov” it is said that, while in the Ploshchanskaya Hermitage, Dmitry Alexandrovich, “having decided to separate from the elder, he wanted to settle down alone with his friend in the cell allotted to them, according to the rules of monastic life, that is, to live together with the general council... Having stated his desire before the elder Fr. Leonid, Dimitri Alexandrovich was met with disagreement on his part for such a separation from them. This disagreement plunged the ascetic of God into great sorrow. He saw that they did not understand him, and did not want to understand, and they misjudged his intention, which was based on the true good for him and his comrade. The elder called his desire premature and dangerous, and in order to distract his thoughts from this desire, he gave him the obedience to compose a biography of the blessed elder monk Theodore, which he fulfilled” (Full biography of Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov. P. 60). We also cannot agree with the opinion that the Saint was personally acquainted with Elder Theodore (see: This edition, vol. 4, pp. 422–423). It is known that the elder rested in the Lord in the spring of 1822, while Dmitry Alexandrovich arrived in St. Petersburg to enter the Engineering School at the end of the summer of 1822. RSL OR. F. 214. Opt-371. L. 368–369. See p. 623. Letters from the Optina elder Leo to the monk Ioannikiy Bocharov. Ed. Svyato-Vvedenskaya Optina Pustyn, 2002. pp. 23–24. (Letter dated February 15, 1822) See this edition, vol. 4, p. 430–443. RSL OR. F. 425. K. 2. Unit. hr. 9. RSL OR. F. 214. Opt-280–1 and 280–2. Nifont, hieroschemamonk (†l2 March 1860). From Krapivinsky bourgeois children. By decree he was appointed to the brotherhood of Optina Pustyn on December 12, 1838, and tonsured a monk on August 5, 1848. He was ordained a hierodeacon on June 25, 1848, and a hieromonk on April 29, 1850. Lesnikova E. T., later nun Euphrosyne (†November 27, 1868), from a family of St. Petersburg merchants, spiritual child of St. Elders Leo and Macarius, benefactor of Optina Pustyn.