Кончина и погребение

Archpriest P.P. Levitsky. In memory of Archpriest I.I. Sergieva Father John died at the age of 79. The age is very advanced, indicated by Moses, the man of God: the days of our years are seventy years, and if we can, eighty years (Ps. 89:10), but for Father John it seems small. Whoever saw his beautiful, youthful face, his youthful mobility and his amazing vigorous activity nine years before his death, could not even think that Father was already a short-lived resident on this earth. On the contrary, all admirers of Father John wanted to think that he would not live a century. There was nothing impossible in this assumption: one of Father John’s comrades at the Academy (XXI graduation), the venerable capital archpriest Leonid Petrovich Petrov, survived him by six years and died only on October 27, 1914 at the 85th year of his life, maintaining until his death the strength and freshness of spiritual strength for his numerous literary, teaching and observational works. A serious illness brought Father John to an early grave. According to the information I have, kindly communicated to me by the current rector of the Kronstadt St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Archpriest P.I. Vinogradov in a letter dated December 22, 1911, “Dear Father began to be ill on March 18, 1902, in 1904 his illness intensified so much that on November 25 of this year Father John, due to weakness, could no longer serve in the cathedral, and so his illness, sometimes weakening, sometimes intensifying, continued until February 1905, when Father was again able to serve” 48 . The validity of this information is fully confirmed, on the one hand, by a letter from Father John himself to the editor of the newspaper “Kotlin”, where he writes that, having leisure and the opportunity to engage in religious and moral reading during his illness, in one of the books of “Christian Reading” (for 1824) he read an amazing article entitled: “The dying woman from the schism,” which article Father John attaches for newspaper publications 49; on the other hand, a table of contents of the printed words of Father John for 1905: in this table of contents there is not a single printed sermon for the month of January, and the first is the Word for the Day of the Presentation of the Lord on February 2. Obviously, throughout January, Father John was so seriously ill that he did not serve, and only at the Presentation of the Lord he somewhat recovered from his illness and wrote a sermon, but was still unable to serve on that day. At the beginning of January 1905, Father John’s illness became so severe that he wished to receive unction and expressed his desire in the following touching letter to the father, the keymaster of the cathedral, Archpriest A.P. Popov dated January 2: “Your Reverence! Most venerable brother, Father Alexander Petrovich. It occurred to me to accept the Holy Sacrament of the Blessing of Anointing according to the rite of the Holy Church, which I ask the cathedral brethren to perform tomorrow, after the late liturgy, taking with them the lunch gifts in the chalice from the church. At the same time, my humble request to all the brethren is to perform the Holy Sacrament, saying everything out loud so that I can hear, feel and pray with you” 50. According to Father's request, he was unctioned on January 3 after the late liturgy. To perform the unction, three priests from the clergy of St. Andrew's Cathedral were appointed, namely: Archpriest A.P. Ποποβ, priests P.I. Vinogradov and N.V. Petrovsky, then the confessor of Father John of the church at the Kronstadt military prison, Archpriest Theodore Brilliantov, and the church at the House of Diligence, priest Andrei Shildsky. Finally, at the request of Archpriest Pyotr Petrovich Preobrazhensky and priest Nikolai Nikolaevich Vertogradsky, who was serving at the cemetery church in Kronstadt at that time, cathedral priest P.I. Vinogradov petitioned Father John so that they would be allowed to participate in the unction, to which Father John expressed his consent. Thus, seven priests led by Archpriest P. P. Preobrazhensky 51 unctioned Father. The unction took place in the office. There were few people praying here, namely: Abbess Angelina and the leading sisters living in the same yard with Father and from the Ioannovsky Monastery. All the people, with tears and prayer, stood like a wall on Mikhailovskaya Street in front of the windows of Father John’s apartment. At the end of the unction, Father was tired and asked to cut it short. An hour or two after the unction, my wife and I came to say goodbye to Father John: he was lying on the bed in a cassock, with his eyes closed, and seemed to be suffering greatly. In the midst of deep silence, everyone took turns approaching him, bowed and kissed his hand, saying goodbye to him, perhaps forever, because there was almost no hope for recovery for human reasons. But what is impossible with man is possible with God, the only Physician of souls and bodies, Who raised His sick servant Archpriest John from his sick bed and extended his life for another four years. On February 27, Forgiveness Sunday, Father served the first liturgy after his illness, then served the entire Lent and Easter - all four years until his death. A very significant detail from the time of Father’s illness is told by His Eminence Anthony, now Archbishop of Kharkov. According to him, on the day of the Presentation (1905) he was informed that Father John, “then seriously ill,” asked about him and wished to see him. Delighted by Father’s precious attention, the bishop greeted him with the following telegram: “I congratulate the venerable Father Father John on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord. I ask you, like the righteous Simeon, not to leave the land and your people until revived piety shines through you again - the light of revelation to the tongues and the glory of the people of God.” A few days later, Archbishop Anthony arrived to visit Father John in Kronstadt and here had the consolation of hearing from him a hint that the wish expressed in the greeting would come true. So, Father began to serve, but the illness he received did not leave him until his death, which put an end to his suffering. What kind of illness did Father John have and what was its cause? The serious and unexpected illness of Father John then gave rise to many rumors in Kronstadt and Petrograd. Their essence boils down to the following. On the day of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine, November 24, 1904, Father John returned from Petrograd in the evening and, without stopping home, drove straight to the Kronstadt merchant Y.K. M-wu, whose wife was the birthday girl that day. The terrible, completely sick appearance of Father, who had been blooming in health the day before, amazed and frightened everyone. Father John did not say anything about what happened to him, but he was so weak that with difficulty, accompanied by Y.K. M-va, I got home and went to bed completely sick. It turns out that on this day Father John in Petrograd was allegedly invited to serve a prayer service in an apartment on Nikolaevskaya Street. The apartment belonged to Pashkov sectarians. The latter, when Father John came to them, pushed out or did not even let the person who brought Father into the room, locked the doors and began to torture Father: they threw him on the floor, trampled him, filled his nose with snuff, inserted cigarettes into his mouth, crushed and pressed him so as to damage the internal vital organs in the abdominal area and thereby cause him hourly suffering and hasten his death. Father John endured everything in silence. Tormenting him to death, apparently, was not part of the plans of the villains: they were either afraid of responsibility before the law for a flagrant crime, or they calmed themselves with the thought that Father was no longer dangerous to them and that his death was a matter of the near future. How to feel about this story? Should we recognize it as worthy of attention for the share of truth that it contains, or consider it an idle invention, one of many, around the name of Father John? Now, when ten years have passed since the described illness of Father John, it is difficult to restore the truth, especially since Father is no longer alive. Wanting to be an impartial narrator, I will give some considerations: a) seemingly confirming the plausibility of these rumors about the cause of Father’s illness and b) denying the possibility of the reported incident. a) That the incident of torture of Father John took place and was the cause of his serious illness in November 1904, this is confirmed by: 1) the amazing coincidence of information coming from different sources about the intensification of Father’s illness by November 25, 1904, on which day, due to weakness, he could no longer serve in the cathedral, the reason for the weakness was that Father had suffered the day before; 2) characteristic signs of the disease: as if everything was crushed inside and torn off, something was spoiled in the gastric region, why Father ate almost nothing after illness, a complete loss of strength, indicating mechanical damage inflicted on Father from the outside, from the outside, 3) the prevalence and persistence of stories about this case to this day among people who knew Father John closely. So, at two solemn rather crowded meetings of admirers of Father John in 1911 and 1914 here in the capital, I read out the above story about the cause of Father’s illness, and none of those present objected to me a word or said: “Father, you are telling a lie” or “nothing like that happened,” and meanwhile at the meetings there were many people who knew Father John closely from Kronstadt and Petrograd and who treasured, as if sacred, all the details of his life. On the contrary, during my message I heard repeated sincere exclamations from the listeners: “That’s right, father!” - and after the message, talking with them, I was convinced that the story I conveyed was known to them even in great detail and that it refers to the second case of fanaticism committed against Father John, and that... the first case, an earlier one, took place in Vyatka, where Father was “bruised” by fanatics 52; 4) just as there is no smoke without fire, so such rumors would not have appeared if there had not been the fact itself; 5) with the permission of God, Satan, this “insidious old man,” as the Monk Barsanuphius the Great calls him, taught by thousands of years of experience in the fight against Christian ascetics, raises up against them either his dark demonic hordes, as, for example, against St. Sergius, the Wonderworker of Radonezh, at the very beginning of his desert feat, or evil people, as against the Monk Seraphim, the Wonderworker of Sarov, against whom The villains attacked in the forest, threw him to the ground, hitting him on the head with a butt, which caused blood to gushing from the sufferer’s mouth and ears, and, unconscious, they dragged him to the entrance of the cell, continuing to furiously beat him with a butt, with wood, with their own hands and feet. The doctors who witnessed the elder after this torture found that “his head was broken, his ribs were broken, his chest was trampled and his whole body was covered in various places with mortal wounds.” They were surprised how the old man could survive after such beatings 53 . Doesn’t this torment of the Venerable Father Seraphim by evil people remind us of the same torment of Father Father John? Through evil people, his accomplices, the original murderer wanted to destroy the great righteous man and man of prayer of the Russian land and then celebrate his devilish victory, but instead inflicted a cruel defeat on himself: having endured suffering for Christ, Father John on earth ascended into the host of the martyrs of Christ and in heaven received the “primary and high degree of bliss” prepared for the martyrs 54 . b) The authenticity of the incident on November 24, 1904 is contradicted by the fact that the story about it does not come from Father John himself, but from other persons who were not eyewitnesses. Taking into account this circumstance and wanting to find out the truth about the cause of Father John’s illness, I wrote a letter to the doctor A.V., who was well known to me from Kronstadt. To K, who then treated Father John and then provided medical assistance to Father until his death. While serving here in Petrograd in the Naval Corps, Alexei Vasilyevich very kindly told me on December 12, 1914 by telephone some information and, among other things, that during his illness he asked Father John: “How reliable are the rumors circulating in Kronstadt that you, Father, were crushed”? And what Father John answered him: “My friend! Everything they say is nonsense: no one has ever touched me. There was a case: one woman bit my finger, and that’s all.” 55 According to Alexei Vasilyevich, Father John’s illness, explained by his old age, required long time and rest for treatment, which he did not have, and besides, he did not like to be treated. Arriving from Petrograd late at night, tired, exhausted by both illness and the day’s labors, Father wanted to rest for an hour or two - he got up around four o’clock, and yet he immediately needed medical help, which only through painful means would bring some relief to the sufferer. His illness intensified and was complicated by others, finding favorable soil in his naturally fragile senile body. Celebrities of the medical world invited to the patient: life surgeon H.A. Velyaminov and professor of the Military Medical Academy S.P. Fedorov found it necessary to perform the operation, but they postponed it out of fear that Father John, due to his almost eighty years of age, would not survive the operation, would die during it, and responsibility for the unfavorable outcome and inevitable criticism would fall on them; and Father himself, apparently, was against the operation, surrendering himself to the will of God. He died of senile infirmity on December 20, 1908. The brief statement from a representative of the medical world about the progress of Father’s illness deserves full attention for its calm, business-like nature. The testimony of Father John given here is also very valuable, that “no one ever touched him” and that the rumors about some kind of attack on him that were circulating in Kronstadt are unreliable. But another assumption is possible: maybe Father John did not want to talk about the attack on him by fanatics? Perhaps, having endured everything from them according to the commandment of the Lord: do not resist evil (Matthew 5:39) and having forgiven them with all his heart as his personal offenders, he protected his lips with silence in order to give them the opportunity to escape punishment from human justice? After all, one word, one slightest complaint from Father John was enough then for their atrocity to be immediately exposed, the perpetrators were found and punished, but Father John did not utter a single word and left vengeance to the Lord God, doing what the Venerable Father Seraphim of Sarov did with the peasants who attacked him. When these peasants were found, the chronicle of the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery tells, they turned out to be serfs of the landowner Tatishchev, Ardatovsky district, from the village of Kremenok. Father Seraphim not only forgave them himself, but also begged the abbot of the monastery not to exact it from them and wrote the same request to the landowner. Everyone was so outraged by the actions of these peasants that they considered it impossible to forgive them, but Father Seraphim insisted on his own. “Otherwise,” he said, “I will leave the Sarov monastery and retire to another place.” He told the builder Father Isaiah, his confessor, that it would be better if he were removed from the monastery than any punishment inflicted on the peasants. Father Seraphim left vengeance to the Lord God. The wrath of God truly befell the guilty: in a short time a fire destroyed their homes, and with tears of repentance they came to Father Seraphim to ask for his holy prayers and forgiveness 56 . The difference in the actions of the Venerable Seraphim and Father John is that the Venerable Father Seraphim, having arrived at the monastery, could not hide from the brethren his beaten face, the hair on his head and beard soaked in blood, crumpled, tangled, covered with dust and debris, his ears and lips caked in blood, several knocked out teeth, crumpled and bloody clothes and, out of duty of monastic obedience, he told about everything that happened to the rector and confessor 57, but Father John did not say anything and even denied the attack on him, for there were no conspicuous external injuries on his body, like the Venerable Seraphim, but about the internal, more significant injuries, known only to him, the Elder of God remained silent 58. In addition to the above case, if only it took place in the life of Father John, when explaining his illness in 1904–1908, one must keep in mind that Father John did not take care of himself: living for others, he did not have time to think about his health and could not maintain it with the right lifestyle, for example, to be at home at the appointed time, have dinner, study or rest. For almost the whole day, Father was outside his home, in different houses, where he had to accept refreshments so as not to offend the owners. No weather stopped him from traveling to Petrograd: neither winter snowstorms and cold, nor storms at sea in spring and autumn. On the road, on his steamboat, in a carriage or in a carriage, Father fell asleep for a short time, and even then not always, and this was his only rest. Fifty years of such an unparalleled life for others took with them both the strength and health of Father John. But others, for whom he lived and for whom he begged the Lord for health and all kinds of mercies, Father’s admirers, did not always treat him with delicacy and care, and without noticing it themselves. Their love for their dear Father manifested itself with such an uncontrollable elemental force that measures were required both in church and on the street to protect him; without them, one could fear that the people, in their uncontrollable spontaneous impulse, could crush, crush, knock down and trample their dear Father. Human security often turned out to be powerless against a crowd of thousands, and only the Lord saved everyone from great misfortune. What Father John had to experience from the people’s love can be seen from the following vivid picture drawn by an eyewitness 59 and depicting Father’s exit from St. Andrew’s Cathedral after the liturgy. “Suddenly the entire crowd filling the church swayed like one person, and a joyful whisper swept over it: Indeed, one of the side altar doors opened slightly, and Father John appeared on the threshold. What happened here is hard to even imagine! As soon as the beloved shepherd appeared, all the people, in an uncontrollable wave, crowding and crushing each other, poured in his direction, and those standing behind the bars (in front of the pulpit) instantly found themselves on the pulpit and almost knocked Father John off his feet. With the help of a psalm-reader and two guards, Father quickly moved to the left choir and took a step forward to pass on this side... In an instant, the same crowd, as if pushed by some elemental force, quickly darted to the left and, stretching out its arms forward, interrupting each other, shouting and crying, persistently crowded around the church grille, preventing its good shepherd from passing. It was difficult to make out what they were shouting about, what they were begging for, because all these screams and pleas merged into one unclear, deafening cry. Father John, squeezed into a corner, stood obediently, pressed against the wall. The walk from the altar to the porch turned out to be a long and even unsafe task. Anticipating the difficulties of this path, two policemen, two watchmen and several people from eminent merchants stood on both sides of the intended path and stretched out a thick rope, which they grabbed tightly with their hands. But as soon as Father John moved forward, this rope broke with a crash, the policemen and merchants were thrown aside in one minute, and the crowd, mingling and knocking each other down, surrounded Father with a dense wall. Now Father John suddenly seemed to disappear, and for some time he was not visible at all. For a minute, when the screaming and excited crowd swayed to the side, I saw Father John. Deathly pale, sad in concentration, slowly, step by step, as if in a merciless vice, he moved forward, apparently with difficulty freeing his hand for the blessing. The closer he moved to the exit, the more insistent, more merciless, louder the crowd became... This sight took my breath away, and I involuntarily closed my eyes. When I opened them again, Father John was no longer in the church, and there were almost no people there either. Scattered here and there on the floor were pieces of rope, gloves, a scrap of knitted scarf and other traces of the recent hurricane. My eyes sympathetically met the gaze of the old watchman. - Lord, what is this? Is this always the case? - Eh, dear master! If only it were always like this... But then the other day, on the Assumption, the people found themselves in such a state that they knocked Father off his feet. - And so, they dropped it to the ground and walked along it... “It is known that the lamb of God stood up, crossed himself and walked away without saying a word.” 60 The described incident dates back to the time when Father John left the cathedral through the middle part of it and blessed the pilgrims along the way, but in 1902–1905 he did not do this due to the obvious impossibility and danger for himself and for those around him 61 . Coming out of the altar through the side door into the cathedral garden, Father sat in the carriage, which quickly moved away, and from the carriage along the way he blessed some and greeted others with a friendly greeting. Another case was reported from Kronstadt, indicating insufficient attention to Father from those around him. One winter night he was returning in a wagon from Oranienbaum. There was a snowstorm, the wind was howling. The driver drove as quickly as he could in such weather, along the road riddled with potholes and rumbles, and did not look back at his rider. I drove up to the gates of the cathedral house and wanted to help Father get out. He looked: there was no one in the tent. Now I went back to look for Father and met him not far from the city: Father John was walking on the ice. It turns out that on a pothole the sleigh was tossed up so strongly or tilted to one side that Father John fell into the snow and before he even had time to cry out, the coachman, who had not noticed anything, stole the horses. Finally, Father John had both secret ill-wishers and open enemies who raised their swords against him: these are the enemies of all truth, the enemies of the Church of Christ, who attacked him from 1905 and did not leave him alone until his death. The fight against them worsened the health of the seventy-five-year-old man, who was still strong in spirit, but noticeably weakening in body. Rising from his sick bed in February 1905, Father did not stop getting sick until his death. He served every day, but only in Kronstadt, from where he rarely left. Under the influence, on the one hand, of rumors that Father did not serve due to illness and did not give communion to visitors, and on the other hand, the liberation press, which poured streams of mud on the impeccable name of the Kronstadt shepherd, fewer priests who wanted to serve with him and lay pilgrims began to come to Kronstadt 62 , the influx of donations in the name of Father John decreased, which is why his charity decreased, messages appeared in the press less often about healings through his prayers. His ill-wishers explained this decrease in Father’s vigorous activity by the fact that he had outlived his time and outlived his glory and that his bright star had dimmed and set. In fact, his bodily church, thinned by ailments, refused to serve the great spirit, and Father John never sought his own glory, but sought the glory of God. Particular rejoicing and gloating in the camp of Father John’s enemies was caused by his departure from Kronstadt on October 27, 1905, the day of the Kronstadt riots. But the rejoicing was completely in vain, and the accusation that Father John showed a lack of courage, got scared and fled from Kronstadt in a moment of general danger was unfounded: the circumstances and time of Father John’s departure from Kronstadt testify that his behavior was completely impeccable and excluded any complaints. At that time I was still living in Kronstadt and I can confirm that the worst night was from October 26 to 27 and that on the early morning of the 27th decisive measures had already been taken to stop the unrest and all danger to civilians had passed. Meanwhile, Father John spent the night from the 26th to the 27th in Kronstadt, aware of what was happening around him, as can be seen from the following. On the evening of the 26th, some of the naval officers visited Father John, asked him for blessings and prayers and, which is easily acceptable, told Father their fears about the near future. Later, Father John had my relatives, to whom he said: “It seems they are shooting at us!” - and consoled them, being in his usual cheerful mood. Returning from Father John along Nikolaevsky Prospekt at eleven o’clock in the evening, they heard gunfire and the buzzing of bullets in the direction of the Gostiny Dvor. This was the beginning of the riots. Having taken possession of the guns, the sailors left the crews and first of all smashed the buffet of the Naval Assembly and destroyed its contents, then opened indiscriminate shooting in the streets. Later at night, the rioters wanted to go to us, to the civil prison, to free the prisoners, who, apparently, were expecting this, but, mixing the civil prison with the military one, they lost their way and came to a completely different part of the city, on Northern Boulevard to the military prison, where they were captured 63 . Thanks to such a happy accident and the location of our prison on the outskirts of the city, we spent the night calmly and only in the morning we learned what danger we were in from being shot at. When at about five o'clock in the morning the clergy of St. Andrew's Cathedral went to matins, the shots still continued; Therefore, we walked with caution. One of the psalm-readers said that he saw the dead lying on the street. Before Matins, between four and five o'clock, Father John, accompanied by the keymaster of the cathedral, Father A.P. Popova came on foot to the commandant of the fortress, General Timofey Mikhailovich Belyaev (it was impossible to drive through the streets in a carriage) and asked him to allow the service of a prayer service in St. Andrew's Cathedral regarding the events he was experiencing, for which he received permission. From the commandant, Father John went to the cathedral, where, according to his custom, he served both Matins and Liturgy. Even at night, the commandant of the fortress ordered cannons and machine guns to be placed at Northern Boulevard and directed along Nikolaevsky and Mikhailovsky Avenues, so that, if necessary, they could clear the streets with longitudinal fire, but there was no need for this. By the measures taken in the morning, order in the city was finally restored, and peaceful inhabitants, including, of course, Father John, could calmly remain in it without fearing for their lives. After serving the liturgy, Father John at about nine o'clock in the morning went to Pesochnaya Street, in the area of ​​​​the Marine Epiphany Church. I mention this detail because it refutes the rumor circulating in Kronstadt that even before Matins, Father was either forcibly or by deception, sleepy, put into a carriage and taken to the steamship pier to proceed to Petrograd. Nothing of the kind happened, and at twelve o'clock in the afternoon Father John arrived at the pier in an ordinary cab and then left Kronstadt by steamer, through Sestroretsk, to Petrograd 64. Thus, as a good shepherd of the flock of Christ, Father John stood on divine watch during the hours of greatest danger from the invasion of predatory wolves, namely in the evening, when he calmed those who came to him, at night, when he fervently prayed to the Lord, without closing his eyes, and in the early morning, when, under gunfire, he walked on foot to the commandant of the fortress and from him to the cathedral; Before Father had time to finish the liturgy and leave the cathedral, help and deliverance appeared. Having fulfilled his pastoral duty in Kronstadt, Father John, who had not left the city for six days before, went to where his presence was more necessary. Without him, at about one o'clock in the afternoon in St. Andrew's Cathedral, the cathedral clergy, led by Archpriest A.P. Popov, served a prayer service for those who were looking for reinforcement in prayer. On October 28, I moved to Petrograd. I had to leave Kronstadt, where the first years of my priesthood passed happily in prayerful communication with Father John. On the evening of November 12, on the eve of departure, I came to Father to say goodbye. I will never forget the touching cordiality with which I was received by everyone in Father John’s family, starting with his wife, Mother Elizaveta Konstantinovna, at that time already a venerable old woman, distinguished by meekness and humility. To explain the touching reception that is natural when saying goodbye to someone leaving, I can point out that my mother’s great-nephew, a wonderful boy I.Sh., studied at my real school, who became very attached to me and was very sorry for my leaving. He constantly visited his “grandfather and grandmother,” as he called Father John and his deeply respected mother Elizaveta Konstantinovna, told them about the lessons of the Law of God, about me and how on the morning of November 12 the students said goodbye to me and presented me with an icon as a farewell, and at the same time he spoke a speech of his own composition. Mother Elizaveta Konstantinovna very much loved and spoiled her little grandson, a nice and capable second-grader and realist, and she transferred her love to me, his law teacher. I was led into the dining room - a small room with two windows, between which there was a table, and above it in the wall hung a full-length portrait of Father John, painted in paint, which remains in this place to this day. On the right side of the table by the window in a leather chair sat the wife of Father John, and her granddaughter was also there. After a while, Father John came out of the office: he was wearing a light, quilted silk cassock. A stream of cold air rushed in with him from the open door of the office. The whole figure of Father John breathed freshness and heavenly purity: he appeared like a bright angel from the heavenly world, in the radiance of unearthly beauty, and brought with him joy and happiness. Father recognized me and called me by name. Having greeted me affectionately, he sat me down next to me, began asking about my new service and remembered that he had been to the Mariinsky Institute at the invitation of the head of the institute 65 . Like a hospitable host, Father John himself poured me a glass of tea and put sugar in it, then poured me a glass of fine wine and treated me to the favorite food of the inhabitants of the Arkhangelsk province - cod cutlets. Mother also took part in the conversation and refreshments. After tea, I asked Father John to sign a large photographic portrait of him that I had bought. Father immediately wrote on it: “To the venerable brother and colleague, Father of the Law of the Mariinsky Institute, Priest... as a sign of fraternal prayerful communication. Kronstadt Cathedral Rector, Archpriest John Sergiev. November 12, 1905." Then Father went into his office and brought out two books of his sermons and gave them to me as a souvenir. These were: volume 3 of his works, first edition, St. Petersburg. 1892, and the words spoken by him in 1903, first edition. Kronstadt 1904 66. When we said goodbye, Father John made me incredibly happy by expressing his full consent to the fulfillment of my request of a private, family nature. Those short minutes that I had to spend in the family of Father John were the happiest in my life. Father John himself, his clear radiant eyes, the light of which was impossible to bear, his voice and address; Mother Elizaveta Konstantinovna in a black silk dress and with a black lace tattoo on her head, lovingly and attentively listening to every word of her husband, with whom her whole life passed 67; finally, the entire decor of the dining room with the stamp of prosperity in everything, but without luxury, vividly appears before my eyes. It was as if I had seen them yesterday, and not ten years ago. Mother Elizabeth Konstantinovna said goodbye to me affectionately and has already said goodbye forever. I no longer had to see her alive, but saw her dead, participating in the service of the funeral liturgy, in the funeral service and burial of her body in the fence of the Kronstadt St. Andrew's Cathedral and in the prayerful commemoration of her on the fortieth day after her death, which to some extent thanked her for her greetings and hospitality. Eternal memory to her! 68 On November 13, the directors of the Prison Committee presented me with a holy icon and address as a farewell gift. These signs of attention are very dear to me, by the way, because they are connected with the name of Father John: on the address, the first handwritten signature belongs to him as the director of the Prison Committee, just as on the back of the holy icon the name of Father John is the first among the directors of the committee who honored me with such a high honor. On November 18, according to his promise, Father John came to me for the christening of my daughter and was her successor. The rite of baptism was supposed to be performed in my former prison apartment, where Father arrived at about one o’clock in the afternoon with his psalm-reader I.P. Kiselev. Father even brought a gold cross for his goddaughter. He pronounced and performed all the words and actions prescribed for the recipient earnestly, with deep reverence, standing near the holy font next to the recipient. The moment was especially touching when Father John, having received the baby from the holy font and holding him in his arms with tenderness and love, preceded by the priest, walked around the font and sang along with everyone: “Be baptized into Christ...” The singing was animated and beautiful, for experts in this matter had gathered: Father’s voice seemed to cover everyone. In his voice, as in his whole being, one could feel the living joy that the child, born into the world, became a child of God, having been baptized and clothed in Christ. At the end of the baptism, Father himself took the baby to the mother, congratulated her, then drank tea and shared the meal with everyone. I am telling you about this incident because it gives me the right to crown the reverend face of Father John with another wonderful, fragrant flower: love for my fellow shepherds, the readiness to bring them joy and to rejoice with those who rejoice. With the move to Petrograd, I lost the opportunity to often see Father John and receive him in my house; I saw him only in St. Andrew's Cathedral, when I came to Kronstadt to serve with Father, but I never met him in Petrograd and never bothered him with requests to visit me here, as happened before in Kronstadt. With each visit to Father, he noticed that his health was getting worse and worse: his rosy complexion gave way to dark and sickly, long church services were completely beyond his strength 69, he served quickly and gave communion to a few. Alarming news about the deterioration of his health, especially in the last year of his life, reached Petrograd, but he did not want to believe them; on the contrary, I wanted to reassure myself with the thought that the disease was not yet so dangerous and that Father would live. The last time I had to serve with him was after Easter 1908, before he left for the Vaulovsky monastery, where Father John lived from May to August. According to Mother Eupraxia, the abbess of this monastery, Father John was very fond of the picturesque Vaulovsky monastery and came here to rest in the summer. Surrounded here by his favorite flowers, among green meadows, in fields covered with golden grain, among the dark rustling forest, Father felt the closeness of the Creator of the universe and sent an enthusiastic prayer to Him. He told about himself that he knew how to mow and reap, which he learned in his homeland in his youth, and that even as a child he did not like to sit idle. At the request of Mother Eupraxia to bless the reapers before sending them off to the harvest for the first time, Father John blessed the sickles and himself distributed them to everyone, and, handing the sickle, he gave instructions to each individual. The sisters attribute to Father’s prayers that they now have good water to drink. Having learned from the sisters that at first the monastery needed good water, Father John prayed to God and pointed out the place where it was necessary to dig the ground: they began to dig and discovered a source of good drinking water. Living in Vaulovo in the summer of 1908, Father suffered seriously from an intensified illness: he spent entire nights without sleep, sitting in a chair, because he could not lie down. “One day,” Mother Eupraxia told me, “I came to Father and saw him sitting in his chair with his eyes closed and saying a mental prayer. It’s hard for him, but there’s no murmur or groan. I felt sorry for him to the point of tears, but how can I help and console him? I think I’ll pray for him. I read in my mind the troparion to the Dormition of the Mother of God, I have an icon of this holiday in my corner, and I see that Father turned his face to this icon and bowed. I begin to read: “The zealous intercessor,” Father bows to the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. Apparently, dear Father read in my soul” 70. Upon returning from Vaulov to Kronstadt, Father John lived only four months amid severe suffering. The news of his death on the morning of December 20, which spread like lightning that same day in the capital, prompted me and my family to leave for Kronstadt early in the morning of the 21st. I no longer saw the removal of Father John’s body from the apartment to St. Andrew’s Cathedral, but participated in the service of requiem and parastasis 71, which was performed with all solemnity and splendor by His Grace Kirill, Bishop of Gdov 72. All night long, without interruption, requiem services were served at the coffin by the Kronstadt and visiting clergy. All night long, spiritual children and parishioners said goodbye to the deceased in a continuous stream. The whole of Kronstadt, young and old, visited the expensive coffin. Everyone wanted to venerate the emaciated right hand of Father with a small wooden cross in it for the last time. The Liturgy at 7 o'clock in the morning was celebrated by His Eminence Kirill with a host of clergy. The Lord destined me to take part both in the service of the liturgy and in seeing off the body of the deceased to the capital. It was especially touching that the deceased was given military honors. With a procession of the cross, to the sad ringing of bells, to the majestic sounds of “How Glorious,” the clergy, military and secular authorities and countless people saw off the humble servant of the church and together the valiant servant of the Tsar and the Fatherland. The path on foot from the Kronstadt Gate to Oranienbaum was not an easy one, for it lay on fragile and smooth ice, like a mirror, covered in places with water, with a fresh wind from the sea. The oak coffin with the body of the deceased was transported in the city on a funeral chariot, and across the ice on drogs mounted on runners. When we approached Oranienbaum, it was already starting to get dark. The local clergy, led by His Grace Kirill, met the funeral procession on the seashore. All of Oranienbaum gathered at the station. The troops standing in the square in front of the station gave the deceased military honors. The coffin was carried into the funeral carriage, a litiya was served, and the train departed for the capital along the route along which Father John had so often passed alive. On the same train were His Eminence Bishop Kirill, the clergy who escorted the coffin from Kronstadt, and the relatives of the deceased. I do not describe the meeting and seeing off the coffin in Petrograd, because I was not an eyewitness and did not participate in them, tired both by the long service the day before and on that day, and by the especially unusual journey across the ice from Kronstadt to Oranienbaum. V.B. Bertenson. About Father John of Kronstadt At the beginning of May 1908, when rumors were coming from Kronstadt from all sides about Father John’s serious illness, I suddenly received a telegram from the same place signed by one person who had recently been taking Father John to the sick, which read: “Father asks you to come as a doctor.” A little surprised at this invitation, since I realized that I was completely incompetent in recognizing the disease and especially treating the disease that Father John was rumored to have suffered from, I still went to Kronstadt the next day. Only the still-living eyes on Father John’s terribly thin face and covered with fine wrinkles illuminated his expressive and intelligent features. I did not see Father John for more than six months. “Finally, I decided to disturb you, as a good friend of mine,” Father John said, kissing me. “I would like to know frankly, is it possible to help me and is there any hope for at least a partial recovery?” Specialist doctors have long been telling me what my main suffering is. Man, however, lives in hope. Perhaps you, as a doctor who specializes in internal medicine, will look at my illness not from the narrow point of view of specialists? Having carefully examined Father John, although I did not do any special research, I could still say with certainty that the disease of the prostate gland and bladder, from which poor Father had recently suffered, had apparently reached a high degree. – Do you want to know my completely frank opinion? – I said to Father John at the end of my examination. - I demand it; “I’ve already lived in the world, I’m eighty-one years old 73,” said Father John. - I'm not afraid of death! “Special treatment under the guidance of a specialist doctor, complete rest, constant exposure to clean country air, the strictest regimen, refusal of all religious services can in the present alleviate your suffering and even delay the inevitable end for some time,” I pronounced my sad verdict with embarrassment... “Thank you,” Father John answered me completely calmly. “But I will never give up worship, fasting and prayers for the sick, until the illness completely pins me to bed. I will carry out only one of your advice: I will go, as every year, to the Arkhangelsk province, but be under the constant supervision of a special doctor - I cannot do this either. Then, kissing me again, he said in a firm voice, without the slightest sign of excitement: Then going out into the next room, where Father John’s wife was sitting, a short, silent, corpulent woman who had only survived her husband by a few months, and some other plain-looking, very simple women, Father John, in the same calm voice, even rather pleased, said to them all, who were apparently waiting with some excitement for the results of my examination: “The doctor reassured me, but advised me to leave for my homeland as soon as possible.” Archpriest John of Ornatsky. Death and burial of Father John of Kronstadt On December 20, 1908, at 7:40 am, in Kronstadt, the rector of St. Andrew's Cathedral, mitred archpriest and member of the Holy Synod, Ioann Ilyich Sergiev (Kronstadt), died in Kronstadt at the age of 80. The funeral service and burial of the highly revered pastor, according to his will, took place in the St. Petersburg Ioannovsky Convent, which was founded and landscaped by Father John. Everyone who knew the deceased was accustomed to seeing him vigorous and alive beyond his years, never resting in the service of God and his neighbor, but three years ago he fell ill. Although the illness caused a lot of suffering, Father did not change his rule - he performed divine services every day, receiving the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Only in the last days of his life was he unable to perform liturgy and received communion at home. For the last time he served the liturgy in St. Andrew's Cathedral on December 9. In this union with Christ, he always found joy and consolation in the midst of hard work and illness. In recent years there have been periods during which he did not take any food. “I live only by the communion of the Holy Mysteries,” he told all visitors. Instead of any medicine, Father used holy water from the source of St. Seraphim, the Sarov wonderworker. In the last three days the illness has become especially severe. On December 17, he wished to be outdoors and went for a ride in the carriage of a random cab driver, who did not know Father’s habits, drove him for a very long time, and Father caught a cold. The disease became more complicated. The next day he felt very weak and on December 19 in the morning he could no longer go out into the hallway to meet the priest with the Holy Gifts, as he did every day, and received only Holy Communion. All this day, the martyr shepherd seemed to be in oblivion, with his eyes closed, remaining almost the entire time in his chair. At times his groans could be heard, telling those present about his grave suffering. However, Father’s consciousness was clear to the end. He made his last order on December 19 at 8 pm. The abbess of the Ioannovsky convent, Abbess Angelina, who spent the whole day with Father, asked him for his blessing to consecrate the church-tomb, which had been ready for a long time, but had not been consecrated. To this request, Father answered: “Yes, yes, consecrate,” and raised his hand as a sign of blessing. The abbess, having accepted the blessing, left for the monastery to prepare for consecration. (The consecration of the church was performed on December 21 by the dean of the monastery, Archimandrite Macarius, with the clergy of the monastery.) At the request of the elderly and sick wife of Father John, Elizaveta Konstantinovna, priest John of Ornatsky stayed in Father John’s apartment for the night, as well as R. G. Shemyakin (relatives of the deceased), who, together with Father’s servants, did not leave him all night. But they could not relieve the sufferer. Father resolutely refused any medical help, and after 8 hours he only agreed to take a few drops of holy water twice. At 10 o'clock Father expressed a desire to get up from his chair. They lifted him up and helped him into bed, but after a few minutes he again wanted to get up and remained in the chair until one in the morning in the same position as before. It is unknown where the thoughts of the suffering shepherd were at this time. Most likely, he prayed for the last time that mental prayer that he loved to indulge in at the time when, exhausted by all-day labor, he returned to Kronstadt in a carriage and on a steamer. At two o'clock in the morning, Father made a sign with a trembling hand that he wanted to get up. He was raised again; this time his legs refused to serve him. The sick person was put to bed. At the same time, seeing his difficult situation, they asked to celebrate the liturgy earlier than usual, which began at 3 o’clock in the morning, and at about 4 o’clock the priest John Arzhanovsky, who replaced Father’s sick confessor, and the cathedral priest Nikolai Petrovsky arrived with the Holy Gifts. Father took Holy Communion for the last time. After Communion, he himself wiped his lips and was completely calm for some time, then he uttered the last words: “I feel stuffy, stuffy,” and with signs he asked to be freed from excess clothes, being in a warm cassock. The request was fulfilled. Soon Father fell into oblivion. The breathing was calm, but it became quieter and quieter. The priest of Ornatsky began to read the canon on the outcome of the soul, and then the departure, and when he approached the dying man’s bed, he lay motionless with his hands folded on his chest; His last breaths were barely noticeable, and the great shepherd completely calmly surrendered his spirit to God. The eyes, hitherto closed, opened slightly, and tears clear as crystal appeared from them. These were the last tears of the great prayer-martyr. It became obvious that his righteous soul had passed into that world where “there is no illness, sadness and sighing, but endless life.” Sobs and tears, hitherto suppressed, burst forth from eyewitnesses of the great mystery of death, and the news of it began to be passed from mouth to mouth with the speed of lightning. The first to arrive at the bedside of the deceased was the sacristan of St. Andrew's Cathedral, Archpriest A. Popov, who himself fell ill with pneumonia that day, and other members of the clergy of St. Andrew's Cathedral. All of them, together with priests Ornatsky and Arzhanovsky, performed the anointing of the entire body of the deceased with oil as required for priests according to the charter of the Church, and they marveled at the extreme exhaustion of the sufferer; It was as if there was no stomach at all - just bones. After being anointed in God, the deceased was dressed in all the sacred clothes that he himself had intended for this; a miter is placed on the head, like a victorious crown. The face of the deceased took on a stately and calm appearance, and all of him, dressed in full priestly, white vestments and a white miter, resembled a bright Angel. We believe and hope that the Lord accepted the angelic soul of His faithful servant into His bright abodes and that Orthodox Rus' will have in him a prayer book and representative at the Throne of the Lord. After vesting, the deceased in the arms of the clergy, preceded by the clergy, was transferred from the deathbed to another room, where the first requiem was immediately celebrated. At the same time, the bell of St. Andrew's Cathedral rang solemnly and sadly, notifying the residents of Kronstadt of a great, irreparable loss. The death of the highly revered shepherd was immediately reported by telegraph to Tsarskoe Selo, Gatchina, Metropolitan Anthony of St. Petersburg and Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod. On the latter’s most humble report on the death of Archpriest John Ilyich Sergiev, the Sovereign Emperor was pleased to write in his own hand on December 21: “With all those who revered the deceased Archpriest Father John, I mourn his death.” On behalf of Their Imperial Majesties, Empresses Maria Feodorovna and Alexandra Feodorovna, wreaths were laid on the coffin of the deceased. With the permission of His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony, His Eminence Kirill, Bishop of Gdov, went to Kronstadt, as Father himself asked him to do before his death. His Eminence Kirill arrived in Kronstadt on December 20 at about 5 o'clock in the afternoon. Arriving directly at Father John’s apartment, he performed the third funeral service. The second was served at one o'clock in the afternoon in the presence of the Chief Commander of the city of Kronstadt, General Artamonov, the chief commander of the Kronshtadt port, Rear Admiral Grigorovich, and other commanders. In the evening, the body of the deceased was placed in an oak coffin and a requiem service was served by His Eminence Kirill, with the participation of the local clergy. On the same day, all of St. Petersburg already knew about the death of Father. Immediately, funeral services began in almost all churches. Earlier than other churches, sad news was received at the Ioannovsky Monastery. Immediately all the sisters gathered in church, and their sobs accompanied the entire service of the memorial service. On the morning of December 21, at the Baltic station, countless crowds of people took tickets, rushing to Kronstadt. No conversations could be heard; Everyone rode in silence, occasionally exchanging fragmentary remarks. A special, reverent mood was created. Until dusk, the trains brought more and more pilgrims. In Oranienbaum there was a huge demand for cab drivers. Wagons, logs, and sleighs stretched across the ice in a black line all day long. At 9 o'clock in the morning the last funeral service was held at the apartment of the deceased. Representatives of the local administration and many admirers gathered for the memorial service. The small apartment could not accommodate all those gathered. After the funeral service, the coffin was carried out of the apartment in the hands of the clergy. In the courtyard, he was received in the arms of the chief commander of Kronstadt, Lieutenant General Artamonov, the Kronstadt military governor, Rear Admiral Grigorovich, the commandant of the fortress, the mayor, and the cathedral elder Y.K. Markov and others. Under the sad ringing of the cathedral bells, the procession, preceded by icons and banners, headed along Andreevskaya Street to St. Andrew's Cathedral. Along the street, ground troops stood in trellises, barely holding back a crowd of thousands. The windows, fences, and even the roofs of the houses were dotted with people eager to see the transfer of the body of the highly revered shepherd. When the sad procession approached St. Andrew's Cathedral, the coffin was again picked up by the clergy, led by His Eminence Kirill, and carried into the church, decorated with tropical plants. The cathedral was overcrowded, but thousands of people still crowded the square and Nikolaevsky Avenue. The liturgy began, which was celebrated by His Eminence Kirill with the participation of numerous clergy. After the liturgy, a memorial service was served. This memorial service made a touching impression. The sobs of the people, sometimes drowning out the cries of the clergy, produced a stunning impression. After the funeral service, farewell to the deceased shepherd began. People were allowed into the cathedral one by one. There is a long queue at the right side entrance to the cathedral, where only two people are allowed in. They exit from the left side. I had to stand in line for hours. In the cathedral itself, requiem service follows requiem service. The coffin stands on a high platform. The candles around him are burning brightly. The face of the deceased is covered with air, as is done with all deceased priests; Only the emaciated hands are visible, to which many thousands of people have touched today. In his right hand is a small gilded cross. At 7 o'clock in the evening the parastas (funeral all-night vigil) began, which lasted until 11 o'clock at night. The cathedral was open all night from December 21 to 22 until 6 a.m. And all night long the people walked continuously to say goodbye to the deceased. Most have tears in their eyes. Muffled sobs and exclamations are heard: “Our sun has set! To whom did my dear father leave us? Who will come to the aid of us, the orphaned and the weak! At 6 o'clock in the morning on December 22, St. Andrew's Cathedral was closed, and the entry of those who wanted to say goodbye to Father was stopped. Today there was a long journey ahead - transporting the body of the deceased shepherd to the St. Petersburg St. John's Convent. At 7 o'clock the liturgy began. By the end of the liturgy, the entire cathedral, the square in front of it and the surrounding streets were cordoned off by troops. Beyond the cordon line, people could be seen in thick masses along the streets, in the windows of houses, on roofs, fences and trees. The St. Petersburg Gate, through which the sea road leads to Oranienbaum, is closed at 9 a.m., all movement of passenger carriages and sleighs on the ice is stopped at 10 a.m., and from 11 a.m. pedestrian traffic is also stopped. Police officers are anxiously bustling around the cathedral; ranks of troops stand in the square; the people became quiet and patiently waited for the coffin to be carried out into the square. This whole picture is brightly illuminated by the cold winter sun. The cathedral priest, Father Pavel Vinogradov, delivered a simple, but heartfelt and touching funeral eulogy. “We cannot thank our dear deceased in any other way than by bowing to the ground,” he ended his speech. Almost the entire church fell to their knees after these words. Bishop Kirill in his speech described Father John as a person surrounded by an aura of unprecedented glory. It is difficult to convey everything that happened in the cathedral. The shouts of the clergy and the singing of the choristers were often interrupted by sobs. From time to time a dull hum can be heard in the cathedral. At exactly 11:30 am the removal of the body from the cathedral began. The oak coffin was surrounded by a religious procession around the cathedral and placed on a chariot while the bells were ringing. Military bands played “Kol Slaven.” There were banners in the ranks of the troops. Banner bearers from all Kronstadt churches gathered to take part in the procession. At the head of the procession were dragoons with a banner and a choir of music. Next came the singers, the clergy, the chariot with the body of the deceased and the commanding officers led by Lieutenant General Artamonov. The procession was closed by a company of the 94th Yenisei Regiment and people numbering at least 20 thousand people of both sexes. Lithiums were held at the Naval Cathedral, at the Church of the Epiphany and near the chapel at the St. Petersburg Gate, built in memory of Admiral Makarov. Along the entire road through the city, troops stood in trellises. The Lutheran Church on the seashore honored the memory of the dear deceased with a long funeral bell. Next was the path across the sea. By order of the Chief Commander of Kronstadt, all those wishing to escort the deceased across the sea were ordered to follow in rows at least two steps apart from each other, due to the fragility of the ice. Five rescue stations were set up along the entire sea route, and special bridges were built across cracks found in the ice. Bishop Kirill and some clergy rode forward to Oranienbaum to meet the procession at the station. The entire journey was completed in less than three hours. The funeral singing and the sounds of “How Glorious” did not cease for a single moment. In Oranienbaum, the procession was expected by both old and young, rich and poor, in a word, the entire population. The local clergy, led by His Eminence Kirill, set off in a religious procession to meet the procession on the seashore. Bells rang out throughout Oranienbaum. The coffin was carried onto the platform and placed in the funeral carriage of a special train. A brief lithium began. The platform resounded with the sobs of Oranienbaum residents. At 4 o'clock the train started moving. Many crossed themselves on their knees as the train departed. Approaching each station, the train slowed down, but did not stop. At all stations there were a lot of people meeting the last journey of dear Father along the Baltic Road, along which he made many trips throughout his life. At about 5 o'clock in the afternoon the funeral train arrived in St. Petersburg. The procession of transporting the body of Father John from the Baltic Station to the Ioannovsky Convent, to its resting place, was full of mournful tenderness and majestic sadness. Thousands of people had been standing along the Obvodny Canal and all along Izmailovsky Prospekt since three o'clock. The clergy gathered in the front rooms of the station. Here the Most Reverend Sergius, Archbishop of Finland, Bishop Micah of Arkhangelsk and Bishop Nikander of Narva, archimandrites: Theophan, rector of the Theological Academy, and Benjamin, rector of the seminary, dean of the St. John's Monastery Archimandrite Macarius, rector of the Patriarchal Metochion of Antioch, Archimandrite, who specially arrived from Moscow, put on white robes Ignatius, chairman of the Society for Religious and Moral Education, Archpriest F. Ornatsky, and rectors or representatives from all metropolitan parishes. St. Isaac's banner bearers with banners arrived at the station; there were banners from the parish churches, from the Ioannovsky Monastery and a banner-banner from the “Union of the Russian People” consecrated by Father John. Along the entire route of the funeral procession to the monastery, traffic on the streets was stopped. When the train stopped under the arches of the Baltic Station, His Eminence Kirill and the priests accompanying the body came out of the salon carriage and joined those greeting them. A litany was performed by a host of bishops and priests in front of the open funeral carriage. The choir of singers of the Semenovsky regiment sang. In the hands of the clergy, the oak coffin was carried out of the carriage and placed on a sad chariot with a silver canopy, crowned with a miter. As soon as the sad procession moved from the station, the sad sound of a bell rang through the air; the people in the square began to cross themselves, sobs were heard, which turned into general crying when the sad procession entered the square. The procession was opened by a detachment of mounted police, which was necessary due to the huge crowd of people. Then the banners were carried, the choristers, the clergy in pairs and the mentioned archpastors walked; Next came a sad chariot, surrounded by banners. St. Petersburg mayor D.V. walked behind the chariot. Drachevsky and the former Chief Commander of Kronstadt, now the commander of the Kyiv District troops, Adjutant General N.I. Ivanov. From among the singers and clergy all the way, the touching melodies of the canon “Helper and Patron be my salvation” were heard. The people following the coffin formed several choirs that sang “Holy God,” “Eternal Memory” and other spiritual chants. They saw the chariot standing along the way of the procession, in the squares and sidewalks, innumerable crowds of people, they heard singing, and the air was filled with crying, and sometimes this crying was so loud that it broke through the powerful singing, causing the voices of those singing to tremble. It was felt that these voices were reaching heaven and that the worthy shepherd would truly have eternal memory. So the people saw off the shepherd, who was himself the people’s kindness, the people’s conscience, the people’s faith. As long as there are such shepherds, there will be faith in Russia. It seems that there has never been a funeral with such a huge, crying crowd of people of all ranks, from commoners to high dignitaries. From the Resurrection Church of the Society for Religious and Moral Education, which is near the Warsaw Station, the priests of the Society’s churches came out with a procession of the cross; the chairman of the council performed the litia, and the priests joined the procession. At the Izmailovo Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, at the Church of the Ascension, bells rang out, the clergy came out with banners and litias were celebrated. At St. Isaac's Cathedral, at the head of a large clergy with a choir of St. Isaac's singers, the venerable rector, mitered Archpriest I.A., came out to serve the litiya. Sobolev. Then the procession headed, by special order of the Sovereign Emperor, along the Neva embankment past the Winter Palace. Thanks to this Highest command, the procession had to proceed past the building of the Holy Synod and stop in front of it for a short time to serve the lithium. Here we remembered Father’s pre-instruction for this stop, made by him three weeks before his death. His longtime zealous admirers, merchants V.P., came to visit Father. Krutov and A.A. Zabelin. In a conversation with them, Father, among other things, said: “After all, in the monastery they are really waiting for me and the sisters want to take communion. Well, yes, I’ll get ready for the holiday (Christmas), but I probably won’t have to take communion. They also ask me to visit the Holy Synod. I will be there too, albeit for half an hour or a few minutes. But I’ve never been there, I don’t know how to get in; but, by the way, they will show.” These predictions actually came true. Later, Father predicted the day of his death even more accurately. On December 18, as if having forgotten himself, he asked Abbess Angelina: “What date is today?” She replied: “The eighteenth.” “So, two more days,” Father said thoughtfully. Shortly before his death, he sent out Christmas celebrations to all the postmen, delivery boys, etc., who carried out his instructions. “Or else they won’t get it at all,” he added. But let's return to the description of the funeral procession. The procession followed along the Neva embankment to the Trinity Bridge, where there were no people. A lithium was also celebrated across the bridge at the capital's oldest Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. The procession headed along Kamennoostrovsky Prospekt. Having thinned out on the embankment, masses of people gathered here again. Tens of thousands of people - tens of thousands of tears. Along the way, lithiums were served in several places on Kamennoostrovsky, and banners from the Matveevskaya Church and the Princess of Oldenburg Institute were joined. The four bishops walking in front of the coffin made the entire journey without rest. As soon as the procession began to approach the Karpovsky Bridge and was already not far from the monastery, many clearly saw how a star quickly fell from the sky. Her path was precisely in the direction of the monastery. “It was Father’s soul that flew from heaven,” said some poor woman. People discussed the case in different ways - they saw the falling star as a heavenly sign. At 8:30 pm a sad procession arrived at the monastery with the sad ringing of the monastery bells. The Ioannovsky Monastery at that time looked like a small fortress. The entire Karpovka embankment was cleared of the public and crews. Only with tickets were people allowed into the church, which was filled with worshipers long before the funeral procession arrived. At the entrance to the church stood all the sisters of the monastery, headed by the abbess, Abbess Angelina, as well as the clergy. Everyone went out to meet the dear patron and prayer book, who arrived at his monastery on the feast of the Nativity of Christ, but already lifeless and voiceless. In the arms of the clergy, preceded by the sisters singing “Helper and Patron,” the coffin was carried into the large cathedral church and placed in the middle of the church on a hearse covered with a white eyelet. There were living plants around the columns. With great difficulty the coffin was put in place; everyone rushed to kiss. It took a lot of effort to restore order. What could happen now and during the funeral service if everyone is allowed access to the church? Obvious to everyone. That is why the monastery administration, with a constricted heart, had to resolutely prohibit the entry into the church of persons who did not have tickets. This order was unfairly complained about. They say why weren’t even the clergy allowed in? But if everyone were allowed in on the day of burial, then undoubtedly the clergy alone could overflow the church. That is why many thousands could not be allowed into the monastery church these days. At 9 o'clock in the evening, a parastasis began in the cathedral church, which was served by Bishop Micah of Arkhangelsk, the spiritual son and zealous admirer of Father. Up to 40 priests and deacons took part in the service. This service was majestic and touching, especially in those moments when all the clergy sang, gathered together with a movement of ardent love and zealous veneration for the newly departed Father Archpriest John. At 12 o'clock at night the service ended, and immediately everyone who wanted to say goodbye to their dear Father began to be admitted one by one. The sisters were the first to approach, shedding burning tears. Is it possible to depict their state of mind during this last kiss? They said goodbye to someone who was closer to their own father. He accepted them into the monastery. Most lived in poverty and harsh conditions. Father warmed them up, helped them in everything, taught them, guided them, nourished them physically and spiritually... After the sisters, the lay people came up. Many of them passed by, kissing the exhausted right hand of the venerable shepherd, but even more remained who were unable to fulfill their passionate desire - to say goodbye to Father. At 6 o'clock access to the coffin was stopped. At this time, the early liturgy began in the tomb church, which was celebrated by Archimandrite Ignatius, with the participation of many other priests. It was necessary to clean up the cathedral church and prepare for the liturgy and funeral service. Near the tomb, the reading of the Holy Gospel continued all night and requiem services were continuously served. Many, touching Father’s hand, lit a candle, which they took away as a souvenir. At 8:30 a.m. the gospel for the late liturgy began. Of the archpastors, the first to arrive was Kirill, Bishop of Gdov. Soon arrived: Sergius, Archbishop of Finland, Micah, Bishop of Arkhangelsk, rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy Archimandrite Feofan, rector of the seminary Archimandrite Veniamin, mitred archpriests A.A. Dernov and F.N. Ornatsky and other clergy appointed by the Metropolitan to serve the liturgy, including 12 archimandrites, archpriests and priests. At 9 o’clock, His Eminence Anthony, Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga, arrived, and the Divine Liturgy began, which was attended by: Comrade Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, Privy Councilor Rogovich, Manager of the Office of the Holy Synod S.P. Grigorovsky, St. Petersburg mayor D.V. Drachevsky, Privy Councilor V.N. Mamontov, Lieutenant General Count N.F. Heyden and his wife and many other high-ranking officials, representatives of the merchant class and people of various ranks. A few minutes after the start of the service, the sun suddenly appeared in the church, as if signifying the victory of light over darkness, and brightly illuminated the coffin and those standing near the deceased with its rays. At the end of the liturgy, with the blessing of the Metropolitan, the famous preacher Archpriest Philosopher Ornatsky inspiredly delivered the following speech: Our dear father Father John has died. And we thought that he would live for a long, long time. After all, whoever you love, you wish for a long life. Moreover, we are not used to seeing him old and sick. Even at 75 years old, he was always cheerful and young in spirit. So he used to quickly go up the stairs and, still at the door of the house, loudly greet everyone in his fresh, sharp voice: “Hello, my friends; hello mommy; hello kids; Nanny, hello." And, entering the inner rooms, he strokes one, pats another, kisses another and blesses everyone. And then he comes to a table prepared in advance for prayer and the blessing of water, and when he prays, he not only asks the Lord, but sometimes demands that the request be fulfilled, for the sake of the great Calvary Sacrifice of the Son of God, and often prays in his own words. When he finishes the prayer, those present begin to approach him to tell him, and certainly in his ear, about something important that cannot be said out loud. And he will look at someone sternly, he will smile at another, he will hit another where it hurts, and to whom he will give money, without counting it. And everyone leaves him encouraged, calmed, caressed. And for days, months, the happy family then remembers the visit of Father John, what he said and to whom, how he looked, what he did. And then Father John died. And wherever these three words are said - Father John died, everywhere they will understand who died. Here he died, the shepherd lying breathlessly before us, Father John of Kronstadt. For they knew him everywhere and his name was revered everywhere, in cities, in villages, in capitals, and in the most remote corners of our homeland. Even abroad, our great shepherd was known and revered. When Emperor Alexander III was mortally ill in Crimea and Father John was summoned to see him, then all the newspapers in the world wrote about our famous prayer book and miracle worker. Then Father John received many letters in all languages ​​from different countries in Europe and even America. One boy from Sweden wrote to him: “I heard that you heal people with prayer, my mother has gone crazy and is in the hospital; I'm bored without my mom. Pray for my mother to get well." Young people from America wrote that they were very happy and asked Father John to pray so that they could continue to live just as happily. From Germany they asked to send water or oil blessed by Father John, and they also asked for money. They sent their hair, asking him to bless it, and expressed faith that his blessing would spread to their entire being... What kind of phenomenon is this - Father John at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries, during times of godlessness and unbelief? How to explain his origin and the marvelous feat of his life? For believers, the answer to these questions is as simple as the explanation of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Her greatness: “The Lord looked upon the humility of His servant” and “the Mighty One did greatness for Me.” In the same way, the greatness of Father John is the work of God’s grace, which was upon him from the day of his birth. Remember some incidents from his life. So he was born sickly and frail. They quickly baptized him, fearing that he would die, but he lived to be 80 years old. So he fell mortally ill in theological school. The doctor advised him to eat fasting foods. But his mother did not agree, and he did not violate the church law on fasting. Now this incident will not be given any significance, but remember, didn’t the prophet Daniel, saved by God from the jaws of lions, and his three friends, saved in the fiery Babylonian furnace, strictly observe the law of fasting? Here he is at the Academy, a God-fearing young man, modest, pure, self-absorbed. The first book that he purchased with the first money he earned was “Conversations of St. Chrysostom on the Gospel of Matthew.” And he, secluded in the audience, reads them with delight, as if imagining the great Christian preacher alive and applauding him. So he completed the course and decided to take holy orders. And to him, who had never seen St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Kronstadt before, it appears in a vision, in clear outlines. He is sent to this cathedral as a shepherd, he is not separated from him for 53 years, here he performs his difficult pastoral feat. What principles guide Father John in his pastoral ministry? First of all, a living, fiery faith in God. His faith is not just a matter of the mind, no! It fills his heart, envelops his entire being, he lives it every moment, in every situation. He sees before him, in himself and in people, the Good, Merciful, Savior God. Here He gives you the saving right hand, punishes you and has mercy, nourishes you, clothes you, gives life. “It is impossible for Him,” Father John thought and believed fervently, “not to respond to the prayer of His tenderly beloved children! Father John lived, breathed, and burned with this faith, especially when he celebrated the “world-saving” liturgy, as he put it. Here he was transformed, became bright and joyful. He realized and felt that he was making a Sacrifice that would save the whole world. When they sang “Crucified, O Christ our God, having trampled down death by death,” he quickly took the holy cross from the throne and kissed it repeatedly. Before pronouncing the words “take, eat” and “drink of it all,” as if hearing them from the lips of the Lord Himself, he preceded them with the words: “O dear one, O Thy sweetest voice!” When the moment of transubstantiation of the Holy Gifts took place, he solemnly said aloud, falling to his knees: “The great mystery of piety - God appeared in the flesh,” and another: “The Word became flesh and dwelt in us...” With this animated exclamation of the pastor-prayer, everyone felt that yes, indeed, the true Body of Christ reclines here on the throne. And when then Father John with both hands, with eyes full of tears, with the greatest tenderness took either the holy paten or the chalice and seemed to enthusiastically admire the contents in them, it was thought: yes, he truly receives communion as if from the hands of the Lord Himself, drinks the life-giving Blood as if from His most pure veins. This fiery belief in the life-giving power of the Holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood of the Lord explains the fact that Father John loved to give communion to people so much and, being a 75-year-old old man, he would stand for 3-4 hours to give communion to thousands of pilgrims. He called this - grafting barren branches onto the fruitful olive tree - Christ. A living faith in God pushed Father John into the world, among those unfortunate people whom the Lord was pleased to call His little brothers. Upon his acceptance of holy orders, Father John enters the circle of the so-called “posadsky”, tramps, former people who, through drunkenness and vices, have deprived themselves of the image of God. Out of pastoral compassion for them, he teaches them and does good to them: to whom he will give boots, to whom a coat, to whom money - to each according to his need. He is not guided by the calculations of cold philanthropy and does not analyze what led a person to the abyss, he helps everyone in need of a piece of bread, but he also lays the foundation for the most reasonable method of Christian charity: he establishes a House of Diligence in Kronstadt, which served as a prototype for houses of industriousness and workhouses that are now common throughout Russia. His feat was not limited to prayer and the ministry of the word. Returning to his home, often after a whole day's hard work among many people, when it seemed natural to give himself some rest, he sat down to write and poured out his most sincere thoughts and feelings about God and truth, about the Holy Church and the sacraments, about sin and grace, about the redemption of the human race. These are the diaries of Father John, diaries not in the sense of daily records of the external events of his life, but indicators of his internal growth, his struggles with the external man, his aspirations towards God. This is “Father John’s knowledge of God and self-knowledge, acquired from experience,” as he himself put it about his diaries. From them the famous essay of Father John “My Life in Christ” was subsequently compiled. It should be a reference book for every Christian, not only the admirer of the blessed Father. From the rough daily notes of Father John, one can see another feature of his feat: this is constant vigilance over himself, keeping himself in sight, Enoch’s “walking before God.” Noticing the slightest fall behind him, he immediately flagellates himself, mourns his sin and repents before the eyes of the All-Seeing Lord. Father John's continuous burning with faith, like the burning of a candle in front of an icon, constant self-judgment, life in Christ, sacrificing all of himself to the lesser brethren - all this created Father John. His works are the fruits of the spirit. Imagine them not as words, not even as qualities, but in living embodiment, and you will understand the Kronstadt shepherd. These are love, joy, peace, long-suffering, faith, meekness, self-control. Was Father John a miracle worker? “Who is the great God, like our God, You are God, You alone work miracles.” Only God can create a miracle. But Father John was the same as a miraculous icon: the Lord glorified it, before it believers fervently pray and receive healing from it. She seems to be especially prayed for and exudes healing. So is Father John: he himself is ardent with faith, he receives prayers from all sides for intercession before God. God's favor and human grief, sighing for God's help, met there, and God's mercy poured out abundantly through him on people. Father John himself was a miracle, as someone said well about him. In fact, isn’t it a miracle to gather thousands of people from all over Russia in our time of little faith, make them repent, cry about their sins, and pray to God for mercy? Isn't it a miracle that by his very appearance he can evoke the joy, admiration and hopes of thousands of people, wherever he appears? Isn’t it a miracle to found four monasteries, 74 not to mention many others who received help from Father John, prayerful and material, while the founding of one monastery is considered the best stone in the crown of the reverend fathers, the founders of monasteries? Isn’t it a miracle to receive 500-600 thousand a year from people who considered it happiness to sacrifice the hands of Father John for the building of churches, for the expansion of religious, educational and charitable activities, in favor of the poor? This is the kind of shepherd, dear brothers and sisters, we have lost in the person of Father John, we have lost and we bitterly mourn our loss! But let's not cry! He didn't die, but he's alive. God lives, the soul of the deceased lives. He moved to the Source of grace and, standing at the Throne of the Lord, will more effectively intercede for us before God. Today is a day of sorrow only for the outward person, but for the spirit it is a great holiday, a holiday of faith and the holy Orthodox Church. And I will say, I would like to say over your heads to all of Russia: You, blasphemers of the Holy Church, who say that the Church has outlived its time and must be replaced by other guiding principles of life! You who have eyes so as not to see, and ears so as not to hear, you who are blind in heart! Were you in Kronstadt yesterday to see the farewell of the one who, in Russia’s naval fortress, was its spiritual fortress? Did you see yesterday the meeting of the lifeless shepherd that the capital prepared for him? No, you closed your eyes. So come to this tomb and by our eyes moistened with tears, by our bursting hearts, find out what the Mother Church gave us, what kind of child she gave birth to and raised! My brothers and fellow shepherds! This is our holiday, the holiday of shepherding. Father John was the most complete and perfect embodiment of the ideal of the good shepherd, who laid down his soul for the sheep, by which the Lord Jesus Christ meant Himself. And if we want to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, if we want to lead people to perfection, to be the spiritual leaders of the people, we must follow the path of Father John, study his creations, imitate him in faith, and in piety, and in work, and patience, and in everything. Dear sisters of this holy monastery! You cry because you have lost your father and benefactor, you consider yourself orphaned! Don't cry! Now he is closer to you and will never leave you again. In it you acquired your abbot. His honorable remains will be with you; along with his remains, his immortal spirit will hover here. Go to his grave to pray, cry, repent of your sins, ask for his advice and guidance! Bring pilgrims to him too, who will go to him in uninterrupted succession! The folk trail will not be overgrown here. Dear brothers! We should consider ourselves happy that we were present at his burial. Let us remember his instructions, imitate his deep faith and holy life! And now let us all unite in one prayer, so that the Lord God will cleanse Father John from every speck of sin, make him whiter than snow and accept him into the host of celestial beings closest to His Throne, may Father John intercede at the Throne of the Heavenly King for Holy Rus', for the Orthodox Church, for the Tsar - the Anointed of God, whom he loved so dearly, for all of us, may he be glorified through his father John and through us the most honorable and The shepherd's words were interrupted several times by loud crying from those present in the church. The preacher himself spoke through tears. At three quarters past twelve the liturgy ended and the funeral service began, very touching, reserved only for clergy. In addition to the mentioned hierarchs, up to 60 priests and up to 20 deacons attended the funeral service; almost the same number were present as simple pilgrims due to lack of space and vestments. As soon as the touching and mournful words of the funeral chants were heard, wax candles began to light up like stars in the hands of worshipers throughout the church. The crying of the worshipers mixed with the prayerful cries of the archpastors and shepherds. “Rest with the Saints” was sung on knees by all those present at the funeral service along with the choir. During the funeral service, “Immaculate” was read by His Eminence Kirill, and the canon was read by Archpriest F. Ornatsky. After a touching final farewell to the deceased by the Metropolitan and the clergy, the open coffin with the body of the deceased was carried out by the hands of the priests from the upper church to the lower church-burial vault. It is difficult to convey the grief of the nuns at the sight of this removal. They all cried bitterly. Many lost consciousness. The pallbearers cried, and everyone who stood in the way of the sad procession cried. Many bitter tears were shed in the most remote places of Russia at the news of the death of the ever-memorable shepherd. However, these tears, abundantly shed at the tomb of Father John, had a different meaning than the tears shed at the tomb of a simple mortal man. Present at the funeral of Father John V.M. Skortsov sets out his impressions, among other things, in the following words: “During the entire liturgy and funeral service, you felt that you were standing at the coffin of not that close, dear, but a simple mortal, whose unknown fate behind the coffin oppresses the soul with a thrill of horror and despair. No, at the tomb of Father John there was no place for this usual horror or disgust for a dead body; you wanted to stand and pray for a long, long time, you wanted, when saying goodbye, to kiss again and again, as happened during life, these seemingly chilled, dried out, but not deadened, not swollen, as usually happen, hands of the dead... The face of the deceased, like a clergyman, was covered with air, but the priest who laid the crown on the forehead of the deceased, the confessor of Father John, told us that the face, as at his death, was completely calm; the eyes are slightly opened, and the pupils are directed upward, as if praying. And this feeling of living connection and inextricability of unity in love and faith with the dear deceased was even more tangibly imprinted in the heart there, in the lower church near the marble tomb, where the coffin with the remains of the dear Father was lowered at 2:15 on December 23.” We make a brief description of the church-tomb. The entrance to the tomb leads from the main vestibule to the right along the corridor, not reaching the doors of the Church of St. John of Rylsky. From the small platform where candles are sold, there is a wide staircase of 16–18 steps going down. Here, in the dungeon, under the mighty arches supporting the entire colossal building of the church, a church of wonderful beauty was built. All walls, pillars, columns and ceilings are covered with polished white marble slabs or made to look like marble. The church is small, occupying only 35–40 square fathoms and very low, only about 3 arshins in the highest places. The entire iconostasis is carved from white marble, with wonderful decoration, designed in the Russian-Byzantine style. A mass of electric light bulbs floods the entire church with light, reflecting in the snow-white marble walls. This church, like the entire monastery, was built according to the plan and instructions of the architect H.H. Nikonova. Marble work was carried out by A.A. Barinov, and all the icons were painted by the famous artist F.K. Platonov. In front of the iconostasis on the right side is the tomb of Father John. The walls and floor of the tomb consist of continuous solid slabs of white marble. Behind the slabs of marble is a solid frame made of thick boiler iron. The walls of the grave rise half an arshin above the floor of the church; they are also covered with marble. Two inches of fine sand was sprinkled at the bottom of the grave, and the coffin was placed on the sand. The coffin is not buried in the ground, but is covered only with a massive marble slab. The church-tomb was consecrated, as already said, on December 21 in the name of the holy prophet Elijah and the holy queen Theodora - the names of Father and Mother of Father. In this wonderful, white and bright church, corresponding to the bright personality of dear Father, he now rests in a peaceful sleep. From the very first day after the burial, a real pilgrimage of St. Petersburg residents and many visiting pilgrims began here. Already in the morning, busy traffic begins daily along the sparsely populated Karpovskaya embankment from Kamennoostrovsky Prospekt to the monastery: every now and then carriages and cabbies pass by, ordinary people walk in groups. In the tomb, from morning to evening, the service of memorial services at the tomb is continuously performed. The singing of the choir of nuns is beautiful. Thousands of pilgrims go to the tomb of Father, as if to their living comforter, healer and mentor. They go not only to offer prayers for the repose of his pure soul “in a bright place, in a green place, in a place of peace, in the bosom of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,” but they also hope to receive the consolation of Christ here and get rid of all sorrow, anger and need. The amazing activity of Father John of Kronstadt has long attracted general sympathy for him and spread fame about him - about his kindness and the power of his prayer, in all layers of the population from the royal chambers to the wretched corners of the poor. Himself a deeply religious man, Father had a great gift from God - to strengthen people’s faith and inspire hope. His prayer brought him back to his feet and often healed such sick people for whom doctors could no longer provide any help. Numerous cases of healings through the prayers of Father John became generally known and were attested in the press. The name of the deceased, as a wonderful spiritual doctor, attracted countless numbers of pilgrims from everywhere to Kronstadt. The belief that Father John could beg God for forgiveness of sins was their guiding star to Kronstadt. This same faith now directs Father’s admirers to his dear grave. Priest John Albov. Memorable days of my life (From memories of the funeral of Father John of Kronstadt) With what irresistible power and brightness the truth of these prophetic words was reflected in the death and burial of the ever-memorable shepherd Father John of Kronstadt. Whoever had the good fortune to be at his tomb on the day of his burial, for him the mystery of Christian death was, as it were, clearly resolved already in the sacrament of resurrection. The words became deeply understandable: “The stairway to heaven is the coffin...” Three years have already passed since the death of Father John, and the impressions of his coffin live in my soul with irresistible brightness, and I want to share them. Moreover, I would like to share that I got to the burial of Father John quite unexpectedly, “by some kind of miracle,” in popular parlance. Three days before the death of Father John, I see a dream that is unusually vivid in the strength of the experience and the clarity of the impression. We are at the altar with Father John, and he generously gives me communion from the Holy Chalice of the Holy Blood in the same way that a bishop usually gives communion to priests during the liturgy. And at the same time he treats me so tenderly, so lovingly, tells me such wonderful words of consolation that I woke up completely under the impression of this dream and began to think what the dream meant. He was completely unexpected. I had not seen Father John for several years before. I knew nothing about the worsening of his illness. True, 10-8 years ago I had to serve the liturgy with Father John 2-3 times. Once he was with me and had dinner... But that was so long ago. Why now this unusually vivid dream? “It’s true that Father John remembered me for some reason,” I thought and calmed down. On the third day I learn that Father John has died. On the day his body was transported to St. Petersburg, I firmly decided to go say goodbye to the good shepherd, that is, to go into the church of the Ioannovsky Monastery for a few minutes, bow at his coffin and give the last kiss to the deceased. I didn’t even take my robe with me, thinking that they would serve there only by appointment or by special invitation. I'm going. Kamennoostrovsky Avenue is full of people. And the closer to Karpovka, the thicker the crowd. All the streets along which the procession with the body of Father John walked from the Baltic Station to the Ioannovsky Monastery were also full. And for hours the people stood on the street under the wet snow, in reverent silence, waiting for their beloved shepherd. But it was necessary to see the surprised, distorted with anger individual faces of some people riding on the tram, observing these huge crowds of people. These are obviously those who thought that the glory of Father John was buried by their malicious slanderous words. I'm moving on. At the turn to Karpovka, where the monastery is located, there is a strong police presence, and no one is allowed through without a ticket. I approach the crowd of policemen and say: I'm moving on. The second police outpost. They say: - Oh, that’s impossible, impossible. No one is allowed to enter without a ticket. “I’m a priest,” I answer, “look: I’m wearing a priest’s cross.” - All the same, father, we can’t, we can’t... Go back and ask the bailiff. “But they already let me through there,” I say. Now I walked unhindered through two more outposts. I enter the church. The nuns and novices of the monastery sit on the stairs, starting with the youngest, two on each step, and with sad faces they wait for “their” Father. Finally I'm at the altar. We wait for 2-3 hours, and at about 9 o’clock in the evening the sad procession approaches, and the religious procession enters the church. All of us who were waiting in the church are standing with burning candles in our hands. The coffin with the body of Father John is brought in, and the church is filled with loud sobs of the sisters of the monastery. The all-night vigil begins - parastas. The Most Reverend Micah, Bishop of Arkhangelsk, is serving. The nuns sing. I really wanted to take part in the service. But no vestments. The monastic ones have all been dismantled. But one priest, who came with the religious procession, will not go to the litiya and gave me his vestments. Let's go to lithium. His Eminence Micah and about 20 priests, all who came voluntarily. But what kind of service is this? The songs are sad, but the mood is reverent and festive. There is something reminiscent of bright matins. And the further the service goes, the more this festive mood grows and rises. Some kind of grace-filled power emanates from the tomb and fills the hearts of those present with unearthly joy, as if it inspires them, elevates them, frees them from something. It is felt, tactilely felt that a righteous man lies in the tomb. Having been at his coffin, there was no doubt about it. Some kind of spiritual fragrance emanated from his coffin, and it was spiritual, not material, not perceived by smell, but felt by the spirit... Now I could no longer leave until the end of the service. I again went out in vestments into the middle of the church at “Immaculate.” A familiar feeling of grace fills my soul, and at first I prayed for the deceased, then the need to pray at his tomb for others appears. I began to mentally remember loved ones and acquaintances, living and deceased, especially sick people who asked to pray for them, and there was confidence that through his prayers God would accept our prayers. This wonderful service is over. The clergy went to venerate the deceased - and again this feeling of grace-filled power. The all-night vigil ended at one o'clock in the morning. I didn’t want to leave the church. I wanted to stay there all night. And many remained. I'm leaving. A huge crowd of thousands of people is waiting in line to be allowed into the church to say goodbye to Father John. All night long people filled the church one by one. Requiem services were served all night. Then the early, then the late liturgy... The all-night vigil was so good that I decided to definitely attend the liturgy and funeral service and begged Mother Superior for a ticket. “Only two tickets left,” Mother Angelina told me, handing me one of them. The next day I was in time for the funeral service. I enter the altar. I'm getting dressed. Metropolitan Anthony and a whole host of clergy are serving. And again the feeling familiar from yesterday fills the soul. The closer to the end of the service, the stronger and stronger it becomes. When I approached the tomb to kiss the hand of the good shepherd, a feeling of grace filled my entire soul. And, kissing Father John for the last time, I already prayed to him in my soul with the words of the prophet Elisha to the prophet Elijah: “Father! Give me some of your spirit! Give your fiery faith, your bold prayer, your all-encompassing love for people, your tender affection for everyone...” And I vividly, tangibly felt that the spirit of the righteous was soaring and graciously embracing all those gathered. One more minute. They lifted the coffin, the church was filled with the sobs of the sisters of the monastery. And they carried away the body of the righteous man. Together with others, I carried this coffin. He was already precious to me. Here we are in the crypt, in the new, just consecrated, tomb church, which all shines with white marble and electricity. Lithium is being performed. They sealed the lid of the coffin and placed it in a tomb built on the floor of the church. Loving hands threw sand on top of the coffin, which was soon taken apart “as a keepsake” by those present. And the top of the tomb was covered with a metal board. Even after his death, Father John remained in body with the people, who during his lifetime were always so close to him. For several days and nights I was completely filled with the feeling that I experienced in the church at his tomb. For the first time in my life, I tangibly experienced and felt the living connection of the deceased righteous man with us who still remained here. How many times during this time have I been to the peaceful white tomb of Father John. And every time it was filled with people to the point of crowding, and the people were always touched and touched. What attracts people here? What touches him? It was no longer possible to explain this phenomenon by some selfish deeds, as some had explained before. No. Here there was only selfless love for the deceased shepherd and faith in his righteousness, in the power of his prayer beyond the grave. And then my soul felt warm. It was obvious that the Orthodox Church was alive, truly alive, and was held together by its inner, independent spiritual power, from no one or anything, by the power of faith, hope, and love. The life of the Russian folk spirit flows here with a living spring in its most cherished hiding places, the hiding places of faith in the resurrection, in the life of the next century, in the absolute truth of God. ...And there is no sadness at his tomb, but there is a breath of peace and consolation. Our immortality is felt more clearly, the dawn of our resurrection shines brighter, and over the shepherd lying here, the word of the Savior seems to be clearly fulfilled: The Kotlin newspaper, starting from November 28, 1904 and ending on February 6, 1905, reports daily on the state of Father’s health, printing the Highest telegrams to him in Nos. 288 and 289 for 1904, and official bulletins of doctors, and the impressions of people who visited the patient. Father John’s letter to the editor of the newspaper “Kotlin” and the article “The Dying Woman from the Schism” were published in No. 17 of the newspaper (dated January 22) for 1905, apparently immediately after Father John sent them to the editor; in the writings of Father John himself, the said letter and article are placed at the end of the Collection of Words for 1904. pp. 138–141. Precisely the archpriests: Preobrazhensky, Brilliantov, Popov, the priests: Vinogradov, Petrovsky, Vertogradsky and Shildsky. “Vyatka gave me mint,” Father John allegedly used to say. Father John was in Vyatka in the summer of 1904. Arriving on the evening of June 16 from Kotlas, he stayed there on June 17 and 18 and served the liturgy both days and traveled from house to house at the invitation of institutions and private residents in order “in one place to bless a family for a good life, in another to lay a hand on the head of a suffering patient, in a third to calm the restless spirit of the unfortunate, in another to give good and timely advice in spiritual life.” Everywhere from house to house, from end to end of the city, crowds of people hurried after Father’s carriage (Vyatka Diocesan Gazette. 1904. No. 14, department. Unofficial: “Father John Ilyich Sergiev (Kronstadt) in the city of Vyatka.” P. S. 811–814). If it is true that the fanatics “crushed” Father John in Vyatka with the evil intention of harming his health, then they could have done this on the said visit of Father John, and not on another. According to the stories of people known to me, it turns out that after the first case of savagery against Father in Vyatka, he recovered, and after the second case of a savage attack, more cruel, which took place five months later in Petrograd (November 24), Father became seriously ill, could not recover and suffered until his death. Chronicle of the Seraphim-Diveevo Monastery / Comp. priest L. Chichagov. M., 1896. pp. 83–86. Metropolitan's Long Catechism Philaret (Drozdov), about the 9th commandment of beatitude. This incident took place in Petrograd at the beginning of March 1898: it was described in the newspaper “Kievlyanin” (No. 74 of March 15). It turns out that after him Father John did not serve for several days due to a tumor in his hand. Chronicle of the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery. P. 87. There was a rumor in Kronstadt that Father took the word from some people close to him that they would not talk about the incident of attack on him. Quoted from the memoirs of psalmist Ioann Alekseev. – Ed. Father John of Kronstadt. Publishing house of the Russian People's Union named after Michael the Archangel. 1909. pp. 35–38. For this reason - to avoid accidents - Father John probably never took part in religious processions. More than once I had to serve the early liturgy only with Father John alone; there were no other priests serving with Father. Archpriest Dimitry Gavrilovich Lyubimov, a sincere admirer of Father, who often came to see him in Kronstadt in 1905–1908, told me about the same service of the liturgy together. In gratitude for deliverance from danger, the next day (the 27th) in the evening, I served a prayer service in the corridor of our house at the request and in the presence of the prison guards and all our family members, and advised them to introduce the custom of serving such a prayer service annually. I don’t know whether my advice is being implemented or not at the present time. An eyewitness who was on the pier at the time of Father’s departure, now priest S.P. Preobrazhensky, told me about this. This was Maria Sergeevna Olkhina, the widow of an artillery lieutenant general, who held the position of chief from 1863 to 1903, now deceased. By invitation, her father John visited the institute no less than four times, and each time a water-blessing prayer service was served in her apartment in the hall. At Father’s request, ministers with their wives and children gathered for the prayer service. “Let them come too,” said Father John, “perhaps next time they will not have to pray with me.” Pupils along with the class ladies came to the boss’s apartment to venerate the cross and receive sprinkling with holy water from Father. This gift of Father John turned out to be extremely useful to me, as a teacher of the law, especially the first book, containing the wonderful exemplary speeches Father John said at prayer services in the Kronstadt men's gymnasium. With a feeling of deep gratitude to dear Father, I re-read them when, due to my duty as a teacher of the law, I have to speak before services either in the institute church or in the men's gymnasium. In the fall of 1905, it was 50 years since the wedding of Ivan Ilyich Sergiev with the daughter of the Kronstadt archpriest Elizaveta Konstantinovna Nesvitskaya. Mother Elizaveta Konstantinovna died, as far as I remember, in May 1909, four months after the death of Father John. So, having arrived at the funeral service for the body of Archpriest P. P. Preobrazhensky, who died on October 19, 1905, Father John read the first Gospel and immediately, unmasked, left the church. I heard from Mother Eupraxia in the Ioannovsky Monastery on December 20, 1914. Her interesting memories of Father should be written down and published. “The Lord sent me His mercy!” - Father John spoke about his illness to Bishop Evdokim, who came to Kronstadt a year before the death of Father (from the speech of Archbishop Evdokim “Father John at the bedside of the sick,” said on December 21, 1914 at a solemn meeting in memory of Father John). Parastas is a funeral all-night vigil held in the church on the eve of burial. Now the Archbishop of Tambov and Shatsky, a native of Kronstadt, in the world Father Konstantin Smirnov, who at one time served as rector of the Kronstadt cemetery church. Of course, the monasteries of Ioannovsky in St. Petersburg, Sursky in the homeland of Father John, Vorontsovsky in the Pskov province and Vaulovsky monastery near Rybinsk.