Преосвященный Феофан и полковник С. А. Первухин в их взаимной переписке

Figure 10. Journal "Proceedings of the Imperial Kiev Theological Academy" 1915, January On the centenary of the birth of Bishop Feofan “Proceedings of the Imperial Kyiv Theological Academy” January. 1915 [41] January 10, 1915 marked the centenary of the birth of the 149th famous reclusive ascetic, learned theologian, tireless man of prayer, responsive to all the needy and burdened, the Right Reverend Theophan, former Bishop of Vladimir. The name of the deceased saint in God, dear to all Orthodox Russian people, should be especially dear to our Kiev, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, the Kiev Theological Academy, the Kiev-Sophia Theological School and to all the people of Kiev who knew the deceased. The Right Reverend Theophan received his education at the Kyiv Theological Academy, graduating from the course in 1841 with a master's degree in theology. Student G.V. Govorov (the saint’s secular name) very often went on pilgrimage to the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, and here he was ordained a hierodeacon (in the same 1841) with the name Theophan. Hieromonk Theophan's first ministry, after completing his academic course, was at the Kiev-Sophia Theological School as a school superintendent. The short-term service of Hieromonk Theophan in this school 150 did not cool his love for Kyiv. He maintained a spiritual connection with Kiev and the people of Kiev, corresponding from time to time with his comrade, then with one of the archpriests 151, then with Colonel S. A. Pervukhin. While in seclusion for 20 years, Bishop Theophan maintained a lively and continuous correspondence with everyone who turned to him for clarification of various spiritual and moral issues. “From all over Russia,” says Archpriest M. Khitrov, “letters flew to the Vyshenskaya hermitage - expressing spiritual and physical sorrows, with bitter complaints about untruths, about worldly vanity, about spiritual longing. From 20 to 40 letters were received daily, and the saint hastened to answer each letter. And his answers were a true healing balm for sorrowful souls. He sensitively tried to guess the spiritual need of the writer and spared no effort, thoroughly and cordially explaining all questions and perplexities. The letters of His Eminence Theophan are a true treasure. Once you start reading his correspondence, you won’t soon tear yourself away from the inspired pages. What freshness and elegance of style, what an amazing wealth of all kinds of comparisons, what simplicity and cordiality is reflected everywhere, in every letter” 152. In view of the importance of the letters of the Right Reverend Theophan, they began to be published during the life of the saint and, no doubt, under his supervision, and after his death, many admirers rushed to share the precious letters of their dear bishop. These letters were published on the pages of the “Tambov Diocesan Gazette”, “Soulful Reading” (mostly), “Sunday Reading”, etc. The letters of St. Theophan accumulated so much that the Athos Panteleimon Monastery published VIII issues (with a separate index to them) until 1902. But among these already published letters of the Right Reverend Theophan there are no letters from him to the colonel who lived in Kyiv, S.A. Pervukhin, which we, in view of the 100th anniversary of the saint’s birth, decide to publish 153. Who was this colonel, whom Saint Theophan honored with his attention and with whom he corresponded for almost 23 years? Semyon Afanasyevich Pervukhin was born on January 10, 1815. It is significant that the year, month and day of Pervukhin’s birth coincided with the day, month and year of birth of His Eminence Theophan, whom Pervukhin subsequently treated with the deepest respect and reverence and from whom he received the most favorable letters. Pervukhin came from the nobility of the Petrograd province and was brought up in the cadet corps; he entered the service in 1833; from 1862 he was in charge of the inspection of weapons in the troops of the Kyiv Military District; in 1872 he retired due to illness 154. It was not for nothing that Pervukhin enjoyed the special attention of His Eminence Theophan. He was a deeply religious man, sincerely religious and possessed great knowledge in spiritual literature. He read many books of religious and moral content, mainly from the holy fathers, and the works of Bishop Theophan himself, which he received from the saint. He traveled to many monasteries, Eastern and Russian, living there for several weeks and taking a closer look at the local order 155. In 1873, he was in the Vyshenskaya Hermitage, where he had a long conversation with His Eminence Theophan 156. According to the review of Archpriest E.V. Skripchinsky, who knew Pervukhin closely, Pervukhin “from his very young years of military service was distinguished by a high understanding of his duty and a strict attitude towards the performance of his duties. He saw the discrepancy between the lives of his comrades and the demands of Christian and official duty and kept himself apart from his comrades. He suffered a lot of troubles and grief from this. His comrades valued and respected him, but did not love him. Semyon Afanasyevich’s honest mood was also known to his superiors, who often gave him important instructions to carry out inspection audits, in the confidence that everything would be done carefully and conscientiously, and these instructions caused Semyon Afanasyevich considerable new grief and trouble. And so his entire service passed. At the beginning of it, he even thought about retiring and finding shelter somewhere in a quiet monastery, which would have been more consistent with his mood, but still decided to continue to serve, abandoning his intention to enter a monastery, if God judges, in the future. Military service ended; Semyon Afanasyevich retired. Now free, he began to get to know the monasteries even more closely, visited many monasteries, living there for a long time. He collected a large library of books of patristic writings and spiritual content in general, he re-read many, marking some places with a pencil in the margins, and there are a lot of such notes; He especially read a lot from the works of the Right Reverend Theophan; some books of the Philokalia were his reference books. From his own funds, Semyon Afanasyevich helped the poor a lot, distributing to them what he could, quite generously, a mite” 157. At the end of his life, Pervukhin lived in the hotel of the St. Michael's Monastery, constantly attending services and often receiving the Holy Mysteries of Christ. He died on November 26, 1892, that is, a little over a year before the death of Bishop Feofan. The death of S. A. Pervukhin, according to the testimony of his confessor, Archimandrite Mitrofan, and Archpriest E. Skripchinsky, was truly Christian. During his illness, before his death, they performed anointing of oil on him twice. The funeral service for S. A. Pervukhin was performed on November 28 by the senior clergy of the St. Michael's Monastery with the participation of the Vasilievsky clergy in the church at the monastery hotel; his body was interred according to his will in the Transfiguration Skete in the brotherly cemetery. The correspondence between S. A. Pervukhin and the Right Reverend Feofan occurred, one might say, by accident and lasted about 23 years; it began at the end of 1869 and ended in 1892 158. The reason for the correspondence between S. A. Pervukhin and His Eminence Feofan was the following circumstance. In 1863, in our spiritual literature, the opinion about the corporeality of our soul and angels was lively discussed. “This year,” says the Eminence Theophan, “the Word on Death 159 appeared in print - a much instructive word, in which, however, opinions were expressed, by the way, little known in the Christian world, such as, for example, the opinion about a certain corporeality of the nature of the soul and angels. In the “Wanderer” of 1863, for the month of September, brief but powerful notes were made on this news. These notes gave rise to counter-notes, which became a separate book under the title: “Addition to the Word on Death” 160. The purpose of the “Addition” was to collect more evidence for all the criticized thoughts of the “Tale on Death” and especially for the opinion about the corporeality of the nature of the soul and angels. I cannot say whether anyone examined this evidence. But it is clear that the idea of ​​a certain corporeality of the nature of the soul and angels was accepted and seemed to someone to be very firmly proven. Having entered into a dispute with spiritualists, he rebelled against Kardec, who recognizes that the soul has a thin material shell, in favor of Pierard, who insists that this is the soul, which Kardec recognizes as a shell: the soul is an ethereal body, and nothing more. To give more weight to his defense of Pierard, the author added that his opinion was finally proven in our country, namely, in the mentioned articles. That’s why the desire was born to see if it was accurately proven. I looked through all the testimony and presentation of articles in favor of this view down to the smallest detail and nowhere did I discover any support for it, but on the contrary, wherever the articles thought they would find confirmation of their thought, I encountered positions completely opposite to it. I present the result of my research to the attention of lovers of spiritual reading, who, if they do not get bored of going through them, will be convinced that this news - the corporeality of the soul and angels - has not been proven at all, but that in the old way the ancient truth remains fully proven and immutable, that the soul and angel are not corporeal, but a pure spirit" 161 . “I consider it my duty to present that, rebelling against the articles shown, I do not touch the person of the author, whom I deeply respect, and will speak only with his teachings” 162. After such a preface, Bishop Theophan sets out his opinion on this issue in an article, which was first published in the “Tambov Diocesan Gazette”, and then, in a corrected and expanded form, reprinted in “Home Conversation” for 1869 under the title: “The soul and angel are not something corporeal, but pure spirit” 163. S. A. Pervukhin, who stood close to the monastic world and vigilantly followed spiritual literature, drew attention to the opinion of Bishop Ignatius in his “Tale on Death”, and became acquainted with the article of the Right Reverend Theophan, written in refutation of this opinion. Having learned from the Kyiv archpriest N.I. Florinsky about the whereabouts of Bishop Feofan, S.A. Pervukhin entered into correspondence with him. S. A. Pervukhin’s first letter to His Eminence Feofan was written on December 27, 1869. In it, Pervukhin expresses the reason why he decided to disturb the saint. “Having read,” he writes, your articles in “Home Conversation” about the incorporeality of the soul and angels and the order of a godly life, I came to the conviction that the personality of Your Eminence is a rare phenomenon 164, that you possess not only scientific knowledge learned from books, as we usually find in almost all scientists, but that your mind, overshadowed by grace, learned about many Christian truths through your own attention and reflection, that you are familiar with the matter of asceticism not only through reading, but also through experience. At the same time, you seem to me like a light-illumined doer of the Gospel commandments, whom I would consider to be a great acquisition and joy to see and with whom to personally talk about many things.” So aptly and correctly Pervukhin described Bishop Theophan, having become acquainted only with his writings and having learned about this saint from the Kyiv archpriest N. Florinsky 165. Not wanting to accept monasticism for various reasons, Pervukhin, in the same letter to St. Theophan, expresses the desire to “settle near some desert monastery, just to be away from the world and not see its vanity” 166. He especially wanted to settle near the Vyshenskaya monastery, so that he could from time to time benefit from the enlightened and gracious conversation of the bishop. After these introductory discussions, Pervukhin moves on to the main subject of his letter about the spirituality of the soul of man and angels. Based on Holy Scripture and the Holy Fathers, the author distinguishes two substances in a person - body and soul, then discusses the essence of the soul and its manifestation, the form of the soul and the angel 167. Eminence Theophan also responded to this extensive letter from Pervukhin (more than 50 pages) with a rather long letter with the following content. 536. About the desire to leave the service. What form do Angels have and how do they appear? About the desire to leave the service and move away from people. About the spirituality of the nature of the soul and Angels. What form do Angels have and how do they appear? God's mercy be with you! Your letter found me a little sick; why the answer was delayed day by day. Meanwhile, the illness grew and required removal from the monastery for treatment. Here the answer is delayed until his return. I went to Tambov and have just returned, and I hasten to fulfill my duty towards you, asking for an apology that I may have bothered you by not answering for so long. You have been working for the Lord for thirty years now - and of course, your labors are not in vain! That's right, they got stronger; The strong must serve humanity. Leave the service if circumstances require it, why not leave it; but to completely move away from people - for what? For a beginner who is just abandoning the bad path, this is beneficial, but for someone who has worked as much as you, who has been tested and learned so much, it is necessary to move among weak people and help them with your experiences: for this too is God’s gift, which must be put into circulation. My thought, therefore, is not to run away into some desert, but to live among people in cities or villages with the goal of serving them in their moral needs - to teach whom to reason, to whom to console, to whom to strengthen - everything as God sends and arranges. – In deserts there is inaction, it will bore those who are accustomed to activity; You can also have temporary solitude in the city. “The best thing is to surrender yourself into the hand of God and take a closer look at how His holy will will please you to arrange your way of life after leaving public service.” “But I cannot approve that you intend to settle near me.” You make the worst choice. There will be no shortage of temptations from my bad and careless life. The speeches are sometimes tolerable; and as for matters - God forbid. That’s why I went into the desert, so as not to ruin Christian souls with my sickness, and so that those who don’t know me would at least use a word, in the hope that the Lord would not take pity on me, and whether at least at the end of my life would give me a spirit of repentance to cleanse my sins - both great and countless. Your thoughts about the soul and Angels follow. The main idea about the spirituality of the nature of the soul and Angels is absolutely correct and is solidly proven by you. But thoughts about the form of the soul and Angels would be better to put aside. It’s better to say this: they are spirit, but I don’t know how they are. Discussions about form obscure the thought of spirituality. A spirit that has an extended form, an ultimate, an outline, subject to three dimensions - length, width and height - what kind of spirit?! - If it is like that, you can cut it into two, into 10 and into 1000 parts, and into as many as you want. – Is three-dimensional extension conceivable without divisible parts? And is the spirit divisible conceivable? Consequently, these concepts are not combined in the same being. If it is spirit, then it is not extended, and if something is extended, then it is not spirit. Then, St. The fathers who wrote about the soul and Angels avoided the thought of extension in every possible way, and clearly stated that souls and Angels do not have three extensions. So it is with Athanasius, Gregory of Nyssa, John of Damascus and Maximus the Confessor. Their opinions are given in the article you read. – Take away three dimensions, what remains? – A point – and this is something formless, without any limit or outline. Outlining involves the movement of a point or several points, rather than just one. - If you agree to recognize the form of a point for souls and Angels - formless, for lack of coming up with something more suitable - then I, for my part, will not contradict you. And this can put an end to the reasoning. It remains to decide how they appear in extended form and act on material objects? – The best solution: as God has determined for them, so they act and appear. We have one problem - the habit of documenting everything. Whatever you talk about, everything is inserted into the form. And we cannot reason about God in a formless way, no matter how much we interpret to ourselves that this should not be the case. We can't help ourselves here. One thing remains: to command yourself imperiously - do not dare to transfer spatial form into the spiritual world. This form is for the material world; for the spiritual there is some other one. Although you cannot completely renounce this form when thinking even about the spiritual world and even about God, believe that this category is not applicable there. We will write and sign this decree: we have listened and are committed to fulfillment. However, there will be many people who will not give any force to this decree and will refuse to carry it out. It is difficult to imagine a soul or an Angel other than how they are. Ask, who, when talking about them, does not imagine them like that?! – And I always do this; true, both you and everyone else. – I confess that it often occurs to me that I should give in to those who give the soul and Angels a subtly material shell. Then all confusion regarding the form will be resolved by itself. The nature of the soul and Angels will be spirit - a conscious, free-reasonable force; and the ethereal shell will be an appendage to this nature, given for the sake of the need for them to appear and act among the material world. – You are unfair to this view, considering it absurd. It is not alien to some Church Fathers either. And St. Maximus the Confessor, condemning those who considered the soul and the Angel to be a body, says, however: it is another thing to have a body, and another to be a body. He seems to be saying that the Angel is not a body, but has a body; at least he does not condemn such a thought. – And I am of the opinion that if we cannot renounce form when imagining the soul and the Angel, then it will be much more rational to recognize them as clothed in a subtle body, rather than recognizing them as spirit, at the same time admitting and proving that they also have a form, extended by nature: for in the latter there is a contradiction to itself, and in the former there is nothing of this. You have well proven that the soul and the Angel are spirit; but that, being such, they also have a form, has not been proven. – Your first proof turns the law of thinking, or not a law, but a custom and habit, into a law of being. This is illegal. Moreover, this matter is not expressed that way in your case. We cannot think of anything without an icon, without some feature that signifies and distinguishes the conceivable object. Thought places an icon on the most abstract ideal objects and represents them under this icon. Even when we think about God and His properties, she does the same. – But this is far from the form that you want to give to the soul and the Angel. – Now, you can’t get anything out of this to your advantage. – And if you insist that it is possible... then I will conclude that God also has a form. And you can’t be crossed. – Your second proof is from Scripture. There is a spiritual body and there is a spiritual body - what does it mean - take the trouble to read from St. Chrysostom. The place is all about the resurrection and the state of the bodies of that time. Now we have a spiritual body, and there will be a spiritual one. – Zlat[oust] explains why this will happen. And you indulged in allegory. Your body is shaped. Is it legal?! I will also say that if we distance ourselves from St. We will begin to interpret the fathers in our own way; then you are losing the battlefield... The spiritual body is the body with which the soul is clothed, the spiritual body is the body with which the Angel is clothed. Both are ethereal and subtle. Angel's is lighter; for he is higher, the soul has less light, for it is lower. Isn’t it better to agree to the recognition of the ethereal shell of the soul and the Angel? – Agree: there will be no damage. – You take the second guidance from Scripture from the fact that Angels go everywhere spreading good, and demons spreading evil. This is true, but your conclusion is incorrect. You conclude that it is impossible that, being in different places, Angels should not be embraced by space, described... shaped. - Take the trouble to look at St. Damascus, like Angels, exist in a certain place, and be convinced that from this it is impossible to deduce the spatial forms of the angelic nature. - Moreover, in your opinion, it turns out that the form of Angels is something accidental in them, coming from outside, on the occasion of their appearance in a certain place: this place imposes a form on them. – On my own behalf, I will add to explain how the soul and the Angel exist in any place: they exist just as God exists somewhere. God is everywhere, not by extension of nature, but is everywhere, completely, in every place. So - just as God is in a certain place, so there is an Angel and a soul in it. The difference is that the soul and the Angel exist only in this place, but God is not only in this place, but in every place. – If we really don’t want to lag behind the form, agree to recognize the shell: here now both spatial form and movement will appear, and everything will be fine. What form do Angels have? - This, you say, we cannot say. But if we cannot say, then we cannot say that this form is not similar to the form of a person. And you resolutely deny this. - Is it legal?! – Moreover, we are not talking about Angels alone, but also about souls. “It is most fitting for the soul to have the ordinary form of a human being.” But if it suits her, why deny it to the Angels? “We can’t think of a better form, like the human form.” Why, if we have already gone into forms, it is most natural to represent the Angels under this form, especially since they have always appeared in this form. - Only again, if you agree to this, or do not want to lag behind the formality, recognize the shell - light, clean, and give it any shape you like, just the most beautiful form of a person. What are Angels like? – You decide: they are given the ability to change. The immaterial spirit will change and take on a material form, materially acting, tangible - what does this look like? – Spirit changes into matter?!! - This means ceasing to be a spirit. No, if you admit that an Angel is a pure spirit, then you cannot explain his appearance otherwise than by admitting that he takes on a body by chance for a while. – If you don’t want this, recognize that he is constantly clothed with an etheric body, which can, by the will of God, change as he wants and as needed. “Then there will be something to modify into material forms.” But thinking about changing the spirit is not in the order of things. – The example of mirages is taken poorly, firstly, they are a reflection from material objects, and the Angel is a spirit; secondly, a mirage is a play of rays of light, and not a special creature; An angel is a special, active being. Therefore, nothing can be borrowed from them to explain the appearance of Angels. “It’s better, as I’ve mentioned more than once, that you agree to recognize the shell.” Then the image of the appearance of Angels and departed souls will not present any difficulty. The path you have chosen, to defend the form of souls and Angels, as you see, is inconvenient and dangerous. Therefore, it is better to leave him alone. And if you don’t want to leave this subject untouched, then it is much better to recognize the etheric body of Angels and souls. - Some saints admitted this. Fathers; This conveniently explains all the questions about the place, manner of appearance and form of Angels and souls, and their relations with each other and with us. Meanwhile, the spirituality of the nature of the Angels and souls themselves remains inviolable. – And then no one will argue with you. One of my friends used to say: “Well, they started arguing, there will be no end. That’s what we studied for!” And it's true. You will always find something against it. – Whatever, however, if anything presents itself to you, write. – The main thing you have decided is spirituality. Side issues may remain unresolved. But it is a pity that they are resolved partly in such a way that they shake the main position 168. Then peace be with you! – May the Lord bless you to follow the straight path to Him – our Only Savior. I wish you all the best from the Lord. Received March 28, 1870 169 Having received a very detailed and favorable letter from Bishop Theophan (March 28, 1870), S. A. Pervukhin began to conduct a lively correspondence with him, which continued almost until Pervukhin’s death. To our deep regret, some of the response letters of the Right Reverend Theophan were not found after the death of Pervukhin, and we are deprived of the opportunity to follow step by step the correspondence of the great saint with the pious, educated layman 170. Since His Eminence Theophan attached great importance to Pervukhin’s letters and sometimes (as we will see below) asked his opinions on certain religious and moral issues, we will, as necessary, briefly present the contents of Pervukhin’s letters. In a letter dated April 10, 1870, Pervukhin, congratulating Bishop Feofan on the feast of the Resurrection of Christ, expresses “deepest gratitude” for sending him “as a gift” 5 books received from the Right Reverend through the “pious” Archpriest Fr. N.I. Florinsky, and for the bishop’s response letter to him. At the same time, Pervukhin expresses sincere regret that he is deprived of the opportunity to respond in detail to Bishop Feofan’s letter, since he is going “on his usual business trip for three months, and perhaps more, to inspect weapons in the troops of the Kyiv district.” The books of the Right Reverend Theophan and his letter “came to me (writes Pervukhin) during my fast and, moreover, as if for my consolation at such a time when the hater of the human race, according to his evil custom, trying to prevent me from communing with the Holy and Life-Giving Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ, brought upon me sorrow and confusion, so that I was forced to fast instead of one week two weeks in a row. At the end of my fasting, God vouchsafed me on Palm Sunday to partake of the Holy Mysteries in the Great Church of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra from the hands of the Right Reverend Alexander, who was officiating the liturgy, 171, who inspired me to partake on that day in the Lavra, and perhaps through whose holy prayers the strong onslaught of the enemy on me was crushed.”172 Bishop Theophan's answer to this letter from Pervukhin was not found among the letters of the saint that we have. In the next letter (dated December 26, 1870), congratulating Bishop Feofan on the Feast of the Nativity of Christ and the coming New Year, Pervukhin, who had already returned from a business trip, again expresses regret that he “cannot indulge in the desired interview with the saint of God” (that is, Bishop Feofan). And here's why. “In the month of September,” he writes, the authorities entrusted me, in addition to my direct duties, with such a complicated matter that absorbed all my time, greatly oppressed me, crushed me with its oppression, put me in a fierce struggle with the highest authorities, forced me to endure opposition from subordinates and even threatened me with consequences that were dangerous for me, so that in a short time I was not killed (sic!) 173 on earth.” Pervukhin, with a relieved heart, says that the year is coming, after which he will receive the right to receive a full pension. “Sailing to the shore (he says) I don’t know what my service voyage will consist of, but the desire to part with service intensifies within me more and more. Just as a tired traveler in the sandy steppe, tormented by mortal thirst, strives for a source in order to cool his parched larynx, so I am drawn to sever all my relations with the multi-rebellious world, if God so desires” 174. This letter, it seems, from Pervukhin was followed by a response from Bishop Feofan with the following content. 537. About the nature of souls and Angels: let’s stop arguing, let’s pray to the Angels I thought that you had stopped in and didn’t know where. Thank God they came back. “But it’s not good that you have a warlike spirit.” It’s true that your classes are conducive to that. I don’t want to fight at all. Isn't it better to stop? I am only armed against the idea that the nature of souls and Angels is material... Since you do not admit this, there is no point in arguing. Let the side points remain in the shadows. The substance thinks and prays to God - that’s what my head can’t fit into! However, no matter how hard we try, we cannot achieve accurate knowledge about the nature of spirits. The angels of God are around us - and they look at us, discussing their nature, and shaking their heads, they say: “Crazy people, they have found something to talk about... They would care about imitation of us, and how not to drive us away from themselves with their shameful deeds - but this is what they are talking about.” So let's give it up... Let's better read more often: Holy Angels of God, pray to God for us. Help you, Lord, to complete the work entrusted to you for the glory of God, that is, rightly without any falsehood. May God grant you to live this year joyfully, but still with the fear of God. - And then, if God blesses, to rest. In 1871, Pervukhin wrote two more letters to Bishop Feofan (dated March 5 and March 29). In the first letter, after congratulating the bishop on the day of the angel 176 and corresponding good wishes, Pervukhin expresses the following wish: “... Elder Paisiy Velichkovsky left a great monument for himself with the compilation of the book “Philokalia,” but the language of his time is now outdated for us and has become difficult for us to understand. In my opinion, you would also render a great service to the Orthodox Church if you published this book in a Russian translation.” It may very well be that the Right Reverend Theophan, who was attentive to Pervukhin’s opinions, from that time began to think about publishing the Philokalia in a Russian translation, which first appeared in print only in 1877. In a letter dated March 29, 1871, Pervukhin congratulates Bishop Feofan on the feast of the Resurrection of Christ and admits that his spiritual mood is not in harmony with the general celebration. “I would like (writes Pervukhin) to rejoice, but no, joy is not given to me. Where and how will I get it from! Human sins do not amuse me and I run away from them. Secular society has become disgusting to me and so am I to it. People seem to me strange and even, perhaps, a fanatic, and therefore they look at me with such an ironic gaze that fills the soul with a deadening cold. Where will I get my joy? It would be very interesting to know what Bishop Theophan answered to console the grieving lover of God? Unfortunately, the saint’s response letters to these two letters (dated March 5 and 29, 1871) from Pervukhin to him have not survived. (However, further the compiler of the publication, Archpriest I. Korolkov, publishes the supposed response to these letters. - Ed.) 538. About Pervukhin’s disease. About the impossibility of being in church. About boredom. Well wishes About Pervukhin’s illness: I am consoled that the martyr stood up for you. Varvara. About the impossibility of being in church: imagine yourself in a church and go through the entire service in prayer. About boredom: to whom the sky is open, should not be bored. Well wishes. I answer two of your letters with one because of my great laziness. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you for your good wishes on March 12 and Easter. I also send you my sincere well wishes for all the days of your life. Dark thoughts came to you on Easter. On a sunny day?! May the Lord always grant you to celebrate His Easter in your heart, the transition from sin to virtue, and to enjoy the glory of His Resurrection in a bright conscience, unclouded by anything. Worldliness definitely burdens the mind and makes it overprotective. Grant to you, Lord, that in the midst of the world you may become Mary, always keeping one thing in mind and sitting before the Lord. Read the father’s scripture and become wiser. Delve into the words of the apostles and the Lord; think about them, and put them into practice to the best of your ability. The Lord will come to judge and will judge by the Gospel and not by anything else. It became necessary to live according to nothing other than the Gospel. “But the yoke of the Lord is easy and his burden is light.” – This is what the Lord said - the very truth. Pray to God for me, a sinner, careless, lazy. Now, it’s true, we’re back on the road again. God bless your ways. Create truth and equality everywhere. Yes, keep your heart and mind undistracted and unconcerned. In a letter dated December 30 of the same 1871, Pervukhin first expresses deep gratitude to the saint for two brochures sent to him through priest N.I. Florinsky (an interpretation of the 33rd Psalm and an instruction to compile one consistent story from the 4 evangelists). After this, Pervukhin talks in detail about the troubles that he had to endure in his service, and about his journey to Petrograd (sic! - Ed.) to protect himself from unfair attacks and oppression, and expresses a decisive intention - “to get away from all the vanities of a multi-rebellious world that lies in evil.” In the second half of the letter, Pervukhin especially admires Psalm 118 and, having difficulty understanding some of the Slavic expressions of the psalm, earnestly asks Bishop Theophan to tell him the meaning of the words: law, commandments, witness, justification and words 178 found in this psalm. In response to this rather extensive (12 pages) letter from Pervukhin, His Eminence Theophan with apparent readiness wrote him the following letter. 539. About resignation. Explanation of unclear words in Psalm 118 About retirement: don’t think about where to settle down, take a closer look at where your soul will lie down. Blessing for traveling through monasteries. Explanation of unclear words in Psalm 119. On the interpretation of the Psalter. So that's your story! Glory to God who turned everything for the better! - So you are decided to retire! - Well, God bless! – Just don’t think in advance about where and how to get a job; and having received freedom, wander around and take a closer look. Where the soul lies down, there is goodness. Although this criterion is not entirely reliable; for the soul sometimes does not know what it is doing. But we are not strong enough to do otherwise, and perhaps we should not, unless we have received a direct command from the Lord or from some seer by divine inspiration. – And you can turn to Vysha. There is a hotel and, by the grace of God, it is rarely empty. You can make your way from us to Sarov. You will visit Optina... and where else God will arrange for you. - Life is not from the outside, but from the middle, - You can’t escape yourself anywhere. And if you don’t need to run away from yourself, then wherever you settle, it’s good everywhere. Psalm 119 is a great psalm. A poem in praise of the Law of God. – Saint Ambrose of Milan wrote an entire book of interpretation on it. Others did the same. It would be nice, of course, to collect everything from everyone; but who will bother to do it. I would like to, but laziness does not allow me to do anything. I strive to do what I want, but I do not find it through doing good. Unless God gives both desire and strength. The words that you want to have an explanation for all mean the same thing - the will of God, expressed in the word of God, about how we should be and live and save our souls. - And that the same thing is expressed in different words - then different sides of the same thing are meant. - For example, the law means the inflexibility of the will of God. The commandment is that it is offered to freedom and requires willing, conviction-based obedience. Testimony - that it is faithful, sealed with the testimony of the immutable God. Justification - that this indicates how to become righteous and how to receive justification after sinning. Words - what is spoken by God. It is also called fate - as the definition of God's eternal truth. The psalm does not represent flowing speech or systematic reasoning. But there is a set of sayings about the commandments and the law, which stand one next to the other without any significant connection. In Hebrew, verses are in alphabetical order, for each letter there are 8 verses, a total of 22 by 8. - Eight on “A”; eight - on “B” and so on. – What kind of system could there be? – We collected 8 sayings starting with a known letter, taking care of one thing, so that they all spoke about the law. Therefore, when trying to understand a well-known verse, one must limit one’s vigilance to them alone, and explain it to them themselves. The manual can only take preliminary general concepts about the law and commandments and life according to them, in various respects. – If you begin to talk about poetry with these thoughts, then, I believe, not much will remain incomprehensible. You can give a little freedom and resourcefulness, but don’t get too high-minded. Of course, instead of such a command, it would be better to give the actual interpretation. “But I can’t point you to a single one that would completely satisfy you.” – Find in the works of St. The fathers of the publication of the Moscow Academy - in the works of Athanasius the Great and Blessed Theodoret. Short notes – but decisive in many places. There are also interpretations of the Psalms published by the Synod - in two forms... Then find... and read. – I believe that scientific Kyiv has all this. – I wish you all the best from the Lord. It’s good to take a walk at Maslenitsa, but it’s good to fast during the fast. In a letter to His Eminence Theophan (dated December 30, 1872), Pervukhin, congratulating him on the upcoming new year, noted that he recognizes the new year not as a civil year, but as a church year (that is, from September). “I (writes Pervukhin) love to follow the Church in everything, considering this to be incomparably most reliable, because it is the pillar and affirmation of the truth.” After this, Pervukhin describes his journey to Voronezh, where he met with the Right Reverends Joseph 179, Seraphim 180 and Veniamin 181, to whom he handed over books from the Right Reverend Theophan. Eminence Joseph, in a conversation with Pervukhin, expressed regret that Eminence Theophan stopped interpreting the Six Psalms, which interpretation “would be very useful for the children of the Church seeking salvation.” In the second half of the letter, Pervukhin complains that upon his arrival in Kiev he was not allowed to live in the hotel of the St. Michael's Monastery and he was forced to move to a private apartment and experience all the inconveniences of everyday life, which, however, out of a sense of Christian humility, he is ready to reconcile with. Bishop Theophan responded to this letter as follows. 540. About the date of the new year. On the interpretation of the Psalter. About the temptation that has befallen. About visions About the date of the new year: why argue? Every minute is the beginning of a new year; The beginning of your life and the new year should be considered the moment of awakening the fear of God. On the interpretation of the Psalter. About the temptation that has befallen. About a trip to the monasteries. About visions. Why haven’t you written for so long, my friend? “After all, I was already going to ask your spiritual fathers there to take revenge on you for me by binding you to a memorial penance so that you would strictly observe the rules of everyday relationships in the future.” God will forgive, but don’t sin in the future. What is there to argue about the time of the New Year? – From this minute at which you are reading these lines until the corresponding minute of the next year, exactly a year will pass, and it has already passed since a similar minute last year. And if you please recognize this minute as the beginning of the new year, and like every minute of the same nature, then celebrate the new year every minute! – The saints of God have the idea that the beginning of their lives should be considered the moment of awakening the fear of God and the determination to please Him. This is the real beginning of a new summer. Then others teach: start every day, and others - start every minute - that is, life according to God. Consequently, let every minute be for us the beginning of a new spiritual year... so that, constantly being renewed, we grow in the renewal of life according to God in truth and the honor of truth... And these civil scores - as they want, let them count. Thank you for fulfilling the instructions. God bless you! – The remark of the Most Reverend Joseph is sensible; but I, an unrepentant sinner, am not only disobedient to the word and the stick. - It was bad done that it was interrupted; but it has surpassed another occupation, which also does not have to be abandoned (we are talking about the interpretation of the letters of the Apostle Paul. - Ed.). We'll wait. I had in mind to reinterpret the entire Psalter; only this will happen after the interpretation of the New Testament. - Ugh! - how far away! - And besides, if God extends the century! – The Mikhailovtsy at the hotel kept you by mercy; but asked to leave in truth. Truth is stronger than mercy, which often melts away like snow or wax. What is there to blame? I did not live at all among the rumors of everyday life. All one and one. Therefore, I cannot at all judge how confusing the noise of the worldly yoke is, and how to keep my soul right in front of them. – When I lived in St. Petersburg, I remember going to Burachok 182 on Nevsky, asking myself not to bring either to him or from him home any impression of what I encountered on Nevsky. Do you know what kind of hustle and bustle this is?! - Sometimes it worked. There are states when a person, when seeing, does not see, when hearing, does not hear... because his attention will be drawn into another object... You need to arrange this little thing in your home, that is, in your heart. Then the cannons fired - and even then you couldn’t hear them. Archimedes the pagan - and he paid such deep attention to things of no importance that his enemies found him deepened after the capture of the city, which could not have happened without much noise. - But, to be honest, the Lord arranged this life for you so that you could experience what it’s like for people to live in the world, and together become stronger in spirit... A soldier under fire is more reliable. – Are you going to watch St. monastery, can you tell me where the corner is? – In fact, maybe you will feel good in Voronezh. Would you try it?! – Stay in the Optina Hermitage of Kaluga. – There’s also some Stolbenskaya. It's good to be there. She is in the Tver province, on Ostrov. And Valaam is nothing. If you go there, turn to the Iveron Monastery - Valdai district. The abbot is a miracle there. Great mind. He graduated first at the Academy 183 Dimitry of Odessa was second... But look at him and you’ll think: what a shame, a hillbilly!.. It’s peaceful to live there. – An island... and only one monastery. The city is in sight... but you have to go by the lake. - Look. - Anywhere you go: chips float at the top, pebbles at the bottom and are invisible. And among them there are also precious ones. I continue to live just as carelessly and carelessly. But I am gradually moving forward in interpretation. – I believe that this will not be useless for the Orthodox. And they will pray for me - the lazy one - to the most merciful Lord. My health is fine; thanks be to the Lord. The other day I had a discussion with one person about visions, both past and present. I expressed an idea that was born by chance that visions are not a representation of the spiritual world as it really is, but are only intended to let one taste the sweetness of this age, and thereby purify the soul’s taste for the spiritual, and let it feel the bitterness of all earthly human sweets, not excluding those that bear the name of innocent pleasures... Tell me, please, what do you think about this? Before leaving, you left in my head one speech that greatly irritates my curiosity... namely: but I won’t say about what happens now... that is, what happens in your soul during prayer... And then you said something about spiritual prayer... Please tell me what it is. - Do not refuse me to thoroughly investigate these items. Then I wish you all the best from the Lord. Received January 29, 1873 184 S. Pervukhin, wanting to make amends with His Grace Theophan, who reproached him for his long silence, writes to him (dated March 12, 1873) a lengthy response letter (16 pages), in which he explains the reasons why he did not write to the saint for so long, and asks for forgiveness. The main content of the letter is that Pervukhin very clearly, however, significantly exaggerated, depicts the anger and hatred against him of the enemy of the human race (the devil). He, according to Pervukhin, “presses me everywhere and builds fetters, and without giving me rest, he often brings me to exhaustion. He is spirit and light, and I am carnal and heavy; He doesn’t sleep or eat and I don’t know if he’s tired? and I get tired, and eat, and sleep. He is invisible and has secret ambushes, and I am naked and completely open to his envious eyes; His weapons are strong and deadly, and he wields them masterfully, but my sword is both dull and heavy for me, so I can barely control it. The advantage on his side is huge...” 185. At the end of the letter, Pervukhin is interested in knowing with whom Eminence Theophan had a conversation about divine visions. Who would be in the Vyshenskaya hermitage who could talk about them with the saint?.. Without waiting for an answer from His Eminence Theophan, Pervukhin writes him a new letter (dated April 20, 1873), in which he reports the sad news of the death of his friend, a retired official, a 70-year-old man who lived first in the Glinsk hermitage, and then settled in Kiev and “tangled in the nets of the destroyer of the human race”... Bishop Theophan responded to these two letters from Pervukhin as follows. 541. About the evil of the world and demons. About visions. About the death of a friend. About the decision to fast in a cell About the malice of the world and demons: if there were no oversight on our part, they would not do anything. About visions. About the death of a friend. About the decision to fast in a cell without leaving or receiving anyone. I was just about to write to you when I received your second letter. Sorry for not answering sooner. “At first the flood got in the way, which is why we didn’t send them to the city for three weeks, and then laziness, my usual mistress, didn’t give orders - so I didn’t write.” Well, you portrayed the evil of the world and demons. But what are they to blame? If there were no oversight on our part, they wouldn’t do anything. The trouble is that we ourselves are rather bad and take bait. They are easy to manage. Otherwise where would they go? You left my question unresolved. About visions. It was not about the monks - but about one of the visitors - and not about what anyone himself would experience now, but about what is written in books, in the lives of saints. The question was: why are there different visions, but the subject is the same - as if. - I said that thought, and as (?) 186 it has not happened before, - as if it were new, I told you. The incident they wrote about was truly bitter. But the Lord’s scales of truth are not tilted one iota. If possible, forgive this brother, he will be forgiven... For we do not know what quality (sic!) was in his soul at that time when it came out of the body. And this is very influential on the decision. – May the Lord be merciful to him!! God bless your journey! – From Monday of the first week of Lent, I decided not to go out for the entire Lent and not to receive anyone. This is how the post went. I really liked it. And I decided to spend the whole year like this - from Easter to Easter. - It's not going well... Bow to those you know if you meet anyone. I am healthy and very happy. Received May 15, 1873 187 In a letter dated January 26, 1874, S. Pervukhin first reports the details of the sad death of his friend (about whom he wrote to the saint in a letter dated April 20, 1873), who died due to the fact that he trusted too much in one woman who entangled him with her machinations... Most of the letter is filled with a description of Pervukhin’s travels (from July 1873) to Petrograd, the Nikolo-Babaevsky monastery, where The body of Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov) was buried in Yaroslavl, Rostov and other cities where holy monasteries and revered relics of the saints of God are located. Pervukhin equates his wanderings through different cities and monasteries with the wanderings of the patriarchs, prophets, apostles and many saints who “sought the salvation of their souls in their wanderings” 188 . Eminence Feofan responded to this letter from Pervukhin on March 6, 1874 in this form. 542. Well wishes and blessings for your trip to the monasteries. About tears of prayer Well wishes and blessings for your trip to the monasteries. In homelessness, the memory of the temporality of this world is more vividly imprinted on the heart. About tears of prayer. About the book of answers of Barsanuphius and John. About the works of Isaac the Syrian. My laziness for so long did not give me the freedom to answer you. - And I wanted to take revenge. You yourself did not answer me for a long time, and even though you wrote, the question was still left unanswered. – He is after you, and I will not stop bothering you. Everything that happened to you on your journey evokes gratitude to our many-merciful Lord. And you're still going. Help, Lord! Maybe, in fact, it’s better for you to spend the time of your life this way. It is true that with this order, the memory that we do not have a city here is more vividly imprinted in the head and evokes corresponding feelings and disposition. And then try to fill yourself with such a thought, but it doesn’t stick. And that way of life, to choose one corner and retire in it, has its good. You can train yourself to look at your cell as if it were a coffin. This is even closer to the point. The wanderer still longs to wander, but in the grave there is nothing to think about if not death. And this is when your mind will occupy itself with what good lessons it reads, just listen. - But, in any case, it is good to work out your salvation in every possible way with fear and trembling. The skill of falling to God in heart disease is humbling and touching... Oh, if only the Lord would grant a tear! - The icy soul would melt. Blessed are the souls who are warmed up and not coldly, with a rational determination, serve God, but with self-propelled excitement of the heart rush to God and, clinging to Him with attention and feeling, are as if there was nothing else in the world except the two of them, that is, the soul and God. This is blessed, but it is not given to everyone. How long, Lord, will you deny? - Finally, save us and be safe! – Have you read the book of answers of Barsanuphius and John? So much is well written there. But the eye sees, but the tooth is numb. - Of all the Fathers, St. is wiser. Isaac the Syrian. – It often occurs to me that I should learn the Syrian language and read it in the original: for much is dark, for a reason - terminology. The Syrians have one, the Greeks have another, and we have a third... This is the same as the second, and maybe even the third, liquefaction. - Whatever, however, what we have is enough - from the Holy Fathers. May the Lord bless you with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Received March 12, 1874 189 In a short letter (dated March 3, 1874), Pervukhin mainly complains that he was removed from the Lavra Hotel in view of the fact that before Easter the hotel rooms might be needed for visiting pilgrims. In response to this, Saint Theophan writes (dated April 27, 1874) the following. 543. The monasteries are persecuting you. About the Vydubetsky Monastery. About visions Monasteries drive you away because you do not want to enter a monastery. About the Vyrubetsky Monastery. About visions. You're relocating again! What is this? – The monasteries are driving you away because you did not want to enter a monastery. Decide to enroll in one and it will love you. I think they would try the new one near the Vydubetsky Monastery. Everything there is brand new... and you are brand new. - Really, I think that you should enter the monastery. The troubles that you have to bear, bear them for Christ’s sake, if He has a place here. Isn’t it better to leave the conversation about visions? - Sinners have no business climbing to such heights. I remembered a similar incident in the Skete area... There, one elder said in a similar case: well, the monks climbed into the sky to count the stars and forgot about the sins that should be mourned. And you won't have to stay in St. monasteries?! - Well, what should we do? – I believe that everything is from God, down to the smallest things, there is no need to be embarrassed about it. Maintain oneself as one should in the circumstances in which God’s providence places one. - This is what we should be concerned about - and what we don’t have to fulfill, what we wished for, not knowing whether it was good or pleasing to God, there is no point in worrying about it. My health, thank God. Pray for me, a sinner, to the saints of God in Kiev. In the further correspondence of Bishop Feofan with Colonel S.A. Pervukhin, complete correspondence between their mutual letters is not noticed. His Eminence Theophan, very busy with scientific and literary works and receiving many letters almost every day (from 20 to 40), did not have time to respond to Pervukhin in a timely manner and sometimes answered two of his letters with one. On the other hand, Pervukhin, who traveled a lot to monasteries and different cities, burdened with urgent work, and very often changed his apartments, did not always answer Bishop Feofan accurately, for which he received comments from him. In 1874, Pervukhin sent two letters to Bishop Feofan, and from the Right Reverend Theophan we have three, in 1875 - from Pervukhin - three letters, and the Right Reverend Theophan - two, in 1876 from Pervukhin - one letter, and the Right Reverend Theophan - two, in 1878 and 1879 - Bishop Feofan two letters, and Pervukhin - not a single one, for the years 1885, 1886, 1887 there are no letters from Bishop Feofan in our collection, but there are letters from Pervukhin to the saint for the indicated years. It is very possible that the letters of Bishop Theophan were taken from Pervukhin (as we have already stated) by one of the saint’s admirers and were not returned. Adhering to the chronological order we have adopted, we will continue to print his letters to Pervukhin, precious to all admirers of Bishop Theophan, and at the same time we will briefly, as necessary, outline the contents of Pervukhin’s letters, to which the Right Reverend Theophan himself attached great importance. 544. About the deceased Lord. On the interpretation of the letters of the Apostle Paul. About prayer About the deceased Lord. About his seclusion: there is no seclusion, he has locked himself in the forms of unhindered bookishness. On the interpretation of the letters of the Apostle Paul. About prayer. God's mercy be with you, I am very grateful to you for communicating the last will of the Lord Saint - to pray for him. “One must marvel at his great humility.” - I will pray to Him - may He help me, who is weak. They made a shutter out of my constipation. There is nothing reclusive here. I locked myself away so as not to be disturbed: but not in the form of the strictest asceticism, but in the form of unhindered bookishness. What they concocted out of this, I don’t know what, it’s not my fault. My health is not bad. Classes are underway. I hasten to finish the interpretation of St. Paul, for all epistles. – The sixth – the huge one – is coming to the Corinthians. Pray to cum. Although there will be little wisdom in my interpretation; but I think this will satisfy the spiritual need that many feel. In the absence of fish there will be cancer - fish. Tell me, please, how to pray, - I’ve completely lost all sense of it... Either it’s nothing, or it’s not good at all. “Maybe the book business is getting in the way... but something needs to be done, right?” - Please tell me what to do. Save you, Lord, and have mercy. O. Nicholas 190 my bow. Don’t let him be angry that I don’t write; I’m lazy. Thank you for honoring the Lord. In 1874, Pervukhin undertook a long journey to various cities and monasteries. He was in the deserts - Glinskaya, Optina, Korennaya, visited (according to him) Moscow, Petrograd, Sergius Lavra, stopped in Nezhin and returned to Kyiv at the end of August. The inconveniences of living in private apartments prevented Pervukhin from responding to Bishop Theophan to his previous letters, which contained serious religious and moral requests, and only on February 8, 1875, Pervukhin wrote to Bishop Theophan a very detailed and large letter (on 18 pages), in which, first of all, he resolved, in his own opinion, the issue of visions 191. This question, says Pervukhin, “is really very important, because both Holy Scripture and the lives of saints are filled with tales of many different visions... It happens that as soon as a conversation begins about spiritual subjects, it rarely happens without a story about visions being mixed into the conversation” 192 . Having divided visions into three types (natural, devilish and Divine), Pervukhin talks only about the latter. “Divine visions (according to him) are sent to people from God, who provides for them and arranges their salvation for different purposes and not only to the righteous, but also to sinners... There are different types of these visions (prophetic, enlightening, accusatory, comforting). In general, in visions of this kind, the Divine beck always acts, and a powerful power lurks in them, and that is why they are miraculous, because they transform a person instantly and accomplish in him that for which they were sent, without any order of gradualness, but supernaturally, immediately (for example, the conversion of the Apostle Paul). Visions are the Divine lessons of heaven itself, leading a person to the knowledge of the truth in the shortest way and clarifying it to such a degree of obviousness to which science cannot bring the mind, although it is not without the power in itself to comprehend them, but this natural comprehension is unsteady, dim, and much eludes it” 193. His Eminence Feofan liked Pervukhin’s reasoning so much that in his letter (dated February 24, 1875) he thanked him very much for the clarifications he had made and advised him to take up writing seriously, for which he was noted to have great ability. The saint's answer was as follows. 545. About visions. About prayer. About the Jesus Prayer. About monasteries. Advice About visions: their power is to tear hearts out of material bonds. About prayer: I understand prayer of feeling, giving reverent warmth; but what is spiritual prayer? About the Jesus Prayer. About monasteries: you can live in a monastery without tonsure. Advice to take up writing. I am very grateful to you for your letter and the explanations contained in it. – You and I agreed on thoughts about visions. Their power is exactly what you write - to snatch hearts from material bonds, allowing them to taste the sweetness of heaven. And that's the goal. - I asked about this not at all for any reason on your part... but because I had to talk with someone about visions, and why visions that are the same in meaning are different in form. I explained to the questioner that form does not express the essence of things there; for it is not like ours, and visions are not given to give knowledge, but to tear the heart away from the earth. Therefore, the form must be put aside, and everything must be given to this single goal. But you didn't say everything. I would also like to hear your thoughts about prayer. – I understand the prayer of feeling, which binds attention to one and gives reverent warmth; but I don’t know how to understand what spiritual prayer is? – Isn’t this the kind of prayer that finds – not just at the right time, but as it pleases – and also fetters attention, accompanied by warmth, but all this is deeper and firmer and longer. And spiritual objects at this time are clearer; They, as if some kind of picture, unfold in the consciousness, without straining the mind. – Tell me your thoughts about this. – What am I saying, this once happened to me once or twice. In general, I am very poor in spiritual experiences. And my prayer usually goes badly... My mind disappears into empty thoughts. There's no way you can handle it. No matter how you pull it, you can’t get it in place. I’m beginning to think that it’s true that this is written in books about pure and undistracted prayer - only in the form of an indication of the ideal of prayer. – What do you think? – Also about the Jesus Prayer – how much have you said? “It’s like some kind of talisman and conspiracy came out.” You can’t attribute power to words. Short prayers are better than long ones, but they were made of different words. – When I pointed out the monastery to you, I didn’t mean tonsure: and live in a monastery only with a ticket. You never know there are such people living, even those who are not ordered 194. – And he offered this to you because it is difficult for you to find peace in city apartments. Whatever the Lord arranges for you, His holy will! Reading your writing, I came to the idea of ​​advising you to write. You write fully, and most importantly, definitely and clearly. If this is a gift, then you must bear fruit from it. But you won’t bring it silently. - I would suggest this to you - to compile an overview of the course of spiritual life from its first embryo to maturity - according to the Ladder, or according to Isaac the Syrian, or according to someone else, or according to all of them together. This would be a very dear and sweet gift for lovers of spiritual reading. Don’t think that this proposal is like that: some people got you married, others are pushing you to become a monk, but now they want to lure you into becoming a scribbler. – This activity is not at all alien to you and will not introduce anything new into the order of your life. I'm healthy. I write - I write - I write - without mercy. – Whether there is any sense is another question... but what I’m sitting and writing is absolutely true. May the Lord bless you with every blessing. Bow to O. Nicholas 195. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. Received March 5, 1875 196 In a letter dated March 7, 1875, Pervukhin, congratulating Bishop Feofan on the day of the angel, apologizes that, due to various circumstances, he cannot respond in detail to the bishop’s request for prayer. “I (writes Pervukhin) am required by a God-enlightened man and a high man of prayer to make my explanation about pure, spiritual prayer. The task is both extremely difficult and beyond our strength - how can I sing the song of the Lord in a foreign land? And since stopping in difficulties is excusable, allow me to hesitate in answering your letter.” Having not received an answer to this letter from Bishop Theophan, Pervukhin writes to him (dated April 19, 1875) a new letter in which he congratulates the saint on the bright feast of the Resurrection of Christ. Expressing high religious joy about this holiday, Pervukhin sincerely condoles that worldly people (as opposed to the Vyshensky monks) spend this great holiday “in revelry, gluttony, drunkenness and in various sinful disorders.” In the second half of the letter, Pervukhin expresses grief that he cannot find a place to live in some monastery. He does not dare to accept monasticism and live in the monastery with the brethren, and the monastery hotels are unfriendly, even hostile, towards private individuals, and even such unsociable and silent ones as Pervukhin. In response to these two letters, Bishop Theophan responded as follows. 546. About life at the monastery. About the construction and painting of churches in the desert About life in a monastery: you can live for years on probation without joining the brethren. It is impossible to live anywhere without temptations. We must endure. About the construction and painting of warm and cold churches in the Vyshenskaya Hermitage. You're getting ready to hit the road again. What to collect? - May you be a honey collector, like a bee, which knows how to extract honey particles from every flower. When I told you to take shelter in a monastery, I did not mean living in a hotel, nor formal admission to the brotherhood. There are many in monasteries who live on tickets: they wear novitiate clothes, carry out some obediences, and have a table with the brethren, but are not even assigned. This is how someone lives for years, it is called - on probation. This is how you can live too. You will be inside the monastery, no different from others, but even if you are sitting in a cell, many people do this; in a hotel you are conspicuous. - Get accustomed and live like this. You will all be put to the test. The abbot will only know your intentions. He will come up with a suitable obedience for you. There are monasteries who read the Psalter in church. I think it would suit you. But you can’t live anywhere without temptations. They're on their heels. Only self-indulgent people like me have no temptations. But they don’t have external ones, but they meet more internal ones. It’s uncomfortable to live in the world. Would you try to live in the village, like the monks and blueberries. It's quieter there; but there is no church. Wherever you throw it, it’s all wedge. We must endure, and without patience no one walked the path of salvation. Bless you, Lord, and learn how to arrange yourself! This year we have a crowd of workers: some are building a new warm church - opposite the hotel in which you were accommodated, others are painting the cold church in which you prayed. But their noise rarely reaches my huts. Perhaps on Sunday or on a holiday in the evening they will get angry. But I love listening to Russian songs. Bless, Lord, your path. I ask you to remember my sinfulness someday in your prayers, before the saints of God. May God help you to end your controversial matter as you wish. For almost a whole year (from April 1875 to March 1876), Pervukhin, for various reasons, did not write to Eminence Theophan, which he expressed with great bitterness in his letter dated March 6, 1876. “As if waking up from lethargy (says Pervukhin in this letter), I take up the pen to break my silence with you. Since I last wrote to you 197, a lot of time has passed, and a lot of water has flown under the bridge, and many changes have also followed in the world we inhabit - albeit ordinary ones; for some were born again to fill this multi-rebellious world with themselves for the struggle of everyday life, while others departed from here irrevocably to the afterlife in order to experience in practice what would happen to them there, and whether it was exactly as someone here thought, believed and lived? Next, Pervukhin describes his journey (to cure various ailments) - to Odessa, Sevastopol 198, Yalta, Feodosia, and then (after treatment) - to Petrograd, Moscow, Yaroslavl and other cities. Only around November 1875 did Pervukhin return to Kyiv, where until the new year he lived in poverty without a permanent apartment, living in hotels. As a reason for his long silence, Pervukhin mentions that at that time he “suffered some financial losses from unscrupulous, crafty people. But (he notes) I did not sue them, being restrained by the power of the commandment of Christ the Savior, who commanded us that if anyone takes our caftan, we would give him the shirt as well” 199 . In response to this, Bishop Theophan wrote the following. 547. Why does not the monastic or secular world accept it? About the book by Nicholas Cavasilla Why does neither the monastic nor the secular world accept it: because you want to please both. About the money taken away. About the book by Nicholas Cavasilla. So what are your adventures? – I often asked myself the question, where are you and what’s wrong with you! I thought that you got yourself a spade to dig a cave somewhere in the forest and live there. And that's how you are! – No world accepts you, neither monastic nor secular. Why? Because you want to please both; or - they left one behind, but did not stick to the other. You have fallen behind the world, but you live among it; He's nibbling on you. You approach the monasteries, but don’t go to the monastery, as if mocking the monks - the monks drive you away. - And they are right. Recently a colonel died in Sarov. I received a pension. But he lived among the brethren as a novice, and his appearance cannot be seen. Holy, they say, holy! Why can't you do the same? – It’s the enemy who keeps confusing you. So you will remain an unridden horse! That the money taken away was not recovered, good. “There in the Lavra, to one old man who was grieving over a similar occasion, the Angel of the Lord appeared and said: yield to them complacently, and the Lord will accept it as alms, but you will grieve and complain, you won’t turn it back, and before the Lord you will not be right for sorrow.” I have the book by Nicholas Cavasilla. Thank you. She explains very well the hidden power of the sacraments. The darkness does not depend on the translator's oversights, but on the properties of the original itself. Both the subject is mysterious and the writer is a mystic. So a lot of things came out that you wouldn’t guess... But in general, it’s clear enough to understand the power of the sacraments and the hidden actions of God’s grace. Congratulations. Grant you, Lord, bright joys. Received April 2, 1876 200 In the collection of letters we have from S. Pervukhin to His Eminence Theophan, letters from the first to the second for 1876-201, 1877, 1879 are missing. Meanwhile, in the collection of letters from Bishop Feofan to Pervukhin for the indicated years, there are letters that we print without comparing them with Pervukhin’s letters 202. The loss of Pervukhin’s letters to Bishop Feofan is all the more noticeable because the saint, in a letter dated May 10, 1876, was very pleased with Pervukhin’s letters. 548. It is not the place that saves, but the structure of the spirit. Answers to questions. Advice to start writing It is not the place that saves, but the structure of the spirit. Answers to questions about the Holy Fire, about the prayer “It is worthy to eat...”. Advice to take up writing. You criticized me 203. Bless, Lord, that you may be as His providential goodness deems best! It is not the place that saves, but the structure of the spirit. And there are convicts who escape well. All the more reproach to me - who was furnished with everything favorable for labors in the spirit of salvation - and who refuses everything... You asked me tricky questions. – I never thought about fire. I always received it like holy fire, without searching whether it was from heaven or from earth. – It was recorded by eyewitnesses that fire came down from heaven in front of everyone. Our Daniel the Pilgrim - and Michaud... in the history of the Crusades. It became possible to think about the heavenly origin of fire. What now? - Don’t ask, and I don’t know how to figure it out myself. Oh, it’s worthy to eat. – And the Athos legend could be true. Maybe on Athos they didn’t sing “it is worthy to eat...” but only “the most honest...” There are cases that even now in church they only read: “the most honest...” - and so on. It could be in all services. – And the Angel of the Lord enlightened the Athos people. There is nothing unrealistic here. “The Vladyka might as well not talk about it.” Not a great find for scholarship. There is no great loss for piety. I wish you all the best from the Lord. You write so smoothly and thoroughly about spiritual things that several times it occurred to me to tell you: buy a ream of paper, sit down and write until you’ve covered it all. - Then buy a foot again and write it down, etc. So every year, one foot at a time. I ask for prayers! - Bow down to those you know. 549. Wanderings teach devotion to the will of God. About a familiar officer Traveling teaches devotion to the will of God. Explanation of why he called it “tricky.” About a familiar officer. Bows to friends. My dear Semyon Afanasyevich! It seems to me that it is good that you have traveled. Devotion to the will of God can thus be learned or strengthened in it. And it is comforting how the all-holy name of our Lord and Savior is revered everywhere. Why are they bothering you? Isn’t it possible to distribute it here and there right away?! and free. - But you know better. – I am very pleased to have a conversation with you: but somehow it is not going well - or is not expanding. Maybe! – That I called you sophisticated 204, there is nothing persistent in this and does not belong to the circle that seemed to you... that the circumstances are tricky... I knew one person who called, for example, those who were not angry when, in our opinion, they should not only be angry, but also fight. Look, he would say, go and take it apart. In my opinion, it would be in the ear, but he speaks kindly... a wise man... And everything like that. Also, if someone does not selfishly do something when he could easily... again he is a wise man. Why is he yawning? After all, just stretch out your hand, and you’ll see there are a hundred or two here... and he hands back... a wise man! These are the kind of wise people in the world... I think that being among them is neither boring nor persistent. – Perhaps one of the Tambov officers, Labutin, will knock on your door. Well - do to him and with him whatever you find convenient - He is tormented by the world-wide licentiousness in relation to faith and morality... It’s worth it. And he is not cold to his work. Maybe he could pull a taco... But who knows? - Like God! “It smells like war there.” - What to do? If necessary, we must fight. - May the Lord arrange His work - in His own way, and not in ours... Who knows... whether the Lord thought of giving us an impetus, so that we would humble ourselves a little... Bow down to Fr. Demetrius 205 and Fr. Nicholas 206... Save them, Lord! good shepherds! God is not without mercy... You look here and there in Russia - everything is not without good people... And that there are many talkers... and before there were many, many of them, they just kept silent, but now they have been given free rein... Lord, have mercy on us. Pray to God for me, a sinner. 550. About the war. On comparison of translations. About the translation of the Hebrew Bible. About the Lavra About the war: for our sins we should be punished with defeat. On the comparison of translations of Holy Scripture at the Kyiv Theological Seminary. About the translation of the Hebrew Bible. Blessings for the trip to St. Petersburg, bows to friends. About Lavra. About a familiar officer. General good wishes. Here comes the war 207. Lord, have mercy on us! We certainly have sinned a lot and are sinning with the entire corps of the Russian kingdom... and for this we should be punished with defeats. But since we do not take up arms for ourselves, but to help Christians, we can not lose hope that the Lord will show us His mercy and give us success. - By penance for our sins He will accept the very work and hardship of war. You just need to apply repentance. - Lord, have mercy on us! It is very comforting for me that in Kyiv seminarians are occupied with such subjects... comparing translations... The Hebrew Bible is not coming to us, because it has never been in the Church and in church use. Therefore, to accept it means to retreat from what has always been in the Church, that is, to move from the root foundation of Orthodoxy. God bless your friend theologian; but don’t send him his notebooks, because the matter is so clear to me. And the Sovereign Prosecutor of the Synod forced (sic!) to announce the approval of the translation - with awards to the Bishop of St. Petersburg and Bazhenov... and the Synod... These three persons were the handlers of the whole case - the Prosecutor - Isidor and Bazhenov... the others remained silent: for power breaks straw. In the same way, you can use all sorts of news of wisdom 208. You are in St. Petersburg! - Bless, Lord! They say that St. Petersburg is moving forward and forward day by day... it’s impossible to know. Look... there Nikolai Vasilyevich 209 is advocating... Bow to him... There was a great old man there - Burachek! He died... May God rest his soul! If only you could talk to him!.. Now I don’t know anyone there... But I know that there are more holy people in St. Petersburg than in any other place... There is Holy Lavra! There are always great elders in the Lavra. But who will sort them out?! Let Labutin first fight well with visible enemies, and then with invisible ones... His time has not come; That’s why everything is double in his soul... One thing, then another. Of course, there are many temptations there; but where are they not? Everyone - may the Lord direct his path! Pray to God for us sinners. To the priests of God - Demetrius and Nicholas - bow and full of good wishes. Christ is Risen! I don’t write to them for the sake of laziness... which is very suitable for me, like a monastery cat. Either way I will write. I can’t always suffer from laziness: maybe I’ll get better! I wish you all the best from the Lord - may you prosper! 551. Well wishes. On the interpretation of Psalm 119. About the conclusion of peace Dear Semyon Afanasyevich! Both of your letters have been received 210. Thank you for the memory and well wishes. Save you, Lord! And together I apologize for being too lazy to answer as quickly as possible. Everything - cras, cras (tomorrow, tomorrow (lat.), - Ed.) - and croaked. Now you have gained strength and reinforcement in St. Lavra, and you will be strong to lift the burden of life in the midst of worldly turmoil. Help you, Lord! – You are certainly experienced in this area – and you can easily cope with inconveniences. I am sending you a book: an interpretation of the 118th Psalm. Will deliver you o. Nikolay, – Askochensky 211 sent me several prints – and I’m sharing them with my own. You have new changes there - two new vicars 212. Moscow returns interest to Kyiv for the capital of education originally received from it. May everything be for the best, most soothing and lasting. Phenomena in the world of thought and life are now very fleeting. There was a breath of peace. Grant, Lord! But under the condition of concessions. Better than war! – Who will penetrate into the secrets of God’s providence and tell us what the Lord has determined to be?! – Events alone will tell. Lord, have mercy on us! Bless you, Lord, with every blessing. I ask for your prayers for my sinfulness. Received August 10 [1878]. 213 552. Gratitude for the name day congratulations. On the interpretation of Psalm 118 Thanks for the birthday greetings. About a trip to Tambov to see doctors. On the interpretation of Psalm 118: whatever is good there belongs to the Holy Fathers. On the interpretation of the Psalter. On the publication of an interpretation of the letters of the Apostle Paul. I have not responded to two of your letters - one with congratulations on the New Year, and the other with congratulations on the name day. Guilty! I have nothing to offer as an excuse other than laziness and breakfast. However, after the name day, very soon I was forced to go to Tambov, and upon returning from there we were immediately flooded with water, and communication with the city was cut off. Just about a quarter or an octam of my wine is off my shoulders. Why to Tambov? The right eye began to go blind, and it was necessary to make sure from what - water or cataract? Water must be treated quickly, but cataracts can await their fate. There they found that there were cataracts on the eye. After a year or more the eye will go blind, which will mean that the cataract has matured. And then the operation will restore vision. This weakness does not cause any pain and does not interfere with work. But it would still be better if she didn’t exist. You told about your adventures: so I had an adventure. It gave me pleasure to see old acquaintances, meet new ones and shake and clear my head a little. Now I sit on my ashes and dig. I plan to publish Psalm 119 by the end of the year. Whatever good there is belongs to St. The fathers, who were sometimes marked, were given word for word; and for the most part their thoughts were taken away and inserted into the interpretation without notes. Many people say to me: I would like to explain the Psalter, at least briefly. And I adhere to the thought that it is useless to briefly interpret the Psalter. It is imperative to present everything that the text being interpreted may give rise to. Then there will be fruit. But if you start interpreting it broadly, you need five or more volumes of the Psalter. Expensive. Nobody will buy. Our head is bitter. – I am going to publish an interpretation of the letters of St. Pavel. Everyone tells me: the publication will sit on my shoulders. Despite the fact that I am making an experiment. The printing of Romans begins. If God bless it will disperse; then we will publish to the Corinthians... etc. Of the epistles, four have not yet been interpreted: pastoral and to the Hebrews. We need to finish. Meanwhile, many other things come to mind; and as if necessary. - I would write; Yes, laziness gets in the way. Bless you, Lord, with every blessing. At the end of 1879, S. Pervukhin, in his letter to the Right Reverend Theophan, congratulating him on the Nativity of Christ and the coming New Year, expresses his deepest gratitude for the book “On Sobriety and Prayer” sent (through Archpriest N. I. Florinsky). “This book (writes S. Pervukhin), as a treasury of spiritual knowledge, came to my heart, and most importantly, it testifies to me that, despite my unworthiness, you do not forget about me and, fatherly caring for my spiritual well-being, excite me to that fruitful spiritual activity that faithfully leads a Christian with the help of grace, with his unwavering perseverance, to salvation.” In the same letter, S. Pervukhin reports on his stay in the Pochaev Lavra, where he fasted, saw His Eminence Demetrius and talked with him. Next, S. Pervukhin visited the Pereyaslavl Monastery and there had cordial conversations with the Right Reverend John of Poltava, went to the Svyatogorsk Monastery and the Root Hermitage, where, just like in Pochaev, he fasted... But the greater half of S.’s letter. Pervukhin is interested in notifying him of the conversion of one Jewish woman, M. Leshchinskaya, to Orthodoxy. Upon her acceptance into Christianity, thanks to the efforts of S. Pervukhin, she was accepted into the Nezhinsky monastery. “But (writes S. Pervukhin) neither monasticism took root in her, nor fasting was within her strength, and she, instead of asceticism, at someone’s suggestion, went into trade, which she opened in a shop belonging to the monastery” 214. It is noteworthy that Bishop Theophan in his response letter (dated January 31, 1880), praising Pervukhin’s zeal for traveling to holy places and asking for his prayers for himself, did not say a word about the conversion of the Jewish woman to Orthodoxy. 553. About trips. On the translation of the words of Simeon the New Theologian I didn’t answer, but I always remember during the Divine Liturgy. About trips to Tambov and Moscow. On the translation of the words of Simeon the New Theologian. About books. I’m guilty, a hundred times guilty, for not answering you. But this does not mean that I am throwing you out of my memory. No, I have not sinned in this, and I always remember you at the Divine Liturgy. I ask you not to deprive me of your prayers, despite my malfunction. I admire your travels to holy places, with which you refresh your spiritual life, stocking up on the elements of grace. - And I moved last year - twice: one - to Tambov before Easter, and the other - to Moscow - after the Dormition. – This is due to weakened vision in the right eye. Well, I got there. Moscow decided that the vision in this eye would be lost and there was no way to correct it. – Tambov was more lenient, assuring that it was possible to have an operation and restore vision. Disease - cataract - damage to the lens. But there are two types of this disease: one allows surgery, and the other does not. The Moscow decision is more correct: for observation, or research, was done already when the disease had moved quite forward, but in Tambov, it was still at the beginning, when it was difficult to distinguish. Regarding books, read this. The translation of Simeon’s further words is published in “Soulful Reading.” When all the words run out, then the second issue will be especially sold. - “On Prayer” - a collection - was only in prints, which are no longer available. There will be a special edition, expanded and changed... by the end of the year or next year. The 118th Psalm is being printed and will probably be published in time for Lent. Printer and seller in Moscow. The book has been given away irrevocably. I wish you all the best from the Lord. Bless you, Lord, with every blessing. This letter from Bishop Feofan made a highly favorable impression on Pervukhin. “Your letter of January 31 (Pervukhin replies) made me extremely happy, for through it I was actually convinced that although I make bad use of your Holy favor towards me, I do not answer you quickly and rarely write, but you, Vladyka, in the spirit of your Christian condescension, forgive me for this and do not erase me from memory; even, as you deign to write to me, you always remember me during the Divine Liturgy. This is extremely important for me, because your remembrance, during the performance of a terrible bloodless atoning sacrifice, as I believe, brings Divine intercession to me amid the dangerous difficulties on the path of my solitary life. Often I am very sad that I cannot more often indulge in pleasant conversations in writing with you, due to my inability to circumvent those circumstances and conditions that, mercilessly taking up an extremely large amount of my time, do not allow me to dispose of it at will. You ask me, a great sinner, to pray for you, Holy Master. But I am at a loss whether I dare to do this; for in your collection “On Sobriety and Prayer” it is said on page 261 in the answers of the great elders Barsanuphius and John, in § 91, that if someone says, pray for me, then say in your heart: “May God have mercy on us,” and that is enough. And remembering the one who asked is always the work of perfect people who can pray for each other. Such an answer from the great elder had such an effect on me that I wanted to stop my daily commemoration of certain names of worldly and spiritual persons, both living and dead, in the understanding that, perhaps, such a commemoration of mine, given my great sinfulness, was too presumptuous, and therefore daring and displeasing before God, however, having thought it over, I stayed with him, intending to ask for your explanation of this, which you would give You, based on the teachings of St. fathers, decrees of the Church of the Holy Scriptures.” At the end of the letter, S. Pervukhin asks His Eminence Theophan whether he will soon finish translating the words of St. Simeon the New Theologian, since (says Pervukhin) “the words of this God-bearing man, corresponding to my inner dispensation (sic!), affect me deeply and are highly enlightening for me” 215. In response to this letter, Bishop Theophan answered as follows. 554. Answer to the question. About the words of Simeon the New Theologian. "On Sobriety and Prayer" Answer to the question: how to pray for others when asked. About the words of Simeon the New Theologian. About the book “On Sobriety and Prayer.” On the interpretation of the Lord's Prayer. I also greet you on the bright holiday, which is still ongoing, - And I received the previous letter, thank you for the congratulations on the angel. There you ask about prayer for others when asked to pray. It is best to pray without thinking, out of brotherly love, and that’s the end of it, and when there is an opportunity, then remember it more often. We are all one body... and the Apostle commanded: to pray for each other. You ask: how many words does St. Simeon have? – 92. The translation is available and published in “Soulful Reading.” A special edition is also being prepared there. When the translation is finished, the publication will be ready. – I think this could happen next year. "On sobriety and prayer." I asked the elder, the deceased Lord, how best to present it in a system or in a row, how the sayings were found. He chose the latter. And I followed his advice. Otherwise, the system is confusing 216. And fractional sayings are okay, as if they were better. This book is due for revision. The interpretation of the Lord's Prayer will be carried out separately - in letters, where everything said by the Fathers will be included, but not in that order, but for each petition - in a special system. - General articles on prayer will be supplemented - with a selection mainly from St. Chrysostom. See those you know, bow down. Received 27 [May 1880] 217 555. Are you going to die? About life in the world. About Lavra. About the order of the Lord Are you going to die? - God bless. About life in the world. About Lavra. About the order of the Lord. Bows to friends. About the desire to go to Kyiv shrines. You seem to be about to die 218. Good deed! God bless! The noise of the world will disturb you. You know this: and yet you remain among the world. The monasteries, although not heaven, are still not the world. There, I think, it would be nice to be there for someone who is about to leave this world for another. If you don’t want to, grant you, Lord, to live among the world as if outside the world. Is the Lavra alone your monastery in the world?! Here A.D. Ushinsky lived somewhere the whole summer. He won't boast. And I didn’t want to leave there. We have a lot of them. Your lord has made a good order. Only, I think, some exceptions could be made. However, drawing lines between here is very tricky. Please convey, on occasion, my regards to everyone I know. I often rush to Kyiv to its shrines; but my extreme immobility poses insurmountable obstacles to this. 556. Gratitude for congratulations. About the failed trip to Kyiv. About vision Thanks for the congratulations. A humorous explanation of the tyranny of laziness. About the failed trip to Kyiv. About vision. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you for congratulating me on my name day and for your good wishes. Save me, Lord! Much comforted. I also received your December letter 219 - and I kept meaning to write on it, but didn’t get around to it. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. – You don’t know Xanthippi. I have one - since childhood - Mrs. Pigrizia, or Ocniria. Well, God forbid every Tatar is like this 220. You are near monastery 221... Good! Grant, Lord, that your spirit may find peace in the churches there. After all, I was going to Kyiv... and I didn’t, all for the same reason. My health is good. The eye disease seems to have matured. I don’t know what I’ll do next. Meet Ushinsky, say hello. I owe him answers too. Say: I will pay. The following letter from Bishop Theophan has no chronological date. In it, the Right Reverend mentions the unpleasant clashes between S. Pervukhin and Archpriest N. Florinsky and Major Iv. A. Labutin. Since Pervukhin’s letter, which tells about this clash, has not survived, we will use Pervukhin’s subsequent letter, which talks about his reconciliation with Archpriest N. Florinsky and Labutin. It is said about the latter that he lived in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and “here he was deciding a difficult problem - whether he should immediately become a monk or wait until a more favorable time... The main role in this bewilderment is played by the fear that if monastic life turns out to be incompatible for him, then, having upset his current situation in life, he may reach despair... and meanwhile, his Lavra confessor does not allow him to think much and hurries him to resolutely begin the task to which he has been directing himself for a long time, and he, poor fellow, is completely at a loss - how to untie this Gordian knot for him.” Under such difficult circumstances, Labutin intended to turn to Bishop Feofan, whom he knew from Tambov and who sent him to Kyiv to save his soul. S. Pervukhin considered it his duty to warn the saint about such a split in Labutin’s thoughts and about his intention to seek clarification of his perplexities from Bishop Theophan. 557. The course of your life. About the holy fool from the Sezenovsky monastery The course of your life is definitely not like others. About temptations: these are two orders for you. About the holy fool from the Sezenovsky monastery. About Archpriest N. Florinsky. I’m sorry that it took me so long to answer you! The course of your life is definitely not like other lives - and the way you work out your salvation has its own characteristics. But this happens in everyone. Yours is just a little sharper. The Lord, who has made you wise until now, will, of course, bring you to the end. You talk about accidents with Labutin and Fr. Nikolai. Both are very good. These are two orders for you. Remember how one novice received seven crowns in one evening... They are awarded to you too. For I see that you endured everything complacently. Congratulations. You are dragging me to court, why did I introduce you to Labutin? – For your mutual – both – benefit. You have already received what you mentioned before; He probably got it too, only now it’s not visible, but it will be revealed to this day. - The old woman who is with him is his nanny. There is nothing bad between them. She loves him like a mother, and he is at ease with her about the housework. - The prophetess, about whom they heard from him, lives in the Sezenovsky monastery near Lebedyan 222. She plays the fool - and reveals something special; but I can’t figure out what it is. The former abbess, a very spiritual and ascetic, took her from a mental hospital in Tambov. - Her name is Sophia. She lives very strictly... small, dry, dry. During your travels, stop by sometime and take a look. – O. Nikolai is always kind and jealous. He had, perhaps, a momentary outburst about something misinterpreted he had heard, which he had not yet had time to discuss... Well, he burst out - jealous of God's truth. I guess I already forgot about that. Sorry everyone. You will be calmer. My health is good. The right eye almost closed, but without any pain. God bless you. Your pilgrim S. Pervukhin, as a deeply religious man, sincerely religious, completely and wholeheartedly devoted to the statutes of the Holy Orthodox Church, turned, as we have already seen, to His Eminence Theophan for the resolution of various religious and moral issues and perplexities that worried his pious soul. And His Grace Theophan appreciated such qualities of his and, fully trusting his sincerity and moral purity, tried in his letters to clarify the doubts that troubled Pervukhin’s soul. Such perplexing questions that required a saintly clarification include very important, one might say, urgent questions of our Orthodox Church about the translation into Russian of the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament and about a new, more understandable translation of our liturgical books. Pervukhin wrote a rather detailed and convincing letter to Bishop Theophan about this, which pleased the saint so much that he advised Pervukhin to publish it, through Bishop Porfiry, in some spiritual journal. It is with deep regret that this very important letter from Pervukhin has not reached us. We talk about him both from a letter from Bishop Theophan dated October 1, 1884, and from a letter from Pervukhin himself dated April 10, 1885, in which he writes the following: “I received your answer to my views regarding the translation of the Bible from Hebrew into Russian, which made me extremely happy because my view of this translation turned out to be identical with yours, and this joy of mine increased even more because the three saints: the late Demetrius, Porfiry and you - nothing sinful against the Church was found in my thoughts, but on the contrary, they were recognized as right, which is extremely important for me, because knowledge regarding the objects of faith must be acquired by us with the greatest caution, so that there is no false opinion in it, which - as St. Basil the Great - one thing can destroy a soul without another sin. I wanted to give my analysis of the translation of the Bible into Russian from Hebrew more development, based on the data I had in mind, and to communicate it to you in a letter, but since I don’t have what I need for this at hand, I left this intention until another time, so that my silence, which also came from other various circumstances, lasted too long, would end, remaining in the hope that you, by your generosity, Master, would forgive me for the slowness of my response." From this letter from Pervukhin it is clear that he was so interested in the question of the Russian translation of the Bible that for clarification he turned, in addition to His Eminence Theophan, to His Eminence Demetrius, Archbishop of Volyn (later Kherson), to His Eminence Porfiry, Bishop of Chigirin, Vicar of the Kyiv Metropolitan. What answer to this question did Bishop Feofan give to Pervukhin? His Grace Theophan, both in his articles 223 and in his letters 224, many times touched upon the issue of translating the books of Holy Scripture into Russian. In the above letter to Pervukhin (dated April 19, 1877), Bishop Theophan strongly speaks out against the translation of the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament from the Hebrew (Masoretic) Bible, and not from Greek. Bishop Feofan expresses the same judgment in his response to Pervukhin’s letter (dated 1884), which has not reached us. 558. About the new translation of Holy Scripture. About the Gospel of Leo Tolstoy About the new translation of Holy Scripture into Russian. On the translation of liturgical books. About the Gospel of Leo Tolstoy. Bows to friends. I am guilty before you; I'm sorry. Your last letter, and a copy of the letter from the Most Reverend Porfiry, brought me considerable comfort. I completely share your reasonable opinion about the new Bible in Russian. Exactly, I also wrote about it and published it in “Soulful Reading” and in the “Church Bulletin” by S.P.B. Academy. I believe that many people think so—many Eminences. But they are silent. Because it is inconvenient for them to write against the Synod. But I believe that as soon as the head of the Synod changes, voices will rise. And maybe they will do something. You would ask the Most Reverend Porfiry to give your letter to some magazine for publication. As for the best translation of liturgical books, this is what I think about it: our liturgical books are an invaluable treasure of prayers, Orthodox dogma and moral teaching. Therefore, they must be observed and observed in the same spirit as they are. But their translation should be improved or translated again, not into Russian, but into Slavic, just so that the presentation is understandable. A translation of this kind has already begun in “Soulful Reading”... There, some holiday services have already been translated into an understandable Slavic language, the canon of St. Andrew of Crete, and from time to time this continues 225. - So everything needs to be translated. So that something schismatic might come out of this, there is nothing to be afraid of. Time has passed. – If the Bible, composed by the Synod, passed freely, what else will not pass? – Have you heard about the gospel of the madman Leo Tolstoy?! It goes from hand to hand secretly. And no one has yet beaten any of the distributors (sic!), as they should have. Please convey my regards and good wishes to Fr. Nikolai Ivanovich asking for forgiveness for not paying him my debt. And how much do you owe!!! no account. After October 1, 1884, until March 24, 1888, no letters from Bishop Feofan to S. Pervukhin reached us. Meanwhile, S. Pervukhin at this time corresponded with the saint he respected. We have letters from S. Pervukhin to Bishop Feofan dated 1885, 1886, 1887. These letters are quite brief and contain the usual congratulations from S. Pervukhin to Bishop Theophan on the New Year, on holidays, on Angel's Day, and he thanks the saint for sending books ("Gospel History", "Invisible Warfare"). In a letter dated May 8, 1886, S. Pervukhin complains about various obstacles that prevent him from conducting conversations with the saint on topics of religious and moral content. “Every time I’m going to write to you, it happens to me that I would like to talk with you, as someone specially enlightened by God, about subjects of serious spiritual content, but I always encounter some obstacles that prevent me from doing this, and therefore I postpone my intention until another time, and when I come to write to you again, the same thing happens to me again and subjects that deserve attention, which I would like to talk to you about, remain aside. All this happens because my life, flowing in the middle of the world, like a roiling sea, is constantly fluctuating by such different everyday circumstances that take up too much of my time uselessly, forcefully distract me from the subjects of my main occupations, to which my soul strives, bring upon me a heavy languor and, weakening the energy in me, put me in inaction, which dulls the mind and cools the heart, so that I languish from melancholy that I do not have such a refuge that would protect me from the vain and harmful impressions of a world that lies in evil.” Without a doubt, Eminence Theophan, in response to such complaints from S. Pervukhin, taught him some advice that remained unknown to us. In addition to these letters, S. Pervukhin also wrote a letter to Bishop Theophan (which has not reached us), in which, among other things, he reported that Archpriest N. I. Florinsky allegedly spoke to Saint S. Pervukhin “about attention to women.” In response to this, and perhaps to S. Pervukhin’s previous letters, Bishop Feofan wrote the following. 559. I always remember you in my prayers. About the letter from Fr. N. Florinsky. Bows to friends I always remember you in my prayers. About the letter from Fr. N. Florinsky: I assure you, he did not write anything compromising you. About O. N. Florinsky. Bows to friends. Thank you for your congratulations and good wishes on my angel’s day. - Save me, Lord. Our correspondence did not stop, but lay on one side due to my laziness. I am very grateful to you that you were not angry that I didn’t write, but sometimes wrote. And even though I didn’t write, I always remember you and remember you in my sinful prayers. May God help you in the work of your life, as it has developed and is going on. Write 226 that Fr. Florinsky admitted that he wrote to me about your attention to women. – I assure you that nothing like that happened. And I can’t understand why a person would want to slander himself? Perhaps he really wanted to write, but due to some troubles he did not write, and yet he remained confident that he had written. If he had written, I would not have kept silent about it and asked you whether there is any basis for such news. I would hardly have believed it, unless some temptation had arisen. Believe that all this is true. Meet Fr. this archpriest, tell him that I wrote to you about this. And meanwhile I ask you to tell him that I received his letter; I really regret what happened to him, and I pray to the Lord that He would be pleased to show him before the Church authorities as worthy of a better fate and again return him to the good service of the Church. He is destroyed by jealousy of faith, which I call bloody. The blood will rustle - and he will rush to fight... and as usual, when the measure is not observed, it happens that instead of success, he only makes enemies for himself. This is where he pays. “Tell also that maybe now I won’t have time to write to him; but let him not consider this any kind of anger at him or oblivion. And oh. Archpriest Dimitry Afanasyevich Zhdanov 227 - when you meet, ask me to be lenient and patient if Fr. Florinsky will annoy him. S. Pervukhin, congratulating (in 1889) 228 Bishop Theophan on the New Year, expresses regret that Archpriest N. I. Florinsky told the saint an erroneous opinion about him (Pervukhin), which “disturbed the peaceful state of the saint’s spirit, and left a trace of mistrust in the purity of his moral properties” (i.e. Pervukhin). “Recently (writes Pervukhin) it has become clear to me how muddy human rumors are perverting my solitary life, so that it becomes unbearable for my tired soul to move around in such a human environment, but I find no refuge where to lay my head. As for Archpriest Florinsky, I sincerely apologize to him for his repeatedly and rudely expressed offensive opinion about me; Now, apparently, we are closer to a conciliatory mutual relationship...” “I expected (continues Pervukhin), His Eminence Vladyka, that you would respond to me with your opinion regarding the speech made by Metropolitan Plato last year in St. Isaac’s Cathedral to two Englishmen who wanted to receive his blessing, which I informed you about in my last letter, having copied the contents of that speech from the newspaper “Kyiv Slovo” dated April 21, 1888 229, but your response was not received, which I extremely regret, for I know your firm stand in Orthodoxy, of which I, for my part, am very jealous, and therefore it is very painful for me that it is not supported by those who have sworn to take upon themselves the sacred duty of being on its guard. To this I will also add: being now, on the day of the Epiphany of the Lord, this January 6, in the church of the Great Martyr George at the liturgy, before the end of it I had to listen to the sermon of the rector of this church, Archpriest Matthew Potorzhinsky 230, in which he, explaining the meaning of the sacrament of St. baptism, touched upon the fact that many of the Orthodox Christians invite people of other faiths to be their successors for the baptism of their children, regarding their relationship with them, which he does not approve of, he concludes: that it is possible to allow them to be successors, but only in this order: that if the child receiving baptism is male, then the successor must certainly be Orthodox, and the successor can also be of a different faith; if the child is female, then the successor must be Orthodox, and the successor can be of a different faith. His conclusion amazed me, for, according to the decree of our Church, the successors of the baptized person, who undertake to lead him in the faith, must certainly both be Orthodox, which, according to common sense, cannot be otherwise; since a non-Christian is cut off from the body of our Church, by the power of the power given to her from above, therefore, he is a dead member for her, then it is unusual to attach a dead member to a living body, and therefore there is no place for a non-Christian to be a successor to a baptized Orthodox. On what basis does Archpriest Potorzhinsky preach publicly in the Orthodox Church of God the decree not of the Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, but his own, or from where did he borrow the legality of such a decree for the great sacrament of St. baptism? In response to this letter, Bishop Theophan wrote the following. 560. About Pervukhin’s disease. About the speech of Metropolitan. Plato before the British. About the successors About Pervukhin's disease. About the attitude towards him. About the speech of Metropolitan Plato before the British. About successors at baptism. On the attitude towards Catholicism. About the Diveyevo monastery. About the third volume of the Philokalia. Guilty, very guilty! I remember that I was planning to answer you at the same time; but something needed came along and wiped the matter out. And then I completely forgot about him and remained until now in the blissful peace that no one’s debt lay on me. I'm sorry! Two to three days from Fr. Nikolai Florinsky received the news that you were unwell - and extremely... and now Olga Vasilievna Sturmer wrote about the same thing - noting (both) that they were waiting for an answer. I rummaged through the unanswered letters - and I see my accuser - your letter - and I undertake to answer you. Firstly, I assure you that in the eyes of my soul, with which I look at you, there is not a speck of powder that would cast even the slightest shadow on you. You have always been and are with me - pure and immaculate, both outside and inside... O. Nikolai, I don’t remember writing. But even if I had written, it would not have changed my good thoughts about you. About Metropolitan Plato’s speech to the British I completely forgot what he said there; probably fraternized, as before, with Catholics somewhere... This is certainly not good; I think that this was said in a spirit of conciliation towards the Gentiles. The church rule regarding this remains immutable. Let's grieve and pray... and there's nothing else we can do. Regarding the priest’s sermon about successors, this sage should be given a sensitive suggestion. That's it, tea, we started volunteering... (sic!). You there are being nice to Catholicism, which is papolatry - a kind of idolatry, and in the north with Protestants... Our head is bitter! As if the Lord did not send to knock them out of us - the Prussians with the Austrians and Italians!!!... I ask you to tell O.V. Sturmer that I did not receive her letter and therefore I don’t know what she wants to know about the Diveyevo monastery. – In general, I say that it is very well-maintained, and there are an abundance of sisters there, up to 800... That’s what I heard. “If she still wants to know anything, let her write.” I hope you'll get better soon. From O.V. Sturmer’s letter I guess that the danger has passed. May God help you to rise completely. There is a third volume of the Philokalia. I'll send you when you get better. And now this book is hard for you. Bless you, Lord, with every blessing! and O.V. 231 my best wishes! This letter from Bishop Theophan made S. Pervukhin very happy, and in feelings of deepest gratitude he wrote a letter to the saint dated November 14, 1889 in the following terms: “I received your most pleasant letter, it greatly encouraged me and drove away from me the spirit of despondency that weighed on me in my dangerous illness, into which I suddenly fell and which threatened me daily with death, which terrified me because of my unwillingness to appear at the formidable and impartial judgment of God. According to the doctors: one of them said that bronchitis had formed on the right side of my chest, and according to the other, my illness resulted from the expansion of my lungs. Although I have now recovered, I have not recovered at all, for the symptoms of my illness have not stopped and keep me in fear, threatening me with the return of the same suffering at the slightest carelessness on my part. I don't know how winter will go for me. The fifth month has already come, and my illness has not left me; and I think that medicine is not able to cope with it, and help can only come to me from the Lord, who created heaven and earth, which has already happened to me. Your response to me about the good opinion that you have of me, Holy Master, is comforting for me, but at the same time it confuses me that I have not achieved those bright qualities that you attribute to me; although, speaking simply from the heart, I excite myself to assimilate them, but for all that I see on my soul a lot of unwashed dark spots that have been deeply ingrained into it and causing disgrace to it, which greatly crushes me. After eight years, I. L. Labutin was recently in Kyiv again; his meeting with me was friendly; our conversation was sincere and frank, from which I saw that his concern for the salvation of his soul had not weakened, but the environment in which his life revolved caused him a very great hindrance in this matter, so that he felt regret for himself. Archpriest N.I. Florinsky, when meeting with me, having learned from me that I was going to write to you, earnestly asked me to convey to Your Eminence his deepest respect and asks for your blessing and holy prayers. It seems that the disadvantageous position in which he is placed, which has lowered his dignity, humbles him a lot and weighs him down.” In the last years of his life (1890–1892), S. Pervukhin, in letters to the Reverend Theophan, complained about the illness that befell him, which prevented him from going to the church of God, enjoying church services, and even fasting during Lent. As a result of this, S. Pervukhin could not accurately correspond with the saint he respected, for which he asked for his forgiveness. Pervukhin's letters during this time (at least in draft form) are quite brief, not fully processed, even unfinished, and some were rewritten (as we will see below from the letters of the Right Reverend Theophan) by someone else's hand (O. V. Sturmer). In his last letters, Pervukhin expresses deep gratitude to Bishop Feofan for sending the books of the Philokalia. “Your books (wrote Pervukhin - dated August 23, 1890) brought light into my gloomy life, awakened my soul, which was slumbering from despondency, and aroused my spirit’s zeal for activity. For those seeking salvation, these books, as in a pure mirror, reflect the right path leading to heaven, and reveal the disastrous state of souls who do not know this path and go the opposite way into the land of eternal darkness, from which may the Lord deliver me by His grace.” Pervukhin expresses regret that he cannot use the saint’s oral conversation. “Although, Vladyka, you do not consider it useful for me to talk with you personally, I still remain with the conviction that such a conversation would greatly enlighten my knowledge of spiritual subjects, for I live in the world and constantly move among people who do not have a proper understanding of spiritual life and Divine subjects, but only in their self-delusion frivolously think that they too think correctly about those subjects that are for them reason is inaccessible, so I don’t know anyone with whom I could have a meaningful spiritual conversation...” Having learned that the St. Petersburg Theological Academy awarded Bishop Theophan the degree of Doctor of Theology for his numerous works, Pervukhin in two letters greeted the saint on receiving this degree. “I rejoice (writes Pervukhin), Vladyka, that you received the degree of Doctor of Theology, without seeking it, as others seek, but according to the Spiritual Council’s assessment of your theological works, which you published not at all in order to exalt yourself in spiritual literature and gain fame, but to indicate the true path to those seeking the salvation of the soul, and therefore it seems to me that the Spiritual Council acted here not without inspiration from above.” Knowing that Bishop Theophan treated Archpriest N.I. Florinsky very kindly and corresponded with him, Pervukhin reports that “a catastrophe broke out” over this archpriest. Metropolitan Platon, offended by Archpriest Florinsky’s unpleasant letter to him, suggested that the latter “leave the Kyiv diocese and look for another place outside of it.” Now, notes Pervukhin, both the archpriest himself and his family greatly mourn the excessive ardor that Archpriest Florinsky showed in relation to the metropolitan. However, Metropolitan Platon turned his anger into mercy and transferred Archpriest N. Florinsky from the cathedral to the Presentation Church. In two letters, Pervukhin reports on Major Labutin, who reproached Bishop Feofan for the advice to marry given to him by his Eminence. Pervukhin fully justifies Bishop Feofan in this case, since Labutin very hastily made the choice of a bride, who, when she was a girl, seemed “outwardly pious,” and when she became a wife, she began to lead an absent-minded lifestyle that did not correspond to Labutin’s pious mood. The last lines, it seems, of Pervukhin’s last letter 232 concern the personality of the highly respected shepherd, Archpriest Fr. John Sergiev, Kronstadt. “I would like to know, Vladyka (writes Pervukhin), your opinion about the personality of Archpriest John of Kronstadt, whose fame is bright throughout all parts of Russia, and many things are spreading that cast doubt on whether what they say about him is true.” Regarding these letters from S. Pervukhin, Saint Theophan wrote his last letters in response. 561. I remember you every day. About the doctoral degree. About the trip to Athos I remember you every day. About a doctorate degree: if only it would add more intelligence. About the trip to Athos: only if in a hot air balloon. Don’t regret that you can’t see me: all my wisdom has gone into books. About the marriage of an officer I know: it’s no one’s fault, I chose it myself. On the appointment of a new bishop. I am very guilty before you for not answering. Meanwhile, everyone remembered this debt and was going to pay it. Well, I'm finally paying. However, don’t think that I will ever forget you. I remember every day and pray to the Lord to bless you with His all-generous blessing. Thank you for your sympathy for my doctor. I admire the doctorate. But, of course, I would admire it even more if, along with this, my intelligence increased. About my intention to leave for Athos. the archimandrite did not tell you everything. I do not refuse to go there - only in a balloon - and precisely when they invent a way to control these balloons and give them the desired direction and rise and fall. As soon as we achieve this, I will immediately buy myself such a small horse - and march. You regret that you can’t talk to me. And I’ll tell you: serve a grateful prayer service that you can’t... but I won’t explain why. All my wisdom went into books; and there is nothing left at home... Look there. However, you can also cockroach on paper (sic!). And another thing is that you don’t have enough wise and reasonable people there?! Labutin reproaches me for why I advised him to get married. But I didn’t give orders, I only wrote: wouldn’t it be better to get married?! Getting married was his own decision of free choice. He is not complaining about his marriage, but about his wife. “If my wife were better, I would rejoice.” Who is to blame? I chose it myself. As soon as I received the letter, I immediately gave up: I went and got engaged... without taking a good look around. We have a new bishop. There was the Kyiv vicar Vitaly... and now the Kiev vicar, Jerome, will come. He will bring us a Kyiv darling... and then he will shake him up... I haven’t sent you books for a long time. The Philokalia ended with volume 5. It seems you only have three. – I’ll send the 4th and 5th too. Wait a moment. I won’t write anything more, tea. It's time to rest. 562. About the fifth volume of the Philokalia. On compiling an index to the Philokalia About the fifth volume of the Philokalia: this is the height of ascetic writings. On compiling an index to the Philokalia. Well wishes. Guilty! When sending you the 5th volume of the Philokalia, I was too lazy to write you even a line. I recognize the ignorance of such an act and apologize. Now you have probably already looked through these books. This is the pinnacle of ascetic writings, depicting the final limits of perfection of spiritual life. How simple everything seems, but inconvenient for life, much less for the mind. Anyone, however, who walks the inner path can get indications from here whether they are going the right way and whether they have gone far, although it is better not to touch the latter, so as not to eat yourself out of sight. The Philokalia is over. Now we need to create an index. I'm getting started. – Readers don’t really need an index when they read, but after reading, when they remember some idea and they have a desire to read more, it will bring great pleasure, and perhaps even benefit. - However, this work, although simple, but painstaking, makes itself felt, especially for such a lazy person like me. How is your godly life going? - Blessed is your part. Clouds of vain thoughts and worries do not obscure your inner vault of heaven, and the sun there is clearly visible and shines brightly. P.S. You once promised to write me something... and you didn’t. I waited - I waited; and then I stopped waiting. 563. Blessing for Lent. About a difficult situation. About life in hotels Blessing for Lent. About a difficult situation: it’s good that you don’t be burdened by it. About life in hotels. About the books being sent. I congratulate you on Great Lent, accompanying this with the desire to spend this saving fast in the health and reverence that is usual for you, with the receipt of all the spiritual benefits brought by fasting. Writing about yourself in your last letter, you portrayed your situation as very difficult and many obstacles; and yet, they did not give even a hint that this would burden you, tire you and make your life sorrowful. From this I conclude that your inner structure is strong and trustworthy and that, just as this cannot be without a grace-filled overshadowing, you do not cease to be with God and with humble boldness stand before Him in your heart without moving away. - Glory to Thee, Lord, glory to Thee! You all live in hotels. How much this can contribute to remembering that we are strangers and strangers, and that we have a life in heaven, for which we must prepare, without burdening ourselves with earthly excesses and living like a migratory bird! In such a mood, the flow of earthly things touches, but does not cling. I am sending you a book. It is not new in content, but only appears in a new form - in a new one, relative to the previous edition, and not relative to how it was originally published. These are my lectures given at the S.P.B. 233 Academy in 1845–7: which is already 45 years old. It could have been otherwise, and it should have been stated differently, but now I can no longer do a serious alteration: my spiritual strength has weakened, and besides, it will do just as it is. If someone comes up with something better, let him say it to others. When I originally compiled it, I only had in mind to introduce Christian principles according to Christian moral teaching, which are lacking in such books. The end of the “Inscription” in the book is “The Path to Salvation” and these are my academic lectures. I retired a long time ago, according to the form; I’m actually going to apply for it only now. Help, Lord! – Peace – five letters. And how much is required for it is impossible to list. So you are looking for him: may God help you! Bless you, Lord, with every blessing! 564. About Pervukhin’s disease. About the impossibility of being in church. About your illnesses About Pervukhin’s illness: The Mother of God will help you, be in good spirits. About the impossibility of being in church: you can pray earnestly while lying down. About your illnesses. I am very guilty before you for not answering your letter. Please forgive me. I am very sorry that the disease has overcome you and wish you a speedy recovery. The Mother of God helped you before. She will help now, and here - in Kyiv: for She is not bound by place. All the saints of Kyiv will help you. Cry louder. They will hear. - Be grateful and do not allow yourself to become despondent. And it is always necessary to prepare for death, not only in case of illness, but also in the most flourishing state of health. The fact that you don’t have the strength to go to church is difficult for someone who is used to this, but it is not irreplaceable. And while lying down you can pray fervently. The Lord is near. I remember you said that your internal prayer is in order. Here is a source of consolation for you, and a work that is better than all external ones and more valuable to God. Patience and complacency are your support. Both stand on the same foundation - strong trust in God. May the Lord prosper you! I will also boast about my ill health. Since last year, I have been feeling dizzy, accompanied by relaxation in body and mind. On seizure days, the soul becomes dull and forgetful, which is why nothing can be done. Please convey my regards to those you know and wish them all the best. 565. About Pervukhin’s disease. About the impossibility of being in church. About boredom. Well wishes It’s my fault that I didn’t answer for so long, I kept getting ready and didn’t get ready. I'm sorry and I apologize. - Meanwhile, you have reached the point where you can’t even write letters yourself. I am very sorry, but I am also consoled that St. stood up for you. Great Martyr Barbara, showing you a real doctor. She is the deliverer from a vain death, and you would have had a vain death, due to the carelessness of someone who should have seen where your illness was heading. The weakness remains: God will help and it will pass. Nowadays, doctors know many remedies that restore muscle strength. – You can’t go to church: that’s the hardest thing. But manage to replace this with prayer at home, not reading, but your own - not verbose. Or here’s how: during the hours of the liturgy, imagine yourself standing in the church - and go through in your memory everything as the liturgy goes on with the corresponding thoughts and feelings. It will be like being present in a church during the liturgy. - Why do you need to read it yourself? force those who come. Olga Vasilyevna, who wrote the letter, I think, will serve you with pleasure in this regard. - Someone from the monastery can be persuaded to do this. Or repeat in your mind what you know. Why be bored? To whom the sky is open and the hosts of angels and saints are familiar, he should not be bored. – Boredom is an earthly mistress. – I wish you a speedy recovery and complete, and until then, complacent patience, drowning all sorrow by immersing yourself in the providential care of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ for us. What can I say about myself? - I too am weak; but not severe infirmities, with which you can live without shouting or grumbling. May the Lord be merciful to you! Save yourself. Please pass the enclosed message to Olga Vasilievna. S. Pervukhin in his last letter to Saint Theophan asked his opinion about. O. John of Kronstadt (Sergiev), about whom a wide variety of, sometimes contradictory, information was disseminated in society. In the letters of Bishop Feofan to Pervukhin we do not find an answer to this question. But from the saint’s letters to other persons interested in the personality of Fr. John, we learn that Bishop Theophan had a high opinion of the Kronstadt shepherd. Thus, in a letter to Mrs. M.D. and her husband, with whom Bishop Theophan corresponded in 1874–1891, the saint writes: “As for Fr. John of Kronstadt, then I am sure that he is truly a man of God. And you will not be wrong if you are convinced of the same. His books are good... And this one - “Diary” - is good. Here are the bright thoughts of the soul living in God. Read them while crossing yourself. Perhaps something else may not seem entirely clear. Then ask, and maybe I can explain to you...” “I recently received a letter from a lady who, having visited Kronstadt and seen how things were going with Fr. John, made peace with him spiritually. She is amazed when Father John sleeps!? I note that if through Fr. John, the power of God did not act, then the crowd and rumor would have long ago recoiled from him... And what else in him others do not like, there is nothing to look at... (Even the Lord Savior was looked at with different eyes)..." 234. In another letter to the same persons, Bishop Theophan wrote: “I am very glad that you have reconciled yourself in spirit, for the sake of Fr. John. He is worthy of all respect. He works for God, and by the power of God we strengthen him. May the Lord protect his soul from exaltation, which, God forbid, will immediately frustrate his action” 235. The letters we publish from Bishop Theophan to Colonel S. Pervukhin, we hope, will occupy a fairly prominent place in our spiritual literature, since they clearly and vividly depict the high personality of the reclusive saint with his opinions and judgments on various religious and moral issues. The peculiarity of these letters, by the way, is that they were written to a person known to the saint and sincerely respected by him. Bishop Feofan not only taught S. Pervukhin advice on various issues, but also asked his opinions on issues of an ascetic nature, giving importance to his judgments. Treating Pervukhin with respect and trust, the saint was not shy in front of him in the way he expressed his thoughts: he wrote frankly, sometimes quite sharply expressing his judgments even about high-ranking clergy. In particular, the letters of Saint Theophan contain his judgments: • about the incorporeality of the soul of man and angels, in refutation of the thoughts of Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov (letters 536, and 537); • about mental spiritual prayer and the Jesus Prayer (letters 540, 544, 545, 564); • about home prayer, replacing church prayer in the event that due to illness a person cannot be in the church of God (letters 564, 565); • about the meaning of spiritual visions (letters 540, 543, 545); • about the possibility of salvation for people living in the world (letter 540); about remembering death (letter 563) and always preparing for it (letter 564); • about the influence of evil spirits on us (letter 541); • about the time of the New Year celebration (letter 540); • on the translation of the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament into Russian (letters 550, 558); • about the new Slavic translation of church liturgical books (letters 550, 558). In addition, the letters of Bishop Theophan provide information: • about his writings: interpretation of Psalm 119 (letters 539, 552, 553); interpretation of the letters of the Apostle Paul (letters 553, 554), about the “Philokalia” (letter 562), about the book “The Path to Salvation” (letter 563), about the interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer (letter 554); • about the seclusion of Bishop Theophan (letter 541); • about his illness (letters 552, 553, 564, 565); • about Kiev, its shrines, the saint’s desire to visit Kiev (letters 555, 556); • about the Lebedyansky Sezenovsky Monastery (letter 557); • about Archpriest N.I. Florinsky (letters 549, 550, 557, 558, 559); • about Archpriest D. A. Zhdanov (letters 549, 550, 559); • about Archimandrite Laurentius (letter 540); • about General S. O. Burachka (letters 540, 550); • about N.V. Elagin (letter 550); • about A.D. Ushinsky (letters 555, 556). This short list of the more important items contained in the letters of Bishop Theophan that we published shows that they contain a lot of precious information both about the saint himself, his reclusive life, his scientific and literary activity, and about those persons who were fortunate enough to have close relationships or correspondence with the great saint, a graduate of the Oryol Theological Seminary and the Kyiv Theological Academy. Compiled by Archpriest I. Korolkov. [For footnotes marked with an asterisk, see Notes on p. 623, – Ed. ; In the Internet version, notes prot. I. Korolkova returned to the appropriate pages - Editorial Board of the ABC of Faith]. Note from Prot. I. Korolkova – (1*. to page 515). Various compilers of his biographies and obituaries considered the year of birth of Bishop Theophan to be 1813, 1814, 1815, 1817. But in the metrical extract reported to us from the Oryol Ecclesiastical Consistory, the year of birth is recognized as 1815. See about this in the article by V.P. Rybinsky (“Proceedings of the Kyiv Theological Academy.” 1894. No. 3. P. 421), our articles in the “Church Bulletin” (1894. No. 16. P. 246–247); “Church Gazette” (1894. No. 12. pp. 393–395); in “Proceedings of the Kyiv Theological Academy” (1894. No. 8); articles by I. N. Korsunsky in “Readings of the Society of Lovers of Spiritual Enlightenment” (1894. No. 5–6. P. 342); the book of Archpriest M. Khitrov “The Reverend Theophan, the recluse of Vyshensky” (2nd ed. 1905. P. 6). Note from Prot. I. Korolkova – (2*. to page 515). In December 1842, Hieromonk Feofan was transferred to the position of inspector and teacher of logic and psychology at the Novgorod Theological Seminary (“Proceedings of the Kiev Theological Academy” 1894. No. 3. P. 423). Note from Prot. I. Korolkova – (3*. to page 516). The saint was in correspondence with Archpriest, rector of the Kiev Sretenskaya (Sorrowful) Church D. A. Zhdanov, master of the 10th year of the Kiev Theological Academy and fellow countryman of the Right Reverend Theophan at the Oryol Theological Seminary. He also corresponded with Archpriest N.I. Florinsky, († July 12, 1900), master of the 14th year of the Kyiv Theological Academy. After teaching the law at the 1st Kyiv Gymnasium, Archpriest N. Florinsky was on the staff of the Sophia Cathedral and the Sretenskaya (Sorrowful) Church. He treated His Eminence Theophan with deep reverence and often wrote to him. Letters from Bishop Theophan to Archpriest N. I. Florinsky are reprinted in the Collected Letters of St. Theophan (Issue II. pp. 3–29). Prot. M. I. Khitrov. Eminence Theophan, recluse of Vyshensky. 2nd ed. M. 1905. P. 46. Note from Prot. I. Korolkova – (4*. to page 516). Letters from S. A. Pervukhin to the Right Reverend Theophan (drafts) and the Right Reverend Theophan to Pervukhin (originals) were handed over to us by the rector of the Vasilyevskaya Church, the Venerable Fr. Archpriest E.V. Skripchinsky, former executor of Pervukhin, for which we express our gratitude to Fr. Archpriest the deepest gratitude from us and all admirers of Bishop Theophan. All the letters of the Right Reverend Theophan are 30, and Pervukhin to the saint is also 30. It is a rare case that letters from the person who wrote to him (that is, Pervukhin) have been preserved along with the letters of the Right Reverend Theophan. Therefore, sometimes, for a clear understanding of the letters of the Right Reverend Theophan, we will also refer to the letters of Pervukhin. Decree on the resignation of S. A. Pervukhin dated December 3, 1872 No. 8748. From S. A. Pervukhin’s first letter to Bishop Feofan dated December 27, 1869. From a letter from S. A. Pervukhin to Bishop Feofan dated February 8, 1875. From a letter from Archpriest E. Skripchinsky to the author of this article. The last letter we have (30th) from Eminence Theophan to Pervukhin was written on June 6, 1892. Note from Prot. I. Korolkova – (5*. to page 518). “The Sermon on Death,” compiled by Ignatius, the former bishop of the Caucasus and the Black Sea, was published separately by V. Askochensky in Petrograd in 1863. In the same year, in the magazine “The Wanderer” (1863. Vol. III, No. 9. Div. III. pp. 26–36), a reviewer of bibliographic works, priest I. Matveevsky published a review of this “Word”. Giving due praise to Bishop Ignatius, both for the direction of his words and for his many-sided erudition, Fr. Matveevsky, however, had a negative attitude towards some of the opinions expressed by the bishop in the “Sermon on Death.” The reviewer includes such opinions as: 1) the doctrine of the corporeality of the soul and spirits; 2) about the sensuality of heaven; 3) about the location of hell in the interior of the earth and 4) about the location of evil spirits and ordeals in the air. “Not a single eschatology (says Priest Matveevsky), or part of theology that considers recent events concerning the world and man, has been included in such a detailed solution to these issues as was done by the author. Theology, as a science, did not assume the responsibility to resolve these questions in the same way as the compiler of the “Tale on Death” resolved them, because, referring such and similar questions to the field of human inquisitiveness (editor’s italics - Ed.), which wants to extend even beyond the limits of human limitations, it always reported indisputable information about the soul, heaven, hell and evil spirits, based on Holy Scripture and consistent with the teaching of the Universal Church. After these general comments, the reviewer enters into a philological examination of words (πνευμα=ψσυχη, σῶμα=σαρξ=χουσ - that is: spirit - soul, body - flesh - earth) according to their use in Holy Scripture, and analyzes opinions about the property of the soul of both ancient writers (Homer, Aristotle), and and the Fathers of the Church (Justin the Philosopher, Irenaeus, Caesarea, Macarius the Great, etc.). See Writings of Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov). 2nd ed. St. Petersburg 1886. T 3. P. 185–302. "Home Conversation" 1869. Issue. 1. pp. 5–6. In a separate edition of these articles (2nd ed. M. 1902. P. 6) for some reason the last words are changed as follows: “the soul and the angel are not the body, but the spirit.” Right there. These last words (“I consider it a duty... as a teaching”), characterizing the very delicate relationship of St. Theophan to Bishop Ignatius, are omitted in a separate publication.. Note from Prot. I. Korolkova – (6*. to page 520). The articles “The soul and the angel are not something corporeal, but pure spirit” were published in “Home Conversation” (1869. pp. 5–11, 38–43, 66–74, 83–93, 124–128, 153–157, 177–182, 209–213, 240–243, 262–265, 283–286, 300–302, 322–323, 346–351, 383–389, 488–491, 524–529, 550–558, 574–577). These articles were published separately under the following title: “The soul and angel are not the body, but the spirit (against the brochures - “The Word on Death” and “Addition” to this word).” In the preface to the first edition, Bishop Theophan sets out his motivation for publishing his articles (from “Home Conversation”) as a separate book: “From the very publication of the article (says Bishop Theophan) it was intended to publish it as a special brochure and put it into circulation among readers, so that those who came across the “Tale of Death” and the “Addition” to it would find in it what they need to ward off temptation the new teaching that those brochures preach, dressing their preaching in the garb of Orthodoxy... For this purpose, the proposed article is being published, in which the new teaching of the said brochures is analyzed in full detail, leaving not a single thought unsaid that should have been stated.” The semantic underlinings in S. Pervukhin’s letters, made either by the author himself or by the compiler of the publication, are highlighted in bold - Ed. Note from Prot. I. Korolkova – (7*. to p. 520). Pervukhin visited Archpriest N.I. Florinsky at home and talked with him about the Right Reverend Theophan and met with him in the Mikhailovsky Monastery with the Right Reverend Porfiry at the church monastic holiday (November 8). O. Florinsky also showed Pervukhin a photographic card of His Eminence Theophan. “Oh, if it weren’t for my weakness, then I would have settled in the slums of the earth and there I would have begun to wash away with the streams of my tears from my unfortunate soul all the rubbish, uncleanness and abomination that has stuck to it, from which, living in the middle of the world, I am not able to get rid of it.” From S. Pervukhin’s first letter to His Eminence Theophan. Pervukhin decisively says that “the soul and the angel certainly have a form, because God alone is formless, indescribable by anything, not embraced by any space, inconceivable by the heavens of heavens, inaccessible to any mental conception of Him; At whom even the luminous angels closest to Him cannot look and see Him as He is, and if they do, then only as He, condescending to them, reveals Himself in order to be accessible to them, which is very natural, as it is understandable to our mind: that it is impossible to embrace the essence of the created - original, the initial - without beginning, the finite - limitless... All other spiritual beings, even the most sublime and the purest, not excluding any one, must have, although immaterial, an outline or form, visible only with purely spiritual eyes and, of course, no longer humanoid, as others think, for example, like the spirit seer Swedenborg himself.”... Note from Prot. I. Korolkova – (8*. to p. 526). The question of the incorporeality of the soul of man and angels, discussed in detail by the Right Reverend Theophan in his article (in “Home Conversation”) and in this letter to Pervukhin, interested the saint in subsequent times. So in 1890 (that is, 20 years after these discussions), the Right Reverend Theophan, in letters to Archpriest P. A. Smirnov and N. V. Elagin, mentions his article “The soul and the angel are not the body, but the spirit,” and says that both the disciples and disciples of the Right Reverend Ignatius are not inferior... and are trying to justify him... (Collected letters of St. Theophan. Issue III. P.225:254). And it is not surprising, we note, that the word of the Right Reverend Ignatius (“On Death”) found many “disciples and female disciples” in our society. This word represents an extensive discussion (240 pages), revealing in the author a thorough acquaintance with St. Scripture, paternal works (Macarius the Great, Anthony the Great, Athanasius of Alexandria, John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, John Climacus, St. Isaiah, Barsanuphius the Great, Gregory the Sinaite, Basil the New, Peter of Damascus, etc.), secular writers and foreign literature. The note was made by S. A. Pervukhin. Archpriest E.V. Skripchinsky, who gave us the letters of Eminence Theophan and S.A. Pervukhin, in explanation of the shortage of the former’s letters, suggests that, in all likelihood, they remained with one of Pervukhin’s acquaintances who were interested in the letters of the great ascetic and recluse. The former bishop of Poltava, who lived in retirement in Kiev and died here in 1872. From Pervukhin’s letter to Bishop Feofan dated April 10, 1870. The note (sic!) – attention – is often found in this publication and most likely belongs to the author-compiler. – Ed. From Pervukhin’s letter to Bishop Feofan dated December 26, 1870. Bishop Theophan's letter only indicates the date and month, but does not indicate the year in which the answer was written, and there are no notes about receipt. Judging by the content, St. Theophan’s letter can be dated back to 1871. That is, March 12, as Archpriest N.I. Florinsky informed him about. This is a letter from Bishop Theophan without indicating the year. It can be dated back to 1871 and appears to be a response to Pervukhin’s letter, above, dated March 29, 1871. From a letter from Pervukhin dated December 30, 1871. Was it not this desire of Pervukhin that served as the impetus for Bishop Theophan to interpret the entire 118th Psalm? This interpretation began to be published in “Home Conversation” for the years 1874–1876, and then came out as a separate book. Note from Prot. I. Korolkova – (9*. to p. 533). Bishop Joseph (in the world Ivan Ivanovich Theologian) was educated at the Moscow Theological Academy, from which he graduated in 1828. From 1853 to 1864 he was Bishop of Voronezh; in 1864 he was dismissed due to illness. Died on February 19, 1892. Note from Prot. I. Korolkova – (10*. to page 533). Bishop Seraphim (in the world Alexander Aretinsky) graduated from the course of the Kyiv Theological Academy as the first master in 1837 and remained a bachelor at the Academy. From 1865 to 1886 he was Bishop of Voronezh. Died on April 22, 1886. Note from Prot. I. Korolkova – (11*. to page 533). Bishop Veniamin (in the world Vasily Mikhailovich Smirnov) graduated from the Kyiv Theological Academy in 1855; from 1886 to 1890 he was Bishop of Voronezh. Died May 7, 1890. Note from Prot. I. Korolkova – (12*. to p. 534). Burachek Stepan Onisimovich, lieutenant general, editor and publisher of the Mayak magazine. His Grace Theophan, when he was a bachelor of the Petrograd Theological Academy, became close friends with him and his family and carried on friendly correspondence. Note from Prot. I. Korolkova – (13*. to p. 535). Without a doubt, of course, Archimandrite Lavrenty (in the world Dimitri Ivanovich Makarov); in 1835 he graduated from the course of the Kyiv Theological Academy as the fourth master (and the first was Dimitri Muretov) and was left at the Academy as a bachelor. He was the abbot of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra (1844), the rector of the Kyiv Vydubitsky Monastery (1852) and finally the rector of the first-class Valdai Iversky Monastery (Novgorod diocese). Died in 1876. From Pervukhin’s letter to Bishop Feofan dated March 12, 1873. So in the journal “Proceedings of the Kyiv Imperial Theological Academy”. – Ed. From a letter from S. Pervukhin to Bishop Feofan dated January 26, 1874. This letter also talks about S. Pervukhin’s travels through Palestine, Mount Athos and Russian monasteries. Of course, Kyiv Archpriest N. I. Florinsky Pervukhin was interested in knowing why Bishop Feofan, himself an educated man, experienced in spiritual life, turned to him for clarification of such a difficult question as the question of visions. “Perhaps (Pervukhin writes), during my meeting with you in 1873 in the Vyshenskaya Hermitage, you noticed something in my spiritual structure (sic!) and belief that requires healing, and you want to bring it out through my ranting, so that later it would be more convenient for you to point out to me my illness. If this is so, then, looking at your good hierarchical intention with a feeling of gratitude, I am very willing to present for your discussion my own view of the visions, and not one drawn from books.” – Letter from Pervukhin to Bishop Feofan dated February 8, 1875. Pervukhin gives the example of one nun who was fanatically devoted to visions. In response to Pervukhin’s warning not to indulge too much and trust in visions, this nun “answered him with indignation that if it weren’t for her visions, she would have given up her monasticism long ago!” There are (according to Pervukhin’s observation) thousands of other people who, in the matter of salvation, are carried away by visions and place them almost above Holy Scripture itself. From Pervukhin’s letter to Bishop Feofan dated February 8, 1875. That is, officially, by decree of the Consistory, they were assigned to a famous monastery. That is, Archpriest N.I. Florinsky. Pervukhin means his letter dated April 1875. It is noteworthy that Sevastopol, according to Pervukhin, was then (in 1875) “a pitiful and deplorable spectacle, since it remained in a state terribly destroyed by a cruel war.” From Pervukhin’s letter to Bishop Feofan dated March 6, 1876. For 1876, there is only one letter from Pervukhin to His Eminence Feofan dated March 6, but there is no other letter in response. That Pervukhin corresponded with Bishop Feofan during the indicated years is clearly evident from the letters of the saint to Pervukhin printed below. Pervukhin’s letter to Bishop Feofan dated March 6, 1876 does not contain any criticism, and there are also no questions about fire (obviously in Jerusalem) and about “It is worthy to eat.” In a letter to the Kyiv archpriest, D. A. Zhdanov (dated November 15, 1876), Bishop Theophan said: “Is S. A. Pervukhin on earth? He’s wise, why did he keep silent?” The letter was published in “Kyiv Diocesan Gazette” for 1894 No. 15, but for some reason these words were omitted, but in the list of Bishop Feofan’s letters we have, they are there. For us, this increase is important. Archpriest D. A. Zhdanov. Archpriest N. I. Florinsky. Note from Prot. I. Korolkova – (14*. to p. 551). Bishop Feofan here means the war between Russia and Turkey (1877–1878) for the liberation of the Balkan Slavs from the heavy Turkish yoke. His Eminence Theophan, living in seclusion, closely followed the political events of his beloved Fatherland and sometimes in letters to people close to him (which, undoubtedly, was S. Pervukhin) shared his views on this or that event in Russia. Bishop Theophan strongly rebelled against translating the Bible from Hebrew rather than from Greek. He wrote articles about this in “Soulful Reading”, “Church Bulletin”, and wrote in private letters. N.V. Elagin, with whom Bishop Feofan corresponded quite frequently. These letters from S. Pervukhin to Bishop Feofan have not survived. Bishop Feofan published some of his articles in Home Conversation, published by V. I. Askochensky. Of course, Bishop Michael (rector of the Academy) and Bishop John. From a letter from S. Pervukhin to Bishop Feofan, undated, but judging by the story about Leshchinskaya, dating back to the end of 1879. This woman’s conversion to Orthodoxy was at one time described in detail in the “Kiev Diocesan Gazette” (1879 No. 25), published under the editorship of the professor of the Kiev Theological Academy I. M. Malyshevsky. From a letter from S. Pervukhin to Bishop Feofan dated March 12, 1880, written in the Lavra Hotel. In the magazine, apparently, it is mistaken: “mulit”. – Ed. A letter about this from S. Pervukhin to Bishop Feofan has not survived. Of course, Pervukhin’s letter to Bishop Feofan dated December 21, 1882. The saint speaks figuratively about the tyranny of laziness. Xanthippe is figuratively a grumpy wife. Pigricia (from lat.) – lethargy, relaxation. Okniria (from Greek) – laziness, – Ed. That is, near the St. Michael's Monastery. Note from Prot. I. Korolkova – (15*. to p. 560). Lebedyansky Sezenovsky Monastery (Tambov diocese) has existed since 1837; it arose from the parish church, which was founded by the late recluse John († December 14, 1839), a disciple and imitator of the exploits of St. Seraphim of Sarov. In 1849, this church was named a women's community, and in 1853, with the Highest permission, it was renamed the supernumerary St. John the Kazan Convent. There are three churches in this monastery - in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, in the name of the Life-Giving Trinity and in honor of the Nativity of Christ. The last church was consecrated by the Right Reverend Theophan in 1860, and the chapel in it, in honor of the Presentation of the Lord, was consecrated, with the blessing of the Right Reverend Theophan, by the dean of this monastery, Archimandrite Seraphim, in 1859. The Sezenovsky monastery is located 12 versts from the district town of Lebedyan, and 180 versts from the city of Tambov. Note from Prot. I. Korolkova – (16*. to p. 562). Articles by Bishop Theophan on the translation of the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament were published in the following publications: 1) “Soulful Reading”, 1875. No. 11. pp. 342–352: “Concerning the publication of the books of the Old Testament in Russian translation”; 2) in “Home Conversation”, 1875. Vol. 47. pp. 1212–1219: “Pravo-slovo about the publication of the books of the Old Testament in Russian translation.” It is known that this article by Bishop Feofan aroused strong objections from the professor of Hebrew at the Moscow Theological Academy P. I. Gorsky-Platonov (“Orthodox Review” 1875. No. 11; 1877. No. 1, 2, 4), to which Bishop Theophan responded: 3) in “Soulful Reading” in 1876. No. 5. P. 3–21: “On our duty to adhere to the translation of 70 interpreters”; 4) Ibid., 1876. No. 9. P. 100–106: “On the use of a new translation of the Old Testament Scriptures”; 5) in “Home Conversation”, 1876. Vol. 20. pp. 499–503; Vol. 21. pp. 527–529; Vol. 22. pp. 527–529; Vol. 23. pp. 579–590: “The Bible, according to the translation of 70 interpreters, is your legitimate Bible”; 6) Ibid., 1876. Issue. 28. pp. 699–709: “Resolution of the issue of the extent of Orthodox use of the current Jewish text, according to the instructions of church practice”; 7) Ibid., 1876. Issue. 24. S. 604–608: “Translation of the Seventy” (but this article is not by Bishop Theophan, but was compiled on the basis of an article by N. Eleonsky, published in “Reading in the Society of Lovers of Spiritual Enlightenment” (1875. No. 1). In addition to Professor P. Gorsky, Professor of the Petrograd Academy I. Yakimov (Church Bulletin, 1876. No. 13, No. 19, No. 35) objected to Eminence Theophan regarding his judgments about the translation of the 70. For his part, Bishop Theophan did not leave Yakimov’s objections unanswered and in the same “Church Bulletin” he published the following articles: 8) “Which text of the Old Testament writings should be adhered to” (1876. No. 19); 9) “On the measure of Orthodox use of the current Jewish text, according to the instructions of church practice” (1876. No. 23). Note from Prot. I. Korolkova – (17*. to p. 562). See letters from Bishop Theophan to N.V. Elagin (Collected letters of St. Theophan. Issue VII. pp. 20, 55, 61–83, 89, 131), and to Archpriest N. I. Florinsky (Collected letters of St. Theophan. Issue. II. pp. 15:20). In a letter to Elagin, Bishop Theophan, expressing his joy at the appointment of a new chief prosecutor (K.P. Pobedonostsev), wrote: “It is very comforting that God sent such a chief prosecutor. At least to some extent it will heal the wounds inflicted by that bashi-bazouk. If only he would bring the newfangled Bible to the point of burning on St. Isaac’s Square... And make those who translated and published it walk around with pokers and not let a single book bounce off and get rid of the burning” (Issue VII. P. 131). For detailed opinions of Bishop Theophan on this, see his “Responses to the Opinions of the Right Reverend Agafangel” (Collected Letters of St. Theophan. Vol. VII. pp. 67–68). Bishop Theophan, shortly after the publication of the Russian translation of the Bible, wrote to Archpriest N. Florinsky (on November 23, 1875): “Please, advocate in defense of the Bible, according to the translation of the 70 against the Masoretic Bible; “Everyone has completely become disgraced and protested” (Issue II. P. 15:20). Note from Prot. I. Korolkova – (18*. to p. 563). In “Soulful Reading,” the former Bishop of Ekaterinoslav Augustine published these translations under the title: “The Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete in a new translation into Church Slavonic" (1882. Part I. pp. 232–261); and also: “Canons for Pentecost, Transfiguration and Assumption in a new translation into Church Slavonic” (1882. Part II. pp. 73–79; 394–409); “Canons for the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and for the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord” (1882. Part III. pp. 86–100); “Canons for the Nativity of Christ” (1882. Part III. pp. 427–434); “Canons for the Epiphany of the Lord, the Presentation of the Lord, the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, on the week of Vai, Holy Week and Easter” (1883. Part I. pp. 3–10; 182–186; 281–287; 409–447); “Canons for the Ascension of the Lord” (1884. Part II. pp. 41–48). Such a letter from S. Pervukhin to Bishop Feofan has not survived. Archpriest D. A. Zhdanov, a comrade at the Academy of Bishop Theophan, was the rector of the Sretenskaya (Sorrowful) Church. It was to him that Archpriest N. I. Florinsky was transferred from St. Sophia Cathedral in 1887 as an assistant rector. There is no date on the letter, but attached to it is an extract from a Kyiv newspaper dated April 1888, which is why we attribute this letter to the following year, 1889. Note from Prot. I. Korolkova – (19*. to p. 566). This is what S. Pervukhin’s extract contains. In the “Kiev Word” No. 375, April 21, 1888, the following was published: “Shortly before Metropolitan Platon’s departure from St. Petersburg to Kyiv, he attended a service in St. Isaac’s Cathedral; his rector informed him that two Englishmen, one of whom was a priest of the Presbyterian Church, would like to receive the archpastoral blessing and were asking for his consent. The Bishop agreed to this. Then the Englishmen who approached him, blessing them, said: “In the name of the One true God common to all of us, I bless you and wish you all the best; I hope that those partitions that we ourselves have created here on earth to distinguish between different faiths of one true Christian Church have not yet grown to heaven and therefore, I believe, will not prevent the blessing that I send down on you in the name of Christ from reaching God, and I bless you as brothers in Christ.” The British, touched by this speech, had the intention of joining Orthodoxy.” Note from Prot. I. Korolkova – (20*. to page 566). Archpriest M. A. Potorzhinsky, master of the Kyiv Theological Academy, graduated in 1863, was one of the outstanding teachers of the Kyiv Theological Seminary and educated pastors of the Church, distinguished by the gift of preaching. He died at the age of 52, on June 9, 1891 (on Trinity Day). He compiled: 1) Historical anthology; 2) Russian homiletical anthology. As for the opinion of Fr. Potorzhinsky about successors at baptism, it is apparently based on the ancient custom according to which the successor at baptism was one person - male or female, depending on the gender of the baby being baptized. A modern canonist, Professor I. S. Berdnikov says this about successors: “Usually there are two successors - a man and a woman, but actually one successor is needed - a man for a man, a woman for a woman (Trebnik. The rite of baptism, § 80). In case of extreme need, baptism can be performed without a recipient. The letter is undated, written apparently with a weakened, senile hand, without any special literary decoration, and, moreover, it is not finished. Pervukhin complains of severe weakening of the body due to illness. “I (he writes) was again beset by the same illness that two years ago almost brought me to the grave and greatly upset my body to the point that my strength was extremely weakened; the energy in me seemed to freeze, and I fell into an apathetic state towards everything around me, and what is extremely regrettable for me is that this year during Great Lent (written before the Ascension of the Lord) I did not fast, unable to visit the church of God.” So in the original. This means St. Petersburg. – Ed. Collection of letters of St. Theophan. Vol. II. M. 1898. pp. 163–164. Collection of letters of St. Theophan. Vol. II. M. 1898. P. 165.