Saint Theophan the Recluse and Athos. Ways of creative cooperation

Annotation. The article examines the relationship of St. Theophan with the St. Panteleimon Monastery on Athos. The spiritual life and ascetic heritage of the Holy Mountain attracted Saint Theophan from the time of his ministry in Jerusalem. At that time, he had a desire to visit Athos and study the ancient manuscripts there and get acquainted with ascetic practice. But, despite his desire, he did not visit the Holy Mountain. St. Theophan began active relations with the monks of the St. Panteleimon Monastery on Athos after his retirement. He corresponded with the monks of the monastery regarding publishing activities, discussed issues of spiritual life, and pointed out to them the mistakes they were making. The monastery sent him manuscripts of ascetic works for translation and publication. The result of the established trusting relationship can be considered the transfer by the Saint of the rights to edify his works to the St. Panteleimon Monastery. When they talk about the place of the Athos peninsula in the life of St. Theophan, they almost always mean the Athos Russian Panteleimon Monastery. This monastery and the Vyshensky ascetic worked closely together and actively communicated for many years, so the degree of their influence on each other’s lives is difficult to overestimate. Saint Theophan contributed to strengthening the monastery's ties with Russia, contributed to the development of its printing, and was the main author of literature published by the monastery for many years. For their part, the monastery brethren delivered rare manuscripts to the ascetic bishop for his writing, prepared his books for printing and published them, prayerfully supported the saint in his sorrows and illnesses, and - which is important for modern researchers - preserved his handwritten archive within the walls of their monastery to this day. This cooperation could have begun back in the early 1850s, when Saint Theophan was in the Middle East as part of the first Russian spiritual mission in Jerusalem. Traveling through the monasteries of Palestine, Egypt and Sinai, he searched for manuscripts of ancient ascetics for their study and translation. Even then, he decided to visit the Holy Mountain: “I intend to ask to go to Athos,” he shared his plans, “and collect everything that is ascetic there. That will be the end of my studies, and after that I am completely useless in the East, for my soul does not lie in anything else.” It is interesting to note that other people inclined to asceticism, with whom Saint Theophan communicated in one way or another and was close, visited the Holy Mountain at different times. One of them was the spiritual writer and confessor of the Vysha monastery - Abbot Tikhon (Tsiplyakovsky), who spent three years on Athos and in 1871 returned to Vysha. Also, while still at the Russian spiritual mission in Jerusalem, the saint met the future abbot of the Panteleimon Monastery, Archimandrite Macarius (Sushkin), when he, being a layman, made a pilgrimage to holy places. Bishop Theophan mentioned this in one of his later letters: “The letter from Athos is a good one. Spiritual wisdom is not stopped there. O. arch. Macarius is the son of a rich man - a merchant from Moscow or St. Petersburg... I went to pray to God, was in Jerusalem when I lived there, was in Sinai, went to Mount Athos, and became very seriously ill.” However, the saint himself, neither in the 1850s nor in subsequent years, although he repeatedly spoke about the desire to visit Athos in his letters, was still not on Athos himself, and considered the nature of the desire to visit Athos to be a temptation. Systematic correspondence with the monks of the Holy Mountain began almost twenty years later, when Bishop Theophan retired to the Vyshensky Monastery to retire. The beginning of many years of written communication with the Athonites can be considered to have begun in 1868 1, when Hieromonk Arseny (Minin) became the saint’s permanent addressee. The acquaintance with him, apparently in absentia, took place a little earlier, during the period of Bishop Feofan’s service at the Vladimir See. Their correspondence continued until the death of Hieromonk Arseny. In his letters the saint called him a “holy man.” Cooperation with the Russian Panteleimon Monastery was most clearly expressed in the field of publishing. It is enough to mention the fact that of the 135 works of Bishop Feofan published before 1917, 50 belonged to this monastery and no more than 15 to his nephew A.G. Govorov. In other words, the monastery publishing house published more than a third of the works of the Vyshensky recluse. It can be said without exaggeration that many of the saint’s creative plans could not have been realized without the help of the monastic brethren. Those manuscripts that the saint intended to collect on Mount Athos back in 1851 were subsequently forwarded to him from the Holy Mountain and were included in his translation of the Philokalia, which he spoke of as enjoying the full respect of the monastics. This collection was published in full only thanks to the help of the Athonites. The inhabitants of the Panteleimon Monastery always met the ascetic writer halfway in searching for books and manuscripts for his translation and literary activities, as indicated in many letters addressed to different persons: “How many times have I asked Fr. Arseny to joke around Athos”; “When starting the translation then, I asked Fr. Arseny to ask on Mount Athos whether these words are in Greek”; “The people of Athos sent me Greek words of praise to St. Panteleimon." Sometimes the Athonites themselves sent valuable material to Vysha in order to subsequently publish it in Russian. “From Athos, the elders sent “visible abuse” of Nicodemus Agiorite, offering to translate,” the saint reported. “In the 150th and 151st volumes of “Patrology” there is the word of St. Gregory Palamas about the life of Peter Athos. We have long wanted to have it in Russian translation. Although we are ashamed, we dare to most earnestly ask you, Holy Master, if you ever have the opportunity, would you please translate this word into Russian,” they addressed him. Sometimes, due to the remoteness of Athos and the lack of quick means of communication with its inhabitants, the saint was forced to take responsibility for resolving issues of book publishing. “There is no need to send a manuscript to Athos. Who will deal with her, or will they smell what’s in her?! This publication will take 5 years... Let’s decide the matter ourselves,” he wrote to the publisher. It is worth emphasizing that the creative collaboration in question was alien to commercial gain. The main goal both for the brethren of the Panteleimon Monastery and for St. Theophan was the spiritual enlightenment of his contemporaries, the mass distribution of Christian literature to everyone for the glory of the Church of God. The saint unequivocally refuses the opportunity to receive additional fees for his literary activities: “What am I doing for the people of Athos, for the sake of St. I'm doing Panteleimon. Is it proper to once again take away from a saint what was given to him? Nothing other than a certain number of copies is required.” It is known that subsequently the saint transferred the rights to publish his works to his nephew A.G. Govorov, and he, on his advice, to the Panteleimon Monastery 2. This step, apparently, was a consequence of the reluctance or inability of Alexei’s nephew to publish and sell books. In support of this assumption, we can cite the words of the saint from his correspondence. “My nephew complained that books only take up space: no one buys them,” he reported. “I advised him to give them to the people of Athos... My nephew is not a master in this area.” The same thing is mentioned in a letter to another addressee: “All the books that were printed were bought from their nephew by the people of Athos with a big concession. They also handed over the subsequent edition with a small fee on their part. The reason for this is that books are not sold out. And things are going well for them.” The subject of correspondence between Saint Theophan and the Athonite monks is not limited to printing. He often discussed spiritual problems with those who labored on the Holy Mountain, especially ascetic practice. Those who personally knew the saint believed that on these issues he not only instructed, but also resorted to the advice of spiritually experienced mentors. Thus, Abbot Tikhon (Tsiplyakovsky) mentions that Saint Theophan consulted on the issues of going into complete seclusion, which he undertook in 1873: “He also had spiritual relations with the elder ascetics of the Athos Russian Monastery of St. Great Martyr Panteleimon. And they could tell him how they labored for St. Mount Athos are hermits, and there were quite a few of them there, and there are now.” Also in his correspondence, the saint gives advice on writing: “You sent me a manuscript and a printed Greek book to review and indicate their merits. I looked through the manuscript. For this reason, I consider this manuscript inconvenient for publication.” When an eye disease befell him, he asks the prayers of the brethren for their healing: “If you beg for my eyes, then this can be done,” and in general for his health. He wrote to monk Vladislav (Popov): “If you write to Mount Athos, say bow to everyone... and let them know that I have gone wild. They should pray that the Lord will restore my weakened health.” Sometimes the recluse Vyshensky ordered through them various tools for his handicrafts: bookbinding tools, a device for carving wood, etc. Friendly relations with Athonite correspondents allowed the saint to address them directly with requests for the monastery and of a personal nature. “Is there a cypress tree on Athos? Are there any boards made from this cypress? And where can you get them? We are building a warm church 3 – good. The elders decided to make a board for the throne or cover it, cover it with Athos cypress. The elders entrust me with asking you about this,” he wrote to the Athonites. When the need arose to visit Moscow to see a doctor and not be noticed by anyone, Bishop Theophan asks to “find shelter for a day or two” at the Athos courtyard in Moscow. There is also a response from the saint to an Athonite admirer of his works, composed, as always, in a spirit of extreme humility. “You brought me great comfort with your letter. Although my writings are very petty, I cannot boast that I am indifferent to how they are judged. Therefore, your condescending judgment about them pleased me very much. It gave me the idea that, therefore, there was still something there, and that therefore someone else, having read it, would put some, even incomplete, admirer for me. But I really need them, it’s a sin for the sake of my many and great ones.” To summarize, it must be said that correspondence with the Athonite monks and with the brethren of the Panteleimon Monastery comes to the fore in the life of St. Theophan during the period of retreat, especially in the last years of his earthly life. This is confirmed by even one mechanical count of correspondence with the Athonites and mentions of them in the rest of the correspondence. The saint himself testified to this. In one of his letters from the beginning of 1893, he writes: “So I fulfilled the obedience of our elder, Abba of the Panteleimon monastery, on Mount Athos. I consider myself a member of Panteleimon’s group.” This spiritual connection was mutual. The deep involvement in the life of the saint was repeatedly expressed by the Athonites, especially after his righteous death: “The loss is difficult for all his admirers, but it is especially sensitive for our monastery... Our monastery, always grateful to the ever-memorable Bishop, considered and considers it a duty to offer up our humble prayers to the Lord for him every day during all services.” Obviously, thanks to many years of close cooperation, numerous friendly connections and truly spiritual communication between the saint and the inhabitants of the Panteleimon Monastery, a significant part of his handwritten heritage has reached us. The saint's archive was purchased by the monastery shortly after the death of his main heir, A. G. Govorov, taken to Athos and, despite all the cataclysms of the twentieth century, has survived to this day. 1. “Memories of the Right Reverend Theophan the Recluse, a close relative of A.G. Govorov” // DCH. 1894. Part 2. pp. 61–66. 2. “The case of allowing Hieromonk Arseny to continue collecting alms in Russia in favor of the Athos Panteleimon Monastery,” and in particular: Petition of Hieromonk Arseny of the Russian Panteleimon Monastery to the Vladimir Spiritual Consistory dated July 6, 1865 // GAVO. F. 556. Op.1. Unit hr. 2416. Ll. 1–4. 3. Notice of the death of Bishop Feofan // Soulful interlocutor. 1894. Issue. 2. P. 61. 4. About the Right Reverend Bishop Theophan, the memory of the Vyshensky monk // Soulful Interlocutor. 1894. Issue. 8.S. 237–243. 5. In memory of His Grace Bishop Feofan. Memoir of the Vyshensky monk // TEV. 1894. No. 6. pp. 112–121. 6. Letter from Andrei (Verevkin) to Bishop Feofan dated June 15, 1890 // ARPMA. Op. 24. D. 41. Unit. hr. 4328. L. 8–10 vol. 7. Letter from Bishop Theophan to the resident of the Russian Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos, Hieromonk Arseny (Minin) dated August 23, 1868 // ARPMA. F. St. Feofan (Govorova). Op. 24. D. 41. Unit. hr. 4327. pp. 241–245. 8. Letter from Bishop Feofan to the venerable person in Tambov dated September 13, 1873 // TEV. 1895. No. 48. pp. 1231–1232. 9 . Letter from Bishop Feofan to the venerable person in Tambov, October 22, 1871 // TEV. 1895. No. 44. pp. 1131–1132. 10. Letter from Bishop Theophan to Archpriest Ioann Gavrilovich Pereverzev dated November 25, 1879 // Christian. 1910. No. 2. P. 429–430. 11. Letter from Hieromonk Feofan to A.N. Muravyov dated April 9, 1851 // NIOR RSL. F. 188. K. 10. Unit. hr. 7. L. 1–2 vol. 12. Letter to Archimandrite Macarius (Sushkin) dated January 11, 1887 // ARPMA. Op. 24. D. 41. Unit. hr. 4327. L. 450–453. 13. Letter to V.A. Kolobova dated October 28, 1884 // TEV. 1896. No. 17. pp. 393–394. 14. Letter to V.V. Shvidkovskaya dated May 22, 1886 // St. Petersburg Far East. 1898. No. 3. P. 45–46. 15. Letter to V.V. Shvidkovskaya dated August 23, 1888 // RO IRL RAS. F. 34. Unit. hr. 503. L. 39–40 vol. 16. Letter to V.V. Shvidkovskaya dated May 29, 1888 // RO IRL RAS. F. 34. Unit. hr. 503. L. 29–30 vol. 17. Letter to V.V. Shvidkovskaya dated May 29, 1888 // St. Petersburg DV.1898. No. 41. P. 732. 18. Letter to Hierarch. Arseny (Minin) dated April 15, 1879 // ARPMA. Op. 24. D. 41. Unit. hr. 4327. L. 65–69. 19. Letter to monk Vladimir (Kolesnikov) dated November 4, 1881 // ARPMA. Op. 24. D. 41. Unit. hr. 4327. L. 93–98. 20. Letter to monk Vladislav (Popov) dated June 18, 1892 // ARPMA. Op. 24. D. 41. Unit. hr. 4327. L. 949–951. 21. Letter to monk Vladislav (Popov) dated September 19, 1889 // ARPMA. Op. 24. D. 41. Unit. hr. 4327. L. 877–879. 22. Letter to monk Vladislav (Popov) dated January 27, 1893 // ARPMA. Op. 24. D. 41. Unit. hr. 4327. L. 979–982. 23. Letter to monk Denasius (Yushkov) dated October 9, 1889 // ARPMA. Op. 24. D. 41. Unit. hr. 4327. L. 1030–1032. 24. Letter to N.V. Elagin dated October 10, 1872 // ARPMA. St. Foundation Feofan (Govorova). Op. 24. Units hr. 4327. L. 272–275. 25. Letter to N.V. Elagin dated January 10, 1885 // St. Petersburg Far East. 1900. No. 20. P. 245. 26. Letter to N.V. Elagin dated December 13, 1891 // St. Petersburg Far East. 1900. No. 28. P. 339. 27. Letter to N.V. Elagin dated May 14, 1881 // St. Petersburg Far East. 1899. No. 40. pp. 469–470. 28. Letter to Archpriest To V.P. Nechaev dated September 5, 1882 // DCH. 1910. Part 3. pp. 121–122. 29. Letter to the schemamonk of the Russian Panteleimon Monastery Yegudiel dated December 14, 1884 // ARPMA. St. Foundation Feofan (Govorova). Op. 24. D. 41. Unit. hr. 4327. L. 311–314. St. Theophan the Recluse and Athos: Ways of Creative Cooperation. 30. Letter to monk Vladislav (Popov) dated September 19, 1889 // DC. 1899. Part 3. P. 297. 31. Theophan the Recluse, saint. Collection of letters. Vol. III. 1898. 256, XI p. 32. Theophan the Recluse, saint. Collection of letters. Vol. VI. M., 1899. – 216 p. 33. Theophan the Recluse, saint. Collection of letters. Vol. VII.M., 1900. 256 p. The first of the saint's letters to Hieromonk Arseny, known to date, is dated August 23, 1868 (ARPMA. F. St. Theophan (Govorov). Op. 24. D. 41. Item 4327. pp. 241–245). The transfer of rights was carried out not without mentioning the nephew of A.G. Govorov, about whom the saint always showed special concern: “The books are now finally assigned to Athos. They can publish it until the end of time, only with payment each time to the nephew, and then to his descendants.” “The Reverend wished to make it easier for me to publish books,” writes A.G. Govorov. “He found it possible for me, for the agreed amount of money paid to me, to transfer the publication and sale of his works to the Russian Athos Panteleimon Monastery, with which I made a special written agreement on this subject on August 25, 1888.” Construction of the Nativity “warm” Cathedral began on June 18, 1874. The construction of the church was completed in 1890.