ЧАСТЬ ПЯТАЯ. УЧЕНИКИ СТАРЦА ПАИСИЯ НА АФОНЕ, В МОЛДАВИИ И В РОССИИ. РОСТ ПРАВОСЛАВНОГО СТАРЧЕСТВА В 18-М И 19-М ВЕКАХ

The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until it was all leavened (Matthew 13:33) If the whole work of Elder Paisius Velichkovsky consisted in the example of personal holiness, in the establishment of a monastic cenobitic brotherhood on ancient patristic foundations and in the correction of patristic books, then even in this case this matter would be no less important for the Orthodox Church and Orthodox monasticism and society. But Elder Paisios did more: he created a school of spiritual life, he awakened a broad spiritual movement in Orthodox monasticism, he kindled the hearts of many with love for spiritual life, aroused the desire for inner monastic feat, for spiritual work. Under the influence of Elder Paisius Velichkovsky, many remarkable ascetics were brought up in Orthodox monasticism, who fully assimilated the elder’s precepts. Through constant prayer, unflagging attention to themselves, self-examination, internal struggle with thoughts, revelation of thoughts, obedience and humility, careful study of the patristic books and observance of the Gospel commandments, they achieved a high degree of spiritual life and acquired great influence not only on their brethren, monastics, but also on the laity, sometimes even highly educated, not only in the secular, but also in the theology sense. Beginning in the second half of the 18th century, this spiritual movement continued to develop throughout the 19th century until the revolution itself. It would be very interesting to trace this movement in all its details: to study the ways and means of its spread, to get acquainted with its outstanding representatives, with its influence on society and the people. Unfortunately, the unfavorable conditions of the present time do not make it possible to properly carry out this task. And we have to limit ourselves to only a pale and superficial description of this wonderful movement, reducing this description almost only to a single listing of names. We will begin by indicating the traces of Paisian influence on Mount Athos. Even at the time when the elder lived on Athos, he had (in addition to his fraternal hostel in the Elias monastery) many spiritual children, interlocutors and friends who sought his spiritual guidance. Among them was the Greek Patriarch Seraphim, who lived in retirement in the Pantocrator Monastery. The Patriarch loved Elder Paisius very much, visited him in his monastery, often invited him to his place, talked with him for a long time about spiritual life, and with great regret sent him to Moldavia. We also know that from many Athonite monasteries, monasteries and cells, many monks came to Elder Paisius for confession and conversation, sometimes even in such numbers that their brethren had no opportunity to speak with their elder, and a murmur arose among them. With the departure of Elder Paisius to Moldovala, the traces of his influence on Mount Athos did not die out. His traditions and statutes are still kept in the Ilyinsky monastery that he founded and in other monasteries. The legends of Elder Paisius were revived with particular force on Athos in the 19th century, when Elder Arseniy, a disciple of one of the Moldavian disciples of Elder Paisius, appeared there, who had great influence on all the Athos monasteries and died in 1846. Like-minded people and successors of Arseny were schemamonks Nikolai, Andrey and Nikodim, and then, who had a particularly great influence on Athos and beyond - the confessor of the Russian Panteleimon Monastery, Hieroschemamonk Jerome, who died in 1885, and Archimandrite of the same monastery Macarius, who died in 1888. Through the labors and concerns of these elders, the New Athos Monastery arose in the Caucasus, which also adopted the traditions of Elder Paisius and preserved them in the person of its abbot, Abbot Hieron, and other monastic elders until very recently. Elder Paisios also had a noticeable influence on Moldavian monasticism. His closest assistants both on Athos and in Moldovala were Moldovans. Such, for example, is Father Vissarion, the elder’s first student and the first member of his brotherhood and assistant in setting up the hostel. He died around 1766. Of the disciples of Elder Paisius in Moldavia, we can also name Father Macarius and Father Hilarion, who helped him in correcting and translating books. Hilarion subsequently became the confessor and abbot of the Sekul monastery, and Hieromonk Macarius, who lived with the elder on Mount Athos, apparently later moved to Russia, where he was the rector of the Molchansk Hermitage. Of the other disciples of the elder in Moldova, let us first name those who, after the death of the elder, were his successors in clergy and abbotship in the Nyametsky monastery. The first of them, Archimandrite Sophrony, the senior confessor of the Slavic tribe in Neamtsa, abbot there immediately after Elder Paisius for more than ten years. It is known that, on behalf of the elder, he went to Kyiv to obtain spiritual books for his monastery. Subsequently, he corresponded with the disciples of Elder Paisius in Russia - Father Afanasy in Bryansk and Maria Petrovna Protasyeva. After Father Sophronius, the abbots in Neamtse were: Dorotheos, whom the elder sent to study at the theological school in Bucharest; Dositheos, who was under Elder Paisius the confessor and head of the hospital in Sekula, who spent nights watching over the sick and in every possible way calmed and consoled them, and John; all three are of Slavic tribe. After Father John, Sylvester, the first rector from the Moldavians, who was the confessor of the Moldavian tribe in Neamts during the life of Paisius, was elected abbot in Neamtsa. Of the other disciples of Elder Paisius in Moldova, we also know Honorius, the head of the hospital in Dragomirna and Neamtsa, who enjoyed the unlimited trust of Elder Paisius, who cared for the elder during his dying illness, and the translator of his father’s writings, who died a year after the death of Paisius; Martyria, together with Honorius, cared for the elder during his dying illness; Irinarch, the confessor, who, on behalf of the elder, went to Prince Constantine with a letter in which the elder refused to move to Neamet; Iacinthos, also one of the confessors in Neamtsa, who admonished the detractor of mental prayer, Theopemptus, and carried out other orders of the elder; another John, schemamonk of the Pokrovsky monastery at the Nyametsky monastery, who was the elder of the Vorona monastery in Moldova and died at a ripe old age in 1843; Plato, schemamonk of the same Pokrovsky monastery, who left with his own hand a rewritten collection of the works of Elder Paisius, stored in the library of the Novo-Nyametsky Monastery and who wrote the elder’s biography; Mitrofan, schemamonk, who was Elder Paisius’s cell attendant for more than 30 years and who, before anyone else, compiled a description of his life; Archimandrite Theodosius, who ruled the Merlopolyansky monastery in Wallachia, and then was summoned by Prince Potemkin with his students to Russia to establish the Sophronius Hermitage (a letter to him from Elder Paisius has been preserved, in which he talks in detail about his studies in translating and correcting the books of his fathers); Gerontius, who studied with Dorotheus at the Bucharest Theological School; Gregory, later metropolitan, who wrote the life of the elder; Hierodeacon Stephen, translator of the lives of saints, Schemamonk Isaac, etc. Neonil, a disciple of Elder Sophronius, and Theophanes, a student of Neonil, were also keepers of Paisius's legends, who transferred the traditions of Elder Paisius to the New Nyametsky Monastery. To them we must add Herman, the successor of Theophanes. In addition to the aforementioned disciples and successors of Elder Paisius, he had many more assistants in Moldova for the correspondence, correction and translation of patristic books, whose names have already been mentioned by us elsewhere. Let us also mention the archpastors who sympathized with the elder and supported him. These were Metropolitan Gabriel, who presented the elder Dragomirn, Jacob and Benjamin. We do not have enough information on the further spread of Paisiev’s influence in Moldova. It is only known that many monasteries in Moldavia and Wallachia had his students as their abbots. We have much more information about the disciples of Elder Paisius in Russia. Especially many of his disciples came to Russia, under whose influence there was a great upsurge in spiritual life in our monasteries, interest and love for reading and studying books increased, elders and abbots of monasteries appeared who kept the precepts of Elder Paisius and introduced his cenobitic rules and orders of monastic life in their monasteries; Archpastors appeared who deeply sympathized with the direction of Elder Paisius and provided him with their patronage and support. Many secular educated people were also carried away by this spiritual movement, and some, leaving the world, accepted monasticism and became outstanding figures in the spirit of Elder Paisius. In general, the result was a deep and broad spiritual movement that did not weaken in Russian monasticism until the revolution. We will try to list, as far as we can, the main participants in this movement. And first, let us mention those persons who, even during the elder’s lifetime, turned to him from Russia for spiritual guidance. These are: a friend of the elder’s youth, Priest Dimitri, in all likelihood, a priest in Poltava, monks of the Poltava Holy Cross Monastery (in manuscript No. 405 of the Slavic Branch of Akademia Romana there is an indication of the connection that existed between the Holy Cross Monastery in Poltava and the Dragomirnsky Monastery of Elder Paisius), a group of zealots of piety from northern Russia, Abbess of the Arzamas community M. P. Protasyeva. From her correspondence with the elder’s successor, Archimandrite Sophronius, it is clear that the latter sent icons for her monastery, a portrait of Elder Paisius and handwritten copies of the fatherly books translated by Elder Paisius, such as: “Philokalia”, the book of St. Barsanuphius, “12 words” by Simeon the New Theologian, etc. - with a request to obtain permission from Metropolitans Plato and Gabriel print these books. We will have to mention later about other persons who had correspondence and spiritual communication with Elder Paisius. The spiritual movement in Russia under the influence of Elder Paisius can be divided into three main movements: northern, central and southern. The northern movement had as its main centers the Solovetsky Monastery, Valaam, the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and the Alexander Svirsky Monastery. The central movement was concentrated mainly in Moscow, in the Vladimir province, in the Optina Monastery of the Kaluga province, in the Bryansk Monastery, Oryol province, in the Roslavl forests of the Smolensk diocese, in the Beloberezh monastery; southern movement - in the Ploshchanskaya Hermitage of the Oryol Epoch, in the Glinskaya Hermitage of the Kursk Epoch. etc. The named monasteries should be considered only as the most noticeable or starting points of the Paisievsky movement, which in fact covered not a dozen, but, as we will see, hundreds of Russian monasteries. In the far north, in the Solovetsky Monastery, the transmitter of the Paisian traditions was Hieroschemamonk Theophanes, whom we have already mentioned before. After the death of the reclusive Kyiv elder Dosifei, Theophanes moved to the Solovetsky Monastery, where he transferred the covenants of the elder Paisius. In the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, even during the life of Elder Paisius, a circle of his admirers and followers was formed, led by Metropolitan Gabriel of Novgorod and Ladoga. Metropolitan Gabriel was sent by Elder Paisius a translation from Greek of the book “Philokalia” with a handwritten letter. By order of the Metropolitan, this translation was examined by a group of learned teachers of the theological school, and the Metropolitan recommended that when checking the translation, they consult with some elders experienced in spiritual life, saying that although these elders were unfamiliar with the intricacies of the Greek language, they had learned the contents of the fatherly books through life experience, and therefore could give them useful instructions when checking the translation. By order of the Metropolitan, the Philokalia was printed in St. Petersburg. Grouped around the metropolitan were: his cell attendant Theophan, later hegumen of the Novozersk monastery, hegumen of the Valaam monastery Nazariy, hierodeacon of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra Philaret, later the elder of the Novospassky Moscow monastery, the disciple of the elder Paisius Athanasius, who brought the “Philokalia” to the metropolitan, and other persons. The disciples of Elder Paisius, schemamonk Theodore and hieroschemamonk Cleopas, worked on Valaam and in the Alexander-Svirsky monastery. They left Moldova for Russia in 1801 and were: Cleopas was a Little Russian, and Theodore was a citizen of the city of Karachev, Oryol province. (Elder Theodore, born in 1756, left for some time from the monastery of Elder Paisius to the hermits Onuphrius and Nicholas, who were silent by the Polyana-Vorona stream, five miles from the monastery of the same name. Onuphrius, a native of the city of Chernigov, from the nobility, from a young age loved Christ, for the sake of Christ he played the fool in his youth for six years, then he abandoned his foolishness and, with his friend the hieromonk Nicholas, retired to Ukraine, and from there to Moldavia, to Elder Paisius, with whose blessing he settled with Nicholas in the desert and lived there with him for 25 years. Elder Theodore also lived with him for five years; after the death of Onuphrius, Theodore and Nicholas returned to Paisius, and after the death of Paisius and Nicholas, Theodore returned to Russia. The manuscript is kept in the library of Neamts. paternal book, rewritten by Nicholas for Onuphry. How unmercenary Theodore was can be seen from the fact that he gave five rubles given to him for the journey by one person to the first poor woman he met - a peasant woman). They lived for many years in the monastery of Elder Paisius, took monastic vows from him and were thoroughly instructed and confirmed by him in spiritual life. Upon arrival in Russia, they lived first in the Chelny monastery of the Oryol diocese, then in the Beloberezh desert of the same diocese, located among the remote and at that time almost impassable Bryansk forests. There they became close to the monk Leonid, who, like Theodore, was from the city of Karachev and came from a merchant rank. In 1811, Leonidas and Cleopas moved to Valaam, where Theodore also came to them. They lived on Valaam for 5 years, undergoing smart work under the guidance of Elder Paisius, and because of this they suffered a lot from ignorant zealots of external achievement. In 1816, Elder Cleopas died in the Valaam Monastery, and Theodore and Leonid moved to the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery, where Emperor Alexander I paid attention to them. Here in 1822, Father Theodore died on the very day of the Holy Resurrection of Christ, and Father Leonid, a few years later, moved with his students to Optina Pustyn, where he remained until his death on October 11, 1841. Living on Valaam and in the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery, the elders had spiritual communication with the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and had like-minded brothers and disciples everywhere. On Valaam, their disciples were: the elder hegumen Varlaam, who later moved to Optina Pustyn and died there, and the confessor of the Valaam monastery, Euthymius. Euthymius, in turn, had as his disciples Damascene, abbot of Valaam, and Hilarion, who transferred the traditions of Elder Paisius to the Nikolo-Babaevsky monastery of the Kostroma diocese. The famous Valaam abbot of Damascus had as his disciples Agathangel, archimandrite of the Alexander-Svirsky monastery, Agapius, schema-monk of the Valaam monastery, the blind elder and schema-monk John, the silent monk of the Valaam monastery. Agathangel had Mauritius, abbot of the Valaam monastery, as his student. In the northern region, another disciple of Elder Paisius Arseny labored, moving from the Bryansk forests to the Pskov Nikandrov Monastery. He had as his student Gerasim, a monk of the Solovetsky Monastery. In some northern monasteries, the traditions of Elder Paisius were borrowed from the monasteries of the central region, and therefore they will be indicated elsewhere. Let's move on to the central area. Here, first of all, it is necessary to name the disciple of the elder Cleopas, not the one mentioned above, but another. This Cleopas lived for a long time with Elder Paisius, first on Athos, then in the Dragomirnsky monastery and, probably, in Sekula, and went to Russia before 1778 and was the rector of the Ostrovskaya Vvedenskaya hermitage of the Vladimir diocese. He was a wonderful ascetic, a guardian of smart work. He introduced the cenobitic rule of Mount Athos in the Ostrovskaya Hermitage, which was later transferred by his students to other monasteries in central and northern Russia. The disciples of Elder Cleopas were: Ignatius, who initially labored in the Sanaksar monastery under the leadership of Elder Theodore Ushakov, and then in the Florishcheva hermitage of the Vladimir diocese. Since 1778, after Cleopas, he was the builder of the Ostrovsk hermitage, and then the Peshnosha monastery of the Moscow diocese. In 1788, he was appointed archimandrite of the Tikhvin Monastery, Novgorod diocese, and, with the blessing of Metropolitan Gabriel, introduced a cenobitic rule there. In 1795, he was transferred by the archimandrite to the Moscow Simonov Monastery to establish a hostel there and died there in 1796. They say about him that everywhere he was an example of high life, especially humility and non-covetousness: he was merciful to the poor, compassionate to the unfortunate, full of love for his brethren. Another student of Elder Cleopas, Schema-Archimandrite Macarius, who after Ignatius was the abbot of the Peshnosha monastery until his death in 1811, was of particular importance in the history of Russian monasticism and eldership: 24 abbots of monasteries emerged from his students. He had spiritual communication and correspondence with Elder Paisius and received a staff from him as a gift. He led the Peshnosh monastery into external and internal improvement. Tireless and knowledgeable in economic works, he was even more tireless and experienced in the exploits of spiritual life. He seemed stern in appearance, but had a soul full of fatherly love; he had no property, sharing everything with his brethren; He treated everyone kindly, and his simplicity of heart, combined with spiritual wisdom, attracted everyone’s favor and respect to him. Metropolitan Platon instructed him to put the disordered monasteries in order and set him up as an example to other abbots. From the Peshnoshsky monastery, many monasteries borrowed both the cenobitic rules and the monks capable of maintaining a communal life. Thus, from Elder Macarius the following monasteries received their charters and structure: Golutvinsky, Moscow Sretensky, Kirillo-Novoezerskaya, and the hermitages: Davidova, Optina, Berlyukovskaya, Ekaterininskaya, Medvedevskaya-Krivoezerskaya, etc. Among the disciples of Elder Macarius we will name: Abraham, later the abbot of the Optina Monastery, Maxim, the builder of the Peshnoshsky monastery, Ignatius, schemamonk of the Konevsky monastery and builder of the Zadne-Nikiforovsky monastery, and others. This Ignatius had spiritual daughters Maria, the Olonets hermit, and Anastasia, the founder of the women's community, later the Padansky monastery. A disciple of Elder Cleopas was also the wonderful ascetic Theophan, abbot of Novoyezersk, whom we have already mentioned as a cell attendant to Metropolitan Gabriel. He personally came to Peshsha to see Father Macarius in order to receive from him a cenobitic charter for his monastery and to ask him for several brethren to set up a hostel. Hegumen Theophanes was an elder of the Modena Monastery, the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, the Ustyug and Kirillov monasteries and the Philip-Iranian Hermitage. His spiritual daughter was Mauritius, abbess of the Goretsky nunnery. Theophan's successor at the Novozero monastery was his student Arkady. From the disciples of Elder Cleopas, Ignatius and Macarius, the Paisian traditions passed on to the Kolomna Golutvinsky Monastery, where the abbot was the disciple of Macarius and Ignatius Samuel; Samuel's disciple was Nazarius, and his disciples were schemamonk Ioannikiy and the hermit Macarius, who walked the same path of internal spiritual achievement. The next place from which the Paisievsky movement developed in central Russia was Moscow. There were mainly two centers of this movement: the Simonov Monastery and Novospassky. The disciple of Elder Paisius, monk Pavel, labored in the Simonov Monastery. In 1812 he suffered a lot from the French, who beat him to such an extent that he spent the rest of his life in a sick condition. Another disciple of Elder Paisius, Arseny, lived there in the Simonov Monastery. Paul's student was Hieromonk Joseph, abbot of the Simonov Monastery. Here in the Simonov Monastery, as we have already mentioned, was the abbot of Archimandrite Ignatius, a student of Cleopas of Ostrovsky, who was appointed here to establish a hostel. In the Novospassky Monastery, remarkable elders were hieromonks Filaret and Alexander, disciples of Paisiyev's disciple Athanasius, who at one time lived in the Florishcheva hermitage of the Vladimir diocese. Schemamonk Athanasius (he must be distinguished from Athanasius, who brought the Philokalia to m. Gabriel), a former captain of the hussar regiment, by the name of Zakharov, lived with Elder Paisius for more than seven years and took monastic vows from him. With the elder’s blessing, he spent a lot of time copying out instructions from his father’s books on prayer, humility, patience, obedience, love and other virtues. Due to necessary circumstances, he was released to Russia with the monks Ambrose and Feofan in 1777. Here, having endured a lot of troubles, he lived in the Gorokhovsky Monastery, in the Florishcheva Hermitage, and then in the Beloberezh Hermitage and in the Ploshchanskaya Mother of God Hermitage of the Oryol Diocese, where he benefited many with his life and teaching. He died in the Ploshchanskaya Hermitage in 1825. Coming from the Florishcheva Hermitage to Moscow, Elder Afanasy visited the hieromonks of the Novospassky Monastery, Alexander and Philaret, and had spiritual conversations with them about smart work according to the teachings of Elder Paisius. Both of these hieromonks knew Elder Paisius in absentia, loved and revered him and used the fatherly books he translated, and Father Alexander even corresponded with him. Thus, both of these Novospassk monks stood very close to Elder Paisius and abundantly benefited from his spiritual wealth. It is possible that, being familiar with Athanasius, they also had acquaintance with another disciple of Elder Paisius, Ambrose, who lived in the Gorokhovsky Monastery and was distinguished by a special gift of prayer. Hieromonk Filaret was from the city of Vyazma, from a wealthy merchant family of the Pulyashkins. Having early felt an aversion to secular life, he entered a monastery at the age of 13 and, from childhood, delved into reading spiritual books, of which there were many in his father’s house. Subsequently, he was for several years in the Sarov Hermitage, and then in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra under Metropolitan Gabriel as a hierodeacon. From St. Petersburg, Filaret moved to Moscow, spent some time in the Simonov Monastery, and then in Novospassky, where he lived in the same cell for more than 40 years, rarely leaving the gates of the monastery fence. Only on quiet summer evenings, when the movement of the people stopped, did he go out with his friend Alexander and another elder Michael, who adhered to the same teaching, for a solitary walk around the monastery walls. Having spent many years in the feats of monastic silence, Elder Philaret devoted the rest of his life to active service to people, giving advice and consolation to everyone in need, regardless of person or condition. His cell was filled daily with multitudes of people of every rank. Dejected by grief, oppressed by life, agitated by doubts, overwhelmed by passion, beset by misfortune from all sides, they came to him to pour out their sorrows before him and receive consolation and guidance from him. His conversations especially clearly expressed his amazing meekness, extreme humility, ardent love for his neighbor, the beauty and power of his deep spiritual mind. It often happened that because of the multitude of visitors he had no time to eat or rest, despite the painful illness from which he suffered all his life. And, despite this, he still found time to read and rewrite his father’s books. Only shortly before his death (he died in 1842 at the age of 84) he could no longer serve those in need with his advice, because... from the blow that befell him, his tongue could hardly utter anything other than his usual invocation of the name of the Savior and the Mother of God. Elder Philaret was the spiritual father of Natalia Petrovna Kireyevskaya, the wife of the famous Russian philosopher and writer Ivan Vasilyevich, and through her he influenced the latter, interested him in the spiritual life taking place in Russian monasticism, disposed him to a deeper study of Orthodoxy and contributed to his spiritual rapprochement with the elders of Optina Hermitage. In addition to Kireevskaya, Father Filaret was the spiritual leader of the nun of the Moscow Ivanovo Convent Dosithea, who was distinguished by her high spiritual life. The fate of this nun is quite mysterious, and many considered and still consider her to be the daughter of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. Nun Dosithea, in turn, had a great spiritual influence on the famous ascetics of the Putilov brothers, in the monasticism of Moses of Optina, Isaiah of Sarov and Anthony of Maloyaroslavetsky. As for Philaret’s friend, Hieromonk Alexander, later archimandrite of the Arzamas Monastery, it is known about him that he was born in the same year as Philaret, i.e. 1758, and came from an Orthodox family of Polish nobles. He knew Polish well. Devoted to the Orthodox Church, he especially loved the book of Metropolitan Stefan Yavorsky “The Stone of Faith” and the works of St. Demetrius of Rostov, whose book “The Spiritual Alphabet” advised everyone entering the monastery to have and study from it all their lives. He studied at the Kyiv Academy. Then he entered the service of the Chamber Collegium. How long he stayed there is unknown, but only later did he himself say that even in his young years he began monastic life in the Moscow Novospassky Monastery. While in St. Petersburg with the abbot of the monastery, he was tonsured a monk by Metropolitan Gabriel and ordained by him in 1793 as a hierodeacon, and a month later as a hieromonk, and always enjoyed his favor and was in constant correspondence with him. In the same 1793, he was appointed governor and treasurer of the Novospassky Monastery, but after 4 years he refused both positions and lived in the same monastery, spending time in prayer and studying the holy fathers who were doing the noetic Jesus prayer, and in his private cell he accepted the great image of the schema. The Right Reverend Gabriel, being in Moscow for the coronation of Emperor Paul, often talked with Father Alexander and invited him to his place in the Novgorod diocese, but he refused, not wanting to leave his solitude and his friend, who was striving for the same goal as him. Living in this way in the Novospassky monastery, he had contact with the elders of Moldova and Athos, took advantage of their advice and, when they were in Moscow on various matters, received them at his place and helped them a lot through Moscow acquaintances devoted to him. He also very willingly helped those who aspired to the monastic life. Under his guidance, many lived a careful monastic life. Some of his students were abbots of monasteries. In 1810, Father Alexander was ordained archimandrite of the Arzamas Spassky Monastery, from where he conducted extensive correspondence with his Moscow spiritual children and admirers. Living very modestly, but receiving significant money from his positions, he distributed everything to the brethren, monastery ministers, poor students of theological schools and everyone in need. After his death, only 40 kopecks were left in money and no clothes. Before his death, for 18 days he did not take food at all, except for a few drops of water, eating only the bread of life, the Body and Blood of the Lord. He died on April 29, 1845, having served as a clergyman for 52 years. To characterize the elder, we present several excerpts from his letters. When the young ascetics Timofey and Jonah Putilov, spiritually guided by Father Alexander, went to live in Sarov, Elder Alexander gave them the following instruction: “I advise my brothers in Christ Jesus, Timothy and Jonah, upon arrival in the Sarov hermitage: 1) While living there, go to the brethren and deal only with those with whom the abbot and confessor order. 2) Carry out obedience without grumbling, and if you are burdened with something, humbly ask to be transferred to something else; If they don’t transfer you, submit. 3) Remember and live there, without leaving anywhere, because even if you see any apparent inconveniences or temptations there, you will not eradicate them from yourself and move with them, then in another place you will find ten times more, and until then, with your wandering, they will begin to multiply until they completely return you to the world. And if you begin to obey your superiors and blame yourself, and admit the temptations of your brethren for your own illness and infirmities, then you will always remain peaceful in everything. 4) If obedience is difficult, then it seems difficult only because of disobedience and stubbornness, because you will see the same obedience of others who are weaker than you and pass through with peace. However, if they leave you, at your request, without obedience, then you will be so overcome by thoughts that you will not be able to cope with them. Therefore, do not give up obedience, but seek. 5) For your eternal spiritual benefit, always remember that victory for every temptation is humility, self-reproach and patience. May the Most Merciful Lord enlighten you and make you wise, help you and protect you; and may he cover you from all the left and right snares of the enemy. 6) While undergoing obedience, take care of yourself from heavy lifting and maintain your health, for you will give an answer to God if, through insane jealousy, you somehow harm yourself and burden your neighbors; because when you become crippled, you will no longer serve the brethren, but the brethren will be forced to serve you, and in this case you will have a bitter life, from which may the Lord have mercy on you.” In the same year, Elder Alexander wrote to Timofey Putilov: “I sincerely rejoice that the Merciful Lord did not allow you and Jonah to wander in the world any longer and defile your soul with delusion. Be patient for God’s sake and don’t forget that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principles and so on. According to the Holy Climacus, it is better for us to fight our thoughts than to fight our conceit. And it is not good for us to be dispassionate; for the demons for the most part then leave for the sake of our conceit, knowing that we can, in addition to their cunning, perish from our own pride and remain without repentance. You write about the fact that your thoughts are bothering you; if you can control the wind, then control your thoughts. And the holy fathers say that it is possible for a monk to be passionate, but not to carry out his passions. Consequently, we will be condemned for the fulfillment of passions, and not just for the fact that we have them in ourselves and are overcome by thoughts. And the first Adam, by his discerning sense, understood that the apple was good for food, but not for this knowledge, but for eating the apple, he was condemned. And God commanded him not not to be unaware of the goodness of the fruit, but not to eat it. Therefore, do not confuse your soul with any thoughts, since you do not love them and do not enjoy them. If you have a spiritual father and trust him, then reveal to him all your thoughts and struggles; and do not accept your mind as damaged and defiled by sins, and do not trust yourself in anything until your death. Most of all, I ask you, be obedient without reasoning and humble yourself before everyone; According to the teaching of the holy fathers, we can be saved by humility alone, but without it and with all the virtues we cannot avoid eternal condemnation. As for our visual life, if only God would save us from active sins, God will give you reason, just endure for God’s sake.” Father Alexander writes to a certain Andrei Stepanovich that Christ must be sought not outside oneself, but within oneself: “Concerning your intention and desire to go to Jerusalem and Mount Athos, I cannot give you a decisive answer. My advice to you is this: choose a poor monastery somewhere in your own country, closed from the world, and try to find Jesus Christ in it - not in Mount Athos, but in your heart. For besides our heart, it is impossible to find Him anywhere else. And when the Lord grants you to find Him in your heart, then the most crowded square for you will be Jerusalem and Athos. One of the saints said, if a treasure is buried in your house, and you don’t know about it, then in this case it happens to you as if this treasure never happened. Likewise, each and every one of us is looking for Jesus Christ in different places, not knowing that He is always within us. May Almighty God illuminate your heart and show you the place where Jesus Christ dwells.” A very important place in central Russia, where the spiritual threads coming from Elder Paisius were intertwined, was also the Bryansk Svensky Monastery of the Oryol diocese. At the beginning of the 19th century, monk Seraphim and schemamonk Athanasius lived there, the same one who delivered the Philokalia to Metropolitan Gabriel. Schemamonk Athanasius, one of the Senate secretaries, left the world, wandered around the holy Mount Athos and Moldavia, lived in the monastery of Elder Paisius, who entrusted him to his disciple Sophronius, and was engaged in translations and copying of his father’s books. In 1805, already living in the Svensky Monastery, he received instructions from Elder Sophrony not to interfere with the monastic order and to live in silence. He died in the same Svensky Monastery in 1811 in the arms of the elder schemamonk Afanasy (Zakharov), to whom before his death he presented his wonderful collection of the works of the holy fathers. Living in the Svensky Monastery, Elder Afanasy, together with Elder Seraphim, had a spiritual influence on the future abbot of Optina Hermitage, Timofey Putilov, who lived there for some time. There, the abbot of the monastery, later the rector of the Moscow Theological Academy, the Bishop of Kaluga and the Metropolitan of Kiev, the patron of monasticism and eldership, the famous Philaret, had the opportunity to learn from the elders about spiritual activity. Special attention should be paid to these meetings and cohabitation in the Bryansk Monastery. Here connections were established that later responded elsewhere, as we will see later. In spiritual connection with the Bryansk Monastery is a group of desert dwellers of the Smolensk diocese, who labored in the forest hermitages of the Roslavl district at the end of the 18th century and at the beginning of the 19th century. This unique group of Russian hermits was in close communication with Elder Paisius. It included the elder’s direct disciples, such as Dositheus, who lived for 40 years in the Roslavl forests, and Arseny, who later moved to the Pskov Nikandrov Monastery, and other ascetics who did not personally know Elder Paisius, such as Hierodeacon Anastasius, Athanasius, who was the confessor of the Svensky Monastery for the last 19 years of his life, Arseny from the Beloberezh Hermitage, Moses and Anthony Putilov, who later moved to Optina Pustyn together with the hermits Hilary and Dorotheus. We now move on to one of the most glorious and famous monasteries in the history of Russian eldership, Optina Hermitage. This hermitage was restored from its desolation by the famous Moscow Metropolitan Plato, who appointed the student of Peshnoshsky Archimandrite Macarius Abrahamia as rector (Monster Plato himself was a great admirer of Elder Paisius. In the library of the Nyametsky monastery there is a book of conversations of St. Macarius the Great, sent by Metropolitan Plato to Elder Paisius with the following inscription: “To the Reverend Father to Archimandrite Paisius, the spiritual leader and mentor of the Nyamets monastery, this book, useful for such a feat of an illustrious man, is sent by the humble Plato, Metropolitan of Moscow, as a blessing with the request of God-pleasing prayers for himself. This appointment brought Optina Pustyn into the circle of spiritual influence of Elder Paisius, since Abraham, a disciple of Macarius, a zealous admirer of Elder Paisius and keeper of his tradition, transferred these traditions to Optina Pustyn. He introduced communal rules here and elevated spiritual life. However, even before Abraham, Optina Pustyn was not alien to the influence of Elder Paisius. Back in 1800, the disciple of Elder Paisius, monk Theophanes, settled there. He was from the Vladimir province, in his youth he served in the Black Sea Cossack army, left military service due to illness, lived for some time in the Sophronium Hermitage with Archimandrite Theodosius, from where he moved to Moldova to Elder Paisius, and lived there for three years, undergoing cook obedience. After the death of the elder, he returned to Russia and entered Optina Pustyn. He was distinguished by extreme non-covetousness and great meekness, was a strict faster and a great man of prayer. Zeal for the feat of fasting prompted him to once spend the entire Holy Pentecost completely without food. He revealed this to one of his congenial brothers. “I believe,” he said, “that I will not die from fasting.” The brother neither rejected nor confirmed his intention. And Feofan did not eat anything during the entire fast and only drank warm water once a week. During the entire 40 days, he performed the entire service privately, made many bows, heated the cell himself and seemed cheerful. One day, noticing that Feofan had lost a lot of weight, his brother said to him: “Father, you have exhausted yourself very much.” "Nothing! - Theophanes answered, “Christ the Savior shed all His Blood for me on the cross, and there is still a lot of blood in me.” Having endured the feat he had undertaken with God's help, at the end of Lent he partook of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Subsequently, he once again tried to repeat this feat, but he caught a cold, fell ill with a severe cough and, gradually weakening, died in 1819. When his brother asked him if he was afraid of anything at the hour of death, he replied: “I joyfully wish to be released from this life,” raised his hand to make the sign of the cross and quietly departed to the Lord. In 1821, the Kaluga diocese was ruled by His Eminence Philaret (Amphitheaters). Being a great lover and admirer of monasticism and especially Elder Paisius, he, like Metropolitan Platon, paid special attention to Optina Hermitage and, for greater success in monastic life there, decided to build a monastery there in the name of the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John. To set up the monastery, he invited the desert dwellers of the Roslavl forests known to him - Dositheus, Moses, Anthony, Hilary, etc., who laid the foundation for the famous monastery at Optina Pustyn. A few years later, Father Moses became the rector of Optina Hermitage, and his brother Anthony became the head of the monastery, and thus the spiritual life of Optina Hermitage was concentrated in the hands of experienced keepers of Paisian traditions. In 1829, they were joined by Hieromonk Leonid, a disciple of Elder Theodore, who had transferred from the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery, in the schema of Leo, and with his arrival in the Optina Monastery, the beginning of the famous Optina eldership was laid. Thus, in the Optina Hermitage, as if in a knot, numerous threads of the spiritual influence of Elder Paisius were united through his various disciples, namely: the monk Theophanes brought directly from Elder Paisius himself the spiritual leaven he received in the Nyametsky monastery; Abraham brought the traditions of Elder Paisius, received from Cleopas of Ostrovsky; Moses and Anthony brought the legends of two Athanasievs, Seraphim of Svensky and the Roslavl desert dwellers, and Leonidas brought the legends of Theodore and Cleopas of Little Russia. This combination of diverse spiritual influences resulted in a remarkable flourishing of the Optina elders. Having settled in the Optina Hermitage, Elder Leo soon gained enormous influence and wide popularity not only among the brethren of the monastery, but also among the surrounding population and pilgrims of the desert. With his lofty life, wisdom, foresight, the gift of healing, mercy for the suffering, directness and bold denunciations of vicious people, whatever their position, Father Leo attracted universal veneration and love, and people began to come to him from different cities and villages of different ranks - nobles, merchants, townspeople, peasants and clergy, to receive from him useful advice and consolation in what had befallen them. grief. Every year the crowd of people to him increased. Everyone, being received by the elder with fatherly love, revealed their spiritual wounds to him and found consolation in his conversation, and many, possessed by bodily illnesses and those possessed by demons, received help from his prayers and anointing with oil from the lamp that burned in front of his cell Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. With his kind influence, both on the brethren of the monastery, for which he was an elder and confessor, and on the visiting pilgrims, Elder Leo greatly contributed to the rise and improvement of the Optina Monastery, both internal and external. Under the shade of the monastery, many brethren gathered from different places, seeking wise guidance in spiritual deeds. Knowing the spiritual experience and talent of Elder Leo, the rector of the Optina Hermitage, Father Moses, entrusted everyone who came to live at the monastery to the elder as their spiritual leader. Gifted with spiritual reasoning, having a keen memory and the gift of speech, Father Leo gave everyone appropriate instruction from the books of the Fathers and the Holy Scriptures. Before the people, the elder loved to hide the high structure of his spirit under the extreme simplicity of his words; his speech was distinguished by a peculiar combination of the spiritual power of Scripture and the vivid expressiveness of the folk language. In addition to his daily studies at the monastery, the elder received many letters from various people who asked him for permission to misunderstand, and, out of his love for his neighbors, the elder either wrote to them himself or dictated the necessary answers. Father Leo died at the age of 72. In his dying illness, he often called on the name of the Lord, finally calmed down, crossed himself, blessed the brethren and calmly surrendered his spirit into the hands of God. In view of the particularly important significance of the Optina Hermitage in the history of Russian eldership, we will name its most outstanding and famous ascetics and elders, and also indicate those individuals and those monasteries on which it had a special influence. Having received a thorough Paisius leaven during its very restoration, Optina Pustyn became deeply connected with the spirit of Elder Paisius and his covenants. Everything in it: the rules of the monastery, the organization of worship, the general order of life, and the spiritual dispensation of each individual brother are amazingly coordinated and bear the stamp of special spirituality, enlightenment and joyful peace. As soon as he crosses the threshold of this holy monastery, a pilgrim or wanderer immediately feels the closeness of God here, the special grace of its spiritual atmosphere, and he himself involuntarily becomes closer to God and tunes into a bright and joyful mood. Optina Pustyn retained this spiritual image and such a fruitful influence unchanged for almost a hundred years until the revolution. Of the remarkable ascetics and elders of the Optina Hermitage, we must first of all name its famous abbot, Archimandrite Moses, who ruled it for more than 30 years and died in 1862. The son of a Moscow merchant, he, together with his brothers Alexander and Jonah, in monasticism Anthony and Isaiah, was first under the spiritual guidance of the Moscow elders Philaret and Alexander and Elder Dosithea, then together with his brother Jonah lived in the Sarov Hermitage, from there he moved to the Bryansk Svensky Monastery, where he enjoyed the guidance of the disciples of Elder Paisius, Athanasius and Seraphim, lived with brother Alexander in the Roslavl forest hermitages under the leadership of Dositheus, Dorotheus and Arseny and finally moved to Optina Pustyn, where he remained until his death. He was a strict guardian of the Paisian traditions and his cenobitic rules, laid the foundation for the Optina eldership, led the Optina hermitage into spiritual and material improvement, and was himself known for his holiness of life and spiritual experience. Directing the life of the Optina brotherhood, he did not leave other people who turned to him for advice without his leadership. Thus, under his spiritual leadership was the rector of the Tikhon Hermitage of the Kaluga Diocese, Moses, and the recluse of the Gethsemane skete at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Hieroschemamonk Alexander, who had as his disciple the confessor of the Gethsemane monastery, Hieromonk Herman, later the builder and abbot of the Zosima Hermitage of the Vladimir diocese. The brother of Father Moses, Father Anthony, labored with him in the Roslavl forests, and took part in the organization of the Optina monastery and was its first chief, and then for 14 years he was the abbot of the Maloyaroslavets monastery, Kaluga diocese; Having resigned from this position, he lived for 12 years in retirement in Optina Pustyn, where he died in 1865. Just like his brother, he was distinguished by his high spiritual life and had a special gift for comforting those in mourning. His letters and notes published by Optina Hermitage are remarkable. Under his spiritual leadership was Joseph, hieroschemamonk of the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery of the Moscow Diocese. In addition to these persons, there were many other remarkable ascetics in Optina Hermitage. These are: Archimandrite Melchizedek, a student of Ignatius Ostrovsky, who held the positions of abbot of the Rostov Yakovlevsky Monastery, Spassky Arzamas, Spaso-Evfimiev of Suzdal, abbot of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and, finally, lived in retirement in Optina, where he died; Hieroschemamonk Elder John of the schismatics, disciple of Elder Leo, tonsure of Father Moses, who left several writings against the schism. Proving the correctness of Orthodoxy, he miraculously testified to it by taking out a handful of sand from the bottom of a boiling cauldron with his hand. He died in 1849. Monk Hilarion, who entered Optina Pustyn for 80 years and labored there for 16 years; Vassian is an elder, schemamonk, a great faster, who for 45 years of monasticism did not drink tea or wine, did not eat fish or milk, except for Easter, and twice endured a 40-day fast; Job, hieroschemamonk, confessor of Elder Macarius, great lover of silence; Pimen, hieroschemamonk, confessor of Elder Ambrose, disciple of Leo and Macarius, distinguished by his special simplicity and silence. Now we turn to the second famous Optina elder Macarius. He came from the noble landowner family of the Ivanovs of the Oryol province. In his youth, he thought about getting married, but, having once visited the Ploshchansky hermitage of the Oryol diocese, he was so captivated by the beauty of monasticism (“all the monks seemed to him like earthly angels”) that he no longer wanted to return home and remained forever in the monastery. His teacher in the Ploshchanskaya Hermitage was Elder Paisius's student, Schemamonk Afanasy (Zakharov), the same one under whose influence Elders Philaret and Alexander were in Moscow, and through them Moses Optinsky and Ivan Vasilyevich Kireevsky, who later had to work together with Elder Macarius on the publication of translations of Elder Paisius. How amazingly the spiritual threads coming from Elder Paisius were woven and intertwined! Father Macarius lived in the Ploshchanskaya Hermitage for 24 years. After the death of Elder Athanasius, a spiritual rapprochement and correspondence between Father Macarius and Father Leo began, the result of which was the relocation of Father Macarius to the monastery of Optina Hermitage. For 7 years, the elders Macarius and Leo continued to live together in the Optina monastery. They were connected with each other by the closest friendship and like-mindedness. They wrote common letters to their spiritual children with a common signature. But their characters were completely different. Father Lev was from the merchants, he was straightforward, rude, practically wise, although he had a tender heart. Father Macarius, from the nobility, was gentle, meek, loved book studies, and in his youth, before entering monasticism, he played the violin and loved to sing. But both of them were equally great zealots of true spiritual monasticism. After the death of Father Leo, Father Macarius served as an elder for 19 years, being at the same time, after Father Anthony, the head of the monastery, and died in 1860. Just like Father Lev, he gathered around him many disciples who wanted to labor under his leadership. Among them were many educated people, with the help of whom the elder undertook the publication of translations of the fatherly books of Elder Paisius. As was said, Ivan Vasilyevich Kireevsky, the spiritual son of Father Macarius, who lived not far from Optina Pustyn, on his estate Dolbino, took a particularly close part in that matter. His Moscow friends and admirers - Moscow Metropolitan Philaret, professor of the Moscow Theological Academy - Archpriest. F. A. Golubinsky, rector of the Academy, prot. A. V. Gorsky, prof. Moscow University Shevyrev and others. Thus, through the labors and concerns of Elder Macarius, the beginning of publishing activity was laid in Optina Pustyn, which did not stop even after the death of Fr. Macaria. Two years after the death of Fr. Macarius, the rector of Optina Hermitage, Archimandrite Moses, died, and three years later, his brother Abbot Anthony, and thus the main persons who laid the foundation for eldership and strict monastic community in Optina Hermitage went to their graves. But with their death, the work they started did not die out. The guardians and continuers of the work of the first generation of Optina elders were the new elder Hieroschemamonk Ambrose and the new abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Isaac. Elder Ambrose, whose last name was Grenkov, came from a clergy background and was born in 1812 in the village of Bolshie Lipovitsy, Tambov province. After graduating from theological school and theological seminary, he was for some time a home teacher in a landowner family, and then a teacher at a theological school in Lipetsk. In 1839, on the advice of Elder Hilarion Troekurovsky, he went to Optina Pustyn, where he entered under the spiritual guidance first of Father Leo, and after his death of Father Macarius. Distinguished by his lively and cheerful, sociable character, soft and kind heart, insightful mind, worldly experience and wisdom, high spiritual disposition, deep prayerfulness and knowledge of the human heart, Ambrose, after the death of Macarius, naturally took his place and, as it were, combined the spiritual traits and talents of both of his predecessors. He had a huge spiritual influence not only on the brethren of the monastery, but also on strangers of every rank and position, condition and education, starting from a poor and dark peasant woman crying over her dying turkeys, and ending with metropolitans, grand dukes, senators, writers and philosophers, who came to him to seek advice and consolation in difficult and complex issues of internal and external life, and no one left him, not having received the necessary help and moral support; so that on it, indeed, the words of the apostle, later inscribed on his gravestone, were fulfilled in all accuracy: “I became weak as I was weak, that I might gain the weak: I became all to all, that I might save all.” Despite his extreme weakness and illness, which almost always confined him to bed, he received visitors from morning until late at night, with a short break for lunch and a short rest, and this activity continued continuously for 30 years. In the last 10 years of his life, he took upon himself another new concern for the maintenance and improvement of the populous women's Shamordino community, which he founded 12 versts from Optina Pustyn and in which, in addition to 1000 sisters, most of whom did not have any personal means, and sometimes were completely sick and elderly, there was also an orphanage, a school, an almshouse for 60 old women and a hospital. With the help of devoted spiritual children, of which it is impossible not to mention the Klyucharyov, Perlov and Bakhrushin families, the elder not only maintained this huge monastery, but also built in it a majestic church and a refectory, rare in their beauty. In the midst of such a crowd and such worries, the elder did not stop his book publishing business and carried on a huge correspondence. When Elder Ambrose died in 1891, everyone felt that a huge moral and material support for a great many destitute and unhappy people had collapsed, and the universal great sorrow and loud sobs that accompanied his burial were unfeigned. Archimandrite Isaac was the rector of Optina Hermitage under Elder Ambrose. He came from a wealthy Kursk merchant family, the Antimonovs. In his youth he traded cattle and traveled to fairs. Having decided to enter a monastery, he quietly left his father for Optina Monastery and appeared to Elder Leo. The elder, as usual, sat surrounded by people, weaved his usual needlework - belts and talked. Young Antimonov placed himself behind everyone. Suddenly he hears the old man’s loud cry: “Vanyushka!” Not thinking that this shout referred to him, an unknown old fashionable provincial dandy, Antimonov continued to sit calmly. However, the people began to fuss, began to push him and said: “Go, the elder is calling you.” Struck by the elder’s insight, Antimonov approached him, and after a conversation with him, he remained in the monastery forever. At first he was a student of Father Leo, then of Father Macarius and, finally, of Elder Ambrose, on whose instructions, completely unexpectedly for himself, he was appointed abbot of the monastery after the death of Father Moses. Father Isaac was distinguished by deep humility, deep reverent mood and silence. He died at a ripe old age in 1894. Other notable Optina residents can also be named: Hierodeacon Palladius, who moved to Optina Hermitage from Ploshchanskaya Hermitage back under Abraham in 1815 and lived in Optina Hermitage for 46 years; Hierodeacon Methodius, who lay paralyzed for 22 years. He could say “yes, yes” and “Lord have mercy.” Lev Nick knew him. Tolstoy loved to point to him as an example of great suffering and great patience cultivated by the Christian faith; the blind schema-monk Karp, about whom Elder Leo said: “Karp is blind, but sees the light”; Hieroschemamonk Gabriel, founder and elder of the Belokopytov women's community; Hieroschemamonk Theodotus, confessor and elder of the Gethsemane monastery and Paraclete Hermitage at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra; Hieroschemamonk Hilarion, confessor and monastery leader, was Elder Macarius’s cell attendant, and then shared with Elder Ambrose the labors of eldership. Elisha, a novice, forest guard, who lived in the Optina Hermitage for 52 years, refused promotions and was Elder Ambrose’s favorite guest; Hieromonk Clement (Zederholm) – student, clerk and collaborator of Elder Ambrose in book publishing. The fate of Clement is especially remarkable. He was the son of the chief Moscow Lutheran pastor, superintendent, a very learned and serious man, deeply devoted to Lutheran teaching. Father Clement brilliantly graduated from the Faculty of Philology at Moscow University and was preparing for a professorship. Not finding satisfaction in Lutheranism, he became close through his Moscow Orthodox friends with Elder Macarius, felt the beauty and truth of Orthodoxy, accepted the Orthodox faith, and then monasticism, and settled in a skete near the Optina Hermitage, where the strictest ascetics lived, became the most devoted student of Elder Ambrose and helped him in writing and book publishing. His correspondence with his father regarding his conversion to Orthodoxy is remarkable. A very interesting biography of Clement was compiled by the famous Russian writer and philosopher, the spiritual son of Elder Ambrose, K.N. Leontyev. Let's continue our list of outstanding Optina residents: Konstantin Nikolaevich Leontyev - Russian consul in the Middle East, a highly educated person, an original Russian thinker who hated and rejected socialism as a desire for universal leveling and depersonalization, who recognized that the world lives and is saved by beauty, the author of the book "East, Russia and the Slavs." While he was on Mount Athos, he suffered a serious illness (cholera), and miraculously, through prayer before the icon of the Mother of God, he was healed of it. After this, he became a deeply religious Orthodox Christian, who felt with particular strength the truth of the two dogmas of Orthodoxy - eternal torment and eternal bliss. Having moved to Optina Pustyn in the 70s of the last century, he met Elder Ambrose and became his devoted student. Before the death of Father Ambrose, he moved to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, became a monk and died in 1892. Flavian, a student of the elders Leo, Macarius and Hilarion, is a strict ascetic. Anatoly (Zertsalov), hieroschemamonk and monastery leader after the death of Father Hilarion, student of the elders Macarius and Ambrose, from the clergy, seminary student. Together with Joseph, he was the successor of Father Ambrose in eldership; known as a practitioner of mental prayer, was the confessor of the Shamorda sisters, died in 1894. Daniil Bolotov, hieromonk from a famous noble family, brother of the famous, first abbess of the Shamorda community - Schema-nun Sophia, graduated from the Academy of Arts, a wonderful icon painter and portrait painter, a very educated person, an unusually kind and pure-hearted student of Elder Ambrose, who painted his best portrait. Died in 1907. Joseph, hieroschemamonk, cell attendant and disciple of Elder Ambrose, his successor in eldership, a humble and meek elder. Elder Ambrose spoke about him to his spiritual children: “I gave you wine and water to drink, and Joseph will give you pure wine to drink.” Died in 1911. Benedict, archimandrite, successor in monastery and eldership of Father Anatoly Zertsalov, from the white clergy. Having become a widower, he turned to Elder Ambrose for advice and, on his instructions, entered Optina Pustyn. He was the clerk of Father Ambrose and the confessor of the Shamordin sisters. He died as an archimandrite of the Borovsky Monastery. Juvenaly (Polovtsev), an employee of the elders Macarius and Ambrose in book publishing, later the rector of the Glinsk Hermitage, the vicar of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra and the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, Bishop of Kursk and Archbishop of Lithuania. Leonid Kavelin, also an employee of the elders Macarius and Ambrose in book publishing, then the governor of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Xenophon, archimandrite and abbot of the Optina Hermitage, a humble, strict, silent and reverent guardian of Optina traditions, from the peasantry. The last elders of the Optina Monastery were Hieromonk Nektary, a practitioner of mental prayer, a disciple of the monastery leader Anatoly, and Hieromonk Anatoly, a former cell attendant of Elder Ambrose, and then his generally recognized deputy. With these last names we complete the far from complete list of the deceased remarkable Optina ascetics who kept the behests of Elder Paisius. Optina Hermitage, in its constant spiritual growth, became a powerful spiritual center, from where the spirit of true Orthodox monasticism spread widely throughout Russia. Lev Nick, who closely observed the Optina elders. Tolstoy, recognizing that Christian feelings are deeply rooted in the Russian people, says in one of his letters that these feelings were brought up in him by Russian monasteries and their elders. Let us now name those monasteries and those persons to whom the spiritual influence of the Optina Hermitage and its elders extended. Optina Elder Anthony, having been appointed abbot of the Maloyaroslavets Monastery, transferred the traditions of Elder Paisius there. His work was continued by Archimandrite Paphnutius, who had previously been the head of the monastery in Optina Hermitage. Elder Leo, through his disciple Gerontius, planted eldership in the Tikhonova hermitage of the Kaluga diocese. In addition to Gerontius, ascetics are known in the same Tikhonova Hermitage: Ephraim, the confessor of the monastery, and Moses, the abbot of the Tikhonova Hermitage, a disciple of the elders Leo, Macarius and Moses of Optina. In the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery of the Moscow Diocese there were disciples of Elder Leo - the abbot of the monastery Ilarius, and Abbot Anthony - Hieroschemamonk Joseph. In the Belevsky nunnery, eldership was planted by Father Lev through his spiritual daughter Anthia, who endured many sorrows for her devotion to Father Leo, as well as through Abbess Pavlina, the abbess of the Belevsky monastery, under whom this monastery began to especially prosper. The Borisov Tikhvin women's hermitage of the Kursk diocese was also under the spiritual leadership of Elder Leo. Disciples of the Optina elders were also Macarius, abbot of the Mozhaisk Luzhetsky monastery, Nikodim, abbot of the Meshchevsky and Maloyaroslavets monasteries, Ilarius, elder of the Meshchevsky monastery, abbess of the Kashira monastery Makaria and abbess of the same monastery, abbess Tikhon; the founder of the Belokopytovsky Kazan convent Alexandra and the priest of the same monastery Archpriest Andrei; the rector of the Likhvinsky Monastery, Archimandrite Agapit, who wrote the best description of the life of Elder Ambrose; abbot of the Odrinsky monastery, abbot Serapion; confessor of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Hieroschemamonk Anthony; Archpriest of the village of Spas Chekryak of the Oryol diocese, Father Georgy Kossov, a famous man of prayer who had the gift of insight and healing, who created in his poor and provincial village a beautiful stone church, a school, an orphanage and an almshouse (frightened by the poverty of his parish, Fr. George decided to escape from it, and came to Fr. for advice. Ambrose, but he resolutely forbade him to leave the parish. “There are two of you (with God), and he is one (the devil),” said the elder Fr. George); Schema-nun Sophia (Bolotova), spiritual daughter and disciple of Elder Ambrose, the first abbess of the Kazan Shamordino Convent, after whose death Elder Ambrose said: “Oh, mother, she has found grace from God!”; Abbess Euphrosyne, 2nd abbess of Shamordin, blind; Abbess Catherine and Abbess Valentina, the last abbess of Shamordino. The following women's monasteries enjoyed the spiritual leadership of Elder Macarius: the monasteries of Velikolutsky, Vyazemsky, Kursk, Serpukhov, Sevsky, Kaluga, Eletsky, Bryansk, Kazansky, Ostashkovsky, Smolensky, etc. Many monasteries treated Elder Ambrose in the same way, and others owed their existence to him. Thus, under his leadership were: Borisov Hermitage, Kashira Monastery, Belevsky Monastery and Volkhov Monastery; with his blessing, the Akhtyrsky Gusevsky monastery of the Saratov diocese, the Kozelytsansky monastery of the Poltava diocese, the Pyatnitskaya women's community, the Predtechenskaya hermitage of the Oryol diocese, the Nikolo-Tikhvinsky community of the Voronezh diocese, and, finally, the Kazan women's Shamordino hermitage of the Kaluga diocese arose and settled down. Speaking about the spiritual influence of Optina Pustyn, one cannot remain silent about its influence on the Russian intelligentsia. We have already mentioned I.V. Kireevsky, Father Kliment Zederholm and K.N. Leontiev. Let's also name: N.V. Gogol, who had correspondence with Elder Macarius and Archimandrite Moses; professors of Moscow University Shevyrev and Yurkevich, and those who visited Elder Ambrose F. M. Dostoevsky, V. S. Solovyov, Count A. K. Tolstoy, V. K. Konstantin Konstantinovich and gr. L.N. Tolstoy, who, even in the last fateful days of his life, was drawn primarily to Optina Pustyn, to its elders. Lev Nikolaevich’s sister, Maria Nikolaevna, lived in Shamordina, about whom Elder Lev said in her childhood: “This Masha will be ours.” In general, about Shamordin it must be said that there, under the wing of Elder Ambrose, hundreds of Russian educated women found refuge, whose names are impossible to list. It remains for us to consider the southern branch of the Russian eldership, which originates from Elder Paisius. Of the direct disciples of Elder Paisius in the south of Russia, the following are known: monk Gerasim, tonsured by Elder Paisius, who upon leaving Russia lived in the Sophronium Hermitage, Kursk Province; Hieroschemamonk Livery labored in the Ekaterinoslav diocese and died at a very old age in 1824. He had as his student the inspector of the Ekaterinoslav Theological Seminary, the learned monk Macarius, later the famous head of the Altai mission. The most widespread influence in the south of Russia was undoubtedly the famous hieroschemamonk Vasily (Kishkin). He came from the nobility of the Kursk province, traveled a lot and lived for a long time on Mount Athos and in Moldavia with Elder Paisius. Returning to Russia, he was the builder of the Beloberezh Hermitage, then lived in the Kremenets Monastery, in the Sarov Hermitage, in the Korennaya Hermitage, in the Glinskaya Hermitage, in the Sofronieva and Borisov Hermitages of the Kursk Diocese, in the Rykhlovsky Monastery of the Chernigov Diocese, in the Ustmedveditsky Monastery of the Don Diocese, in the Sevsky Monastery and in the Ploshchanskaya Hermitage Oryol diocese. He left numerous disciples in all these monasteries and died in 1831. He had the good fortune to listen to the conversations of Tikhon of Zadonsk and was a friend of Anthony, Archbishop of Voronezh. He was a remarkable ascetic, distinguished from a young age by his chastity, humility, patience and love for those who insulted him. Of his students, the following are known: Elder Lev of Optina, who was under his leadership in the White Banks; Seraphim, former abbot of the Beloberezh Hermitage; Arseny, who labored in the Roslavl forests; schema-hierodeacon Melchizedek; schemamonk of the Beloberezh Hermitage Macarius and other ascetics of this monastery, about which it must be said that it was also a remarkable focus of the Paisian movement. Further disciples of Elder Vasily were: Afanasy, schemamonk of Athonite, hierodeacon Anastasy, who labored in the Svensky monastery and in the Roslavl forests; Archimandrite of the Simonov Monastery in Moscow Melchizedek, Optina Archimandrite Moses, Abbess of the Ust-Medveditsky Monastery Augusta. His student, and at the same time the student of the elder Archimandrite Theodosius from Moldavia, was also the famous ascetic of the Glinsk Hermitage Filaret, from whom the Glinsk line of Russian asceticism originates. Let us name the most famous ascetics of this line: the monk-elder Theodotus, the seer; Macarius, hieroschemamonk, a perspicacious elder who achieved high spiritual perfection; Martyrius, a great faster, who did not eat food for a week and loved solitude and silence; Schemamonk Evfimy, cell attendant of Father Philaret; Panteleimon, the hermit hieroschemamonk, buried in the monastery, which through his care was built on the site of the appearance of the miraculous icon of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary; Hieromonk Anthony, assistant to the fraternal confessor, silent; Hierodeacon Serapion, who saw his Guardian Angel and, after death, fingered his rosary for three hours; the monk Dositheus, who had the gift of insight and healing, was honored to hear angelic singing at the death of Elder Theodotus; Schema-Archimandrite Iliodor, who was abbot of the Rykhlovsky Monastery for eight years and rector of the Peter and Paul Monastery of the Chernigov diocese; Schemamonk Lavrenty, disciple of Archimandrite Iliodor and his successor in eldership; Archimandrite Innocent, a student of many elders and, mainly, Elder Macarius, who had a loving heart and the gift of healing; Hieroschemamonk Iliodor, a prayer book who predicted his death a year in advance; schemamonk Arkhipp, who had the gift of insight and prayer, the leader of the spiritual life of the schemamonks; the ascetic-seer Luke and many others. Of the individuals who did not belong to the brethren of the Glinsk hermitage, but who enjoyed its spiritual guidance, we know: Philareta - abbess of the Ufa Annunciation Monastery, a student of Philareta of Glinsky; Macarius, archimandrite of the Altai mission, later abbot of the Bolkhov Trinity Monastery, Bible translator, seer; Theodosius, confessor of the Svyatogorsk Hermitage of the Kharkov diocese, student of Philaret; Hieroschemamonk John, recluse of the Svyatogorsk Hermitage, disciple of Father Philaret; Ioannikiy, confessor of the Svyatogorsk Hermitage, healer of the demoniac; Archimandrite Paisiy, rector of the Vysokogorsk Nikolaev Hermitage, disciple of Father Philaret, the Monk Seraphim of Sarov predicted for him 24 years in command of the monks; Macaria, the perspicacious schema-nun of the Gamaleevsky Monastery of the Chernigov diocese, the spiritual daughter of the elder of the Glinsk Hermitage Anatoly; Cleopatra, abbess of the Sevsky Monastery (Elder Anatoly of the Glinsk Monastery blessed her to go to the monastery and predicted that she would be an abbess). To the short list of disciples of Elder Paisius that we have made (by no means complete), we consider it necessary to add a list of laurels, monasteries, hermitages, hermitages and communities that received their charters from him or from his disciples, their elders or abbots, or who had his disciples and followers among their brotherhood. We make a reservation that this list of ours is far from complete. 1. Athos Elias Monastery and other Athos monasteries and hermitages, which were under the influence of Elder Paisius and his disciples. 2. Dragomirny Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Moldova. 3. Sekulsky John the Baptist monastery in Moldova. 4. Nyametsky Holy Ascension Monastery in Moldova. 5. Novo-Nyametsky Monastery in Bessarabia. 6. Tisman Monastery in Moldova and other Moldavian monasteries and monasteries, which were under the influence of Elder Paisius. 7. Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg. 8. Alexander-Svirsky Monastery of the Olonets diocese. 9 . Arzama Spassky Monastery of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese. 10. Akhtyrskaya Gusevskaya women's community of Saratov province. 11. Amvrosievskaya Kazan women's hermitage of Kaluga province. 13. Borovsky Pafnutievsky Monastery of the Kaluga diocese. 14. Berlyukovskaya hermitage of the Vladimir diocese. 15. Boris and Gleb Monastery of the Moscow Diocese. 16. Bryansk Svensky Monastery of the Oryol diocese. 17. Beloberezhskaya hermitage of the Oryol diocese. 18. Belopesotsky Kashira Monastery of the Tula Diocese. 19. Borisov women's hermitage of the Kursk diocese. 20. Belevsky Holy Cross Convent. 21. Bolkhovsky convent of the Oryol diocese. 22. Bolkhov Trinity Monastery. 23. Buzuluk Tikhvin-Bogoroditsk women's community of the Samara diocese. 24. Babaevsky Nikolin Monastery of the Kostroma diocese. 25. Belokopytovsky Kazan convent of the Kaluga diocese. 26. Bryansk convent of the Oryol diocese. 27. Valaam Monastery. 28. Velikolutsky Convent. 29. Vyazemsky Arkadievsky Convent. 30. Vysokogorskaya Churkinskaya Nikolaevskaya hermitage. 31. Vilna Holy Spirit Monastery. 32. Goretsk nunnery of the Novgorod diocese. 33. Gorokhovsky Monastery of the Vladimir Diocese. 34. Gethsemane monastery at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. 35. Glinsk Hermitage of the Kursk Diocese. 36. Catherine Hermitage of the Moscow Diocese. 37. Yeletsky Convent. 38. Rear Nicephorus hermitage of the Olonets diocese. 39. Ivanovo Convent in Moscow. 40. Krivoyezerskaya hermitage of the Kostroma diocese. 41. Kolomna Golutvin Monastery. 42. Kirillov Monastery of the Novgorod diocese. 43. Konevsky Monastery on Lake Ladoga. 44. Kursk convent. 45. Kozelshchansky convent of the Poltava diocese. 46. Kremenets Monastery of the Voronezh Diocese. 47. Kazan Convent in the city of Troitsk. 48. Elias Monastery in Menzelinsk, Ufa diocese. 49. Kashira nunnery. 50. Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. 51. Kaluga Convent. 52. Kirensky Monastery of the Irkutsk diocese. 53. Likhvinsky Intercession Monastery of the Kaluga diocese. 54. Leslevskaya hermitage of the Smolensk diocese. 55. Medvedev Hermitage, Vladimir diocese. 56. Modena Monastery of the Novgorod Diocese. 57. Maloyaroslavets Monastery. 58. Meshchevsky Monastery of the Kaluga Diocese. 59. Mozhaisk Lusatian monastery of the Moscow diocese. 60. Molchanskaya hermitage of the Kursk diocese. 61. Novoezersk hermitage of the Novgorod diocese. 62. Novospassky Monastery in Moscow. 63. Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery of the Moscow Diocese. 64. New Athos in the Caucasus. 65. Nikolo-Tikhvin women's community of the Voronezh diocese. 66. Ostrovskaya Vvedenskaya hermitage of the Vladimir diocese. 67. Optina Vvedenskaya hermitage, Kaluga diocese. 68. Odigitrievsky Convent in Chelyabinsk. 69. Odrino-Nikolaevsky Monastery of the Oryol diocese. 70. Ostashkovsky convent of the Tver diocese. 71. Peshnoshsky Monastery of the Moscow Diocese. 72. Paleoostrovskaya hermitage, Olonets diocese. 73. Padansky convent, Olonets diocese. 74. Paraclete hermitage at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. 75. Ploshchanskaya hermitage of the Oryol diocese. 76. Pskov Nikandrov Monastery. 77. Peter and Paul Monastery of the Chernigov diocese. 78. Pyatnitskaya women's community of the Voronezh diocese. 79. Predtechenskaya hermitage in the city of Kromakh. 80. Pochaev Dormition Lavra. 81. Rostov Yakovlevsky Monastery. 82. Rykhlovsky monastery of the Chernigov diocese. 83. Roslavl monasteries of the Smolensk diocese. 84. Sretensky Monastery in Moscow. 85. Simonov Monastery in Moscow. 86. Solovetsky Monastery. 87. Sarov hermitage of the Tambov diocese. 88. Suzdal Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery. 89. Serpukhov Convent. 90. Sevsky nunnery. 91. Sophronie Hermitage of the Kursk Diocese. 92. Svyatogorsk hermitage of the Kharkov diocese. 93. Smolensk Convent. 94. Spas-Chekryak, Bolkhob district, Oryol diocese. 95. Tikhvin Monastery of the Novgorod Diocese. 96. Trinity Monastery in Kiev. 97. Tikhon's hermitage, Kaluga diocese. 98. Trinity Convent in Birsk, Ufa diocese. 99. Trinity-Sergius Lavra. 100. Ustyug Monastery of the Novgorod Diocese. 101. Ust-Medveditsky convent of the Don diocese. 102. Assumption Monastery in Orenburg. 103. Ufa Blogoveshchensky Monastery. 104. Florishcheva hermitage of the Vladimir diocese. 105. Philippo-Iranian hermitage of the Novgorod diocese. 106. Chelsk hermitage of the Oryol diocese. 107. Yakut monastery. From what has been said, it is clear how wide the circle of influence of Elder Paisius was. In Russia, it extended to the monasteries of 35 dioceses, and the largest number of monasteries that had disciples of Elder Paisius is in the Moscow diocese (14); followed by: Oryol diocese (12), Kaluga (9), Novgorod (7), Vladimir (6), Kursk and Smolensk 5 each, Olonets - 4, St. Petersburg, Tula, Voronezh, Orenburg and Ufa 3 each, Kostroma, Pskov, Kiev and Chernigov 2 each, and the rest one each. This book was written in exceptional days, when not only in Russia, but everywhere there was a fierce struggle against the very foundations of Christianity. A desire is developing to build the life of mankind on other new foundations, which are called socialist and communist, but which would be more correctly called atheistic and materialistic. For two millennia, Christianity has pointed out to humanity that neither in humanity itself nor in man himself, divorced from the eternal beginning of life, from God, can the true meaning and justification of life be found. They can only be found in knowing God, in unity with Him and in love for Him and in aligning your life with the will of God. Outside of this submission to the will of God, human life turns into a continuous chaos of bitter struggle and mutual destruction. Christianity revealed to humanity the deepest mystery of the salvation of the world and man through the Incarnate and Crucified Son of God, the God-Man Jesus Christ, through His Holy Church and His Holy Sacraments, especially the Sacrament of Holy Communion, and through His teaching. In the name of this saving faith, it calls people to fraternal unity and the peaceful construction of a common life, to the continuous development of all aspects of human life - mental, moral, aesthetic and material. Christianity does not neglect earthly life, although it sees in it only a preparatory step for eternal life. It promises people immortality. With its worldview and its religious and practical way of life, Christianity has educated humanity for two millennia, produced a tremendous rise in its spiritual powers, and created enormous values ​​in works of painting, music, architecture, literature and science, which have ennobled human morals and relationships. It opened up a vast world of new, deep, vast life to people. It is this Christian worldview and the spiritual image of the human soul it creates that is disgusting to new people. Their idol is man, whom they consider to be the highest being of nature, and at the same time they do not believe in his immortality: for them, man is only the highest of animals, and his existence is limited to one earth. Contradicting themselves, they do not notice the insignificance of human existence, they build a building on the sand. And while Christianity calls people to common fraternal unity, they deepen discord, sow enmity and call for mutual destruction in the name of class interests. And now a great struggle is taking place in the arena of the world: atheism is fighting against Christianity. From the Revelation of John the Theologian we know on whose side the victory will be. But how many souls are torn away from God in this struggle, from the fullness of a meaningful and happy life! Elder Paisiy (Velichkovsky), with his entire life and his entire spiritual appearance, is a bright and attractive exponent of the Christian spirit, contrary to the spirit of atheism. From early childhood, his soul was already inextricably linked with God by faith and love. He was infinitely far from the proud exaltation of the human personality. He had no other desire than the desire to be a doer of God's will. In this desire to harmonize his will with the will of God and in constant spiritual growth in the image and likeness of God lay the meaning and joy of his life. But it was not only within himself that he created and carried this meaning and this joy. He spread them around himself and, above all, in the crowded Christian brotherhood that united around him. If you like, it was a commune, but a commune created not by violence or blood, but by free will, self-sacrifice and brotherly love in the name of Christ. By releasing our book, we want that in the living example of Elder Paisius Velichkovsky, not only monastics, but all Christians will find vital confirmation of the reasonableness and correctness of the Christian path and the possibility of its practical implementation, provided, of course, complete and selfless obedience to God, accepting the good and easy yoke of Christ (Matthew 11:30). INDEX OF LITERATURE ABOUT ELDER PAISIA VELICHKOVSKY 1. Manuscript of the Imperial Academy of Sciences for the department of Russian language and literature collection of A. I. Yatsimirsky No. 58. The story of the holy council of the most beloved of the Lord, father and brothers and my spiritual children, who gathered in the name of Christ to me, unworthy of salvation for the sake of the soul, by the Providence of God abiding in these holy and honorable monasteries: in the holy and great monastery of the Ascension of the Lord and God and our Savior Jesus Christ, called Neyamets; and in the holy monastery of the Honest Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John, called Sekul; How and why, for the sake of guilt, this holy council gathered to me, a sinner and unworthy. – The manuscript represents the autobiographical notes of Elder Paisius, written during his stay in Neamtse and ending during his first stay in Moldovala. 2. Manuscript No. 65 from the same collection: Elder Paisius’s Epistle to the monks about the precepts of monastic life and about his life. 3. Manuscript No. 66 of the same collection: Epistle of Elder Paisius on silent prayer and other ascetic issues. 4. Manuscript of the Petrograd Imperial Theological Academy No. 279, containing: a) The life and exploits of our blessed father Elder Paisius: flight from the world, his journey, the gathering of his brethren and cohabitation with him. – The Life was compiled by the elder’s disciple, Schemamonk Mitrofan, who was with him for about 30 years, b) Instructions for tonsuring the monastic order; c) Message to a certain priest Demetrius; d) Message to the bishops of the Orthodox Moldavian land, outlining the charter and order of the elder’s monastic community; d) Funeral lamentation for an old man; f) Service to the Venerable Elder Paisius. 5. A handwritten collection of the works of Elder Paisius from the library of the Novo-Nyametsky Monastery in Bessarabia, which contains: a) Preface on the rite and statutes of our father Elder Paisius of blessed memory of the cenobitic cathedral; b) Letter from Elder Paisius to the most honorable Theodosius, abbot of the Tsibukan monastery; c) A letter also to Theodosius, Archimandrite of the Sophronium Hermitage in Russia (more detailed than what is in print); d) Denunciation of Hieromonk Theopemptos, who blasphemes mental prayer; e) Answers of Elder Paisius, written from him to certain zealots in Russia to certain questions; f) The same Elder Paisius has a very small essay on the sign of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross, which is what Orthodox Christians should be signified by; g) Letter to the reverend teacher Hieromonk Cyrus Nicephorus (later Archbishop of Astrakhan); h) Letter to the desert fathers, who remained silent for 25 years over the Voronoi stream, Onuphrius and Nikolai; i) The same Paisius to the all-honorable priest Father John, a short message, etc. - The collection was written by the hand of the disciple of Elder Paisius, schemamonk Plato in the 18th century. 6. Collection of the Simonov Collection of Manuscripts of the Moscow Synodal (Patriarchal) Library No. 56. It contains: 1) The Life of our Blessed Father Elder Paisius, collected from many writers, and composed by Father Plato, in the days of our blessed sovereign Mikhail Grigorievich Strudtsy Voivode, with the blessing of the Most Reverend Metropolitan Kiriu Cyrus Veniamin, under Archimandrite and the elder of the holy monasteries of Neamtsa and Sekula Mardaria in the Neamtsa Ascension Monastery in the summer of 1830. In addition to the life, this collection contains some more articles and translations of Elder Paisius from those listed above. 7. From the same collection is manuscript No. 47 about the Solovetsky desert dwellers, which contains the story of the Solovetsky elder Hieroschemamonk Theophan about his visit to the Nyametsky monastery under the elder Paisius. 8. Collection of the Sekul Monastery (no number), containing: a) Preface on the order and regulations of our father, Elder Paisius of blessed memory, of his communal cathedral and the very order and regulations in 18 points; b) The life and exploits of our blessed father and elder Paisius (monk Mitrofan); c) Funeral lamentation for Elder Paisius from all his spiritual children: d) service to the Venerable Elder Paisius; e) letters from Elder Paisius: Theodosius, Tsibukan skete abbot; a scroll of an essay by the elder our father Paisius (divided into chapters) on mental prayer; the complaint of the monks of the Polyano-Voronsk monastery to their abbot about Hieromonk Theopemtus, who blasphemes mental prayer, and their general complaint against the same Theopemtus to Elder Paisius (1793, June 19); message to them from Elder Paisius; a letter to the teacher Hieromonk Nikephoros (Theotoki) in response to a request to send monks who can teach children in city schools; letter from Elder Paisius dated June 7, 1776 to the desert fathers Onuphry and Nikolai, regarding the latter’s illness. 9 . Collection of the Oryol diocesan ancient repository No. 354 111, containing extracts from patristic books about prayer, humility, patience, purity of heart, etc. – The collection was written by the disciple of Elder Paisius of the Svensky Bryansk Monastery, Schemamonk Afanasy, and was given by him in 1810 for the blessing of another disciple of Elder Paisius, Schemamonk of the Ploshchanskaya Hermitage Afanasy Zakharov, teacher of the Elder of the Optina Hermitage, Hieroschemamonk Macarius. 10. About the exploits of monks. A collection containing extracts from patristic books about spiritual life. Written by the abbot of the Optina Hermitage, Archimandrite Moses, during his desert life in his youth in the Roslavl forests of 1812–21. It is interesting for studying the nature of the cell activities of the followers of Elder Paisius in Russia. 11. Manuscript of the Nyametsky Monastery in Moldova No. 150. Schemamonk Mitrofan - The Life and Deeds of our Blessed Father Elder Paisius: flight from the world, his journey, the gathering of the brethren to him and cohabitation with him. 12. Manuscript No. 155 of the same monastery. The response chapters of our blessed father Elder Paisius against the blasphemy against him from a certain Elder Athanasius were written in the holy Mount Athos (reread in a special book by the hieromonk of the Nyametsky monastery Nathanael in 1837). 13. Manuscript No. 143 of the same monastery. Like the saints of our father, Abba Isaac the Syrian, a faster and hermit, former bishop of the Christ-loving city of Nineveh, a fasting word, written from him in his own language, spoken from our venerable fathers, Abba Patrick and Abba Abraham, wise and silent, who were silent in the Lavra, like the saints of our father. Savva. Translation of the blessed elder Paisius. Written by Gury in 1798. Wonderful as an artistic example of the work of the disciples of Elder Paisius. 14. Manuscript of the Romanian Academy in Bucharest (Akademia Romana) No. 398. Extracts from the answers of Blessed Paisius to the questions addressed to him. 15. Manuscript No. 485 of the same Academy: instructions for monastic tonsure. 16. V. Kazanakli. Paisiy Velichkovsky and his significance in the history of Orthodox monasticism. SPV 1888–89. A handwritten candidate's essay recommended by the professor of the Petrograd Theological Academy I. S. Palmov as a valuable tool. 17. Oryol diocesan ancient repository manuscript No. 58. Ascetic collection of mental prayer. 18. Manuscript No. 59 of the same collection: Collection of ascetic articles on mental prayer. 19. Manuscript No. 54 of the same collection. Internal treasures (18th–19th centuries). 20. Manuscript No. 20 from the same collection. Manuscript of the Ploshchansky Monastery and a collection of 1758 on spiritual work. 21. Novo-Nyametsky Monastery manuscript No. 37. The story of the beginning and construction of the holy monastery, called the Ascension to Heaven of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 22. Manuscript No. 38 from the same monastery. Entry into the general and evangelical life. 23. Manuscript No. 96 from the same monastery. Collection of works and letters of Elder Paisius, written by the hand of Archimandrite Andronik. 24. A. P. Orlovsky. A visual table of Russian eldership, coming from the elder Archimandrite Paisius Velichkovsky. 1. The life and writings of the Moldavian elder Paisius Velichkovsky with the addition of prefaces to the books of St. Gregory of Sinaite, Philotheus of Sinai, Hesychius the presbyter and Nil of Sorsky, composed by his friend and fasting elder Vasily of Polyanomerulsky, about mental sobriety and prayer. Edition of Kozelskaya Vvedenskaya Optina Hermitage. Moscow 1892. 2. The life and writings of the Moldavian elder Paisius Velichkovsky. Published for the Novo-Nyametskaya Holy Ascension Monastery in Bessarabia. Odessa 1887. 3. Moldavian elder Paisiy Velichkovsky 1722–1794. A short biographical sketch with an application of the teachings of Elder Paisius on mental prayer. Rector of the Volyn Theological Seminary Archimandrite Ambrose. Pochaev 1902. 4. Paisiy Velichkovsky, an ascetic of piety in the 2nd half of the last century. Poltava Diocesan Gazette 1897 No. 22–23. 5. Paisiy Velichkovsky and his significance in the history of Orthodox monasticism. Kishinev Diocesan Gazette 1898 Nos. 18–24. 6. Lives of Russian ascetics of piety of the 18th and 19th centuries in 12 books. Publication of the Athos Panteleimon Monastery. In these books you can find information about both Elder Paisius himself and his disciples in Russia. 7. Professor A.I. Yatsimirsky: Revival of Byzantine-Bulgarian mysticism and Slavic-ascetic literature in the 18th century. Kharkov 1905 8. His: Research in the Collection of the Department of Russian Language and Literature of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. Volume 79, 1905. Here is a description of the Slavic manuscripts of the Nyametsky monastery, written by Elder Paisius and his disciples. 9 . Our Holy Father Isaac the Syrian, Bishop of the former Nineveh: Words of spiritual asceticism, translated from Greek by Elder Paisius Velichkovsky. Publication of the Kozelskaya Vvedenskaya Optina Hermitage under the leadership of the elder and hieroschemamonk Macarius. The preface contains the story of Elder Paisius about his translation activities. 10. About mental or internal prayer. The work of the blessed elder, schemamonk and archimandrite Paisius Velichkovsky. Translation from Slavic. 1902. 11. N. Popov. Manuscripts of the Moscow Synodal (Patriarchal) Library. Issue 11(2). Simonov's collection. (About the manuscripts of Elder Paisius). 12. V. E. Buchnevich. Notes about Poltava and its monuments. Poltava 1882. 13. I. F. Pavlovsky. Poltava. 14. Levitsky, Gr. Essays on folk life in Little Russia in the 2nd half of the 17th century. Kiev 1902. 15. Askochensky. Kyiv with its ancient school, the Academy. 2 t. 16. D. Vishnevsky. Kyiv Academy in the 1st half of the 18th century. Kiev 1903. 17. Antonovich. Research on haidamacy according to the acts of 1700–1768. Kiev 1876. 18. Archbishop Filaret. History of the Russian Church. Period 5. 19. Professor Golubinsky. A brief outline of the history of the Orthodox Churches: Bulgarian, Serbian and Romanian. 20. Arseny, Bishop of Pskov. Research and monographs on the history of the Moldavian Church. St. Petersburg. 1904. 21. Letters from a saintly mountain dweller about the Holy Mount Athos. Edition 8. Moscow 1895. 22. Russian monastery of St. Prophet Elijah on Athos. Edition 4. Odessa 1913. 23. Prince A. Dabizha. Little Russian monastery on Mount Athos. Kiev Antiquity, 1893, January. 24. Novo-Nyametsky Monastery. Chisinau 1881. 25. Solovetsky Patericon. Moscow 1895. This book contains the story of Elder Hieroschemamonk Theophan about his stay with Elder Paisius in Neamtsa. 26. K. N. Leontiev. About old age. Russian Review. 1894. Optina Elder Ambrose. Citizen. 1891. Memories of Archimandrite Macarius (Athos). Citizen. 1889. In 1938, a book by Archpriest was published in Estonia in two editions. Sergius Chetverikov “The Moldavian Elder Schema-Archimandrite Paisius Velichkovsky.” Compared to the manuscript of Fr. Sergius, significant reductions were made in this edition. Our edition of the work of Rev. S. Chetverikov made according to his manuscript. “Scheme of the growth of the Orthodox eldership in the 18th and 19th centuries,” compiled under the leadership of Archpriest. S. Chetverikova, for technical reasons could not be reproduced by us. But on its basis, tables were compiled and placed in Appendix 4. Appendix 1. INSTRUCTIONS OF Kyiv ARCHBISHOP RAPHAEL ZABOROVSKY TO PROFESSORS AND STUDENTS OF Kyiv ACADEMY 1. In accordance with the royal command, everyone, no matter where anyone comes from, is accepted into the Academy to acquire knowledge, a free person of any status and rank, as long as he professes the Eastern Christian faith and is capable of teaching. 2. Workers of science should always serve as high examples of faith in God and love for students, especially modesty, politeness, good upbringing and education, and should also represent an example of not only the internal purity of the soul, but also the external neatness of the body and clothing. 3. On holidays, as well as those on which there is no teaching in schools, both mentors and students (and especially those living in the bursa) are always and without fail, except for legal reasons, obliged to attend, accompanied by an overseer, all church prayers and services, and especially the most holy liturgy. 4. All students of our Academy, both those in the bursa and those living outside it, must confess once every fast, and twice on Lent, according to ancient custom, with due preparation and repentance and proceed to the Mystical Supper of our Lord and Savior. 5. All students must arrive at the Academy at the very beginning of school in early September and wait for the final dissolution of schools in mid-July. If any student leaves the Academy prematurely before the holidays, and especially without the knowledge and blessing of the prefect and professor, such a student, even if he returns to school, will certainly be punished; also, without an academic certificate, none of the students should wander around the city begging for alms. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that the unworthy are not admitted to the highest degrees of academic teaching, and that students, without their own merits due to the mere indulgence and partiality of teachers, do not occupy the most worthy places, otherwise the unworthy will become equal to the worthy and the careless to the exemplary, which is why some will lose the desire to study, while others will become more and more mired in laziness. 6. At the first ringing of the academic bell, students must immediately report to their class on time; with the second lesser analogists, infimists, grammarians and syntacticians must sit on their benches. Teachers enter in the following order: the first two schools - before the 3rd bell, teachers of grammar and syntax - immediately after the 3rd, poetry and rhetoric - after the 4th, regardless of any particular needs. They must perform direct duties in their classes faithfully, with ardent zeal and in the easiest possible way, more with the benefit of their students in mind than by conceiting their intelligence, and remain in lessons until the end, before which none of the teachers or students can leave their school, unless absolutely necessary. At the end of the lessons, there should be no delay in the classrooms, but after the final signal, all schools, preceded by their teachers, ceremoniously enter the church in order to offer even short prayers to God and give thanks to Him. 7. All academicians, under strict responsibility, and especially teachers and mentors, must make it a law that both in collegiate schools and in colleges, as well as among themselves and with students, they should always speak Latin, and students should have a calculum with them for daily use. In addition, in smaller schools, from analogy to philosophy, exercises must be stated and presented in three languages ​​alternately - Slavic, Polish and Latin. In philosophy and theology, constant interviews (without which it is impossible to perfectly acquire knowledge) and frequent debates must be accomplished by deeds themselves. And auditors and especially teachers of all schools are required to speak Latin always and everywhere, except for analogists and infimists, who primarily study in and speak Polish. 8. Every lower school everywhere must give way to a higher one and show it respect even with outward signs of respect. In the event of any offense from a student, and especially not from an academician, no one should consider themselves to have the right to take revenge for the offense on their own, but to expect satisfaction from a higher authority. 9 . All academicians are obliged to be present at all academic ceremonies on whatever day it happens, as well as on Sundays, during the great instruction - all members of the senior brotherhood, and at the small one - those who do not belong to it. 10. Students who are most successful in science and known for their good behavior should be preferred to others, and those who are more deserving should be distinguished by the attention of the Academy from those who do not deserve it. Students who show little hope, lazy and disobedient, should be admonished more often, and those who do not show any good hope, such as drunkards, brawlers, troublemakers, sneakers and rogues, as incapable of correction, should be expelled from the Academy, so that the good ones do not spoil in the community of bad ones. However, if some were distinguished by excellent morality, but turned out to be so stupid that neither the Church nor the fatherland could expect any benefit from them, then such, so as not to waste their time in vain, should be dismissed from the Academy in order to choose for themselves the kind of life in which they could be more useful to themselves and others, so that in this way the Academy would be famous not so much for the quantity as for the quality of its students. This is especially true for mentors. 11. Students of any school should under no circumstances rebel against anyone, especially against their teachers. Such brawlers should be strictly punished or better expelled. 12. Teachers and especially overseers should not treat those under their charge either too strictly or too weakly, and are obliged to keep in this case the middle ground, as the duty of education and politeness commands them, and they must also dangerously beware of scolding students both publicly and at home with obscene words. 13. Not a single student, without the permission of his teacher, and especially his home supervisor, dares not be at school or leave his apartment anywhere; otherwise he will be punished. 14. None of the academicians should wander around at night, but everyone must be in their apartments and do their job. Any loitering or drunken student caught by his senior must certainly be fined or punished. 15. Each overseer, according to his duty, must look after the students entrusted to him, wherever he happens to be with them, so that they behave modestly, intelligently and politely. If any of the overseers begins to neglect this duty, or does not spend the night at home due to some dissipation, or starts having feasts, or begins to use food and drink and other artel property for his own benefit, squandering it dishonestly, or exceeds his authority, he will immediately be removed from the place. 16. Students should not bring any weapons with them to the Academy, nor shoot a rifle or pistol. You should dress simply and decently. Even if someone dresses in fashion, this does not give him the right to change accepted academic customs and laugh at the attire of others. 17. Each subordinate academician, in any case, must show all possible obedience and respect to his superior, as long as this is not contrary to the laws of God and man. In a dishonorable matter one should neither cooperate nor obey one’s elders. 18. Suspicious behavior should not be tolerated in student apartments; It is also not allowed to rent apartments and live in houses that are either suspected or disgraced by something criminal. This is to avoid collisions with people of bad society. 19. Students should not go to shows where gladiatorial or fist fights take place, or even watch them, much less get involved in a fight themselves. But in order not to always remain in a tense state, on certain days it is allowed to play musical instruments suitable for a student; Also, other decent games for a short time are not prohibited, specifically to restore good spirits. 20. None of the students, without the knowledge and permission of the prefect and professor, should bother great and noble persons with requests or write panegyrics for them, draw drawings, or generally do anything special of this kind. Neither the students have the right to take on a supervisor, nor the student’s supervisor at his own discretion without the permission of the prefect. 21. It is necessary that every student, both those who undertake a course of study, and those who leave the Academy for a legal reason before completing the course, upon leaving school, receive from the prefect an open certificate of their success in the sciences for universal certification of their education. For this purpose, the prefect of the schools undertakes to annually enter into the library of the Academy for future reference and for every occasion, both private and annual lists compiled correctly by the teacher of each school with the name, surname and truthful certification of students, and the general list of all pupils and students, compiled with all care according to the order and dignity of the schools, where the name, title, religion, fatherland, rank and condition of the parents, as well as age should be indicated and student knowledge. 22. The prefect of the Kyiv Academy, whose good governance all students of all schools and even their mentors must obey, obliges himself to diligently observe and implement these regulations, and to oblige all academicians to comply with them. Violators of this charter must be admonished and decently corrected. Appendix 2. TEACHING FOR TRANSMISSION TO THE ORDER OF A MONK (Borrowed (with a few abbreviations) from the manuscripts of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy No. 279 and Akademia Romana in Bucharest No. 485) A monk is a spiritual warrior who, like the warriors of the world, must put on weapons for successful victory over enemies... The warfare of Christ's warriors is directed against the flesh, the world and the devil. The Savior commands the devil to take up the cross. The flesh is commanded to resist by rejecting father, mother, son and daughter. He says about the world: “If we acquire all the world, what benefit do we have?” Witnesses of the battle are God and the Angels, the devil and his angels. The place of battle is the distance between the righteous and sinners. Horse - body. The rider is the soul. The leader of the army is the mind. Weapons: faith - a shield, patience - a helmet, diligent prayer - a sword, unfeigned (non-hypocritical) humility - a bow and arrows. Leaders of Satan's army: pride, delicacy, uncleanness, murder, vanity, rage, anger. They are commanded by the devil, and sin strikes the soul like an arrow. The second regiment of the satanic fortress is the evil of this world. Our very body rises up against our soul - with gluttony, drunkenness, lust for fornication, laziness and other passions. In this difficult struggle between the visible nature and the invisible, man is powerless without God's help. The first step in the struggle against this world is to leave it, to reject its voluptuousness, the charming dreams of its beauties, perishable wealth, temporary joy, to accept the voluntary poverty of Christ. Hurry from the darkness of sin to the land of promise, to the purity and sinlessness of a godly life. Remove yourself from the world on an irrevocable journey. And with this you will defeat the enemy, and with this victory you will delight the sky and create sorrow for the demons. If the enemy overcomes you and takes your soul captive, then, even if you acquire the wealth and beauty of the whole world, there will be no benefit to you. Do not be embarrassed by the thought of leaving your relatives: father and mother, wife and children, brother and sister; they remain in their worldly cares, like dead men burying their dead. You hasten to the work of God, move away from earthly wisdom to heavenly ones, where Christ reigns forever. However, you need to separate from your relatives only those who hinder your salvation and think about earthly things, saying: “Gather, son, the wealth of the world, acquire lands, plant vineyards, gather a multitude of slaves and rejoice all the days of your life.” You need to run away from such parents, because instead of light they indicate darkness, instead of life - death. If parents advise good things and lead us to God and serving Him, such people must be loved, revered as saints and submitted to their will and advice. Avoid overeating, heavy drinking and fornication by fasting. Conquer laziness with cheerfulness. The body is not only not our enemy, it is our friend. With our bodies we can fast, shed tears, bend our knees, give alms; without a body, with one soul, we cannot do this. The body protects the soul from pride, for the soul, being of a high birth, as the image of God, can be carried away by arrogance; when he remembers his body, he humbles his arrogance. That is why it is said by St. Gregory about the body that it is a “merciful enemy” and “a treacherous friend.” Do not be captives of the earthly world, the body and death, but strive to the heavenly world and the immortal limit, so that you will be heirs of its light. And if you defeat the first regiments of your enemies, then you will be able to take up arms against the devil himself and defeat his army. Just accept all the weapons of God. With three weapons - faith, patience and prayer, all the power of the enemy is destroyed and driven away; pride - by humility, vanity - by self-denial, fornication - by purity. Most of all, you will defeat your enemies with the cross. With patience we must crucify ourselves on the cross and die to the world and sinful life. And then the Angels of God will come out to meet you, rejoicing, and the King of Glory, Christ, will accept His victorious one and glorify him before the assembly of His most luminous Angels, before the patriarchs, prophets and apostles, and will number him among the righteous, and give him a place in His Heavenly Kingdom. What is a monk? The monk is the fulfiller of all the commandments of Christ, the perfection of Christianity, the abyss of humility, the pillar of patience, the unforgettable memory of death, an endless source of tears, a treasure of purity, a scolder of the corruptible, a trampler of all the red and beautiful things of this world, self-willed mortification, an everyday martyr and laborer, a God-pleasing sacrifice, an ever-burning lamp of spiritual wisdom, an enlightened mind, a watcher of all visible and invisible, rapid prayer, thinking of God, a pure heart, silent lips of God's praise, the dwelling of the Holy Trinity, a shame to angels and men, a terror to demons. A monk is so called because he has a different life, not physical, but spiritual, a different act, a different age, different food, different clothing and work. He is called a monk, because he has black deplorable robes. He is called a monk, which means solitary, carefree, one with the One God who must abide. The first legislator of monasticism is Melchizedek, a priest of the Most High God, living without a wife and without a clan in the desert; the second - Elijah, in the desert of Horeb; the third is John the Baptist, in the Jordanian desert, who had no property, did not know meat or wine, and dressed in hair shirt. The order of monasticism was approved by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and His Apostles. The Lord lived in virginity, poverty and lack of covetousness. Likewise, the apostles, leaving everything, followed Christ. The monks follow the teaching and advice of Christ and are zealous for the apostolic life. They leave all the joys of the world, renounce marriage, fun and bodily peace, temporary wealth and follow Christ, taking up their cross, wandering in the deserts and mountains. Instead of bright houses, they live in dark caves; Instead of a wife and children, they live with the beasts of the earth and the birds of the air. Their bed is the earth, their cover is the sky. The monks took upon themselves the cross of daily patience in order to serve the Lord entirely. The Apostle says: “If anyone fasts and prays, let him leave his wife for a while.” Monks always remain in fasting and prayer even until death, which is why they do not have wives. And in the Old Testament it is commanded: “those who approach the Lord, their wives are separated.” Monks always work, always stand in the service of the Lord, therefore they are separated from their wives even to death, working for God in purity. Although heretics disparage monks as if they abhor marriage and meat, this is not so. The monk refuses marriage and meat not because he abhors it, but out of abstinence. From the creation of the world until the flood, people did not eat meat or drink wine. And in the law of Moses the Nazirites did not drink wine or eat meat. And Daniel and the three youths abhorred the flesh of Nebuchadnezzar. And Moses and Elijah, and the Lord Himself did not eat meat or drink wine for 40 days. John the Baptist did not eat meat or drink wine all his life. The same is said about St. Evangelist Matthew and the Apostle James Alphaeus. In monasticism every Christian virtue is realized. Christ was an example of purity and squalor (poverty) and obedience, even to the point of death, death on the cross. By following the Lord, the monks promise themselves before God and commit themselves with an oath to purity and true virginity, voluntary squalor and unfeigned obedience. Monastic life is divided into three ranks: a) communal, b) monastic, and c) solitary desert dwellers. There is also a fourth type - self-willed people who live as robbers, each having their own acquisitions, their own will. They are hypocrites, not monastics. Monks of three-order monasticism must adorn themselves with great virtue, humility, chastity, patience, love, fasting and prayer. And therefore, monks, do not be slaves to laziness and vileness, but work for the Lord, work out your salvation in fear and trembling, decorate your mind with the thoughts of God, for this is a true monastic work, do not love dozing and dreams, but create diligent prayer in your mouth. Seek not the temporary age of perishable blessings, but the eternal future. If you do this, you will be a true servant of God. And your Lord says: “Where I am, there will My servant also reign with Me, in the glory of My Kingdom.” Amen. Appendix 3. FULL SOBS for Elder Paisius from all his spiritual children (Compiled by Hieroschemamonk John Diakovsky, a native of the city of Luboch. Diakovsky was of “high teaching,” preacher of St. Sophia in Kiev, died 4 months after Paisius) 1. The image of your face, Paisie, is wonderful, An artist with no difficulty in art could draw, But the kindness of reason is marvelous, It is possible to describe it in a word like no one else. One of the Suns, the light of your mind is convenient, You were like the sun alone. 7. With piety your spirit is like a fire, The teaching of dogmas is luminous for the entire Church, You planted the right rules for the monks, Conversations and morals have grown in health. You opened the teachings, dividing them into faces, Let the Creator be praised in different languages. Having perceived the new splendor of the Church, The best way to serve Him is to know Him. Reading and singing only appeared redly, Having risen from sleep, the whole world was surprised. 17. How meticulous was the beautifier of the Church, He's so witty and a home builder, Without doing a small deed without advice, Without leaving the right word unanswered, Knowing to hold the measure truthfully in your hands, Depict the hidden Providence of God vividly. Did not neglect your own, even if you were in power, Do not reject the slightest part of what is alien. Looking diligently at the working people, Some people write good things in their hearts. Long-suffering and prudent in everything, Righteously called Paisie the wonderful. 29. Your shoulders are united only by the labor of the burden, There are many mudris that cannot be carried. Your face was bright, your appearance was dignified, It’s shameful for a monarch to work hard for you. Your conversation is meek, your advice is humble, The salt of grace has been dissolved. Your words are true and true, The testimony is not false, tears flow. 37. Generous in need, not proud in honor, Equally bless the Most High without flattery. The shameful caress is wisely reflected, Worldly vanity is definitely running away. Convicting the nasty is applied skillfully, Do not let the vile word leave his lips. 43. You were a strange joy, peace to the overworked, The sick doctor and the healing of the damaged mind. Alms flow from you like a river, God supplies the poor with your hand. 47. In you all the virtue is living and experiential, And love for fatherly books is insatiable. For the sake of spending their days and nights without sleep, Out of the darkness of negligence into the light of hassle. Lovingly translating them into many languages, Yes, they know the feat of the ancients, the latest wikis. 53. The country was surprised at the marvelous word, I'm ready to take a shower and take advantage of it. With firm hope I flow to you, I go home with full joy. 57. Our heart desires for you to shine forever, Alas, you will find a year to extinguish your dark light. Your light has not gone out, nor has it been hidden, From the earth of the circle to the circle of luminaries they settled. 61. Shine on the firmament, may the rays be stilled, The Almighty has made his home in you. Your memory is blessed, it will remain in glory Shining, until the world will stand. 65. We, children of the spiritual, were born from you, From the darkness of ignorance to the holy, We give thanks to the Most High for ever living, Having given us you as a shepherd, grief attracts everyone. To your prayers, O Father, we entrust ourselves all, We bow our heads to the dead as well as to the living. When you pray for your flock, do not forget, 72. May we enter into eternal joy, be our intercessor. Note The peculiar numbering of the verses made by the author of “Sobbing” apparently marks the most significant years in the life of the elder: birth, entry into school, removal from the world, tonsure into the mantle, acceptance of the priesthood... The total number of verses corresponds to the number of years of the elder’s earthly life. You might be interested in: