II. Келейные записки. Из Оптинского архива

In the Russian State Library, as part of the Optina Archive 405, there is an original manuscript of Elder Barsanuphius entitled “Cell Notes,” which he kept during the years 1892–1896 406. These were the years of his spiritual maturity, gradual growth and formation as an elder - a divinely inspired shepherd, whom one of his contemporaries rightly called “a spirit-bearing warrior of God’s army” 407. Novice Pavel Plikhankov decided to compile a book of the lives of modern ascetics and began collecting materials for it - the entries were placed in thematic sections in alphabetical order. And although the work remained unfinished, the “Cell Notes” of the Optina wanderer is an amazing, highly spiritual book. The “Notes” also contain numerous notes about the life of Russian monasticism, statements by the Holy Fathers of the Church, and materials prepared by the future Elder for publication in the journal “Soulful Reading.” “Cell Notes” of Elder Barsanuphius is an outstanding monument of Orthodox ascetic and edifying literature at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries. They became, to some extent, a kind of prototype for many works of such famous church writers as Evgeniy Poselyanin (E.N. Pogozhev) and Sergei Aleksandrovich Nilus. “Cell Notes” have survived to this day in their original form. The entries are arranged in alphabetical order. The binding of “Notes” is dermantin, with a leather spine and corners. Before the destruction of Optina Pustyn in 1924, the manuscript was kept in the library of St. John the Baptist monastery 408. In this edition, the text of the “Cell Notes” has been restored to its original form - based on a copy from the handwritten original. Minor editorial changes are indicated by square brackets. In parentheses are the notes of the reverend himself. Barsanuphia. The lengthy lists of topics outlined for recording introduced us into the circle of plans of Fr. Barsanuphius regarding the subjects that he intended to include in the Notes. So, he intended to make a record about his dream of 1885 - about an impregnable fortress with a cross, about the appearance of Elder Ambrose, about a nun of the Kazan monastery lowered into the abyss on laces - “is not this my soul?”, about the vision of a mysterious beggar in Perm, about the compilation of the Bryusov calendar for 1877, etc. The lists of topics are quite extensive, and many of them were realized in “Cell notes” of the future elder. In addition to the thematic entries, arranged in alphabetical order, in this unique diary of Fr. Barsanuphius also contains reflections of a purely personal nature. Those of them that relate to spiritual life and the accomplishment of monastic feats have not lost their significance to this day. For example, one of these cell records is given on page 400 of our publication: “To some of the brethren...”, etc. The “Cell Notes” also includes materials arranged according to the principle of a diary or chronicle: the events of monastic and personal monastic life are recorded in these records in chronological order, by day of the week, indicating the date. Thus, we introduce readers to the records of P. I. Plikhankov (Fr. Barsanuphius) in 1892, when he was a new novice at the skete (from the fall of 1891): they cover a short period - September, October and November. Akhtyrskaya Icon of the Mother of God in the Church of the Ascension in the city of Kozelsk. The former abbot of the Meshchovsky Monastery 409 Mark, who now lives in retirement in Optina Pustyn, told me: “I remember, it was, it seems, in 1867. I was very sick and did not expect to get up. At this time I lived in Optina. One day I see, as if in a subtle dream, as if I was standing in a clearing near Kozelsk, and opposite three churches 410. The sun is rising. There are some creatures standing next to me on the right and left sides. I notice that the sun that I see is an icon standing in the attic of the Church of the Ascension. To my question to the one who stood next to me on the left side, he answered: “I am George! The icon you see is the icon of the Akhtyra Mother of God.” When he woke up, he told Fr. Ambrose. A search began in all the churches of the city of Kozelsk, but the icon of the Akhtyrskaya Mother of God was not found anywhere. They also searched in the Church of the Ascension. After a long and unsuccessful search, the priest of that church, Fr. Demetrius discovered this icon in the attic of the church, lying in dust and debris. The holy icon was then solemnly brought to Optina, and I, having venerated it after the prayer service, received relief from my illness and soon recovered completely.” After this miracle, many came to her with faith from this icon. To this day, the holy icon is in the Church of the Ascension in the city of Kozelsk and is revered by the residents as miraculous. Sunday. May 8. [Memory] St. Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian and St. Arseny the Great. Regular mass in the Skete. Compline at 3.5 o'clock and vigil at 6.5 o'clock, the same in the Skete. On this date in 1865 I arrived from St. Petersburg to Moscow. It’s scary and painful to remember this terrible time in my life. Truly, the mercy of the Lord is inexpressible, for he snatched me from the jaws of hell... The weather is magnificent. I still can’t muster the courage to continue the article on monasticism intended for “Soulful Reading.” The vastness and seriousness of the topic scares me, and most importantly, my own lack of preparation - neither theoretical nor experimental. Today Fr. Venedikt told me that he was going to Kronstadt to visit Fr. John 411. He said that Father Fr. It is planned to erect a monument to Anatoly 412. He told about a dream seen by one nun, who supposedly Fr. Anatoly announced that he barely escaped the torments of hell, and what saved him was the Jesus Prayer, which he performed during his life, his love for people, and something else that I forgot. I felt somehow scared by this story about. Venedicta. “What am I doing? – I involuntarily thought to myself. “And if the righteous are barely saved, where will the sinner appear?” My state of mind was calm, although I felt some embarrassment before the meal. Silence. Silence brings crying, moreover it cleanses a person, washes the soul and makes it sinless. (St. Peter of Damascus. Creations. Book 1. P. 77.) Grace literally means a good gift (2 Timothy 1:8–9). The name of Divine grace should mean every gift of God, material or spiritual, which is given to people out of God’s love, without any merit on their part, for example: life, health, mental abilities. (Source not indicated.) The human soul, through the faith and grace of Christ, through the mediation of Christ’s servants and builders of the mysteries of God, cast off the mantle of sin 413 and was renewed to the point that the features of the old man, corrupted by sin, became invisible. It cannot be said that even in the old man, before renewal by the faith of Christ, there was nothing good left in moral life. In the pagan world there were examples of moral virtues. But these virtues were mixed with a lot of unclean things. For example, the pagans were also characterized by love for their neighbors, but it did not extend to their enemies. And among the pagans there were people who refrained from taking revenge on the offenders, but they did so not out of love for them, but solely out of pride and contempt for them. And the pagans sometimes patiently endured the troubles and misfortunes of everyday life, did not murmur or complain to anyone about their pitiful lot, but this patience and indifference was the result of superstition and faith in blind fate, inexorable fate (fatum), while Christian patience is combined with devotion to the will of God, good and wise. Such is the power and beneficial influence of the faith of Christ on the moral life of man. (“Soulful reading.” 1897. August. P. 591.) Thought on God is holy reflection: 1) about the incarnation of God the Word, about His wondrous presence on earth, about His terrible and saving suffering, about His glorious resurrection and ascension to Heaven and 2) about man, about his purpose, about his fall, about his renewal by the Redeemer and 3) about other similar deep mysteries of Christianity. (Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov). T. 5. P. 118.) Faith. Another is the general faith - Orthodox, that is, the right dogmas about God and His creations, mental and sensory, as the Holy Catholic Church accepted by the grace of God, and another faith - vision, i.e. knowledge, which does not at all oppose what gave birth to it, but even more affirms it. The first we receive from Divine Baptism by the grace of Christ, and not from works, that is, keeping the commandments and enduring temptations; the second, that is, the great faith of the vision, is born in us after doing it, and about this very faith, that is, the faith of the vision, the Lord said: “If you had faith like the grain of a pea” (Luke 17:6). (St. Peter of Damascus. Book 2. P. 6.) Vision. In the patristic writings there is a distinction between action and vision. Action is the fulfillment of the commandments, and vision is the contemplation with the mind of sacraments that are not subject to the senses. One should not look for it at all, so as not to fall into delusion instead of truth. (Biography of the nun Magdalene. St. Petersburg, 1878. P. 16.) The retribution of 414 silence and other activities in the present age is the vision (contemplation) of what exists, that is, the creation of God and the revelation of the sacraments in the Divine Scriptures, but in the Age to Come - they are not seen by eye, nor heard by ear, nor breathed into the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Cor. 2:9. Biography of the nun Magdalene. St. Petersburg, 1878. P. 33.) Visions. The monk Sophronius has lived in our Skete for three years. While on Mount Athos, he accepted the schema there, but since in order to be recognized as tonsured into the schema upon arrival at Russian monasteries, various formalities and correspondence are necessary, Fr. Sophrony remains a secret schemamonk, considered a simple monk, for he had already been tonsured in our Skete before this. That's what he told me. Not far from the monastery of St. Panteleimon on Mount Athos there is a designated plot of land on which there are separate cells called kaliby 415. He too lived in such a calibre, Fr. Sophrony, and not far from him - another monk. The latter comes to him and tells him that he saw demons. “I’m going,” he says, “today to Russik (and I had to go through a deserted place) and I see demons coming. There were up to a hundred of them, and their appearance was exactly the same as they are depicted in our paintings, that is, in the form of goats. They walked in a herd. The older demon walked with a stick, like a shepherd.” When he (the monk) caught up with them, they ran forward at a trot and, having run some distance, walked again and then disappeared. “I ask him,” says Fr. Sophrony, “well, weren’t you afraid of them, didn’t horror attack you?” “No,” he says, “I didn’t feel any fear: the demons walked silently, only their shepherd sometimes looked at me angrily when he looked around.” The same monk told Fr. Sophronius that, one day going to the monastery [he met a monk] from the Panteleimon Monastery, whom he personally knew. We walked together and talked along the way. But when they parted, the imaginary monk, moving away, threw a huge stone at him, and he barely had time to step aside, otherwise the stone would have crushed him into small pieces. Upon arriving at the monastery where that monk lived, he met him there, and it turned out that he had never left the monastery. The same monk told Fr. Sophronius that a nun came to him in the daytime, who ordered him to tell the head of the nearest Skete to put her to rest, otherwise, she threatened, tell him, they will feel bad from me. When he asked who she was, she replied: “The one who looked after you.” It is remarkable that she entered, clearly saying the Jesus Prayer, and entering the cell, bowed to the holy icons and venerated them. She was dressed simply. The monk did not feel any fear or special joy in front of her. After leaving, she began to rise into the air and, gradually moving higher and higher, disappeared. When the monk explained this vision to the head of the monastery, the latter considered it a charm to the enemy. Living with me in the building, in the cell next to me, is the novice Theodore, originally from the Vologda province of Totemsky district, from the village of Vaschi [?], a little over 20 years old. Very pious, simple-hearted and affectionate towards all the brethren. It seems that everyone loves him, he tries to serve everyone. This is what he told me. “Not far from our settlement there is the village of Lipki. In this village there was a priest, a man not yet old, about 35 years old, a relative of ours. Once he and his wife were at the wedding of a townsman; among other things, we started talking about enemy attacks, i.e., about ghosts. The priest began to deny the existence of demons, saying that he had not seen them, that it was all a fiction. It should be noted that the priest was distinguished by his sober life and if he allowed [himself] to drink a little, then only sweet vodka, that is, liqueur, or grape wine. After the feast, leaving the room on the porch, he suddenly, turning to his wife who was following him, said: “Look! There he stands, how tall he is, higher than the roof of the barn!” - and with these words he went crazy. He has been in this position for several years. Outwardly, he is calm and sometimes thinks correctly, even runs the household, but he never goes to church. When they ask him and say: “Father! You should go to church!” - he replies: “I wouldn’t advise you to go either.” This is how the sin of unbelief is sometimes punished. Retired abbot Fr. Theodosius 417 told me that when 20 years ago he lived at the monastery dacha of Optina Pustyn, while he was performing the Jesus Prayer, he suddenly heard a singing choir of wonderful voices. They sang “The rules of nature are being conquered...”. He had never heard such singing in his entire life, it was so sweet that it seemed to him that his soul had been detached from his body. It was at night. Singing seemed to come from the sky. He said that also while he was going through the Jesus Prayer, he suddenly saw at night several deceased Optina elders, including Fr. Clement (Zederholm) 418. They sang “It is worthy to eat.” The singing was also very delightful, and he himself joined in the singing. At the end of the singing, Fr. Clement comes up to him, puts his hands on his shoulders and says: “You take it high!” – and then everything disappeared. When Fr. Theodosius told about this vision to Fr. Ambrose, then the Elder said: “Yes! This dream is wonderful!” But why did he call this vision a dream, oh. Theodosius did not dare to ask. He's the same, oh. Theodosius, spoke about a vision that happened to one of the monastic elders of the skete, whose name he did not name. This old monk stands on the canon (in the cathedral cell) 419 and sees that instead of the usual lamp, many small candles, three kopecks each, were lit in front of the icons, and between them six large candles, 15 and 20 kopecks each. He did not tell anyone about this vision, but only revealed to Fr. Ambrose. The latter said that the small candles signify the hermits who will live in the Skete after him, and the large candles also signify the hermits, but more perfect in life, of whom there will be no more than six. The vision occurred during the evening rule. I would like to note on my own that during the transfer of the body of the deceased, Fr. Anatoly (the head of the Skete) from the Church of Mary of Egypt to the Kazan Cathedral on January 28, 1894, one of the Shamordino nuns, going into a frenzy, shouted: “Six monks in the Skete took the priest down from the cross!” Is there some mysterious connection here? Today, August 15, 1896, Fr. Demetrius the Blind told me something wonderful. About twenty years ago, when he lived at the dacha 420, he somehow had to stay there alone. This was on the eve of Vladimirskaya, i.e. June 22. At about 12 o'clock at night he went out onto the porch of his cell and suddenly heard many voices: “The sorceress is coming!” He sees that from behind the nearby forest there is a dark cloud coming out of the sky and in it, as it were, a boat, and above it there are, as it were, flowers. In the boat, at the stern, there is a man standing. A cloud with a boat slowly walked across the sky and disappeared behind the forest. The vision lasted for half an hour. He did not explain this to the elder. I only told the former treasurer Fr. Savva and no one else. Doesn't understand the meaning of the vision. Children sworn by their parents. Monastic hieromonk Fr. Ilarius told me that he happened to read about a boy, about five years old. His mother once said in anger: “Go away!” The boy went outside and disappeared. On the advice of the priest, the mother served a prayer service to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. One day, the peasants went to haymaking and heard a scream coming from an island surrounded by an impenetrable swamp. With difficulty we reached the island and found that boy. He was cheerful and said that when he went outside, a whirlwind caught him and carried him through the air, but some old man saved him and put him on this island, bringing him food. Looking at the icon of St. Nicholas, the boy recognized it as the old man who saved him. I heard that there were cases when parents cursed or conjured their children, they instantly disappeared: they were carried away by a demon. I also heard that there was a case when one of these children was returned by a demon and told himself that he did all the things that the demon instructed him to do to the detriment of people. “At that time I saw everyone, but no one saw me or the demons who were with me,” he said, and at first he was very surprised at this. Good and evil. By long teaching, says St. Apostle Paul, man comes into the knowledge of good and evil. Solid food is characteristic of the perfect, whose senses are trained by skill to distinguish between good and evil (Heb. 5:14). And besides, a person can only know God’s truth through the teaching of Jesus Christ, the True God. That is why it is said: for there is only one Teacher, Christ (Matthew 23:10), and it was also declared from the Prophet: and they will all be taught by God (Isaiah 54:13). (Source not indicated.) Holy Spirit. The Lord calls the coming Holy Spirit the Comforter, calling Him so according to His action, for He not only comforts those whom He finds worthy of Himself, and makes them alien to all sorrow and anxiety, but also gives them some incredible joy and holiness of spirit, so that a person, in gratitude to God for being worthy of such a visit, can say: “Thou hast given joy to my heart” (Ps. 4:8). For constant joy occurs in hearts in which the Holy Spirit dwells. (The Book of Didymus on the Holy Spirit. Kiev, 1879. P. 441.) Spiritual age. Having surrendered to the guidance of Divine grace, a Christian goes through all the ages of Christian life: to be a baby, a child, a young man and, finally, a mature husband in Christianity. It would be very desirable if the Christian development of a person coincided with his natural development, that is, a baby would be a baby in Christianity for years, etc. But it is bad when an old man for years will be a baby in Christianity. (Source not indicated.) Spiritual person. He immediately understands the spiritual man, as well as the spiritual and the carnal man. Just as a highly educated person understands an equally educated person, as well as a poorly educated and ignorant person, no matter how much the latter manage to hide the inadequacy of their education and their ignorance, but sometimes they reveal themselves to him in one word, and he laughs at them. Others read a lot, but without a leader, without a specific system, such as in educational institutions, and from this much reading they were more damaged in mind and heart. A properly educated person will also appreciate such a know-it-all the first time. Likewise, a spiritual person understands and gives a proper assessment to a person who has theoretically studied Christianity, but without spiritual comprehension of its truths. (Own note.) Gospel. I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (Matthew 22:32). The Holy Trinity was spoken of in the Old Testament. (Own note.) Then they will hand you over to torture and kill you; and you will be hated by all nations because of My name (Matthew 24:9). This word applies to all Christians who lived in the first centuries of Christianity and will live in the last days of the Church of Christ on earth. (Own note.) Gospel of Mark, chapter 9, verse 3. During the Transfiguration of the Lord Jesus Christ before His disciples, His clothes became shining, very white, like snow, as a whitener on earth cannot bleach. Consequently, at the same time, the substance, inorganic matter, was transformed. Is this not an image of the transformation of the entire visible, material world, which is about to take place at the Second Coming of Christ, when this visible world will burn and there will be a new heaven and a new earth? 421 (Own note.) Laws of nature. Some, even apparently believers in God, not to mention obvious atheists, say: “I recognize that the laws of nature are laid down by God, and therefore I cannot allow their violation.” God cannot violate the order established by Himself. One could answer such slyly wise people like this: “Amazing! Precisely, God and man exist for your laws of nature, and not the laws of nature for the purposes of God and the good of man. The old Pharisee leaven, to which a worthy answer was given 1900 years ago: The Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath! 422 Our God is a God of order and rules the world through laws. Laws by themselves do not produce phenomena in nature; they only regulate and balance the forces of nature. In nature, in this visible world, different forces operate, and the lower of them are inferior to the higher: physical - chemical, chemical - organic and, finally, all together - the highest, spiritual. Without the intervention of higher powers, lower powers would act in a monotonous, unchanging order. But higher forces modify and sometimes suspend the actions of lower ones. With [nrzb.] such a natural subordination of the lower forces to the higher ones, not a single one of the laws of nature is abolished. So, for example, a doctor changes the course of a disease, a person changes the face of the earth by digging canals and the like. Can’t God do the same thing on an infinitely larger [scale]?” (“Soulful reading.” 1897, August. P. 671.) Monk. A monk must lead an equal life on earth, that is, with his life he must become like the saint. To the angels. But how and what should he be like? Is it clothes? But Angels are disembodied spirits, having no material clothing. Not in clothing, but in chastity should one be like them. Angels are immaterial, and a monk must be non-covetous and generally have no predilection for material, earthly, and fleeting things. Angels are incorporeal. Monks must, through labor, fasting, vigil and unceasing prayer, humble the flesh and enslave it to the spirit. Angels behold the face of God. Monks must divinely contemplate God in prayer. Angels are always ready to do the will of God. The monk must reject his multi-passionate will. The angels constantly glorify their Creator. Monks must, without laziness, bring praise to the Creator both externally and internally. (Useful reminders to a monk at the beginning of his exploits. Kyiv, 1853. P. 9.) “Nothing was so desirable for me,” says St. Gregory the Theologian, - as if, having closed the senses, to be outside the flesh and the world and, having gone deep into oneself, not to touch anything human, but, talking internally with oneself and God, to despise the visible and carry within oneself the Divine image, always pure and not mixed with earthly images; so that, having become a truly undefiled mirror of God and divine things, always remain such and, receiving light from the Ever-Essential Light, still here be nourished by the hopes of the bliss of the Future Age, live with the Angels and, while still on earth, leave the earth and ascend in spirit to the mountain.” (Word 1. From the same book). Art. Fine works of art delight not only with the beauty of their external form, but especially with the beauty of their inner content, intellectual and ideal beauty. Where do such phenomena in the soul come from? These are guests from another realm, from the realm of the spirit. The spirit that knows God naturally comprehends the beauty of God and seeks to enjoy it alone. Although he cannot definitely indicate that it exists, but, carrying its destinies hidden within himself, he definitely indicates that it does not exist, expressing this indication by the fact that it is not content with anything created. To contemplate, taste and enjoy the beauty of God is the need of the spirit, it is its life and the life of heaven. Having received a vision of it through combination with the spirit, the soul is carried away after it and, perceiving it in its own spiritual image, either rushes in joy at what in its circle seems to be a reflection of itself (amateurs), or it itself invents and produces things in which a part will reflect it, as it presented itself (artists and performers). This is where these guests come from, sweet, detached from all sensual feelings, elevating the soul to spirit and spiritualizing it! I note that of the works of art I classify in this class only those whose content is the beauty of invisible divine things, and not those that, although beautiful, represent the same ordinary mental physical life or the same useful things that make up the ever-present environment of that life. The soul, led by the spirit, does not only seek beauty, but expression in the beautiful forms of the invisible beautiful world, where the spirit attracts it with its influence. Temptations. Told me about. Theodosius, who lived in retirement in our Skete, that to one monk who was going through the Jesus Prayer, a goat appeared, which stood between him and the iconostasis right in front of the face of the praying monk and, standing on its hind legs, attempted to lick him in the face with its vile tongue; but, however, God did not allow this to be fulfilled. The goat sometimes stood idle for more than an hour, tempting the monk. It seems to me that this monk was not Fr. Theodosius? Elder Fr. Ambrose said to this: “It’s good that the goat could not reach the monk’s face with his tongue, otherwise the latter would have been possessed by a cruel and fierce lustful passion, for this goat was a prodigal demon.” He also said that while he was living in a hut at our monastery dacha, a demon once threw him off the bed by his leg, and he fell to the floor, but was not hurt. He also said that he personally conveyed to him Fr. Porfiry, former cell attendant of the Hermit of Zadonsk Georgy 423, about the great temptation to which the Recluse was subjected. It was like this. Once Mrs. Kologrivova came to Zadonsk on a pilgrimage with her girl daughter. The latter, wanting to talk with the Recluse, went to him during the all-night vigil. Yielding to her intense and persistent requests, the Recluse accepted her into his cell. Meanwhile, her mother missed her and, having learned from the monks that her daughter had gone to the Recluse, she went to him. She began knocking on the door of his cell, which the Recluse did not open soon. All excited, Mrs. Kologrivova, entering the cell, asks the Recluse where her daughter is, and, having received a negative answer from him, goes to the next cell, where she finds her daughter hiding behind the door. Beside herself with rage, she slaps the Recluse in the face with all her might; the latter silently turns his other cheek towards her, and she strikes him again, calling him all sorts of obscene names. She, of course, understood all this from her corrupted mind and heart, like all evil people who see nothing but vileness in every virtuous act. Such are the temptations from the enemy to the true servants of God. Told me about. Benedict, hieromonk of our Skete: “They called me to give instructions to schemamonk Fr. Nikolai (Lopatin). This was two days before his death. The patient was fully conscious and memory. Before communion, I asked his neighbor in his cell, monk Fr. Piora, go to the church and see the sexton for some warmth. 424 He left. Having confessed the patient, I gave him communion. Fr. comes. Pior, through the partition of his cell, angrily says: “The sexton did not give warmth!..” I replied that I could do without it, and gave the patient boiled water from the samovar. I explain that Fr. Nectarius did not give warmth, as Fr. who just came from him reported. Pior, and therefore you will have to wash down the Holy Mysteries with water. Father Nikolai says: “I don’t hear anything!” “How,” I ask him, “don’t you hear? Here's about. Pior says that Fr. Nectary refused warmth.” “No,” the patient answers, “I don’t hear anything!” I was surprised. But at that moment the cell door opens and Fr. Pior, carrying a vessel with warmth in his hands. I ask him: has he come to his cell now? “No,” he answers, “I didn’t come.” I came here straight from the sexton!” Thus, the enemy wanted to confuse the dying man after receiving the Holy Mysteries. Fr. was dying. Nikolai suffered from consumption and, like all consumptives, was very irritable, especially during his dying illness. But the Lord did not allow the enemy to tempt His partaker, closing his ears, so that only I heard the demonic words.” He's the same, oh. Benedict told me that at the time when Fr. Ambrose was still living in the Skete; he (that is, Fr. Benedict), returning from dinner to his cell, saw Father Anatoly (the head of the Skete) at the gate leading to the courtyard of the cell. Arsenia. “View of. Arseny was terrible: he was gloomy with anger. It became very difficult for me, and I hurried to pass by. But at this moment, at the turn of the holy path to the church, I meet Fr. Arseny in his usual form. I told him this very minute what I had seen, and they were both very amazed at it. He then informed Father Ambrose about such an enemy temptation. Don't meet me o. Arseny, I would take a ghost for the real thing.” Father Arseny still lives in Skete, but I haven’t asked him about it yet. Kelly. The monk's cell is a Babylonian cave, in which the three youths found the Son of God. Sit in your cell, and he will teach you everything. (St. John of Damascus. Creations. Book 1. P. 77.) Sorcerers. I once asked the monastery hieromonk Fr. Ilaria (who is also the confessor), why do sorcerers live in poverty, whereas, having relations with Satan, they could have great wealth. Father Hilary answered: “God does not allow this, for otherwise the wizards could corrupt the entire Orthodox people. Seeing their prosperity, the people would begin to learn witchcraft and leave the faith of Christ because of temporary blessings. Sorcerers are content to harm souls, to be feared and respected by the faint-hearted.” God's love. God! To what extent does Your love condescend to man! Even with his earthly attachments You seek to bind him to Yourself; with his long-lasting hobbies You draw grief to Yourself! You use his very passions as an instrument for his salvation. The eastern sages loved to engage in stargazing - and with a star they reached You, they came to know You, the Sun of Truth. Peter loved to fish - You, by miraculously multiplying his fishing, caught him and made him a fisher of men. Loved St. Placis to catch animals - and You, Master, sitting on Cherubim, did not disdain to reveal Yourself on the horns of a deer and catch the hunter with all his house. And there are many similar examples in St. scriptures. (The life of the deceased elder Zosima in Bose. M., 1860. P. 23.) I am more inclined towards some of the brethren, and towards some I harbor enmity, reassuring my conscience that with the first I relate in spirit and are of the same mind, and at the same time I think that it is better and higher than them; Meanwhile, I am the abyss of all sin, and should I judge others? While standing in church and at the service, good thoughts come, but through them the thought dissipates; despite this, I often listen to them, and when I come from church, I sometimes write them down for memory. Is this correct? I have heard the opinion that one should not irritate demons unnecessarily, that is, one should not laugh at them in conversations, etc. Is this correct? It often happens like this: by revealing to you, Holy Father, my sinful thoughts, I thereby nourish vanity that this is what I am like! And at the same time I hear inside myself: good, good! Sinful thoughts and sinful habits spoken in confession - if they continue to repeat themselves and become rooted in the soul - is it possible to free oneself from them by declaring them in revelation to the spiritual father? For example, talk about pride of mind. Bless the crown of summer with Your goodness, Lord! From September 1st to September 4th, nothing special happened in the lives of the hermits. There was no church service in the Skete on September 1st. The Sketes did not go to the monastery for either vigil or mass on New Year's Day. All services are on rule 425. September 4. In the morning at 4 o'clock, the ryasophore monk Mikhail Fedorovich Alekseev, in the world - captain of the 1st rank of the Baltic Fleet, left the Skete to enter the Moscow Theological Academy. September 5. Saturday. In addition, he edited polyeleos [in honor of the icon] of the Mother of God “The Burning Bush.” (Postponed to Saturday from Friday.) At Vespers, which took place on Friday, the canon of the icon of the Mother of God “The Burning Bush” was read and Her image was placed. Vespers was long. September 6. Sunday. Vespers was held as usual in the skete church, but for the vigil they went to the monastery. Tomorrow, on the occasion of the anniversary of the memory of Fr. Macarius will have two masses in the Skete. During Vespers there was an akathist to the Mother of God on the occasion of tomorrow's mass. On Sundays, as usual, the akathist is not read. September 7. On the occasion of the anniversary of the death of Fr. Macarius in the skete church there were two masses today: an early one at 5 o’clock and a late one at 8 o’clock in the morning. Early mass - in the chapel of St. Macarius of Egypt. Although the gates were locked, many, especially the nuns, entered the Skete through Fr. Anatolia. All the outside people stood in the main church, and the brethren in the Makaryevskaya chapel. Mass departed at 7 o'clock, then there was a memorial service for Father Macarius. The mass and memorial service was served by Fr. Savvaty. Late mass was at 8 o'clock and departed at about half past nine. Nuns from Kozelsk sang with our singers in the choir. During the meal, there were many women in the hallway, and near the doors leading from the kitchen to the meal, an unknown woman, about forty-five years old, was kneeling all the time. Father Venedikt read the life. One of the guests at the meal was the Kozel postmaster. The late mass was celebrated by the monastery's leader. September 8. Tuesday. For mass, and yesterday for vigil, the hermits went to the monastery. Vigil and mass (early and late) were held in the cathedral. Early - in the chapel of St. Nicholas. There weren’t very many people who came, only by late mass a few had gathered, probably from Kozelsk. The meal was in the monastery - in four breaks. In addition, they served an apple and a pear. Fr. himself was at the meal. archimandrite. September 13. Forefeast of the Exaltation of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. Vespers took place in the Skete. The hermits went to the monastery for the vigil. The vigil was long and ended at 12 o'clock at night. There were a lot of people, and the cathedral was stuffy. After reading the Holy Gospel, half the people left, and it became more spacious and fresh. There was the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Served Fr. archimandrite. There are always great crowds of people this day, but only if the weather is favorable. In 1891 the weather was inclement and there were fewer people. On this day [exactly one year ago], on the evening of the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, I, a great sinner by the great and ineffable mercy of God, was honored to receive a blessing from the late elder Ambrose, who lived in Shamordin, to go to Skete, where he arrived with Father Dimitri (Bolotov) and attended the all-night vigil in the monastery cathedral. September 14. Monday. Feast of the Exaltation of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. The early mass was in the cathedral at 5 o'clock in the morning, and the late mass at 9 o'clock. I was at early mass. There were a great number of people at the early mass, but fewer at the later mass. Served Fr. Archimandrite with Father Anatoly and others. The meal was in the monastery and was completely lean - without fish, but only with butter. Vespers was at 3.5 o'clock in the Skete, long, because there was no akathist. September 21. Fr.'s name day was celebrated. Abbot Isaac. The vigil on the eve of this day and the Liturgy on this day took place in the skete church. The Liturgy was earlier than usual, that is, not at 6, but at 5 in the morning; served Fr. Anatoly; there was no prayer service. After the Liturgy, around seven o’clock, the hermits went straight to Fr. abbot to congratulate him. Gifts were brought: from Fr. Anatolia - a loaf of sugar and a dish with fresh honeycomb. Upon arrival, everyone drank tea, 3 cups each with sugar (on the side) and a sweet roll. There was no cream due to fasting (Monday). Father Anatoly due to illness at Fr. there was no abbot. September 22. Tuesday. Today the Queen of Heaven showed Her great mercy to our monastery. At about 5 o'clock in the evening, the holy and miraculous icon of the Mother of God, called Kaluga, was brought to our monastery. The last time this holy icon was in our monastery was 16 years ago, that is, in 1876, and also in September, as I learned about it from the old monks. This was before the Turkish War of 1877. At the sound of the big monastery bell, all the monastics, hieromonks with Fr. The treasurer and the brethren went to the meeting of St. icons to the ferry on the river Zhizdra, where they waited for about 2 hours, and maybe longer. After the meeting of St. icon, she was brought into the monastery cathedral and met on the porch by Father Archimandrite. Then some of the hermitages remained in the cathedral to watch the vigil, although there was also a vigil in the Skete. Father Boris and I stood only until the reading of the Holy Gospel and then, venerating the Holy Gospel. icon, went with him to the Skete, but the all-night vigil there had already departed at that time, which saddened us. September 23. Wednesday. The conception of the honorable and glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John. On this day, the Liturgy was in the skete church at 5 o’clock in the morning, and at 4 o’clock all the brethren went to the monastery cathedral, where they took the holy icon and went with it to the skete. Upon the introduction of St. icons into the skete church, the Liturgy began, which was performed by Fr. Anatoly. There were almost no outsiders in the church. After the Liturgy of St. the icon was taken to Father Anatoly, then to Fr. Joseph, and then - to the fraternal cells. Among others, I, a sinner, was honored to receive the Queen of Heaven into my cell, and then, when taken out of the Skete, to carry Her icon. Along the wire of St. icons, the brethren returned to Skete. After late mass in the monastery there was a religious procession around the monastery; At 4 o'clock, according to the good news, the brethren went to the monastery and accompanied the holy icon to the ferry. I, being unworthy, was honored to get on the ferry and, together with the clergy and part of the brethren, conduct the holy day. the icon to the border of the monastery property, to the bridge, where the clergy and people came out from Kozelsk with the presentation of St. icons September 24. Thursday. Today there was a vigil in the skete church on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the celebration of the memory of St. Sergius, the Wonderworker of Radonezh. September 25. Friday. Today, on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the memory of St. Sergius of Radonezh in the skete church there was a Liturgy and prayer service. September 30. On the occasion of tomorrow's feast of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, today there was an all-night vigil in the skete church. October 1st. Today there was mass in the monastery church. After mass, the monastery leader, Fr. Anatoly went to St. Petersburg, taking with him his cell attendant, Fr. Tikhon. The reason for the trip remains unknown; they say that Father received a telegram from Father John of Kronstadt, but what content is unknown. There was no prayer service. There was consolation at the meal: three fish and a roll. October 3. Saturday. Last night I saw Father Anatoly in a dream, who allegedly took me to the highest balcony, overlooking either the courtyard or the square. Then he sat down on one of the posts on which the balcony railing was fixed, and, leaning down, swayed. I seemed to grab his dress, that is, by the cassock, and he said to me: “Don’t touch me!” Then I woke up. I also remember that in my dream Father appeared to me to be of unprecedented height, and yet he is tall. In the evening, during the vigil, I hear the Holy Gospel read and the words of the Lord: “Do not touch Me, for I am going to My Father and your Father and My God and your God” 426 - which surprised me greatly. I told Father Boris about this. (The dream was from October 2 to October 3.) October 4. Sunday. Tomorrow is the day of remembrance of the saints of Moscow and all Russia, the wonderworkers Peter, Alexy, Jonah and Philip. But their service was fine today. October 10. Saturday. Today is the anniversary of the memory in Bose of the deceased elder Hieroschemamonk Ambrose. Yesterday evening there was a vigil in the Skete and in the monastery, and today there was mass. After early and late mass, memorial services were served. God helped erect a monument on Father’s grave, which cost up to 700 rubles. The following people attended the memorial service: 1 archimandrite, 24 hieromonks and archpriests (the latter were 3). The skits went to the memorial service after their mass and after drinking tea. There was comfort at the meal. There weren't many people there due to the change in weather. October 17. Memory of the miraculous deliverance from the death of the Emperor. The All-Night Vigil was in the monastery, and Vespers was our rule, that is, Compline; mass was in the Skete. Those who wished went to the monastery for a prayer service after late mass. October 22. Celebration of the Kazan Mother of God. Compline the day before was held at the Skete: an akathist to the Mother of God of Kazan was read by Father Joseph. There was an all-night vigil in the monastery in the warm Kazan Cathedral, as well as mass, after which there was a prayer service. The meal was in the monastery - a modest meal. Fr. arrived. Anatoly, the skete’s leader, seemed to say that some millionaire was coming to our skete. October 23. Today polyeleos - St. Apostle James. October 31st. Saturday. Today there was a commemoration of the soldiers killed in battle; This commemoration took place last Saturday, but was postponed. Today after dinner I went to rest; I slept for about an hour and through my sleep I heard my mother’s voice outside the door, knocking on it and calling me: “Paul! Paul!" Woke up confused. Father Boris says: “Isn’t she dead?” God bless her. November 1st. Sunday. Today a service was held for the unmercenary saints Cosmas and Damian. At mass, Prince Obolensky, the aide-de-camp, received the Holy Mysteries. He accompanied the Sovereign-Heir on his last trip around the world. He is on vacation, and his estate is seven versts from our monastery 427. God help him! There is a rumor about a change in the positions of sexton and sacristan Nectarius. Everyone feels sorry for him. Reason: as if there were some malfunctions in the position of the sacristan, and for which he was not at all to blame. Position Fr. Nectarius took 20 years. November 3. Tuesday. Today at 7 o'clock in the evening, A. A. Zabelin, the son of a St. Petersburg merchant, arrived at the Skete and was placed in the cell next to me. Today is the memory of the Great Martyr George the Victorious (renovation of the church in Lydda), and tomorrow is the memory of St. Joannikia the Great. Actually, according to the church, the day began at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, that is, with Vespers. November 14. Monday. Zabelin received from Fr. Anatoly's blessing to put on the novice's clothes. November 17. Thursday. Novice A. Zabelin put on the clothes of a novice. November 20. Friday. On the occasion of the birthday of the late skete elder Hieroschemamonk Macarius, today there was matins and mass in the skete church. In the evening we went to the monastery for a vigil on the occasion of the feast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Church. The service took place in the Kazan Warm Cathedral. November 21st. Saturday. Today all the brethren of the Skete received the Holy Mysteries in our church, where there was mass. We got up early - at 4 o'clock in the morning and listened to the morning rule in the church, which ended at 5.5 o'clock. Mass began at 6 o'clock. After cell tea, everyone went to late mass at the monastery, and from there, after a prayer service, to a meal. Infants are unbaptized. Told me about. Hilary, the monastery confessor, that Fr. Ambrose spoke about unbaptized infants this way: although they, by the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ, will be in the Kingdom of Heaven, they will remain blind, that is, they will be deprived of the opportunity to see the face of the Lord due to the fact that in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism their ancestral sin was not washed away from them. Father Archimandrite Moses Optina. Abbot Mark 428 told me. One day the clerk Fr. Archimandrite Moses, Fr. Evfimy (Trunov), hears that Fr. Moses, walking around his cell, laughs loudly. Noticed Fr. Euthymius has had such cases more than once. I once hinted about this to Father Moses, and he answered: “Now I’m no longer surprised by anything in people.” It is believed that Fr. Moses reached that pinnacle of spiritual life called dispassion. The same abbot Mark conveyed to me the following about the late Metropolitan of Moscow Macarius 429. “When the Metropolitan of Moscow was in St. Petersburg as a member of the Holy Synod, on some occasion he had to introduce himself to Emperor Alexander III. To the tsar’s question about his opinion about the constitution in Russia, Metropolitan Macarius replied that he, the metropolitan, was a supporter of the constitution. The Emperor became terribly angry, stood up and, without saying goodbye, left the room. The Metropolitan left. The Emperor immediately sent for Pobedonostsev and invited him to replace the Metropolitan and remove him from the department... But the Lord Himself punished the apostate from the tsarist autocratic power. The Metropolitan was asked to immediately leave for Moscow. Soon after his arrival, while swimming in a country dacha, the Metropolitan suffered a stroke, from which he died. These are the lions against which the late Sovereign had to defend the rights of the autocratic tsarist power, which was greatly humiliated and shaken during the unhappy reign of Alexander Nikolaevich.” Prayer. During prayer, we must have a mind that is formless, unimaginative, unimaginable, and in no way accepting of anything - neither light, nor fire, nor anything else, but it is appropriate to conclude the meaning in the same verbs. He who prays with only his lips prays to the air, and not to God; God listens to the mind, and not to verbs, like humans. By the Spirit, says Christ, and by the truth, God is worthy to worship (John 4:24). (St. Peter of Damascus. Book 1. P. 11.) They say that, according to the teachings of the Holy Gospel and the Holy Fathers, sinners in hell see the righteous in Paradise, through this the torment of sinners intensifies even more, and they ask: how can sinners see the righteous at such an immeasurably great distance that separates Paradise from hell? But it is known that some stars are also distant from us at almost immeasurably large distances, which even astronomical figures cannot express, in which millions have the same meaning as tens and ones in our everyday life, but we see these stars. If this is possible for sensory vision, then it is even more possible for spiritual vision, for for spiritual vision, space does not seem to exist at all, just as space and time do not exist for our thought. (Own note.) Throughout my life, I noticed in myself that I always liked only those people and those conversations that awakened in my heart the highest ideal aspirations, which were based on faith in the immortality of the human soul, faith in truth, goodness and beauty. And, on the contrary, I have always been antipathetic to people whose thoughts and conversations revolved around only the ordering of life: temporary and external. This desire for the highest, ideal in life was expressed in my soul by a penchant for everything mysterious, mystical in life. (My own note.) If you wake up before the appointed hour, then, without becoming lazy, get up and pray a little to your God and the saint who aroused you, your Guardian. Believe for sure that your Guardian motivates you to do this, therefore you should not be lazy. Pray so that you do not drive him away from you, but, having prayed, lie down again, praying until you fall asleep. Instructions. From the instructions of Archimandrite Agapit, abbot of the Nilo-Stolobenskaya Hermitage 430 (manuscript): 1. In a moment of despair, know that it is not the Lord who leaves you, but you who abandon the Lord. 2. If you live with others, then serve them as God Himself: do not demand love for love, praise for humility, gratitude for service. 3. Remember that the minute that laziness takes away from you may be the last in your life, and after it - death and judgment. 4. Leave the bliss, do not upset anyone, do not pay battle for battle, sorrow for sorrow, and in the Book of the Animal your name will be written with the venerable ones. 5. Leave your seriousness and be before the Lord in dealing with people like gentle children. 6. Do not remember the past in reproach, otherwise the Lord God will remember and exact from you what he has already forgiven you. 7. Without renouncing one’s will, one cannot begin to achieve salvation, not only to be saved. 8. Consider yourself the last and the most sinful of all. 9. Forget about the long path. 10. Trade your nobility for slavery to Jesus Christ. Punishment. This May 15, 1894, the schemamonk of our Skete, Fr. Nestor told me the following: “When Abbot Anthony, brother Fr. Archimandrite Moses, it was decided, with the blessing of Fr. Ambrose, put him in the same grave with Fr. Moses, in the right aisle of the Kazan Cathedral. In view of this, the crypt where the remains of Fr. Moses was opened. I come to the Kazan Cathedral and see that two monks are standing near the crypt: Fr. Stefan (Deryabin) and Fr. Porfiry (Sevryugin). I approach the crypt and see that the box in which Fr. Moses, completely decayed, but the tomb is safe and sound. At the request of my Fr. Stefan opened the roof of the coffin, and I saw that the body of Fr. Moses rests completely incorruptible in him. Father Stefan removed the air 431 from his face and it turned out that the face of Fr. Moses, also like the sleeping one, is completely incorruptible. Only my hair stuck somewhat to my churches. I didn't smell any fragrance. Wanting to make sure whether the body was truly incorruptible, I dared to touch Fr.’s body with my hand. Moses and feel him. I was convinced that the body was incorruptible and intact. But at the moment of the touch, I felt some awkwardness in the fingers of my right hand, with which I touched the body. The pain began to intensify. All this happened during the day. I come to Father Ambrose and explain in detail what happened to me. He replied that he should not have opened the coffin and that for my insolence I must suffer penance: make 40 prostrations every day for a week. I still cannot use the fingers of my right hand freely and find it difficult to write. You have to write with your left hand. Even the kamilavka is difficult to remove from the head with this hand. I think it could have been worse, because Fr. Ambrose said that the hand could have completely shriveled up.” 30 years have passed since then. Father Stefan subsequently left the Skete and now lives in the world, and Fr. Porfiry died as a manatean 432 monk. I heard that some more of the brethren opened the roof of Fr. Moses. Revelation. Thoughts that come spontaneously to the minds of those who are silent in God must be accepted without doubt, says St. Isaac of Syria, and if anyone considers them, that is their own understanding. (St. Peter of Damascus. Book 2. P. 3.) Asceticism. Asceticism is good, but with the right intention. And we should consider it not a deed, but a preparation for a deed; and not by fruit, but by soil, which, with time, labor and the help of God, can produce plants from which fruit comes. This fruit is the purification of the mind and union with God, to whom be glory forever. Amen. (St. Peter of Damascus. Book 2. P. 54.) Remembrance of the dead. I proposed to Elder Hieroschemamonk Anatoly a question: is it possible to remember the departed Christians of other faiths: Catholics and Lutherans, as well as schismatic Old Believers, at the proskomedia and the Psalter? The elder answered this negatively. At the same time, he told me that the late Moscow Metropolitan Philaret once, and only in exceptional cases, allowed one hieromonk to commemorate Napoleon at the proskomedia, who appeared to this hieromonk three times in a dream vision and asked his prayers for the repose of his soul. According to the hieromonk’s description, Napoleon appeared to him as he was during his lifetime, that is, he had the same appearance. During the French invasion of Russia in 1812, Napoleon plundered this monastery. Thought. The God-fighting spirit, who did not want to worship the Son of God in Heaven, was cast out from there and fought against the Church of God with the Aryan heresy 433, never ceasing to plot against the glory of the Son of God, raised a fierce storm of blasphemous thoughts against the ascetic of Christ, schema-monk Zosima 434 at a time when he, together with the elder Basilisk, spent a silent life in one of the Siberian deserts at the beginning of this century. It is hard for a heart filled with ardent love for the Lord Jesus and bearing His sweetest Name within; it is hard for the mind that feeds on the thought of God; It is hard for the soul and spirit, striving for eternity, to constantly hear these devilish whispers: “Jesus is not the Son of God, but a creature,” accompanied by countless insidious, dark, absurd and terrible evidence. The warrior of Christ Zosima resisted strongly, not for a minute giving up his thoughts, not accepting them in his soul, hating them with his heart. However, all spiritual joys and consolations disappeared, like the sun hiding behind the clouds. But already skilled in spiritual warfare, he did not despair, was not embarrassed; calling on their father and friend Basilisk for help, they both fervently prayed against this temptation, and Fr. Zosima added to this diligent reading of the holy church teachers: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom. For about a year this black cloud thundered over him. But just as after a thunderstorm there is a bucket, after winter there is spring, so after this temptation the Sun of Truth shone for him. Again the Most Merciful and Sweetest Jesus returned to the soul and heart devoted to Him. Father Zosima said that in this grave temptation he most benefited from Chrysostom’s conversations on the 14 Epistles of St. Apostle Paul. (From the life in Bose of the late blessed elder Schemamonk Zosima.) Obediences. The obediences that are imposed in the monastery all relate to this external life. One who does not know that these obediences are necessary only because we bring our body with us to the monastery, and that the work of saving the soul must go on among these obediences as usual, can turn away from the monastery from the first steps, considering them inappropriate to his goals, aspirations and his mood, or, remaining in the monastery, limit the entire work of monasticism only to these obediences... therefore, work in vain, without taking a single step in the purification and improvement of the soul. (Letters from Bishop Theophan, the Recluse of Vyshensky to N.N. // “Soulful Reading”. 1894. June. P. 34.) February 16, 1892. Fast. Having suffered countless defeats from the enemy, and sometimes being rewarded with great revelations in secret, for a long time I observed these unfortunate and happy cases, and experienced some of them on myself, and finally, through my own, after many years of repeated experience and observation, by the grace of God, I learned that the basis of all good, and the liberation of the soul from the captivity of the enemy, and the path leading to the Light of Life, consist of the following two things: staying in one place and unceasing fasting. (From the works of St. Isaac the Syrian.) The tonsure and the monastery are very exciting, but not in themselves, but with the thoughts that are inevitable... For others, both leave no trace. (Ibid. [Letters from Bishop Theophan, the Recluse of Vyshensky to N. N. // “Soulful Reading”. 1894. June.] P. 35.) Foresight. More than once I have heard examples of foresight and, as it were, prophecies of ordinary people regarding themselves, as well as other people, although those who spoke did not realize that they were prophesying. So, our skete monk Fr. told me. Criskent the following: “One day I was walking through the church after some kind of service (then I was undergoing the obedience of an assistant sexton) and carrying a bunch of candle cinders. At this time I meet Fr. The hierodeacon asks to give him these cinders. “Why,” I ask, “do you need them?” - “Yes, I’ll burn them all!” - he answers. I gave them to him. That same night his cell caught fire, and he himself burned down. It turns out that while lying down, he lit one of the cinders and, probably forgetting to put it out, fell asleep, and this time forever.” Cell attendant of the monastery leader Fr. Anatolia, o. Zechariah, relayed to me the following story from a merchant about the foresight of Father Barnabas, the hieromonk of the Gethsemane monastery. “One day I come to Fr. Barnabas,” the merchant said, “with his wife and children. I myself was very sick then, and my wife was a completely healthy woman. We ask for blessings, and the priest says, pointing to our children: “These are all orphans!” I say that we are both, thank God, alive, but now I am in poor health, and he replies: “A creaky tree lives for two centuries, but a healthy one will soon die.” We did not understand the priest’s words then. Soon my wife died, and her children were left orphans.” I'll tell you personally about myself. In September last year, 1891, having received from the late elder Fr. Ambrose's blessing to enter the monastery of Optina Pustyn, I was returning from Optina to Kazan to arrange my affairs and submit my resignation. On the way I stopped at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and from there went to Skete, where I was honored to see Fr. Barnabas. When he looks at me, he says: “You need to get married! You will live long, you will live long. Your illness is due to a cold...” Indeed, I was then suffering from influenza and did not expect recovery. I understood the words “you need to get married” later, because they meant entering into a spiritual union with Christ. Assumption. In the future, if the Lord blesses, it would be advisable to perform the following works for the glory of the most holy name of the Lord Jesus Christ: 1. Write your own autobiography. 2. Poem-song in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos Mary. 3. Alphabetical index to the works of the Holy Fathers who wrote about the ascetic life. In parallel for Slavic and Russian text. 4. A complete collection of questions and answers about the Jesus Prayer. 5. Brief biographies of Orthodox ascetics of the 18th and 19th centuries, even to the present day. 6. Chronological index about the life of the Holy Fathers in the Eastern Orthodox Church, from the first centuries to the present. 7. Extracts from various works proving the divinity of the Christian faith and the insignificance of modern Judaism with its errors. 8. Collection of spiritual poems selected from the best Russian writers. You can also cite excerpts from prose. 9. Features from the life of modern Optina elders. 10. Description of miracles that took place in the Orthodox Church - Russian and Greek (for example, on Mount Athos) in the last two centuries. 11. Description of miraculous icons in Russia. 12. Index to the location of the relics of the holy saints of God (in Russia and abroad). 13. Letters about monastic life in general and about eldership in Optina. 14. Compose “The Lamentation of a Monk” - in imitation of the “Lamentation of a Monk”, compiled by Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov). It is better to write in verse (terza). 15. Compose something like a Monastic Catechism for monks. 16. Write an interpretation of twelve selected psalms read in the Optina Skete according to the rule. Sources can be Bishop Palladius, monk Zigaben, priest. Torzhevsky and others. 17. Biography of Schemamonk Nicholas 436 Before the publication of this biography, it is possible to publish his “Vision” separately. All these 17 points were moved to a separate book and new ones were added 437. Prediction. Told me about. Job, the manatean monk of our Skete, says the following: “When,” he says, “I was still in the world, I had to guard the forest. One day I fell asleep lying on the grass, and it was during the day, and I saw: two monks came up to me and said: “If you want, come with us, we will show you the church!” “Okay,” I answer them, “let’s go have a look.” He got up and went with them. Having walked some distance, I see that we are approaching a church, which we then walked around. At this time, a service was going on in it and they sang “The Forces of Heaven serve with us invisibly.” They sang very well. I wanted to enter the church to listen to such wonderful singers, but the monks accompanying me told me: “Now you can’t, but you will enter this church in six years.” At this time I woke up. I didn’t even think about entering a monastery then. Exactly six years later, I was honored to enter the skete of Optina Pustyn, and upon arriving at the skete I saw that the skete church was the same one that I had seen in my dream. This was Great Lent, that is, when they sing at the Presanctified Mass “Now are the Powers of Heaven...” Monk Chriskent told me about another event that took place in the same Glinsk Hermitage 438. One monk told him and his father, the treasurer of the desert, that he would certainly die in the Sophronii Hermitage 439 and not in this one, that is, not in Glinskaya. After the meal, about two hours later, the aforementioned monk suddenly started bleeding from his larynx, and he died within a few minutes. Thus, he had to die not in the desert in which he expected, but in the one in which he lived then. In any case, he predicted his imminent death. My socellarius, Scete's novice Theodore, told me that one of his comrades, when he was still living in the world, went to swim. At this time, a man comes to the parents of this comrade and tells them: “Vasily drowned!” They ran to the river, and it turned out that their fear was in vain: the boy turned out to be alive. But two weeks after this, on the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, this boy and another friend went swimming, and this was during early mass, and this time he actually drowned. The late abbess of the Orenburg convent (died in 1890) Taisiya 440 told me about Fr. Seraphim of Sarov the following: “When I was still in the world, I went on a pilgrimage to Kyiv. On the way back, she went to Sarov, where at that time the Monk Seraphim was asceticizing 441. When I approached him for his blessing and asked which monastery he would bless me to enter, he, blessing me, answered, pointing with his finger: “There is your monastery.” Indeed, subsequently the Lord vouchsafed me to found first a women’s community in Orenburg, and then it was renamed a monastery.” On my own behalf, I will add that at one time I also had the final intention of entering a monastery, but which one I had not yet decided on and was hesitant and confused a lot about this. The abbess, uttering the words “there is your monastery,” pointed her hand to me precisely in the direction of the Optina Hermitage monastery, to which the Lord, in His ineffable mercy, led me then a little over a year later. Maybe this was a prediction for me too. It should be noted that the deceased did not stand out in any way in her life, but she lived holy and pious and was a true spiritual mother for her spiritual daughters. Monastic hieromonk and confessor Fr. Hilary told me that Fr. Macarius, the Elder of Optina, once said under Archimandrite Moses that we will not see the last times, but our descendants will, as if hinting at the nearness of the end of the world. Abbot Theodosius, who lives in our Skete in retirement, told me the following: “When I was no more than six years old, a holy fool who visited us, one day turning to my mother and pointing at me, said: “This one will be the abbot,” and pointing to my little sister, said: “And she will be a nun.” Both predictions came true exactly. My sister, a nun of the monastery, has now died.” The same abbot Fr. Theodosius told me that he had repeatedly heard personally from Fr. Ambrose, the Elder of Optina, a prediction about the future of the Optina Hermitage. Father Ambrose said: “As much as Optina Pustyn became famous, it will subsequently be disgraced!” Monk Fr., who was tonsured again on June 3, 1895. Anthony (in the cassock Alexy), who was serving as an assistant prosphora maker, told me that many years ago Fr. Pamva 442, who was his spiritual father, called him Father Anthony during confession. He considered it a mistake at the time, but now he realized that Fr. Pamva called him by this name prophetically. Father Pamva was a confessor in Optina Pustyn and was distinguished by the severity of his ascetic life. Told me about. Mark, abbot, like an old man, Fr. Lev once spoke of the Pryskov 443 landowner Kashkin like this: “His memory will pass with noise.” Fr. also told me. Theodosius, abbot, as if he personally heard several times from Fr. Isaac, Archimandrite, that Fr. Gerasim will not end well. Now Fr. Gerasim is the abbot of the Lyutikov Monastery 444. Monk Nathanael told me that Fr. Ambrose once expressed himself this way about Fr. Macarius, the current abbot of the Luzhetsky Monastery 445: “Father Macarius will leave on a karei 446, and will not return on a black one!” He also predicted that he would be exiled to Solovki. It should be noted that Fr. Macarius was still in Optina at that time and did not think of leaving. Then he was exiled to one of the monasteries in southern Russia, but with honor - hegumen. Monk Fr. Nathanael reported that six months before his death, Fr. Ambrose expressed himself this way: “Autumn will come, we will be here and there - then the ducks and geese will get it” (i.e., the Shamordino nuns and Optina residents). He passed it on. Father Nikon, hieromonk, regent of the right choir, once speaks to Fr. Ambrose: “I would like, father, to be buried next to Fr. Hieroschemamonk Theodotus." The priest answers this: “No! We will place you with noble persons.” About 4 years after this, Fr. Nikon, while visiting his brother in St. Petersburg, fell ill and died. He was buried in St. Petersburg with his brother, in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra 447 along with noble persons. His brother, being a rich merchant, bought a place there for him. He also said that the late Bishop of Kaluga Vitaly, being in Optina in the fall of 1891 on the occasion of the funeral of Fr. Ambrose, expressed himself in front of the Belevsky nuns, who stood in large numbers at the meal: “The whole spirit of Fr. Ambrose lies on Father Joseph." Bishop Vitaly was going to lunch at this time. Lovely. Father Ilarius, dean of Optina Pustyn, told me a remarkable incident. Hieromonk Fr. was in Optina. Vitaly. It is unknown why, but he fell in love with the elder Fr. Ambrose and began to reproach him. I completely fell behind him, and also stopped going to church and receiving the Holy Mysteries. I fell into delusion. Fr. Archimandrite Isaac advised him to attend church services, but Fr. Vitaly refused under the pretext of a leg illness. He refused even when Fr. the archimandrite offered him a horse to travel from his cell to the church. One day, before mass, Fr. Vitaly Hieromonk Fr. Raphael, who is now in the monastery hospital, says to him: “Let’s go, Fr. Vitaly, to mass. Father Archimandrite sent a horse for you!” But oh. Vitaly, refusing this, suddenly says to Father Raphael: “Who knows, maybe you’ll drag me not to mass, but to hell!” - and began to read a prayer. At this moment the imaginary Fr. Raphael instantly disappeared. It turned out that it was a demon. Father Vitaly corrected himself after this incident. Nature. Life among nature for one who has acquired love and the skill of peering into his surroundings is beneficial in that it saves him from petty one-sided thinking and imparts breadth, integrity and depth to his outlook. The knowledge we receive from the material that is bequeathed to us from our ancestors in written monuments, in the vast majority of cases, is a heterogeneous, varied mass, lumped together in memory, which confuses and suppresses more than it guides. And there were people who boldly said: “So! Among men I am ignorant, and I have no human understanding (that is, earthly wisdom), and I have not learned wisdom, but I have the knowledge of the saints (that is, heavenly wisdom). (See Proverbs of Solomon, chapter 30, v. 2-3.) ON THE SEPARATION OF THE SOUL FROM THE BODY When the earth is empty (body), And his strength will burst (joints), And then the flint (bones) will collapse, And the heaters will dry up (thoughts), And the winds will not howl (breath), And the ways of the great one will be desolate (eyes), And the grinding millstones (tongue, teeth) will cease, The gates will be closed (mouth, larynx), And the great sea will become scarce (blood), the fruitful one will wither (the heart), The cattle will go wild (passion 448), Psalms. To sing the psalms means to read them in a chant, as, for example, in church they read them after “I have cried to the Lord” at Vespers. (Letters from Bishop Theophan, the Recluse of Vyshensky to N.N. // “Soulful Reading”. 1894. June. P. 35.) Desert. The inner desert brings a lot to prosperity, since there is no consolation in it, which is available in this world, in which the soul could vainly occupy itself, there is no need for unnecessary handicrafts, there is no one to go to for fun, there is no one to rant with! No one will visit, not have a meal of consoling and consoling breakfasts, except for one of your disciples and the severe fasting saturation; horror from demons, boredom and melancholy from the ever-present and never-ending solitude. Mortal fear, constantly entering the soul, guards against animal attacks, poisonous reptiles by wounding and killing, and from evil people by killing; poverty in all, extreme poverty, lack of everything; Moreover, it is a serpentine hut, having nothing in itself except small books, in which all the joy and consolation can be found. He doesn’t hear about his friends or where they live, he doesn’t know about his relatives’ health, he doesn’t know about his loved ones. Everything pleasant was removed from him: he became dead to the world and peace to him. But there is no way to rejoice about anything temporary, otherwise the mind would become darkened, flying away from God; but everything is ever present: mind, thought, memory and all feeling, and the whole person is immersed in God, being guided towards Him through a single reflection and viewing of the wisdom of His Majesty and His Providence in His creation. And how to have two books open before you at all times: heaven and earth, looking into you and wondering how great and wise our God is... And with such an inner deserted stay he comes into the fear of God and into the feeling of his destruction. (From the life of the deceased blessed elder schemamonk Zosima in Bose. pp. 100–101.) Dispassion is achieved by removing things and people. (St. Peter of Damascus. Philokalia. Book 1. P. 75 on volume) Autocratic power. The devotion of the Orthodox Russian people to their kings is not at all the same as the devotion of Western peoples to their sovereigns. According to modern Western concepts, a sovereign is nothing more than a representative of his people - and Western peoples love their representatives and willingly obey when they faithfully fulfill this assignment or when, by the power of their genius, they carry the people along with them and blind them with the brilliance of the glory and power of the state, like Napoleon in France and Frederick in Prussia; but this is self-seeking and selfish love. In the West, people love only themselves in their sovereigns. If the king, due to his personal character, is not able to be a true reflection, representative of the will of the people and the aspirations, ideas and passions that dominate them, then his will is limited and compressed through a constitutional vice. If the king does not succumb to these efforts and is unable to succumb to the taste and character of his subjects, then he is deprived not only of the people’s love, but also of the throne, as was the case with Charles X and Louis Philippe, and with the Sardinian King Albert. It’s not the same with us in Russia: our tsar is a representative of the will of God, not the people. His will is sacred to us, like the will of God’s anointed; we love him because we love God. The king gives us glory and prosperity, we accept this from him as the mercy of God. Whether dishonor and disaster befall us, we endure them with meekness and humility as a heavenly punishment for our iniquities and will never change our love and devotion to the king, as long as they stem from our Orthodox religious convictions, from our love and devotion to God. Skit. Monastic hieromonk and confessor Fr. Hilary told me that Fr. Leo once said that the time would come when our Skete would be deserted, and only cats would live in it. To my question, in what sense should it be understood - literally or figuratively, Fr. Ilarius said he didn't know. At the same time there were Fr. Boris, Skeet's goalkeeper, and Fr. Pimen, former hotel 449. Sorrow. “Let us begin from the patience of those who find it,” says St. Peter of Damascus (Philokalia. Book 1. p. 75 on the volume), - and so let us go to the rest with good will, with all zeal having the intention of thanking God.” “Therefore we understand that we are provided by God whenever sorrow comes upon us, and the way of God is the daily cross” (St. Isaac the Syrian). Dreams. In the Life of the Hieromartyr Charalampius, whose memory is celebrated on February 10, the following is mentioned: “The king’s daughter had a vision, telling the holy Charalampius, saying: I imagined standing by many waters, and suddenly I saw a great garden fenced in, in which all kinds of fragrant [woods] were planted, and among the grapes were red, and in the grapes there was cedar. high, but at the root of the tree is the source. The guardian of this place is afraid and would not allow anyone to enter there. I saw my father and Crispus the eparch standing nearby and spread his fiery rod at them, driving them away from there, but I stood with much fear and prayed that he would command me to remain there, and with that verb: come here, and I will carry you on my shoulder with honor. When I was inside at the spring under the cedar tree, I heard a voice saying: this place has been given to you and others like you. This is the vision I saw, and I pray that you inform me of its legend. Saint Charalampius spoke to her: this is the legend of your dream: the abundance of water is the gift of the Holy Spirit, the fenced garden is Paradise, the grapes are the establishment of the righteous, the fragrant trees are the faces of the Holy One. Angels, tall cedar - the glory of the cross, the source from the root of the cedar signifies eternal life, given to the human race by the Holy Cross; The guardian of that place, who received you on his shoulder, is Christ the Lord, who left ninety-nine sheep on the mountains, followed the lost one and found it, receiving it on His shoulder. Your father and the eparch will marry from God’s Paradise.” Today (September 21, 1893) commemorates the opening of the relics of St. Demetrius of Rostov and on the same day is the day of the Angel of our skete monk Fr. Dimitry (Bolotov). I came to him to congratulate him on Angel’s Day. Over tea, he told me two wonderful dreams he had seen while still in the world. He had his first dream when he was 15 years old. He looks like he and his whole family are going to the forest for tea. They rode on a tarantass drawn by three horses, as happened in reality. They are driving through some great and beautiful field. A church of extraordinary size is being built on a field: but its walls are built not from bricks, but from human heads. The church was almost finished with construction, only the domes in its upper parts remained unbuilt. He, that is, Fr. Dimitri, as if seeing this wondrous church, jumps off the tarantass and runs to the church to look at it, and the family left for the forest without him. He enters the entrance to the church and sees a lectern standing there with a Gospel and a cross lying on it. Standing near the lectern is Fr. Alexander, archpriest of St. Andrew's Cathedral in St. Petersburg, their acquaintance and at the same time his spiritual father. Father Dimitri wants to enter the church, but they stop him and say that they enter the church after first confessing and receiving the Holy Mysteries. At this time, he sees several more people standing near the lectern and waiting in line to confess, and among them is General Golovachevsky, also a friend of their family. Both of them, that is, Fr. Alexander and Golovachevsky were still alive at that time. Through the huge door leading to the cathedral, he sees its interior: it is all cluttered with walkways, the blows of hammers and other tools can be heard - work is underway on the interior decoration of the church. At this time he woke up. He had another dream when he was already 25 years old. It was as if he was walking along a narrow path, also through some kind of field, and he definitely needed to get to the other side of the field. He has a whip in his hand. Suddenly he sees a huge lion lying on the path and looking at him fiercely. O. Demetrius seemed to begin to walk around the lion on the right side, and when he walked around and looked back, he saw that the lion was trying to get up, but could not due to his decrepitude and only continued to look at him angrily. He walks further along the path and sees: a great tiger lying on it, with the obvious intention of rushing at him and tearing him to pieces. Him too about. Dimitri walked around safely and also on the right side. Then he goes and sees: standing on the path is an idol of gigantic size, Fr. Dimitri sees only the foundation on which he stands, the feet and shins of his legs. With its entire body, the idol went into immeasurable heights, so that he did not see it. The idol looked like gold, although it was cast from copper. He walked around the idol, but not from the right side, but from the left side. At this time he woke up. The goalkeeper of our Skete, Elder Schemamonk Boris, having served Compline in church yesterday, came to his cell and suddenly fell ill - his legs were paralyzed. Therefore, he could no longer be at the vigil; was not at mass today (September 21, 1893). He told me that the time had come to move on to eternal life. I saw, as if last night, that he was approaching some great river, which he crossed at dawn. The crossing happened so quickly that he didn’t even notice. Coming out to the other bank of the river, he sees a church of gigantic size, occupying a space of about a tithe, and of the same great height... The church was beautiful, resembled the cathedral of the Kaluga Monastery of St. Lawrence 450. When he entered the church, at that time there was a mass going on there, which was celebrated by Archbishop Gregory, the former Bishop of Kaluga, who died thirty years ago. The interior of the church was of unspeakable beauty. When Fr. Boris wanted to leave the church, but did not find the door and remained in it. At this time he woke up. Today, i.e. January 22, 1896, Fr. Dimitri, an artist, told me a wonderful dream seen the other day by a Shamordino nun, Mother Maria (Sokolova). She was just about to leave Shamordin, trusting in the evil thought of the enemy that it was not worth living here, since Elder Ambrose was no longer in Optina. She dreams that she is transported to some beautiful area. He sees a huge palace. He sees above the doors above him: “The monastery of Fr. Ambrose." Enters it. It has many compartments, like rooms. Asks someone about Fr. Ambrose, and he (precisely the husband of Mary’s mother, who died many years ago) brings her to the office. Is about. Ambrose, and he has many different orders on his chest. Advice about. Ambrose was as follows: “You have one road: from Shamordin to Optina, from Optina to Shamordino. Don’t go anywhere.” With that the nun said goodbye. I stayed in Shamordin and calmed down. Abbot Fr., who lives in our Skete. Theodosius told me about a wonderful dream he had. “I was then about eight years old. One day I dreamed that I had died, I saw my own body lying on the bed, and at the same time I myself stood aside and looked at it. An Angel appears in the form of a deacon, dressed in a golden robe and [with] an orarion folded crosswise on his shoulders. “You see,” he tells me, “this is your body, and you died!” I seem to be amazed and horrified by the words of the Angel. At this moment the Angel takes me and takes me up. We are rushing with inexpressible speed. But on the way we meet another Angel, different in appearance, that is, more majestic and having, as it were, seniority over the first. “Where are you taking it?” – asks the angel he meets. “To God,” the first Angel answers him. “This is his place!” - the elder Angel objects and points down at these words. I look and see that in the terrible yawning depths of space a fiery sea is agitated. In the sea I see countless naked people of all genders and ages, moaning, screaming and crying, vainly trying to free themselves from the fiery blazing abyss that has engulfed them. Full of unspeakable horror, I turn to the first Angel with a plea for mercy. And so, after a conference with the elder Angel, he plunges me into some terrible depths of the sea, but only this sea was green fire and did not scorch me. I began to cry out for mercy, and the Angel, standing on the edge of the abyss, gave me his hand and took me from this sea to the shore. At this time he hit me on the cheek and said: “Go! But just remember!..” At that moment I woke up and felt a terrible pain in my neck, which did not go away for several days. I forgot to say that I was sentenced to execution in the sea of ​​fire by an Angel I met for some unconfessed sin, which I well remembered and was aware of. Upon awakening, having heard the church gospel for Matins, I went to church with my grandmother, who was very surprised at the sudden zeal for the church of God that appeared in me. I will never forget this terrible dream, and it remains before me to this day in all its terrifying details, although I am now more than seventy years old” 451. Today is September 23, 1896. Father Superior Theodosius, who lives in our Skete in retirement, while walking with him, told me two wonderful dreams. He saw his first dream when he lived in the world, in the Land of the Don Army, serving as a farmer. He dreams that he is in some kind of garden. There is a beautiful house in the garden, and his own grandmother lives in it. The latter brings him into the house, shows him its beautiful decoration and says that this house belongs to her. They both go out onto the porch, and the grandmother shows him that there are several gaps missing in the roof of the porch. “Here,” she tells him, “try to avoid this deficiency.” At these words, Fr. Theodosius woke up. The dream struck him. It was night, but he got up and wrote down both the dream and the day, date and hour at which he saw it. His grandmother was alive and was far from him, in one of the eastern provinces, it seems, in Saratov. After a certain time, Fr. Theodosius received a letter informing him of the death of his grandmother. Death followed on the very night on which he saw her in a dream. His grandmother lived a pious life and loved to do good to the poor. More than ten years have passed since this. Father Theodosius was already a monk in the Lebedyansky Monastery 452. He sees in a dream that his late grandmother, father and several other relatives, all already deceased, are entering his cell. He woke up. Two weeks later, this dream is repeated, and all the relatives thank him for the prayers he brings for the repose of their souls. A dream about grandmother's house, seen by Fr. Theodosius, reminded me of a similar dream seen by the famous Recluse of Zadonsk, Blessed George. He saw a magnificent church, with part of the dome remaining uncovered, right next to the cross. He interpreted this dream in the sense of the proximity of his death, which followed about two months later. This is discussed in detail in his biography, compiled by the monk Grigorov, who was formerly an artillery officer, the one who greeted Pushkin with cannon shots at maneuvers, for which he was put under arrest. Then he became a monk, and his ashes rest in our Hermitage - between the [Vvedensky] Cathedral and the Church of St. Mary of Egypt. Suffering. For as the sufferings of Christ increase in us, our consolation also increases through Christ (2 Cor. 1:5). Insurance. My cellmate, novice Theodore, told me that until he was ten years old, he was very afraid of various ghosts, goblins; I didn’t even dare to be alone in the room. While he was in his eleventh year, he worked for a merchant, and he often had to walk home from him through the cemetery. Passing through it one night, in the darkness he ran and fell into a grave dug that day, in which he spent the whole night. It was summer time, and the earth in the grave was still soft, so he did not hurt himself, but he felt inexpressible horror as he sat in the grave. In the morning they pulled him out, and that day he could not speak anything, as if something had broken off in him, and his tongue would not move. The next day he told everything that happened. It is remarkable that from this most terrible night he ceased to feel fear, did not fear anything, and calmly walked through the cemetery at night. So the Lord delivered him from timidity. The same o. Theodosius told me that when he lived in Lebedyan, a cell was built for him in the monastery garden. There he suffered many temptations from visible and invisible enemies. By the way, I often heard at night under the windows of the cell the howling of wolves, as if gathered in the number of several hundred. Insurance against demons. Schemamonk Fr. lives in our Skete. Boris, an old man of about eighty, had a good life, loved and respected by everyone. He recently told me that at night many demons in the form of wanderers came to the door of his cell and knocked on him. He performs the obedience of the goalkeeper in the Skete, and his cell faces the forest surrounding the Skete, and the door faces the courtyard of the Skete. Since the gates are locked at night, therefore, no outsider can enter the Skete at night. The night before last, the same Fr. Boris, the demons terribly approached him and knocked on the gate, asking him to open it. Both times Fr. Boris drove away the demons with the Jesus Prayer. This same one. Boris previously lived for about three years in one of the corner towers of the Skete. At this time, demons bothered him a lot. For example, at night they will start dancing above the ceiling of his cell, singing bad songs, playing musical instruments; sometimes they appeared in the form of large rats. About other insurances about. Boris is silent, he just waves his hand. He says that if you walk past this tower at night, you can hear the screaming and howling of demons. I do not consider it necessary to verify this, because I already believe in the full possibility of these phenomena. Skete ryasophore monk Fr. Dimitry (Bolotov) told me about a wonderful dream he had in childhood. “I was 6-7 years old then. One day I saw in a dream that an Angel took me and took me with him to Heaven. Rising with the Angel, I see our village, house, garden, and how they become smaller as we rise higher and higher. “Where are you taking me?” - I ask the Angel, and he answers: “To God!” But then we flew to some great oak tree that was flying in the air, and stopped near it to rest. At this time, I see some majestic-looking Elder walking through the air towards the oak tree. I ask Angel: “Who is this?” - “This is God!” – the Angel answers, and I woke up. Subsequently, when I arrived in Optina Pustyn, where the great elder Hieroschemamonk Ambrose then lived, I decided to ask for his holy blessing to take monastic vows in the monastery. I remember entering the Elder’s cell and seeing him reclining on his bed. At that very moment I remembered a dream I had seen in childhood, and some secret voice told me: “This is the very oak tree that you saw in your dream then.” That’s how it turns out,” added Fr. Demetrius, “Our monastery is a kind of station from earth to Heaven. The deceased Elder was truly the church of God, in which the Holy Spirit dwelt. With the blessing of this Elder, I entered the Skete. Thus my childhood dream came true.” I’ll add on my own behalf that Fr. Dimitri was a wonderful artist in the world and a friend at the Academy with the famous portrait painter Kramskoy. He still paints many portraits, which people commission him to paint in absentia, from photographic cards. He also paints icons. Artists. Russian literature, in its best representatives, in the person of its poetic giants, where it seethes with the highest creative ideas, is prophetic literature par excellence. Everything in her strives for Heaven with the purest flame of passion and delight. This is literature, the whole strength of which lies in its pathetic search for the highest truth, the highest justice, the Living God, the living person. In it, all the motives of human life are reduced, as they should be in great literature, to their moral religious roots (“Soulful Reading.” 1894. September. P. 170.) Reading. You need to read active books related to Christian life. Speculative or contemplative ones are beyond our power. Contemplation is appropriate to the contemplative life, and this comes after cleansing from passions by the commandments of Christ, and grace itself teaches it. Question: What books should a monk read to gain spiritual knowledge? Answer: After the books of the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament, the monastic alphabet consists of the excellent, spiritually sweet and accessible writings of St. Abba Dorotheus and St. John Climacus. They are followed by the books of the saints: Theodore the Studite, Ephraim the Syrian, Nilus of Sora, Barsanuphius the Great, Peter of Damascus, Abba Isaiah the Hermit, Macarius the Great, Basil the Great, Mark the Ascetic, Abba Orsisius, Abba Fallasius, Cassian the Roman, Simeon the New Theologian, Maximus Confessor, Isaac the Syrian, the Slavic “Philokalia” (not everything in a row, but articles from it at the direction of an experienced spiritual father), as well as the “Philokalia” in Russian translation. Then: the works of St. John Chrysostom, Saints Demetrius of Rostov and Tikhon of Zadonsk, especially the latter’s instructions for monks. From historical books: Cheti-Minea, Prologue, “Memorable tales about the lives of the fathers”, “Ancient patericon”, “Spiritual Meadow”, “Lavsaik”, “History of God-lovers”, “History of Orthodox monasticism in the East” by P. Kazansky, “The Lives of Holy Ascetic Women” by Philaret, Archbishop of Chernigov 453, “History of the Church” and, in particular, “History of the Russian Church”, “Historical Teaching about the Fathers of the Church” by Philaret, Archbishop of Chernigov. (“Monastic life” - Bishop Juvenal. Kiev, 1885. P. 155.) Miraculous deliverance from death. Hegumen Theodosius told me that once the Lord saved him from inevitable death. He was hunting with a friend and, walking ahead of him, grumbled about God's Providence, which did not allow him to enter the monastery. At that moment a shot suddenly rings out from behind him. It turns out that his comrade’s gun, due to his negligence, fired and the entire charge hit Fr. Feodosia. The gun pierced a one-inch board right through. Despite this, two pellets that hit him in the back fell out by themselves, without even leaving any wounds behind. Up to 50 pellets fell. The shot occurred ten fathoms away, no more, and should have pierced Fr. Feodosia. This was a great miracle of God's Providence for man, as if in response to the murmur of Fr. Feodosia. A wonderful incident with Fr. Stefan. The former abbot of the Meshchovsky Monastery, Fr., who lives retired in Optina Pustyn, told me. Mark next case. When Abbot Anthony, brother of Fr., died in Optina. Archimandrite Moses, then, with the blessing of the bishop and at the request of the brethren, it was decided to place his remains in the same crypt with Fr. Moses. They broke the crypt behind the right choir of the Kazan Cathedral. Some of the brethren during the memorial service for the deceased Fr. Anthony in the summer cathedral went to the Kazan Cathedral. One of them, Fr. Stefan boldly opened the lid of Fr. Moses, and then everyone else was convinced with fear and amazement that decay had not affected the deceased at all, although 4 years had already passed since his death. Father Stefan then wanted to tear off a flap from the mantle of the deceased, but at that moment he felt severe pain in his hand. His hand seemed numb, and he abandoned his intention. My arm hurt for two weeks. Asked for prayers about. Moses and recovered. Subsequently, he had a quarrel with Fr. Pior, a skete monk, who seriously offended him in some way. Father Stefan did not bear this insult and left the monastery. Now he lives in the world, but, as Fr. told me. Joseph, our elder, lives like a monk. They believe that he was punished for daring, although it was done with good intentions. The monk was good! 454 Holy fools. Skete ryasophore monk Fr. Athanasius told me about a certain servant of God who acted like a fool for Christ's sake, the following. His name was Sergei Nikolaevich. He acted as a fool in the city of Livny, Oryol province. Descended from peasants. He died at the age of 70. He always wore rags and led a wandering life. Living in the world, Fr. Afanasy once started pouring bread. The deal was profitable. One day he brings bread to Livny on Sunday morning and sells it to a merchant. We made a deal and finished the matter. At that time, Sergei Nikolaevich, who was with the merchant, came to them and at the words of Fr. Athanasia says something to him: “It’s a merchant’s sin to take it into one’s hands!” He did not understand these words then. Their meaning was subsequently explained by the Liveni monks, that is, that it is sinful to trade on holidays. The same holy fool, having gone to a Livny merchant, took a shit in his front corner. Soon after this, a great misfortune happened to the merchant - two men were buried in his well by a collapsed log house. The court came, and the merchant had to fork out money. We also saw Sergei Nikolaevich, how one day he crossed the river along its bottom, disappearing under the water. He also said to one girl, the daughter of a poor bourgeois widow in Livny: “You and I will die together!” And so it happened. When this girl died, the holy fool came to the widow, sat down on the right side of her coffin and died. They were buried together on the same day. They were taken out of the city church at 8 o'clock in the morning, and brought to the cemetery in the evening. Requiem services were served all along the way. There were a lot of people, almost the entire city gathered to bury the righteous. Fr. told me today, January 22, 1896. Demetrius, artist, skete monk, that recently the holy fool John, who lives in the village of Khlopov, thirty miles from Shamordin, came to Shamordino. He came to the cell to see nun Olga, whose daughter was sick with consumption. He showed with signs that she needed to receive unction and prepare for death. Then he demanded the key to the locked box and, when it was unlocked at his request, he took out the image that was lying there - the blessing of the sick woman from Fr. Ambrose. He placed the image on the goddess and ordered an unquenchable lamp to be lit before it. Then he left. The appearance of a demon. The head of our Skete, Fr. Anatoly also personally conveyed the following case to me. In the house of his friend, who now serves as the manager of the treasury chamber in one of the provinces of the Kingdom of Poland, a demon appeared. His appearance was marked by knocking at night, the movement of furniture in the rooms, and most importantly, by the horror that attacked everyone living in the house, especially at night. Children saw him as a small boy, dressed in a red jacket and performing various somersaults and jumps. This acquaintance told about everything that happened in his house to one city archpriest, an academician 455. The highly learned father archpriest, in response to this, only laughed at the simplicity and gullibility of his friend, but, however, promised to come in and personally see the demonic tricks. Upon his arrival, during evening tea, suddenly he, and everyone else, sitting in the room, saw a glass of vodka flying through the air and standing opposite him on the table. Behind her was another, then a third, so that many glasses filled with vodka, liqueurs, and wines appeared in the same way before Fr. the archpriest, who from amazement and horror could not come to his senses, seeing what was happening before his eyes; At the same time, he was also quite embarrassed by the fact that he really liked to drink. The scientist inevitably believed in the existence of demons. The phenomenon of the brownie. Skete manatean monk Fr. Adrian told me the following incident. He was about seven years old. One day he went to visit relatives who lived in the same village as him. In these relatives’ house it was, as they generally say about such houses, “restless.” While playing in the room with the owner's children, they all saw some kind of creature peeking out from under the bed. It was in the middle of the day, although there were no adults in the room at that time. The oldest girl who played with them, the daughter of the mistress, was no more than twelve years old. The children rushed to run from the room, and he was with them; the girl was the last to run, and he was in front of her, and when she ran out into the hallway and looked back, she saw that some living creature, similar to a ball and covered with hair, had run out from under the bed. At that time the girl wanted to close the door, but the creature rested its forehead on the door and did not allow it to be closed, so the door remained open a quarter, and at that time he managed to see the unprecedented creature. At the cry of the girl and other children, adults came running, but at the very moment when they approached the girl, who was leaning against the door from the hallway, the creature instantly disappeared, and they did not see it. The height of the unknown creature was about an arshin, and it was not a dog, not a cat or a hedgehog. Hegumen of the Raifa Hermitage 456 near Kazan, Fr. Benjamin told me that he personally heard from the former treasurer of this desert about the temptation from the demon that was repeatedly repeated to him. The treasurer suffered from heavy drinking, and during an attack of this passion at night, when he was looking in vain for vodka in his cell, a demon apparently appeared to him in the form of a black boy, holding a barrel of vodka under his hand, which he poured into a glass and placed on the table in front of the treasurer, asking him with signs to drink. The temptation was so great, and the passion for vodka at those moments was so inflamed in him that, after some hesitation, he drank the vodka brought by the demon. To my question, how can this be, Fr. The abbot answered: “The demon can materialize, and in this form he took a barrel of vodka and a glass from any wine cellar, with which he entered Fr. the treasurer through some passage (for example, through a chimney or through the underground), because he can easily pass into the ground, like a mole.” Phenomena in dreams. The skete monk Job told me: “It was about 15 years ago. I stand and see that the elder hieroschemamonk Pimen, who has already died, comes to me and asks me: “Did you celebrate the Pentecostal Day?” 457 I answer him: “I don’t always cope properly.” And he asks me again: “Do you drink tea?” “I drink,” I answer. “How many cups?” - “When it’s three, and when it’s five – how it will happen.” “That’s just it,” the deceased Elder reproachfully remarked to me, “you drink tea unevenly 458, but you don’t always make five hundred! It must be carried out without fail!” After which I woke up,” added Fr. Job. The same monk Job told me that initially he had the intention of entering the Sarov Pustyn, but after living there for some time as a test subject, he decided to move to the Optina Pustyn. He got ready and in a dream he sees a blessed tall old man, in monastic clothes, who asks him: “Why are you leaving the Sarov desert?” “I answer that I like it better in Optina Pustyn, since Elder Ambrose is there. “Well... go to Optina, it’s possible, it’s the same as here,” the elder answered, and I woke up. I don’t know who exactly the elder who appeared to me was, but I believe that Seraphim of Sarov.” The former abbot of the Lyutikov Monastery, Fr., has been living in our Skete for about two years. Feodosius. He told me in passing about how the former Metropolitan of Moscow Innocent appeared to him in a dream. “I see,” says Fr. Theodosius, - Metropolitan Innocent in a dream 459. And he told me significant words: “From the beginning until now, all the wiles of the devil have been overcome by humility. This immutable truth from time immemorial is also contemporary to us.” These words then Fr. Theodosius wrote it down upon awakening. He saw this dream a long time ago, after the death of the Metropolitan, but he told me recently - in November of this 1896. I received his recording on November 26 - on the day of memory of St. Innocent, Bishop of Irkutsk 460, and, perhaps, also the memory of Metropolitan Innocent, although I do not certify about the latter. Apparitions of the deceased. Skete hieromonk Fr. Venedikt told me the following. “In Smolensk I knew one hieromonk who told me about the appearance to him of the deceased Bishop John 461 of a famous church preacher. The bishop, according to the slander of spiteful critics, initiated a persecution against him, and when he died, he clearly appeared to him during the day in his cell, asking him for forgiveness for his sin, which continued for 40 days from the day of the bishop’s death. The hieromonk did not experience either amazement or horror, but only answered the deceased bishop: “God will forgive!” - and bowed to him, after which the deceased became invisible.” The same hieromonk Fr. Benedict spoke about the appearance to one priest of the deceased Bishop of Smolensk Timothy, who was distinguished by a particularly pious life. “One day,” said Fr. Benedict this priest - I was celebrating the Liturgy and suddenly I saw that Archbishop Timothy 462, then already deceased, was standing on a high place. I approached him and accepted the blessing. Blessing me, he said to me: “Why do you say the prescribed prayers without attention?” And indeed (the priest added), while serving in church, I said some prayers absent-mindedly.” The head of our monastery, Fr. Anatoly: “In our Skete, a certain Zhadkevich, originally from the nobility, lived as a novice. The demon did not give him peace, confusing him with the thought that at death he would immediately grab his soul and drag him to hell. The devil and insurance brought it upon him. So, when Zhadkevich was one day walking through the Skete, he saw a cook suddenly run out of the meal with a broom containing burning coals, and rushed to strike him with the broom. In horror, Zhadkevich rushed to run away from him, but the cook suddenly disappeared. It turned out that it was not the cook, but a demon who took his image. In addition, according to Zhadkevich’s stories, the demon repeatedly struck him with his hand on his naked body from behind when he was walking, for example, out of natural need. After Zhadkevich’s death, one monk was reading the Psalter in the church, and now he clearly sees that Zhadkevich is standing in the church and holding a great cross of shining gold, which lasted half an hour or even more.” I don’t remember what the priest called this monk, I only remember that in the world his surname was Karpenko and he was also from the nobility 463. 1902, December 13th. In the monastery Kazan Cathedral, Fr. the abbot tonsured several monastic brethren into the mantle, and from the hermits he was clothed in the mantle by Fr. Pavel (Plikhankov) with the name Barsanuphius. 1902, December 29th. On this date, the skete monk Fr. Barsanuphius. 1903, January 1st. New Year's Eve. On this date in Kaluga the skete hierodeacon Fr. Barsanuphius was ordained to the rank of hieromonk. 1903, September 1st. Skete hieromonk Fr. Barsanuphius, having received the appointment to help Fr. the monastery's leader in the spiritual leadership of the monastery brethren and the Shamordin sisters who apply for such leadership, moved to the cells near the monastery's Holy Gate, which at one time was occupied by the Optina Elder Hieroschemamonk Macarius of blessed memory. 1904, April 9th. Today the monastic skete fathers Adrian 465 and Barsanuphius, appointed by the highest church authorities to the site of military operations in the Far East for spiritual consolation and guidance to the wounded soldiers, departed from Skete. 1905, November 1st. The skete hieromonk Fr., who had left there in April 1904, returned from the Far East. Barsanuphius. 1905, November 8th. Skete feast of the Cathedral of St. Archangel Michael. After the blessing of water, the Liturgy in the Church of the Baptist was performed by Fr. archimandrite with hieromonks o.o. Daniel and Barsanuphius with two skete hierodeacons. At the end of the Liturgy, a prayer service was served to St. Archangel. Father Barsanuphius had on himself a pectoral cross, issued by the Holy Synod, granted to him on May 6, 1904. 1906, January 9th. During the meal, the decree from the Consistory was read about the appointment of the skete hieromonk Fr. Barsanuphius, instead of being dismissed from clergy due to illness, Fr. monastery leader Joseph. 1906, April 21st. Due to a serious illness, Fr. the monastery's leader, the performance of his duties is entrusted to the skete hieromonk Fr. Barsanuphia. Today Fr. Barsanuphius went to the monastery dacha to inspect it. 1907, May 12th. The hieromonk Father Barsanuphius, who was in charge of the Skete, left for Kaluga, where he was to be ordained to the rank of abbot, which he was awarded on May 6th. 1907, May 15th. Abbot Barsanuphius, ordained to the rank of abbot on May 14th and awarded the mace, returned from Kaluga today. 1907, June 29th 466. Today at the meal the decree on the appointment of Fr. Abbot Barsanuphius as head of the monastery instead of Fr. Joseph, dismissed due to ill health. 1909, July 1st. Early this morning Fr. Archimandrite Xenophon, rector of Optina Pustyn, and Fr. the monastery leader, Abbot Barsanuphius, went to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra to participate in the Congress of representatives of Russian monasteries. 1910, November 5th. On the morning of the 4th of this month, a telegram was received from His Grace of Kaluga about the appointment, by order of the Synod, of the former skete commander, Hieromonk Joseph, to go to the Astapovo station of the Ryazan-Ural Railway to see Count Leo Tolstoy, who had fallen ill on the way, to offer him a spiritual conversation and religious consolation in order to reconcile with the Church. This was answered by telegram that Fr. Joseph is sick and cannot go out for air, but he decided to go out of obedience. At the same time, the rector of Optinsky sought permission due to the difficulty for Fr. Joseph to go to his appointment to replace him Fr. Abbot Barsanuphius. This was followed by the answer of Bishop Benjamin that the Holy Synod allowed this... On the morning of this day [November 5] Fr. Abbot Barsanuphius, in pursuance of the synodal order, went to see Count Tolstoy in Astapovo. 1911, April 11th. Today the Liturgy in the monastery church was served by Father Optina, the rector, with the fathers of the monastery and hieromonk Fr. Nectarius under the hierodeacons: monastery Fr. Varsis and monastery Fr. Zosima. At the end of the Liturgy, Fr. Archimandrite Xenophon conciliar with Fr. the monastery commander and hieromonks Fr. O. Nectarius, Adrian and Gabriel performed a prayer service to Saint Barsanuphius, the Kazan wonderworker, on the occasion of the memory of this saint of God and the name day of Fr. monastery commander 1911, July 23rd. Today, Kaluga Governor Prince Gorchakov visited Optina Pustyn and Skit. He came from Kozelsk to Optina by car. After viewing the monastery, the prince, accompanied by Fr. O. he walked around the skete and visited the cell of Fr. Abbot Barsanuphius. On the same day, the governor left for Kozelsk. 1911, September 17th. The new monastery church with its adjacent premises was inspected by a provincial architect who arrived from Kaluga. 1912, March 12th. Hieromonk Fr. Nectary, since the abbot Fr. Barsanuphius, with his promotion to the rank of archimandrite, was transferred to the Moscow diocese as rector of the Staro-Golutvin Monastery and his repeated requests to be left alone in the Skete were not respected. 1912, April 2nd. Monday of St. Thomas Week. At 8 o'clock in the morning in the church of the Holy Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John, Abbot Barsanuphius served a farewell prayer service, with kneeling. After the prayer service, the Elder said a short farewell word, concluding it with a bow to the ground and asking for forgiveness. Father Nektarios, on behalf of all the hermits, presented the Elder with an icon of St. Forerunners of John the Baptist. From the church everyone went to a meal, where tea was offered, and then to the Elder’s cell; here about. The abbot blessed everyone with an icon and gave small things as souvenirs, such as Easter eggs, rosaries, his cards, paintings, bookmarks, handkerchiefs, towels, etc. At 10 o'clock o. The abbot went to the monastery for a prayer service and to say goodbye to the monastery brethren. At 5 o'clock the skits gathered in the Elder's cell, where after prayer Fr. The abbot gave a general blessing and, to console the grieving brethren, said the following: “Fr. Abbot Mark, who recently died in the monastery, told me that when Father Fr. Macarius then predicted that after him Fr. Ambrose, Fr. Hilarion and Fr. Anatoly and that the eldership in the Skete will not become scarce. Among the subsequent elders there will be people even higher in spiritual talents than the great elders: Leo, Macarius, Ambrose and Anatoly...” At the 6th hour, the Elder [abbot Barsanuphius], accompanied by the skits and laymen who had gathered at the Holy Gate, went to the monastery, where, after saying goodbye to Fr. Archimandrite left for the station. Accompanied by Fr. abbot: his cell attendant, novice Grigory Ermakov, and novices John Belyaev and Mikhail Yezhov 467. 1913, November 12th. The skete guide, Hieromonk Kuksha, recently saw in a dream the deceased elder Schema-Archimandrite Barsanuphius, who, approaching him in the church, asked that after the Liturgy they sing: “Under Your mercy...” At the end of the mass, Fr. Kuksha asked the Elder if he liked the singing. “Yes,” answered Father, “and you always do that.” On this occasion, by order of the monastery commander, Fr. Theodosius in the Skete introduced the above-mentioned singing 468. The Optina archive was taken from the monastery after its closure in 1924 to Moscow. Currently he is in the OR RSL. During these years P.I. Plikhankov, the future father Barsanuphius, was a novice and monk in the Optina monastery. Hieromonk Arseny (Denisov). Poem “In Memory of Elder Barsanuphius.” See p. 685. In addition to the “Cell Notes”, the “Notebook” of Rev. is also kept as part of the Optina Archive in the RSL. Barsanuphia. It contains notes for memory, a schedule of cell studies, rough sketches in poetry and prose, drafts of letters, diary notes, sayings of the elders of Optina Pustyn, memorials about the dead. A male cenobitic monastery near the town of Meshchovsk, Kaluga province. Three Kozelsk churches, which in the past were part of the complex of the Ascension nunnery: Nikolskaya, Georgievskaya and Voznesenskaya (only the first of them has survived). Archpriest of St. Andrew's Cathedral in Kronstadt Fr. John Sergiev - holy righteous John of Kronstadt. The hermitage leader and elder Hieroschemamonk Anatoly (Zertsalov), under whose spiritual leadership P.I. Plikhankov (Fr. Barsanuphius) was from 1891 to 1894. Milk - outerwear, cloak. In this case, it’s a reward. Another spelling is kaliva. Apparently, a demon who appeared to the priest by God's permission. Hegumen Theodosius (in the world F.A. Popov; 1824–1903) - originally from Saratov province, entered Optina as a novice in 1845, then was in the Lebedyansky Monastery, Ploshchanskaya Hermitage. He was the abbot of the Przemysl Trinity Buttercup Monastery, and spent the last years of his life (since 1894) in retirement in Optina. He had the gift of insight and tender tears. For his biography and notes, see: Nilus. S. A. “The power of God and human weakness.” In which the hermits gathered for a common rule of prayer. This refers to one of the monastery dachas - farmsteads. Georgy the Recluse (in the world Georgy Maturin; 1789–1863) - from the military, in 1818 he left the service and entered the Zadonsky Mother of God Monastery of the Voronezh diocese as a novice. He shut himself up in a cold cell and spent five years in seclusion. The mentioned Fr. Porfiry is an Optina monk, publisher of the Recluse’s letters and writer of everyday life in Optina Pustyn. Warmth is the name given to wine diluted with water, which is usually used to wash down Holy Communion. Those. in the common “cathedral” cell where the brethren gathered. In the village of Berezichi, near Kozelsk. Hegumen Mark (in the world M.I. Chebykin; 1826–1909) in the brotherhood of Optina Pustyn since 1855. Since 1869 - abbot of the Meshchovsky Monastery, since 1879 - in the Borovsky Pafnutievsky Monastery. In 1882 he returned to Optina. Metropolitan Macarius (Bulgakov; 1816–1882), author of the multi-volume “History of the Russian Church” and a textbook on dogmatic theology. Nilova Hermitage was founded in 1554 on the island of Stoloben, on Lake Seliger, Rev. Nile, who labored for 27 years in this desert and was nicknamed Stolobensky (his memory is December 7). A small cloth that covers the face of a deceased monk. Mantle or mantle (also small schema) is the second degree of monastic tonsure, following after the ryassophore. Arius (256–336) – Alexandrian presbyter, heresiarch. He taught unorthodoxly about the essence of the Son of God; was condemned by the Ecumenical Council of 325, but managed to seduce many into his heresy. A dialectal word denoting lack, scarcity. Nicknamed "Turk", a wanderer. Probably a later postscript by Rev. Barsanuphia. Glinskaya Rozhdestvo-Bogoroditskaya Hermitage (now Ukraine, Sumy region) was founded in the 16th century. She experienced a spiritual revival in the 19th century. under Abbot Philaret (Danilevsky) and Elder Hieroschemamonk Vasily (Kishkin), a student of Rev. Paisiya (Velichkovsky). Closed in 1922, reopened in 1942 and closed again in 1961. Since 1994, the monastery has been revived. Sofroniev Nativity of the Theotokos Monastery (40 km from Putivl) was founded in ancient times. Known for the traditions of eldership, dating back to Rev. Paisia. In the world - T. A. Kononova, the founder of the women's community, which was later transformed into the Orenburg Assumption Monastery. Even before the official canonization in 1903, the holiness of St. Seraphim of Sarov was not in doubt among the Optina elders. Hieromonk Pamva (in the world P.I. Panov; 1822–1891), in Optina Pustyn since 1850. Since 1888 he was the confessor of pilgrims. The village of Nizhnie Pryski not far from Optina Pustyn (on the road to Kaluga). Trinity Lyutikov Monastery near Przemysl, Kaluga province, founded in the 16th century. After the revolution it was completely destroyed, many inhabitants died. Luzhetsky Mother of God Nativity Monastery, Moscow province, Mozhaisk district, founded in the 14th century. Rev. Ferapont. Currently being restored. The Alexander Nevsky Lavra was founded in the 18th century and is the tomb of noble and famous people of St. Petersburg. “Also internally.” – Note. Rev. Barsanuphia. Goalkeeper - gatekeeper; innkeeper - one who carries out obedience in a hotel for pilgrims. Lavrentiev Nativity Monastery near Kaluga, founded in the 16th century. Biography and notes of Abbot Theodosius (Popov). See: Nilus S.A. “The Power of God and Human Weakness.” Lebedyansky Trinity Monastery in the Tambov province, to which Fr. Theodosius entered initially and where he became a hieromonk. See: Nilus S. A. “The Power of God...” "The Lives of the Holy Ascetics of the Eastern Church." For this case, see also the article “Punishment”. “Probably from among those who read at the Feuerbach Academy and scholarly abstracts compiled by foreign Jews, such as “The Decomposition of Christianity,” “The Life of Jesus Christ” and similar poisonous concoctions, which they accepted on faith without any criticism, and were either afraid to ask the professors, or considered it unnecessary.” – Note. Rev. Barsanuphia. The Raifa Bogoroditskaya hermitage in Sviyazhsky district near Kazan was founded in 1613, by the 20th century. the brethren numbered about 80 people. On January 27, 1930, on the day of the celebration of the venerable fathers in Sinai and Raifa who were beaten, the monastery was destroyed, 9 inhabitants were shot, the rest died in exile (the restoration of the monastery began in 1992). The monastic cell rule, which contains 300 prayers of Jesus, 100 to the Mother of God, 50 to the Guardian Angel and 50 to all saints; in total - 500 prayers, which is why it is called “five hundred” - Note. Rev. Barsanuphia. That is, immoderately, without knowing the measure. Saint Innocent (Popov-Veniaminov; 1797–1879. Comm. March 31 and September 23) - Metropolitan of Moscow, an outstanding missionary, “Apostle of America.” Died on March 31st. Canonized in 1977 Saint Innocent (1680–1731. November 26 and February 9) – educator of the Yakuts and Buryats, miracle worker. Canonized in 1804 Bishop of Smolensk John (Sokolov; † 1869) ruled the diocese since 1866. Bishop of Smolensk Timofey (Kotlyarov; † 1862) ruled the diocese since 1834. Work on restoring the text of the “Cell Notes” of the Optina elder Barsanuphius continues. We hope that through the holy prayers of the Venerable One, “Cell Notes” will be published in full in the near future. – Ed. Full title: “Chronicle of the monastery in the name of St. John the Baptist and Baptist of the Lord, located near the Kozelskaya Vvedenskaya Optina Hermitage.” From January 1, 1900 to April 1902, the “Chronicle of the Skete” was kept, with the blessing of Elder Joseph (Litovkin), by the ryassophore monk Pavel Plikhankov (the future Elder Barsanuphius). Hieromonk Adrian (in the world - Arkhip Akilyev, 1859 - after 1915) is one of the confessors of Optina Pustyn. In 1915 he went to the front (of his own free will). “A very revered old man,” notes I. M. Belyaev, the Rev.’s brother, in his memoirs. Nikon of Optinsky. According to the new style - July 12: memory of the supreme apostles Peter and Paul - name day of Fr. Barsanuphius (in the world - Paul). Novice Mikhail Mikhailovich Yezhov, future archpriest (1882–1967), from the bourgeoisie of the Moscow province. Entered the Optina monastery in 1909. In 1915–1916. returned to his homeland (due to domestic circumstances). This rule is still sacredly observed: after the Liturgy in the monastery Church of the Baptist, which is sung in a znamenny chant, they sing “We take refuge under Your mercy, Virgin Mary...”. This peculiar “commandment” of Elder Barsanuphius is also fulfilled in the Kozelsky St. Nicholas Church - they sing “Under Your mercy...” (kneeling), but not after the Liturgy, but after every evening service. You might be interested in: