Н. Н. Животов.. “Строй...”

Dawn begins. Kronstadt is still sleeping and only the “posadskaya goal” has begun to crawl out of its “cracks” - dirty, stinking corners, in low, dilapidated houses. “God, do people really live here,” I thought, walking around the town’s slums for the first time, as if they had grown into the ground. It turned out that they not only live, but live denser and more crowded than, for example, in almshouses or barracks. The bunks are made in rows, and in some places even two floors high! Bare boards, a dim, unheated hut, a foul, unbearably odorous atmosphere - these are the general signs of the townspeople's “cracks.” I will not describe in more detail the disgusting situation of Kronstadt poverty, because there is nothing exceptional or special in it: the same situation and poverty, and if poverty, but certainly unsanitary dirt can be found everywhere in Russia and wherever there is poverty, there is dirt, where there is poverty, there is stench; We don’t have ceremonial, “decorated” poverty, as, for example, in Germany. Although cleanliness essentially costs nothing, among Russians it is the exclusive property of the rich... It had just struck five o’clock in the morning when figures, male and female, in some kind of “masquerade” costumes began to jump out of the wretched town huts: some in a sweatshirt and large galoshes, some in a zipun with tufts of cotton sticking out; on the head there is a frame of a top hat, a straw hat with holes in it, and the like. Everyone is in a hurry, as if they were running on business... - If I hadn’t been late, I wouldn’t have left... This is the only thing on everyone’s mind, because if “they’re late” or “he” leaves, it’s a day of hunger strike and spending the night in the open air. Of course, this “he” is Father John, the “father” and the only sad person of all the Kronstadt poverty under the fence... Without him, half of the “posad people” would probably have long ago suffered from cold and hunger. “Where are you in such a hurry?” I asked one ragamuffin when I first met the “golden company of Kronstadt.” “In formation,” he answered, “whoever is late for the distribution will not receive it afterwards.” I also went after those who had fled... It was cold outside and still completely dark; There are no streetlights in these streets in Kronstadt, so you have to walk almost by touch. We walked several streets until the dome of St. Andrew's Cathedral appeared on the horizon. – Where to “build?” – the goldmines asked each other... - At Father's, at Father's... He is not serving in the cathedral today. When I approached the house where Father John lives, several hundred ragged people had already gathered there and people continued to flock from all sides. “Get in line, get in line,” voices were heard. Hundreds of gathered Goli began to stand along the fence, starting from the house of Father John towards the “House of Diligence”. Men stood on one side, women stood on the opposite panel. In less than five minutes, a long ribbon of human figures, about half a mile in length, was formed. The poor people stood in three columns, that is, hardly three people each, so they occupied the entire panel; there were much fewer women than men. For a long time I walked along the line of the “formation”, peering into these emaciated faces, emaciated, ragged figures... On each face one could read a whole everyday drama, if not a tragedy... There were young people, almost youths and gray-haired elders, I came across on crutches, wretched ones, with shaking heads, with disfigured faces... Yes, such a collection of “orphans” is difficult to find; if each of them individually is not capable of touching the viewer’s heart, then the collection of these “children of Father John” can make the hardest heart tremble! Even if most of them are drunkards or vicious people, even if they themselves are to blame for their situation, but these are people... people who have suffered, who are suffering and have nothing in the future but suffering! Here is a former student at the medical academy, here is a court councilor, a lieutenant, a former millionaire merchant, here is a family nobleman with a big name... This one has a family and a sick wife, that one has an old mother, sisters... They showed me an old man who has been eating only bread and water for twenty years, his right hand has dried up, he has lost the opportunity to work and has been living on the alms of Father John for twenty years. For twenty years he has not had his own corner, has not seen a bowl of soup, and if it were not for Father John, he would have died of hunger long ago. I asked you to show me this old man. The unfortunate man stood at the rear of the “formation” in the first column. “They came to admire,” he venomously turned to me with reproach when I stopped opposite him... The old man's appearance was stern; drooping gray eyebrows almost covered his eyes, and a scraggly gray beard hung down to his chest; deep wrinkles and a yellow tint of the skin spoke more eloquently than words about the old man’s experience... His tall figure was somehow hunched over, and his right arm hung motionless... “Take it, old man,” I extended my hand to him with a credit card. “Keep it for yourself or give it to them,” he answered, shaking his head towards the “line” and not accepting my hand, “I’m not a beggar, my right hand has dried up, and my left has not yet accepted alms... - But you’ve been living on alms for twenty years, haven’t you? - Lie! For twenty years Father John has been feeding me, but I have not asked for alms and have not accepted alms. - So if you take from Father John, why don’t you want to take from me? “I don’t know you and I don’t want to know, but Father John is my father, he doesn’t give his own, but God’s, he gives what he receives for us from God.” You give me two kopecks like a beggar, and Father John gives me like a relative; like he gives to a friend lovingly... He would give a thousand rubles if there were fewer of us, for him money does not have the same value as it does to you, sir... I stopped the conversation there, but then I got to know the old man better; His story is so interesting that I will return to him later... It was not yet six o’clock when a priest came out of the gate of a house well known to the “gold miners”... The crowd swayed, but everyone remained in place, exposing only their heads. Father John took off his hat, bowed to his “children,” crossed himself at the church visible in the distance, and walked along the “line.” - One, two, three... ten... twenty... The twentieth received a ruble to share with nineteen colleagues. Again: “one, two, three... ten... twenty” and again the ruble. So until the very end of the “build”. As soon as the count ended, the entire crowd rushed from their seats to the priest. Some knelt down, some caught the priest’s hand for a kiss, some asked for blessings and prayers; some told about their needs... And Father John satisfied everyone, refused no one; it was clear that the venerable shepherd had become close to this environment, understood them without words, by one hint, just as the crowd understood him by just gestures... Surrounded and accompanied by his “children,” Father John slowly moves towards the Cathedral of St. Andrew the First-Called (or the Church of the “House of Diligence”) for the service of early mass. The priest disappeared at the door of the church and the crowd scattered throughout the city, only an insignificant part remained on the porch to collect alms. These are professional beggars, of whom, however, there are relatively very few, and in vain some people believe that Father John multiplies the number of beggars. The “system” of the Goldenrods, as I call the beggars of Father John, was formed a long time ago, about thirty years ago, but it has been disciplined, developed and multiplied in recent years. According to the most moderate estimate, the number of poor people living at the expense of Father John reaches a thousand people, and all of them receive a few kopecks every morning and evening. Regardless of this, a shelter, a workhouse and twelve charitable institutions were set up for them at the expense of the Kronstadt shepherd. I mentioned before that the maintenance of shelters, hospitals, workshops and other institutions at the Kronstadt “House of Diligence” costs Father John fifty to sixty thousand rubles annually, not counting morning and evening distributions, as well as random distributions, more or less large. The poor are accustomed to looking at the care of the venerable shepherd for them as something due, almost legal. If it sometimes happens that during the division the “system” receives two kopecks per person, instead of the expected three, then loud voices of protest are heard: - Don’t take anything, guys, don’t take anything, don’t. So tomorrow the priest will give you a penny. Well, are we going to spend the night on the street or something (the night shelter charges three kopecks per person). - Mitrich, go as a deputy to the priest; say that we don’t take less than three. However, these voices never achieved victory and remained in an insignificant minority. Neither “Mitrich” nor anyone else would ever dare to protest, but instead they would make noise, make noise, take, of course, what they give, and go home. Father John himself views caring for the Kronstadt poor as his duty. In recent years, he does not have time to allocate “systems,” but entrusts this to someone close to him, and when he leaves for Moscow or his homeland, he leaves a certain amount for all days so that the poor receive three or five kopecks every morning and evening (depending on what resources the shepherd has). “Stroy” adores his “father” and “breadwinner”; the father’s moral influence on him is enormous. One day the following incident occurred. Former police chief Golovachev told Father John that his beggars were engaged in robbery and that one of them tore off Mr. B.’s expensive beaver hat when he was driving along a back street in the evening. On the same day upon receiving this news, Father John gathered his “formation” and announced the unpleasant news to him. “Stroy” silently listened to the priest, and dozens of voices answered: - This is not our doing, father. Today we will find out and find the culprit. Indeed, on the same day in the evening the beaver cap was presented to Father John... In general, it is enough for the priest to hint about any desire for the poor to immediately take all measures to fulfill the will of their “father.” “Story” undergoes quite frequent modifications. One can name several dozen (and perhaps hundreds) of poor people who, under the influence of the shepherd of Father John and with his material support and help, have now become, if not rich, then relatively sufficient workers: some received good jobs, others became traders, others left Kronstadt and St. Petersburg, going to work in the provinces. But there are always more people arriving than people leaving, which is why the number of “systems” is growing every year. Of course, among the masses there are vicious people, there are also professional beggars, but it can be argued that there are more good people than bad people, and more unfortunate people than vicious people, even many more. Father John knows about the tares of his flock and tries to ignore them whenever possible, but he never singles them out from the “order” when distributing alms, guided by the general rule: “Give to those who ask you.” And if this “beggar takes alms to the tavern - this is a matter of his conscience, he will be responsible for it. Father John, as we saw above, performs all priestly duties over a long thirty-five-year period, up to and including teaching the law, along with all other priests, he has his own parishioners, services, and so on, as in all other churches with one or more priests; but the activity that we will talk about below goes beyond the “parish” of the Kronstadt St. Andrew’s Cathedral, just as in general it goes beyond the duties of the spiritual father and shepherd of the church. This activity is “extra-normal,” so to speak, “or super-normal,” and it is this that gives Father John that moral character that, like a magnet, attracts the hearts of people, forcing them to look for a priest who is modest and does not stand out in any way in appearance or position. In our place we talked about the extraordinary popularity of Father John, who is an example of both virtue and purely Christian modesty, and here we only want to protest against the reproaches of some skeptics who almost blame Father John for his popularity. We can testify that Father John Sergiev’s right hand constantly does not know what his left hand is doing. He avoids any manifestation of gratitude, hides from various deputations or demonstrations, and repeatedly, at the sight of a crowd of thousands meeting him, he exclaimed: – What should I do with them? Teach me where to hide from them... Father John tried to ask his admirers from the church pulpit to behave more modestly and not arrange triumphs for him; during rare conversations with representatives of the press, he simply begged not to print about cases of healing by his prayers and not to write about his activities at all; Finally, he came up with various secret entrances and exits, but all in vain! The more he avoided publicity and popularity, the more he was persecuted, so that, having finally given up on everything, he became completely indifferent to everything around him and did not seem to notice what was happening around him. Whether he is crushed by the crowd, he will stand and wait until someone frees him, or the besiegers themselves become more lenient; whether they meet him or see him off, he bows, patiently listens to everything and, like an outside witness, goes on his way. During all thirty-five years of priestly service, Father John not only never caused any demonstration, but did not even give the slightest reason to suspect him of wanting to become the subject of demonstrative celebration. Moreover, when he noticed only a desire on someone’s part to exploit his popularity (and there were many such attempts), he abruptly and decisively broke off his relationship. We say all this to put the charitable activities of the Kronstadt shepherd in proper form. A person who himself asks the “House of Diligence” how much he sent him or donated at that time; who, receiving a sealed package with money with one hand, immediately hands it to the person asking, without opening it; finally, who gives to the have-nots everything that he receives from the haves, and this “everything” often equals hundreds of thousands of rubles, such a person cannot seek popularity simply because he does not need it for anything. A person who refuses to visit someone who offers him a thousand rubles, but goes to the basement of a beggar, who, in addition to visiting, must also be given material assistance from his own pocket, cannot be suspected of any self-interest... There is no place for petty goals of earthly, perishable wealth. Let us now, after this reservation, move on to the details of Father John’s charity. We have seen dozens of cases when the prayer of Father John even performed miracles, regenerated the soul and heart of a person, brought about a moral upliftment of fallen spirit, healed bodily ailments, and so on. It would be frivolous to think that every sick person who turned to the prayer of Father John at a critical moment would certainly receive healing. Then it would be some kind of clinic that everyone would turn to “in case of emergency,” as they now turn to Baron Vrevsky and various healers. – If it helps, that’s good, but if it doesn’t help, you still have to die – the doctors refused to treat... If we know hundreds of cases when Father John’s prayer saved the sick and helped the dying, then we also know thousands of cases when they wrote to him and went “at random,” but did not receive any help. Pray, the Lord will help you according to your faith,” Father John always says, and in this sense he prays himself. Obviously, if prayer is turned to “just in case,” like a straw that a drowning man grabs at, then there is no point in expecting any help from Father John, because he is, first of all, a sincere and deeply religious man, living according to the letter and spirit of the Gospel Scriptures. On the contrary, those comparatively few who found moral or physical healing from Father John were all, without exception, people who were either devout or imbued at the moment when they spoke with Father John with a firm and unshakable faith in the possibility of the miraculous power of God, sent down through the prayer of people strong in faith and pious life. Whether they are right or not, whether we are dealing here with the Providence of God or a simple accident - we will leave it to everyone’s conscience. Our task is to truthfully convey only the facts, without trying to give them a scientific or canonical interpretation. Let us now move on to another equally interesting and venerable branch of Father John’s charitable assistance. There can no longer be two opinions here. The official charitable activities of Father John focus mainly on the Kronstadt “House of Industriousness”, and partly on the “House of Industriousness” built on the same type in St. Petersburg. From the very moment he entered the pastoral field, Father John began to take care of improving the life of the poorest part of the population of his parish and all of Kronstadt. Back in the sixties, he spoke in the press about the establishment of “Houses of Diligence.” In 1874, on his initiative, a parish guardianship was established at St. Andrew's Cathedral. "Church guardianship," said Father John at its opening, "is an institution of the first Christians of apostolic times, who, out of brotherly love, cared for each other so much that not one of them was left poor (Acts 4:34). It is especially necessary for us. God grant that it may be with us in the same spirit of unanimity and love." Soon, under the patronage of the parish church, a wonderful charitable structure arose, based on the unshakable principles: “work and love.” Thanks to the support of such figures (as Baron Buxhoeveden, General Lapshina, Doctor Dvoryashin and others), a tree grew from the “House of Diligence”, covering with its branches up to twenty cities of Russia, in which now poor workers can receive help not as alms, but as payment for their work... We have reports for all the years of the existence of the Kronstadt “House of Diligence”, and from them the main feature of Father John’s activities is especially visible - amazing modesty. Father John is not on the board of the “House”, neither as chairman, nor as an honorary manager or manager; all honorary titles and positions were distributed to others, and yet the participation of these “others” and Father John is expressed in the following figures: “others” contribute one and a half, many two thousand rubles a year to the society’s treasury, and Father John fifty to sixty thousand... It is necessary to build an outbuilding or a building to house an overnight shelter - “others” draw up plans, estimates, manage the construction; and Father John is on the side... he gives money for construction... only!