Глава III

Monk Ioannikios, a Valaam monk, nephew of Elder Theodore, carried out obedience in the Lavra during the sale of candles. He was very friendly towards the young men and told them a lot about various elders, especially about Valaam and about Fr. Leonida. Thanks to these stories, Dimitri Alexandrovich wanted to get to know the latter and entered into spiritual correspondence with him. At the end of his life he lived in Optina Hermitage and adopted the schema with the name Leonid. The spiritual aspirations of the young ascetic, his zeal, and zeal for prayer withstood a severe test. The first enemies on the path of salvation were his family, according to the gospel word. Alexander Semenovich assigned a man to serve his son who was devoted to him to the point of self-forgetfulness; he was an old man of about 60 years old named Dorimedont, who had served his master faithfully for a century. He was, so to speak, the overseer of all the actions of Dimitri Alexandrovich, nothing escaped his keen eye, he reported everything to his master - his father, whom he considered the absolute ruler of his son. Tempered in serf life, he revered Dimitri Alexandrovich, more than a serf, the property of Alexander Semenovich. In his opinion, Dimitri Alexandrovich should not have wanted anything without his father’s will. This servant was at all times an informer and a traitor to his young master before his old father. This news was difficult for Alexander Semenovich. He remembered then about his son’s desire expressed on the way to St. Petersburg and was now convinced that it was not a childish whim. He then wrote about everything to the head of the school, Count Sivers, his former comrade in the service as pages, and asked him to keep an eye on the pupil Brianchaninov; He also wrote to his relative Sukhareva, asking her to distract his son from his intention. The school authorities took their own measures, transferring Brianchaninov from a private apartment to a government apartment, within the walls of the Mikhailovsky Engineering Castle, under strict supervision, and Sukhareva, an influential person, took care to bring to the attention of the then Metropolitan of St. Petersburg Seraphim 44 that her nephew Brianchaninov, very beloved by the sovereign emperor, had made acquaintance with the Lavra monks, that Lavra confessor Athanasius inclines him to monasticism and that if this is found out at court, then he, the Metropolitan, will not avoid trouble. The Metropolitan became alarmed, summoned his confessor Afanasy and gave him a severe reprimand, forbidding him from henceforth accepting Brianchaninov and Chikhachev to confession. These circumstances were difficult for Dimitri Alexandrovich, which constrained the freedom of his spiritual activity; he decided to appear before the Metropolitan himself and explain himself personally. The Metropolitan at first did not believe the selfless aspiration of the young man when he, in a conversation, announced to him his indispensable desire to enter monasticism. The Metropolitan, assuming only ambitious spirits in him, directly declared that since he did not have an academic degree from theological academies, he, Brianchaninov, could not be elevated above the rank of archimandrite in the church hierarchy. The young man responded to this by saying that he was not looking for dignities, but for the only salvation of the soul, which consisted in escaping from the world. The Metropolitan said that he would not allow him to be received in the monasteries of his diocese. Brianchaninov meekly objected that if the whole of Russia refused to accept him into the monastery, then he would find an Orthodox monastery somewhere outside the Fatherland. Then, seeing the young man’s adamant and sincere desire, the Metropolitan allowed him to continue to go to the Lavra to see his confessor. Such was Brianchaninov’s desire for monastic life. This was not a whimsical desire to present himself as an original in society, nor was it the result of simple disappointment with life, of which he had not yet had time to experience the bitterness and pleasures. It was a pure intention, alien to any worldly calculations, a sincere, holy feeling of Divine love, which alone is capable of mastering the being of the soul with such power that no obstacles are able to overcome it. The practice of monastic life clearly indicates that those who sincerely choose it are ready for all kinds of donations and complete self-sacrifice. These are the feelings that pour out in “Lamentation,” where the author says: “The heart has grown cold towards the world, towards its services, towards its greatness, towards its sweetness. I decided to leave the world, to devote my earthly life to the knowledge of Christ, to assimilate Christ. With this intention, he began to consider the monastic and lay clergy. And here I found work, which was increased for me by my youth and inexperience. But I saw everything up close and upon entering the monastery I did not find anything new or unexpected. There were so many obstacles to this entry! I leave it to mention everyone, my very body cried out to me: “Where are you taking me? I'm so weak and sick. You have seen monasteries, you have become briefly acquainted with them: life in them is unbearable for you, both because of my weakness, and because of your upbringing, and for all other reasons.” Reason confirmed the arguments of the flesh. But there was a voice, a voice in my heart, I think, the voice of conscience or, perhaps, a Guardian Angel, telling me the will of God, because the voice was decisive and commanding. He told me: it is your duty to do this, an indispensable duty. The voice was so strong that the ideas of the mind, the pitiful, solid, apparently convictions of the flesh, seemed insignificant before it.” 45 It is worth mentioning some cases that predicted the future fate of the young man Brianchaninov. One day he was walking with Chikhachev and Feodorov, his third comrade, along Vladimirskaya Street in the city of St. Petersburg. Suddenly, from the gate of one house, opposite the Church of the Vladimir Mother of God, a holy fool woman, who lived on food from the owner of the house (her name is Vasilisa), runs out of the gate, bows to the land of Brianchaninov and says: “Father, blessed priest, bless.” Another time, Dimitri Aleksandrovich and Chikhachev went to visit his comrade, engineer warrant officer Meltzer. Meltzer had an orderly, a pious man who deeply respected Brianchaninov; he was very ill at that time. Meltzer invited Brianchaninov to visit the patient and, in a comradely manner with a laugh, pushed Brianchaninov into the door of the room where the patient lay. He, seeing such a playful prank of his master, began to reproach him, saying: “Why are you pushing the bishop, don’t you see that he is a bishop?” Thus, through the mouths of two believers, in the simplicity of the hearts of God’s servants, the high calling of the young man was pronounced, who sought in monasticism the only need for the salvation of the soul. Apart from cases and circumstances depending on the will of people, nature itself put obstacles to the pious intentions of young Demetrius. In the spring of 1826, he fell ill with a serious chest illness, which had all the signs of consumption, so that he was unable to go out. Sovereign Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich ordered the life physicians Creighton and Villiers to take care of the patient and report to him weekly about the progress of the disease. Doctors repeatedly informed Dimitri Alexandrovich about the danger of his situation; he considered himself on the threshold of life and, with frequent prayers and complacent patience, prepared for the transition to eternity. “I was an eyewitness of this time,” says his brother Pyotr Alexandrovich in his notes. – The folded books of the holy fathers surrounded him. He read, compared them, and tirelessly delved into their study. The diet prescribed by medicine - Icelandic moss jelly - constituted his obligatory fast, and prayer, which was already graciously acting in him at that time, as he himself conveyed to me in the last years of his life, helped his vigil. This feat of illness can already be considered as the threshold of monasticism, as if an experience of ascetic life in the strictest conditions thereof.” But it did not happen as the famous doctors of the capital predicted: the disease received a favorable turn and served for the patient as experimental proof that without the will of God the most urgent laws of nature are powerless to influence us. All the pious exercises of Dimitri Alexandrovich served as preparation for the decisive revolution that he had to make in order to realize his long-standing intentions and desires. But in order to carry out this revolution, that is, to completely break all ties with the world, a person was needed who would facilitate this break, who would carry him along with the power of his spirit, he needed his Moses to lead the new Israelite out of the Egypt of worldly life. The above-mentioned hieromonk Leonid appeared to Demetrius Alexandrovich as such a Moses. Father Leonid was distinguished by spiritual wisdom, holiness of life, and experience in monastic feats; under his leadership, many true ascetics of piety and mentors of monasticism were formed. Dimitri Alexandrovich had heard a lot about this elder from the Lavra monks. Finally, the opportunity presented itself to meet him. Father Leonid arrived on business in St. Petersburg and stayed at the Nevsky Lavra. There, in a lonely conversation with this representative of the then monastic asceticism, Dimitri Alexandrovich felt such an attraction to this elder that it was as if he lived with him for a century: these were great moments in which the elder gave birth to him spiritually as his son. Impressed by this first conversation, Dimitri Alexandrovich spoke afterwards to his friend Chikhachev as follows: “Fr. Leonid; Now it’s decided: I ask to resign from service and follow the elder, I will surrender to him with all my soul and I will seek the only salvation of my soul in solitude.” After this first meeting, Dimitri Alexandrovich no longer belonged to the world, a decisive revolution was carried out, it only took some time to finally unravel the worldly ties. Intending to completely leave the service and retire to a monastery, Dimitri Alexandrovich first had to endure a great moral struggle: on the one hand, with his parents, on the other, with the powers that be. This struggle cost him a lot of effort. Just as his physical strength was constantly undermined by illness, so now he had to prepare himself morally in order to accept the pressure from the parental and state authorities, who sought to suppress and crush what was most dear and desirable to him. He endured a severe struggle in his young years - physical and moral; but just as in the first he always triumphed in the strength of his spirit over the weakness of the flesh, so in the second he appeared as a skillful and reliable fighter against the elements of earthly life, which promised him much sweet, great and glorious. In this last struggle, his strong character was finally developed, necessary for going through a difficult monastic life, requiring complete selflessness, special steadfastness of will, fearlessness, constancy and readiness to any extreme. This is the door through which the young ascetic had to enter the narrow and regrettable path of monasticism. In June 1826, Dimitri Alexandrovich received a three-month leave from service and, to improve his health, went to his parents’ house, his homeland. Knowing his father’s ambitious intentions and not wanting to upset his parents by decisively announcing his will to them, Dimitri Alexandrovich tried to gradually and carefully prepare them for the proposed change in life, but this did not help. Alexander Semenovich could not come to terms with the thought of his first-born son becoming a monk. He was angry with him, flatly refused, and rejected him from himself as a disobedient son. A meek and sensitive young man had to endure everything, obedient to the commandment of the Savior: He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. (Matthew 10:37). With deep sorrow, having not received the desired consent, he left his parents' house and returned to the capital in September. Here another storm was preparing to meet him, no less formidable: he had to deal with a higher power, had to defend his cherished desire even before the monarch, to whom he was entirely indebted for his upbringing, education and gratitude for his gracious, high attention to him. It was difficult for him to convince worldly people of the truthfulness of his spiritual aspirations, which were understandable only to a certain handful of monks in the Nevsky Lavra. What was needed here was courageous determination; it was necessary to resist only with selflessness and willpower, and not with arguments and obvious instructions. It is clear that the dispute was unequal: it was necessary to either wait, give in, or show an example of invincible courage, martyrdom, direct confession. Soon after arriving from vacation, Dimitri Alexandrovich submitted a request to be dismissed from service with the goal of immediately going to the monastery upon dismissal. The school authorities found it impossible to give effect to this petition and demanded that Brianchaninov pass the final exam and then exercise the legal right to ask for dismissal from service in addition to this authorities. This forced Brianchaninov to take up science again; in December he passed the exam, and in terms of the number of points he retained his primacy in comparison with his fellow graduates, although he could no longer be compared with them as a competitor, since the final graduation took place in November. Thus, having completed his settlements with the school, he again submitted a petition for dismissal from service through the Engineering Department. Sovereign Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich, having learned about this request and about Brianchaninov’s desire to go to the monastery, instructed his august brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, 46 to dissuade everyone’s beloved pupil from such an undertaking. In early January 1827, Dimitri Alexandrovich was required to go to the palace to the Grand Duke. All the top management of the engineering school was gathered there. A nineteen-year-old youth with a trembling heart but a strong will appeared before the meeting. The Grand Duke informed him that the Emperor, knowing his abilities for service, instead of resigning, intended to transfer him to the guard and give him a position there that would satisfy both his, Brianchaninov’s, pride and ambition. The young man responded to this by saying that, without sufficient funds, he could not serve in the guard. “The sovereign deigns to take care of this,” interrupted the Grand Duke. “My disordered health,” the young man continued, “which His Majesty knows from the reports of the doctors who treated me, puts me in the complete impossibility of carrying out official work, and, foreseeing an imminent death, I must take care of preparing myself for eternity, for which I am choosing the monastic rank.” The Grand Duke noted, that he could get service in the southern climate of Russia and that it was much more honorable to save his soul while remaining in the world. Brianchaninov replied: “To remain in the world and want to be saved is, your Highness, the same as standing in a fire and wanting not to burn.” submission, but then, seeing Brianchaninov’s inflexibility, he began to shout menacingly at him as if he had disobeyed the highest will; he turned pale. Seeing such a change in the face of the sickly young man, His Highness, changing his tone, said: “What? Scared? Are you giving up monasticism? “On the contrary, Your Highness,” Brianchaninov answered respectfully but firmly. “I ask you to show me the mercy of dismissing me from service.” Then the Grand Duke resolutely objected to him that, since he remained adamant in his stubbornness, the highest will was declared to him: the Emperor refused to release him from service and did him only the favor of allowing him to choose the fortress to which he should be sent to serve. Brianchaninov rejected his voluntary election, saying: “Allow me, Your Imperial Highness, to begin my monasticism by renouncing my will in this election, leaving me to carry out the orders of Your Highness.” The Grand Duke turned to Count Opperman, his assistant with the rank of Inspector General of Engineers, who pointed to Dinaburg 47 . The Grand Duke approved this instruction, and that same evening Brianchaninov was appointed to the Dinaburg engineering team with the order to leave St. Petersburg to the place of new service within 24 hours. The head of the Dinaburg team at that time was Major General Klimenko. He was informed about Brianchaninov's mood and was instructed to have strict supervision over his behavior. At first his comrades were not entirely trusting of Dimitri Alexandrovich, but then they changed their minds when they saw his true piety, meekness and prudence. They even became devoted to him, sharing his work in the service due to his painful condition. Officer Brianchaninov's official duties consisted of monitoring the production of various buildings and earthworks in the fortress. He was so weak in health that he was forced to stay hopelessly in his apartment for several weeks at a time, and therefore necessarily needed the help of his comrades regarding his official duties. Only one correspondence with Fr. Leonid supported Dimitri Alexandrovich in this spiritual loneliness, since he was separated from his beloved friend Chikhachev. In the fall of 1827, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich visited the Dinaburg fortress and, having experienced the physical incapacity of officer Brianchaninov for service, was inclined to his indispensable desire to receive his resignation. Seraphim (S.V. Glagolevsky, 1763–1843) – Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg from 1821 to 1843. T. 1. Ascetic. experiments. pp. 560–561. Mikhail Pavlovich Romanov (1798–1849) – Grand Duke. With the accession of his brother, Emperor Nicholas I, to the throne, he was appointed inspector general for engineering instead. Dinaburg is a fortress founded in 1275 by the Livonian Order, destroyed by Ivan IV the Terrible. In the 1810s - 1830s. designed and built again, currently in Daugavpils (Latvia).