Biography of Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov

Before you is a book that, by the will of people, lay hidden for almost a century and a half. But people are not able to do anything without the participation of the will of God. The book contains the full text of the manuscript of the life of St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov), Bishop of the Caucasus and Black Sea, compiled by his close disciples. The biography of the saint was published in Volume I of his works in such a shortened and censored form that the present edition is a completely different book. Now, by the will of God, we have had the opportunity, having read this deeply edifying narrative in full, to discover for ourselves many previously unknown features of the life and spiritual appearance of St. Ignatius. Before you is a book that, by the will of people, lay hidden for almost a century and a half. But people are not able to do anything without the participation of the will of God. Therefore, now, at an opportune time, through the incomprehensible destinies of the Lord, the hitherto hidden book is brought to light. The book contains the full text of the manuscript of the life of St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov), Bishop of the Caucasus and Black Sea, compiled by his close disciples. The biography of the saint was published in Volume I of his works in such a shortened and censored form that the present edition is a completely different book. Now, by the will of God, we have had the opportunity, having read this deeply edifying narrative in full, to discover for ourselves many previously unknown features of the life and spiritual appearance of St. Ignatius. Human censorship based on false reason reduced everything that it could not contain. This becomes clearly visible when comparing what was in life initially and what remains. Even some episodes from the saint’s childhood were shortened, not to mention the difficult moments of his relationship with the Optina elders and some famous hierarchs, for example, Saint Philaret (Drozdov) of Moscow. The activities of Bishop Ignatius at the Caucasian See did not fit into the censors’ concepts so much that these chapters, most edifying in spiritual and historical terms, were thrown out entirely. The personality of Saint Ignatius turned out to be so extraordinary that he could not fit into his contemporary era. It turned out to be easier to reduce everything that was most striking in his character, to erase from his life everything that did not correspond to the concepts of “men in cases” who cared about “no matter what happens” (A.P. Chekhov). Thus, the published life turned out to be shortened several times compared to the manuscript! What remained on paper was an emasculated, popular print image of the saint. But even where only what is “permitted by censorship” remains, the image of the saint surprises, amazes, and captivates everyone who comes into contact with it, just as his very word captivates. Saint Ignatius was not brought up in the seminary school in the spirit of deadening scholasticism, as he himself says about himself: “It is impossible for me to think about a diocese... in terms of a completely separate character from all the bishops. They are graduates of the Academies, and I am a graduate of the monastery, therefore, I am a decidedly backward person, in no way suitable for the whole composition.” 1 The word of the saint is his living experience. This word of the cross flies like a victorious banner on the battlefield of passions, gathering hosts of those seeking salvation under its life-giving shadow. This living word is sharper than any two-edged sword: it penetrates to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Heb. 4:12). It cannot be contained, the sons of this age cannot contain it. In the 19th century, even the texts of the holy fathers of the Orthodox Church, which were written many centuries ago, were carefully censored, erased, and cleaned up. Sedition was sought out everywhere. From the correspondence of St. Ignatius with the Optina elders 2 it is known how much work had to be put in for any translation of a patristic book or the life of an ascetic of piety to see the light of day, even in a heavily censored and abbreviated form. For years, the manuscript was passed from authority to authority, from one bureaucrat to another. Everywhere they were afraid to take responsibility for the publication. The manuscripts gathered dust for years, and many were lost forever. Saint Ignatius writes about the book of letters of George, the Recluse of Zadonsk, which was supposed to be presented at the Academy conference to receive the Demidov Prize: “If you want to know my opinion about whether the book of letters of the Holy Recluse can receive a prize, then I tell you my opinion: it cannot, having significant spiritual dignity and not having carnal, for the letters were spoken by grace, without the improvement of human speech. The Word of grace cannot be known by a carnal man, who looks only at the appearance of the word, and if this external word does not have an external structure, then he swears at everything: for he has foolishness.” 3 Many books were published only thanks to the intervention of Saint Ignatius himself and other enlightened hierarchs who understood the meaning of the patristic word. The Holy Fathers were published despite censorship, with incredible difficulties. The creations of St. Ignatius were banned from publication (see this edition, p. 166). Many years have passed since then. Heavy cleansing storms swept over our Fatherland. Now we live in a completely different country. But, as Saint Ignatius wrote, “The future of Russia is in the hands of Divine Providence. . Russia is destined for enormous importance.” 4 Today's Russia differs in many ways, almost in everything, from the Russia of the times of St. Ignatius. Much has gone forever. Much, but not all. There is no need to indulge in sadness about that “Russia that we lost.” More was gained in fiery trials. First of all, the hosts of new martyrs and confessors of Russia - thousands of thousands of new holy prayer books for Rus'. Others will come after them. Perhaps among them there will be those who today selflessly revive holy churches and restore monasteries. The former Holy Rus', today's and future Russia are bound, like links of a single inextricable golden chain, by hosts of saints. We and our ancestors are united primarily by spiritual ideals. And as long as these are the ideals of the Gospel and Orthodoxy, we will remain the same Russian people, not so much losing in trials and becoming impoverished, but gaining and enriching ourselves. One of the most beautiful links in this golden chain of Russian holiness is St. Ignatius of Stavropol. This saint is God’s greatest gift to Russia and the Russian Church, and especially to Russian monasticism. He was not understood and appreciated by his contemporaries. Time, this best judge, showed the greatness of the saint, his wisdom, foresight, the gift of the deepest prophecy, which stretched forward for many centuries. The significance of the personality and written works of Saint Ignatius is not immediately revealed, but is gradually understood by his descendants. Probably, even now the saint has not yet been revealed and not fully understood. Once one of the contemporaries of St. Basil the Great said: “If you come across a saying of St. Basil somewhere and you have nowhere to write it down, write it down on your clothes.” With full right, the same can be said about St. Ignatius. There will be no exaggeration if we call him Basil the Great of our time. After St. Ignatius, there was not a single saint in our Church who would have had such an influence on the fate of monasticism, the Church, Orthodoxy, and therefore Russia as a whole, since Russia is, first of all, its Church. The books of Saint Ignatius are not only spiritual, ascetic writings. The saint is the greatest artist of words, combining in himself the best features of great Russian literature, brilliant secular education and holiness of life, which gave him the most extensive spiritual knowledge. The words of Saint Ignatius are characterized by subtle, lofty poetry. At the same time he is an ascetic, an artist and a philosopher. Nowadays, in a resurgent Russia, the books of St. Ignatius occupy a worthy place in the best libraries of the country. The time will come, and they will be studied in educational institutions along with the works of the great Russian classics. In the life of St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov), now offered to the pious reader, compiled by his closest students and associates, the hidden personality traits of the great saint are revealed, previously unknown facts of his life become apparent. We hope that the saint will become closer to his many admirers, and for those who know him superficially or do not know him at all, thanks to this book, the first meeting with the saint will take place, and the reader will discover a rich, hitherto unknown world of his creations. In any case, the book will not leave anyone indifferent. We ask readers to pray for those people who preserved this manuscript for us and made its publication possible: first of all, for the director of the Russian National Library Vladimir Nikolaevich Zaitsev, head. Manuscript department Lyudmila Igorevna Buchina and bibliographers Tatyana Nikolaevna Semenova and Yulia Robertovna Redkina, who prepared the text for publication. The manuscript “Biography of Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov” is stored in the collections of the Russian National Library (St. Petersburg) in the collection of individual receipts (RO RNL. F. 1000, op. 2, No. 531). She entered the National Library in 1924 from the Central District Library. 5 Written by a clerk's hand, bound, manuscript volume - 451 sheets, includes: introduction, 17 chapters of text and appendices. This extensive work coincides in the main outline of the narrative with the famous “Biography of Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov, compiled by his closest students.” It was first published in St. Petersburg in 1881 6 and was reprinted several times as part of the 1st volume of collected works. The manuscript contains many additional materials not included in the previously published version. Part of this material was excluded, apparently for censorship reasons (this concerns the relationship of the saint with high society, spiritual authorities, etc.). They reveal the path of internal martyrdom that the ascetic followed. Others were omitted, perhaps for the sake of maintaining the continuity of the story (this applies to the writings of the saint himself, included in the outline of his biography). Another part of the materials was collected after the publication of the first version of the biography. Today we have the opportunity to acquaint you with the full text of the manuscript, an essential, distinctive feature of which is the presence in it of a large number of works by Bishop Ignatius himself (placed in full or in excerpts). They reflect the author’s inner life, his spiritual “autobiography”, captured in verbs of indescribable depth and beauty. Among them: Report to the Most Reverend Metropolitan Seraphim about the Valaam Monastery (1838) (known as “Description of the Valaam Monastery and the Troubles that occurred in it”); Prosperous day (on the occasion of the service of a prayer service by Archimandrite Ignatius in the Novo-Sergievsky Palace of Grand Princess Maria Nikolaevna on June 15, 1848); Speech at the funeral service for fleet captain I-rank K. G. Popandopulo (March 4, 1858); A note about the miraculous icon of the Iveron Mother of God in the Mozdok Assumption Church (January 1, 1860), numerous proposals, resolutions, reports, business letters and other materials relating to the period of life in the rank of Bishop of the Caucasus and the Black Sea that was least covered in the press (1858–1861) and revealing the Orthodox Church view of the saint on important issues of spiritual and public life. The manuscript does not have an author's signature, but in the process of preparing the text for printing, an undeniable conviction was formed that its main author was the saint's brother Peter Alexandrovich Brianchaninov (Paul in monasticism). This is confirmed by the memoirs of the Brianchaninov brothers’ niece A. Kupreyanova, who mentions the biography of the saint, “compiled by Peter Alexandrovich” (Theological Bulletin 1914. No. 6. June. P. 265). The manuscript abundantly quotes the unpublished “Notes” of St. Ignatius’ close friend Schemamonk Michael (Chikhachev), who died in 1873, long before the completion of work on the book. It is known that the “Biography”, published in 1881, was compiled under the editorship and with the direct participation of the disciple of the saint who succeeded him as rector of the Sergius Hermitage, Archimandrite Ignatius Malyshev 7 . Archimandrite Appolos, the spiritual son of St. Ignatius, from 1841 - the vicar of the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage, and from 1846 - the builder of the Old Ladoga Nikolaev Monastery, “an exemplary monk of our time,” according to the bishop himself, also took part in the compilation of the biography. A letter from Schemamonk Michael to Fr. Apollos dated April 6, 1866, where Fr. Mikhail writes: “Peter Aleksandrovich Brianchaninov was here (i.e. in the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage - ed.), took your description of the life of the Right Reverend. Maybe out of everything, he says, we will create something complete..." 8. From this letter we learn that Pyotr Alexandrovich’s desire to compose a biography arose during the life of the bishop. The story about the last period contains the memories of many disciples who lived with the saint on Babayki. In the 1870s, Pyotr Aleksandrovich Brianchaninov asked the famous spiritual writer and compiler of akathists Andrei Fedorovich Kovalevsky to write a biography of his brother. Although he refused then, he could subsequently take part in the editing, because... was very close to the saint in the last years of his life. Researcher O. Shafranov suggests that the author of the biography is P.P. Yakovlev, an old acquaintance of St. Ignatius, clerk of the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage (see note No. 48). This version does not seem entirely substantiated. Although P.P. Yakovlev could have taken part in the collection and processing of materials, it is unlikely that it was he, as a secular person who was more involved in external affairs, who wrote the description of the inner life of the ascetic. Thus, the biography, based on personal memories, was the result of the joint work and love of many people spiritually devoted to St. Ignatius; first of all, we owe its creation to P. A. Branchaninov. By preserving the sequence of texts and the full volume of the manuscript (with the exception of appendices), the editors sought to bring punctuation and spelling closer to the norms of the modern Russian language. The spellings of lowercase and uppercase letters are mostly unified. Indications of the sources of the texts of the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Fathers belong to Saint Ignatius himself. Quotes from his works and links to the texts of his works are given according to the publication: St. Ignatius Brianchaninov: In 7 volumes “Moscow. Don. monastery. M., 1993; quotes from letters - according to the publication: Collection of letters of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, Bishop of the Caucasus and Black Sea / Comp. abbot. Mark (Lozinsky). M.; St. Petersburg, 1995. The book is equipped with brief notes concerning persons spiritually close to the bishop, or places associated with his life, as well as a name index. A summary of the chapters was provided by the publisher. At the end of the manuscript there are appendices (ll. 439451). They were written by the hand of another copyist and are not included in this edition of the Biography, since they are not an integral part of it, in addition, they were all reprinted several times: 1. Letter from the Right Reverend Theophan, former bishop of Vladimir and Suzdal to the Right Reverend Ignatius and the latter’s answer to Theophan’s questions: how did the Right Reverend Ignatius become convinced of the truth of the teaching set forth in his writings about the materiality of created beings of the invisible world and why does he call the human soul ethereal? (Collected letters. 1995. pp. 66–68, 842–843). 2. The attitude of a Christian to his passions is an article that was not included in the first edition of the works of St. Ignatius (St. Petersburg, 1865–1867), but in all subsequent editions it is included in the 1st volume (St. Petersburg, 1886; 1905; M., 1993; 1996; 1998). 3. Memories of the Borodino Monastery - (Ignatius (Brianchaninov). The Wanderer. M.; St. Petersburg, 1998. pp. 273–276 and other ed.: see note No. 83). As soon as it was published, the first version of the biography immediately attracted the attention of readers. The magazine “Strannik” published a review on its pages: “Before us is the living and shining face of an ascetic who recently died, whose life and teaching irrefutably prove that “Russian monasticism” has not yet died out.” It ends with the words: “And happy is the people who have such people - they are unknown to the world, but their strictly ascetic life, their fiery holy faith in the Supreme Truth and the Highest Good opens the way to their privacy." 10. The abbess of the Ust-Medveditsky monastery, Arsenia, wrote to P. A. Brianchaninov: “I received and read the biography of our bishop. I read it with great pleasure, with spiritual consolation and edification. Dear are the words of the Bishop himself, his own testimony about himself. Only one who has risen to the level of understanding all his deeds can say a word about him... In my opinion, this is very much said for both the present and future admirers and students of the Bishop. Let this publication be published again and again.” 11. And today, when Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov is recognized as one of the best, if not the best, ascetic writer of recent times, when he is glorified among the saints of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Russian National Library and the Publishing House named after Saint Ignatius of Stavropol are pleased to offer you a new, more complete version of his life. The manuscript is published for the first time. Remember your mentors who preached the word of God to you, and, looking at the end of their lives, imitate their faith. 12 years have passed since the peaceful death of the ever-memorable 19th-century saint-monk of the Russian Church, His Eminence Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov 12 . His time is still close to us, many of his contemporaries, followers, disciples are still alive, and yet the bright personality of the reposed saint of God already stands high above us, shining brightly upon us with the light of his Christian virtues, the exploits of his strictly monastic life and his ascetic writings. The beauty of monasticism of our century, the saint is an active teacher of monks and not only in his writings, but throughout his entire life, he presents a wondrous picture of self-sacrifice, close to confession, of a person’s struggle with passions, sorrows, and illnesses; a picture of life, which, with the help and action of God’s abundant grace, was crowned with victory, and attracted many rare gifts of the Holy Spirit to the ascetic. Following with reverence this long-suffering and many-sorrowful procession of the ascetic towards spiritual success and clearly contemplating the special guidance of God’s Providence in his entire life, you involuntarily feel a living knowledge of faith in the paternal care of God, our Creator and Savior for us, and are imbued with the desire to imitate to the best of our ability this contemporary example of Christian perfection. At the present time, we have decided to offer the most complete collection of data 13, the totality of which, by its very narration, can give a possibly correct idea of ​​​​the spiritual and moral side and the life-long nature of the activity in God of the late Right Reverend Ignatius. In compiling this biography, we used: a) the notes of his brother Peter Aleksandrovich Brianchaninov, 14 who was deeply devoted to him in spiritual matters, who shared with him the solitude of the last years of his life in retirement in the Nikolo-Babaevsky monastery 15 and enjoyed the complete trust and love of the blessed saint; b) the notes of his associate and spiritual friend from the early years of his youth to his deep old age, the Sergius hermitage, schemamonk Mikhail Chikhachev 16, with whom he began his monastic feat and with him went through it all the way to the episcopacy - a friend, before whom the saint did not hide many wondrous events of his life; c) the handwritten data remaining after the bishop’s death and, finally, most importantly: d) the deceased’s own narratives about his infirmities, struggles, sorrows, feelings and grace-filled sensations, which he set forth in his works. All works in general, and spiritual and moral ones predominantly, have the property that they quite accurately express the inner life of their authors. Thus, the essays provide abundant material for the biographer to outline the characteristics of a person, this essential part of the biography; but in order to depict the life of the Right Reverend Ignatius in the most faithful terms, one must study monastic life for oneself, as he studied it, and through one’s own experience come closer to his spiritual and experiential knowledge. The study here is so little accessible, the experiments are so exceptional that they depend least of all on a person’s own efforts and will. Whoever, by the Providence of God, is placed on a similar road and is partly introduced into the crucible of such trials, only he can know all the peculiarities of such experiments and from this side more correctly evaluate the activity of their representative. The biographies of especially remarkable or advanced people are distinguished by the fact that they predominantly show one side in which the activity of these persons is especially manifested, which distinguishes them with sharp, characteristic features and concentrates all attention on itself. This is, as it were, the front side of all their activities, hiding all the others behind it. In the biographies of such personalities, it is necessary to grasp this feature and carry it out completely from the beginning to the end of the life story - then it will have the proper endurance. In this regard, the life of the Right Reverend Ignatius has a special advantage: it represents such a distinctive side that completely distinguishes his personality from a number of other spiritual figures of his time. This side of his life consists of complete selflessness for the sake of the exact fulfillment of the Gospel commandments in a secret monastic spiritual feat, which served as the subject of a new ascetic-theological teaching in our spiritual literature - the teaching about the internal perfection of man in the monastic life and his relationship to other spiritual beings, influencing him both from the inner man and from the external, or physical, side! This is the feature that distinguishes the Right Reverend Ignatius from other spiritual writers of our time, a sharp feature, but not clearly seen and correctly distinguished by everyone. Collection of letters of St. Ignatius. M.; St. Petersburg, 1995. P. 737. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). Journey to the gates of eternity. M., 2001. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). Journey to the gates of eternity. M., 2001. P.171. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). The future of Russia is in the hands of Divine Providence. M., 1998. S. 29, 54. 5. Brief report of the Manuscript Department for 1914–1938." State Publ. fuck them. M. E. Saltykova-Shchedrina; edited by T. K. Ukhmylova, V. G. Gaiman. L., 1939. P. 78. A biography of Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov, compiled by his closest students and letters from His Eminence to persons close to him. St. Petersburg, 1881. 288 p. section pag., 1 l. portrait This information is given in: Rus. Old man. 1883. T. 40, No. 10. P. 268. RO RNB. F.124, units. hr. 4755 (collection of Waxel). Savva (Tikhomirov). Chronicle of my life: Autobiography. zap. Very Reverend Savva, Archbishop. Tver. and Kashin. Sergiev Posad, 1904. T. 5. P. 546. New books: Biography of Bishop Ignatius. //Wanderer. 1882. June. pp. 328–333. The path of non-dreamy doing: Abbess Arsenia and schema-nun Ardalion. Ed. add. M., 1999. P. 360. He died on April 30, 1867, on the week of the Myrrh-Bearing Women, in the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery of the Kostroma diocese. In 1988 he was canonized by the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church (June 6–9, 1988, Trinity-Sergius Lavra). His St. the relics rest in the Holy Vvedensky Tolga Monastery of the Yaroslavl diocese, commemorated April 30/May 13. The very first short biography of the saint appeared in print a month and a half after his death, see: Askochensky V.I. Eminence Ignatius (Brianchaninov): (Biographical sketch) //Home conversation. 1867. No. 24 (June 10). pp. 654–665; No. 25 (June 17). pp. 678–694. Pyotr Aleksandrovich Brianchaninov (March 24, 1809 - July 25, 1891) - brother of St. Ignatius, the closest in spirit to him from the whole family. After military service and vice-governorship in Kostroma and governorship in Stavropol, on June 22, 1862, he came to live at the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery, where he took upon himself the material concerns of the needs of the monastery. The main work of the last years of his life was the collection and publication of the works of St. Ignatius. He lived in the monastery for 29 years, died with the name of monk Paul, and was buried opposite the porch of the Iveron Cathedral. Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery of the Kostroma Diocese - located on the right bank of the Volga, at the confluence of the river. Solonitsa, its foundation dates back to the end of the 14th century. For the first time, Archimandrite Ignatius lived in the monastery for eleven months, having been sent on leave from the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage by decree of the Holy Synod of April 26, 1847. Here the saint spent the last years of his life in retirement, after managing the Caucasian and Black Sea diocese, from October 1861 to April 30, 1867. In the 1930s. the monastery was abolished, the main church in the name of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, founded under St. Ignatius, was blown up, the remaining premises were adapted for a children's sanatorium; above the crypt where St. was buried. Ignatius (in the hospital church of St. Sergius of Radonezh and St. John Chrysostom), there was a bedroom for children. The monastery is currently being restored. On May 26, 1988, the relics of the saint were discovered and transferred to the Yaroslavl Tolgsky Monastery. Schemamonk Mikhail (M. V. Chikhachev, April 3, 1806 - January 16, 1873) - since his youth the closest spiritual friend of St. Ignatius. He graduated from the Main Engineering School, from 1834 - in the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage. He was tonsured a monk with the name Misail on December 20. 1860, accepted the schema with the name Mikhail on May 21, 1866, worked in choir obedience for 39 years. He was buried in the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage. Currently, his honorable remains are placed in this reviving monastery in the church of St. Sergius of Radonezh for veneration. The inscription reads: “The good-natured and non-covetous schemamonk Mikhail (Chikhachev), a companion and prayer partner of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, died on January 16, 1873, 66 years old.”