Глава 14. Блаженная кончина старца о. Леонида и погребение

Finally, the day and hour determined by God for Elder Leonid to depart from this world approached. He had long had a premonition or warning about this from the Lord, and therefore he spoke positively to many about the proximity of his death. One military man, jealous of the salvation of his soul, put chains on himself and, hearing about the Elder’s foresight, wished to see him. Having arrived at the monastery, he found Fr. Leonidas in the church at early mass, after which he followed the Elder along with the others, wanting to receive a blessing from him. The elder, blessing him, began to persuade him to take off the chains. “Father! “- said the military man, “bless me to vilify for another year, then I will come to you, and you yourself will take it off me.” Talking like this, they reached the place where Fr.’s body is now buried. Leonida. In response to the military man’s request, the Elder, pointing to this place with a stick, told him: “In a year I will be here; and now you are with them.” And so it happened; a year later o. Leonid was buried at the place he indicated. “The next year, after I entered Optina Pustyn,” said Hieromonk Anatoly 120, “I developed a strong desire to leave to live on Athos. First, I explained my desire to Father Fr. Macarius. He answered me: “Live in the Skete in the Athos style; then the Skete will be Athos for you.” I was not satisfied with this, I went to the elder Fr. Leonidas and began to ask him to bless me to go to Athos. How he makes a noise at me, stamps: “Where do you want to go,” he says, “you such a slacker? An inexperienced novice, not yet established in the monastic life, but he decided to go to Athos. So that you never think about it with me!” So I left the Elder. But the desire to go to Athos did not leave me. I come to the Elder another time and already begin to persistently ask him to let me leave Optina. The old man again made a noise, it seemed, at me, but, noticing that I remained adamant in my desire, he suddenly came up to me, hugged me with both arms, pressed me to his chest and with tender fatherly love began to say: “Arsenyushka! What are you doing? Now you will go to a foreign side, and your father will die here without you. How will you feel when you hear about this?“ Then I began to cry, fell at his feet and, having asked for forgiveness in my reckless request, remained to live in Optina. A year after this, Father Fr. Leonid died." In June 1841, the Elder made his last visit to the Tikhon Hermitage, where, with his blessing, they began to build a new refectory. Speaking about the construction that had begun, the Elder said Fr. to the abbot: “I won’t see your new meal, apparently.” - When will Fr. the abbot objected: “Maybe the Lord will prolong your life, and also console us with your visit”; “The elder said again: “No, I’ll hardly live until winter and I won’t be here anymore.” - Having arrived in Optina Pustyn, he told many: “I won’t live through the winter” - and gave some the final decision in bewilderment. To one noble person who visited Optina Pustyn in the summer of 1841, the Elder said: “Live, if you want, until November, and you will bury me.” But he did not dare to stay; and when the news of the death of Fr. subsequently reached him. Leonida was very surprised that his words came true. Shortly before the death of the elder Fr. Leonid was visited by Optina Pustyn and the Elder by the tonsured monk Parfeniy of St. Athos, who later became the abbot of the Guslitsky monastery he founded in the Moscow diocese. From his story about this visit, by the way, it is clear that almost until the end of his life, while he had the opportunity, the Elder spent time in his usual activities - weaving belts and receiving visitors together 121. This is how he narrates: “On the fifth day from the Beloberezhskaya Hermitage I arrived at the hostel Optina Pustyn, which is in the Kaluga province near the city of Kozelsk. Previously, for many years, I had heard about the great elder Hieroschemamonk Leonid living in Optina Pustina, and I had long wanted to see him, enjoy his conversations and receive instruction from him and consolation in my sorrows. Upon my arrival in Optina Pustyn, I impatiently wanted to go to Fr. Leonidas, with the hope of receiving consolation for himself, and, having asked about his cell, went to him immediately. And having come to his vestibule, I was afraid, out of joy that I would be worthy to see such a great father, and at the thought of how unworthy I would appear before such a great Elder, and for a long time, standing in the vestibule, I was afraid to open the door. Then his student came out. I asked: “Can I go up to the Elder?” “He answered: “It’s possible.” Then I went into his cell, but there I became even more afraid and trembled. For the cell was almost full of people of different ranks: gentlemen, merchants and simple people, and everyone was kneeling with fear and trembling, as if before a terrible judge, and everyone was waiting for an answer and instruction. And I also fell to my knees behind everyone. The old man sits on the bed and weaves a belt. This was his handicraft - weaving belts and giving them to visitors as a blessing. Then the Elder exclaimed: “And you, father of Athonite, fell on your knees? Or do you want me to kneel too?” “I was frightened by the fact that he had never seen or known me, but I was in simple clothes, and he called me the father of Athos. I answered: “Forgive me, holy father, for the Lord’s sake; I obey the custom: I see that everyone is kneeling, and I fell to my knees.” - He said: “Those worldly people, and even guilty ones, let them stand; and you are a monk, and an Athonite one at that; get up and come to me. Having stood up, I approached him. He, having blessed me, ordered me to sit on the bed with him and asked me a lot about the Holy Mount of Athos, and about monastic life, and about the monastic community, and about other Athonite charters and customs, and he himself constantly weaving the belt. I told everything in detail; he cried with joy and glorified the Lord God that He still has many faithful servants who have left the world and all worldly cares, and serve and work for Him, their Lord, with faith and love. Then he began to let people go and healed everyone’s mental and physical illnesses, physical ones with prayer, and spiritual ones with fatherly love and gentle words and soul-helping instructions. others with a severe reprimand and even expulsion from their cell. Among these people, one gentleman knelt before him, who had come to worship at the monastery and to visit the great Elder. The elder asked him: “What do you want to get from me?” He answered with tears: “I wish, holy father, to receive soul-helping instruction from you.” The elder asked: “Did you do what I ordered you before?” He replied: “No, holy father, I cannot fulfill this.” The elder said: “Why did you, having not fulfilled the first, come to ask for another?” Then he threateningly said to his disciples: “Push him out of his cell,” and they kicked him out. I and everyone who was there were afraid of such a strict act and punishment. But the Elder himself was not embarrassed and began to talk with others with meekness and let people go. Then one of the disciples said: “Holy Father, there is a goldsmith lying on the floor.” He said: “Give it to me.” They served. The elder said: “The gentleman let it out of his hands on purpose, and did it well, for it will be useful to the Athonite father on the road.” And he gave me the half-imperial. Then I asked the Elder: “Holy Father, why did you treat your master so severely?” He answered me: “Father of Athos! I know what to do with whom: he is a servant of God and wants to be saved, but has fallen into one passion - he is accustomed to tobacco. He first came to me and asked about this; I ordered him to stop using tobacco and gave him a commandment never to use it again and, until he stopped, I did not order him to come to me. He, having not fulfilled the first commandment, also came for another. Here, dear Father of Athos, how difficult it is to drive passions out of a person!’” “When we were talking, three women brought to him one sick woman who had lost her mind and reason, and all three cried and asked the Elder to pray for the sick woman. He put on the epitrachelion, placed the end of the stole and his hands on the sick woman’s head, and, having read the prayer, crossed the sick man’s head three times and ordered her to be taken to the hotel. He did this while sitting; and therefore he sat because he could no longer get up, he was sick and was living out his last days. Then his disciples, monastery brethren, came to him and revealed to him their conscience and their spiritual ulcers. He healed everyone and gave them instructions. Then he told them that his death was approaching, and said: “How long will you, my children, be wise like a serpent and goals like doves? How long will you be exhausted? How long will you learn? It’s time for you to be wise and teachers yourself, and you yourself are still getting weak and falling every day. How will you live without me? I am living out my last days and must leave you and pay my debt to my nature, and go to my Lord." - The disciples, hearing this, wept bitterly. Then he let everyone go, including me. The next day I came to him again, and he again received me with love and talked to me a lot. Then yesterday’s women came, and the sick woman was with them, but no longer sick, but completely healthy. They came to thank the Elder. Seeing this, I was surprised and said to the Elder: "Holy Father, how do you dare to do such things? You can ruin all your labors and exploits with human glory." He answered and said to me: “Father of Athos! I did not do this by my own authority, but it was done through the faith of those who came, and the grace of the Holy Spirit, given to me at my ordination, acted; and I myself am a sinful man.” Hearing this, I greatly benefited from his good reasoning, faith and humility. Then yesterday’s gentleman came again and asked the Elder for forgiveness with tears. He forgave and ordered to do what was ordered before. Then he let us all go. I spent a whole week in Optina Pustyn and celebrated the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The all-night vigil was solemn: at the polyeleos all three psalms were chanted in verse; all the brothers and all the people stood with candles. And many times I visited the quiet and silent Skete, which is half a mile away from the monastery in the middle of the forest, and many times I talked there with the fathers, Hieromonk John, who converted from the schism, and also with the spiritual father, Hieromonk Macarius. He also talked many times with the strange-loving Optina abbot Moses. Then he hit the road. And Elder Leonid, after me, ended his life a month later and went to his Lord.” The stories given here clearly show that the elder Fr. Leonid knew the time of his death. Now we will talk about death. From the first days of September, the Elder began to weaken in health and was ill for about five weeks. His illness was watery, and he felt severe pain in his right side, an accumulation of sputum in his chest and great hardness in his stomach. Those around the Elder wanted to call a doctor, but he did not agree to this and did not want to take any medicine. Until September 15, the Elder, although with difficulty, still walked little by little around his cell and on holidays - the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos and the Exaltation of the Precious Cross of the Lord, at the all-night vigil, which, due to his illness, was served for him in his cell, at the appointed time, supported by the brethren, he himself burned incense and sang magnification. On the 15th, the Elder was honored with holy oil in the presence of a large crowd of brothers who loved him. By this very time, as if forewarned, the abbot of the Maloyaroslavets Monastery, abbot Anthony, and the abbot of the Tikhonova Hermitage, a student of Elder Leonid, arrived in Optina Pustyn. Gerontius. They, together with the Elder’s employee Fr. Macarius and abbot Varlaam, who lived in the Skete in retirement, with the participation of the treasurer Hieromonk Gabriel, Hieromonk John and Hieromonk Joseph, and performed the Sacrament of Blessing of Oil. From that day on, the Elder especially began to prepare for his death. He said goodbye to the brothers who came to him and, blessing them, gave a book to one, an image to another, and did not leave anyone without consolation. On September 28, having communicated the Holy Mysteries of Christ, the patient wished that the canon for the exodus of the soul be sung, which was fulfilled. The brothers around him were embarrassed and, thinking about their orphanhood, began to cry and ask him not to leave them in grief. He, hearing and seeing this, was indignant in spirit and, shedding tears, said: “Children! If I obtain boldness from the Lord, I will accept you all to myself. I commend you to the Lord. He will help you end this current; only you have recourse to Him. He will save you from all temptations. And don’t be embarrassed about this because they sang the canon. Maybe you’ll sing it six or seven more times.” – Indeed, from September 28 until the day of the Elder’s blessed death, which followed on October 11, the canon was sung eight times. At this time he did not take any food, except for a small portion of water. He was strengthened only by one Heavenly Bread - the most pure Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, for in these last two weeks he was deemed worthy to receive this Sacrament twelve times. From October 6, the Elder could no longer get out of bed and, apparently, suffered severely - his whole body was swollen. Lying on his deathbed, he cried out in a tender voice: “O Almighty! O Redeemer! O Most Merciful Lord! You see my illness; I can no longer endure it: receive my spirit in peace.” And then: “Lord, in Your hands I commend my spirit.” He also called out to the Most Blessed Mother, the Most Holy Theotokos, asking for help from Her. He said to the fathers and brothers who came: “Pray that the Lord will reduce my suffering.” But then again, obeying the will of God and entrusting himself to His Providence, he cried out: “Lord, Thy will be done! Do as You please.” “Two or three days before the death of the Elder,” said his cell attendant Jacob (later hieromonk of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Joachim), “when the time came that I was alone with the Elder, the desire came to me that he would tell me something to benefit me. The elder quickly looked at the icon and crossed himself, saying the words: “I thank You, my merciful Lord, that I have escaped those troubles and sorrows that await the coming time; but I don’t know whether you will escape them. - Come here, Yasha!” - I came up. The elder blessed me and repeated the same words. I, being young and inexperienced at that time, did not ask Father what kind of troubles and sorrows these were. And after his death, I would have liked to know, but it was already too late.” Finally, the last day of the life of the elder Fr. Leonida – Saturday October 11th. In the morning, at eight o'clock, he received the Holy Mysteries of Christ. On the same morning, the holy fool Vasily Petrovich Braguzin, who was in that country, arrived in Optina Pustyn to say goodbye to the ascetic departing from this world, with whom the Elder was in spiritual communion. Located 180 versts from Optina Pustyn in the house of Messrs. Dubrovins, he foresaw in his spirit the death of Elder Leonid and alarmed the owners of the house with this news, who themselves hurried with him to come to the Optina monastery by mail. Entering the sick man’s cell, Braguzin said: “We need to change clothes,” thereby implying the imminent departure of the soul from the body. “Vasily Petrovich! Pray that the Lord will deliver me from eternal death,” the Elder said quietly. - “Perhaps he will deliver!” - Braguzin answered this humble request of the great ascetic in a drawn-out manner. At about 10 o'clock Elder Leonid began to cross himself, saying: “Glory to God!” Having repeated these words many times, he was silent for a while; then he said to those who surrounded him: “Today the mercy of God will be with me.” An hour after these words, the Elder began to be more cheerful in spirit and rejoice in heart; and although he experienced severe physical suffering, he, trusting in future rewards, could not hide the spiritual joy he felt, and his face began to brighten more and more. The announcement was made for Vespers. The elder blessed his disciples to read Little Vespers, but could not listen to it to the end. When he ordered to stop reading, his student, the aforementioned novice Jacob, said tenderly: “And the rest, Father, you will surely rule there, in the Cathedral of St. Father?" - since the celebration of the memory of St. Father of the VII Ecumenical Council, consecrated on Sunday, October 11th. The dying Elder cried out several times: “Glory to God, glory to God, glory to Thee, Lord!” And to those who questioned him he gave God-wise answers, filled with great benefit. Then, saying goodbye to everyone around him, he hastily dismissed them, leaving with him one student, who, after a while, noticed his rare breathing and a quick glance at the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos and called others; but the Elder had already stopped speaking. Looking at his upcoming disciples, he raised his right hand, crossed himself, then blessed them all, and again looked at the icon of the Mother of God, as if asking his disciples for Her intercession. After this, at 7 o'clock and 30 minutes in the afternoon, closing his eyes, he quietly gave up the ghost and passed from the local sorrows and illnesses to eternal peace 122. Many zealously devoted admirers of the Elder in distant places received secret and comforting notification of his blessed death. The body of the elder Fr. Leonidas stood in the cathedral church for three days, not emitting any mortal smell, and warmed all the clothes and even the bottom board of the coffin. His hands were soft, like those of a living person, and had a special whiteness. In illness, the Elder had cold hands and his whole body. To many who especially loved him and especially to his beloved cell attendant, Jacob, he said: “If I receive the mercy of God, my body will warm up and be warm.” Until the burial, the church was full from morning to night with people who came to give their last kiss to the one who was the spiritual father and free doctor to everyone who came to him. Also, at the burial, which was performed on October 3 by Abbot Moses with all the present hieromonks and hierodeacons, the crowd of pilgrims was huge, as if on a great holiday. Although it is not the custom in the monastery to kiss the body of the deceased, the visitors, overcome by great love for the deceased, continuously kissed his hands with tears during the Liturgy and funeral service. When the time came for the removal, the people began to crowd more and more towards the tomb of the Elder. But, imbued with grief over the loss of their beloved father, the brethren rushed in a crowd to carry his coffin, and it was no longer possible for lay visitors to approach him because of the multitude of brethren. Blessed Vasily Petrovich Braguzin at the funeral, as was noticeable, triumphed in spirit, and when saying goodbye to the Elder, he cried. The body of the elder Fr. Leonida, according to the general desire of the rector and brethren, near the cathedral Church of the Presentation behind the southern aisle of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, next to the grave of his spiritual son and friend in the Lord, Alexei Ivanovich Zhelyabuzhsky, who died a few months earlier, Fr. Leonida, June 11 of the same 1841. During his lifetime, Fr. Leonid would say to him jokingly: “Elder! You and I will lie next to each other, side by side.” About these words about. They remembered Leonid after his burial and marveled at the exact execution of them. At the graves of the elder Fr. Leonid and A.I. Zhelyabuzhsky there are two tall monuments of the same shape, cast from cast iron, decorated with gilding and surrounded by a cast-iron lattice. On the monument to Elder Leonidas, the visitor will read the following inscriptions: 1. “Who is man, who shall live and not see death; but blessed are those who die in the Lord: indeed, they will rest from their labors.” – 2. “This monument covers the body of Hieroschemamonk Leonid (Leo), who rests in peace in the Lord, who bore the good yoke of Christ in monasticism for 46 years; was originally from Karachev citizens, with the surname Nagolkin.” – 3. “I fell asleep in the sleep of death in the hope of resurrection and eternal life. He left a memory of himself in the hearts of many who received consolation in their sorrows.” – 4. “Died October 11, 1841; his entire life was 72 years.” – 5. “This monument was erected by zeal and love for it.” After the death of the elder Fr. Leonid's orphaned spiritual children were in great sorrow over the loss of their spiritual father and mentor. But this sorrow in everyone was dissolved by hope that the Elder had received the mercy of God and was interceding before God for all his children. This is how the Elder’s closest disciple and successor, Hieromonk Fr., expressed these common feelings in letters to various persons. Macarius: “Our dear father Fr. Leonid is no longer with us, his body was hidden from us by the mother of the damp earth, and his soul passed away faithfully in the hand of God... You will surely grieve for our orphanhood, but at the same time you will be comforted in spirit by his peace, which he will undoubtedly find by the mercy of God... Apparently, the time appointed for him by God's determination has come, and it was necessary for the soul to be separated from the flesh, to be freed from the sorrows here. and illnesses and move on to eternal rest... There is no doubt that he will not be worthy to receive mercy from the Lord, and he will faithfully intercede for us sinners wandering in this deplorable vale and struggling with spiritual and physical passions.” “It was clearly depicted,” wrote Fr. Macarius to Fr. Abbot Anthony in Maloyaroslavets, - the feeling of your love for our venerable and dear father, Fr. To Leo in your letter, written to me on October 17, and condolences on his departure from us. You and the brethren around you definitely shed unflattering, but sincere tears of sorrow at being separated from such a father. Yes, it seems that of those who knew him there are few who would not bring him this tribute. The memory of the righteous is with praise (Prov. 10:7), this word has been justified over him. And what kind of news I receive from nunneries! What happened when we received letters about his death! Crying and sobbing and crying a lot. In Sevsk they established an indestructible Psalter for up to 40 days and thought that only a few adherents would read, but instead everyone vied with each other to honor his memory with the praise of God and prayer for him - up to two hundred people read it at random. The Tver abbess writes that she did not dry her tears, that she delayed her departure and deprived herself of seeing him (the Elder) and accepting his blessing, established a commemoration for him and sent him to some churches to commemorate him. – M.T. writes from Borisovka that everyone close to Father was deeply saddened by the news of his death; only some hope animates everyone about their acquisition of eternal bliss, and this dispels the darkness of sadness... Truly our monastery is happy that the Lord has granted us such a virtuous ascetic to have near us. And although the gloomy grave hid his body from our eyes, we mentally remember and contemplate his fatherly love for us and believe that he abides with us in spirit.” He died on February 18, 1880. For some time he was a confessor in Optina Pustyn. In the world he was called Arseny Artemyevich Vulkovsky-Budnin, a Kharkov tradesman. See: The Legend of the Journey of the Monk Parthenius. Part I. Moscow, 1856. pp. 275–280. A small building with a mezzanine, where Elder Leonid died, is located on the south-eastern side of the Kazan Church. In it, excluding the mezzanine, there are only four cells: at the entrance to the corridor there are two on the right side and two on the left. The cell in which the Elder lived out the rest of his days and passed into eternal life is facing southwest.