Correspondence with Abbot Damascene

Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 The letters of St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) published for the first time to the abbot of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Monastery, Abbot Damascene, have undoubted spiritual and historical value. They belong to the pen of an outstanding hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church: theologian, ascetic, spiritual writer. These letters testify to his inner life. They, as the historiographer of the Valaam monastery, Hieromonk Iuvian (Krasnoperov, 1880–1957) wrote, “…reveal to us the intimate side of his soul, his dear heart, his sensitivity and careful attitude towards spiritual purity, his deep faith in Divine Providence and the religious principle, as the main factors in life relationships, his complacent enduring of all life’s sorrows, oppression and slander” 1 . The fabric of written evidence traces events that influenced the history of Orthodoxy in Finland and the Caucasus. They reveal little-known facts about the providential participation of Saint Ignatius in the destinies of the Valaam monastery. These letters are useful to us not only as a source of spiritual edification and valuable biographical details, but also as an example of high epistolary culture. The relationship between Saint Ignatius and Abbot Damascus represents a significant page in the history of Russian monasticism in the 19th century. Hegumen Damascene (Kononov, 1795–1881), correspondent of St. Ignatius, ruled the Valaam first-class monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior from 1839 to 1881. A detailed biography of the ascetic, first published in 1892 in St. Petersburg, has recently been republished twice: The Spirit-Bearing Shepherd of Valaam. Biography and teachings of Abbot Damascene of Valaam (1795–1881). M., 2001; The rector of the Valaam Monastery is Hegumen Damascene. Valaam Patericon. M., 2001. The history of monasticism on Valaam has its own special chronology. There is antiquity, consecrated by the names of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called and the venerable founders of the monastery Sergius and German; there is a “golden age” of prosperity, when future monks were Valaam monks - Alexander Svirsky, Arseny Konevsky, Savvaty Solovetsky; there is the tragic century of Swedish rule; there is a period of revival, the construction of a strong monastic “foundation” by Abbot Nazarius; there is the era of Damascus, the era of the formation of the “Northern Athos” of Russia... Damian Kononov (that was the name of Father Damaskin before he was tonsured as a monk) was born in 1795 in the village of Repenki, Michkovsky volost, Staritsky district, Tver province. His parents, Konon and Matrona, came from economic peasants. “From a young age, the Lord inspired His chosen one with good feelings - to follow the path of the Lord’s commandment” 2. In 1816, Damian and his comrades made a pilgrimage to the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. A year later, already alone, he went to the Solovetsky miracle workers, and on the way back he visited the Ondrus Hermitage and the Valaam Monastery. He spent “one or two nights” on Valaam and hurried home. In the summer of 1819 he returned to the monastery, in the fall he worked for holy obedience, and in the winter he went to his native village to receive dismissal from society and his parents' farewell blessing. In 1820, Damian Kononov joined the Valaam brethren and began to undergo various obediences: he was a groom, a laborer, sewed boots and mittens, guarded the island, and worked in a bakery. In 1825, on December 12, at the age of 31, he took monastic vows with the name of St. John of Damascus. The monk Damascene experienced all three types of monastic life: monastic life, monastery and hermitage. In the spring of 1838, in the fifth year of the “correction” of the monastery’s obedience to the monastery in the name of All Saints, they met Archimandrite Ignatius (Brianchaninov). It was a difficult time for the Valaam Monastery. Hegumen Varlaam, who lived outside the state, who was the abbot of the Valaam monastery in 1830-1833, and the monk Josiah wrote several denunciations, including to the Highest Name, in which they accused Abbot Veniamin - who had run the monastery since 1833 - of indulging the Masonic heresy that allegedly arose in Valaam and his inability to become abbot. Some of the brethren supported their accusations, some remained on the side of Abbot Veniamin. Troubles began and mutual hostility developed. The case was referred to the Holy Synod for consideration. At the suggestion of the Chief Prosecutor of the Synod, Count N.A. Protasov, the rector of the Holy Trinity St. Sergius Monastery, Archimandrite Ignatius, was entrusted with understanding the reasons for what was happening in the monastery. The builder of the Cheremenets St. John the Theological Monastery, Father Seraphim, was appointed his assistant. The investigation lasted almost six months. The detailed and punctual report of Archimandrite Ignatius on this issue formed the basis for the report of Metropolitan Seraphim to the Holy Synod and the determination of the Holy Synod “on the subject of the Valaam riots” 4. Those responsible for the strife were removed from Valaam, and those suspected of heresy were sent to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery under the supervision of the abbot “to be tested in their way of thinking and behavior” 5 . During the execution of the instructions of the Synod, Archimandrite Ignatius was appointed dean of the monasteries of the St. Petersburg diocese, thanks to which he acquired even greater influence on the resolution of affairs on Valaam. High church authorities treated his activities with confidence, which was expressed in the adoption of a synodal resolution, which instructed Archimandrite Ignatius to recommend a candidate capable and worthy of being the abbot of the Valaam Monastery. Such a candidate was named Fr. Damascene, the only one, according to Archimandrite Ignatius, “...a rather skilled monk in all of Valaam” 6. The election and appointment of Father Damascene as abbot of the monastery took place in a short time. Having left Valaam in November 1838 as a simple monk, he returned to his native monastery in March 1839 as abbot. “Gradually, but steadily and tirelessly, Fr. Damascene restored the previous internal improvement... and achieved his goal, bringing the monastery to the most flourishing state. Her brotherhood increased, her moral strength developed, the Divine fire of true asceticism was breathed into her inner life. Her most holy name was glorified to the end of the earth." 7 Hegumen Damascene ruled the Valaam monastery for 42 years. He reposed on January 23, 1881, old style. The published array of letters covers the period from November 1838 to April 1867. Chronologically, it is divided into three groups, corresponding to the stages of the biography of St. Ignatius. Letters from: a) the “Petersburg period” (1838–1857), b) the “Caucasian period” (1857–1861) and c) the “Babaev period” (1861–1867). According to the predominance of a particular topic, letters can be conditionally classified as “personal” and “official”. The first include mainly letters from the “Petersburg period”, the time when the relationship between Fr. Ignatius and Fr. Damascene were determined by their official position, the hierarchical subordination of the rector of the Valaam monastery to Archimandrite Ignatius, dean of the monasteries of the St. Petersburg diocese. The ethics of official relations and questions of practical necessity dictated the form and content of the letters. They do not contain any details of the personal, off-duty life of the Saint. All of them are devoted to resolving issues that arose during the management of the Valaam Brotherhood. At the same time, by their nature, the letters are imbued with spiritual disposition and sympathy for the abbot of the Transfiguration Monastery 8. Understanding the difficulties that Abbot Damascus had to face, Archimandrite Ignatius advises what to do, consoles in sorrows and reinforces with encouraging words. Having extensive experience in managing the monastery 9, he teaches Fr. Damascene intricacies of the position of abbot, and sometimes reprimands for mistakes made. With the departure of Saint Ignatius to the Caucasus, the content of the messages changes. The nature of their relationship loses the formality necessary for the job and acquires the features of spiritual friendship. Bishop Ignatius reports many details of his arrangement in a new place, shares his innermost thoughts about earthly and eternal life, and talks about the sorrows of the illness that tormented him. While at rest in the Nikolo-Babaevsky monastery, Bishop Ignatius did not forget Valaam, he was keenly interested in everything that happened in the monastery. The last message of the Saint sent to Valaam was his Easter greeting in 1867. The response letter of Abbot Damascus no longer found the addressee: the earthly journey of the beloved mentor and benefactor Valaam was over... From the contents of the correspondence itself it is clear that not all letters from Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov) have reached us. When and under what conditions part of the epistolary heritage was lost is unknown. Hieromonk Iuvian (Krasnoperov), who became the “Valaam chronicler” by vocation, reported in the “memorandum” that opened the folder with the saved letters: “In view of the exceptional interest and significance of the letters of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov to the abbot of the Valaam monastery, Abbot Damascus, whom he called to manage this monastery, which were stored in the monastery archive office, together with letters from other persons, these letters were extracted by me in 1920 from a stack of letters for the years 1838–1867 and then separated into a special, deliberate folder. In total, 54 letters from St. Ignatius were collected. Then copies were made of all these letters and concentrated in a special file No. 32-1920. This case also contains a description of all the spiritual and material benefits provided by the ever-memorable Saint Ignatius of the Valaam monastery. Thus, a large volume was compiled, several dozen pages, printed on a machine and written in two copies, of which one was kept in the archive, and the other in the office. All this was done out of a sense of reverence and the deepest respect for the Most Reverend author of the above letters - this beauty of the Russian Orthodox monasticism, an active teacher of monastics not only in his ascetic theological writings, but throughout his life, who presented a marvelous picture of selflessness, valiant service to duty, the struggle with passions, sorrows, illnesses and slander, which did not spare and this chosen one of God - a picture of a strictly monastic, ascetic, truly venerable life. “Letters of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov to the abbot of the Valaam Monastery, Father Abbot Damascene, for the years 1838–1867,” No. 32–1920, was the name of this historical tome for our monastery, lost in two copies during the evacuation of the monastery” 10. According to the terms of the peace treaty of March 12, 1940 between the Soviet Union and Finland, no more than ten days were allotted for the withdrawal of troops, removal of property and surrender of territories, and for Valaam this period was three days. It was necessary to evacuate many items of church utensils, a library, an archive, all the monastery provisions, junk goods, horses and cows. All the brethren already lived on the mainland, and the evacuation was carried out by several specially arrived monks, along with Finnish soldiers and officers. Food and livestock, by order of the military authorities, were taken out first. If it were not for the delay in the surrender of the neighboring island of Mantisaari, which delayed the appearance of the Soviet administration by two days, there would have been much more boxes with archival documents left on Valaam. After the establishment of a new government on the islands, approximately 300 cases were transferred to the archives of Petrozavodsk. Among them are typewritten copies of letters from St. Ignatius to Abbot Damascus in the amount of 46 copies 11. This is one of those volumes that Hieromonk Iuvian considered lost. The autographs of the letters are in Finland, in the archives of the New Valaam monastery. In 1984, according to hieromonk Fr. Panteleimon (Sarkho), who wrote a work on the topic “Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov) and the Valaam Monastery” 12, the Finnish archive contained 55 letters from the saint. In the mid-90s, when our Valaam monastery was being revived, the rector of the Transfiguration Monastery, Archimandrite Pankratiy (Zherdev), blessed to make copies of the memorials Valaam of documents to replenish the monastery’s own archives. With the permission of Archimandrite Panteleimon (Sarkho), abbot of the New Valaam Monastery, this work was carried out by Hierodeacon Onuphry (Makhanov). The archives of the Valaam Monastery, in the courtyard in St. Petersburg, contain 52 copies of letters from St. Ignatius to the abbot, Fr. Damascene. This meeting formed the basis for this publication. The letters were verified with typewritten copies from 1920 from the National Archives of Karelia (HAK). One letter was added to the general meeting (dated September 25, 1855. No. 24), published in 1995 by Abbot Mark (Lozinsky) 13 and three letters from the HAK collection (dated March 19, 1852. No. 20; dated January 9, 1853. No. 22; dated November 16, 1857. No. 35). We sincerely thank Vera Petrovna Novak (Archive of the Valaam Monastery, St. Petersburg), Natalya Ivanovna Ponomareva (National Archive of Karelia, Petrozavodsk) and Alexey Evgenievich Belonozhkin (Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture named after I. E. Repin, St. Petersburg) for their selfless assistance in preparing materials. St. Petersburg). Received November 18, 1838. Honest monk Father Damascene! 14 His Eminence 15 wishes to get to know you personally, and therefore offer a fervent prayer to the Lord God and the holy saints, Sergius and Herman of Valaam 16, without hesitation, without any hesitation, set off on the path prescribed for you 17. Received April 23, 1839. Most honorable Father Abbot of Damascus! I received two of your letters on 18. Deacon Ivan Nikolaev was interrogated about what he had to convey, and when he refused, he took a signature from him and escorted him to the Zelenetsky Monastery, pending the resolution of matters concerning him. Father Osip submitted a letter to the Chief Prosecutor to move him to the Sofronievskaya or Sarovskaya Hermitage; promised to do 19. There is nothing to do with the summons sent, because the post office will not dare to order the Serdobol postmaster 20 to give you the money, not knowing whether it belongs to the monastery, or to the abbot Veniamin 21; why money will return to the place from which it was sent; and if they are assigned to the monastery, then they will return with a signature in which Benjamin will not be mentioned. My plan to come to you in the spring was almost ruined: for they are sending me to the Novgorod diocese, on some important matter 22, with one of the adjutants, which will keep me there for almost a whole month. Then, wishing you peace and love and other spiritual blessings, as well as good health with all the brethren in Christ, I remain ready to serve as a prayer worker Archimandrite Ignatius. April 12, 1839. Received May 12, 1840. Most beloved Father Abbot of Damascus in the Lord! I received your letter, and a report in another package. Let stormy winds breathe and fierce waves strike, but they cannot damage the church of your soul if its foundation is constantly established on the solid stone of the commandments of Christ. Listen peacefully to what I tell you from the fulfillment of my sincere affection and sympathy for you. Your report to me has no place: for it contains a complaint against the order of the Most Reverend Vicar 23. Therefore, if you give him any progress, it means incurring the indignation of the Eminence on you and subjecting you to greater troubles than in which you are now placed. Although it is hard for you to bear, and according to our external judgment, the encouragement or indulgence given to Hierodeacon Joseph 24 seems harmful to society, yet Divine Providence is able to correct everything, and from circumstances apparently unfavorable to flow saving consequences, like water from a stone. Maintain peace of mind through prayer and hope, leaving to God what is beyond your power. As far as I have heard, the investigation was carried out by Father Amphilochius 25 fairly. I think the rumors contained in your letter cannot be completely believed. The enemy is only looking for someone to quarrel with. Judge for yourself and understand the cunning of the enemy: Father Abbot Konevsky also writes to me, and from his letter I understood that he doubts your absence to Petersburg 26 while he was on Valaam for investigation. You see the enemy's machinations! The life of Saint Niphon describes how the enemy whispered to two men, and they immediately began to quarrel 27 . And it’s the same here. Try, for the common good and for your own spiritual benefit, to reconcile with Father Hegumen Amphilochius, about which I also write to him. Please describe the unreliability of Hieromonk Barsanuphius 28, which was revealed in this case. Remember what I told you! Such people, when they wish to leave the monastery, must immediately be dismissed in peace; They can hide their ill-will for a while, but at the first opportunity they discover it and often cause harm that cannot be healed for a long time. I congratulate you and all the brethren most beloved in Christ on the Bright Feast of Feasts, and greet you with joyful congratulations: Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen! Dearest Father! The Apostles of the Word, church shepherds, abbots of monasteries, in a word, saints of God in every rank, in the midst of many sorrows and temptations, shepherded the flock entrusted to them. And this is the holiday of God’s favorite, when the Lord sends him the gift of sorrows. The Son of God drank this cup and promised it to all His followers. And therefore the Apostle cried: I will be blessed in my weaknesses, in sorrows and in distress. If you are without punishment, you are adulterers and not sons of sons 29. We pray to the Lord to grant us patience in sorrows and save us from the great disaster - from hatred of those who insult us. I ask for your holy prayers and the prayers of all your brotherhood for the Lord. I remain forever your most humble servant Received August 18, 1840. Most venerable Father Abbot! If there are no particularly important reasons why you need to keep the former sacristan 30, Hieromonk Alexander 31, in the monastery entrusted to you, then take the trouble to sign your consent to his request for dismissal to Kiev and with this request, made in the name of the Most Reverend Vicar 32, release the petitioner to the Sergius Hermitage 33, providing him with the appropriate ticket 34. Also, hurry to send me the request of the monk Constantine 35, sent to you on the 13th of last July. Archimandrite Ignatius. August 9th, 1840. Received September 11, 1840. Your Reverence! Father Hegumen Damascene! Since you are currently in the city, I am sending to you the novice of the Valaam monastery entrusted to you, Apukhtin 36, so that you order that due to his illness he should not leave the chapel 37 anywhere, except for the Nevsky Lavra 38 to attend church services and apply for a passport. Dean, Archimandrite Ignatius. Received March 20, 1841. Most Reverend Father Abbot of Damascus! The novice of your monastery, John 39, who received a ticket from you to St. Petersburg, came to me; but I, seeing that his morals had not yet been corrupted and that he came out solely out of heartfelt warfare - moreover, living in another place near sin 40, could conveniently be damaged - persuaded him to turn back to Valaam. Receive him favorably, he is very disposed towards you and, it seems, will not be out of place on Valaam. Your zealous prayer worker Archimandrite Ignatius. 1841, March 10th day. Received December 19, 1841. Your Reverence! Honest Father Abbot! Both in this case and in all others, I ask you to keep in mind the benefit and tranquility of your monastery, and not the satisfaction of my desire, which now is that you agree to accept Elder Paphnutius 41 into your monastery. Whether you accept or refuse, please notify me as soon as possible. Wishing you all the best, I remain forever 1841, November 18th day, Sergius Hermitage. Received October 9, 1842. I received your letter dated August 30th on September 19th. I intend to inform you about money in a special way; and I suggested the other points of your letter to His Eminence the Vicar 42. 1) For the ordination of a monk Amphilology 43 to hieromonk. He, the Lord, agrees; why did I present the papers on this subject, which you sent to the Metropolitan 44, to him during the report and they were put into use. 2) Novice Ivan Grigoriev 45 filed for dismissal from the clergy to the primitive, to which the Bishop also agreed. 3) Vasily Borisov 46 promised to talk and communicate here, in the Sergius Hermitage; Let's see what happens. However, I informed the Reverend Vicar about it. 4) I presented the sent papers about the pranks of the Finnish peasants 47 to the Right Reverend Vicar, who found them necessary in importance to enter into correspondence with the Finnish Governor-General 48, why do you immediately send them to the Vyborg provincial government from the draft papers you have, having copied them completely; I am writing this to you by order of the Eminence. 5) It is necessary to take special measures regarding the construction of the monastery fence, for the following reason: a law has now been issued 49 that if work is carried out in the monastery for the monastery unpaid sum of 5 thousand or more, then this construction should be carried out according to the construction rules, that is, a plan and facade should be drawn up with an estimate according to the site registers and with reference prices from the public office, submitted for consideration by the Holy Synod; upon receipt of permission, carry out the actual work according to logs and submit monthly statements, and upon completion of everything, draw up a report and submit it to your superiors. If you don’t have people who know how to compile all of the above, then in St. Petersburg you can get all this for three thousand, hardly less. Therefore, it is better to do this: let Mr. Nabilkov 50 submit a request or letter addressed to you that he wants to build a fence at his own expense, without indicating the amount; You will present this letter during the report signed by you and the elder brethren to the Reverend. You will not be offended that Hierodeacon Joseph 51 has been sent back to you, and the Decree prohibits you from arbitrarily expelling people from the monastery. What to do! This is the fate of abbots, especially when there is a change of government. If this deportation was previously tolerated, it was by mercy, and not by law. Diligently wishing you all the best, and for the monastery of the organization, I have the honor to be Your humble servant and prayer leader Received September 24, 1842. I received your letters; and as I wrote to you before, I repeat now that with every change in the Ruler 52 there is some change in government. Why are you not surprised at the return of Hierodeacon Joseph 53 to you and the reprimand for sending him to the Consistory 54 ; this matter can get better and get by. Please delay your arrival until Fr. returns to you. Amphilochia 55, so as not to encounter any trouble here. Will you rise from Valaam after Christmas? Glory to God, who brings silence to your monastery. I bow to your entire brotherhood and ask for holy prayers. Archimandrite Ignatius. November 19, 1842. The losses incurred from the broken soyma 56, for what amount, must be reported, even to me. Received May 16, 1843. Most Reverend Father Abbot! I had the honor to receive your letter and I very much regret that many subordinates 57 are sending to you, from whom nothing else can be expected except the disorder of the monastery. I cannot have direct influence on this subject, but I advise you to turn your request to His Eminence Justin 58, the good and prudent Shepherd. If I am asked, I will not fail to speak in favor of your monastery, in which the presence of subordinates causes particular harm. Wishing you and all your brethren in the Lord good health and spiritual salvation, I ask for your holy prayers and remain zealous for your services Archimandrite Ignatius. 1843, May 6 days. Received December 27, 1844. Most Reverend Father Abbot! I received your letter dated October 19. I instruct you to submit to me about the supply of wine and rum 59 , as well as about the construction of the pier, having selected an explanation from Hieromonk Moses 60 . Do all this without publicity. Dean Archimandrite Ignatius. 1844, November 9th day of Sergius Pustyn. Received __ March 1845. I received your letter dated February 21st. I was pleased to see that your circumstances and needs were set out in it with satisfactory clarity, fidelity and detail. Such a presentation, depicting your thoughts on managing the monastery, can give you a special appearance in front of your superiors, who always look at your papers, but can only check your course of action occasionally. I find your judgment about hieromonks to be thorough. The demand of the hieromonks for Fleet 61, as a state necessity, must be satisfied by you. Hieromonk Barsanuphius 62, who refuses to serve his ranks in the monastery, does not refuse to be in the Navy. You will send the three hierodeacons whom you wish to introduce as hieromonks to me immediately, for I must attest their knowledge in the Catechism, which, if I find insufficient, I can occupy them here and prepare them as it should. Write your submission about them to His Eminence 63 and send it to me when reporting, because I must sign your submission. Try to do all this without any delay. In this case, the new hieromonks can arrive at the monastery by the time some leave for the Fleet. It remains to be said about the teaching of the Catechism and Sacred History. Take care, Father Hegumen, about carrying out the will of the Archpastor. Patience is needed so that even those with little ability can study these subjects, which are so important in themselves and so easy in their clarity and simplicity, although not soon, not in six months, not in a year, but in two, three years. If God brings you to your monastery in the summer, then I want to delve into this subject in detail, and it will be easy to see who is capable, who is not capable, and who seems incapable due to stubbornness or laziness. For the latter, you can come up with a punishment. Therefore, entrusting myself to your holy prayers, I have the honor to be ready for your services. Dean - Archimandrite Ignatius. 1845, March 5th day, Sergius Hermitage. Received May 19, 1845. Most Reverend Father Abbot of Damascus! His Eminence, the Most Reverend Metropolitan Anthony 64 instructed His Eminence, the Most Reverend Justin 65 to inspect the Valamsky and Konevsky monasteries. His Eminence intends to leave St. Petersburg, accompanied by the Dean of the Monastery 66 June 5, 10 to serve in the Konevsky Monastery 67, 11 early in the morning to leave from there in order to 12 be in Serdobol. Your boat should already be at 11 in Serdobol, so that upon the arrival of His Eminence there could not be the slightest delay. The cells for His Eminence must be cleansed by the rector; Likewise, the same should be prepared in the Skete. He intends to serve you on the 17th, and leave you early the next morning. The treasurer 68 will meet him in Serdobol, and you and the brethren in vestments and with a cross on the shore. The cross should be placed on a plate so that its handle is opposite the right hand of the Right Reverend. When the Right Reverend departs, you should accompany him to Serdobol. Received July 20, 1846. I bring you my heartfelt gratitude for your invitation to participate in the foundation stone of the church in the Skete of the Valaam Monastery 69; I would satisfy your wishes with great pleasure, but my circumstances do not allow me to leave the Sergius Hermitage at the present time, when this monastery is visited by a large and select public. Having the need to see in person the ryasophore novice of the Valaam monastery Ivan Baykov 70, I ask you to give him a ticket to me and back for 14 days. Since the circumstance for which I am calling him requires that I have accurate and complete information about him, then take the trouble to forward me and Baikov his formal list, noting his behavior in the most correct way. Asking for your prayers and that of your brotherhood, I have the honor to be your most humble servant Archimandrite Ignatius. June 17, 1846. Received December 21, 1846. Your Reverence, Most Honorable Father Abbot! I had the honor to receive your letter; I sincerely thank you for your sincerity towards me, unworthy. With such a disposition of your soul, you can expect the greatest benefit for the Valaam monastery. If you find Hierodeacon Macarius 71 trustworthy in the position of sacristan 72, then you can promote him to hieromonk and make him either a designated sacristan 73 or acting as a sacristan. I very much agree with your appointment of Hieromonk Victor 74 as Viceroy 75 and Hieromonk Vitaly 76 as Treasurer 77 . When you come to St. Petersburg, you can make orders and presentations about all this. Of course, you received a paper on the identification of designated confessors, which has now been done in all monasteries. Father Bogolep 78 is completely incapable of correcting the position of confessor, as I personally verified. Although many of the brethren are not disposed to the life of their fathers, the duty of the abbot and other authorities is to prepare a haven for such as well: salvation is sincere repentance. It is impossible to demand that everyone comprehend the fatherly path! And in ancient times, when the abbots were standard-bearers, many of the brotherhood did not dare to open their conscience to such clearly holy abbots, as this is clearly seen from the 4th degree of St. John Climacus, where the described abbot in the article about the repentant thief clearly declares St. John Climacus, that he has many brethren in his monastery who are averse to confessing their thoughts before the abbot, or, what is the same, before a spiritual father who is unanimous and open to the abbot 79 . Therefore, I advise you, as stated in the paper, to give the new novice of the monastery, according to your choice, to the confessor in whom you find more ability and experience, and to grant the monastics the choice of a confessor according to their conscience and spiritual disposition. I withheld the presentation to the legguard 80 of Father Amphilochius 81 until your arrival in the Capital; It is appropriate for you to speak up about this yourself before the Higher Authorities, and I do not refuse to confirm your petition. You did very wisely by assigning Gabriel 82 to another obedience; tell about. Pachomius 83 my blessing for his labors for the benefit of the Holy Monastery. If the opportunity arises, please send me the book of St. Theodore the Studite 84 for reading. Now I am sick with a severe cold, from which recovery requires considerable time, and also taking care of myself after recovery will require a long avoidance of travel; Therefore, I find the solitude brought by illness to be a very convenient time to read the deep teachings of the Studite. Committing myself to your holy prayers with a feeling of perfect reverence and devotion, I have the honor to be your most humble servant Archimandrite Ignatius. 1846, November 30 days. Received February 28, 1848. Most Reverend Father Abbot of Damascus. I express my heartfelt gratitude to you for your memory of me and for the lithographed drawing you sent of the Skete church, which was being built again 85. I most earnestly wish you success in both the spiritual and material structure of your monastery. The location of the Valaam Monastery is excellent in monastic terms, of course, the first in Russia; but the climate is very harsh and has a harmful and destructive effect on health. For this reason, efforts must be made to bring monastic buildings into such a condition that they will withstand the severity of the climate. The cells where I am staying 86 are beautiful: very dry and resist the strong winds rushing from Lake Ladoga to your monastery. But most of the cells are deprived of this dignity, many are extremely damp and, one can say unmistakably, are more harmful to health than to the climate itself. Also, the monastery needs a hotel that would be outside the monastery 87. You have a lot of work ahead of you! May God grant you the strength to accomplish them for the glory of His Holy Name and for the significant benefit of your neighbors. About myself I will tell you that due to my illness and treatment, almost from my arrival at the Babaevsky Monastery 88 I have not left my cell. I am very pleased with the monastery: the place is unusually healthy, the waters are excellent, the likes of which are rarely found, and the air is most beneficial and aromatic. I suppose, if the Lord pleases, I will return to the Sergius Hermitage by the end of May, but I don’t know how long my health will allow me to hold a public position. Asking your St. prayers, also the prayers of the brotherhood of the God-saved Valamsk monastery, with feelings of the most sincere love for the Lord, I have the honor to be unworthy Archimandrite Ignatius. Received May 9, 1849. Dear Father Abbot of Damascus! I bring you and all your beloved brethren in the Lord my most earnest congratulations on the Great Feast of Holidays, wishing you and them many mercies from the Lord, deep peace and spiritual prosperity. Brother Abraham 89 visited me and greatly consoled me with his good disposition, which would lead him to true spiritual blessings. I thanked the Lord for him. Many experiences prove to me that the Savior’s commandment has actually been fulfilled, commanding us to gain our souls and the souls of our neighbors through patience 90 . Glory to God, who sends good thoughts to people for their nourishment and salvation! Asking for your holy prayers Received January 2, 1850. Father Igumen, most beloved in the Lord! His Excellency Mr. Postal Director Fyodor Ivanovich Pryanishnikov 91 petitions for the placement in the monastery of the freedman 92 Sergei Stepanov 93, whom he recommends very well in moral terms. Believing that Sergei Stepanov can most conveniently be placed in your monastery, and that for your monastery itself, the acquired acquaintance and patronage of such a person as Mr. Pryanishnikov, through the placement of Sergei Stepanov with you, will be very beneficial, I propose that you express your consent to accept Stepanov, of which I ask you to notify me with the first mail. I have the honor to forward a copy of Stepanov’s documents for your consideration. Committing myself to your holy prayers, I have the honor to be your most humble servant 1849, December 22 days, Sergius Hermitage. Received March 8, 1852. most honorable father Abbot of Damascus! It has come to my attention that the monk Efimy Golovko 94 turns out to be redundant in your monastery due to the obedience of writing he passed, and also his further residence in the Valaam monastery, due to the weakness of his health, becomes incompatible; Meanwhile, some other monasteries of the local Diocese are in need of clerks who know their business, then I humbly ask you to send monk Efimy to me, providing him with a ticket for 28 days and writing on that ticket that there are no obstacles to moving him from the Valaam monastery. Thus, the excess and surplus of some will make up for the lack of others. Efimiya's brother, Pavel, is in an extremely painful condition, and is unlikely to slow down for long on earth; Please take the trouble to send the enclosed letter from him to the address. Wishing you and the holy monastery governed by you success in all good things, I have the honor to be forever, ready and zealous at your services, Archimandrite Ignatius. March 3, 1852. Received March 29, 1852. Most Reverend Father Abbot of Damascus! Having received your letter from the treasurer of your monastery 95, I was glad that the news that reached me regarding Euthymius 96 turned out to be unfair. I completely agree with your opinion that people useful to the monastery are acquired with difficulty, and lost very easily. The clerical order in the Valaam monastery, from the time Euthymius was in charge of the office, became exemplary for other monasteries, which I am convinced of from comparison, receiving papers from all monasteries on the same subjects and thus clearly seeing the dignity of each of the monastic clerks. It is the duty of the abbot, both for the general benefit and for his own peace of mind, to retain members who have been tested in their abilities and good intentions. Father Victor 97 told me that you intend to nominate Euthymius as a hierodeacon: I highly approve of your intention. By doing this, you will disgrace those envious ones who thought to deprive your monastery and you of a useful member. I believe that Euthymius does not even imagine who might have designs on him. Nowadays there are many new abbots who are concerned about introducing order in their monasteries and looking everywhere for trustworthy brethren, of which there are very few today. After all this, I consider it useful for you to let Euthymius come to me for a short time: let him see his brother, who is unlikely to survive the opening of the water, so difficult in general for all consumptives. Moreover, my sinful conversation can be very useful for him. Perhaps, at the same time, you will consider nominating him as a hierodeacon. This will be very in tune: for your action itself, with the silence of your lips, will contradict gossip. Wishing both you and your holy monastery all true blessings, I remain forever with all my soul ready for all possible services Received May 22, 1852. Your Reverence, most honorable Father Abbot! At this opportunity, I inform you that Vladyka 98 was pleased to entrust me personally with the compilation of a statistical and historical review of the monasteries of the St. Petersburg Diocese 99, on which occasion I intend to send to your monastery Mr. Bashutsky 100, who lives with us and is known for his writings. Regarding Efimy 101, I found that he retained special zeal and love for the Valaam monastery and for you. You did it very wisely to present him to the Hierodeacon; by this you showed him that you have a fatherly disposition towards him. He received treatment here and is coming to you with new zeal and renewed strength for new works. Wishing you and the monastery entrusted to you all the best 1852, April 29 days. Received February 1, 1853. most honest father Abbot of Damascus! O. builder Cheremenetsky 102 wishes to have this scribe of Valaam monk Eugene 103 in his monastery, to which he also agrees. Since the Cheremenets monastery 104 is in dire need of a benevolent brother, I humbly ask you to express your consent to the dismissal of monk Eugene. Your monastery is not abandoned by the Providence of God, and will not be abandoned, but by giving your excess to those in need, it will receive it a hundredfold. Received March 8, 1853. After my departure to Ustyuzhna 105, I instructed Mr. Bashutsky to visit the local monasteries and collect materials for a statistical description 106. For this reason, he was in the Valaam Monastery; but, upon his return, he announced to me that you had taken it upon yourself to collect materials. Now, leaving our monastery, he announced the same to me in writing. The description of almost all other monasteries has been brought to an end, but about yours there is not even a beginning. Meanwhile, the Diocesan authorities already asked me at the beginning of this year about the status of the description. In order to avoid the troubles that might arise for slow compilation of the description, I considered it necessary to suggest that you entrust this specifically to Hierodeacon Efimiya 107 . In particular, it is necessary that, when compiling a description, he collects all the materials in one place and in order, so that when I come to you this summer, I can conveniently review them. Asking for your holy prayers, I have the honor to be forever In these lines I continue my conversation with you, which began in your holy monastery. Upon my arrival in St. Petersburg, I visited His Eminence Metropolitan Nikanor 108. Although he did not say anything definite about the premises. On my part, my intention to leave the leadership, which I was forced to accept by necessity, is a decisive intention. I would like to spend the rest of my days in the Valaam monastery; only if it is impossible to fit in it, I mean Optina Pustyn 109. The latter represents more benefits in material terms: there the climate is much more favorable, vegetables and fruits are very strong and in greater quantity, but Valaam has the invaluable benefit of deep solitude. Moreover, dry and warm cells (since I leave my cell only on good summer days, and in spring, autumn and winter I hardly go out at all) can make my stay on Valaam Island a lot easier in material terms. Therefore, having left it to the One Lord Himself to fulfill the good desires of His servant to arrange my destiny according to His holy will, on my part I consider it essential for the good beginning and end of this matter to enter into a preliminary explanation and agreement with you, Father Hegumen. As I personally told you, I repeat now that everything good, everything beneficial to the soul, which by the grace of God can come from this undertaking, completely depends on our unanimity in the Lord, that is, the unanimity of yours and mine. The Lord, who said to His disciples in the final moments of His earthly pilgrimage: My peace I give to you, My peace I leave with you, 110 is strong also to grant us His peace if we are His disciples, striving to fulfill His will, and not our own. Based on this rock of the world, which itself is established on the rock of the commandments of Christ, I have the honor to present my following considerations for your consideration. Firstly, I will tell you that of all the abbots I know, in terms of your way of thinking and your view of monasticism, as well as your natural abilities, I like you more than all the others. To this we must add that, through official relations, both you and I have been known to me for a long time. Moreover, I am convinced that you are not looking for any elevation, connected, of course, with moving to another monastery, but remain faithful to the Valaam monastery until the Lord Himself desires to prolong your days. Further: as I said above, due to my long-term illness and the skill developed in accordance with it, I leave my cell only on the best summer days, and in damp and cold weather I remain in it forever, therefore living in the Skete itself would be more familiar and convenient for me. The very silence of Skete 111, in which the female sex is forever prohibited from entering, 112 completely corresponds to the requirements of my health and spiritual mood. The monastery is protected from the winds everywhere by trees: this would give me the opportunity to work even on summer days, which is essential due to my hemorrhoidal condition; in the wind, I am not able to work, because at the slightest movement, from extreme weakness, I become covered in perspiration and suffer from a cold. Given your experience, it is clear to you that after my placement in the Skete, many will want to be placed in it. Therefore, if the Lord inspires you with the inclination to place me in the Skete, then you must condescend to my weakness and, perhaps, to others similar to me. Having tested myself, I became convinced that I was not able to maintain my strength with plant food alone; I became only able to lie in relaxation. And you, of course, notice that the brethren, currently living in the Skete, are burdened with such poor nutritional food 113, and most of the time they come to the monastery for lunch. What was convenient for the former strong generation became inconvenient for the present weak generation. Since you are well aware that Saturday, fasting and other external feats and observations are established for them, then would you please consider introducing into the Valaam Skete the regulations of the Optina Skete, the validity of which and prudent compliance with the weakness of the present generation is proven by the fact that the Optin Skete abounds in the most chosen brotherhood, which greatly contributes to the flourishing well-being of the Skete and the monastery itself. This select fraternity consists of several retired Superiors and several persons of educated secular circle. Being weaker in physique than commoners, they are not capable of strong physical labor and feats, but they are more capable of mental feats and activities that require mental development. You know that the Holy Fathers judge the feat of another by what he had in the world and what he moved to when entering monasticism; according to this calculation, the above-mentioned persons living in the Optina Skete went to greater deprivation than those who in the monastery have, perhaps, food and clothing better than what they had in the world. You also know that the Fathers of the ancient Skete of Egypt no longer considered that feat to be a feat that people learned about, and abandoned this feat, imputing it as a sin (Paterikon of Skete, in the article about Sisoes the Great 114). This is what the Holy Fathers thought and acted, wanting to sacrifice themselves entirely to God, and not to man-pleasing and vanity. With regret, I saw that some magazines proclaimed in print the severity of fasting in the Valaam Skete and the decisive opposition to the Gospel, which commands that fasting and other deeds of piety should be performed not only in secret (Matthew 6:4), but also be hidden with all possible care. 115 St. Basil the Great 116 and, according to him, other saints. The Fathers claim that if we needed to have relaxed bodies, then God would have created them as such; why do they command a measure of fasting precisely such as is necessary to curb carnal passions, which at the same time would not upset those, but would keep them capable of fulfilling the commandments of Christ or, more simply, of obedience and feats of vigil, prayer and kneeling, which weakened bodies are ultimately incapable of. I offer all this, most beloved Father, for your consideration, so that you may be moved towards the descent of my weakness and weaknesses similar to mine. If the current brethren of the Valaam Skete, consisting solely of common people, are not able to maintain their strength exclusively with plant food, and to strengthen their strength they strive for a monastic meal, then for my exhausted physique and for the physique of people of unclear upbringing, eating plant food alone is completely impossible. At first, even in the Optina Skete, the zeal of its founders was directed towards a particularly strict fast, but seeing that with such strictness the Skete should be left without brethren, she softened and gave rules for food that were more accessible, however, still much more strict than the rules for food laid down by the church for a schema-monk living in a monastery. However, despite this mitigation, there were few, very few hunters from the numerous brotherhood of Optina Pustyn to live in the Skete. When the elder Hieroschemamonk Leonid 117 arrived there with several of his disciples, and the abbot handed over the Skete to him for spiritual management, then the Skete began to be inhabited, and to be inhabited mainly by people of weak constitution, who were looking for peace and solitude. The number of brethren living there extended to 30 people. All this, and the state of Skeet before the arrival of Fr. Leonidas and his condition upon the arrival of the Elder, I was an eyewitness 118. The elder spread a beneficial influence throughout the Monastery itself, supporting the brethren in their goodwill towards the abbot, strengthening them in spiritual battles. Such an abundance of nourishment doubled the number of brotherhood in the Monastery itself and therefore increased order in it and attracted significant donations, with the help of which the Monastery was rebuilt and, moreover, ensured its maintenance. That’s why I’m telling you in such detail about the Optina Skete that its flourishing condition and the improvement of the monastery itself that resulted from it are facts, and facts constitute the most reliable evidence. As for the hostel itself, that is, the Valaam monastery itself, I find its present structure to be the first in Russia, far superior to the famous hostels - Beloberezhsky, Ploshchansky, Sofronievsky, even Optina and Sarovsky 119: because in these monasteries, much closer to the world, the monks have incomparably more means of communicating with the world, making connections with it, having their own, and thereby separating themselves from the general body of the hostel. The community of Valaam must remain for a long time in its present form: it is necessary for stout natures, who must undergo a lot of bodily labor with bodily humility, inertly, as St. John the Prophet, a disciple of the Great Barsanuphius 120, puts it, to enter into spiritual, or at least spiritual work 121. In material terms, the brethren of the Valaam Monastery are provided with clothing and food incomparably more abundantly than the above-mentioned hostels. On Easter, the brethren there do not eat the kind of fish soup that the Valaam monks eat on an ordinary weekday, and the brethren of the Valaam hostel are also provided with clothing much more satisfactorily than the brethren of the said hostels. Having outlined before you the state of the Valaam Monastery and Skete, as they appear to my eyes - the eyes, however, of an eyewitness to them - I now turn to the outline of my sinful and unworthy face before these holy monasteries. You know my weakness, my origin and the tenderness of my upbringing. For them, the acceptance of the charter, which I propose to you based on the model of the Optinus Skete, is already a great feat and crucifixion. Undertaking anything more is beyond my consideration. “Let your life not be in confusion and cutting off,” says St. Isaac of Syria 122 in the 80th word, “and let not you remain for the desire of a little labor and cease from all your course. Eat in moderation, as you are not always, and do not stretch your legs beyond your strength, so that you are not at all idle.” For this, would you like to pay attention to Chapter 36 of the monks Callistus and Ignatius 123 (Philokalia. Part 2. “On Discourse” 124), which they put in a row - after the presentation of bodily exploits and the food of the rites befitting the silent. It should be noted that the vegetables and fruits of central Russia are incomparably stronger than those of the north, and the products of southern Russia are just as stronger than those of the middle zone; the fruits and vegetables of Constantinople and Athos, where Saints Callistus and Ignatius lived, are equal in nutritional power to the fish of the northern regions and even surpass it. “The body is weak,” said St. Isaac of Syria in the 85th Word, “whenever you force his many powers to do things, you bring darkness upon darkness into your soul and confusion all the more.” 125 Submitting all this to your discretion, I ask you to condescend to my weakness and the brethren who are unanimous with me, who cannot endure the feats of community life and who can endure the feat of the monastery, after dissolving it through prudent moderation. Moreover, it seems that this case should not be missed, that in every possible way, after a short time, the aforementioned leniency and change in the monastery’s food regulations will have to be made, otherwise no one will live in the Skete. They have become weak, Father! Moreover, as I said above, the charter of the Optina Skete “On Food” is stricter than that laid down by the Church for a schema-monk. Thus, when the consumption of fish is prescribed by law, it is supplied at the meal; It seems that for forty days a year it is allowed to eat cheese and eggs, butter and milk. Just as milk is not consumed in the Valaam hostel, so it should not be introduced into the Skete; and everything else would be useful to introduce both for the benefit of the body and for the benefit of the soul: for St. John Climacus ate from everything permitted to the monastic rite, with the goal of avoiding the spiritual passions of vanity, self-importance, man-pleasing, secret eating, hypocrisy, deceit, lies, which often appear among ascetics in the flesh and make spiritual success absolutely impossible for them; God appears in simplicity and humility, and serving Him cannot be combined with serving human glory. Upon arrival at my monastery, I feel as weak as I felt when I was in your holy monastery. But when I retire from office and move to the solitude of your Skete, perhaps, by the special grace of God, I will be given time to repent and I will last for several years. In this case, the Valaam Skete can be populated by monks who are close to me, just as Optin was populated when Fr. Leonida. To this letter of mine I humbly ask for your response, and in accordance with it I will take care of the further arrangement of this matter. Starting Monday I’m thinking of going to the Ladoga Monastery for three weeks. Your Reverence, most humble novice authentic signed by Archimandrite Ignatius. Received March 3, 1856. I received your letter and with it a disguised letter from Hierodeacon Joasaph 127. I presented the letter of the hierodeacon to His Eminence, since this hierodeacon submitted a report to His Eminence 128 in which he explains that he did not sign the letters or petitions to Count Orlov 129, and if his name is signed under this petition, then it was signed by another person, and not by him, Joasaph, which he shows by priesthood. Try to expel all the persons I require, on the personal orders of His Eminence. If, as expected, Schema-Deacon Jonah 130 cannot come, then send me his report with what he verbally explained to you 131 in the name of His Eminence for delivery to the Archpastor, according to the vow of schema-monastic vows and priesthood. But it would be incomparably better if you could send the schema-hierodeacon to me: for, as can be seen, it is impossible to rely on the mere words of these people, driven by wickedness and other spiritual passions, since Hierodeacon Joasaph first submitted the above-mentioned report to His Eminence, and then wrote a letter 132 to Levashov 133, which is clear from the contents of the documents and their numbers. Supervise the correspondence, especially of dubious persons, relentlessly, which you are authorized to do by the Valaam Charter. Asking for your prayers If you have not yet released the artist Stepanov 134 from the Valaam Monastery, then do not release him on demand. It is revealed here that he belongs to Levashov’s most zealous accomplices 135 . Be kind to him and try to take away from him both my manuscript about the Valaam Monastery 136 and everything that he wrote for the Valaam Monastery 137, spent on the account of this monastery. But the selection must begin as soon as you receive an order to deport him. Asking for your holy prayers The manager of the Valaam chapel 138, Hieromonk Daniel 139, has the idea of sending Hieromonk Moses 140 back to the Valaam monastery. Archimandrite Ignatius. 1856 March 20. Received March 28, 1856. The monks identified in the Relation 141 had significant success in reconciling their spirits as a result of the suggestions made to them. Make an effort on your part to support this arrangement. Received April 7, 1856. Valaam Father Hegumen Damascene! His Eminence the Most Reverend Metropolitan 142, giving full justice to your labors as abbot of the Valaam Monastery, especially in economic terms, at the same time wishes that spiritual prosperity and peace in the monastery entrusted to you increase more and more. For this purpose, His Eminence is pleased to order you the following: 1. So that, in addition to the Twelfth holidays and highly solemn days, you serve on Sundays and significant days, since with the opening of the shipping company 143 the crowd of people in the Valaam Monastery has increased greatly 144, and the very maintenance of zeal in the brotherhood for prayer requires that the abbot set an example of such zeal by serving as often as possible 145. 2. So that you, for this same reason, as often as possible, attend church services, especially the Divine Liturgy, on other days of the week, especially on Wednesdays and Fridays. 3. So that you go to the fraternal meal at least on holidays and Sundays. 4. So that for the position of elders you choose monastics of mature years, and not young or cassock novices 146. 5. So that you do not keep female deer and other lustful animals, which with this property and its consequences seduce the brotherhood 147. To this letter, I humbly ask you to honor me with a written response to present it to His Eminence: in this way, your response will have the nature of an obligation to the Archpastor in fulfilling his will. My handwritten letter and its confidentiality serve as proof of His Eminence’s merciful attention to you and should encourage you more and more to do useful work for the good of the Valaam monastery, both moral and material. Dean of the monasteries Archimandrite Ignatius. Received January 18, 1857. Most Reverend Father Abbot! I bring you my sincere gratitude for congratulating me, a sinner, on the New Year, on which I equally congratulate you, wishing you and the monastery entrusted to you all true blessings. I was very comforted by your friendly letter! I am very pleased that you visited the monasteries located in the Ladoga district 148. And little by little they are getting better, by the grace of God, with the diligence of their superiors. The new house in the St. Nicholas Monastery 149 was a great success; its internal layout, made according to my poor design, serves as clear proof of how important the internal layout is in every building and what conveniences it provides, which not everyone can understand when drawing up a plan, even among architects. The idea of ​​the interior layout of the Nikolaevsky House is similar in many ways to the idea of ​​the location of the Valaam Hotel 150. Thank you for your note about partitions! 151 This is not the first time Fr. Apollos 152 with this structure. It was not built without sorrow. It was very pleasant for me to see Fr. Herman 153. We talked with him, although very briefly, about very important subjects and satisfactorily. It is necessary that other monks of Valaam, when ordained as Hierodeacons and Hieromonks, visit me. Otherwise, in a case recently raised by Archpriest Levashev 154, Jonathan was mentioned 155; but I don’t know Jonathan at all, and therefore I could not say anything in his defense. On December 26, I talked about you with the Chief Prosecutor 156 and was very pleased with his disposition towards you. Our whole life is so interspersed: now sorrow, now joy. It was not for nothing that the perspicacious elder Jacob clothed his son, who was to succeed in the spiritual life, with colorful clothes. Committing myself to Your holy prayers with feelings of sincere respect and devotion, I have the honor to be Your Reverence’s most humble servant Arch Ignatius. 1857, January 12. Received February 23, 1857. The novice of the monastery entrusted to me, Platon Yanovsky 157, one of the court singers, who had a diploma as regent, had the misfortune of being subjected to drunken passion. It happened like this: first he came to our monastery from the chapel, then the courtiers persuaded him to become a regent for Prince Baryatinsky in the Caucasus, 158 where he learned to drink. Having returned to our monastery, he cannot recover, although he has the desire, due to the many temptations with which our monastery is surrounded. I advised him to test himself in the Valaam monastery 159 for decisive correction. Having considered this advice of mine, Yanovsky handed me the letter attached. From this letter you can see that Plato is a smart man and has a monastic orientation. When he is not drunk, then he is very meek and submissive. Do not reject this soul seeking healing from its sinful ulcer in your holy monastery. If you agree to accept it, then I will send it to you with a six-month passport; In this case, take the trouble to notify me. Committing myself to Your holy prayers Your most humble servant Archimandrite Ignatius. 1857, February 15. Received May 30, 1857. I had the honor to receive your most respected letters, but I stopped for some time to respond to them, waiting to see what the consequences of that significant correspondence initiated by your subordinates would be 160. Now these consequences have been revealed 161 . Their fruit should be the calming of the Valaam monastery and the elimination of the sending of subordinates to it. I wish you to take advantage of the silence granted by God’s Providence for the moral success of the brotherhood entrusted to your instruction and care. The Valaam Monastery is one of the first monasteries not only in Russia, but throughout the world, in terms of its convenience for monastic life. Due to my official relationship with this monastery, I considered it my sacred duty to protect this monastic sanctuary. These are my feelings towards the Valaam monastery and my concepts about it I communicate to everyone who should and would benefit from having a correct concept about it. Committing myself to Your holy prayers, with feelings of sincere respect and devotion, I have the honor to be Your Reverence’s most humble servant Archimandrite Ignatius. 1857, May 24. P.S. Please send the attached letter to the address. Received July 13, 1857. Your Reverence, most honorable father Abbot of Damascus! As you deign to see from the attitude attached to this, His Eminence 162 was pleased to order me to summon the Valaam hieromonk Herman for personal explanations. The point is that the Bishop intends to entrust Fr. Obedience is of no small importance to Herman, in which he can be especially useful for you and for the Valaam Monastery and for himself, being in spiritual relations with you. Bless him to unquestioningly submit to the will of the Lord: for through the Archpastor the Lord Himself arranges for the common good. 1857 July 8. Sergius Desert. Received October 12, 1857. Madam Ekaterina Mikhailovna Zelenaya 163 asks for my petition before Your Reverence, so that you would be pleased to accept as a number of designated novices her serf Hilarion, who was released by her, 164 since this Hilarion, on the occasion of the upcoming revision 165, if he is not ranked according to his clergy, must be assigned to the burghers, for which money is needed, which Hilarion has not. Asking you to fulfill the request of Madam Zelenaya, if such fulfillment does not violate the decorum and welfare of the Monastery, I also ask you to honor me with a response to this letter of mine. Committing myself to Your holy prayers Received November 24, 1857. I bring you my sincere gratitude for your congratulatory letter and for your good wishes to me, unworthy 166. May the merciful Lord God preserve you and the brotherhood entrusted to you in piety and virtue. I ask your prayers and that of your entire brotherhood, that my service to the Holy Church will be favorable to the Lord. Bishop of the Caucasus and Black Sea. 1857, November 16 days. Received August 20, 1858. Thank you for remembering me, a sinner, and for notifying me about the visit of the Holy Monastery of Valaam by the Sovereign with the Empress 167 and the Grand Dukes, and also about the visit of His Grace Metropolitan Gregory 168. You rightly noted that this Archpastor is of a very humble and simple-hearted nature. There is God's mercy towards him, as can be seen from his book to the schismatics: such a book cannot be written without the assistance of God's grace. She is very thorough, simple and loving 169. Of course you have it; and if you don’t have it, then buy it and read it. And for the brethren of Valaam it will be very useful. About myself I will tell you that by the grace of God I live quite well. New diocese 170. There's nothing yet. And the Bishop, and the Consistory, and the Seminary wander from apartment to apartment. I am building myself a wooden house, very small and very comfortable, next to the church; there is a passage from the rooms to the church; in front of the church there is a room called the prayer room with a window into the church; The Bishop can listen to all the services in the prayer room by opening the window. Salvation has come to my very doors, just as it once came in the person of Lazarus to the gates of the rich man 171. The church with my house is located in the middle of a large garden, in which there are many fruit trees, away from noise and is very reminiscent of Optin Skete 172. There is no custom here for residents to visit the Bishop except on great holidays in the morning to congratulate him: why do I take advantage of such solitude, which I never had in the Sergius Hermitage. I lived in the Desert for 24 years less two months, but I just couldn’t get used to it! I can't be happier that I came out of it. Take care of your new dean 173; It will be better with him than with all the others: there can be no cavils from him, and monasticism is quite understanding. Before my departure, I advised something else, and they agreed to my advice; but after I left, I hear that it turned out differently. What to do! What happened did not happen without the wave or permission of God. In our age, as I have noticed, it is rare that any monastic or purely Christian intention succeeds. Obstacles arise from everywhere! – On the contrary: theaters and other similar institutions are the strongest move; also offense or some other evil deed - haste from everywhere. It can be seen: people are allowed to do what they desire, as if they are gifted with free will, according to the teaching of the Apostle (2 Thess. 2.10-12). And here the harvest is extensive, but the reapers are removed from the harvest, and their sickles are taken away from them 174: for this reason, very few Mohammedans, of whom there are many here, convert to Christianity, very few schismatics join the Church. Apparently, the Lord wants us to learn patience, humility, submission to the will of God, and pay more attention to our own salvation. I say this in relation to my situation. Currently I am in Kislovodsk, where I am taking baths with mineral water called Nardzan. The water in this abundant spring boils as if from soda powder. The spring provides 1,200,000 buckets of water per day. 40 versts from Kislovodsk is the city of Pyatigorsk, where they have up to 36° Reaumur 175. In Isintukskaya Stanitsa there are alkaline waters (18 versts from Pyatigorsk); a little to the side, 20 versts, in Zheleznovodsk there are abundant warm and cold ferruginous waters. In the other direction, about 18 versts, is Bald Mountain, from which flows a spring of bitter-salty water, which has the property of an excellent laxative. Some of the mountains are somewhat similar to Valaam, but much higher 176. Ivan Grigorievich 177 was tonsured a monk, named Justin, and ordained a hieromonk. And with the rest I do what I can: the monks have made money for their Bishop. However, monastic wisdom greatly helps to have a good effect on the white clergy, destroying the spirit of litigiousness and quarrelsomeness among its members, establishing peace and unity. My health improved somewhat from using first warm sulfur baths, then moderate alkaline baths, and finally cool and cold nardzan baths. But according to the testimony of experienced people here, it is impossible to obtain complete healing in one summer from an inveterate long-term cold, such as mine, associated with the strong relaxation that came from it. Be the will of God! The climate here alone already serves as healing. Then let me wish you, most honest Father Abbot, prosperity and long life and all other blessings, temporary and eternal. Convey my most ardent bow to all your brethren in the Lord. I ask you and the brethren for holy prayers to strengthen my mental and physical weaknesses; If I offended anyone, I ask his forgiveness, and I bow to everyone in absentia. Unworthy Bishop Ignatius. Received August 30, 1859. Most Reverend Fr. Abbot! I bring you my sincere gratitude for the memory of me, a sinner, for the books and prints you sent me 178. I ask you to convey to all the brethren my most fervent bow and request for their holy prayers. Last summer I was treated in mineral waters, and now by swimming in the sea 179. The treatment, to tell the truth, tore up the disease and drove a lot out of the inside, so that even now I am covered with a rash, but I still don’t feel any special healing or strengthening. When God wants to allow any temptation, then it is impossible to defend against such temptation with anything except patience. Considering my weakness, I often reason: I shouldn’t rule the Diocese, but mourn my sins somewhere in a modest corner. I would be very glad to come to you to Valaam, but bodily weakness will not bear the climate there. What a place! - the only thing. I like the Caucasus less, despite the fact that the mountains are incomparably higher, and some of them are unusually beautiful. There is no water: this deprives the local landscapes of complete grace; and the stone in the mountains is limestone and sandstone, not granite. I sincerely wish for you and the holy monastery that the sorrows allowed by God, by His grace, will sweep past like passing clouds; and, as it seems, one cannot do without sorrows until the grave. They reach Bishops and Kings. Anyone who is allowed will be found everywhere; they will penetrate into the highest mansions; no castles, no guards will hold them. The Lord alone is our refuge and our shield from sorrows. Committing myself again to your holy prayers and love for the Lord, I have the honor to be forever Ignatius, Bishop of the Caucasus and Black Sea. Received September 28, 1859. I sincerely thank you for your letter dated August 30, 180, for the word about your holy monastery and about other monasteries, in the welfare of which I take the most active part as I can; heart: for in holy abodes dwell the servants and friends of my Lord, of whom the whole world is unworthy. As much as I can understand from my own experience and from the stories of skilled monks, a person who wants to please God cannot strive for the feat that a person would want to strive for by his own choice: he must strive for the feat that God, who alone sees infallibly the abilities of man, will provide him. The person himself almost always looks at himself erroneously. Again: in the course of the very service that God has assigned to us, we encounter not those circumstances that we assumed and which should have been in logical order, but circumstances that are completely unexpected, unforeseen, out of order, disrupting order. From all this it is clearly evident that the Lord is not looking for from us those virtues and benevolence that we are well pleased with and which we perform with pleasure, but those that are connected with the crucifixion of ourselves, with the cutting off of our will and mind, even if our will and mind were the most holy and reverend. The Apostle Paul wanted to convert the whole world to faith in Christ. The most abundant grace that dwelt in the Apostle made such an intention quite possible, and the intention itself was filled with love for one’s neighbor and God, and therefore was the best. But God allowed that in the field of preaching, which was provided to the Apostle by God Himself, the Apostle would encounter countless obstacles and the most severe sorrows. This should also console us, for through many sorrows it is fitting for us to enter the Kingdom of God 181 . About myself I will tell you that my main sorrow comes from my illness, which does not allow me to fulfill my duties as I should; However, I feel better. Calling upon you and the brotherhood entrusted to you the blessing of God and entrusting myself to your holy prayers, with feelings of sincere devotion and respect, I have the honor to be September 13, 1859 182 . Received January 28, 1861. God bless you for your remembrance of me and [for] your congratulations 183. By the grace of God, I have not forgotten you, but I constantly remember you with love and goodwill, as evidenced by my constant answers to all your letters. And in the future, do not stop informing me about yourself, about the brotherhood entrusted to you, and especially about the persons from it that I know, as well as about the monastery. What buildings did you erect after my departure and what buildings do you intend to erect? 184 About myself I will tell you that I live happily under the shadow of God’s mercy. Pleasant circumstances happen, and unpleasant, very unpleasant ones also happen. Since both are sent by the Providence of God, and in both of them the ineffable mercy of God appears to man: then I am compelled in both of them to be at peace and thank God. I noticed to myself that under favorable circumstances there is more joy in the body, and a certain, almost imperceptible passage opens up for vanity and conceit; and in the case of unpleasant things, there is more spiritual consolation, and a person, with the rejection of conceit, begins to resort to God and actively cognize God, as He is abundantly merciful and omnipotent, and is quick to help those who call upon Him. How and what did you notice about yourself? - write. Blessed John of Carpathia 185 said beautifully in his Lenten Sermon about the sorrows sent to monks, that they are the greatest grace of God. Here I live very secluded, almost like a recluse; but there is a rumor circulating, which has considerable credibility, that they will soon be transferred somewhere with plans to give my current position to a more capable and worthy person. I trust in the mercy of God, that, according to His omnipotent command and spiritual reasoning, I am given a place convenient for salvation and in accordance with my extreme weakness. My body is exhausted by long-term illnesses that have taken root in me. The waters began to drive them away, which caused a strong discharge of rotten scrofulous sputum. This situation is very difficult. Then: commending myself to Your holy prayers, with feelings of perfect reverence and sincere devotion, I have the honor to be Your Reverence’s most humble servant Received August 5, 1861. Most Reverend Father Abbot of Damascus! I sincerely thank you for your loving letter dated June 15 and photographic shooting of the areas of Valaam 186, many of which are very familiar to me. Often thinking about how beneficial it is to end life in solitude, away from honors, in repentance and crying, my thoughts are transported to Valaam, and I feel in my soul a longing for its majestic deserts; but in the state of my health I see an insurmountable obstacle to the fulfillment of my desire. Are you asking about my health? It was only this summer that I began to feel some relief from the illness, so severe was my disorder throughout my entire body. Until now, the medications taken and abundant mineral waters consumed only produced relaxation and drove away scrofulous and rheumatic sputum, of which many buckets came out of me. There is no hope that I will receive a complete recovery in my old age; but the relief must already be recognized as the great mercy of God. With particular pleasure I read the success of the holy monastery in material terms 187. Of course, with external development, it also develops spiritually, despite the weakness of the mental and physical strength of the modern generation. Not without reason, God's Providence allowed you many experiences, some of which were very bitter. I believe that you yourself now notice that your way of government has changed and improved a lot: why both spiritual education and nourishment of the brotherhood should bear more significant fruits. Please take the trouble to convey my blessing and my most ardent bow to your entire brotherhood, as well as to Vasily Mikhailovich Nikitin 188. I am very happy about his location towards the Valaam monastery. My Bishop's House is very similar to a monastery; all around in gardens and roses 189. The view from my office is somewhat reminiscent of the view of the mountain behind the lip from the windows of those cells of the Valaam Monastery in which I stayed 190. I live in solitude, and I must thank the Merciful Lord for the countless mercies poured out on me. Invoking God's favor upon you and again thanking you for your letter, with feelings of perfect respect and devotion I have the honor to be Received December 16, 1861. most beloved Father Hegumen of Damascus in the Lord! The All-Good God, by His ineffable mercy, gave me what I had long desired and what I had always thought about. The cenobitic monastery of St. Nicholas, called Babaevsky 191, will serve as a quiet haven for me after a long and dangerous struggle in the sea of ​​life. This monastery is very secluded, in a very healthy, dry place, with excellent waters. The brotherhood is simple and with a monastic mood. These are the reasons why I, considering my weakness, asked for this monastery to end my earthly wanderings there. I have been granted the rights of the Diocesan Bishop in relation to the Monastery, that is, its main administration; but it retained its abbot, who governs it as an abbot according to reports to the Bishop, just like a vicar in the Lavra. I am very reassured by this order. The charter of the monastery is similar to Valaam 192: for the order here was introduced by the abbot, a student of the Sarov Hermitage 193. Over time, this order has changed somewhat, even changed too much by other abbots. I would like to some extent, most spiritually, to restore the Sarov Charter. For this reason, I trouble you with the most humble request: order the Valaam Charter to be rewritten for me, not in Slavic letters, but in cursive writing, as long as it is rewritten correctly, without errors and omissions. Also, please take the trouble to send, if addressed to Yaroslavl, drawings of your hotel 194 . Here all the fraternal cells have fallen into disrepair and need to be rebuilt: I wish that the buildings here be built firmly, with due monastic modesty and convenience. When the need passes, I will try to return it with gratitude. When navigation opens, do not refuse to send a low-lying kamilavka and a hood 195; which ones you wear yourself: I really like them, but I really don’t like the current fashionable, tall ones. Take the trouble to convey to all the fathers and brothers of your Holy Monastery my blessing and my most ardent bow. The only son of my brother, the Stavropol governor, entered the monastery 196. At first he lived on Ugresh 197, but on my journey through Moscow he joined me and now lives with me, correcting the clerk’s obedience. The rector's place here was taken by Abbot Justin 198, who was in the Caucasus the housekeeper of the Bishop's House, and in Sergius my cell attendant: for the former rector 199, one of the widowed priests, even before my arrival, asked for another rector's place. I repeat to you that I must constantly praise God’s ineffable mercy towards me. Temporary, whatever it may be, everything is temporary, and to whom God gives time and a way to repentance, he will be given a guarantee of the eternal, inalienable, lest we ourselves neglect God’s gift. Bishop Ignatius. November 16, 1861. Received January 13, 1862. most honest and beloved in the Lord I bring you my sincere gratitude for your congratulations, for your goodwill and love for me, a sinner. May the Lord reward you in this and the next century. About myself, I inform you that I am extremely pleased with my current position, which has been arranged for me only by the wave and grace of God. After hard work and many sorrows in the midst of modern human society, there is sweet peace in the silence of solitude. In terms of the convenience I have expressed (i.e., in terms of solitude), the Babaevskaya Monastery approaches the Valaam one, even, excuse me, surpasses it. In winter, no one is there due to the remoteness of the cities and the difficulty of travel; I arrived here on October 14, and from that date until January 1, 1862, I had only five visitors - gentlemen for a very short time. In the summer, a ship, and more than one, arrives for 15 minutes, during which pilgrims barely have time to serve a prayer service and must rush back to the ship. The brotherhood is well-meaning, with a strict social orientation; The hostel was opened, as on Valaam, by the pupils of the Sarov Desert 200. You should, oh. Hegumen, come visit us in the summer! With current means, this message will not take you much time or much money. You can give us a lot of useful advice, and we will try to use them to correct the local order, which has somewhat deviated from what was originally introduced. The reason for this was the abbots of a different direction. I ask you to convey my most ardent greetings and wretched blessing to the entire brotherhood entrusted to you. Committing myself to your holy prayers and for the Lord's love, with feelings of sincere devotion and respect, I have the honor to be Bishop Ignatius. January 1, 1862. P.S. You probably received my letter, written from here 201. I hope that you will not refuse to fulfill the requests contained in it. My address: Yaroslavl. Received March 24, 1862. Most Reverend Father Abbot. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you for your letter dated January 17 and for the sent project of hotel 202, which I could not use yet, because I had not yet left the monastery and had not seen my own (Babaevskaya) hotel. Due to illness, I sit hopelessly in my cell; I could only be in church four times all winter. They say that the hotel is large, two-story, made of stone, and so stupid that it has very few rooms for shelter. God bless you for the invitation to Valaam! No, my dear: apparently, I said goodbye to Valaam forever - so I judge by my pain. We must prepare for a different journey: no longer by water, but by air. For all the time, and for everything, glory to God. About kamilavka and klobuk. Order them to be made according to the measurements of your blessed head: such a hood and kamilavka will stand here in the ruins for a sample and memory. Order one kamilavka to be made the kind that is worn under the hood, and the other one that is worn in service 203. Here we introduce a lot according to the Valaam and Sarov model. The singing has begun; We initiate the revelation of thoughts to the elders, especially for beginners; We don’t force the old-timers. I am very pleased with the place, and even more so with the fact that no one bothers me. I really need this. May the blessing of God rest upon you and upon the Holy Abode. Committing myself to your holy prayers, with a feeling of sincere devotion and respect, I have the honor to be Bishop Ignatius. February 27, 1862. Received June 27, 1862. I have received the lithographed images of St. Tikhon 204, and for delivering them I offer Your Reverence my complete gratitude. God will save you for the work you took to print them. I also received another parcel: a kamilavka and a hood, for which I am also very grateful. – My health, Father Igumen, is very bad. The weather is most favorable, the place is very healthy, the waters are excellent, the fish is always fresh; but all this helps little. Asking for your holy prayers and calling upon you and the Abode entrusted to you the abundant blessing of God, I have the honor to be Bishop Ignatius. June 13, 1862. Received July 9, 1862. Most beloved in the Lord, I bring to Your Reverence my sincere gratitude for your memory of me, a sinner, and for your letter dated May 24, 205. I heartily rejoice at the success of the holy monastery of Valaam, for which, due to its vastness and numerous brotherhood, due to its special convenience for monastic life, it is necessary to strengthen the methods of organization and maintenance, so that any material contentment it has, it will be able to abound in spiritual well-being. Excuse my forgetfulness, this sign of old age and exhaustion, I believed that I was informing you of the receipt of a copy of the monastic Rules and thanking you for delivering it. I am now correcting my mistake by bringing you my most sincere gratitude. I have addressed the hotel projects to you through your foreman Pavel 206. I would like to inform you that I feel very weak in health; I am very pleased with my situation. I look forward to your visit, which will be very convenient for you to do during your trips to Moscow, which trips will probably be necessary on the occasion of the establishment of your chapel in Moscow 207. Invoking the abundant blessing of God, Most Reverend Father Abbot, asking for your holy prayers for you and the brotherhood entrusted to you, with feelings of sincere devotion and respect, I have the honor to be Bishop Ignatius. July 5, 1862. Received December 5, 1862. I had the honor of receiving your most venerable letter dated October 14, 208 on November 17 from Pavel the foreman, 209 who added to the brevity of the letter with a story about you and the Holy Monastery. By the way, he consoled me with the news that this winter you are planning to visit Moscow and at the same time visit the Babaevsky Monastery. You are welcome! I will be sincerely glad to see you, probably for the last time in this life. How should I answer your question about my health? I constantly feel very weak, and at times very sick. I am quite satisfied with my present shelter. Thank God for the present! Thank God for the past! And regarding the future we rely on the mercy and will of God. Invoking God’s blessing on you and on the brotherhood entrusted to you and thanking you for your constant remembrance of me, a sinner, I am shortening this letter in the hope of a quick personal conversation. With feelings of complete respect and sincere devotion, I have the honor to be Bishop Ignatius. November 18, 1862. Received May 4, 1863. I bring you my sincere gratitude for your constant remembrance of me, the unworthy. Both your letter dated March 22, 210, and the views of the Valaam Monastery 211 and the island, I had the true pleasure to receive, admired, and with heartfelt sympathy my thoughts were transported to the inhabitants of these wonderful places. I have entrusted Ivan Ilyich Glazunov 212 with delivering to Your Reverence the printed editions of my feeble-minded works 213: I ask you to accept them as a sign of love and memory. I am very sorry that you did not come to the Babaevsky Monastery this winter. My strength and health are constantly depleted; your years are also passing away. If we don’t see each other in this life, then may the merciful Lord grant us the joy of seeing each other in the next century. Invoking God's blessing on you and on the brotherhood entrusted to you and asking for your holy prayers, with feelings of sincere devotion and respect, I have the honor to be Bishop Ignatius. April 21, 1863. Received October 22, 1863. I humbly ask you to let the foreman Pavel Ivanov 214 know so that he can visit me on his way to his homeland: I have a special need to see him. I wish you and the monastery all true blessings. New forms introduced in the region 215 will serve to increase the prosperity into which the Valaam Monastery has been brought. Of course: under such circumstances, your worries will also need to be aggravated. Asking for your holy prayers and calling upon God's abundant blessings on you and on your brotherhood, with feelings of sincere devotion and respect, I have the honor to be E Ignatius. October 2, 1863. Received December 16, 1863. I hasten to answer your letter dated October 27, 216. You need to carefully monitor the relationships in which the Valaam Monastery should be placed when resolving this issue. You, with careful observation and intercession, can acquire significant benefits for the monastery. People who receive a lot give a lot. These minutes must be seized. Otherwise, you can find yourself in such cramped circumstances from which you will not be able to escape. My health is poor. I can hardly walk around the rooms. I leave my rooms very rarely, only to go to church, for the Liturgy. In the summer, I occasionally go out into the grove and field. For everything, thank God, and for everything there is time. Committing myself to your holy prayers, with feelings of perfect reverence and sincere devotion, I have the honor to be Bishop Ignatius. November 26, 1863 Received February 15, 1864. Most Reverend Father, I bring you my sincere gratitude for your memory of me and your congratulations on the Nativity of Christ and the New Year, on which I evenly congratulate you and the brotherhood entrusted to you, and wish you all the true blessings. I congratulate you on your calm situation, granted by the grace of God through the mediation of the Archpastors. I sincerely wish that this position will serve for the benefit of both monasteries, and that your service will bear fruit favorable to God 217. Exactly! You need to be especially concerned about the position in which the Valaam Monastery will be placed during the present reform in Finland 218 . With such reforms, every country usually takes care of strengthening the foundations of its nationality, that is, so that the people preserve their language, their customs, their religion, and for this reason will always remain a separate people. Naturally connected with the desire to strengthen one’s religion is the desire to destroy the influence of other religions on one’s country. And therefore, it is necessary for you, without any delay, to personally visit the place where the meetings are taking place, and through measures of love to persuade them to open the thought of Orthodox monasteries to you. Then, using the same measures of love, persuade the conferring persons so that they do not do anything burdensome for the monasteries. Sometimes some trifle can be extremely burdensome and upset not only the peace, but also the well-being of the monastery. It is much better to settle such matters by agreement rather than by conflict. Moreover, when everything is approved by the Supreme Authority, then it will be difficult, and perhaps impossible, to change anything. About myself, I will tell you that I thank and praise the Lord for my current situation. The longer I live away from the noisy and bustling world and its affairs, the more and more I feel that my spirit is calming down. The weakness of my bodily strength is gradually increasing, which is why I very rarely leave my rooms; sometimes I serve, but my voice is barely audible due to the weakening of my chest and lungs, and I cannot even read long prayers at prayer services. For all your time. It’s time to begin your earthly journey, it’s time to be in the middle of it, and it’s time to end it. Invoking the abundant blessing of God upon you and your brotherhood, entrusting myself to your holy prayers, with feelings of sincere devotion and respect, I have the honor to be Bishop Ignatius. February 4, 1864. Received January 15, 1865. Please accept my most ardent congratulations on the upcoming Great Feast of the Nativity of Christ, as well as on receiving the Royal Grace 219, which I learned about only from your letter, because I don’t read either newspapers or magazines due to extreme weakness of health and eyesight, which can tolerate the most moderate reading, and then only in daylight. Thank you for sending a printed, detailed description of the Valaam Monastery! In what a beautiful binding you sent me a description of that monastery 220, which I especially love and respect for its special conveniences for monastic life! Pavel visited me on November 22, having first sent your letter and parcel. Thank you for your intention to visit me! Although I have not seen you with my physical eyes for a long time, I still see you with my heart, and I am especially grateful to you for the fact that you belong to those very few individuals who, having parted with me in body, remained in unity through love. Committing myself to your holy prayers and calling upon God’s blessing on you and on the brotherhood and monastery entrusted to you, for which I wish success and development in spiritual and material relations, with a feeling of sincere devotion and respect I have the honor to be Bishop Ignatius. December 20, 1864. Received March 30, 1866. Most Reverend Fr. Hegumen Damascene! Your most pleasant letter dated February 17, 221 was received by me on March 5. Bringing you my sincere gratitude for your remembrance of me, I congratulate you on the current Pentecostal season and on the upcoming Feast of Feasts - the Bright Resurrection of Christ. My health has been shaken since childhood by many serious shocks, and therefore in old age it can no longer recover, and is gradually being destroyed more and more. Especially the exhaustion of strength – extraordinary! For this reason, I hardly leave my cells and do nothing. Looking at the final fate of many acquaintances and relatives who spent their lives among the world in its service and were suddenly delighted by death, I thank God who brought me to the monastery. Although I live very little in the monastery; but in the world, I would probably have lived even worse, and, being occupied with vanity, would not have received any living concept of God. The Sarov hermitage, related to Valaam, received “Ascetic Experiences” 222 with particular favor. Eleven copies were written there. If you decide to visit the Babaevsky Monastery, then I would like you to come at the time the Council is completed in rough form, which, I hope, will happen in the summer of 1867 223. I wish this for the purpose that you, having seen this building in nature, erect a similar one in even better form on the Valaam Mountains 224. The church has special amenities in relation to the requirements of monastic worship. Entrusting myself to the holy prayers of yours and the brotherhood entrusted to you, calling upon you the abundant blessing of God, with a feeling of sincere respect and devotion, I have the honor to be My address is in Yaroslavl, not Kostroma. Received April 16, 1866. Recently I wrote to you: and again I write, prompted by my wretched love for the holy monastery of Valaam, of which you are the Abbot, and for the holy monastery of Konevskaya, of which you are the Dean. Pay attention to my letters that I wrote to you upon my arrival at the Bab[aevsky] Monastery. Be careful how dangerously you walk, said the Apostle (Eph. 5:15). I am in extreme exhaustion, and I ask both monasteries, and especially their Superiors, to pray for me, a sinner and a sick person. Received October 30, 1866. beloved Fr. Hegumen Damascene with all my brethren in Christ! I bring you my sincere gratitude for your loving memory of me and for the books you sent 225. My health is very poor. Sometimes it becomes easier, and sometimes it becomes so difficult that death seems close. In general, I feel an extraordinary exhaustion of strength, which is a natural consequence of a very long-term painful condition. I am very pleased with my solitary place of residence and other surroundings and thank the Lord, who has given me a position so appropriate to my weakness, mental and physical. Asking for your holy prayers and calling upon God's abundant blessings on you and on all your beloved brotherhood, with a feeling of sincere devotion and respect, I have the honor to be Received January 23, 1867. I bring you and the brotherhood entrusted to you the most sincere gratitude for your loving memory of me, and, mutually congratulating you on the past holidays and the coming New Year, I most earnestly wish you all true blessings from the all-generous right hand of the Lord. I take comfort in the good news about the well-being of the holy monasteries, Valaam and Konevskaya. My health is very upset, and the merciful Lord granted me, due to this state of health, a calm position in the secluded Babaevsky monastery. – My brother 226 was instructed to deliver the remaining two parts of my wretched works 227 to the St. Petersburg chapel of the Valaam Monastery, which should follow in the month of March or at the end of February; I ask you to accept them favorably, and send me one copy of the description of the Valaam Monastery 228, because the ones you sent me were presented to good people. I ask Your Eminence and the brotherhood entrusted to you to pray for prayers favorable to God for me, a sinner and a sick one. Calling upon you and the monastery entrusted to you the abundant blessing of God, with a feeling of sincere devotion and respect, I have the honor to be Received April 22, 1867. I bring you and the brotherhood of your holy monastery my most earnest congratulations on the upcoming Feast of Feasts, on the Bright Resurrection of Christ. I greet you with the all-joyful greeting “Christ is Risen,” and wish you all true blessings in time and in eternity. At the same time, I thank you very much for sending a printed description of your monastery and other brochures published by the Valaam Monastery 229. At the beginning of Great Lent, your foreman Pavel 230 visited me. I was pleased to hear from him some details about you and the Valaam Monastery. Committing myself to your holy prayers and the prayers of the brotherhood entrusted to you, with feelings of sincere devotion and respect, I have the honor to be Letters of Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov to the abbot of the Valaam Monastery, Abbot Damaskin. Copies. Archive of the Valaam Monastery (AVM). F. 12. Op. 1. L. 1. Desert Valaam / Valaam of Christ's Rus'. M.. 2000. P. 67 The remarkable life of the rector of the first-class Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Monastery, Fr. Damascene. Copy of the manuscript. AVM. F. 2. Op. 4. L. 2 . Sokolov L. Bishop Ignatius Bryanchaninov, his life, personality and moral and ascetic views. Part 2. Kiev., 1915. P. 154 Ignatius (Brianchaninov Dmitry Alexandrovich), Bishop of the Caucasus. Biography written by an unidentified person. Late 1870s 451 l. RNB. Collection of individual receipts. F. 1000. Op. 2. Unit hr. 531. L. 103 The rector of the Valaam Monastery is Hegumen Damascene. Valaam Patericon. Ed. Valaam Monastery; M., 2002. P. 27 See letter dated April 26, 1840 (No. 3) In 1832, Hieromonk Ignatius (Brianchaninov) was appointed to manage the Lopotov Gregory-Pelshemsky Monastery, and since 1833 he has been the rector of the Holy Trinity St. Sergius Monastery Letters of Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov to the abbot of the Valaam Monastery, Abbot Damaskin. AVM. F. 12. Op. 1. L. 1 National Archives of Karelia (HAK). ?. 762. Op. 1. Unit hr. 2/9 [Panteleimon (Sarkho), Hierom.]. Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov) and the Valaam Monastery. Typescript. Library of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. R-1565 Collection of letters of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, Bishop of the Caucasus and Black Sea / Comp. Abbot Mark (Lozinsky). M.-SPb.: Center for the Study, Protection and Restoration of the Heritage of Priest Pavel Florensky, 1995. pp. 70–77 Father Damascene - In his monastic name, Fr. Damascus was named in honor of the 8th century Syrian ascetic John of Damascus His Eminence – Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg Seraphim (1763–1843), in the world Stefan Vasilyevich Glagolevsky; He headed the St. Petersburg Metropolis in 1821. He stood at the head of the Church’s struggle against mysticism and Bible societies. He was opposed to translating the Bible into Russian. He became famous as a wonderful church administrator. Along with Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow (Vasily Mikhailovich Drozdov; 1783–1867), one of the most prominent hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church, and Metropolitan Philaret of Kyiv (Feodor Georgievich Amfitheatrov; 1779–1857), the most prominent representative of Russian monasticism, contributed to the appointment of Fr. Damascene as abbot of the Valaam Monastery. Saints Reverend Sergius and Herman, Valaam wonderworkers - founders of the Valaam monastery. Historical information about them is extremely scarce. Their lives are considered lost. Today there is no consensus on when the holy monks founded the monastery. According to church tradition, they came to Valaam from the “eastern countries” back in the time of Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga (10th century). Their memory is celebrated on July 11 (June 28, old style), September 24 (September 11, old style) and on the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost together with the Council of Novgorod Saints. ...go on the path prescribed for you. - In the morning. November 23, o. Damascene went to St. Petersburg. The length of the route between the archipelago and the capital in those days (before the opening of steamship communication) was 295 versts. Of these, about 40 versts along Ladoga to the city of Serdobol and 255 versts by postal route along the western coast through the city of Kexholm to St. Petersburg. According to the biography of Fr. Damascene, he “after spending the night in the village of Pargolovo, on the 27th, at 10 o’clock in the morning, arrived through St. Petersburg to Sergeev Hermitage, during mass, and landed here, in his usual humility, in the kitchen. At the end of the mass, Archimandrite Fr. On this day, Ignatius himself, who was celebrating the Divine Liturgy, learned about the arrival of the welcome guest, immediately invited him to his place and took him with him to a fraternal meal. After the meal, the hospitable host, having talked with the honorable guest for quite a long time in his chambers, then ordered Fr. Damascene to the treasury cells to rest from the road. In the Sergius Hermitage, in the treasury cells assigned to him, he stayed for two days without leaving. Then, on the 29th, the humble monk of Valaam with Fr. Archimandrite Ignatius set off from the Hermitage, around eight in the morning, to St. Petersburg...” (The Spirit-Bearing Shepherd of Valaam. Biography and teachings of Abbot Damaskinos of Valaam. M., 2000. P. 28.) . Two letters... - Letters from Fr. Damascus for the period before 1856 were lost during the evacuation of the Valaam Monastery deep into Finland in the winter of 1939–1940 In the first years of his abbotship, Abbot Damascene faced opposition and rejection of his decisions from some of the older brethren, some novices and those who were accustomed to feeling at ease as “subordinates” (that is, persons who were in the monastery on penance). It seemed to many that such a quick promotion of a simple monk who did not have any special merits to the monastery was unfair. Therefore Fr. Damascene had to “turn steeply, without any gradualism” (V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko. Peasant Kingdom. St. Petersburg, 1889. P. 216). Some of the brethren left Valaam (among them Father Osip), some wrote denunciations, and the subordinates, not wanting to obey the new, strict orders, “... even made attempts on his life more than once” (Valaam Monastery. St. Petersburg, 1896, p. 38). Archimandrite Ignatius, in his report on the state of affairs in the Valaam monastery, as an important measure to calm the monastery, considered it necessary to rid Valaam of those under his command. He named 12 persons whom it would be desirable to send to other monasteries, where they could bring at least some benefit. Among these was Deacon Ivan Nikolaev. A year later, in 1840, Deacon Ivan Nikolaev, among seven subordinates, was removed from the Valaam Monastery. They were sent to the monasteries of the Arkhangelsk and Vologda dioceses. It took more than 20 years to achieve a final solution to this problem with subordinates. In 1859, the last of them were transferred to other monasteries, and they were no longer sent to Valaam. However, Fr. Damascene did not rest on this and in 1864, seeking help from Metropolitan Isidore of Novgorod and St. Petersburg, sought an official ban from the Holy Synod even on the possibility of sending fines to Valaam in the future. Zelenetsky Monastery - Zelenetsky Trinity Monastery, founded by the Monk Martyrius in the 16th century, is located 180 versts from St. Petersburg (currently active. Address: Zelenets village, Volkhov district, Leningrad region). Sofronievskaya hermitage - Putivl Sofronievskaya hermitage, Kursk province. In the 17th century, Elder Sophrony achieved a decree from Patriarch Nikon on the independence of the Hermitage from the Putivl Monastery and with his labors served to elevate the monastery. Since then, Pustyn was called Sofronieva, or Sofronievskaya. The Sarov Hermitage was founded by the monk Isaac in 1706. Located on the border of Nizhny Novgorod and Tambov provinces. Chief Prosecutor – Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod Count Nikolai Alexandrovich Protasov (1798–1855) To the Serdobol postmaster... - The city of Serdobol (since 1918 - Sortavala), the city closest to Valaam on the mainland, through which the monastery maintained contact with the world. Steamship communication with St. Petersburg was opened in 1843. Abbot Veniamin... - Hegumen Veniamin, the former abbot of the Valaam Monastery, was transferred to the first-class Kostroma Cathedral Ipatiev Monastery for a hieromonastic vacation. Then he ruled the Zheleznoborovsky Forerunner Monastery of the Kostroma diocese for one month. In 1841 he was appointed rector of the Avraamiev Gorodetsky Intercession Monastery, 10 versts from the city of Chukhloma, Kostroma Diocese († 1845). In April 1837, Archimandrite Pachomius was killed in one of the monasteries of the Novgorod diocese. Civil authorities launched an investigation twice, but were unable to find the culprits. In 1839, the third investigation began. This time, Metropolitan Seraphim decided to send Father Ignatius, who was highly respected by everyone, for investigation. Arriving at the place where the murder took place, the Archimandrite, with his participation, gave the matter the right direction. In June of the same year, the case ended, the perpetrators were revealed The Reverend Vicar. – Benedict (Grigorovich), Bishop of Revel († 1850). Transferred from the rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy in 1833, appointed Archbishop to the Olonets diocese in 1842. The Revel See of Vicar Bishops, with a residence in St. Petersburg, was established in 1817; in 1865 - assigned to the Riga and Mitau diocese. Hierodeacon Joseph... - Here is what Archimandrite Ignatius writes about him in a letter to Metropolitan Seraphim: “Two subordinate hierodeacons, Joseph and Matthew, are a terrible and regrettable example of despair. They never confess or partake of the Holy Mysteries. Never, on the Easter holiday, can they be forced to come to church. Their faces are the likes of which I only happened to see among the convicts in the Dinaburg fortress.” (Ignatius (Brianchaninov Dmitry Alexandrovich) Bishop of the Caucasus. Biography compiled by an unidentified person. Late 1870s. 451 sheets. Collection of departmental receipts. F. 1000. Inventory 2. Item 531. Sheet 90.) Hierodeacon Joseph is also mentioned in a letter dated September 22 1842 The “indulgence” given to Hierodeacon Joseph should be understood as a refusal to transfer him to another monastery. Father Amfilohiy is the Abbot of the Monastery of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Konevets Island, in the southern part of Ladoga. He managed the monastery from 1839 to 1859. One of the builders of the Anthony-Dymsky Monastery was appointed abbot he doubts about your absence to St. Petersburg... - During his abbotship, Fr. Damascene, in addition to several trips in the vicinity of Lake Ladoga, traveled to St. Petersburg several times, including in 1840; toured Finland to Kymen in 1847; visited Moscow in 1864 In the life of Saint Niphon... - From the life of Saint Niphon, Bishop of Cyprus, commemorated January 5 (December 23, old style): “The Saint also saw how demons walk among the people and tempt people, instilling in them condemnation, slander, quarrels and various sorrows. One day he saw a man at work; and then a demon came to him and began to whisper in his ear; another man was working nearby; the demon came and whispered in his ear; then they left work and began to quarrel. The blessed one stood up and said: “Oh, demonic temptation!” How do you sow enmity between people! It is known about Hieromonk Barsanuphius that he was twice sent to the fleet to perform the duties of a ship’s priest. In 1844, Archimandrite Ignatius examined the case of Hieromonk Barsanuphius’s refusal to serve regularly due to illness (an old broken leg). As a result of the proceedings, Fr. Barsanuphius abandoned his demands. ...The sacristan... - The sacristan is in charge of the sacristy - the repository of church utensils, sacred vestments, altar covers, and other shrines donated to the monastery Hieromonk Alexander... – Information not found His Eminence Vicar... - Benedict (Grigorovich), Bishop of Revel († 1850). See note. to the letter dated April 26, 1840 to the Sergius Hermitage... - The Trinity-Sergius Hermitage was founded in 1735 by the confessor of Empress Anna Ioannovna, archimandrite of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Fr. Varlaam. Archimandrite Ignatius (Brianchaninov) was its rector since 1833. proper ticket. - Monastics could leave the monastery for the cities and villages of their Diocese only for public needs and with a passport (dismissal card) from the abbot. See the decree of the Holy Synod of January 24, 1740, Addendum to the Spiritual Regulations, paragraph 32. ...monk Constantine... – Information not found Novice Apukhtin. – Information not found from the chapel... - The chapel and the stone building for the monastics were built through the efforts of Abbot Veniamin in 1838; project by diocesan architect Karl Brandt. In 1835, an icon of St. Nicholas in a gilded robe, decorated with rhinestones, worth 6,000 rubles in banknotes, was donated to this chapel from the merchant’s son Dmitry Polezhaev, with the help of merchants who traded near Nevsky. The building has survived to this day. Belongs to the Valaam Monastery. Located on Sinopskaya embankment, 34, not far from the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. The chapel was consecrated in the name of the Joy of All Who Sorrow icon Nevsky Lavra. – St. Petersburg Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra, monastery; founded in 1712 by decree of Emperor Peter II. In 1797, this monastery was elevated to the level of a Lavra (operating: St. Petersburg, Monastyrki river embankment, no. 1). Novice John – No information found close to sin... - See Vladimir Dahl: “Wine is the beginning, the reason, the source, the occasion, the pretext.” ...consent to accept Elder Paphnutius... - In 1840, by decree of the St. Petersburg Spiritual Consistory No. 6263, dated November 7, it was proposed to consider the rector of the first-class Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery, Fr. to the abbot of Damascus a petition from the “Kursk Diocese of the Glinskaya Theotokos cenobitic hermitage, monk Paphnutius, to be transferred to the ranks of the brotherhood.” What about. Damascene, in a report dated December 8, 1840, responded with a refusal “due to a fairly significant number of the brotherhood, and the brotherhood does not agree to their placement here.” Since it is a personal matter about. Paphnutius with these documents was kept in the archives of the Valaam Monastery, we can conclude that Elder Paphnutius was moved at his request to Valaam Benedict (Grigorovich), Bishop of Revel († 1850). See note. to the letter of April 26, 1840 ...monk's Amphilology... – Information not found Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Novgorod Seraphim (Glagolevsky). See note. to the letter of November 2, 1838 Novice Ivan Grigoriev... – Information not found Vasily Borisov... - From the workshops of St. Petersburg. Determined to be a novice at the Valaam Monastery in 1835. In 1844 he was moved to the Staro-Ladoga Dormition Monastery about the pranks of the Finnish peasants... - The local coastal population greatly annoyed the monastery with poaching, deliberate destruction of animals (they scattered poisoned bait for foxes), illegal fishing, and attempts to smuggle tobacco and alcohol to the islands. At the same time, the monastery, especially during famine, such as in 1867, spent large sums on helping the Finnish and Karelian poor. For helping the Finns during the hungry winter of 1867, Fr. Damascus received gratitude from the Sovereign Emperor ...Finnish Governor General... - Menshikov Alexander Sergeevich (1787–1869) - admiral, adjutant general, His Serene Highness Prince; Governor-General of Finland since 1830 now a law has been passed... - In 1837, a law was passed “On the extension to the Religious Department of the rule on small-scale construction and repairs of buildings not exceeding 5,000 rubles.” (Complete code of laws of the Russian Empire, vol. XII, department II, No. 10580. St. Petersburg, 1837). According to this Decree, all buildings worth less than 5,000 rubles were carried out under the supervision of local spiritual authorities (for monasteries, these are dean). Accordingly, buildings exceeding this amount required control by the highest authority: the Holy Synod, and in the capitals - personally the Sovereign Emperor. In 1841, in the “Charter on Spiritual Consistories” (Complete Code of Laws of the Russian Empire, Vol. XVI, Div. II, No. 14409, Art. 44–60. St. Petersburg, 1841), the rules on the construction of Orthodox churches speak of the need to submit a plan and estimate of the proposed construction to the Construction Commission. Mr. Nabilkov... - Fedor Fedorovich Nabilkov, merchant from the city of Friedrichsgam, Vyborg province. With his support, new fraternal cells with a fence were built in the monastery of All Saints. The donated amount was 10,000 rubles in banknotes. Upon completion of construction in 1844?. F. Nabilkov readily responded to the request for help in the construction of a new skete church and donated 15,000 rubles. Earlier, in 1835–1836, the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity was built at his expense in the outer quad of the monastery Hierodeacon Joseph... – See note. to the letter of April 26, 1840 change of Ruler... - Apparently, we are talking about the appointment of a new vicar Bishop of Revel: on November 14, 1842, the former Bishop of Starorussky Justin (Mikhailov) became him. Previously serving Fr. Benedict (Grigorovich) was installed as Archbishop of Olonetsky ...hierodeacon Joseph... - Mentioned in letters dated April 26, 1840 and September 22, 1842 Consistory - the institution in charge of the court and administration of the Diocese o. Amphilochia... - We are probably talking about the brotherly confessor Fr. Amphilochia Soyma – river and lake vessel with a keel; length 7–8 fathoms, width – up to 2 fathoms, lifts from 3 to 5 thousand poods. The Ladoga soyma, depending on its size, has its own definitions: light - the smallest; hook, mesh, salting and cargo - the largest. In soymys without a deck, but with a roof, pilgrims were transported. Soyma was assembled from pine; instead of nails, the boards were sewn together with thread from tree roots (see: Andreev A.P. Lake Ladoga. St. Petersburg, 1875. pp. 33–34). many subordinates... - Since the late 1830s. up to 1859 inclusive, in the Valaam Monastery “ninety people of spiritual and secular rank were under supervision and on penance; in addition to this number, 15 people did not appear at the place of punishment; in total, therefore, 105 subordinates" (National Archives of Karelia (HAK). ?. 762. Op. 2. Case No. 18. L. 1) To the Most Reverend Justin... - Justin (Mikhailov), Bishop of Revel († 1879). Transferred from the Bishops of Old Russia in 1842 Appointed Bishop of Kostroma in 1845 About the supply of wine and rum... - Under Abbot Damascus, the strictest prohibition law was introduced on Valaam. Any alcohol or tobacco was prohibited from being imported to the Valaam Islands. These rules applied to everyone without exception. To stop smuggling attempts by local coastal Finns, a “customs” was set up on an island at the entrance to the Monastyrsky Strait. The inspection procedure at this monastic customs office was described by V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko in his book “The Peasant Kingdom” (St. Petersburg, 1889). A few years after the introduction of such strictures, hundreds of people suffering from the passion of “drunken bitterness” began to come to Valaam in the hope of healing. As N. S. Leskov wrote in his travel notes “Monastic Islands on Lake Ladoga” (St. Petersburg, 1874, p. 134): “...many people of different ranks are walking around Rus', whom Father Damascene “reprimanded from the demon of drunkenness.” The tradition of the struggle for sobriety of the Russian people continued after the death of Father Damascene. This is what the student-pilgrim, the future Metropolitan Veniamin (Fedchenkov), noted in his essay “On Northern Athos”: “By the way, after careful observation I was struck by the following circumstance. Almost half of the passengers, either with a blue nose, or a red face, or frayed skin and bruises under the eyes, or, more simply, a smell, betrayed their partial attitude to the patriotic moisture. In bewilderment, I turn to one young, sober guy: “Why are there so many drunks or drunks?” - Yes, they are going to Valaam too. It's constantly here. Some who have drunk too much, some who have gotten lost, can’t manage themselves at home, well, they go to Valaam to recover” (Strannik. 1906, No. 6. P. 753) Hieromonk Moses - In 1842, for the riots committed, this hieromonk was moved from the Zelenetsky Trinity Monastery to Valaam, under supervision. In 1844 he was sent to the Vvedensky Ostrovsky Monastery The requirement of hieromonks for the Fleet... - The Fleet needed ship priests. This need was satisfied by the hieromonks of various monasteries, including Valaam. This practice was difficult for monastic monasteries, firstly, because it deprived the monasteries of trained monks, who, as a rule, performed a series of priestly services and it was extremely difficult to replace them, and secondly, the naval crews, in their way of life, were far from the usual atmosphere of monastic hostelry, and a monk who spent at least seven months on board a military ship was inevitably exposed to this environment and, returning to his native monastery, with his stories and habits he could cause unwanted disorder. In 1859 Fr. Damascene submitted a petition addressed to His Eminence Metropolitan Gregory to stop sending Valaam monks to the fleet, which began with the words: “With deep contrition of heart, seeing how the desire to acquire property is spreading more and more in the Valaam brotherhood entrusted to me, realizing that the main reason for such a dangerous desire comes from representatives of monasticism - hieromonks sent to the Fleet for priestly service...”, and further: “...they return to the monastery, but their view of the holy life of fasting is already spoiled: the root of the love for achievement that arose in them is damaged” (Archive of the Valaam Monastery (AVM). F. 2. Op. 4. L. 3-4). The request was granted (Decree of His Imperial Majesty the Autocrat of All Russia from the Spiritual Consistory No. 1830. AVM. F. 2. Op. 4. L. 6). Hieromonk Barsanuphius - See note. to the letter dated April 26, 1840 His Eminence... - Anthony I (Rafalsky). Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg († 1848). He headed the metropolitanate in 1843. Before this appointment he was Bishop of Warsaw Metropolitan Anthony... – See note. to the letter dated May 5, 1845 ... To His Eminence Justin... - See note. to the letter dated November 19, 1842 ...Dean of the Monasteries... - Archimandrite Ignatius (Brianchaninov). ...Konevsky Monastery... - Nativity of the Theotokos Konevsky Monastery. Located on Konevets Island, in the southwestern part of Lake Ladoga. Founded in 1393 by the Monk Arseny Konevsky, who had previously been a monk of the Valaam Monastery for several years. (Operating: Leningrad region, Priozersky district, Vladimirovka village, Konevets island.) ...Treasurer... - Hieromonk Victor (Kuznetsov). See note about him. to the letter dated November 30, 1846 ...laying the foundation stone of the church in the Skete of the Valaam Monastery... - The skete in the name of All Saints is located on the island of Skete, about three miles from the monastery. In a clearing surrounded by a centuries-old forest, there is a snow-white two-story church in the Byzantine style. The small monastery territory is surrounded by a stone fence with built-in eight cell buildings. This is the first and to this day the largest monastery of the Valaam monastery. In the 19th century the number of inhabitants in it reached 30 people. The initial information about the construction in Skete dates back to 1789 and they are associated with the request of Abbot Nazarius to Metropolitan Gabriel (Petrov) of Novgorod and St. Petersburg about the construction of a new stone church: “When the Monk Alexander of Svirsky lived in the monastery, he had a secluded cell not far from the monastery, where after that a wooden church was built in his name, which from a long time The building has collapsed, but so that this place does not fall into oblivion, we wish to build a small stone church in the name of All Saints in this place” (Murasheva N.V. Skete of All Saints. Brief historical background. Typescript. L.: Spetsstroyrestavratsiya. 1984. P. 13.). In 1793, a church and seven buildings with 18 cells were built, but the design of the residential premises was unsuccessful. The buildings stood low to the ground, without a basement or porch at the entrance. The lower part up to the window sills was made of wild stone, then brick went to the very top. Dampness easily penetrated into the cells. In winter it was impossible to heat the premises. Father Ignatius, having first visited the Skete in 1838, in his report on the state of affairs in the Valaam Monastery, wrote: “The cells in the skete are unusually thin and unhealthy; I have never seen anything like it in any Russian monastery. I think it is absolutely necessary and very cheap to rebuild them...” (OR RNB. F. 1000. Op. 2. Item 531. P. 105). Hegumen Damascene ruled this Skete for seven years before his abbotship and knew the living conditions in it well. December 31, 1840 Fr. Damascene petitioned Metropolitan Seraphim for the construction of new buildings and a fence in the Skete (see also note to the letter of September 22, 1842). Upon completion of these works, it was decided to rebuild the church. Through the mediation of Fr. Ignatius, the design of the church was entrusted to A. M. Gornostaev, an academician of architecture who served in the department of the Construction Commission of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In 1849, according to the Highest approved project of A. M. Gornostaev, a new church was built. The lower church in the name of All Saints was illuminated on August 18, 1849 by Archimandrite Ignatius; the upper one, in the name of All Ethereal Powers, was consecrated by Metropolitan Nikanor (Klementyevsky) of Novgorod and St. Petersburg on July 19, 1850. Ivan Baikov... - Novice Ivan Baikov carried out obedience in the icon-painting workshop. Hierodeacon Macarius - Father Macarius (Vetlov), ordained hierodeacon in 1844, ordained hieromonk in 1849 Sacristan - See note. to the letter of August 9, 1840 Decree sacristan - Appointed to this position by decree of the Spiritual Consistory, followed in the name of the dean of the monasteries Hieromonk Victor - Father Victor (Vasily Kuznetsov), from the town of Friedrichsham. In 1831 he was assigned to the Valaam Monastery, tonsured a monk in 1836. He was ordained a hierodeacon on February 3, 1839, three days later he was ordained a hieromonk, and on March 6 he was elected by the brethren and rector to fill the position of treasurer. At the request of Fr. Damascene to appoint Hieromonk Victor as governor, apparently a refusal was received, because for several more years Fr. Victor continued to fulfill the obedience of the treasurer. O. Vitaly, a candidate for this position, was appointed sacristan. Subsequently, Hieromonk Victor became the viceroy and carried out this obedience for 30 years. He can be considered a student of Fr. Damascene. since back in 1832, when the monk Damascene lived in solitude, in the desert, the then abbot Fr. Varlaam sent two novices to him for spiritual edification, one of whom was the future hieromonk Fr. Victor Viceroy - “The governor, in the event of absence, illness or death of the abbot, takes over the performance of his duties” (Seraphim (Kuznetsov), abbot: Men's dormitory charter.?, 2000. P. 75). Hieromonk Vitaly - Vasily Ovodov, from the town of Skopin. He held the post of housekeeper since 1844. In 1847, he was appointed by decree to the post of sacristan of the Valaam Monastery († 1848) Treasurer - “... the duties of the treasurer include management and supervision of the entire economy of the monastery” (Op. op. p. 77). O. Bogolep - Hieromonk Bogolep (Boris Kramstsov), from the bourgeoisie. He was tonsured a monk at the Valaam Monastery in 1793. From 1833 to 1842 he served as fraternal confessor. Due to old age (in 1846 the priest turned 83 years old) he was released from obedience to the fraternal confessor († 1847) St. St. John Climacus. Ladder. Word 4, Art. 12 Gaiter - The first award given to the priest as a sign of the sword of the spiritual, that is, the word of God. with which the priest must be armed. The legguard has the appearance of a quadrangular, somewhat oblong plate on which a cross is depicted; the leg guard is worn on the right side of the thigh O. Amfilohiy – Brotherly confessor Gabriel... – Perhaps we are talking about Abbot Damascene’s cell attendant Gabriel Kobylin O. Pakhomiy – Monk Pakhomiy (Peter Pakhomov), from the philistines. He was tonsured a monk at the Valaam Monastery in 1836. He served as cellar. ...the book of St. Theodore the Studite... - In a letter to Metropolitan Seraphim of Novgorod and St. Petersburg about the state of affairs in the Valaam Monastery, Archimandrite Ignatius reported: “... the library in the outer square, opposite the cathedral, has many rare paternal books, some of them from ancient prints, some of them written <...>. Among other books, I saw a written scroll of Theodore the Studite - this is such a rarity that I come across in the first monastery” (OR RNB. F. 1000. Inv. 2. Item 531. Biography... P. 86). The inventory of the patristic books of the library of the Valaam Monastery indicates “Theodore of the Studite Abbot and Confessor of the Catechetical Words” - 1/4 pp., two books (Valaam Monastery and Its Ascetics. St. Petersburg: Publishing House of the Valaam Monastery; 1889. P. 205). ...lithographed drawing of the Skete church, being built again. – Most likely we are talking about the drawing by the architect A. M. Gornostaev “Skete of All Saints”, view from the north-west, 1848 Kelly, where I stay... - See note. to the letter dated July 19, 1861 in a hotel that would be outside the monastery. – Before the construction of the new hotel (see note to the letter dated January 12, 1857), pilgrims stayed in part of the southern building of the outer square, i.e. on the territory of the monastery Babaevsky Monastery... - In the summer of 1847, Archimandrite Ignatius received sick leave. He spent eleven months in the Nikolo-Babaevsky monastery of the Kostroma diocese (see note to the letter dated November 16, 1861) Brother Abraham – No information found ... Mr. Honorary Director Fyodor Ivanovich Pryanishnikov... - Actual Privy Councilor. For successful reforms in the postal department, he was awarded the Order of Stanislav, 2nd degree, and Order of Anna, 2nd degree. From 1841 he served as director of the Postal Department. In 1854 he was appointed a member of the State Council. He became famous for his charity. Known as an outstanding bibliophile. Secretary of the Dying Sphinx Masonic Lodge († 1867) freedman... - A serf who received freedom Sergey Stepanov – Information not found Monk Efimy Golovko – Retired Senate registrar Emelian Golovko. He entered the Valaam Monastery in 1842, and was designated a novice in 1845. He was tonsured a monk in 1848. From the time he was designated a novice until 1852, he filled the position of clerk. In 1852 he was ordained a hierodeacon, in 1853 he was ordained a hieromonk. In 1856, at his own request, he was moved to the Trinity St. Sergius Hermitage. In his letters to Fr. Ignatius wrote the monk’s name – “Efimy”; in the registers of the Valaam Monastery the name is indicated - “Euphymy” ...treasurer... - Treasurer of the Valaam Monastery, Hieromonk Victor (Kuznetsov). See note. to the letter of November 30, 1846 ...Euphemia... - See note. to the letter of March 3, 1852 To the Lord... - Metropolitan Nikanor of St. Petersburg and Novgorod, in the world Nikolai Stepanovich Klementyevsky. He headed the metropolitan metropolis in 1848, before that he was Archbishop of Warsaw. Died June 17, 1856 compiling a statistical and historical overview of the monasteries of the St. Petersburg Diocese... - By Decree of the St. Petersburg Ecclesiastical Consistory, dated February 12, 1852, No. 651, in pursuance of the definition of the Holy Synod, it was decided to entrust the description of nine diocesan monasteries to the dean of the monasteries of the St. Petersburg Diocese, Archimandrite Ignatius, with the help of Archimandrite Innocent of the Zelenetsky Monastery. In a petition for dismissal from the administration of the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage, submitted to His Eminence Nikanor at the beginning of May 1852, Archimandrite Ignatius wrote: “I consider it not superfluous to add that I have taken due measures to compile a statistical and historical review of the St. Petersburg diocese, which Your Eminence entrusted to me personally. As Sergius Pustyn, among its pilgrims is the famous writer Bashutsky, who, by the Highest will, was engaged in the historical and statistical description of St. Petersburg, also the official Stratonovich, who graduated as the first student from a course at the Mogilev Seminary and has very good literary abilities; On the contrary, the other diocesan monasteries do not have a single person capable of such activities, so I have entrusted the analysis of all the monastic archives and an extract from them to the years. Bashutsky and Stratonovich so that they visit all the monasteries this summer and present their work to me for final work...” (L. Sokolov. Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov, his life, personality and moral and ascetic views. Kyiv, 1915. Note to p. 190). However, although Mr. Bashutsky was accepted at the Valaam Monastery, he was not given historical materials. Thus, Archimandrite Ignatius became the author and compiler of the “Archaeological Description...” Bashutsky Alexander Pavlovich (1803–1876), writer, publisher of the “Panorama of St. Petersburg” (1834), as well as the “Journal of Generally Useful Information” (1837–47) and the “Journal of Foreign Literature” in the 1860s. In the “Russian Biographical Dictionary” by A. A. Polovtsov, A. P. Bashutsky is characterized as follows: “Nature endowed Bashutsky with remarkable abilities, versatile talents, a thirst for vigorous activity, but it fell to his lot to be an amateur in everything, constantly rushing from side to side. He spent his whole life in a struggle with his own strength, his own virtue, his own will, his own mind, and, within the limits of earthly existence, he did not manage to achieve the eternal, which he so strived for.” It is possible that this is an overly subjective assessment of Alexander Pavlovich’s personality. It should be added that Bashutsky was one of the few secular journalists and writers who spoke out in defense of the Church and monasticism from the attacks of representatives of the liberal press, for which he was awarded by A. I. Herzen, along with V. I. Askochensky and S. O. Burachko, the absurd nickname “god-locust” and “god-critter” (A. I. Herzen. PSS., vol. XIV. P. 309). Perhaps A.P. Bashutsky was the spiritual child of Archimandrite Ignatius. In 1846, Alexander Pavlovich retired and entered the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage as a novice, from where he moved to the Cheremenets St. John the Theological Monastery of the St. Petersburg Diocese, and then to Kyiv. He left the monastery and at the end of his life became interested in homeopathy, providing free treatment to the poor. Efimiya... See letters dated May 29 and March 19, 1852. O. builder Cheremenetsky... - In 1849, the treasurer of the Zelenetsky Trinity Monastery, Hieromonk Iakinf, was appointed builder of the Cheremenets St. John the Theological Monastery. In May 1853, due to illness, he was moved to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery monk Eugene... - Evfimy Kuzmin, from the peasants. In 1845 he was designated a novice of the Valaam Monastery, and in 1851 he was tonsured a monk. He was not moved to the Cheremnetsk monastery. In 1854, at the Valaam Monastery, he was ordained a hierodeacon and in 1855 ordained a hieromonk. He was sent to the navy three times. In memory of the war of 1853–56. was awarded a pectoral cross on Vladimirskaya and a medal on St. Andrew's ribbon Cheremenets monastery - Cheremenets St. John the Theologian Monastery, on the island of Lake Cheremenets, 20 versts from the city of Luga. According to legend, it was founded in the 15th century, under Grand Duke John III. (Current: Leningrad region, Luga district, Skreblovo volost, Cheremenets.) Ustyuzhna is a district town in the Novgorod province near the Mologa River. In 1851, an investigative case arose in the Novgorod diocese “on the denunciation of the priest Alexander Ivanovsky about the illegal actions of the landowner Strakhov, and on the latter’s counter-denunciation against the priest for allegedly inciting the peasants Strakhov to disobedience” (See the manuscript: “Ignatius (Brianchaninov), Bishop of the Caucasus. Biography, written by by an unidentified person." OR RNB. F. 1000. Op. 531. P. 146). Given the complexity of this case, the rector of the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage, Archimandrite Ignatius, was sent to the investigative commission as a senior deputy from the clergy. When he arrived on July 17, it turned out that the commission had already completed the investigation and sent a report to St. Petersburg. However, Fr. Ignatius, having examined the proceedings of the case and made a copy of the commission’s journal, formed his opinion, in which he recognized the very action plan of the investigation as incorrect, revealing a clear desire to protect the landowner Strakhov from prosecution, and, conversely, to accuse the priest Ivanovsky. Upon arrival in St. Petersburg, Archimandrite Ignatius presented a detailed note with proof of his provisions for consideration by the Holy Synod. This note “was reported to the Sovereign by the Chief Prosecutor of the Synod and a new commission of inquiry in 1852, by order of the Highest, with the participation of Archimandrite Ignatius as a senior deputy from the spiritual side, revealed the truth of the accomplished facts and confirmed the validity of the conclusions and accusations made by Archimandrite Ignatius regarding the actions of the first commission...” (Ibid. p. 147) See letter dated April 29, 1852 Hierodeacon Efimiya... - See note. to the letter dated March 3, 1852 Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Novgorod Nikanor (Klementyevsky). About him, see the notes to the letter dated April 29, 1852 Optina Pustyn - Svyato-Vvedenskaya Optina Pustyn is located four miles from the city of Kozelsk, on the right bank of the Zhizdra River. The foundation of the monastery dates back to the end of the 14th – beginning of the 15th centuries. According to legend, the monastery was founded by the repentant robber Opta, who was named Macarius in monasticism, which is why it was also called Makaryevskaya. The first documentary evidence of monastic life dates back to the beginning of the 17th century. Until the first half of the 19th century, Optina was one of the many, undistinguished, poor deserts of Russia. At the time of the confiscation of church lands, due to lack of funds, it was left behind the staff, barely survived and began to gradually strengthen only from the end of the 18th century, when His Eminence Platon (Levshin), Metropolitan of Moscow and Kaluga (1732–1812), drew attention to its needs, entrusting it to Archimandrite Macarius Bryushkov, rector of the Pesnoshsky Monastery (1788–1811) put the Hermitage in order. The true purpose of Optina was revealed when, in 1821, Bishop Philaret of Kaluga (Amphiteatrov, later Metropolitan of Kiev, 1779–1857) founded a monastery in the name of St. John the Baptist, where the first Optina elders were invited from the Roslavl forests: Moses and his brother Anthony. In 1829, Elder Leonid Nagolkin (in schema Leo) joined them. Thus began the period of spiritual flourishing of Optina Pustyn. The eldership formed a special structure of the internal life of the monastery and determined the great ideological influence of the monastery on the Russian people and Russian culture. Currently operating: Stavropegial Monastery, Holy Vvedenskaya Optina Pustyn. Kaluga region, near the city of Kozelsk Skete in the name of All Saints - See note. to the letter dated June 17, 1846 ...entry to the female sex is forever prohibited... - From the ninth rule - “On the pilgrims coming to the Skete” of the statute of the Skete of the Inexhaustible (All Saints): “The female sex, like Father Abbot, or without him whoever manages the monastery, will never be allowed to enter the Skete” (Charter of the Skete of All Saints on the island of Valaam. AVM. F. 5. Op. 1. S. 10–11). low-nutrient food... - From the fourth rule - “On the fraternal meal” of the charter of the Skete of the Undying (All Saints): “Let the meal in the Skete be common to everyone and forever fast; fish and meat and milk are supplied for nothing...” (Charter of the Skete of All Saints on the island of Valaam. AVM. F. 5. Op. 1. P. 5) The Venerable Sisoes the Great († 429) was a hermit monk who labored in the Egyptian desert in a cave consecrated by the prayerful labors of his predecessor, the Venerable Anthony the Great (January 17, Art. Style). Saint Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia (c. 330–379) is a great teacher of the Universal Church. Memory January 1st Art. style and January 30 Art. style (at the Council of the Three Ecumenical Teachers) Elder Hieroschemamonk Leonid... - From the life of the Venerable Optina Elder Leo. The first Optina elder, Venerable Leonid (Lev Danilovich Nagolkin, 1768–1841). In 1797 he joined the brethren of Optina Pustyn. Two years later he moved to the Beloberezhsky (Oryol province) monastery, where at that time the abbot was Hieromonk Vasily (Kishkin), an ascetic of high spiritual life. In 1801, novice Lev was tonsured into a mantle with the name Leonid; in the same year, on December 22, he was ordained a hierodeacon, and on December 24, a hieromonk. In 1804, the Reverend became the rector of the Beloberezh Hermitage. Before that, he lived briefly in the Cholna Monastery, where he met a disciple of the Moldavian elder Paisius (Velichkovsky), Father Theodore. Four years later, Father Leonid left the position of rector and retired from Fr. Theodore and Fr. Cleopas in a quiet forest cell. But the spiritual gifts of the ascetics began to attract more and more people to their solitude. The elders, striving for silence, went to one of the hermitages of the Valaam Monastery. They lived on Valaam for six years. When their high life began to attract attention, they left again, striving for silence, this time to the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery. There Father Theodore reposed in 1822. In 1829, the Monk Leonid, together with six disciples, arrived in Optina Pustyn. His eldership lasted twelve years and brought great spiritual benefit. In September 1841, the elder began to noticeably weaken, stopped eating food and received the Holy Mysteries of Christ every day. On the day of the Saint’s death, October 11/24, 1841, an all-night vigil was served in memory of the Holy Fathers of the Seven Ecumenical Councils (Published by Vvedenskaya Optina Pustyn. 1996) I was an eyewitness. – See “Biography of Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov, compiled by his closest students in 1881” (Nast, edition, T. I. Ch. 5. P. 29) famous hostels - Beloberezhsky, Ploshchansky, Sofronievsky, even Optinsky and Sarovsky ... - Beloberezhskaya Ioanno-Predtechenskaya hermitage - in Bryansk district, Oryol province; Kazan Bogoroditskaya Ploshchanskaya hermitage - in Sevsky district, Oryol province; Putivl Sofronieva hermitage - in Putivl district, Kursk province; Optina Vvedenskaya Pustyn - in the Kaluga province; Sarov Assumption Hermitage - in Temnikovsky district, Tambov province Saint John the Prophet, disciple of the Great Barsanuphius... - The Venerable Barsanuphius the Great and John the Prophet lived in the 6th century, during the reign of Emperor Justinian I (483–565). They labored in the monastery of Abba Serida, in Palestine, near the city of Gaza. Memory 6 February Art. st See: Rev. Fathers Barsanuphius the Great and John's guide to spiritual life. Ed. "Rule of Faith" M., 1995 Saint Isaac the Syrian, Bishop of Nineveh, lived in the 7th century. Together with his brother he entered the monastery of Mar-Matthew. The brothers were distinguished by their scholarship and high ascetic lifestyle, and they were offered leadership of the monastery. The Monk Isaac, not wanting this and striving for silence, left the monastery and went into seclusion. His brother more than once urged him to return to the monastery, but the Reverend did not agree. However, when the fame of the holy life of the Monk Isaac spread everywhere, he was elevated to the episcopal see of the city of Nineveh. Seeing the rude morals of the inhabitants of this city, the Reverend felt that he was unable to correct them and, moreover, yearned for the silence of the hermit’s life. All this weighed heavily on the holy husband, and he, leaving the bishopric, retired to the hermitage desert. Here he lived until his death, achieving high spiritual perfection. Memory January 28 Art. st Callistus Patriarch and his associate Ignatius - Saint Callistus II, known under the name Callistus Xanthopoulos, labored in the monastery of Xanthopoulos on Holy Mount Athos (apparently in the monastery of Pantocrator). In 1397 he was elevated to the Patriarchal throne and served as a priest under Manuel Palaeologus (1391–1425). Having left the administration of the Church of Constantinople, he retired into silence. Together with his associate Ignatius Xanthopoulos, he compiled “One Hundred Chapters on Mental Prayer,” placed in the second part of the Slavic edition of the Philokalia. According to their contemporary, Saint Simeon of Thessalonica, Saints Callistus and Ignatius Xanthopoulos were awarded Divine illumination, like the Apostles on Mount Tabor. Their faces “seemed to shine like the sun” See: Monks Callista and Ignatius Xanthopulov, instructions to the silent, in a hundred chapters. "Philokalia". Ed. Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, 1993. Vol. 5. Chapter 36. P. 354 See: Abba Isaac the Syrian “Ascetic Words.” Ed. "Rule of Faith" M., 1993. P. 411 About the secret - The secret correspondence of 1856 was devoted to the investigation of the so-called. “Cases on denunciations of subordinates and some brethren.” The background to the events reminiscent of the denunciations and investigations of the late 30s is as follows. In 1849, for “insolence and spreading outrageous thoughts against the government and the Sovereign” (The case of denunciations of subordinates and some brethren. AVM. F. 2. Op. 4. L. 80), Archpriest Peter Levashov was sent to the Valaam Monastery indefinitely (For the circumstances of his case, see note No. 7). Embittered, considering himself unjustly punished, Fr. Upon arrival at Valaam, Peter waged a real battle against the abbot of Damascus. Possessing the ability to persuade, being an eloquent person and being, in the minds of his like-minded people, “a martyr” (L. 56), he gathered around him those who were dissatisfied with their position in the monastery, who considered themselves offended in some way, those who did not accept the strictness of the Valaam Rule. These were mainly subordinates: Nikolai Veselago, a prisoner demoted to the rank and file, transferred from the Solovetsky Monastery; priest Avksentiy Stratonovich, who came under supervision for mutilation; Hierodeacon Clement, exiled to Valaam for drunkenness and negligence in church services; Hierodeacon Isaiah - for drunkenness and unauthorized absence from the monastery, and others. The influence of these “rebels,” as Fr. called them in his reports. Damascus, spilled like a deadly poison onto the brethren of the monastery. In one of the petitions, Fr. Damascene directly stated that “... a gang of the most skillful and inveterate doers of evil, composed of those sent here under supervision over the past six years, has greatly damaged the morality of many of those living in the monastery...” (L. 79). In 1855, having composed a multi-page denunciation, Archpriest Pyotr Levashov sent it to His Eminence Nikanor, Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg. In November of the same year, Abbot Apollos, assistant to the dean of the monasteries, Fr. Ignatius. The brethren were interviewed, the abbot of the monastery provided his report, the denunciation was most carefully examined from the factual and legal aspects, the complaint of the informers was recognized as based on mere rumors and suspicions, and the informers themselves fell (according to Article 876 of the Code of Laws, vol. XV) into the punishable category of sneakers, starting litigation in vain. The results were reported to the Diocesan authorities. The result expected by the informers - the transfer of Abbot Damascus to another monastery under supervision - did not happen. However, the matter did not move further than the recognition of the groundlessness of the filed complaint. The informers remained in the monastery and “...seeing that the higher authorities did not make the slightest remark to the informer, they imagined that what was written in the denunciation was completely justified by the authorities, and therefore with greater courage they began to corrupt the brotherhood and arm it against the monastery authorities...” (L. 79-80). Unknown persons, having signed another denunciation with the names of some Valaam brethren, sent it to Count Orlov (see note. No. 4), using his fame as a person who was responsive to requests and complaints and often entered the highest authorities with various proposals. This letter is devoted to consideration of the circumstances of this message. Hierodeacon Joasaph - His biographical information has not been found. During the work of the investigative commission in 1855, Hierodeacon Joasaph was one of the few who filed a complaint against Fr. Damascene. The essence of the complaint boiled down to resentment for finding “... about two years ago, my closet was dissolved and the locks were broken, both on the doors of the closet and on two chests in which there were stone cutting tools and various things, and half a pound of tea was stolen...” (L. 5). Hierodeacon Joasaph was one of those closest to Fr. Peter Levashov of people, as evidenced by a letter preserved in the Valaam archive (See note No. 6) To His Eminence... - Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg Nikanor (Klementyevsky). See note. to the letter of April 29, 1852 Count Orlov - Orlov-Davydov Vladimir Petrovich (1809–1882), count, privy councilor. From 1848 to 1852 was a conscientious judge in St. Petersburg. In 1862 he was elected St. Petersburg provincial marshal of the nobility Schema-Deacon Jonah - Ivan Andrianov, from the philistines. In 1822 he was tonsured at the Valaam Monastery and named Israel. In 1828 he was ordained a hierodeacon. He was tonsured as a great schema in 1844. He could not come to St. Petersburg due to illness. that he verbally explained to you... - Schema-Deacon Jonah, who at that time was 82 years old, he constantly lived in the hospital and knew nothing about the letter, which supposedly contained his signature. Hegumen Damascene reported this to Archimandrite Ignatius in his report. Later, in the spring, schema-hierodeacon Jonah, using the ticket issued to him, went to St. Petersburg, where he met with Fr. Ignatius. Judging by the fact that his name is no longer mentioned in this case, he was really far from disturbing the monastic order wrote a letter... - The letter was received at the monastery on February 18, 1856, enclosed in two envelopes to different addressees, detained by the abbot as sent from a suspicious person, opened. The copy made was sent to Archimandrite Ignatius ...to Levashov... - Back in 1828, the archpriest of the city of Buzuk, Orenburg province, Fr. Peter Levashov sent the Tsar a message in which he described the moral decline of Russian society and demanded urgent measures, threatening the inevitable Judgment of God. There was no answer. In 1848 Fr. Peter composed a second message, in which he again expressed his opinion about the disastrous state of affairs in the Russian Empire: “All-August Monarch! Once again I accept the boldness to write to You. Our Fatherland is already on the path mourned by the prophet Jeremiah, the measure of wickedness is overflowing...” - Further, accusing the secular and spiritual authorities of many sins, he warns the Sovereign: “... do not listen to flattering advice; plant faithful and God-fearing men around your throne, and you will find such men if you yourself are faithful to the Lord, even if you harden your heart, your kingdom will cease to be in the language of wills, rebellion will suddenly come and destruction will be like a storm!!!” (The case of denunciations... AVM. F. 2. Op. 4. L. 35–39). It is unknown whether this message reached Emperor Nicholas I. Archpriest Levashov conveyed it through a certain “most influential man.” A month later Fr. Peter was summoned to St. Petersburg. A penance was imposed on him, according to which he fell under supervision and, of his own free will, chose the Valaam Monastery as his place of residence. In the order of His Eminence Nikanor to Abbot Damaskin, received on February 5, 1849, it was proposed to “... exhort and convince him with meekness of spirit, so that he realizes and leaves his error...” (Case of Archpriest Levashev. AVM. F. 2. Op. 4. L. 7). For several years Fr. Damascene, fulfilling his obedience to report every third of the year on the behavior of the person under his supervision, reported in 1853 about his “...extreme insolence and restless character...” (L. 13). In 1856 he wrote about that. that Archpriest Levashov “...did not show any external bad actions, but as for his internal state, he is still obsessed with the illness that visited him for a long time; because does not cease to judge the affairs of everyone, even the highest secular and spiritual authorities, in which he, as if blinded by extreme pride, sees only untruth and lawlessness...” (L. 22). In 1857, Archpriest Peter Levashev was transferred under supervision to the Vologda Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery artist Stepanov... – Information not found Levashova. – See note. to the letter dated February 26, 1856 my manuscript about the Valaam Monastery... - The famous work of Archimandrite Ignatius “Valaam Monastery” was first published in a separate edition in 1847. “Archaeological Description of the Antiquities of the Valaam Monastery” was compiled in 1853. Which of these manuscripts will be discussed in the letter is unknown he wrote for the Valaam Monastery... - During these years, Abbot Damascene puts a lot of work into creating a historical description of the Valaam Monastery. He responds to the proposal of the historian S.V. Solovyov to collect materials in the Scandinavian archives, edits the work of Pyotr Vasilyevich Khavsky, the author of works on chronology issues, including the “Valaam Peace Circle” (1864)? negotiates with N.V. Elagin, the future compiler of the description of the Valaam Monastery published in 1864. He asks for help from many educated people who showed sincere interest in Valaam. Perhaps part of this work with the documents of the monastery was entrusted to the artist Stepanov ...the chapel... - See note. to the letter dated September 11, 1840 Hieromonk Daniel - Dmitry Popov, from the bourgeoisie. He was tonsured at the Valaam Monastery on August 7, 1849. He filled the position of cellar. He was ordained a hierodeacon in 1850, ordained a hieromonk in 1852. He was sent to the navy. In memory of the war of 1853–1856. awarded the pectoral cross on Vladimirskaya and a medal on St. Andrew's ribbon Hieromonk Moses - One of those hieromonks whom Archimandrite Ignatius summoned to St. Petersburg regarding the Case of denunciations. See previous letter. No biographical information found The monks identified in the Relation... Hieromonk Moses, Schema-Herodeacon Jonah, Monk Joachim and Monk Joel were sent for investigation to the Trinity Hermitage of St. Sergius to Archimandrite Ignatius in early March 1856. Monk Joachim was “left for further consideration regarding his order” (Case on denunciations... AVM. F. 2. Op. 4. L. 68). The rest returned to the monastery Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Novgorod Nikanor (Klementyevsky). About him, see note. to the letter dated April 29, 1852 with the opening of the shipping company... - The pioneer of steamship communication on Ladoga was the private entrepreneur Pyotr Nikolaevich Vyshinsky. In 1843, he launched the paddle steamer Valaam on the route Shlisselburg - Konevets - Valaam - Serdobol, which, as being too slow, was soon replaced by the faster Peter the Great. In 1854, P. N. Vyshinsky handed over the steamship to Mr. Nobel, the father of the famous chemist Alfred Nobel, who owned a mechanical plant in St. Petersburg. The Nobel family's business in Russia went bankrupt in 1859. The ship came into the possession of the Northern Shipping Company. By that time, the Finnish Ladoga Society and the Nevsky Light Shipping Company were competing on the Ladoga lines. The best steamship the Finns had was the Valamo, built in England in 1859, of a naval design. It took on board up to 280 people the crowd of people in the Valaam monastery has increased greatly... - It is difficult to establish the exact number of visitors to Valaam, since most of them were coastal residents who reached the islands on their boats and stayed on Valaam for no more than three days. As for the residents of St. Petersburg, in the “Proposal for the establishment of steamship communications on Lake Ladoga” (St. Petersburg, 1842), in proof of the extraordinary benefits of this enterprise, it is reported that “with all the inconveniences, up to 20 thousand people visit Valaam during the summer.” Accordingly, with the opening of the shipping company, this figure increased. On holidays and especially solemn days, such as June 28 (old style) - the day of the saints Reverend Sergius and Herman, the Wonderworkers of Valaam, there were up to 4,000 people in the monastery, and on the visit of the Sovereign Emperor Alexander Nikolaevich with the August Family in 1858, at least 6,000 pilgrims gathered at the pier in the monastery bay On October 1, 1856, Hegumen Damascene wrote to His Eminence Gregory (Postnikov), who headed the St. Petersburg Metropolis, explaining the reason for his not performing Divine services on some “Sundays and significant days”: “... according to the pillar singing accepted here by the local Charter, performed, like reading, slowly, all-night vigils with the little ones Vespers, Complines, their canons and akathists, on such days last 6, 7 and 8 hours, and masses with prayers last 3 and 4 hours, so that they almost always leave the meal at 2 o’clock; Meanwhile, in the summer, a steamboat with pilgrims arrives at Valaam on Saturdays at 1 o’clock, and departs back the next day at 3 o’clock: for such reasons, if I myself always performed divine services, then, not to mention my old age, poor health and fatigue, I could never receive pilgrims, hundreds of them coming to the monastery. Meanwhile, it is necessary to receive them in your cell in order to talk about spiritual benefits or, sometimes, about monastic interests...” (Case on denunciations... AVM. F. 2. Op. 4. L. 76) ...and not young and not cassock novices... - From the report of Abbot Damaskin. submitted to the investigator Abbot Apollos on November 19, 1855: “...to everyone who wants to be saved, and therefore necessarily requires guidance on the path of salvation, I have appointed and am appointing elders. Such elders were originally: confessor hieromonk Amphilochius (in the schema Anthony), monk Serapion (in the schema Seraphim), monk Theophanes (in the schema Theoktist) and monk Pachomius; due to the poor health of some of them, and some even extreme illness, I have chosen others, although, unfortunately, not adorned with external gray hair, but no less alien to sound teaching, always studying in the books of the Fathers, who themselves lived carefully, and live under the elders, and therefore are able, with the help of their elders, to instruct the humble souls of the disciples I entrust to them for good in God. The purity of my intention is also evident from the fact that the best of the brethren entrusted to me in all respects are exclusively those who follow the path destined by God Himself, the middle, royal path, the path of eldership!” (The case of denunciations... AVM. F. 2. Op. 4. L. 16–17) Reindeer have been found on Valaam for a long time. Not knowing the shot of a gun, not knowing the danger from people, they, according to the recollections of the pilgrims, felt completely free on the islands. For the first time, the issue of introducing “pleasure animals” into the monastery was considered at the investigation in 1855. In those years, peacocks walked along the paths of the lower garden, swans swam in artificial ponds, there were also several hinnies (animal from a donkey and a horse) and “overseas pigs.” As reported by Fr. Damascene in a report to Abbot Apollos: “The only purpose of introducing these animals into the monastery was to provide some innocent consolation to the brethren” (Ibid. L. 20) Monasteries located in Ladoga district. – At the beginning of the winter of 1856, Abbot Damascene, returning from St. Petersburg to Valaam, drove along the “Russian bank” of Ladoga and visited the Old Ladoga Nikolaevsky Monastery, 13 versts from the city of Novaya Ladoga, on the left bank of the Volkhov River; Ostrovsky Vvedensky Monastery on the Oyat River; Alexander-Svirsky Monastery in Olonetsky district, near the river. Sviri. In a letter dated December 20, 1856, Fr. Damascene wrote to Archimandrite Ignatius; “I admit frankly, my heart rejoiced when I looked at the monasteries of the St. Petersburg diocese. What an excellent improvement everything is there and they owe all this improvement to you. Thanks to the Lord, under your protection and order, everything blooms and bears fruit. May God reward you for your many useful activities" (Letters of Abbot Damascus. AVM. F. 2. Op. 9; December 20, 1856) A new house in the Nikolaevsky Monastery... - A three-story, stone, iron-roofed building, up to 13 fathoms long, up to 7 fathoms wide. On the top floor there is a library, school and living quarters; in the lower part there are utility services and storerooms. The house was built according to the Highest approved plan with money from benefactors Valaam hotel. – The monastery hotel on Valaam was opened for pilgrims in 1852. The outstanding Russian architect A. M. Gornostaev worked on the project. In accordance with the plan, this two-story unplastered building is designed to contain one hundred rooms, in the most sober style and with moderate proportions. The height of the cells is no more than 4 arshins, a wide main staircase, spacious corridors. Subsequently, in 1874, two wings were added to the hotel for another hundred rooms, with two refectories for women, a bathhouse and retreats; the building was plastered. In 1900 the third floor was added Thank you for your note about partitions! – From a letter from Abbot Damascene: “I was in the monastery of your assistant, Fr. Hegumen Apollos. With what amazing care and diligence he built his new house for visitors. I'm not just talking about his appearance, by which he could be in the best streets of the capital. The very interior arrangement of his rooms, their landscaping, in all respects, was most beautiful for visiting officials; in a word, I really liked everything about them. Father Abbot told me that some people think that the house he built is very large and the rooms are wide, which is why he plans to partition the rooms. It's a pity. It will completely ruin everything. I, a sinner, for my part asked to wait for him until your arrival. For God's sake, father, support him. You are our common father and benefactor” (December 20, 1856). O. Apollos – Assistant to the dean of the monasteries of the St. Petersburg diocese, Archimandrite Ignatius (Brianchaninov), rector of the Old Ladoga St. Nicholas Monastery. Until 1846 he was the governor of the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage. From 1860 – archimandrite; in 1863 - retired O. Herman – Hierodeacon Herman. From the nobles of the Bessarabia region (George Yakimandi). He studied at St. Petersburg University, and was fired at his own request. In 1847 he entered the Valaam Monastery. He rewrote papers, took up the post of assistant housekeeper, and then was appointed to the post of monastery clerk. He was tonsured a monk in 1854 on a case recently raised by Archpriest Levashov... - See letters of 1856 Jonathan... - Hieromonk Jonathan (Ivan Dmitriev). Born in Moscow in 1816. An orphan in the care of poor relatives. He was sent to the Moscow Orphanage. He graduated from a vocational school run by the Imperial Humane Society and was released as an apprentice in a mechanical workshop. He worked at the St. Petersburg Mechanical Plant of Berd and the Old Cast Iron Plant. In 1847 he came to Valaam as a pilgrim and stayed forever. From 1850 – full-time novice; in 1851 - a ryassophore monk; in 1852 he was appointed elder for the novices; in 1854 he was tonsured a monk; in 1855 - hierodeacon and in the same year ordained hieromonk; since 1856 he has served as treasurer; in 1877 he was elected vicar of the monastery. After the death of Abbot Damascene, which followed on January 23, 1881, by the Decree of the Holy Synod of July 18, 1881, he was elevated to the vacancy that had opened, ordained to the rank of abbot and awarded the mace. He managed the Valaam Monastery for 10 years. During his abbotship, construction of a new Transfiguration Cathedral began on Valaam. In 10 years (1886–1896), a spacious church was built, meeting the needs of worship on Valaam; its architectural design corresponds to the significance of the Valaam Monastery - “Northern Athos”. Sudden illness and death, which occurred on January 20, 1891, prevented Fr. Jonathan to complete the construction. The next rector of Valaam, Abbot Fr., completed the work on decorating the interior of the Transfiguration Cathedral. Gabriel (Gavrilov). Detailed biography of Fr. Jonathan II (Dmitriev) is contained in the publication of the Valaam Monastery in 1893: “The abbot of the Valaam Monastery, Hegumen Jonathan” and in the Valaam Patericon published in 2001 by the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Monastery and the publishing house “Pilgrim” (M.. 2001, pp. 83–108). Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Governing Synod, Count Alexei Petrovich Tolstoy. He held this position from 1856 to 1862 Plato Yanovsky... - An excerpt from the memoirs of the first cell attendant, Archimandrite Ignatius (Brianchaninov), later the rector of the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage, Archimandrite Ignatius (Malyshev): “Archimandrite Ignatius, showing love and compassion for those who were sick in the body, showed even more mercy and condescension towards spiritual infirmities. A certain Platon Yanovsky, a former court minor singer, came to the monastery and soon he developed a beautiful baritone voice; the singer was not inferior to the famous Italians, and lived for several years in the monastery as a novice. At this time, Field Marshal, Prince Baryatinsky, wished to establish a choir of singers in the Caucasus and turned to the court chapel demanding a capable person to occupy the position of regent. Capella pointed to Yanovsky. Yanovsky was offered a significant salary and a brilliant career in the future. Yanovsky, having spent several years in the Caucasus, fully satisfied the prince’s wishes and returned back to the monastery. After living for several years in another society, Plato returned, but not him: with new skills and infirmities. The archimandrite thought: what to do? he was taken as a child from his priest father, now an orphan, and, out of his characteristic mercy, he kept Plato with him. Yanovsky was very grateful to the abbot for such mercy; even in his moments of weakness, he fell weeping at his feet and kissed his hands. With a fatherly appeal from Fr. The archimandrite was saved from obvious death. Yanovsky lived until his death in the monastery and, apart from the infirmity from which he consciously suffered, he was a meek, humble and true Christian, as evidenced by his dying letter to the second abbot Ignatius" (Biography of Bishop Ignatius Bryanchaninov, compiled by his closest students. Appendices. Reprint edition. Center for the Study, Protection and Restoration of the Heritage of Priest Pavel Florensky. St. Petersburg, 1996. pp. 125–126) To Prince Baryatinsky to the Caucasus... - Prince Baryatinsky Alexander Ivanovich (1814–1879). Hero of the Caucasian Wars, holder of the Order of St. George 4, 3, 2 degrees and the Order of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called with swords See note. to the letter dated December 27, 1844 your subordinates. – See correspondence of 1856 these consequences came to light. – According to the most comprehensive report of the chief of gendarmes, Prince V.A. Dolgorukov, the Sovereign Emperor Alexander Nikolaevich ordered to send, who was under strict supervision in the Valaam Monastery, Archpriest Peter Levashov to the Vologda Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery. The order was received at the monastery on June 1 and the next day Peter Levashov left Valaam. On June 8, another famous subordinate, Nikolai Veselago, was removed from the monastery. Thus, the struggle initiated by the subordinates with Fr. Damascus ended with the liberation of the Valaam monastery from all persons held under surveillance. This happened in 1859, when the last of those under supervision left the islands His Eminence... - meaning Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg Gregory (Georgy Petrovich Postnikov). Born in 1784. He received his education at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. He was a bishop in Reval, an archbishop in Ryazan, Tver and Kazan. Elevated to the St. Petersburg See on October 1, 1856. Died on June 17, 1860 Mrs. Ekaterina Mikhailovna Zelenaya... - Information not found Serf Hilarion... – Information not found ...the upcoming revision... - “Revision (from late Latin revisio - revision), in Russia in the 18th-19th centuries. - Census of tax-paying population. Replacement of household taxation in the first quarter of the 18th century. The per capita tax required personal registration of tax-paying classes (peasants, burghers, merchants). Such accounting was called audit, that is, verification, and was carried out periodically as prescribed by the Government. The unit of registration of the male population became the “revision soul”, which during the audit was included in the personal lists - revision tales. The audits also took into account the majority of the non-taxable population - the clergy, retired soldiers and others. The audits did not cover the entire territory of the Russian Empire; they were not carried out in Poland, Finland and Transcaucasia for your congratulatory letter and for your good wishes to me, unworthy. – October 27 Art. style 1857, Archimandrite Ignatius was elevated to the rank of Bishop of the Caucasus and Black Sea about the visit to the Holy Monastery of Valaam by the Sovereign and the Empress... - On the day of the Venerable Sergius and Herman, the Valaam Wonderworkers, June 28, 1858, Sovereign Emperor Alexander Nikolaevich and his August family, returning from a trip to the northern provinces, arrived in Valaam. At eight o'clock in the morning the steamships Alexandria and Strelna entered the monastery bay and stopped at the pier. On the shore, Their Imperial Majesties were met by no less than 6,000 people. Among them is the Finnish Governor General?. F. Berg, dean of the monasteries Archimandrite Ignatius (Malyshev), treasurer of the monastery Hieromonk Victor. On carriages, the procession went to the Chapel of the Sign of the Most Holy Theotokos, which was installed not far from the Holy Gates, on the monastery mountain, where the Highest Persons were met by Abbot Damascus, clergy and other monastic brethren. In the upper Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord, the Divine Liturgy was served, in the lower Church of Sergius and Herman - a prayer service to the Venerable. After breakfast in the abbot's cells, the Sovereign Emperor and his August family went on a monastery boat to Nikolsky Island, then by bay to the Skete of All Saints and by land, in carriages, returned to the monastery. Walking east from the monastery, we visited the hermitages of Fr. Nazariya and Fr. Nicholas. Upon returning to the monastery, we went into the fraternal refectory, said goodbye to the brethren and, accompanied by the abbot, went down to the pier. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon we left for St. Petersburg (About this: Russian art sheet. 1858, No. 25–36; 1859, No. 1–2; also: Valaam Monastery and its devotees. St. Petersburg, 1889. P. 243–44) about the visit of His Eminence Metropolitan Gregory. – Also in 1858, ten days before the Most High Visit, the Valaam Monastery was visited by His Eminence Gregory, Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg. Vladyka stayed on Valaam for three days: he served the Divine Liturgy, visited monasteries and deserts. On the morning of June 20, the Archpastor went to the Baptist Island, where he consecrated the church in the name of the Prophet and Forerunner of the Lord John. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, having blessed the brethren and guests, Metropolitan Gregory set off on his return journey (Valaam Monastery and its devotees. St. Petersburg, 1889. P. 287) Metropolitan Gregory (Postnikov). The truly ancient and truly Orthodox Church of Christ. Presentation in relation to the verb Old Believers. In 2 parts. St. Petersburg, 1854. The diocese is new. – The Caucasian and Black Sea diocese was opened in 1843. His Grace Jeremiah (Soloviev) became the first Bishop of the Caucasus and Black Sea. “From the first day of his stay in Stavropol, Bishop Ignatius felt all the hardships of the unsettled state of the department entrusted to him. The dilapidated hut, called the Bishop's House, donated 14 years ago by the merchant Volobuev for the shelter of the first Stavropol bishop Jeremiah, by that time began to collapse. Therefore, for the first six months the Saint lived in a private apartment, provided free of charge by Mr. Stasenkov. The bishop's house belonged to St. Andrew's Church (without a clergy), located on the outskirts of the city. The place itself, called Vorobyovka, was very convenient and picturesque...” (Prot. Mikhail Mozdor. St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov), Bishop of the Caucasus and Black Sea. Stavropol, 1999. P. 36). Using the collected donations (a little more than 4,000 rubles), a small wooden house was built next to the church on a stone foundation Your new dean... - The dean of the monasteries of the St. Petersburg diocese, after Bishop Ignatius left for the Caucasus, became his successor as abbot in the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage, its former vicar, and previously the beloved cell attendant of St. Ignatius - Archimandrite Ignatius (Malyshev. 1811-1898). 36° Reaumur – 45° Celsius The highest point of the Valaam archipelago is on the island of Lembos - 58.2 m. Ivan Grigorievich... - See note. No. 7 to the letter of November 16, 1861 ...for the books and prints sent. – Hegumen Damascene sent Vladyka Ignatius books about the visit to Valaam by the Royal Persons. These are: “Sovereign Emperor Alexander I on Valaam in August 1819”, published in Tsarskoe Selo in 1858, 25 pages, and “Visit to Valaam by Sovereign Emperor Alexander Nikolaevich and His August Family on June 28, 1858”, published in St. Petersburg in 1859, 15 pages. They were also sent several prints depicting “The Tallest Train on the Monastery Bay”, artist P. I. Balashov (Letters of Abbot Damaskin. Dated June 14, 1859, AVM. F. 2. Op. 9) and now swimming in the sea. – “In 1859, His Grace Ignatius left Stavropol to view the churches of the Black Sea region in early May and returned in early August; There was a longer stop only in Taman. During this time, the Bishop visited over 100 churches, performed 17 liturgical services, the travel was calculated at 1866 versts...” (Sokolov L. Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov, his life, personality and moral and ascetic views. In 2 volumes. Kiev, 1915. Notes to pp. 242–243) Letter dated August 30, 1859 in the archives of the Valaam Monastery, in the collection of letters from Fr. Abbot Damascus - not preserved Acts 14.22; 2Sol. 1.5. In the National Archives of Karelia, where typewritten copies of the letters of St. Ignatius, made by the Valaam monks in 1920, are stored, this letter, dated September 13, 1859, is followed by a note: “... to the letters of the Most Reverend Bishop Ignatius, headed by the sign of the Cross of the Lord: “The banner of the Cross flutters over my letter: always my word comes out under this banner! My word is both a proclamation of peace and a proclamation of war; the mysterious army of Israel calls to courage, victory, and the conquest of the world: the thoughts and feelings of a Christian." This is a quote from a letter from Archimandrite Ignatius to N.N. Muravyov-Karsky dated October 6, 1847. The letter was published in the collection: St. Ignatius Brianchaninov. The future of Russia is in the hands of Divine Providence. M., 1998. P. 13) and congratulations. – In a letter dated December 10, 1860 (AVM. F. 2. Op. 9), Father Damascene congratulates Bishop Ignatius on the approaching day of the Angel, the New Year and the holiday of the Nativity of Christ What buildings have you erected and what buildings do you intend to erect? - Since the departure of Fr. A little more than three years passed for Ignatius (he left St. Petersburg on November 25, 1857), and on Valaam they managed to build: a two-story stone cell building on Nikolsky Island (1858); Skete of St. John the Baptist, with a two-story church, a wooden cell building and four monastic hermitages (1858–1860); in 1860 they began building a house for the water-lifting machine and workshops (finished in 1864). And this is not counting the erection of stone crosses, the construction of chapels and the most extensive economic work. With the donation of a house in Moscow by the merchant Dmitry Petrovich Krasnoshchekov (1861), the dream of his own courtyard and chapel in the name of St. Sergius and Herman, Valaam wonderworkers in the Mother See, began to come true Almost nothing is known about Blessed John of Carpathia (Carpathian). It is believed that he lived in the 5th-6th centuries. His “One Hundred Chapters of Exhortation to the Monks in India” who wrote to him are included in the third volume of the Philokalia. photographic shooting of the areas of Valaam... - This is “new obedience” - this is what Fr. Damascus to Bishop Ignatius (Letter dated June 15, 1861, AVM. F. 2. Op. 9), subsequently acquired undoubted cultural and historical significance. Individual photographs, albums with views of Valaam, photographic portraits of elders, paintings of monastic work - all this was freely sold in the monastery shop and hundreds of copies were distributed throughout Russia, providing clear evidence of the spiritual and material power of Valaam. The archives of the Valaam monastery were replenished with the works of monastic photographers, preserving for posterity images of monastic life on the Ladoga Islands. At the beginning of the 20th century. the monastery already had an “extensive photographic workshop” (Ostrovskaya M. Valaam. St. Petersburg, 1907. p. 28), which was headed by a monk-photographer. Several boy novices worked under his leadership. For work, we purchased six of the best cameras of that time from various brands. They accepted orders for portraits from their monastery brethren, and carried out various artistic works. It is impossible not to note the foresight, breadth and practicality of thinking of the rector, Fr. Damascene, because in Russia photography at that time was a relatively new phenomenon ...the prosperity of the holy monastery in material terms. – In a letter dated June 15, 1861, Fr. Damascene, talking about the new monastery buildings (listed in note No. 2 to the letter of St. Ignatius dated January 12, 1861), also reports about “permission to build a marble and granite chapel on the site of Znamenskaya, near the Holy Gate” - in memory of the “Highest visit to Valaam by Their Imperial Majesties in 1858...” and about the transfer of the courtyard to the city. Serdobol to a new, “12 times older” place. The chapel “on the site of Znamenskaya”, built according to the design of A. M. Gornostaev, was consecrated in 1865 in the name of the Icon of the Sign of the Blessed Virgin Mary and to this day it is called “Znamenskaya”. Vasily Mikhailovich Nikitin is a St. Petersburg merchant, one of the most generous benefactors of the Valaam Monastery. The church of St. St. was built at his expense. Alexander Svirsky on Holy Island (1855); The roofs and domes of the Transfiguration Cathedral were covered with new white sheet iron, and copper crosses, gilded through fire, were placed on them (1861); the lower church in the name of the Three Ecumenical Hierarchs in the Baptist Church was equipped (1860); a bell was purchased for the church of the Avramievsky monastery (1873) and a large number of small donations of money and food were made. ...looks like a hermitage; all around in gardens and roses... - Comparison with the Valaam monastery in the name of All Saints, near which beautiful flower beds were laid out and an orchard was arranged ...from the windows of those cells of the Valaam Monastery in which I stayed. – In the collection of letters of St. Ignatius (HAK. ?. 762. Op. 1. Item 219), this letter is followed by the following commentary made in 1920: “During the days of Bishop Ignatius’ deanery over the Valaam monastery, during all his visits to Valaam, the Bishop usually stayed in the cells now occupied by the archives office. This archive was located in another room, and the named cells remained free in case of the arrival of Father Dean and other honored visitors.” Knowing the layout of the residential and administrative premises of the Valaam Monastery, we can confidently assume that Archimandrite Ignatius stayed in the cells of the southwestern part of the outer square According to legend, the Nikolaev Babaevsky Monastery was founded in the 15th century. monk John of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. The monastery is located on the right bank of the Volga at the confluence of the Solonina River. The name “Babaevsky” received from the babayek, or large oars, which were used by raftsmen instead of a rudder when driving rafts from the Volga to Solonina. The bobbleheads were piled up on the shore as unnecessary. Miraculously, an icon of St. Nicholas appeared on such a babayka. Today the holy monastery has become operational again. Address: Yaroslavl region, pos. Nekrasovsky, Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery The charter of the monastery is similar to the Valaam... - The charter of the Valaam monastery is an exact copy of the charter of the cenobitic Sarov Hermitage. Its original was compiled on the basis of the ancient rules of monastic life in 1706 by one of the original monks of Sarov, Hieromonk Isaac, and approved in 1711 by the Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne Stefan Yavorsky. The Charter was brought to Valaam by the Sarov elder Fr. Nazarius, appointed abbot of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery in 1781 for order was introduced here by the abbot, a student of the Sarov Hermitage. – Hegumen Philagry, who managed the monastery for over 30 years, in May 1789 “...together with his few brethren, he submitted a petition to Bishop Pavel of Kostroma to introduce a cenobitic order and charter in the monastery on the model of the Sarov and Florishcheva hermitages. Based on the positive resolution of the Eminence, the Spiritual Consistory, by decree of February 6, 1790, allowed the monks of the Babaevsky Monastery to introduce communal order..." (Nikolaevsky Babayevsky Monastery of the Kostroma Diocese. Historical and statistical essay. Kostroma, 1895. pp. 41–42). Further, the author of the essay points out: “It is unlikely that Abbot Philagry managed to introduce a cenobitic charter in it during his management of the monastery; in the same 1790 he either died or was transferred to another monastery...” (Ibid., p. 42). The tonsure of Valaam, Hieromonk Sophrony, who ran the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery from 1791 to 1793, worked hard to establish the rules of the Sarov Charter. drawings of your hotel. – See note. to the letter dated January 12, 1852 kamilavka and hood... - See note. to the letter dated February 27, 1862 The only son of my brother, the Stavropol governor, entered the monastery. – Alexey Petrovich Bryanchaninov (1843–1907), son of Pyotr Aleksandrovich Bryanchaninov (1809–1891), lived for some time in the Nikolaev Babaevsky Monastery. Subsequently, he served in the civil department, reached a high position - he became a senator, a comrade of the Administrator of the Committee of Ministers, and retired with the rank of Privy Councilor. on Ugresh... - Nikolaevsky Ugreshsky monastery, founded by the blessed prince Dmitry Donskoy on the site of the miraculous appearance of the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker to him (Nikolo-Ugreshsky stauropegial monastery is active. Located: Moscow region, Lyuberetsky district, Dzerzhinsky, Dzerzhinsky Ave., 6) ...Hegumen Justin... – Archimandrite Justin (1827–1896), in the world – Tatarinov Ivan Grigorievich. Born in St. Petersburg, as a youth (in 1840) he entered the Staro-Golutvin Monastery of the Moscow Diocese. Seven years later he moved to the Trinity St. Sergius Hermitage, where in 1854 he was tonsured into the ryassophore, after which he became a cell attendant to the rector of the Hermitage, Archimandrite Ignatius (Brianchaninov), who undertook to educate the young novice in the spirit of correct monastic life. Ivan Tatarinov had an amazingly beautiful tenor, which attracted the attention of the famous Russian composer M. I. Glinka. It was Glinka who instilled in him musical theoretical knowledge and made him a spiritual regent and singer. In 1857, novice Tatarinov was moved to the Caucasian Bishop's House and on April 17 he was tonsured there with the name Justin. In the same year, he was ordained first as a hierodeacon, then as a hieromonk, and appointed steward of the House of Bishops. In 1859 he was elevated to the rank of abbot. After the retirement of Bishop Ignatius, Abbot Justin was transferred to the Nikolaev Babayevsky Monastery and appointed vicar (October 28, 1861), and in 1866. he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite. After the death of Bishop Ignatius, this disciple of his was approved as abbot of the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery the former abbot... - Soon after the arrival of His Grace Ignatius at the Babaevsky Monastery, its former abbot, abbot Fr. Parthenius, who managed the monastery since October 5, 1859, at his own request was moved to the Nikolaevskaya Nadeevskaya hermitage of the Kostroma diocese. a pupil of the Sarov Desert. – See note. to the letter dated November 16, 1861 my letter, written from here. – Letter dated December 16, 1861 ... the hotel project sent... - See letter dated November 16, 1866 and note. to the letter dated January 10, 1852 The answer to the request of the Most Reverend Ignatius was as follows: “The hood and kamilavka, sewn on your instructions according to the measurements of my sinful head, are forwarded to your person” (Letter of Father Damascene dated May 24, 1862 AVM. F. 2. Op. 9). Lithographed images of Saint Tikhon... - Saint Tikhon, Bishop of Voronezh, Wonderworker of Zadonsk (August 13/26). In a letter to Bishop Ignatius dated May 24, 1862, Abbot Damascene wrote: “... on the 16th day of August last year, a portrait of the Holy Hierarch and Wonderworker Tikhon, painted from life by the closest disciple of the saint of God, monk Nikandr, son of the Zadonsk landowner General Bekhteev, was unexpectedly donated to our monastery. This portrait is from Fr. Nikandra passed to his relative, State Councilor Esepov, from Mr. Esepov to his nanny, and from the nanny’s husband, a 92-year-old old man, to our monastery. Having accepted this portrait reverently, with great joy, as if a blessing to our monastery of the newly-minted Wonderworker, and having lithographed an image from it, I present several prints of this image to Your Eminence, as an expression of my deep gratitude to you, unforgettable Master” (AVM. F. 2. Op. 9) A copy of the letter of Abbot Damaskin to the Eminence Ignatius (on Babayki) dated May 24, 1862 is stored in the Archives of the Valaam Monastery (Letters of Abbot Damaskin. AVM. F. 9. Op. 2) your foreman Pavel. – Under the supervision of the foreman Pavel Antonovich Smirnov, all the permanent buildings of the Valaam Monastery were built in the 40s and 50s. XIX century This is the church of the All Saints Skete, and the church on Nikolsky Island, and the hotel, and the hospice house, and the wooden church on the stone foundation of the Forerunner Skete... For his diligence, this foreman was awarded a silver medal on the Stanislav ribbon. Working in the summer season on Valaam, in the winter he left for his homeland. Pavel Smirnov was a peasant and lived probably next door to the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery Your chapel in Moscow. – In the spring of 1862, Abbot Damaskin wrote to the “House of the Moscow City Society”: “More than seventy people from eminent Moscow citizens, driven by a bright feeling of zeal for the Valaam monastery, proposed in writing to it, with the participation of each of them and other people known to them, at their own expense, to build a chapel in the city of Moscow in the name of the Venerable Sergius and Herman, the Valaam miracle workers, choosing a place to build a chapel on the corner of Sennaya Square, opposite the Red Gate, at the connection of two streets leading to Razgulay and to the St. Petersburg Railway" (On the construction of the chapel... AVM. F. 5. Op. 4. L. 6). However, having examined the case, the Standing Commission on the Benefits and Needs of the Public under the Moscow City General Duma came to the conclusion that reducing Sennaya Square by 75 square meters. fathoms will constrain it in terms of travel and trade, in addition, Sennaya Square, as a place of buying and selling, surrounded by hotels and taverns, is indecent for a house of prayer, requiring reverent silence. Because of this, the abbot of the Valaam Monastery, Abbot Damascene, was denied the acquisition of land for the construction of a chapel (Indicative file. L. 8). In the same year, 1862, the Holy Synod approved for the monastery a house in Moscow donated to it by the merchant Krasnoshchekov for the construction of a courtyard. To inspect the new economy, Abbot Damaskin came to the Mother See in 1864, but did not go to the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery: “exhausted by visits to Moscow, he was afraid of the difficulties of the rocky path...” (Letters of Abbot Damaskin. AVM. F. 2. Op. 9. 1864). Further in this letter Fr. Damascene admitted: “This is my unforgivable fault. To be so close to the goal I have longed for and, due to weaknesses, not to achieve it: this is inexpressibly bitter...” (Ibid., letter dated October 5, 1864) A copy of the letter of Abbot Damaskin to Bishop Ignatius dated October 14, 1862 is kept in the Archives of the Valaam Monastery (Letters of Abbot Damaskin. AVM. F. 9. Op. 2) Pavel the foreman... - See note. to the letter dated July 05, 1861 The letter of Hegumen Damascene dated March 22, 1863 was not found in the archives of the Valaam Monastery views of the Valaam monastery... - “A collection of views of the areas of the island of Valaam, drawn from life by the artist P. I. Balashov. Published through the zeal of the Valaam rector, Abbot Damascene and his brethren. 1863,” is the title of an album of 26 lithographs, the impression of which the famous Russian art critic N. P. Sobko expressed in one word: “Luxurious!” (Rough notes for the “Dictionary of Russian Artists”. OR RNL. F. 708. Item 201). In a letter sent along with the “Collection of Species...” on March 16, 1863, Fr. Damaskin wrote: “Having compiled the chronicle of the Valaam monastery and having written it, due to the powerlessness of words, in pencil, I entrust you with the most sacred and most pleasant duty, our most kindly Saint, the Guardian Angel of Valaam and the main culprit of its prosperity, to offer at the same time the weak firstfruits of the fruits of the monastery...” (Letters of Abbot Damaskin for 1863 AVM. F. 2. Op. 9. L. 22) Glazunov Ivan Ilyich - bookseller and publisher (1826–1889). In his printing house on Bolshaya Meshchanskaya Street, 8, in St. Petersburg, the first collection of works “...Archimandrite Ignatius, now a Bishop, living in retirement in the Nikolaevsky-Babaevsky Monastery” was published. Merchant of the 1st guild since 1849, hereditary honorary citizen. From 1857 to 1861 was a member of the St. Petersburg City Duma. Commissioner for economic administration under the Holy Synod, the Imperial Academy of Sciences, the Department of Public Education and the Ministry of State Property. Since 1883, when the Glazunov family was elevated to hereditary nobility, he was a court councilor. Buried in the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage printed my feeble-minded works... - What kind of works were sent to Fr. Damascus - unknown. Based on the date the letter was written, it can be assumed that it could be: “Teachings.” St. Petersburg, 1863. 353 p.; "A Word about Death." St. Petersburg, 1862, cover 1863, 144 p.; “A word on the sensual and on the spiritual vision of spirits and the consultation of the soul with the mind.” St. Petersburg.. 1863. 103 p. These and other works of St. Ignatius were sold in the bookstore of I. I. Glazunov foreman Pavel Ivanov... - In the monastery documents of that time the name of foreman Pavel Smirnov is found (See note to the letter dated July 05, 1862), and the position of foreman, judging by the reporting on the receipt of products, was performed by one person. Based on these facts, it can be assumed that this is the same person New forms being introduced in the region... - In spiritual terms, Valaam belonged to Russia, but by civil definition it was subordinate to the administrative bodies of the Grand Duchy of Finland. Late 50s – early 60s. The 19th century was a time of reform in Finnish history. The changes that took place in the political life of the Northern province influenced the position of the Orthodox monasteries: Valaam and Konevsky. For half a century, since joining Russia, Finland has invariably maintained its laws, approved by the Swedish kings. Many of the provisions of these laws have long been in conflict with reality. By the Highest Manifesto of March 29/April 10, 1861, an Election Commission of deputies from the four estates was convened in Finland for a preliminary discussion of issues on which the government hoped to hear the opinion of representatives of the estates before the convening of the Diet. The work of the Commission aroused national enthusiasm among the Finnish people. Sovereign Emperor Alexander II, considering legislative changes necessary and respecting the traditions of his Finnish subjects, ordered on September 3, 1863, to convene a Diet of Zemstvo officials of the Grand Duchy of Finland in Helsinki. Representatives of the four estates considered 48 issues brought up for discussion by the Sejm. There was not a single Orthodox Christian among the deputies, although there were up to 48,000 of them out of 1,700,000 inhabitants. “We heard,” wrote the newspaper “Day” (1863, No. 47), “that some cities elected Orthodox deputies from among themselves, but they were not accepted on the grounds that the present Sejm is convened according to the status of 1771, which does not include Orthodox Christians among the inhabitants of Finland” (Borodkin M. History of Finland. The Time of Alexander II. St. Petersburg, 1908. P. 174–175). Meanwhile, the Sejm considered issues that directly affected the interests of the Orthodox population of the region, for example, the Church Charter. On the one hand, the results of the Sejm’s activities had a beneficial effect on the spiritual and material development of the Grand Duchy, on the other hand, they led to the isolation of Finland from Russia Your letter dated October 27. – Located in the archives of the Valaam Monastery In 1863, the Valaam Monastery was separated from the general deanery and Fr. Damascene, being the abbot of the monastery, also became its dean, subordinating him to the deanery of the Konevsky Monastery with the present reform in Finland. – The Diet of Zemstvo officials of the Grand Duchy of Finland, which even then many in Finland called the parliament, worked from September 3, 1863 to April 3, 1864. More details - note. to the letter dated October 2, 1863 with the receipt of the Royal Grace... - Hegumen Damascene was awarded the Order of St. Anna 2nd degree Description of the monastery – “Valaam Monastery”. St. Petersburg, 1864, the book was published at the expense of the monastery. The description was compiled by Nikolai Vasilyevich Elagin (1817–1891). In those years, he served as a censor in St. Petersburg and wrote works of a spiritual, moral, historical and biographical nature. His pen includes: “The Life of Princess A. A. Orlova-Chesmenskaya” (1853); “Essay on the life of Prince P. A. Shirinsky-Shikhmatov” (1855); Letters on the Christian Life (1858); “The Spirit and Merits of Monasticism for the Church and the State” (1874) and some others. Hated by liberal criticism, Nikolai Vasilyevich defended monasticism all his life. It was for him the highest form of moral perfection. The archives of the Valaam Monastery preserved part of the correspondence between Abbot Damascene and N.V. Elagin. In one of the letters from Fr. Damascene responds in detail to Elagin’s request to join the monastery’s brotherhood. Life circumstances prevented the fulfillment of this desire Letter dated February 17 – Letters of Abbot Damascus for 1866 AVM. F. 2. Op. 9. L. 23 “Ascetic Experiences” - In 1865, the printing house of I. I. Glazunov published the first two volumes of the collected works of Bishop Ignatius - “Ascetic Experiences”. Volume 3, “Ascetic Sermon,” was published in 1866, and volume 4, “An Offering to Modern Monasticism,” in 1867. “The Fatherland,” in volume 5, was published after the death of St. Ignatius, in 1867 A two-story stone cathedral church built in 1865–1877. instead of the icon of the Iveron Blessed Virgin Mary, dismantled due to dilapidation. Project by architect I. I. Gornostaev. The construction took place under the supervision of the architect S.V. Sadovnikov. The estimate for construction was 200 thousand rubles. Despite donations from surrounding residents, there were not enough funds. One day, when construction was supposed to be suspended, Bishop Ignatius’s brother, P. A. Brianchaninov, gave his last fortune to the church - 5,000 rubles. “In appearance, the church is similar to the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem. The head crowning the middle dome depicts the royal crown and together the bishop's miter, which both belong to the Head of the church - Jesus Christ. In addition to this chapter, there are six more small chapters on the church. Outside, at the top, there are twelve iconographic images of the Mother of God, and on the sides there are the same images of four Archangels and four Apostles” (A. Solovyov. “Nicholas Babaevsky Monastery of the Kostroma Diocese.” Kostroma, 1895. P. 83). The upper church has two altars - the Iveron Most Holy Theotokos and the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands with the Martyr Alexandra. The lower one is in honor of the Nativity of Christ, and the right side chapel is in the name of the Presentation of the Lord and the Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer this is even at its best on the Valaam mountains. – In 1873, Abbot Damascene and his brethren commissioned a project for a new cathedral church on Valaam. The creation of the St. Petersburg architect M. A. Shchurupov turned out to be grandiose and expensive. His estimate was supposed to be approximately 600 thousand rubles. It was not possible to turn the created project into reality: there were not enough funds. Two decades later, Fr. Damascene, Abbot Jonathan, began construction of the cathedral according to the design of another architect - A. Ya. Silin ...and for the books sent. – The first book is “The Word of Love. N.A. Blagoveshchensky, author of the book: Athos. Travel impressions." Ed. Valaam Monastery, St. Petersburg, Type. magazine "The Wanderer", 1866; went through 6 editions. Response to criticism of monasticism. The second book is “The Royal Chapel on Valaam.” Ed. V. M., St. Petersburg, Type. magazine “The Wanderer,” 1866, is about the construction of a chapel in the monastery in memory of the visit to the monastery by Sovereign Emperor Alexander II and His August Family in June 1858. The author of the article that served as the basis for this publication was Abbot Damaskin himself (the authorship was established by a letter to Bishop Ignatius). Entrusted to my brother... - Pyotr Aleksandrovich Brianchaninov (1809–1891). Graduated from the Military Engineering School. He served in the seventh pioneer battalion as a field engineer. In 1848 he retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He continued to work for the benefit of society and the state in the position of Kostroma vice-governor, and from 1859 - Stavropol governor. Soon after Bishop Ignatius retired, he resigned and moved to his brother in the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery. Before his death, he took monastic vows with the name Paul the other two parts of my wretched writings... - “The ascetic sermon of Bishop Ignatius, who lives in retirement in the Nikolaev Babaevsky monastery of the Kostroma diocese.” Collected Works, vol. 3. St. Petersburg, 1866; and “An Offering to Modern Monasticism...”. Collected works, vol. 4. St. Petersburg, 1867 descriptions of the Valaam Monastery... - “Valaam Monastery.” St. Petersburg, 1864. See note. to the letter of December 20, 1864 a printed description of your monastery and other brochures published by the Valaam Monastery. – “Valaam Monastery”, historical essay. St. Petersburg, 1864. Among the brochures sent there could be descriptions of the Syandemskaya Assumption and Ondrusova Nikolaevskaya hermitages, published by the zeal of the abbot hegumen Damascene in 1856, essays about the visit of Valaam by the Royal Persons, mentioned in a letter dated September 28, 1859, as well as repeated brochures: “The Word of Love” and “The Royal Chapel on Valaam" (see note to the letter dated October 17, 1867). foreman Pavel. – See note. to the letter dated July 5, 1862 and October 2, 1863 Next to the name of St. Ignatius there is a cross and the date: April 30, 1867. You might be interested in: