Letters to St. Anthony (Putilov)

Contents Letter No. 92 Letter No. 93 Letter No. 94 Letter No. 95 Letter No. 96 Letter No. 97 Letter of St. Anthony to St. Ignatius Letter No. 98 Your Reverence! Father Igumen! I received your most respectable letter on January 24th, and I have the honor to notify you that the case of the 10 thousand rubles bequeathed by the Collegiate Advisor Grigoriev* (* Typo, Larionov) in favor of the Lavrentievsky and Maloyaroslavets Nikolaevsky Monasteries is being considered by the 7th Department of the Senate, which is in Moscow, to which the Kaluga province is subordinate; and therefore I advise you to immediately take action on the petition in the mentioned 7th Department of the Senate in Moscow, and in the meantime I will find out what the opinion of Mr. Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod was on this case, and I will certainly notify you soon. With true respect, I have the honor to be Your Reverence's most humble servant Archimandrite Ignatius January 26th day 1840 Trinity-Sergius Hermitage. Most venerable and most kind Father Abbot! When I received your most pleasant letter, I was lying on the bed of a serious illness, and although I was touched to the depths of my heart by the love breathing in your letter, I could not answer with my own hand. Not wanting, however, to leave you in bewilderment regarding what was written in the letter about your case, I hastened to notify you as soon as possible - which is probably what you received. Please observe this case in Moscow, and when it is sent to St. Petersburg to the Minister of Justice, take the trouble to notify me immediately. Report to His Eminence that I consider myself favored by the person of His Eminence; and therefore, fulfilling His Archpastoral commission according to the power will be a most pleasant duty and obedience for me. I congratulate you, most venerable Father Anthony, on your acceptance of the rank of Hegumen, which happened not without the special Providence and will of God. May the Lord grant you prosperity and abundant spiritual fruit. I ask for the continuation of your brotherly love, I ask for your Holy prayers, which I greatly need: for I live near the sea of ​​\u200b\u200bthis life, agitated and overwhelmed by many different winds. Father Ioannikiy arrived safely in St. Petersburg, was received by the Most Reverend Metropolitan very favorably, and stayed with us sinners in the noisy monastery of Sergius for two days, consoling us and being comforted by mutual love. With the most sincere devotion to the Lord and the same respect, I have the honor to be Your Reverence 1840 February 6th day. March 19th received from S.P.B. summary of the following content: “In his opinion, the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod concluded that the 10 thousand rubles bequeathed by Larionov to two monasteries should be given and Vysotsky’s claims should be left without respect.” This opinion was presented to the Senate on November 3, 1839. Most Honorable Father Abbot! According to your letter dated March 24, I used all possible assistance to find your case at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but it did not turn out to be. Therefore, would you like to repeat your request to Moscow, both to hurry up and send the case to St. Petersburg, and to notify you when and to which Minister the case will be sent for a decisive conclusion. With true respect, I have the honor to be your most humble servant and prayer partner April 9th day 1840 Your Reverence! Most Honorable Father Abbot Anthony! And again we are deceived. An acquaintance of mine checked with the Ministry of Finance, and what turned out to be according to the certificate, you can see from the attached note with a mark in pencil; I am sending it to you in the original. We need to straighten things out better in Moscow; Apparently, things are leaning in favor of the holy monasteries, and therefore the enemy is supplying such networks. Asking for your Holy prayers, with sincere reverence and devotion, I have the honor to be forever Your most humble novice Archimandrite Ignatius 1840 23rd Maya. Your Reverence! Most Reverend and Most Kind Father Abbot Anthony! I received two of your most pleasant letters - one through Hieromonk Joseph, and the other after that by mail - after allowing the meat-free week to pass, during which worldly people indulge in full amusements, then allowing the first week of Lent to pass, during which everyone fasts and does not do business, and in the second week I began to work on your business. Since it is impossible for Count 1 himself to deal with the small details in detail on many matters, of which there are up to 12 thousand in the Synod every year, I asked Mr. Frank, his Vice-Director, to pay attention to your matter, and he promised me that the Count will certainly insist in accordance with his previous opinion at the present time. Regarding the donation for the completion of the cathedral church in your monastery, I consulted with some knowledgeable people, who told me that due to the real extremity of money, it cannot be expected that the Sovereign Emperor would decide to make an emergency donation from State funds: would the Eminence decide to submit formally to the Holy Synod, and the St. The Synod will find it appropriate to assign a certain amount of money to your Council from the amounts allocated annually to the disposal of the Holy Synod. I thank you most earnestly for your love for me; in my heart I feel the notification that this love is sincere, and I thank the Lord, who sent such a brotherly disposition into your heart, which I wish to correspond to. I am greatly indebted to Father Abbot Moses for the favorable dismissal of Father Joseph to me. How much I was consoled by his arrival! You know what my love for him was and how constantly it persisted! Here is a straight Israeli, there is no flattery in him! This is simplicity, in which the Spirit of God rests! Here is a man prepared for heaven! How peaceful he is towards everyone, with what reverence towards Father Abbot Moses, towards you, towards the management of the monastery, towards the brotherhood: this made me very happy. Nowadays you rarely meet someone who is satisfied and grateful, but for the most part you meet someone who is dissatisfied and grumbling. About the glasses and glasses that you deign to write about, I should have warned you and asked your St. prayers that the Lord will help me restrain my greedy belly and curb it with prudence and moderation. For this passion, according to the prophecy of the great Pamva, fights and overthrows us, the abbots of the last time, although the hour has come in which monastics must prepare their bodies with fasting, so that they do not tremble in the face of the sword and do not prevent the soul from confessing a good confession. For this end is predicted by the Holy Spirit for the monks of the last time; and the world’s hatred of Christ, revealing both strongly and quickly, proclaims that the fulfillment of the book of God’s sealed destinies is near. Thus, clouds blown by the wind foreshadow the thunder and rain that is to come. Why, even though I lie in more bliss than you and am utterly overwhelmed by my passions, I ask and pray to you: do not trust the flattering requests of the body, which represents its weakness and requires reinforcements in excess. In an inconspicuous way it will drag us into its slavery and plunge us into deeds close to falling, as St. Isaac of Syria in the 75th Sermon, where he speaks about two subjects: 1) about a rare departure from the monastery, 2) about a prudent rule for the womb. Although these two objects are apparently very simple and insignificant, St. Isaac asserts that they are the foundation of all good things, the calling of the soul from the captivity of the enemy, the path to heavenly light and life, that whoever neglects these two objects shakes the foundation of all virtues. The saint considers this knowledge so important that he considers its understanding to be a gift of grace and confesses that he suffered countless plagues and won victory through intercession from above. I ask for your holy prayers, so that the Lord, who commanded us to keep our bodies from being burdened with gluttony and drunkenness and the sorrows of life, may send me help from above to fulfill His holy command. Without Him we cannot do anything, and as long as we remain on the vine through prayer, we pretend to bear some fruit; but as soon as we are separated from the vine by abandoning prayer, we immediately fall into the hands of our infirmities and burn in the flame of our passions. And what do you want to write about the difficulties of the position of superior, in our times I find some convenience in it: splashes from the authorities, splashes from the brethren, splashes from those who come; You can save yourself on the splashes! Therefore, I ask for your holy prayers, forgiveness for insults and, bowing to the ground in absentia, I have the honor to forever be your most humble novice The Many-Sinner Arch Ignatius 1842 March 20th. O. Joseph asks for your Holy prayers and bows to the ground. Truly Christ is Risen! Father Abbot Anthony, most beloved in the Lord! I bring you sincere and heartfelt gratitude for your congratulations on the Great Feast of Holy Easter, on which, although it has passed by, I congratulate you evenly. Rumors that St. Filaret of Kiev intends to go to Kyiv via Moscow are true. He already left on May 3rd. I wrote about this in Optina Pustyn. It may be that my present letter will prevent his arrival to you in a day or two: for he intended to visit Rostov. Based on your note about the money bequeathed by Larionov, a certificate is issued; When I receive it, I will try to notify you immediately. And I am in a hurry to send this letter as soon as possible, so that, at your request, it will be in time to bring you news of the arrival of Pr. Kievsky. There was no request for full-time servants: we get along quite well with the Chamber of Property! This question is local and exists in some dioceses, by the way, in Ryazan. The Archbishop asks instead of the regular sums, since it is impossible to feed them and their families with extra money from the Bishop's House. It must be assumed that many will be forced to cast a similar vote at the present time due to lack of funds to support staff members and families. Judging by the course of the national spirit, it is obvious that in a short time all monasteries will have to abandon their ministers: for it is not typical for lambs to rule over wolves. Since your superiors have a contrary opinion, it is best for you to give a mutual answer, that is, state in your paper how many staff members are needed for the monastery, and on the other hand, that it is completely impossible to support their families at the expense of the monastery, and that therefore it is necessary from the treasury to assign arable land and other lands for them and their families. But the Ministry of Property will not do this. With this answer you will satisfy the will of the authorities, but it will not go ahead, and in due time this question will be repeated again. Of course, a monetary reward would be best. But they won’t give it! If you make the above answer, then in case of refusal, which should probably be assumed, it will be more convenient for you to ask for a monetary reward, and then your superiors will be more comfortable agreeing to your opinion. Here! Caring for the Church of Christ puts the Abbot in the position of collector, forcing him to listen to various reproachful instructions and judgments! So many lessons in humility! And the brethren, little feeling this (for in order to feel it, one must experience it), are dissatisfied with one thing or another and envy the rank, not understanding the burden associated with the rank. O. Joseph brings you heartfelt thanks for your Fatherly remembrance of him and entrusts himself to your love and Holy prayers. I am thinking about a trip to Kyiv, where I have not been. And the Most Holy Philaret invites, and the love of many fathers and brethren attracts us, and my poor health needs rest and travel. However, as God commands; Will it be possible to break away: my situation is both difficult and tricky. I ask for your holy prayers and the continuation of your fatherly and brotherly love! With sincere devotion and heartfelt respect, I have the honor to be Your Most Reverend, most humble novice and prayer-goer Arch Ignatius 1842 May 8th. Letter of St. Anthony to St. Ignatius 2 Most Honorable and Venerable Father Father Archimandrite, bless! Firstly, I have the honor to congratulate you on God’s and Royal mercy; Moreover, I most earnestly wish that the mercy of the Heavenly King and the Royal favor will continue to pour out abundantly on you! Secondly, I bring to Your Reverence my most sensitive gratitude for remembering me, a sinner, for the bow assigned and for the Seal sent, which signs of your favor I did not expect, considering myself more deserving of contempt: but you, as a Righteous One, according to the word of St. David, punished me with mercy! And therefore, for this rich mercy, I offer you my heartfelt gratitude on my knees. Moreover, I dare to convey to you about myself that by the grace of God I am still alive, although from many of my sins, very often my body is weak - my soul is also weak! why, falling at your feet, I ask for your God-pleasing prayers for me; to whom, entrusting myself, I remain to the Person of Your High Reverence with my Heartfelt respect and with the most ardent desire for the Grace of God and the Soul-saving life with many years of health. Your Lowest Servant and Prayer of God The many-sinful Hieromonk Anthony. To His Reverence, the Most Honorable Father Michael, my heartfelt veneration and reverent worship - I humbly ask you to declare. August 28, 1834 Skit. From the letters of St. Anthony of Optina Of course, it would be easier with a full belly and a soft down jacket, turning over - and straight into the bright paradise; but a path has been laid there from the Cross, for the Kingdom of God is achieved not through one or two, but through many sorrows! You, like me, prefer to always be in a calm position, but those who are Christ’s crucify their flesh with passions and lusts. You and I are very powerless and very weak, and it’s scary to think about the crucifixion, about iron nails and copies! At least, for God’s sake, let us endure even a sidelong glance, a cold reception and refusal of what we ask, and even though we begin our crucifixion from these insignificant degrees. And - God is Merciful - we too will follow the great sufferers into the Kingdom of Heaven! So, my beloved child, do not be sad about anything, but trust in God; and try to confirm this when troubles arise: in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I endure everything! Protasov Nikolai Alexandrovich (1798–1855) – count, from 1836 to 1855 – Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod. RSL OR. F. 425. K. 3. No. 24 RSL OR. F. 213. K. 58. Anthony (in the world Alexander Ivanovich Putilov; 1795–1865) – Elder of Optina, brother of Archimandrite Moses. In 1816 he retired to his brother in the Roslavl forests and lived there for 5 years. In 1820 he was tonsured a monk. In 1821, together with his brother, he moved to the monastery of Optina Pustyn. In 1825 he was appointed to the position of monastery commander and held this position for 14 years. Under him, the eldership strengthened in Optina. In 1839–1853 - abbot in the rank of abbot of the Maloyaroslavets Nikolaevsky Chernoostrovsky monastery. On March 9, 1865, he was tonsured into the schema in private, leaving his former name. His distinguishing feature was sincere humility; was interested in poetry. Canonized in 2000 Here and below the letter numbers are given in the original numbering. ed. ABC of Faith portal