Letter to his disciples Ambrose, Athanasius and Feofan

My beloved brothers and fathers and children of Divine obedience in Christ, Ambrose, Athanasius, and Theophan, be saved in the Lord. God, and the Most Holy Theotokos, and my unworthy blessing to you through the most kindly brother of our confessor Jacinthos in the Lord, I inform you that by God’s mercy, and by your very prayers, I am still alive, both very weak and infirm, unknown to the day and hour when God will command to torture my soul from me, and yet by His Divine will I remain in this short life, the intention has been perceived by you, as my spiritual child, about my departure with part of the brethren of our cathedral from the very monastery of the Forerunner of Sekul, to the very and great monastery of the Ascension of the Lord in Nyametsk, as if your departure has happened, and it is important to inform those who want to declare that it has happened in such a way. 1774, during the spring, the then reigning pious and Christ-loving Konstantin Dimitrievich Muruz, governor of the land of Moldova, was by his command a meeting of various tavern needs to come to the capital city of Jesus for one glorious person, and before that person It happened through Jesus, that for the sake of all the tavern reserves remained, and by the general advice of his reign with the great Bolyars, a portion of other dates was determined for our cathedral, which were sent to us in the Sekul monastery with the writings of his excellency, in which he wrote the scriptures with his own hand and commanded me, with all boldness, to present to him our necessary needs, promising to diligently and in fact fulfill others. Seeing His Excellency’s superior mercy towards us, I took boldness in my response to His Excellency in gratitude for the above-mentioned mercy, presenting my petition, if His mercy were to have mercy on us with an alms of five hundred leva for the construction of four cells great, shevni, kravechni, weavers, and for Father Hilarion, teachers, teaching for the sake of young monks the Hellenic teachings, for translating books of spiritual benefit. His Excellency, having declared my request as a great bolyar and his adviser, sought advice from them: it was his will to fulfill what I asked. Or else, having created such an answer in general, there is no great thing, the pious gentleman decided to fulfill the request from the elder paisia ​​presented, but what good will come of it; This very place, that is, the Sekul monastery, where this man and his brothers stay, because of its cramped conditions, and because of the cruelty of the path, and because of the inconvenience of bringing firewood and other necessary needs, can this cathedral, if not in the life of this elder, then after his death, bring to the last and extreme ruin, about which we all have no little regret: but we all share our common advice to your Excellency, if God’s favor be with you, and your Excellency’s great and extreme mercy and charity towards this man and his council, we present and pray to this elder and his council by God’s destinies from the very Mount Athos in this our God-protected Moldovan land to those who came, deigning to give the very and great monastery of the Ascension of the Lord called Nyamets, in it the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Mother of God is found, for the established and indestructible life of their stay, the arrival and delivery of bread and firewood and all needs most convenient to those who have money, and very helpful in everything to the state of community life. And if this is our presentation and prayer to your Excellency about this, deign to God for this, bowing your piety, and fulfill it yourself, that is, give this cathedral the most German monastery for his constant presence in it: then this cathedral, gathered in the name of Christ from various Orthodox Christian peoples, contained by God's almighty providence, will remain indestructible, and the mercy that surpasses your Excellency from all will be eternally glorified, and from Christ the Savior on His righteous day, according to the deed of retribution, you will have a reward in the kingdom of heaven, eternal good things prepared for those who love him. This and similar pious ruler, having heard from his great and chief bolyars, greatly rejoiced and glorified God, established such a being, both with such a determination, if the most eminent metropolitan wills it, as this matter especially belongs to his eminence. For this reason, the ambassador of one of his main masters to his excellency, declaring that with his general advice he deigns to give our cathedral the very monastery of the Germans for an established and permanent stay in it, as long as this permission and his excellency are granted. The most eminent Metropolitan of Moldovalachia, Cyrus Gabriel, who was at that time, rejoiced upon hearing this, and thanking God, diligently for this willed, saying God's good will for this, which I will breathe into the heart of his Excellency, and all his bright advice, such a thing to begin according to his Divine will, such Having heard the answer from his Excellency, the pious ruler rejoiced, and at the appropriate time he sat down on his bright sofa with the most ennobled metropolitan and other bishops and clergy of the church, and with the great and chief bolyars and advisers, with their common and unanimous will and verdict, approving the date of the council to our very monastery of the Ascension of the Lord in Nyamets, for the life that dwells in it, I know nothing about this, but I just hope from His Excellency to receive the requested amount of money for the construction of the predicted four cells. Also in 1774, the month of the first of June, a single monk came from the EU to the Sekul monastery on his own business and announced to me everything that had been prophesied in detail. from which announcement my heart was struck with unbearable sadness, as if I began to sob and weep inconsolably, thinking about many different guilts, and because this thing, that is, the giving of the monastery of the German cathedral to our cathedral, will bring unbearable sadness and sorrow to the cathedral of the father and of the brethren residing in it, since this monastery was not already empty, but always having a sufficient number of brethren, and not like the monastery of the descent of the Spirit itself, called Dragomirna, which was also given by the general council to our cathedral for stay, in it for twelve years, it was always not empty before, for this reason our entrance in life and life, there is no one to blame and small sorrows. Likewise, our resettlement from the monastery of Dragomirna to Sekulskaya, with joy and not sadness, was guilty, for three years now we have been praying in writing and orally from the most reverend fathers Euthymius the abbot, and Niphont the pro-abbot, and others, for the acceptance of that monastery into my care, for this sake my conscience for the acceptance of others monasteries peaceful byshe. About the acceptance of the Nyametsky monastery, the sadness of my soul is unbearable, having already been guilty of similar sadness and sorrow, the very fathers and brothers of that monastery. Considering the commandment of the Lord and God and our Savior Jesus Christ, which says: Whatever ye will, let men do to you, and you do likewise to them: I would never have done it to my neighbor, that is, I would have taken this monastery for sorrow and sorrow unbearable to my neighbor, if it had not been done this is by order of the authorities. And considering my old age and extreme weakness and infirmity, and how by accepting this monastery I will be given more and more care, from which there will be little hope of being silent, and how this monastery is a place of worship, and there is a frequent visit of all genders and ages, especially in the time of the church holiday, during which many people come for several days, and as this holiday occurs with indescribable and great care, and let not some brethren, due to human weakness, suffer certain harm and spiritual ruin from seeing and hearing, this is all and Many of these guilts are in my mind, reflecting on tears and sobs, sadness and mourning incessantly. Having placed all my hope in the almighty providence of God, I had the intention of writing to the most enlightened metropolitan, and to the most illustrious ruler, and to other leading persons with a tearful prayer, that they would show mercy to me, and that such an unbearable yoke would not be placed on me, decree for the stay of our cathedral, the most monastery in Nyamets. And having chosen, instead of me, my beloved brother in Christ, the confessor Irinarch, the ambassadors of the same month of June about the average numbers with a written prayer to the foretold persons, having the hope that I would be heard in such my petition. Having delayed there for almost a month, return to the month of July and bring a single scripture from the great logothet, written by order of his sovereign excellency, in which the great logothet declares that, with the general determination of both powers, the monastery of Nyamets has been given to our cathedral for its permanent residence, You admonished me also in that writing of yours to diligently accept the abode assigned to us. The most eminent archpastor, seeing my extreme reluctance to accept the monastery, gave me the freedom to also write about this to his Lordship, and to his other councilors. But I was not worthy of having my petition heard beyond my hope, but I dared and, through the same confessor, write about the same thing to both church and civil authorities with the most diligent prayer, not yet despairing: but having some hope of receiving my petition. I went to the confessor to Esy, the fathers of the monastery of the Germans themselves, having understood from the one honest progumen of his former then in Esy, that their monastery was given to our cathedral by the general council, and as if there were no other hopes left, then from their cathedral they would send the brethren to me to the Sekul monastery with my prayer, as I pray to all the authorities that their monastery will not be given over to our council, but that under the usual monastery of their administration they will remain free. The council, realizing this, sent to me honorable brethren for this purpose, to whom I informed with tears that this matter did not begin from my will, and as a second letter to all the authorities with a tearful prayer, they wrote that their very monastery will not be given to our council, and I am waiting for the merciful layoffs. Having heard this from me, they received some small consolation in their sorrow when they returned. I remained, awaiting the return of the confessor and the final answer, consoling myself with some hope that my petition would be heard. But all my hope was in vain. When the same summer in August, on Friday, during vespers, the confessor returned with him to the monastery and went into my cell, they asked him what, in God’s favor, he had corrected; And, as a reasonable person, knowing that nothing can be corrected according to my desire, so that he does not create an untimely addition to my sadness, pressing the scriptures into my hands, he says: when you read in silent time, you will understand everything, and this river, leaving the cell. I had a silent time in the night, having read all the scriptures, the most enlightened metropolitan, and other persons, encouraging them to obey the authorities and accept the monastery, and most of all the writings of the most illustrious ruler, with a decree commanding that let all apologies be abandoned, and take part satisfied with the cathedral, I will certainly move into the very monastery of the Germans, and there I will remain, even in that scripture of mine and with my own hand I wrote, we, in a speech, give you this very monastery, not precisely for the sake of your cathedral, but as if the order of your cathedral and other monastery in let the image be for the zeal of such a life. I read this and realized that it is no longer possible to offer an apology, but the necessary need should accept the monastery assigned to us, and being horrified by the inscrutable horror, as if, not exactly for the approval of our council, such a monastery is given to us, but as if our life will be in the image of another monastery, inconsolably thinking about laments, whoever I am is weak and weak, and barely alive both in soul and body, I cannot govern my soul according to the will and commandment of God. The council of fathers and brothers, who did not gather to me in the name of the Lord not by my will, I was unable to overcome their tears for acceptance into cohabitation: I will be subject to eternal condemnation on the day of judgment, I cannot guide them on the path of God’s commandments. And behold, from above, with other unbearable burdens, having burdened themselves with the management of the souls of their brothers, they place upon me an even heavier burden, so that I may lead the brethren to such a blessed correction, so that their life will be a resting place as an example and an encouragement to imitation. Thinking about the grief of my soul, my heart was wounded with sadness, as if all night I could not stop crying. The day came, I called all the spiritual fathers to my cell, showed them the command of his excellency, and the most eminent archpastor, crying more inconsolably than talking with them, even until noon. The spiritual father who left my cell, and soon returned to my cell, began to console me in every possible way saying, we pray to you for the Lord’s sake, do not cry, for we look at you and we cry thinkingly, but not because of such immeasurable sorrow and sorrow, an untimely end to your life will follow, but for the Lord’s sake, tell us the guilt of such inconsolable crying and sorrow of yours. I answered them with the words: How can I stop crying and tears, except for other wines, for the sake of such sorrows, even now I am leaving everything, and I cannot put into action this very necessary and indispensable command of His Excellency, for it by no means exceeds my strength. How can I, who am weak and too weak for all the obediences of the church, both internal and external, assign decent brethren to the German monastery, and let such obedience not remain there, this work is beyond my strength. The spiritual fathers heard this from my lips and decided: do not grieve about this, but be complacent: for we are taking all this burden upon ourselves, and in four days we will determine all obedience to the brethren in both monasteries, and we will show it on the register of your self, and if he appears for someone you do not like, then it will be convenient for you to change it, and appoint someone else to take his place in obedience. Having heard this from them, I received some kind of joy in my soul, reasoning if there had not been a special providence of God for the better foundation of the council of our brethren, for a long time of salvation for the sake of their souls enduring inscrutable poverty and impoverishment, hunger and nakedness, and all the hardships of the monastic life with thanksgiving to God: as if it were possible for His Excellency, the pious ruler, to despise my so diligent and repeated prayer with so many tears, and not to relieve me of this burden placed on me: but the spirit most and more confirmed him not to bow down to my tears, reasoning about the God-wise wisdom of His Excellency, as in life mine, and after my death, the cathedral of this foretold monastery, having the most convenient provision for those in need of life, can be, with God’s help, an image and another sacred monastery in diligently preserving the rules of monastic life dedicated to the God-bearing fathers. Also, reasoning as if according to the Divine Scripture, let every soul obey the powers that be, for the power is not from God: the existing powers were created by God. In the same way, when you resist the authorities, you resist God’s command: I obeyed with zeal the command of His Lordship and Most Eminent Archpastor, as if it were the command of God, and even to all the days of my life, according to the Divine Scripture, I obeyed all the authority given by God. Just as I prayed for this thing with all the power, that they would leave me free from this, and if I did not resist, it would not be so. But this was the will of God, and His Excellency, and His Excellency, and all power: having placed the yoke of Divine obedience on my neck, and with the spiritual fathers having determined for the brethren to do everything in both monasteries of obedience in four days, and having made all the other preparations for the procession to the very monastery of the Germans, in the fifth day, that is, on Wednesday in August on the day before the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, I rang the great bell, and to all the brethren who had gathered, I went into the church itself, and, according to custom, bowed to the honorable icons and kissed them, and for my weakness, I told all the brethren in detail about the foretold thing, that is, for the determination from all the authorities to our cathedral of the German monastery, as if not by my will, but by some unknown destinies of God, this was done. Having informed this, instead of my beloved about the Lord, brother confessor Hilarion, let him remain with the brethren, and taught him how to guide the brethren on the path of salvation, and look after the deanery of the inner and outer monastery, and the brethren appointed to remain there, and obey determined by me, according to reason and the teaching of the Divine Scripture and our God-bearing fathers, everyone remaining in the services determined for themselves with the fear of God. And so I left the church and the monastery and went to the very monastery of the Nyamets, who accompanied me to the whole cathedral. And then I would see the thing touched, I cried and sobbed with inconsolable tears, tormented by my heart, thinking how I could separate the children of my loved ones and spiritual ones. Likewise, the whole cathedral, children of divine obedience, out of their love for God, who have come to me, wept and sobbed with tender tears, not wanting to be separated from me. Sickness and old age, as soon as I can, I left the hospital, I go to say goodbye to them, I weep tenderly, it is an unbearable thing to lose my vision with me. The pains, therefore, received the blessing, remaining in place, with tears flowing from their eyes, unable to see me through, while the others spent the entire cathedral with me as if only an hour of the journey, from which barely a few were able to return to the monastery with tears of exhortation for the sake of the present vigil. All the rest, with strange monks from various monasteries who had gathered at that time, accompanied me even to the very Nyametsky monastery. Those approaching us began to ring all the bells, and outside the gates of the monastery the whole cathedral greeted us with such a meeting, which was indecent for my thinness, and in such a manner, according to the custom of this land, all the monasteries themselves meet the newly installed abbot. Three nuns came forth, clothed in phelons, one holding the Divine Gospel, and two most honorable crosses, and two deacons, in surplices with censers, kissing me the very gospel, and the very crosses, going into the very monastery of the previous nun and deacons, for me the following cathedrals from both, the singing brethren of the Nyametsky monastery, a certain irmos, presame to the Mother of God. I entered into the church itself, and bowed, according to the custom of the honorable ones, to the very icons, the two honorable fathers Joasaph, who had hitherto held the abbot’s board, and Varlaam, the pro-abbot, took me to the abbot’s place. After the chant of the troparion and kontakion of the church and through the litany and exclamation and dismissal, informing the very monastery fathers, with tears, that my coming to this very monastery was not by my search or will, but by the determination and command of his Lordship, and the most eminent metropolitan and all power, which is also not unknown: I died from the church and went to my cell, predestined by me. For the sake of the brothers who came with me, assigned to everything in the local monastery of obedience, with the hostel and the ecclesiary there were fifty cells, in which the brethren with great oppression had three and four sedoshas, ​​in addition to the same spiritual fathers, since they served for the sake of their own sedosha in their cells. But the earlier fathers were similarly distressed, yielding to the foretold cells for our brethren. I rested a little in my cell, and after a little vespers, I was ready for the all-night vigil, went to church, and remained in it even until the reading of the Gospel itself, praying with tears to the Mother of God herself, and the grace of my sleep and our God, as from the very sight of her very miraculous icon, comforted my accursed soul, and drove away from it like the dark cloud that covered me with sadness and sorrow: so may He grant me with His mercy, like the mother of the Most High God, before I can fall asleep for even one hour: for five days have already passed, and the fifth night has passed, even though I have fallen asleep a little: but I completely ran away from sleep and was afraid that some harm would follow me from such a long period of lack of sleep. Praying for this, after reading the Gospel, extreme for the sake of my weakness and infirmity, I could not remain until the end of the vigil, I left the church, went to my cell, and lay down on my bed, unable to sleep even until the end of the vigil. After the vigil, when the light began to dawn, through the inscrutable mercy of God, I fell asleep sweetly for two hours, and great relief came to my head. Therefore, I went to the church for the Divine Liturgy, which was completed at the cathedral, and according to the Divine Liturgy, the cathedral sent a prayer of thanksgiving for such a mercy of God created for our cathedral, that is, about giving from all power to our cathedral the very same German monastery on constant presence in it, which is a prayer service of thanksgiving and every day on the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, according to the liturgy itself, the congregation is performed: going to the meal with the festive icon itself, and with the singing of the troparion of the holiday, after the meal and thanksgiving, going to the church again with singing the same troparion, to those who entered the church and glory and now, having sung the kontakion of the holiday, according to the usual litany performed by the deacon, and after the exclamation, and dismissal, he departed from the church. I came to my cell, all the brothers who accompanied me came to me, and with the desire to stay with me, and to stay here in this monastery itself, having no place to bow my head, with many tears and not wanting to return to the Sekul monastery itself. I have promised, if the Lord wills it, and I will live, to visit them every summer during the church festival, and it happens in this way: before the dedication, or at the presentation, or after the celebration of the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, when all my equipment is already ready for departure, then More than the Divine Liturgy, the brethren who have rung the great bell ring, the whole cathedral gathers in the church itself, and as I enter the church, the brethren sing worthily, I bowed with a kiss to the venerable icons, and after the chanting of the troparion and kontakion, or holiday or church, and after the litany and dismissal, I sat to me for my weakness, there comes from me to the whole cathedral both the Slavic and Moldavian languages due to the thinness of my mind, the word, in which there is my diligent prayer, that they pray to Christ God, as if by the almighty prayers of the Most Holy Mother of God, and by their very prayers, he would grant me a holiday in the very monastery of Sekul for the sake of the vision for the sake of the brethren, a successful departure and return, and let them be forced to do the soul-saving commandments of God, and let them strive most diligently to preserve the peace of Christ among themselves, and all monastic decorum and reverence. Having accomplished this and similar things in my word for every deed, I have made a good impulse to the whole council, and having bowed three times, as usual, to the very icons, I leave the church and the monastery, with all the brethren accompanying me, who have all received blessings from me, I depart to the very monastery of Sekul, in the monastery. In the same way, there is a ringing of the great ringing of the meeting for the sake of the brethren, and whenever I draw near, my beloved brother confessor Dositheos in Christ comes to meet with all the sick and elderly brethren, and having received the blessing, they leave me. When I come to the monastery, my beloved brother Hilarion the confessor, beloved in Christ, comes with all the brethren in Christ outside the monastery gates to meet me, and having received everyone’s blessing from me, I enter the monastery itself, following me to the whole cathedral, and entering the church the brethren sing worthily, I bow and I kiss the venerable and most sacred icons, and after the chant of the church troparion and kontakion, and after the litany and dismissal, I leave the church and go to my cell, and remain in that monastery even until the feast of the church beheading of the venerable head of the venerable, glorious prophet, the forerunner and baptizer of the Lord John. After the celebration of the holiday, and the commemoration of the saints, before two days of my return from there, at evening vespers there is a meeting of the brethren at a meal, one day of the Slavic language, the other, Moldavian, and I come to them, one day of the Slavic language, the other, in the Moldavian language, a teaching instructing them to diligently and wholeheartedly keep the commandments of God, and the monastic commandments of our God-bearing fathers, and all other things necessary for spiritual salvation. On that day in Inzha there is my return from there to the monastery of the Nyamets, and there is a septemvria at the beginning, again according to the Divine Liturgy there is a ringing and a meeting of the brethren in the church and my worship in it of the most honorable icons, with singing it is worthy to eat, and the troparion and kontakion of the church, and The usual litany is the dismissal, and my exodus from the church and from the monastery with the escort of the brethren, and the taking of blessings from me, and the sleeping from the sick and elderly with the foretold confessor, and the taking of blessings from me, according to the entire prescribed rite, it happens invariably. I departed from the very monastery of Sekulsky, and approached the monastery of the Germans, which is like two hours away from myself, and the brethren come to meet me outside the monastery gates and receive a blessing from me, and my entrance is with the brethren into the monastery and into the church with ordinary singing, it is worthy to eat, and troparion and kontakion of the church, and adoration and kissing of the very icons, and according to the litany and dismissal, my departure with the brethren is from the church, and I want to enter my cell, two brothers leave outside the door, reverent and filled with the fear of God, to whom, leaving for the Sekul monastery, I entrust my cell to preservation, and they will receive a blessing from me, and so I enter my cell thanks to God, as he has vouchsafed me to safely return to my own monastery and to my cell. In this way, my beloved brothers and children in the Lord, my departure from the monastery of Sekul to Nyametskaya happened, and from a long time ago I had the intention to show you, as a spiritual child, Divine obedience, but I did not have such an opportunity. Now I thank God for making me worthy to have this desire and to fulfill it myself. About the rest of our stay after your departure from us even until now, and about the creation of the crosses of the monastery of many cells, and about the passage to us of all the brothers from the Dragomirn monastery, and from the Sekul number, not a few, and about my ineffable desire for your return to us desire, and my most diligent about this effort, our confessor Iakinthos, dearly beloved in the Lord, will inform you in detail. Otherwise, may the mercy of God and the blessing of the Most Holy Mother of God be upon you. Amen. Health and salvation and what I most desire above all is your return to us, the most zealous wisher and unworthy Bogomolet, your spiritual father Paisiy the Elder.