Память преподобного Павла Комельского

The Monk Paul was born and raised in the reigning glorious city of Moscow 424. His parents wanted to marry him, but Saint Paul did not want this and, secretly leaving his parental home, taking nothing with him, he went to an area called Priluk, which was in the possession of the monastery of the Life-Giving Trinity 425, founded by Saint Sergius, the Wonderworker of Radonezh. Here, in the monastery in honor of the Nativity of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ 426, the blessed young man took monastic vows. Having lived here for a short time, Saint Paul moved to the monastery of St. Sergius, where he remained under the spiritual guidance of the great elder for fifteen years, living in a hermit’s cell 427. After this, Saint Paul asked St. Sergius for a blessing to retire into the desert and live there in complete solitude, moving from one place to another. Then the blessed ascetic went to White Lake to visit St. Cyril at the monastery of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary 428 founded by him; With the Monk Cyril, Saint Paul lived for some time in a solitary cell and then again withdrew into the desert, to the Odrol River. After a short solitude here, the Monk Paul came to the Galich region in the great desert of the Most Holy Theotokos 429, and settled in a hermit’s cell, but was expelled from there by the abbot of the desert and moved to Gorodets, on the Volga, where he stayed in the Feodorovsky monastery 430; then he secludedly indulged in monastic deeds in various desert places, until he came to the Komel forest 431. Here, on the banks of the Gryazovitsa River, the monk settled in the hollow of a large linden tree; The holy hermit lived for three years in this hollow, spending day and night in prayer and fasting, working for God with tears. Then Saint Paul moved to the place where his holy monastery is now located 432; The monk remained there until the end of his life, remaining in strict fasting. His food was bread and water, and in very small quantities; he ate this food on Saturday and Sunday. On the remaining days, Saint Paul did not take food at all, spending all his time in his solitary cell in prayerful doxology. The blessed hermit endured great hardships for Christ's sake and many sufferings from demons, and he endured all this, helped by the grace of God. One day demons invaded the saint’s cell and intended to destroy it, but blessed Paul was not afraid of the demonic machinations and put the devil to shame by the power of the Cross of Christ. Another time, robbers attacked the saint, inflicted severe beatings on him and, having robbed his cell, left the hermit bound hand and foot. The monk lay in his cell for several days until, at the inspiration of God, good people came to the desert and untied the blessed elder. The monk endured all this meekly for the sake of the name of Christ. Forest birds flocked to the hermit's cell of the venerable hermit; wild bloodthirsty animals also came here, who became meek through the prayers of the saint and did everything that the blessed father ordered them. Many times Saint Paul heard church bells ringing in the place where he settled, and saw light in one place where a church was subsequently built in the name of the Most Holy Trinity. Accompanied by his disciple Alexy, the monk went to Moscow and told Saint Metropolitan Photius about this heavenly revelation. The saint blessed the monk to build a church in his desert, appointed Alexy to the rank of presbyter and, having given rich alms for the construction of the church, sent the saint away in peace. Returning to the Komel desert, the monk built a church in the name of the Life-Giving Trinity, 433 gathered the brethren and built a monastery, of which he appointed the above-mentioned hieromonk Alexy as rector. Our blessed father Paul himself continued to live in his solitary cell, coming to the monastery only on Saturday and Sunday and then teaching his disciples; lived according to the commandments of the Lord and according to the statutes of the holy fathers 434. At that time, the Tatars attacked the city of Kostroma, burned it and devastated the surrounding settlements; many Orthodox Christians were then killed by the infidels, and others were captured and taken into slavery along with their wives and children 435. Soon after that, the Monk Paul reposed in the Lord from the labors of this temporary life into eternal, ineffable peace, leaving behind a bright memory of himself in his disciples. The monk died on January 10, 1429; His life was 112 years 436. We are inflamed with divine love from our youth, Reverend Paul, having hated everything red in the world, you loved Christ alone and for this reason you moved into the inner desert, living with the beasts entirely for Christ. And the All-Seeing Eye, having seen your labors, enriched you with the gift of miracles and upon your repose. We also cry out to you: pray unceasingly for all of us, who always honor your honorable memory in songs. You committed all your mental desire to God, and you irrevocably followed from your heart, you moved into the desert, and, having lived there like an angel, you were the path to salvation for many: for this reason, Christ glorified you and enriched you with the gift of miracles. In the same way we all cry out to you: Rejoice, Reverend Paul, desert dweller. Now the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The Monastery of the Nativity of Christ, in the Uglich district, on Priluka, was listed as subordinate to the Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius in later times. The Monk Paul served in the Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius in obedience at the cookhouse and in the refectory. Blessing St. Paul to live in the wilderness, the Monk Sergius handed him a life-giving cross, which is still kept in the Obnorsk monastery of St. Paul. Kirillov Belozersky Monastery, founded by Ven. Kirill (his memory is celebrated on June 9), is located in the district town of Kirillov, Novgorod province, 602 versts from Novgorod; during the time of St. Kirill and Paul, the nearest city in that region - Belozersk - was 37 miles from the monastery. Chukhloma Avraamiev Monastery (great deserts) located in the belt of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was located in the Galich district, Kostroma province. It was founded by Rev. Abraham of Galich. Soon after the founding of Rev. Abraham left this monastery and, 13 versts from it, established the Vocha monastery, where he died in 1375. His memory is celebrated on July 20. Nowadays it is a provincial monastery in Balakhninsky district, Nizhny Novgorod province, near the village (formerly city) Gorodets, on the left bank of the Volga; founded in 1164 by Grand Duke Georgy Vsevolodovich. The monastery houses the cell in which Alexander Nevsky, returning from the horde, died on November 4, 1263. The Komel forest in the Obnor volost extended throughout the entire southern strip of the Vologda region, crossed by the Obnora, Nurma, Komela rivers with their numerous tributaries. 15 versts from the district. the city of Gryazovets, Vologda province, on the banks of the Nurma River, a tributary of the Obnora, which flows through the Vologda and Yaroslavl provinces. and flows into the river. Kostroma. Having built the church, the Monk Paul asked St. in writing. Metropolitan Photius gave an antimension for the consecration of the church and the blessing to establish a monastery and gather the brethren. The saint sent him an antimension with a letter, in which he blessed the establishment of the monastery and gave instructions to the monk and the brethren. “When you were with me,” the saint writes, “do you remember, my son, you yourself said a lot about what a spiritual superior should be. He should be a model for everyone: on the day of the great judgment he will give an answer for the souls entrusted to him. I write about the same thing.” In his instructions to the brethren, the saint convinces them to firmly and unwaveringly fulfill their monastic vows. The Monk Paul bequeathed to the brethren to preserve the communal rules of Pachomius the Great and Theodosius the Cenoviarch; he did not allow the monks to consider anything theirs, but everything would be common; there should have been nothing in the cells except icons and books, even kvass; The monks had to quench their thirst in the refectory; in the church, in the refectory and at work, the monk commanded to observe silence, to acquire food through the labor of one’s hands and not to forget the poor. The Tatars devastated Kostroma on January 6, 1429. On this very day, when the disciples came to the monk, he sighed and shed tears; to the question of those who came about the reason for this, St. Paul said: “On this day and hour, the wicked Tatars, having taken the city of Kostroma, betrayed it to fire and sword, and took many into captivity - and all this for our sins, for walking in the wills of our hearts.” The Monk Paul was canonized at the Moscow Council on February 26, 1547; St. His relics rest hidden in the cathedral church of the Obnorsk monastery. You might be interested in: