Letters to N.N. Muravyov-Karsky

Letter 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 In the epistolary heritage of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, a very significant place is occupied by his letters to the outstanding military and statesman Nikolai Nikolaevich Muravyov-Karsky 1. N.N. Muravyov-Karsky (1794–1866) was one of the most educated people of his time. A professional soldier, he took part in the War of 1812; from 1816 he served in the Caucasus under the command of A.P. Ermolov, participated in the Russian-Iranian (1826–1828) and Russian-Turkish (1828–1829) wars; made a number of diplomatic trips to Central Asia, Turkey and Egypt; from the end of 1854 to 1856 was Commander-in-Chief and Viceroy in the Caucasus. These years brought memoirs and several military history books, which reflected the dramatic events of his life and rich military experience. He was distinguished by impeccable honesty and straightforward character, which is why he had many ill-wishers, who often hindered his career. Circumstances, however, forced those in power to turn to him again and again, and he always found himself where the most important historical events took place. The Bryanchaninovs were related to the Muravyovs, which contributed to the rapprochement in their youth of Dmitry Alexandrovich (the future Saint Ignatius) and his brother Peter Alexandrovich Bryanchaninov with the older N.N. Muravyov. Over the years, their relationship grew into a deep friendship that influenced their path in life. The surviving letters of St. Ignatius cover a 20-year period: from 1847 until the end of the life of N.N. Muravyov-Karsky. They are very different in content. Thus, letters No. 1 and No. 11 were written at those moments in the saint’s life when, for personal and external reasons, his constant desire to abandon the church and public field and retire behind the monastery walls became especially acute. The letter dated October 6, 1847 was sent from the Babaevsky Nikolaevsky Monastery of the Kostroma diocese, where Saint Ignatius was on an 11-month leave, which he received instead of the dismissal for which he asked. And the letter dated June 12, 1856 was sent from Optina Pustyn, where he undertook a trip “in order to arrange the desired stay there in silence.” Reporting in these letters about the circumstances of his life, Saint Ignatius paid the main attention, however, to his correspondent. Their content becomes understandable if we consider that the time of writing the letters coincided with the difficult periods of N.N. Muravyov’s life: in 1837–1848. he was in forced retirement, and in 1856 he had to endure, like most Russian people, severe disappointment in connection with the Paris Agreement, which ended the Crimean War. Touching in the first letter on the reasons for the “changeability of earthly happiness,” Saint Ignatius inclined Nikolai Nikolaevich to spiritual pursuits, to “the definitive education of his spirit,” which “gives a person a permanent character, corresponding to eternity, ... before which earthly affairs take their correct dimensions.” In the second letter, he urged him not to succumb to doubts and not to leave his field, not to give it up to Russia’s internal enemies who are ready to destroy the Fatherland: “Strive, but strive solely for God and virtue, and not for history and people’s opinions of you. ... Faith in God, always accompanied by abandoning self-reliance, overcomes all sorrows and temptations, conquers all obstacles.” Of particular interest are letters Nos. 3–9, written during the Crimean and Caucasian wars, because for the first time they directly reveal the attitude of Saint Ignatius to historical events and their influence on the destinies of Russia. At the end of 1854, Nikolai Nikolaevich Muravyov, by order of Nicholas I, was appointed Commander-in-Chief and Viceroy in the Caucasus. Apparently, accepting such a responsible post and needing moral support, he turned to St. Ignatius, at that time Archimandrite of the Sergius Hermitage near St. Petersburg, with a letter in which he expressed his doubts. From this time their most intensive correspondence began. In a response letter dated March 15, 1855, Archimandrite Ignatius writes: “With consolation and tenderness I read and re-read your lines: hope in God and a modest view of one’s abilities - these fruits of experience and everyday sorrows - are a sure guarantee and harbinger of God’s favor and success.” He calls himself a pilgrim of his correspondent: “I pray to God,” he writes to him on July 31, 1855, “to bless your labors in the internal governance of the region and bless your feat on the battlefield for the true good of the Fatherland...” From the subsequent letters it is clear with what attention Archimandrite Ignatius in his monastery cell followed the events of those days: “I read all your reports printed for the public with the greatest attention and participation; I read articles about your actions with the same feeling...” “It is no wonder for me,” he writes further, “to constantly remember you and often talk about you with many of my acquaintances: because at present you are attracting general attention here, and there is talk about you in all levels of society.” He himself “allows us to give an opinion” about possible military actions, and these reasonings of his undoubtedly reflect his military education. But he himself says: “So I allow myself to reason from my ardent love for the Fatherland and from my heartfelt sympathy for you.” All Russian people experienced similar feelings at that time. The social atmosphere of that time was expressed by the following words of the saint: “It is common for every Orthodox Christian to desire all kinds of good: firstly, for the Orthodox Fatherland, secondly, for fellow tribes and all Orthodox peoples, and finally, for all humanity.” In a letter dated August 4, 1855, Archimandrite Ignatius writes: “To my greatest consolation, I hear and see that everyone is filled with confidence in you, and people who know are delighted with your actions.” In the desire of the saint with these words to support and encourage the commander at a difficult and dangerous moment, historical continuity is felt. At this time, N.N. Muravyov was at the Turkish fortress of Kars, which was the most important strategic object in the war (the Turkish garrison in Kars was commanded by the British). In view of the strong fortifications of the fortress, he intended to take Kars through a close blockade, but two circumstances forced him to change this plan: the fall of Sevastopol and the landing in Sukhumi of the 45,000-strong corps of Omer Pasha, who went to help Kars. The assault on the fortress took place on September 17, but, despite heroic efforts, it was repulsed with heavy losses. Muravyov, however, did not retreat, but tightened the blockade even more and constantly disturbed the garrison. Unable to withstand the blockade, Kars fell on November 6. The victory over Kars in the context of the unsuccessful Crimean War was received with great enthusiasm in all layers of Russian society. In a letter dated December 6, 1855 Archimandrite Ignatius writes: “The long-term, uniform, boring blockade of Kars for lovers of hourly news was crowned with a result that is small compared to the result of the brilliant campaign in this region that preceded yours. The Allies cannot recover from their losses... Congratulations, congratulations to you!” And in a letter dated December 9, 1855, he adds: “The capture of Kars created general delight in the capital. We can say that everyone understood the importance of the consequences of the fall of this, as you call, stronghold of Asia Minor.” Despite the military actions, N.N. Muravyov had to think about governing the region entrusted to him. He considered one of the primary measures to improve it to be increasing the role of spiritual influence on the population. For these purposes, he sought to improve the Caucasian diocese, the center of which was in the city of Stavropol. Knowing the high morality and organizational abilities of Archimandrite Ignatius (Brianchaninov), he intended to petition the Holy Synod to appoint him ruling bishop of the diocese. This fact that the initiative to appoint St. Ignatius as Bishop of the Caucasus and Black Sea came from N.N. Muravyov-Karsky is not noted in any biography of the saint. Already November 11, 1855, i.e. just five days after the fall of Kars, he writes a letter to Archimandrite Ignatius in order to obtain his consent to this petition. However, from the letter of Saint Ignatius dated January 26, 1856, it is clear that the issue of his appointment to the Caucasian and Black Sea See, despite the support of the Sovereign Emperor, was not immediately resolved in the highest body of church government - the Holy Synod. The consecration of Saint Ignatius as Bishop of the Caucasus and Black Sea took place on October 27, 1857, i.e. after N.N. Muravyov-Karsky retired. After the capture of Kars, everyone expected that a turning point in the war would come and it would move into enemy territory. But, as has happened more than once in Russian history, diplomacy negated the heroism and sacrifices of the Russian people. However, this victory played a decisive role during the Paris negotiations: Kars was exchanged for Sevastopol and other Russian cities occupied by the Allies. The main reward for this victory received by N.N. Muravyov was the addition of “Karsky” to his surname. Russian society was disappointed with the results of the negotiations in Paris. The letter of St. Ignatius dated April 4, 1856 is imbued with the same mood: “The future of Russia is in the hands of Divine Providence.” Letters Nos. 11–26 were written in the last decade of the lives of both correspondents. In these letters one no longer feels contact with the outside world, as in the letters of the St. Petersburg period. This is explained, first of all, by the fact that the addressee of the letters, N.N. Muravyov-Karsky, after the Paris Agreement left public activities, in which Saint Ignatius always took an active part, as well as the removal of the saint himself from the bustle of the capital. The letters are short and intimate. In the first of them, dated November 24, 1857, Saint Ignatius reports that he is leaving for Stavropol: “In my appointment (to the Caucasian and Black Sea department) your thought is fulfilled.” The following five letters were written during the stay of Saint Ignatius at the Caucasian and Black Sea Sees. Perhaps, not wanting to remind Nikolai Nikolaevich of the circumstances surrounding his resignation, Saint Ignatius does not tell him anything about the situation in the region or about his activities in managing the Diocese. From the letters one can learn only the details of his personal life and some considerations regarding his literary works. The extreme strain of strength in a new field and many years of illness led, however, to complete exhaustion of the saint’s body. In a letter dated April 14, 1860, he again returns to the idea of ​​retiring to a secluded monastery in order to “end his life there in the most serious studies, an example of which you see in the Word on Death.” On July 24, 1861, Saint Ignatius turned to the Sovereign Emperor with a request for dismissal. And in a letter dated August 24, 1861 he informs Nikolai Nikolaevich about the Sovereign’s positive response to his request and that he has been given control of the Babaevsky Nikolaevsky Monastery. Going to the place of his last earthly refuge, Saint Ignatius stopped at the estate of N.N. Muravyov-Karsky Skornyakovo, where he met his wife Natalya Grigorievna (née Chernysheva) and his daughters. “I liked the philosophical disposition in which I saw you in modest Skornyakov, so conducive to philosophy,” he would recall a year later. His next letters were sent from the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery, which is “extremely secluded, and this is exactly what I need, this is what I love.” What stands out from the general tone of these letters is the letter dated May 14, 1863, written in connection with Nikolai Nikolayevich’s supposed (but never realized) return to public service and containing very significant assumptions about the fate of Russia. The last letter to N.N. Muravyov-Karsky was written by Saint Ignatius on March 18, 1866. And on November 5, 1866, Nikolai Nikolaevich died. O. Shafranov The publishing house thanks a relative of St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov), a member of the Assembly of Nobility, Olga Ivanovna Shafranova, for the materials provided. Most Gracious Sovereign, Nikolai Nikolaevich! Your last visit to the Sergius Hermitage is vivid in my memory. I saw you in it, when earthly glory, so fickle and changeable, smiled at you. Now you seem much more majestic to me; You left a deep impression on me. I respect all virtues; but none of them arouses in me such respect as generous patience with the fickleness of earthly happiness. On the battlefield a man is often a hero from the boiling of his blood; – in the upheavals of life, one can be a hero only from the greatness of the soul. A valiant man, having left the field of military exploits, forges his damask sword onto a plow or plow, a sword that threatens the fatherland; and every true citizen, and behind him History and posterity, will look at this plow with respect, then cast a glance of contempt and indignation at the insignia with which the chest of some scoundrel is dotted: every sign on it is a monument to intrigue, baseness, idleness. Tell me, what is it about the fact that Grishka Otrepiev had the crown of Monomakh on his head? What is his glory? – The glory of a dashing, shameless, unscrupulous villain, who does not stop at any lawlessness, is glory inseparable from curses. God save everyone from this glory. And how many impostors!... After saying goodbye to you, I fell even more ill. Seeing that I no longer had the strength to either fight the exorbitantly intensified illness or to cope with the circumstances, I wanted to retire from St. Petersburg and from noisy positions forever. Not everyone can be leaves, flowers, fruits on the State tree; Someone, like roots, needs to provide him with life and strength through unknown, quiet, essentially useful, essentially necessary activities. I recognize that one of these activities is the affirmation of our neighbors in the Christian faith and morality. This peaceful, modest occupation with the living word and pen always absorbed a significant part of my time; and with my soreness it would have taken all the time. It did not happen according to my desire and did not come true according to my assumption; but I assumed that they would probably give me a dismissal: there were so many contributors to getting it! I was given temporary leave to the Babaevsky Monastery of the Kostroma Diocese for rest and treatment. This is where I am now. Imprisoned hopelessly in my cell, I act against the cold, which has penetrated deeply into my limbs and produced a nervous relaxation in them, which keeps me mostly in bed. My future is unknown... And I gave up on him! ... He said to Almighty God: “Do with Your creation whatever you want. I believe Your word that the power of my head will not fall without Your permission!” “My soul, swim fearlessly on the waves of the Sea of ​​Life, not trusting its silence, not fearing its storms. Don’t think about tomorrow, don’t tire yourself with any assumptions, any dreams, don’t waste your time and energy on them. “His wickedness is sufficient for the day” (Matthew 6:34), said your God. Believe! ...Swim, rush through the waves! ... Earthly life is a deception. Before you see it, the shelter of the coffin is already in front of you. Where there is faith, there is neither sadness nor fear. There is courage and firmness there that cannot be overcome by anything.” Here are the reflections of a paralytic, reflections on a sick bed, reflections from the desert! They will, of course, find you in some peaceful shelter; perhaps in your village, in the circle of your family, during a friendly conversation or useful and enjoyable reading, while doing household chores, they will remind you of someone who is deeply involved in you, in whom you have planted many comforting memories, deep impressions. A person in his youth is engaged in acquiring information necessary for the possible expansion of the range of his actions in the material world into which he enters as an actor. This includes: knowledge of different languages, fine arts, mathematical sciences, historical sciences - everything - and philosophy itself. When he begins to incline towards old age, when the time approaches at which the husk should fall off, the fruit remains (I call the body the husk, the soul the fruit); when he is preparing to enter the immeasurable region of eternity, the region of the Spirit; then the subject of his research is no longer changeable matter, doomed to end and destruction, but the abiding, infinite Spirit. As for that: one way or another the word sounds when all sounds must cease! As for this or that measure, when immeasurable things lie ahead! As for that: this or that petty thought, when the mind is preparing to leave many thoughts, to move into the vision and silence that exceeds thoughts, produced by the unlimited God in limited beings, His creations. The study of the Spirit gives a person a permanent character corresponding to eternity. The horizon for him expands, his gaze reaches beyond the boundaries of earth and time, from there they bring unearthly hardness. Please accept my sincere advice: engage in deep reading of all the works of St. John Chrysostom; It’s all in French; interpretation on the Gospel of Matthew, on the Epistle to the Romans, and there is something else in Russian. Until Fate brings you back into the field of national service, engage in the definitive education of your spirit in freedom. I recommend to you that Church Writer who, with his extraordinary purity, clarity, and the power of Christian teaching, lifts the reader above the earth; This spiritual eagle soars at a sky-high height and from there shows its pet the earth. I think: the greatest acquisition for a statesman is to look at the earth from this height; not to mention what an acquisition this is for a Christian and a person - the heir of eternity. Fate visited you with its blows; She said: “Whoever I love, I beat and punish.” Temper yourself into strong steel under these blows, become a priceless treasure for your neighbors who surround you and will surround you. Who knows the purpose of a person? – It is written in the sealed books of trade. The Cincinatis left the sword for the plow, then the plow left for the sword! ... This is told to you by someone who has spent his entire life in sorrows, who himself is covered in wounds, and rejoices in them and thanks God for them. The banner of the cross flutters over my letter: my word always comes out under this banner! My word - both the proclamation of peace and the proclamation of war - calls to courage, victory, the conquest of the world the mysterious army of Israel: the thoughts and feelings of a Christian. A few words about Peter, a man devoted to you and loved by you: He was given a place in Kremenchug, but he refused it due to illness and went to Odessa to be treated for rheumatism. This was in spring and early summer. After that I don’t know anything about him: he himself was in the waves and extremely ill. And illness takes away a person’s time, abilities, and activity. – I find it unnecessary to ask you to keep me in your memory: you have proven that I have a refuge both in your memory and in your heart! I invoke God’s blessing on you and your family. With a feeling of deep respect and sincere devotion, I have the honor to forever be Your Excellency’s most humble servant and Bogomolet My address: Yaroslavl, Timokhino station. With the upcoming great feat for the Russian army, a feat in which you must take such a significant part, I call upon you the abundant blessing of God. During the time of peace, you put aside your sword and took up the plow; when a military thunderstorm began to accumulate, you left the plow, took up the sword again, took it up with Christian humility, took it up, moved and guided by true devotion and love for the Tsar and the Fatherland. In blessed Russia, according to the spirit of the pious people, the Tsar and the Fatherland are one, just as in a family parents and their children are one. Develop in Russian soldiers the idea that lives within them that, sacrificing their lives to the Fatherland, they sacrifice it to God and are numbered among the holy host of the martyrs of Christ. It is much safer to go to the bayonet with prayer than with song: song brings self-forgetfulness and is befitting of a Roman; and prayer is inspirational and befits a pious Christian. The Christian faith gives rise to heroes, said the hero Suvorov - and permanent heroes, not momentary ones. Russian history represents the only example of Christian martyrdom: many Russians - not only warriors, but also bishops, boyars, and princes - voluntarily accepted violent death in order to remain faithful to the Tsar: because among Russians, according to the nature of the Eastern Orthodox confession, the idea of ​​fidelity to God and the Tsar is united together. The Russian Tsar can say about himself what the Holy King of Israel, the Prophet David, said about himself: “God... punish my people under me” (Ps. 17:48). Understanding that you will perform a great feat, as a true ascetic of the King of Heaven and the King of Earth, I call upon you from the depths of my heart God’s blessing. May the merciful Lord grant me to see you again in this earthly life, to see you after completing a great feat in the rays of glory from the King of heaven and the King of earth. Last summer I returned to the Sergius Hermitage and am in a state of some kind of semi-health, in which I am capable of the most limited activities. With the utmost respect and sincere devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency's most humble servant. You can imagine what a pleasure it was for me to receive your letter. Among your idle time, you found leisure in which your heart opened so beautifully to your neighbor who loves you, a heart that at the same time was preparing to open itself before God. With consolation and tenderness I read your lines and re-read them: hope in God and a modest view of one’s abilities - these fruits of experience and everyday sorrows - are a sure guarantee and harbinger of God’s favor and success. It’s no wonder that blessings and greetings greeted you all along the way: all Russians sympathize with you and expect great services from you to the fatherland. You are entering the Caucasus at a historic moment. Kurdistan has rebelled against the Turks, and the entire Christian population in Asia Minor is ready to rebel against them. Are you destined to strike the first deadly blow to the dominion of the Turks in the very center of their power? Many here are already beginning to say that the fatal point for the fate of Turkey is not the Danube, but in its regions on the Georgian border. What days have you dedicated to God? The very same ones in which His Hand recalled Sovereign Nikolai Pavlovich from his great earthly career 2 and handed over the denouement of the current difficult circumstances to His blessed Firstborn. The sobs that filled both the capital and all of Russia do honor to both the deceased Tsar and his faithful people. Particularly instructive is the grief of the current Emperor and the honor of love and reverence that He pays to His deceased Parent and with which He consoles the most worthy Parent. The hearts of all are drawn by trust and devotion to the New Sovereign. He inspires them with his positivity, courage and kindness. He, without rejecting peace, made a vow not to undermine the dignity of Russia and to resist with all his energy the enemies of the fatherland. This alone makes him priceless in the eyes of every true Russian. I am convinced that Brother Pyotr Alexandrovich has fully retained his former devotion to you and is with all my heart glad to serve under your command. If he does not ask to serve you, it is only because in his heart the feeling of being subordinate to you is still alive; and this feeling awaits a demand or order. With the same mail I am writing to him about your review of him. I will conclude my letter by repeating my heartfelt wishes for your success and invoking God's abundant blessings upon you. Let your weapons sound, and at the sound of them, let the chains fall off Christians. With a feeling of sincere, constant devotion and excellent respect, I have the honor to be Your Excellency’s most humble servant and worshiper I am no longer afraid to bother you with my lines, seeing your especially condescending attention to my brother and me. I received a letter from him in which he expresses his decisive intention to move to Stavropol, believing that at this point he can be of some use to you, at least with his devotion, fidelity and rules of honesty, this, alas! - an anachronism in our age. In the letter to me, my brother enclosed an unsealed letter to the Minister of Internal Affairs so that, after reading it, I would seal it with our family seal and forward it to its destination, which I immediately did. In this letter, Peter thanks the Minister for his attention to him and asks to be transferred to Stavropol, citing his natural devotion to you as the reason. I expected this from Peter, and I rejoice for him, because such a course of action morally elevates a person, strengthens and sharpens his spiritual strength; Before these moral treasures, worldly benefits are nonsense! It was pleasant for him to live in Kostroma because our father and relatives, non-employees or local employees, live in Vologda and along the southern border of this Province; in fact, the service provided little food for the mind and especially the heart: at present, the benefits mentioned are insignificant in the eyes of any patriot. I bless God, who has granted me to be a spectator of your actions, which arouse in me a feeling of respect, and the actions of my brother who respond to them, which console me. I pray to God to bless your labors in the internal management of the region and bless your feat on the battlefield for the true good of the fatherland, which fate has placed in a painful, but not useless state: we are taught a lot, we are forcibly drawn to extensive development, extremely rich in consequences. God grant that the development will take place safely and that the consequences will be completely beneficial. A real war has a special character: during it, secrets are gradually revealed to the eyes of peoples and governments, which at the beginning of the war they could not penetrate. Fortunately, the revelation of these secrets is being accomplished to the benefit of our dear fatherland and to the harm of our enemies. The last demand of the Allies that they be given castles guarding the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles revealed to the astonished Europe the plans of the Anglo-French, plans to conquer Turkey and the entire east. Europe had already been amazed to see the unceremonious treatment of the governments of England and France with weak powers, and the barbaric treatment of their soldiers with the inhabitants of the cities they occupied. The chains being prepared by the Anglo-French for Germany became obvious to her. Germany must desire the triumph of Russia and contribute to it: the triumph of Russia is also the triumph of Germany. So it is clear that we will not be surprised if next spring we see Germany, together with Russia, marching on Paris, dissolving the malignant alliance, and then all of Europe, striving to curb the British - these inhuman and evil-cunning Carthaginians, these universal Algerians. After a fruitless and long stay of the enemy fleets in front of Kronstadt, these fleets withdrew; now they are shelling Sveaborg. The granite rocks from which the tops of this fortress are carved do not hear the bombardment of huge shells used against them; Some wooden buildings in the fortress burned down, which, admittedly, should not have existed, and which appeared solely in the hope of an indestructible world. It seems that you will have to work a lot in Asia Minor: everything shows that the war will last! Its decisive outcome and lasting peace are visible in the very distance: beyond the period of the dissolution of the Anglo-French Alliance and behind the victory of England at sea. Without the last event, she will not stop villainizing and playing with the well-being of the universe. Here are the local judgments for you! I read all your reports printed for the public with the greatest attention and participation; With the same feeling I read articles about your actions, reprinted in their entirety in “Invalid” and “St. Petersburg Vedomosti” from the newspaper “Kavkaz”. I really like these articles: they explain to non-military people the reasons, goals and results of various military movements, which is not always clear to non-military people in formal reports. And again I invoke God’s blessing on you; With a feeling of heartfelt respect and sincere devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency’s most humble servant and worshiper. You surprised me with your letter! Among your many activities, amid the noise of war, in your distant camp near Kars, you devoted an hour to remembering the peaceful monk and even wrote a letter breathing with kindness and frankness, which I now hold in my hands. It is no wonder for me to constantly remember you and often talk about you with many of my acquaintances: because at present you are attracting general attention here, and there is talk about you in all levels of society. To my greatest consolation, I hear and see that everyone is filled with confidence in you, and people who know are delighted with your actions. They see logic in them, they see forethought. In the current war, brilliant actions are not needed, essentially useful actions are needed. Others enthusiastically say that after the capture of Erzurum you will go to Gallipoli or Scutari in order to lock up the enemy fleets and troops and deprive them of the opportunity to receive reinforcements; others claim that from Erzurum you will head to Trebizond. And I allow myself to present my opinion, because condescending people listen to it. I recognize a campaign to the Bosphorus and Dardanelles as impossible until events determine whether the allies will land for action against Georgia; I consider a campaign to Trebizond, as well as to any other coastal place, of little use, if not completely fruitless, in a war with an enemy who has all the advantages at sea; only a demonstration of such a campaign can be useful in the case when the enemy dispatches significant forces to guard coastal areas; such a demonstration can keep enemy troops guarding the coast inactive. In my opinion, for the campaign of this summer we mean actions of incomparably greater importance: these are preparations for the campaign of next year, the results of which can be much stronger and more decisive, and actions in all directions from Erzurum Patalik on the population of Asia Minor, which is all electrified by the spirit of hostility to the rule of the Turks, especially to the rule in the Western European way, and thus the fall of the Turkish Empire will become inevitable, if not in the current campaign, then in subsequent ones. The main thing is that they should not rush to make peace here without seeing the fruits of such donations and efforts. So I allow myself to reason from my ardent love for the fatherland and from my heartfelt sympathy for you. Most often I talk about you with Prince Alexander Fedorovich Golitsyn, who has true respect for you. His son is buried in our monastery; my father, visiting the monastery to visit his son’s grave, sometimes came to see me, fell in love with me and now comes in very often. He is close to Count Orlov, is well acquainted with Danenberg, and it is from him that I hear most about the nature of the reviews from a large circle. – From our monastery in clear weather the English fleet was very clearly visible, especially that part of it that stood on the northern fairway. Now they have retired and are unlikely to do anything against Kronstadt. Our steam gunboats are very good, the British do not like them very much, but they remind us of the birth of the Russian fleet under Peter I and promise its revival in our time. There is talk here about Crimean affairs that nothing decisive can be expected before the onset of winter; and this state of affairs in Crimea will force you to limit yourself and not move away from Georgia. God willing, you will take both Kars and Erzurum; but such successes, given your course of action, are completely secondary successes. Regarding brother Peter, his fundamental desire, of course, is to be with you. You had such an impact on him morally that the deepest and truest feeling of devotion to you was born in his heart, which, as you see, is proven in practice. If you see that moving him to Stavropol will not satisfy his desires and does not pave the way for the fulfillment of this desire, then by suspending his transition, you acted very fairly and kindly. It remains for me to thank you from the bottom of my heart not only for your memory of me and my brother, but also for your love, which you prove by your very deeds. I invoke God’s abundant blessing on your actions for the true benefit of the fatherland and humanity. The Anglo-French showed clearly what the Black Sea region could expect from them if they established themselves in this region, which could only prosper under Russian rule. With a feeling of sincere respect and devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency’s most humble servant and worshiper You will not be disgusted that the monk in the silence of his cell is thinking about you while you are on the battlefield having to solve the most complex military tasks prepared by the improved art of war and the sophisticated and cunning politics of modern times. At least when you look, facing west, you see this. We live in an era of material progress, and many former axioms, even in the art of war, must either be completely abandoned or significantly changed. However, time, changing the rules in particulars, generally spares them. A thousand years before the birth of Christ, therefore, three thousand years before us, the Israeli army, under the command of its victorious leader Joab, under the King, Prophet and Hero David, made a vain attempt to take the capital city of the Ammonites, Rabbah. On this occasion, King David ordered the messenger who brought this news to say to the General: “Let not this evil word be before your eyes (i.e., this incident), as sometimes the flesh is slaughtered, and sometimes the sword devours it in another way. Strengthen your battle against the city, and dig it out” (2 Samuel 11:25). It is impossible to please people who do not have a clear understanding of objects: because they precisely demand what the matter itself does not deliver. But all positive people understand that an attack on Kars is the use of an old, hitherto almost always successful method against a new, improved weapon; It is impossible, for one reason, to reject the old method, in which many believe with all their hearts. Facts are needed to determine the merits of past and present weapons. Experiments should indicate the most advantageous method of action for a real war. When the bullet suddenly becomes smarter, you need to find out what the price of the bayonet is. I don’t know anything about Brother Peter’s transfer to Stavropol: I delivered his letter to the Minister, in which he asks for this transfer, to Dimitri Gavrilovich; but then he left his place. Meanwhile, my brother continues to write to me that he wishes and expects this transfer. Calling upon you the abundant blessing of Heaven, with the liveliest wish for success, with a feeling of perfect respect and devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency’s most humble servant and worshiper I am enclosing a note that came into my hands: In the life of the State, said the Statesman (Karamzin), just as in the life of a private person, the most difficult circumstances happen, the outcome of which no human mind can unravel or predict. Then both the State and man must plunge their fate into the abyss of God’s Fates and say about themselves to God: “Thy will be done.” Such selflessness and surrender to the Providence of the Almighty does not eliminate the activity of either the State or man. On the contrary, it causes this activity. “Do not let your feet fall into confusion, keep you below to slumber. Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,” says the Word of God (Ps. 120:3, 124:1). “What does victory mean?” - Napoleon I asked Berthier on our native Borodino field, and without waiting for an answer, he said: “Victory is the combination of greater forces at a strategic point than how many the enemy has.” On domestic soil, the world-wide genius pronounced his definition, and, of course, pronounced it for us as well. Let's balance our forces with the forces of our enemies! When we balance them, then in addition to this balance we will have the inexhaustible resources of our Russia, and space, and time, and the inspiration of a numerous and brave people who believe in their great destiny. With equal forces to counteract, we can be confident of repelling the enemy. As soon as our forces are equal to those of the enemy, we will receive, along with this equality, an advantage in strength, and therefore an undoubted victory. At the same time, I bring you my sincere congratulations on the day of your Angel and on the final destruction of the Anatolian Army, which closed your path to Asia Minor. The long-term, uniform, boring blockade of Kars for lovers of hourly news was crowned with a result that was insignificant compared to the result of the brilliant campaign in this region that preceded yours. The allies cannot correct their loss: the gates of Asia Minor have dissolved before you, torn from their faith; these gates no longer exist. All of Asia Minor can rise at your call against the enemies of humanity, the British and their temporary allies, their eternal enemies, the flighty French; Russia's influence in the East, shaken for a moment, and then only in the opinion of the European peoples, is restored in new greatness, in a new thunderstorm, a beneficial thunderstorm. The capture of Kars is a victory in the style of Kulm 3 and ... (inaudible) ... with an impact on the fate of the entire campaign, the entire war. Congratulations, congratulations to you! Maybe you are celebrating your Angel's day in Erzurum. This is quite likely. Calling upon you the abundant blessing of God, Your Excellency, your most humble servant and pilgrim I had just sent Your Excellency a letter dated December 6th when I received your letter dated November 11th. Thank you, I sincerely thank you for the attention that you paid to me, hoping to make me useful to the Caucasus region for the establishment of Christianity in it. The measure is wonderful! and our fatherland owes it to her, maybe more than one million of its sons who accepted Christianity. But are you choosing a tool suitable for this purpose? I will tell you with all frankness. Entering, and then entering the monastery, I prepared myself for the most solitary monastic life. When I was assigned to the Sergius Hermitage, this direction was tested; but I myself did not stop cultivating it with my cell work. Since 1846, I spent several winters almost without leaving my rooms, due to severe rheumatism. And now in general I rarely leave my rooms, and in winter very rarely, due to illness and extreme exhaustion of strength resulting from illness. Seeing the need for myself to leave Sergius Hermitage both due to its difficult climate and my loss of ability to work, I considered it necessary to warn Metropolitan 4 by letter about my situation and intention to change place, indicating Optina Hermitage. And I wrote to the rector of Optina Pustyn, located in the Kaluga province, that I wish to be placed, as a sick person, in the Skete located near this Hermitage. The abbot expressed his consent. The skete is a monastery, the most secluded and the most moral: most of the nobles live in it. You are absolutely right that the Caucasian waters and the climate of Stavropol can help me. But can it be considered completely certain that water and air will restore my strength and restore the ability to act, now lost. Knowing my current position, the Holy Synod, I think, will not consider it possible to give me the place you offer. If your wish comes true, then it will be a miracle that it will come true. The capture of Kars created general delight in the capital. We can say that everyone understood the importance of the consequences of the fall of this, as you call, stronghold of Asia Minor. The Western powers did not like this event: as I heard, the representatives of the Austrian Embassy were not present at the solemn prayer service, while their representatives participated in all the celebrations on the occasion of the successes of the Anglo-French Alliance. Poor Turks! they were handed over to you under the sword by their insidious helpers, who seek not to save them, but to make them their victims, and no one else. They will fall under this sword, and the Allied army will remain in charge of Turkey. The St. Petersburg newspaper carefully reprints from the newspaper “Caucasus” the exploits of the troops subordinate to you. In this respect, she is much more merciful than “Invalid”. However, next year I am subscribing to the newspaper “Caucasus”. I call upon you and your labors the abundant blessing of Heaven! May they be rewarded with abundant fruit! May the precious blood of heroes not be shed at the foot of the vile European policy, which demands that this blood be shed on Tuna, so that the harvest of successes belongs to England alone. With a feeling of great respect and complete devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency’s most humble servant and worshiper Your last letter dated December 20th greatly consoled me, that is, amused me! This means that you did not escape criticism from our church lawyer, but from your brother Andrei Nikolaevich! 5 Before, when I did not yet know all his kindness, such antics angered me; now, as I put it, they console. My view on the subject is this: Civil laws lose much of their charm when they are in the hands of a well-meaning and prudent man; Church laws are much calmer. Their common spirit is peace, benefit, salvation of the Christian society; the letter of the regulations is subordinated to this spirit. Church History presents facts of such fulfillment of the Church Laws by Holy Men who, fulfilling the law in spirit and not in letter, were by no means subjected to need for this. The Root Church Law commands that a Bishop for the city be elected in the city itself by the Council of Bishops and the society of Christians of the city and region. Despite the clear law, pious kings and rulers often chose a person for the rank of Bishop whom they recognized as capable and worthy; The Council of Bishops never stopped consecrating the chosen one. We have especially many examples of this in Russia. Saint Demetrius of Rostov, in his speech when taking over the management of his flock, said that he ascends the throne of the Yaroslavl and Rostov Metropolis by the will of God, by the command of the Tsar, by the permission and blessing of the entire Holy Council. Since church law essentially strives to ensure that a worthy and capable person is elected to the rank of Bishop, some changes in literalness, in order to achieve the essence, have never been rejected. When compared with the facts of Church History and the spirit of Church Legislation, your action is impeccable. Moreover, it is true in relation to modern conditions. I conclude from the following: I heard, and I recognize this rumor as quite true, that the Emperor, perhaps as a result of your response to the Secretary of State, spoke about me to Metropolitan Nikanor, honoring him with his own gracious response. But the Metropolitan opposed the Sovereign to the recently made resolution of the Synod not to elevate to the rank of Bishop persons who had not received an education in Theological Academies. Uneducated persons were not elevated to this rank anyway. It is obvious that the resolution was made with the aim of blocking the path to this rank for the educated nobility. I will say more: the decree was made by Count Protasov 6 and now - specifically for me. I was not surprised by Metropolitan Nikanor’s review and could not be offended by it; According to the concepts I have acquired, I recognize myself as completely unworthy of the rank, for which an Angel is needed, or a person, but equal to the Angel, and I am a sinner. I also cannot help but admit that I am ignorant of the great science of Theology, despite thirty years of continuous study of this subject. God is infinite, and the science of Him is infinite; man is limited and therefore naturally incapable of acquiring full and perfect knowledge of God. Nikanor’s action proves the correctness of your actions. If you had gone straight to the Synod with a formal presentation, without including the Sovereign, then we can probably say that they would have gotten rid of you with the same excuse. Whatever the outcome of your concerns for me, I accept them with a deep sense of gratitude. The only thing that tells you about me is your heart. I hear his voice, and this cherished voice will reverberate in my soul throughout my entire life. Here we are talking about peace! It is common for every Orthodox Christian to desire all kinds of good, firstly, for the Orthodox fatherland, secondly, for fellow tribes and all Orthodox peoples, and finally, for all humanity. When rumors of peace appeared, the patriots were at first despondent; but Napoleon's actions encouraged minds. Having disgraced England and Austria in the eyes of Russia, allowing them to commit all sorts of meanness against Russia, who shed her blood for them for half a century, he suddenly leaves these imaginary allies, as many natural enemies of France as of Russia. Due to the upcoming negotiations and subsequent coups, will you have to travel to India? Calling upon you the abundant blessing of God, I have the honor to be Your Excellency’s most humble servant and worshiper P.S. After your letter, I have not yet seen Andrei N-cha, because I was not in the city. Hope to see you soon. Please accept my most ardent congratulations on the great holiday of feasts - the Resurrection of Christ. Here we have a world brought about by circumstances of which detailed knowledge is inaccessible to a private person. And Peter the Great made peace at Prut! Facts explain facts, said one highly respected writer. The future of Russia is in the hands of Divine Providence. Wishing you all the true blessings, and not despairing of seeing you during your earthly life, with a feeling of excellent respect, I have the honor to be Your Excellency’s most humble servant and worshiper. Having received your letter from Stavropol, I did not want to answer you from the distraction of St. Petersburg, but wanted to do it from the secluded Optina Pustyn, where I was going to go according to the demands of both soul and body. While already in this Desert, I received another letter from you dated May 4th. In the following lines I answer both letters. First of all, I consider it necessary to tell you a few words about the place of my stay: this description will explain to you the main reason and the final reason or goal of my journey. Optina Pustynya is located in the Kaluga province, four miles from the city of Kozelsk on the elevated and sandy bank of the Zhizdra River on the western side, on other sides it is surrounded by tall pine forest. To the east of the Desert, about a hundred yards from it, among the forest there is a Skete belonging to the Desert. Optina Pustynya is one of the most populous Russian monasteries in terms of the number of brothers and, of course, the first monastery in Russia in terms of the moral quality of the brothers; This dignity especially belongs to her monastery, in which many nobles live. Some of them are very educated, familiar with the newest and most ancient languages, engaged in spiritual literature, mainly translations of the most profound works of the Holy Fathers. The so-called Elder of them, Hieromonk Macarius, 68 years old, from the nobility, a monk from his youth, enriched with spiritual reading and spiritual experiences, is engaged in the spiritual edification of the brotherhood; he lives in Skete; Optina Pustyn owes its moral well-being to him. Many monks from other monasteries, many nuns, many lay people, depressed by sorrows and in need of guidance, flock to Optina Pustyn to Father Macarius for saving advice and a word of consolation. His ease, simplicity, frankness are completely opposite to that tense and rigid holiness, which is courted by various Countesses and Princesses. A hermitage family of monks is similar, in religious terms, to the roots of a tree, working in the darkness of the unknown and, however, extracting the necessary vital juices for the tree. There is no author's name on the title pages of the skits' works; it is replaced by a modest line: publication of Optina Pustyn. In the monastery itself, the rules are communal, that is, a common meal, common clothing, a common library, daily and long church services, general and special works. Church services are held at the Skete twice a week, on Saturday and Sunday; on other days of the week, the brethren read the psalter day and night alternately; The brethren work in their cells, but their labors are predominantly mental. Women are not allowed to enter the Skete; and anyone from the Skete brethren who needs to leave the Skete must each time ask for the Elder’s blessing; The monastic brethren are given access to the Skete at any time of the day to satisfy their spiritual needs. The meal in the Skete is the most lean. From this description you can see how close Skeet is to me! Careful reading and study of the most profound Scriptures of the Holy Fathers brought me to the monastery, supported me, and nourished me in it. In the Skete I find my kind of occupation, my kind of thoughts; in the Skete I see people living in the exact sense for humanity in its spiritual, high purpose; I see people with whom I can share thoughts and feelings, before whom I can pour out my soul. The head of Optina Pustyn and its main monks have known me for about 30 years; and with O. Macarius I am, I dare say, on the most friendly terms. Finally, the local climate is beneficial for my health. All reasons, outside and inside me, combine to force me to use all my efforts to move to Skete. So that at least the end of my life can be spent on human rights and for humanity in the spiritual and broad sense of the word. - On the contrary, all reasons, inside and outside of me, force me to use every effort to escape from St. Petersburg and the Sergius Hermitage. What is required there from a clergyman? Parade, one parade; no intelligence, no knowledge, no spiritual strength, no virtue is required from him. All this is imputed to him as a vice: his attention should be focused on one parade, on one man-pleasing, while both are made, according to natural, psychological law, alien to the mind and heart, busy with the deep and enlightened consideration of man - a spiritual being, clothed in a body for a short time, placed in the material world for a short time, who must study eternity and its laws during the days of his stay in the body. Paradigm and spiritual contemplation cannot reside in the same soul; they are in irreconcilable hostility; one must certainly be supplanted by the other. What was my situation in St. Petersburg during my 23-year stay there? It was the position of a moving statue, having no right to speech, feeling, or law. If I heard a few friendly words, then these words were weaker than those spoken to a beloved poodle or bulldog and which are necessarily answered with silence, preserving the dignity of a statue in silence. According to the immutable law of righteous retribution in the field of morality, those who turn people into statues themselves turn into statues, deprived of the development of mind and heart, and shackled in one sensuality. Imagine: what is the mental state of a person who has left everything for the development of humanity, perfected by Christianity, and is deprived, during the 14th century, of moral existence, all rights and all hope for it! In addition, the St. Petersburg climate destroys the remnants of my strength and health. I wrote to you in such detail about myself so that you can see my way of judging people, since every person judges his neighbors by himself. I turn to Brother Peter. His initial service was without a specific purpose, as most of our nobles serve. When he joined you as an adjutant, then he came to life for the duties of a citizen. His selfless heart, capable of loving with fervor and fidelity, became attached to you for the rest of his life and for the rest of your life. Such a heart is alien to flattery and intrigue; time reveals it, because at first glance it may seem cold, while a flatterer and a deceiver at first glance may seem very warm. Circumstances tore Peter away from you without tearing his heart away from you. The civilian target that had appeared before him disappeared again; he served, was retired, married because he had to, following the example of many - most people. During this time his health deteriorated completely, as you yourself know. Moral reasons prompted him to enter the service not so much for service, but to preserve himself from idleness and its consequences. His devotion to you attracted him to the Caucasus; but his frailty shows him clearly that the earthly career has ceased for him: why would it not be at all strange if his soul, imbued with piety from a young age, longed for solitude, especially when I moved to the Skete or other deserted place, according to the instructions of God. I would really like for him if he could prepare for the afterlife under the guidance of the experienced Macarius, in the company of people who have now begun their heavenly, immortal life - in spirit. At the end of winter, that is, during Great Lent, there were rumors in St. Petersburg that you would receive another assignment. These rumors cited the severity of your character for your subordinates as the reason for such a move, many of whom retired from their useful service. But after Easter, rumors in the capital began to spread something else: that you are difficult for bribe-takers and for everyone inclined to abuse, and for this very reason your stay in the Caucasus is both useful and necessary. However, the fate of every person is in the right hand of God! For my part, I would like you to stay in the Caucasus. There are all the conditions for this in yourself and in your previous life. Throughout your entire life, you have been studying military and civil sciences, had many of your own experiences, witnessed the experiences of other people, and became completely familiar with the Caucasus. The providence of God (man is only a tool!) placed you as the ruler of this country in a time in which the Supreme Government itself became convinced that Russia was unbearably burdened by its internal enemies - bribe-takers, thieves, servants without honor and without conscience, driven by the stupidest egoism. If they are not curbed in a timely manner, they will destroy the fatherland. You are called to fight against them! Don't back down or give in. Your feat is not brilliant, but it is essential and useful. They shoot arrows and daggers at you, they inflict heart wounds on you; these immaterial weapons and wounds are visible to God and appreciated by Him: for not only, according to one prominent saint, feat and death for Christ is martyrdom, but also feat and suffering for the truth are counted among martyrdom. In your present career you can do much more good than in any other, because you are prepared for it. Don't leave it; if the intrigue of ill-intentioned people drives you away from it, then you will leave it with a peaceful conscience, without bearing the reproach that you could not resist the power of evil and betrayed the public good to it; You will be comforted by the sentence of the Savior, Who said: “Blessed are those who are exiled for the sake of truth! blessed when, for her sake, your name will be showered with evil rumors in human society. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is abundant in heaven” (Matthew 5:10–12). Strive, but strive solely for God and virtue, and not for history and people’s opinions about you: both history and human opinion are merciless towards egoists who seek earthly glory with all their tricks; on the contrary, they revere the servant of virtue, who nobly forgets about them and has in mind the glory from God in eternity: they give him justice sooner or later. In the activities of mankind on earth, not only spiritual beings temporarily clothed with bodies, that is, humans, take part, but also such beings who are not clothed with bodies, and therefore are called spirits, although in the proper sense there is only one God - Spirit. Spirits act on the mind with the thoughts they bring and on the heart with the sensations they bring. Just as all human activity depends on thoughts and sensations, spirits, dominating in this spiritual or mental area, stand at the head of human activity. Dividing like people into good and evil and being more perfect than people in good and evil, some of them struggle with effort against evil, and others against good. The Holy Scripture calls them principalities and powers; paganism itself recognizes both their existence and participation in human activity, calling them geniuses and dividing geniuses into good and evil. Exactly: the beginning of every important or unimportant matter with all its consequences is a thought, and a thought, already accepted as truth, is an opinion that rules over a person and over people. All this is said to explain that the Ascetic of Truth must take precautions and arm himself not only against malicious people, but also against malicious spirits who cunningly bring their evil and harmful suggestions, disguised in the guise of righteousness. The Holy Fathers, in their deep writings, set out the signs by which a thought brought by an evil spirit is recognized. This thought is always dark, it leads the heart into confusion and sadness, and its hidden purpose is to hinder good; he is convicted by the Holy Scriptures, or the Word of God. Take a closer look at your thoughts of doubt, which you write about in your letter dated May 4th: does it not have these signs? The holy and immutable Word of God says about the Ascetics of Truth that they “by faith conquered the kingdom, did righteousness, received promises, stopped the mouths of lions,” and so on. (Heb. 11:33). Faith in God, always accompanied by abandonment of self-reliance, overcomes all sorrows and temptations, conquers all obstacles. The thought of faith in God is bright, shedding consolation, joy and strength in the heart that receives it; it is brought by an Angel from mental paradise. “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion; they will never move!” (Ps. 124:1). This is what I was inspired to tell you, with all the frankness that you wished. I don’t know if my words are quite fair, but what I said was said out of sincere love for you and out of love for my dear fatherland, which I regret - I regret! Before my departure from St. Petersburg, I met Count Saken; I left on May 17th. On the eve of my departure from St. Petersburg, a person belonging to the highest circle came to see me; By the way, I was told: “We have no peace: war! war!" Here I take a break from hearing earthly events that are happening and will pass in their course, assigned to them from above. I expect to leave here on June 20th and be in Sergius Hermitage by July 1st. Invoking God’s abundant blessing, I have the honor to remain Your Excellency’s most humble servant and worshiper What should I tell you in response to your letter of August 2? God's will be done! Faith in God's Providence and submission to it constitute the strength of the soul and carry it along the waves of the sea of ​​life, preserving it from moral drowning. In the present circumstances, for the true sons of the fatherland who know you, it remains a consolation that you remain in the service. I hope to see you in St. Petersburg, which is why I don’t expand on this in this letter. Invoking God’s abundant blessing upon you, I have the honor to be Your Excellency’s most humble servant and worshiper. Please accept my most sincere congratulations on the upcoming New Year, which may the merciful Lord grant you and all of us a prosperous time! May He hold back for a while the Angel who is about to sound his trumpet and disturb the universe with the voice of this trumpet. I had the honor of receiving your letter dated December 22 on January 6. I sincerely thank you for your memory of me! After meeting with you, I wrote to brother Peter that you confirmed my opinion: he should remain in his place until further indication of the circumstances. Here I heard that the Stavropol Military Governor is asking for an extension of his vacation until September, therefore, until this period, Peter must rule the Province, and in such a significant space of time, perhaps, it will become clearer what he should do and how to act. Peter’s devotion to you is incredibly pleasant to me. I don’t know any news other than the generally known. There is even a rumor among the common people about the liberation of the peasants from the power of the landowners, a rumor that is probably empty or premature. If this rumor has its basis, then it is a sample of the trumpet. Calling upon you and your family the abundant blessing of God, with a feeling of great respect and perfect devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency’s most humble servant and worshiper. Please accept my sincere gratitude for your constant merciful attention to me, in which I, with love and spiritual consolation, see the guarantee of love deeply implanted in your heart. I consider this pledge to be true: numerous experiences of a varied life, experiences considered and stored in memory as a precious reserve, with constancy and depth of character, give solidity and strength to the pledges of the heart. The long-term experiments of a fool mean nothing. They seem to make a fool even more stupid: they completely confuse him. Your letter from Skornyakov dated January 23 showed me that you have not yet received my answer to your letter, which you honored me with from your former residence near Orel. I sincerely thank you for the participation you take in me! As if for my health I would need a different climate, and for my spirit and direction I would need a simpler place, where I could exclusively engage in the development of a Christian and a person; but Fate wanted to arrange it differently. She gave me moral achievement and moral suffering. The strength of my body fell on the field of invisible battle; but I am still alive, and therefore my feat is not over. I don’t want to leave the field as long as I feel alive or until the hand of Fate, which put me in the field, takes it away from me. I am inspired by Faith. Brother Peter also informed me that he was so far satisfied with his position, but that with the return of the Military Governor to Stavropol, he could not remain in his place. Do not leave him with your instructions. In his thoughts and heart, you are irreplaceable by anyone. I wish that your holiday with your family, in a favorable climate, will have a beneficial effect on your health and strengthen your strength, preparing them for new activities. You have witnessed many events and been an actor in them; It is impossible not to foresee that more important events await us. They are promised by the developing forces of Russia and the emergence of new beginnings in it. Invoking God's abundant blessing upon you, with a feeling of perfect respect and sincere devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency's most humble servant. 1857 February 13th Please accept my most ardent congratulations on the upcoming Great Feast of Holidays and the Celebration of all Celebrations. May God's blessings pour abundantly on you and your family. In addition to the news that you know, I am telling you news that will be close to your heart: a black cloud is gathering over the Caucasus; The name of the cloud is Vasily Antonovich Izharsky, recently appointed Vice-Director of the Office of the Caucasian Viceroy. This Izharsky was for four years the manager of the estate of Prince Baryatinsky; regularly delivering income from the estate to the Prince, which the previous managers did not do, Izharsky filled his pocket tightly with significant depletion for the peasants. The last two circumstances remained unknown to the Prince; Taking advantage of this, Mr. Izharsky procured for himself the above-mentioned place, with the goal of making the Caucasus his lease, and the Prince his instrument. Sorry everyone! What a move now for all malicious and vicious people! In vain History actually teaches that the source of disasters for all States was the immorality of State people, who, because of this immorality, according to its natural requirement, surrounded themselves with monsters of self-interest, and these destroyed both the people and their patrons. You need to know that Robespierre and his brothers were already formed and ready people at the beginning of the French Revolution: they were born, matured and strengthened under the shadow of the modern monarchy and aristocracy. God's will be done! With the utmost respect, I have the honor to be Your Excellency’s most humble servant and worshiper 1857 April 15th. While I was awaiting your arrival in St. Petersburg on the way to foreign lands, I received your letter dated June 1! It touched me to the depths of my heart! Your advice for my brother Peter is very correct. Let him remain in Stavropol until the arrival of the Military Governor, with whom it will be difficult for him to get along. Then he can take a vacation and come to St. Petersburg. Meanwhile, his present activities can provide him with precious experience for the future. It is impossible to rely on the present pleasant: the distance between words and deeds is great. It’s a different matter when words do not remain just words. It’s a pity for Little Russia – this breadbasket not only of Russia, but of all of Europe. And here the harvests are bad. The beginning of spring was accompanied by unusual cold, and the cold was followed by drought. When you arrive in St. Petersburg, let us know about your arrival. It would be a special pleasure for me to see you in the Sergius Hermitage. But if circumstances do not allow you to be welcomed into the Abode, then I will certainly try to visit you. Of course, you will stay with Mikhail Nikolaevich 7. Invoking God's abundant blessing on you and your family, with a feeling of great respect and perfect devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency's most humble servant and worshiper. Going to Stavropol, I recognize it as my duty to address you with these lines. In my purpose your thought is fulfilled; but I don't know if I can be of any use. Firstly, my health is extremely upset by the climate of St. Petersburg; secondly, I don’t know whether the meeting will be assistance or opposition. The thought of the latter does not apply to Prince Baryatinsky 8: it may refer to some secondary power. Peter is still in Stavropol. In the first case, it can bring me significant help. However, it is unknown whether circumstances will allow him to stay with me for a long time. I leave it to Providence to arrange everything. I am pleased with my departure from St. Petersburg, where I was completely destroyed. Now I have hope to at least die in peace. How are you? How is your health? Where are you going to spend next summer? Before I left, I visited Mikhail Nikolaevich and several times with Andrei Nikolaevich. I'm leaving St. Petersburg tomorrow by rail. Calling on you and your family the abundant blessing of God and wishing you all the true blessings, with a feeling of perfect respect and sincere devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency’s most humble servant and pilgrim Bishop of the Caucasus and Black Sea On the day of your Angel, I remember you and bring you my most ardent congratulations, coupled with the most zealous desire for all the best for you and your family. Several years ago, on this day, I visited you and personally congratulated you. It seems like it was just recently. With the passage of time, what is recent becomes long ago, and everything present will certainly become past. I arrived in the Caucasus half-dead: this is how the St. Petersburg climate treated me for 24 years. Last summer I underwent a full course of treatment on mineral waters in Pyatigorsk, Essentuki and Kislovodsk. The waters affected me so much that I was barely alive. However, by God’s special mercy to me, diocesan affairs are going well. I am very pleased with my current position: the flock shows me love and attention; the climate here is much more forgiving than that of St. Petersburg; solitude and tranquility such that it is difficult to find in other provincial cities, whose residents have the custom of often visiting the Bishop; There is no such custom here. In addition, I have hope, judging by the effect of the waters on me, to somewhat improve my health. My favorite and constant thought - to finally retire somewhere to the most secluded Abode, in order to meet death there, having somehow prepared for it - does not leave me. The haven of death awaits every earthly wanderer. It is desirable that this refuge should definitely be a refuge. Invoking upon you the abundant blessing of Heaven, with a feeling of great respect and perfect devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency’s most humble servant Please accept my sincere congratulations on your Angel’s Day and wish you all the true blessings. I don’t know if I recommended you the book Letters of George, the Recluse of Zadonsk. This book is excellent for the practical Christian and should be read a little at a time. If I have not yet introduced you to this book, then please accept my review of it as a spiritual gift for the day of your Angel. I live here calmly, I feel the benefits of mineral waters that expel scrofula, but I still don’t feel any recovery. Both physical and mental illness, when old, are difficult to treat. Invoking the abundant blessing of God upon you and your family, with a feeling of excellent respect and perfect devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency’s most humble servant 1859 November 18th. I had the honor of receiving your most respected letter dated January 5th on the 21st. He conveyed what was enclosed in it to my and your brother Pyotr Alexandrovich, and that he is devoted to you with his soul, as only his own son can be devoted, this is true. The seal of God's election rests on you. Try so that it resolutely brands you, becomes an eternal asset for you, and makes you an inalienable asset of God for eternal bliss. God seals us according to His election, and it depends on our will to accept His seal and be sealed with it or reject it. The Holy Apostle Paul says: “The Lord loves him and punishes him: he beats every son whom he accepts” (Heb. 12:6). This is a sign of God's election! here is the seal of God! The sign of election and the seal of God are tribulations. Then this seal is accepted when a Christian thanks God for his sorrows, according to the testament of the Apostle, and even more so according to the testament of God Himself: “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus in you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Here it is said in Christ Jesus: for in Him, in His incarnate Son, having subjected Him throughout His earthly life to manifold sufferings, God will reveal His will that the people of Christ - Christians - should be subjected to manifold sufferings. If such is the will of God, then for the manifestation of it, all-good and all-wise, by mathematical necessity one must thank God. When a person thanks God for the sorrows allowed, then consolation will flow into the heart of the person giving thanks. From this consolation comes a living faith in God. From the action of living faith, a person will begin to surrender to the will of God and the leadership of God. Then the grace of God overshadows the mind of a person, and a majestic eternity is revealed to his gaze, before which earthly affairs take on their correct dimensions, that is, they turn out to be completely petty. Please write about the influence of years on your strength, and I cannot say otherwise about myself. The waters tore up my old scrofula, which was not understood in a timely manner: as a result, up to a dozen teeth were taken out of my gums, from which scrofula turned out teeth, which, however, were healthy. The hair on the back of the head appears to have been cut in places; the back of the head was covered with scrofulous ulcers. Shortness of breath is significant; the weakness is very significant. Rightly, rightly does Scripture say: “Man is like grass; Its days, like a spring flower, will fade away” (Ps. 102:15). You expressed a desire to spend some time in conversation with me. Fulfilling this desire, I am enclosing to you by this same mail the Manuscript - “The Word on Death,” compiled by me for my own spiritual benefit and for the spiritual benefit of those who truly want to be saved. This word is the fruit of my cell solitude: it is my most sincere conversation. I trust it to some of my closest friends; Peter Alch has a copy of it. If your eyes are weak, then order the Word to be read to yourself by a person prepared for serious things: such reading, as you yourself will see, is not suitable for anyone. When the need for the Manuscript passes, please send it to me. Then, having invoked God’s abundant blessing on you and your family and wished you all true blessings, with a feeling of perfect respect and sincere devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency’s most humble servant Please accept my most sincere congratulations on the upcoming Feast of Holidays and my most earnest wish for all true blessings to Your Excellency. I received the book The Word on Death: sorry for bothering you with reading it. However, it contains all the main things that the Holy Eastern Church teaches regarding death. It was also necessary to know true Christians, especially monks, of whom one saw his soul leaving the body, others saw and heard spirits in reality when they refined their bodily feelings through voluntary or involuntary feat, and from others. A certain layman, sincerely devoted to me since childhood, revered by many as a proud man for his inhumanity, who retained virginity before marriage and chastity during marriage, saw the ordeals, the souls of them, saw the heavens opened and there the same thing that St. Andrew saw, as described in the Word on Death. It was impossible to show all this clearly in the Word, but it shows that it was written not only from theoretical concepts and knowledge. Your opinion about the effect of mineral waters on me is quite correct. I spent two winters in severe suffering from the action of the waters taken during the summer. Now this action predisposed me to contract smallpox, which I contracted on Wednesday before the end of Lent. The action of the waters was added to the effect of the disease: which is why I am recovering very slowly in strength, but at the same time I feel like a rebirth. For a monk, there is neither resignation nor one’s own will: they are shoved where you don’t even think, and asking consent is not fashionable in the spiritual Department. I rely on the Lord God. Of all the places I know, I prefer central Russia, its sandy hills. For example: in the Kaluga Province the air is softer in both winter and summer than the Caucasian air. It happened to be in the wind: here the wind cuts and pierces like the St. Petersburg wind, which is even much rougher, but in the Kaluga Province the strongest wind only pushes. I would very much like to go to some secluded, comfortable monastery, and end my life there in the most serious pursuits, an example of which you see in the Word on Death. But rarely does a person have the opportunity to live the way he would like and think, especially a monk. And therefore, despite all my considerations and assumptions, which seem correct and solid to me, I surrender completely to the will of God. The Holy Church pronounces on behalf of all Christians and often repeats the following excellent calming prayer: “Let us commit ourselves, and each other, and our whole life to Christ our God.” I conclude this letter by repeating to Your Excellency all true blessings and calling upon you and your family the abundant Blessing of God. With the utmost respect and sincere devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency's most humble servant On the very day of your Angel, I congratulate you on the day of your Angel, remembering your name at the Divine Liturgy during the Cherubic Song, when the Bishop commemorates the living and the dead. Thus, through the living memory of you, you became, as it were, present in the region in which you worked hard for the good of the fatherland. Pyotr Alexandrovich is healthy and prosperous. And I begin to feel significant relief from internal pain, but my legs and the surface of my body in general are in the most painful position. To end your life you need... Skornyakovo! Invoking the abundant blessing of God upon you and your family, with a feeling of perfect respect and sincere devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency’s most humble servant. December 6, 1860. My long-standing desire - to end my earthly wanderings in the deepest possible monastic solitude - was fulfilled. As a result of my all-submissive letter to the Sovereign, I was dismissed from the administration of the Caucasian Diocese and I was given the management of the monastery of St. Nicholas, on the Volga, in a very healthy dry area, very secluded, in the Kostroma Province, on its very border with Yaroslavl. I plan to go to Voronezh and Zadonsk, from Zadonsk to Skornyakovo to visit Nikolai Nikolaevich, whom I respect, and to talk with him for the last time in my life. I believe that I will leave Stavropol around September 10th. The waters had a beneficial effect on me, resolving the scrofula to a significant extent; but at the same time they led to extreme exhaustion. Please accept my most sincere congratulations on the upcoming day of Your Angel and the most earnest wish for Your Excellency of all true and perfect blessings. I remember with particular consolation my visit to Skornyakov. It seems to me that I accomplished some special feat. Indeed! it was a flanking movement. I sincerely rejoice in my acquaintance with Natalia Grigorievna, and with pleasure I remember the chain of command in which you keep your dear daughters. Saving subordination would not hurt all modern youth. The Holy Fathers affirm that only he will receive the knowledge to command well who has previously acquired the knowledge to obey. On the way, I caught a cold, whether before reaching Moscow or in Moscow, I don’t know. In Moscow I became very ill; came to the monastery sick; here I fell even more ill. It's better now; but I don’t leave the rooms. I am very pleased with my position. The monastery is very secluded, it stands on a dry place, very healthy, with excellent springs, near the Volga itself. Here you can become alien to the world: news from it reaches you very rarely, and therefore it is impossible to follow them with attentiveness, which involuntarily arouses sympathy in the heart. Karamzin said: “Both in the private life of a person and in the life of the State, there are such difficult eras in which all human considerations are lost. Then we must surrender to the Will and Providence of God.” There are strong human means; but prayer is incomparably stronger than them, because it introduces the Almighty Actor - God - into the matter. Invoking upon you and your family the abundant blessing of God, with a feeling of excellent respect and perfect devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency’s most humble servant Based on the letter from Your Excellency dated December 26, I believe that you are celebrating the Feast of Holy Easter in Skornyakov, and therefore I am addressing my letter there. Please accept my most sincere congratulations on the Holiday of Holidays and my most earnest wishes for you and your family of all true blessings. I liked the philosophical disposition in which I saw you in modest Skornyakov, so conducive to Philosophy. I really liked Natalya Grigorievna, this smart lady. Your daughters are wonderful: they are raised in such a way that they can serve as the basis for family happiness, i.e. properly fulfill the sacred purpose of woman. My situation is similar to yours. My shelter is extremely secluded, and this is exactly what I need, this is what I love. He spent a very difficult winter, never leaving his room, subjected to various painful attacks; It seems that a lot here belongs to the action of the Caucasian waters. He was so weak that he did almost nothing. And now I can’t say anything definite about my health. And what is it for? Old leaves must give way to new ones on the tree, which remains the same as it was, despite the change of leaves. Almost all my good friends from St. Petersburg have passed away into eternity. The new figures are the most alien in both age and direction. It remains, standing on the sidelines, to wish, according to the duty of a person and a Christian, sincerely all the best for both society and private people. Be healthy and prosperous, dear Nikolai Nikolaevich! Invoking God's abundant blessing upon you, with a feeling of great respect and perfect devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency's most humble servant P.S. Both Peter and I were given the remedies you prescribed. At the time I received your most respected and kind letter dated April 21, I felt especially ill, and now I feel like a decided invalid, although I try, on your advice, to walk until I get tired, which became possible for me from the last days of May, when we began to experience fairly warm weather. Spring was cold. – Looking at myself, and seeing myself outdated, I tell myself: there is time for everything! In due time, a person begins the field of life, like a swimmer going out to sea from a pier, with a favorable wind, with many enterprises and successes flattering him in his imagination. In due time, a person reaches the middle of this field, and in the midst of his activity, he intensifies to conquer happiness for himself, to overcome the obstacles that rise up against him, to fulfill the goals set for himself for the good of society and his own. Finally, the time comes when a person must leave the field of social activity with the thought that it is either impossible or very difficult for him to return to social activity with the consciousness that the strength of soul and body is exhausted and cannot endure the persistent work that they endured when they were full. When considering your own activities and the activities of others, how insufficient it seems! What an insignificant part of the assumed, best intentions could be fulfilled! Every right-thinking person must involuntarily repeat the words of the wise Solomon, spoken by him on the border of the earthly field about all his earthly affairs: “Vanity of vanities, all vanity” (Eccl. 1:2) - everything that people during the life of the world did not try to create, was destroyed; everything that is now being built must be destroyed. Given the fate of human affairs on earth, how can that heart not cool towards them, which, having acquired experience through long time and labor, no longer feels that fervor for earthly activity with which it burned in its inexperience. It seems to me that I found you in such an attitude towards earthly activities when I visited you in Skornyakov: that is why, I think, this visit made a strong and pleasant impression on me; The memory of meeting you comes to me often and always with special pleasure. I really liked that you spoke little about the Caucasus, with such indifference and so superficially that one could ask whether you ever served there? In this I would like to imitate you and look at my past as if it had never happened. The solitude of the monastery in which I live greatly contributes to this arrangement. Very few people visit me, and for a very short time. Shulennikov came in for about ten minutes and bowed to you. Pyotr Alch submitted his resignation, but, as it seems, this petition lies under the carpet awaiting the recovery of Prince Baryatinsky. And the fate of this man serves as proof of the definition with which the wise Solomon captured all the temporary, earthly positions of man. Misfortune came to Prince Baryatinsky when he ascended to the pinnacle of happiness, and there, at this pinnacle, it struck him. Be healthy, kind Nikolai Nikolaevich, and be as wonderfully complacent as I saw in Skornyakov. May God's abundant blessing rest upon you and your family. With great respect and heartfelt devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency's most humble servant Almost along with your letter dated June 21, Pyotr Alexandrovich arrived to me and settled as a guest for an indefinite period in a special section of rooms inside the monastery, about which he already wrote to you. He has neither purpose nor health for civil service. The century goes by quickly - shall we say ahead? - although not forward, it still goes. Those who have bad legs or a dull mind, and need to stop and look around in their progress so as not to fall into any pit, are now recognized as backward. The rest of the days, especially for people who have completely lost their health, like me, or who have lost it to a significant extent, like P.A., are outdated and backward, it is very decent, away from the bustle, to seriously think about the transition to eternity and take care of its successful completion. Pyotr Alexandrovich, having arrived here, found me very changed. Indeed! I feel incredibly sick and weak. Despite the fact that I force myself to exercise, I can do very little of it due to lack of strength. For the same reason I do almost nothing. There is arable farming here; but even it already attracts little of my attention: not enough. You are very happy if agriculture can occupy you, and if you have enough strength to do it. Man is destined to create his bread by the sweat of his brow: and this activity is the most beneficial, even in moral terms. Few news reaches the secluded Babaevsky Monastery, except newspaper ones, and even those that do arrive do not arrive soon. Ordinary people say that foreign enemies set fire, or set fire and intended to set fire. Now the news of fires has stopped. According to my observation, humanity rarely enjoys lasting and lasting peace. As far as I can understand, in my memory, the calmest time for Russia was the last ten years of the reign of Emperor Alexander 1st, after the end of the wars with Napoleon 1st. It was calm after the pacification of the Polish Uprising, but from 1840 or a little earlier, new theories began to appear; They intensified and intensified, and it is not known how they will be resolved. It is the common duty of all Christians, especially those who have retired into solitude, to pray to God that He would bestow upon men—this excellent creation of His—spiritual intelligence and the temporary and eternal well-being flowing from it. The area of ​​the Babaevsky Monastery is similar to Skornyakovo. The monastery stands on the hilly bank of the Volga, a hundred fathoms from the river. The hill is sandy, not high, but is never flooded by water, which does not reach the monastery by 5 fathoms at the largest flood. Now the water was great. Invoking God's abundant blessing on you and your most honorable family, with a feeling of sincere, heartfelt respect and devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency's most humble servant Please accept my most sincere congratulations on the upcoming day of your Angel and the most earnest wish for Your Excellency of all true and perfect blessings. I heard that you intend to spend the winter in Moscow, but I hesitate to address this letter to your village, believing that it will be forwarded to Moscow, but I do not know your Moscow address. Peter A. is currently in St. Petersburg on some business, his and mine, or rather, our common business. He will go back through Moscow, probably around the 10th of December, and if by that time you will be in Moscow, he will consider it his usual and indispensable duty to be with you. My health is bad. The separation of scrofula produced by the waters of the Caucasus continues and intensifies, which makes me feel especially exhausted. I am quite pleased with my situation. Invoking God's abundant blessing on you and your family, with a feeling of excellent respect and perfect devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency's most humble servant. November 26, 1862. You know how closely I take part in you! And therefore you will not be surprised by my letter. And I wrote to you before, and now I confirm that I see God’s special Providence over you. He led you along the thorny path of various sorrows, raising you with them, and preserved you in order to oppose Napoleon III, just as Kutuzov-Smolensky was preserved and opposed to Napoleon I. A person who is not prepared is not suitable for such a task! The darling of fortune is not fit for such a thing! A slave of human opinion is not fit for such a thing! There will be hard work coupled with dedication. To accomplish a feat, you need a capable person, theoretically and practically educated, a person who would need nothing except the good of the fatherland. It is rightly said in the biography of Joseph, son of Jacob, sold into slavery by his brothers, that “God’s providence usually plunges into the crucible of sorrows those people whom it destined for great deeds.” Now or later, Russia needs to reckon with Europe. Human efforts cannot destroy or change God’s destinies. Russia is destined for great importance. She will dominate the universe. It will achieve this when its population matches the space. This population increases annually by more than a million; Russia must enter the coming century with a population of 100 million. An attack by envious enemies will force her to develop strength and understand her position, which will constantly arouse envy and intrigue. This will require enormous work, feat, self-sacrifice; but what to do when the hand of incomprehensible Fate leads to them! The only means to correct fallen strength, moral and spiritual, is a position that requires labor, leading to self-sacrifice. In the 38th and 39th chapters of the prophet Ezekiel, the power and large number of the northern people, called Ross, are described; this people must achieve enormous material development before the end of the world, and conclude with its end the history of wanderings on the lands of the human race. The mentioned chapters of Ezekiel are referred to in the 20th chapter of the Apocalypse; the large number of troops that will be in the State is likened to the sand of the sea. Saint Andrew of Crete, a church writer of the 7th century, explaining the 20th chapter of the Apocalypse and finding its prophecy identical with the prophecy of Ezekiel, says: “There is in the north a people hidden from other nations by the hand of God, a people most numerous and warlike. Before the end of the world it will suddenly open and overcome all nations.” Exactly! Europe learned about Russia after America, almost only from the time of Peter I. Peter the Great came to Paris as a guest in 1714, and in 1814 the Russian army came there. What a speed of events! Today, to meet the enemies threatening us, we can say in the words of the 2nd Psalm: “The nations are reeling, and people are learning to be vain” (Ps. 2:1). Enemies will awaken, shake Russia, produce an involuntary development of strength in it, but will not humiliate Russia: they will elevate it, such is its predestination. Invoking God's abundant blessing upon you, with a feeling of excellent respect and perfect devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency's most humble servant Please accept my sincere congratulations on the upcoming day of Your Angel and the most earnest wish for Your Excellency of all true and perfect blessings. Again you are in Skornyakov, and again - probably not for long. The Holy Fathers very rightly said: “The destinies of God are many in the abyss.” It is impossible to foresee all circumstances; many of them are unexpected. Did France at the beginning of the last century, when developing a republic, think that it was developing an imperial throne for Napoleon I? Did Napoleon think that with his victories he would prepare himself for exile on the deserted rock of the Ocean? In the church of God the prayer was repeated very often: Let us give ourselves, each other and our whole life to Christ our God. This prayer is often repeated because it is beneficial to the soul: it consoles, encourages, strengthens the soul with faith and devotion to God. Pyotr Alexandrovich probably wrote to you that he went to Kherson to finally get rid of his estate there. And I take advantage of the solitude of the Babaevsky Monastery, which is so necessary for my disordered health. When difficult questions arise in my mind, I try to resolve them with the above prayer. Invoking God's abundant blessing on you and your family with a feeling of great respect and perfect devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency's most humble servant Please accept my most sincere congratulations on the upcoming day of Your Angel and the most earnest wish to Your Excellency and your most honorable family of all true and perfect blessings. Time flies quickly! It is already the fourth year since I enjoyed seeing you, in the circle of your family, on the quiet bank of the Don. Meanwhile, the greatness of Russia has increased significantly. The special fate of the Russian people! No Napoleon can do anything where the hand of God acts. I’ll tell you about myself that I live very quietly; I am growing weaker and weaker in health and strength. Invoking God's abundant blessing on you and your family, with a feeling of great respect and sincere devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency's most humble servant November 20, 1864. Please accept my most ardent congratulations on the day of Your Angel and the most ardent wish for Your Excellency of all true and perfect blessings. Living in silence and almost without any contact with the noisy world, I don’t know what’s going on in it. But, apparently, the so-called progress is moving forward, destroying everything that was before. For this reason, I am glad that I retired from the field of public duties. A person who has formed his convictions through serious life and is incapable of having one kind of thoughts and one direction today, and tomorrow another kind of thoughts and another direction, cannot remain in this field. My health is very bad; especially the extraordinary exhaustion of strength. Pardon the brevity of my letter: this brevity is a natural consequence of the paucity of materials. Invoking upon you the abundant blessing of Heaven, with a feeling of the most perfect respect and sincere devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency’s most humble servant Your letter of December 15th is filled with such deep, such kind feelings that it cannot be left unanswered. I feel special sympathy for you in my soul. Because of this sympathy, I often remember and think about you. “Here is a man, I think to myself, whom nature endowed with abilities, who educated himself and could educate others, who, based on all the data, could bring extensive benefit - and who stood on the sidelines.” The matter of essential service to the fatherland had to be eliminated in order to give way to pranks, meaninglessness, and unbridled debauchery. What does this mean? These are the incomprehensible destinies of God. The hail mercilessly hits a wide field of beautiful, already saturated wheat, and the farmer from under the roof looks only at this spectacle of destruction; He doesn’t understand the reason, and he can’t give help. What to do here? Nothing more than to submit to the incomprehensible Fate: in submission to Fate a person finds peace of mind, and a detailed examination, despite its outward justice, can rob the soul of this precious peace of mind and plunge it into the abyss of confusion. - Meanwhile, everything goes on as usual; everything is either immersed or preparing to be immersed in immeasurable eternity. I humbly ask you to favorably accept the book “Ascetic Experiences”, which Pyotr Alexandrovich will present to you. This book was written and revised over a period of 20 years, according to observations made on myself and others. It leads to self-esteem, to self-pacification and edification by Faith and the Gospel Truth. Instead of a personal visit, I come to you with my book, and, through it, I wish to constantly be with you. Calling upon you and your family the abundant blessing of God, with a feeling of excellent respect and perfect devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency’s most humble servant P.S. Please accept my most sincere congratulations on the upcoming holiday and the New Year, with the most earnest wishes for Your Excellency of all true and perfect blessings. I am writing these lines to Your Excellency to congratulate you on the upcoming Feast of Holidays and wish you all the strength of body and spirit from the hand of God. Although in all the incidents of human life we ​​constantly need God's help, but, from time to time, an event goes out of the general order in its importance, and that person who is used by God's Providence in serving during these events, if he looks back at his past life, he will see that he was prepared in good time for significant activity. The minions of happiness are not suitable here: we need a person who has been developed by temptations and who has been healed of blindness by them. You will find this thought on page 29 of the 2nd volume of “Ask. Experiences." All judgments in the story “Joseph” are the fruits of observations - not arbitrary speculation. Invoking God's abundant blessing on you and your family, with a feeling of great respect and perfect devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency's most humble servant March 18, 1866. Department of Written Sources of the State Historical Museum (OPI GIM) – fund 254. Emperor Nicholas I died on February 18, 1855. Kulm (modern Chlumets) is a village in the Czech Republic, near which on August 17–18 (29–30), 1813, the allied forces, led by Marshal M.B. Barclay de Tolly, defeated the corps of the Napoleonic army under the command of Marshal D. Vandam. The victory at Kulm was the turning point of the entire campaign of 1813. Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Novgorod Nikanor (in the world Nikolai Stepanovich Klementyevsky; 1787–1856). Muravyov Andrey Nikolaevich (1806–1874), brother of N.N. Muravyov-Karsky, spiritual educator and publicist. He, apparently, also expressed doubts about the compliance with church legislation of the appointment of a clergyman from St. Petersburg as Bishop of the Caucasus and Black Sea. However, later his doubts were resolved. In a letter dated January 12, 1858, the brother of St. Ignatius, P. A. Bryanchaninov wrote to N. N. Muravyov-Karsky: Andrei Nikolaevich acted very influentially in the appointment and dedication of his brother (OPI GIM f. 254 op. 1 No. 393 p. 30) Protasov Nikolai Alexandrovich (1799–1855), count, cavalry general, member of the State Council, since 1836 – chief prosecutor of the Holy Synod. Muravyov (Vilensky) Mikhail Nikolaevich (1796–1866), brother of N.N. Muravyov-Karsky, count, statesman, in 1857–1863 Minister of State Property; from May 1, 1863 - Vilna Governor-General. Baryatinsky Alexander Ivanovich (1814–1879), prince, - from August 26, 1856, Governor of the Caucasus. You might be interested in: