Letters to St. Leonid (Nagolkin)

Through the prayers of the saints, our fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Your Reverence! Dear Father Leonid! I received your letter and a note on the case of land allocation for the Optina Pustyn, but according to the certificate it turned out that the case from the Kaluga Treasury Chamber had not yet been delivered here. They promise a happy ending, and perhaps monetary costs will be required; Will the builder's father agree to this? Please take the trouble to notify me about this. I am asked to find a rector for the Nikandrov Hermitage of the Pskov diocese. The place is quite secluded; It is rich in arable land, meadows, timber and timber. There are more than three hundred cattle alone. The buildings not only in the monastery, but also in some farmsteads, are made of stone. There are many cells, but they are empty, because there are no brethren. There are no brethren, because there is no abbot with the proper monastic knowledge and with a brotherly loving heart. It seems to me that if hieromonk Father Macarius Ivanov had agreed to take on the yoke of leadership of the Nikandrov Hermitage, then this monastery would have completely changed and come to such a flourishing state, which it could not have been in under Gennady. For the proposed new abbot, it seems to me, will be more humble and softer, and therefore more thorough and durable. Most likely, in his life as a rector, he will be just as disposed towards you as he is now, and will wish to be guided by your advice, which, in my opinion, is very beneficial for anyone re-entering the monastic army and will help leave a beneficial impression for the rest of his life. Why do I ask you to take the trouble to propose this to Father Hieromonk Macarius - Mr. Ivanov. I don’t write to him, believing that you and he have one heart. Of course, you know better about your affairs. But don’t be angry that I will also say my opinion, for the more different opinions about a matter are presented, the more clearly it can be discussed. The Nikandrova desert offers you the most favorable refuge. If not for you, then at least for your students. It has neither the brethren, nor the charter, and therefore you can introduce a charter - whatever you want, recruit the brethren - whatever you want: for the income of the fairs is up to 20 thousand - Nikandrov has something to support, having land for 10 miles in all directions, similar to Valaam and other deserted places. The bishops in the Pskov diocese, as one of the oldest, are elected by the best and most well-intentioned, as they still are. Proximity to St. Petersburg again has its benefits. In a word, in order to avoid verbosity, Father Macarius, having accepted the abbot’s rod of the Nikandrov Hermitage, will calm himself and others with simple calm, and not some unfounded one, ready to be disrupted at any time and at any hour. I ask you to notify me about the future. In order for this letter to be kept completely secret, I am sending it through the Bryuzgins and enclosing a special note on the Optina case, so that it can be shown to Fr. builder. Wishing you good health and all the best, asking for your holy prayers, I have the honor to be your most humble novice, Archimandrite Ignatius. July 24, 1837. Sergius Desert. To the holy fathers: the two Macarii, Father Ioannikios, Abraham, Joseph and others, I offer my most ardent bow. I received your letter and a note on the matter of cutting land for the Optina Pustyn; I asked one of my acquaintances, who agreed to intercede, but based on the double certificate, it turned out that the case had not yet been delivered here from the Kaluga Treasury Chamber. You need to know whether the father of the builder will agree to pay monetary costs if they are needed here? I ask you to reject this last from me, but rather to assign it to the Lesnikovs, if they agree, and to my clerk Pavel Petrovich Yakovlev; The Lesnikovs are quite confident in him. Back in July, I wrote a response to you, but it contained an article that stopped me from sending it; I had to take a closer look at the circumstances, but it turned out that the time had not yet come to talk about this subject, about which, if the Lord pleases, I will not fail to inform you. Meanwhile, I dare to bother you with my most humble request. I remember that in the library of the monastery there is a written book by St. John the Climacus, translated by Elder Paisius. I would be very grateful if someone undertook to write it off for me correctly: I would pay any money. I addressed a similar request to Simonov’s father Pachomius; They sent it to me on excellent paper, but it was so incorrect and not at all the Elder’s translation, but some kind of mixture of different translations. So as not to upset them, I accepted the book and thanked them, but having it is the same as not having it. And therefore I ask you, if it is not difficult, then entrust someone to rewrite it at any price. Asking for your holy prayers and blessings, with true respect, with the same usual devotion, I have the honor to be your most humble novice, Arch. Ignatius. I had the honor to receive your letter dated October 4; On the same day I received from Father Abbot Moses with an explanation of his orders regarding the matter of the land. I ask you to take the trouble to tell him about this, as well as the fact that we will work as hard as we can and will notify you about the future, if the Lord continues our days. I bring you my sincere gratitude for your attention to my request for the book of St. John the Climacus, translated by Elder Paisius. In this attention of yours, I see with pleasure the continuation of your care for the benefit of my soul. If you trust me and are willing to send me a book you have for correspondence, then I accept this with gratitude, especially since in our monastery one of the brethren is constantly engaged in this handicraft; At the end of the correspondence, I undertake to return it intact. I hope that this will satisfy my desire; the one sent from Simonov is completely false. At present, I still do not see the possibility of publishing it for general use by monastics. What will the Lord arrange in the future? About the works of Fr. I heard Archimandrite Macarius regarding this book, and his new works are a translation of some words from the verse book of St. Simeon - I saw him recently. Committing myself to your holy prayers, with true reverence and habitual devotion. I have the honor to be your unworthy novice Archimandrite Ignatius. October 14, 1837. Sergeeva Desert. Postscript: Your Reverence, most honorable Father Macarius! I humbly thank you for the memory of me, a sinner, and for all the previous mercies towards me. I ask for the continuation of your fatherly love and holy prayers. Take the trouble to witness my most zealous worship to all the brothers of the same wisdom. Your most humble novice, Archimandrite Ignatius. Your Reverence! Most honest Father Leonid! I earnestly wish you good health in the Lord. At the same time, I inform you that the Valaamites poured an undissolved cup for themselves. They denounced themselves to the Tsar, allegedly spreading heresy, malicious intent on the life of the Tsar, that Abbot Veniamin is a blasphemer. Some members of the Synod told me that such cases had not been heard in the Synod for twenty years. This event is very unpleasant for the entire clergy, and especially for the monastic rank. This winter I looked at the elders there - they all have the support of secular people for their empty holiness; and even now nothing useful is expected, because secular people who have not the slightest idea about monasticism are interfering. The other day I received a letter from your brother about the biography of the Zadonsk recluse and asked the official sitting at the chief prosecutor’s table, Mr. Muravyov, to petition for the publication of this book; he promised to intercede. Alexey Polikarpovich Bochkov notified us at least in a single line about his safe arrival, not because we were worthy of it, but because they cared and worried about the well-being of his trip. Let him blame him for this. I have the most humble request to you - let me know whether in Moldova and Wallachia they re-baptize Lutherans and other Protestants and why. There is now a lot of talk about these subjects here; in particular, the Chief Prosecutor is very jealous of Orthodoxy: he is now publishing the rules of the Ecumenical and Local Councils, for our Helmsman contains not the rules themselves, but interpretations under the name of rules, and these brief interpretations contain other, more extensive ones. Grant, Lord, that we, having received these rules in print, will somehow raise our relaxed hands to do them. Asking for your holy prayers and blessings, I have the honor to be forever your most humble novice, Archimandrite Ignatius. To the holy fathers - Fr. Macarius (Ivanov), Father Ioannikios, Fr. Macarius (Gruzinov), Fr. I fervently bow to Hierodeacon Joseph and others asking for the prayers of the saints. Postscript about. Mikhail (Chikhachev): On this occasion, I pray, most honorable Father! And from me, accept a low bow, heartfelt unforgettableness, and in Your holy prayers I also ask you not to forget. To the holy fathers and brothers, your children in the Spirit, I also express my zealous respect, although to all together, but especially to Father Ioannikios, as he is known to me more than others. Sorry. I have the honor to remain forever ready to serve as a sinful novice, an unworthy ryasophore monk RSL, Department of Manuscripts (OR), f. 213, room 75. You might be interested in: