Глава VI. Сотрудники о. Макария – ученики и воспитанник и о. Иеронима

One is not a warrior alone in the field, says popular wisdom. And this was well understood by its best and brightest representative, Fr. Jerome. He realized that in order to raise the prestige of the Russian name on Athos among the Hellenes who imagined themselves to be wise, for that great struggle over the possession of the monastery, which was becoming more and more obvious, as well as for its possession, management and progress - one person, even if gifted with all the talents, was not enough, assistants and collaborators were needed. O. Jerome worked a lot in this regard and achieved, it must be confessed, remarkable results. Being at the same time courageous, an icon painter, a builder-technician, a musician, a good theologian and generally a practical businessman, Fr. Jerome tried to make the same prominent persons from the brethren around him. In the school of icon painting 149 he established, Russian masters worked under the guidance of experienced teachers, under his constant supervision and his personal instructions, and many later from this school emerged as excellent icon painters, suppliers of icons for the monastery, which generously distributed them to its many admirers. Lithographic 150 and printing presses, which will be discussed in more detail below, were in experienced hands and supplied almost the entire vast territory of our fatherland with paintings of religious content, images on paper and even brochures of spiritual content. However, the Athonite printing press did not operate for long, but the lithographic press did not stop its work until the seventies, when, finally, they found it more convenient and visible to transfer lithographic works to Moscow, where they are still being produced. With the death of Elder Seraphim of the Svyatogorets, the Russian brethren of the Panteleimon Monastery were left without an experienced and businesslike secretary, which they urgently needed to conduct extensive correspondence with the fatherland, with high-ranking persons of spiritual and secular ranks, both here in Russia and in the East, occupying an official position and having one or another relationship with the monastery. These responsibilities were entrusted to the fellow countryman of the late elder Seraphim, Fr. Azaria. Vyatka seminarian, who for some time was a teacher of the Greek language in one of the district theological schools, a monk of the Panteleimon Monastery, Fr. Azaria attracted the attention of Fr. Jerome with his deep natural intelligence, combined with insight and subtle criticism, as well as inexhaustible purely Russian lively humor. Having accepted this difficult responsibility, Fr. Azaria, thanks to perseverance and hard work, quickly became accustomed to his position, studied the entire monastery mechanism, entered into all affairs and became, one might say, the right hand of the deceased elders. Any business that in one way or another concerned the monastery did not begin until the elders consulted with Fr. Azariah; no monastery paper escaped his watchful eyes, and all his advice and comments were very important in the eyes of the elders. A special service from Fr. Azaria helped the monastery during the feud between the Russians and the Greeks over the rights to the monastery. Fr. Azaria, one might say, alone bore this struggle on his mighty shoulders in the midst of business and very complex extensive official correspondence, Fr. Azaria found time to advocate for the just Russian cause through the press. He authored articles published in some Greek, Constantinople, Athos and our Russian (Moskovskie Vedomosti) newspapers under the pseudonym “lover of truth.” A calm presentation of the facts of history and a sober look at the matter greatly contributed in its time to clarifying it and calming the minds of society, alarmed by the perky tone of some of the Eastern journalism. He was the first to think about bringing to light all the existing documents of the monastery and publishing them in Russian translation, which he also carried out. He wrote two books that have not lost their meaning and value to this day: “Paterikon of Athos” and “Tales of the Life of the Mother of God.” Fr. Azaria put the monastery library in order and prepared in all respects a worthy student in the person of Fr. Matveya. The economic management side of the monastery was entrusted to the very intelligent, energetic to the point of selflessness and experienced in the economy. Pavel, a native of Ostrogozhsk, Voronezh province, who remains in this position to this day. Distinguished by his rare strength of will and character, indestructible perseverance in the implementation of his often very complex plans, especially in the construction business, which sometimes, due to their courage, even lead specialists to amazement, tireless and agile, far beyond his considerable years, Fr. Pavel is a rare example of a homely owner, to whom even the Greek Athonite monks, who are generally unfriendly towards Russians, pay tribute to him for this. From here it is very clear the outstanding position of this elder, especially under the current ascetic abbot, which he occupies among the brethren. The entire external side of the monastery’s activities is in the powerful hands of the housekeeper, Fr. Paul; everything related here comes directly from him and is directed towards him; It remains for the ascetic abbot to spiritually guide the brethren along the path of spiritual improvement, which path is more familiar and accessible to him. Is it not in these qualities of mind and character, as well as in his highly honest thirty years of activity for the benefit of his dear monastery, never suspected by anyone, that, perhaps, lie the reasons for the dissatisfaction on the part of some with the outstanding position of this person in the monastery? It is difficult to give a correct assessment of a living personality; a truthful description is possible after death, when human passions have subsided, but, as far as we know and understand the current state of affairs in the Russian Panteleimon monastery, we must frankly say that Fr. Pavel, as the housekeeper of this monastery, is irreplaceable... The closest assistant to Fr. Paul was a well-known hieromonk Arseny 151 in Russia, for the most part, instead of Athos, he lived and even died within the borders of his fatherland. A native of the Tver province, a merchant's son, he received his initial education at a district school and before entering monasticism he lived for a long time in St. Petersburg with his uncle Bazilevsky, who served as a tax farm manager. Here he continued his education at his own expense: he studied commercial sciences, French and music. In the good society that surrounded Alexander Ivanovich (his worldly name) at that time, he completed his self-education and learned the techniques of secular decency. From St. Petersburg, he found himself as a confidant in the gold mines in Yeniseisk in the company of Barkov, and from there, after the death of his father, he moved to the Chistopol district of the Kazan province and set up his own candle and soap factory here. In Kazan, he planned to get married, but the bride, wooed by one of the local merchants, unexpectedly refused him. This refusal had a depressing effect on him and he was undecided about how to direct his life further. The entry into the monastic ranks of his younger brother John, the novices of the Sarov Hermitage, brought him out of his difficulty, and he irrevocably decided to abandon all his affairs and follow the example of his younger brother. But before choosing some refuge for himself in the form of a monastery, he decided to visit the Orthodox East and satisfy the desire of his heart from early childhood. Having stopped on the way to Athos, Alexander Ivanovich became interested in the strictness of the communal rules in the monastery and decided to become one of its monks. After passing the obediences common to all brethren, he, as experienced and familiar with writing, was appointed to the monastery office under the leadership of Fr. Panteleimon 152 for conducting extensive monastic correspondence. Here, the sympathetic aspects of his gentle character, his home-based self-education, his erudition in patristic literature and his lively pen with a very elegant handwriting did not go unnoticed by the experienced elders of the monastery, and they decided to give this talented man a different purpose. March 6, 1859 Fr. Arseny was tonsured a monk, ordained a hieromonk on June 11, 1861, and on August 28, 1862 he was sent to Russia with the shrine to collect alms for the benefit of the monastery. The choice of a person for such a difficult mission was made very successfully, and therefore its results, as should have been expected, were brilliant. Having successfully completed the assignment entrusted to him, Fr. Arseny, however, did not return to Athos, but, according to the instructions of the elders, had to remain in Moscow with the Athos shrine, temporarily placed at the Epiphany Monastery. Here he was entrusted with the publishing activities of the monastery, in which he was not only a mechanical executor of other people’s orders, but the chief editor of these publications; and since the publication of the magazine “Soulful Interlocutor”, even its main employee. From here, from Moscow, he initially conducted all matters regarding the establishment of the Simon-Canonite monastery in the Caucasus, called “New Athos.” He carried out all the assignments assigned to him by the monastery with remarkable energy and conscientiousness, not sparing his own strength and health. But for the share of Fr. Arseny, unexpectedly for himself, was given a new job, which only an extraordinary person could complete. During his travels with the shrine across Russia, and then, already living in the Epiphany Monastery in Moscow, Fr. Arseny, thanks to his sociability and sympathetic character, acquired many acquaintances in different strata of Russian society. From these acquaintances Fr. Arseny was inundated with letters with all sorts of questions regarding life in the world, entering monasticism and life in a monastery, regarding various kinds of doubts and hesitations of a person’s weak conscience, etc. Fr. Arseny never refused anyone his advice, heartfelt consolation and kind words, although, given the complexity of the assignments assigned to him from the monastery, he usually devoted time to correspondence with his acquaintances from his short night, often staying behind her until matins. All his letters 153 breathed with fatherly love, an ever-present readiness to dissolve the spiritual sorrow of his neighbor with heartfelt sympathy and words of consolation and encouragement; warmth and sincerity radiated from his every word; wide and comprehensive acquaintance with life, rare experience in spiritual life, great erudition in patristic literature - all this made his letters highly instructive, entertaining, and they gave those who received them true joy, the greatest pleasure. Fr. brought great benefit to the Russian people. Arseny through his letters and publishing activities, but his services to the monastery can be said to be incalculable. Living in the capital of the Russian state, whose inhabitants have traditionally been distinguished by their religiosity, zeal and generosity for the needs of churches and monasteries, the late Fr. Arseny not only served prayer services and collected alms, but mainly directed his efforts towards firmly establishing himself in Moscow and having the right to say: “Here we are now, with the help of the saint of God, permanent residents of Moscow.” This he completely achieved, having built an Athos chapel in the name of St. on one of the busy streets of Moscow. Panteleimon, which gives the Russian Panteleimon Monastery rich material resources and, of course, will remain for a long time the main source of its support, is on the one hand, and on the other, the same chapel is a mediator of lively and easy communication between Russia and the Russian people and Athos and the Russian Panteleimon monastery on it. For some time the works of Fr. Arseny in Moscow was shared with him by the current abbot - archimandrite of the Russian Panteleimon Monastery, Fr. Andrei, who, however, remained in this obedience for a relatively short time. Loving solitude, with a natural inclination towards asceticism, Fr. Andrei was burdened by the bustling life of the capital and retired to a monastery on Mount Athos, where he divided all his time between the exact fulfillment of all the monastic services required by the charter and private spiritual exercises of an ascetic nature. Thanks to his pretty voice, clear and expressive diction, Fr. Among the brethren of the monastery, Andrei enjoyed the reputation of the best “canonarch”, in which role all those of the visitors to Athos who came there for “deliberate” or great holidays had the pleasure of seeing and hearing him. As “the builder of the Mysteries of God”, he is an outstanding example of reverence, a true zealot for church splendor and a strict performer of Orthodox worship “reasonably and gracefully,” according to the traditions of the elders established on Athos. During his highly ascetic life, Fr. For a long time, Andrei was the confessor of a fairly large brethren in the “farm” of Krumitsa, who lived there permanently for work. In the monastery, among the Russian monastics, the handsome hieromonk and confessor Fr. Rafail (Vyatich). With a semi-gymnasium education, well-read in patristic and even secular literature, Fr. For educated visitors to the Russian Panteleimon Monastery, Raphael was an indispensable interlocutor, a “living person” among people “not of this world.” His handsome appearance, elegant manners, and his cheeky and witty-glib speech made the most pleasant impression on these visitors, and they left the monastery positively charmed by Fr. Raphael. The same sympathetic qualities of his character and good knowledge of the modern colloquial modern Greek language favored him and even earned him honorable fame among the monastic Athonite Greeks. The elders of the monastery could not help but understand the importance that he naturally occupied among the brotherhood, and, despite his comparative youth, recentness in the monastery and even some “infirmities,” they gradually began to elevate him in the eyes of the elder hieromonks. Father Raphael had all the awards available to an Athos monk: a legguard and a club, was considered the rector of the Greek Panteleimon Cathedral and bore the most honorable title on Athos, “confessor.” In view of this, on Athos the Greeks, Bulgarians, Russians and even some of the brethren of the Panteleimon Monastery began to look at Fr. Raphael as the future successor of Abbot Macarius. This thought, it seems, was not alien to Fr. Raphael, which can be guessed by his persistent desire to see a “successor” announced during the lifetime of the late Fr. Macaria. Providence, as we will see later, was pleased by lot to indicate a successor to the late abbot in the person of the current abbot, Fr. Andrei, who never dreamed of this high honor, and destroy the secret hopes of those who wanted it. It remained in this way to come to terms with the accomplished fact, as other people did, no less strong in character and mind and who worked no less for the benefit of their monastery, but Fr. For some reason Raphael looked at the work of God differently. With the accession to the hegumen throne, Fr. Andrew, when the current order of life was being established in the Russian Panteleimon monastery on Athos, when, therefore, special friendly joint work of all its representative elders was required, Fr. Raphael suddenly not only became completely indifferent, but secretly stood in opposition to this order. One could hardly have expected good consequences from this for the monastery, and it would have been difficult to predict how it all ended if a happy accident had not caused Fr. Raphael from the Panteleimon monastery and did not put him at the head of the most famous Russian Sarov monastery. The Russian Panteleimon monastery saw off Fr. Raphael with sorrow, because she lost his talented power, but with a heartfelt wish for him to work successfully for the benefit of his dear fatherland and the monastery revered by the Russian people and to find again the “peace of mind” that he lost in the last days of his stay on Athos... The current archimandrite is the abbot of the New Athos Simon-Canonite monastery, Fr. Jerome is a modest and extremely hardworking man. He was brought up in the monastery under the direct influence of famous elders, being cell attendant Fr. Macaria. As an assistant housekeeper, he practically achieved very remarkable knowledge in terms of architecture and engineering and, with the arrangement of the monastery entrusted to his care in the Caucasus, he delighted not only ordinary visitors and admirers of his newly created monastery, but even received the approval of Their Majesties 154 on his last trip to the Caucasus in 1888. An undeniably important service was rendered to the monastery by the famous Fr. Paisius 155, who held the position of head of the courtyard in Constantinople for more than twenty years. Semi-literate, but naturally very intelligent, with unyielding willpower and persistent character, Fr. Paisius was always an energetic and tireless worker for his monastery. The farmstead led by him was always exemplary among other Russian farmsteads - Andreevsky and Ilyinsky and willingly attracted masses of our admirers and admirers to its hospitable walls. For these last Fr. Paisius was a fascinating preacher, a “seer,” who castigated their vices and hobbies. His name was very popular among fans who, under the influence of his beliefs and stories about Athos, often changed the course of their pilgrimage route and went to Athos, contrary to their intentions, just to check the stories of Fr. Paisia. Thus, Fr. Paisius attracted many benefactors to his monastery. Naturally very intelligent and sociable in character, he was warmly received at our Constantinople embassy and consulate, who often asked Fr.’s advice on important matters. Paisia. It is not surprising, therefore, that Fr. Paisius found the strongest support for himself in the authority of his famous elders, who loved him dearly. Unfortunately, however, it must be said that, very useful in this modest role of the Athonite monk, Fr. Paisius was always no stranger to the desire for hieromonasticism, to which, according to the Athonite Rules 156, he had no right, and this desire destroyed this very useful force for the monastery and for our fatherland. Carried away by the promises of honors and the rank of archimandrite from the famous free Cossack N.I. Ashinov, who lived with him for a long time in Constantinople, Fr. Paisius, in his declining years, left Constantinople and the Russian Athos monastery and, after being ordained as an archimandrite in St. Petersburg, risked linking his fate with the fate of the mentioned adventurer. Readers well remember the sad fate of the notorious Abyssinian mission and the famous bloody Tanjur epic, and therefore we will not talk about it. Having returned to Russia, Archimandrite Paisius settled temporarily in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, and is now doomed to live out his short life in peace in the Sarov desert. Educating future leaders for the benefit of the Russian monastery on Mount Athos, Fr. Jerome did not forget that these workers will always have to work among people of a different tribe, a different language, and therefore, for the success of the work itself, practical acquaintance with the people with whom they will have to live and act, and knowledge of their language is necessary. Using all measures in his power to encourage Russian monks to study the languages ​​of Modern Greek and Turkish, Fr. Jerome, himself fluent in the Roman or Modern Greek language, decided to compile a “Russian-Greek Dictionary” for those wishing to learn this language, in which he placed more than six thousand words of simple Greek, several necessary phrases for everyday conversations and a brief grammar of this language. Since Russian monks, mostly people who came from public schools and were unfamiliar with the Greek alphabet, could not read Greek words written in the Greek alphabet, which is not an easy task to study, Fr. Jerome decided to print his “Russian-Greek Dictionary - Conversations - Grammar” in Russian script, in order to thus facilitate the use of this book by the majority of monks. This dictionary, published in 1865 and typed by the hands of Athonite Russian monks in the Russian printing house that existed there for some time, remains for many to this day the only guide, although now one can often see another similar book among monks, published in Odessa, Kariandi. For Russian people studying the Modern Greek language, a book by Fr. Jerome is more convenient than this last book, since its Greek phrases are rendered very close to their current pronunciation, and not as the same phrases should be written. That is why it is absolutely impossible to learn to speak from Mr. Kariandi’s book without a teacher and without practice. Thanks to such efforts, Fr. Jerome, all almost mentioned figures are fluent in Modern Greek. Many of the brethren also speak this and Bulgarian languages ​​well. To study the Turkish language, some of the brethren (for example, the current grammarian Father Matvey) were sent to Constantinople, where they studied under the guidance of specially hired teachers. But due to the complexity of the affairs of the monastery monasteries, educated people from the Russians were always needed, so that they could have antiprosops for the Karean kinot, where business is conducted in Greek, grammarians (secretaries) for analyzing and answering Greek correspondence, for persons in charge of methods, etc. That is why, as Fr. Jerome, so then Fr. Macarius, tried to give some of the brethren who were more capable and had a love for science a real school education. After a comprehensive trial in various obediences, starting with washing plates, peeling potatoes at a common meal, carrying stones, performing the duties of a mule driver, a guard of grapes and vegetable gardens, etc., twenty-year-old youths, peasants and townspeople go to Karea and there sit down with a Greek primer 157. Being under the constant guidance of a Greek teacher, these young men study the Hellenic language so much for six or seven years that they then speak it more fluently than even their natural one. These Russian students, along with Greek students, listen to the full gymnasium course in the local general Athos school, under the guidance of experienced didiscals, listen freely to lectures in modern Greek, easily translate Aristotle, Plato and read fluently the works of the holy fathers: Basil the Great, John Chrysostom, Gregory the Theologian and others, and sometimes even surpass their natural Greek peers in success. Outstanding figures went through such a school of education at the monastery of St. Panteleimon o. Nathanael, Matvey, Agathodorus, etc. The first became so accustomed to Greek life and language that he was absolutely no different in life from his fellow members of the kinot, in which for many years he served as an antiprosop (representative) of the Russian Panteleimon Monastery. Despite his Kursk origin, he was considered on Athos to be a purebred Greek, and it was difficult to convince the Athonite Hellenes that real Russian blood flowed in his veins. Having mastered their way of life down to the smallest detail, knowing their language perfectly, Fr. Nathanael was even reborn in character. He was an impetuous and enthusiastic person in his usual actions, eloquent, sitting on the balcony with a glass of cold water with a spoonful of thick jam, but at the same time he was careful in important matters concerning his monastery, prudent, resourceful and even cunning when his vital interests were affected; he is silent in the cinema when business is being conducted about matters that do not concern him, but his speech is fast and impetuous when he was touched to the quick. In a word, and in the opinion of a Russian person, he was a true son of free Hellas. The Greeks called him a “cunning man” and very rarely believed what he spoke about openly, always implying something more important in the recesses of his soul, about which he persistently remained silent. It was this position that often gave him the opportunity to arrange and direct his affairs to a favorable ending in ways completely unexpected for his comrades. They just used to marvel at his dexterity and ability to handle everything so quickly and quickly. Death took this gifted figure from the monastery very early. O. Nathanael died († 1890) at just over fifty years of age. Father Matvey is a Kharkov merchant’s son, and holds the position of grammarian or secretary for Greek affairs in the monastery. Father Matthew corresponds with all of Athos, with the great church of Constantinople and with the government. He has an excellent command of the Modern Greek and Classical Hellenic languages, writes and reads Turkish, and is somewhat familiar with the Latin and French languages. This is a linguist and scientist in the real, one might say, sense of the word. He usually spends his free hours from his direct duties as a secretary in the monastery library, which, thanks to his tireless care and ardent love for books, is annually filled with new capital acquisitions. Currently, in terms of the number of Greek and South Slavic manuscripts and their important scientific value, the library of our monastery on Athos can stand alongside the best libraries of Athos - Lavra, Vatopedi, etc. The library has been put in order, and Fr. Matvey also compiles a detailed description of all the manuscripts at his disposal. Therefore, he can often be seen in the library comparing handwritten Greek works according to the best editions of these works by Western scientists - Maius, Goar, Swainson, Pitra, Minya, etc., and in the manuscripts themselves and in the margins of them, various kinds of comments and options made by his hand and very interesting for a learned researcher. From here Fr. Matvey reveals a remarkably rich erudition, which any scientist can envy, and his erudition and familiarity with manuscripts and printed literature amazes many learned travelers. But oh. Matvey is not only an expert in theological writing, an experienced paleographer, a publisher of some works of ancient writing with his own notes and prefaces (in the new edition of the Athos Patericon, he is responsible for the discovery and publication of very many legends about the fathers who labored on Athos), but also a passionate numismatist, being well acquainted with Eastern numismatics, has information in Greek epigraphy and is a lover of classical and church antiquities. The thirst for knowledge of this simple, extremely modest monk, alien to all honors and distinctions, refusing even to accept the rank of hieromonk, repeatedly offered to him, is amazing: there is no subject in which he is not interested, about which he would not be willing to listen to an intelligent speech from a visiting specialist, so that he would not later try to notice the information acquired by him through a casual conversation in practice, during his continuous book or scholarly work. One can only regret that this gifted monk did not go through a real systematic school, without which his very studies move slowly and are unlikely to ever become the property of people of science, even in their entirety. Characteristic o. For Matvey, the modesty and phlegmatic nature of his character will always stand in the way of his good intentions and all the wonderful plans 158. O. Agathodor, a Muscovite by birth, 159 is still a relatively young hieromonk and anti-prosop of the Russian Panteleimon monastery in the Karyan protate. He owes his rise in the monastery to his natural intelligence, his always ardent desire for education, for the sake of which he completed a full course of science at the Karean school and easily conquered all Hellenic wisdom, as well as his gentle, sympathetic character, exemplary monastic life and generally innate prudence. Despite his youth, he was a close friend of the late Fr. Macarius, who initiated him into the secrets of his thoughts, and now, as an experienced and prudent confessor, enjoys honor and respect among the monastic brethren of the monastery. There were examples when more gifted monks, after completing a course at the Karean school, entered the University of Athens and completed a course in our theological academies. This is the former head of the Athens Russian mission, Fr. Archimandrite Gennady, tonsured at the Russian Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos, studied at the University of Athens and a candidate at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. But the desire to send their monks through higher general education and special schools at Athos monasteries is rare. The most that the monasteries and elders of the rich Athonite monasteries do for them is to allow their pupils to complete the course on Halki in Constantinople at the theological school existing there. This is not done out of obscurantism, as some believe, but out of a natural desire to attract intelligent power back to its abode, so that, in gratitude for its upbringing, it would work for its good. Whereas monks with higher education, who have hung around the walls of the University of Athos, and sometimes German universities, rarely return to the monastery and strive to find suitable activities for themselves in the world. It goes without saying that to have useful forces, to spend the funds of monasteries on them, in order to then lose them forever, is an imprudent matter, and therefore the fears of the Athonite monasteries in relation to higher education have their quite reasonable and, from a practical point of view, even reasonable grounds. Speaking about the outstanding figures and collaborators of the late Fr. Makaria, we are far from considering the list we presented as complete. We know quite a few persons and names who, although they did not occupy such prominent positions in the history of the Russian Panteleimon community on Athos as those indicated, whose activities were not fruitless for the monastery, and therefore cannot but be remembered here with gratitude. Among these, so to speak, minor figures of the Russian Panteleimon monastery on Mount Athos, we assign first place to the most sympathetic hieromonk, Fr. Gregory, Russian Kukuzel 160 on Holy Mount Athos. Former serf peasant, Fr. Gregory had a rare musical talent by nature and was fluent in many musical instruments. He developed his musical abilities while being part of the choir and orchestra of his landowner, a great connoisseur and lover of singing and music. The Russian philanthropist drew attention to the outstanding abilities of his servant and made him regent and conductor, and then for these talents and efforts to bring his choir and orchestra into exemplary order, he released him. O. Gregory was a true artist at heart and continued to serve his beloved art in his hometown of Stary Oskol. Here he gave music and singing lessons and organized and directed choirs at many parish churches. Carried away by the general trend of Stary Oskol youth, who in the early fifties aspired to become a monk on Mount Athos, Fr. Gregory himself decided to leave the world of prose and seek the satisfaction of his artistic soul in the ideal world, in ascetic life, where only harmony reigns, and dissonances become subtle or completely inaudible. We see O. Gregory in Odessa among the companions of Fr. Macarius, where he formed a very good choir from his fellow pilgrims; under his leadership, the same choir on the emerald waters of the Bosphorus, in the presence of Fr. Seraphim of the Svyatogorets, greets Constantinople with the mighty sounds of the national Russian anthem: “God Save the Tsar.” On the shores of Holy Mount Athos - the goal of aspiration - Fr. Gregory played for himself and his comrades with extraordinary enthusiasm the last worldly swan song on the guitar, an instrument that Fr. Gregory and with whom he did not part, both during his journey and here, in front of everyone, he broke his guitar and threw it into the sea, deciding, as he personally confessed to us, from now on never to pick up a single instrument (he especially loved the violin and, if our memory serves us correctly, the clarinet-piston) and “to sing to my God wisely, until there is no more.” He kept this promise until his death. ABOUT. Jerome, a great lover of church singing and an expert, immediately appreciated the talents of the new monk of the Panteleimon Monastery and instructed him to organize a choir of Russian monks. Fr. gave himself with love and passion. Gregory dedicated himself to his favorite work and spent all his rich spiritual and physical strength on it, thanks to which he achieved remarkable results. From semi-literate peasants and townspeople - the main contingent of monks of the Russian Panteleimon Monastery - he formed such a rich in voices and musically disciplined choir, which delighted not only our pilgrims, but even aroused approval and admiration from our royalty, from high-ranking Russian and foreign officials, and even from connoisseurs of music and singing who happened to come to the Holy Mount Athos. Father Gregory recorded and transcribed a lot of melodies of the so-called Athonite chant and made quite a few transcriptions and simplifications in the plays of the most famous Russian composers of sacred music. His traditions will live on Athos for a long time and will be supported by the regents, students of the late Fr. Gregory. The last years of his life, this extremely modest, but rich in talents man lived, surrounded by the universal love of brotherhood, in a cell on Krumitsa, near the sea, and appeared at the monastery on the choir only on church holidays, during which we met this wonderful personality and had the pleasure of hearing exemplary Athonite singing under his leadership. O. Gregory died in 1890 at a very old age. O. Mikhail, as the head of the Panteleimonovsky farmstead in Taganrog, has been very famous in Russia for many years. It seemed that this man was created by nature itself for Athos, so that there he could lead the life of a stern anchorite, as he remains in the world, living in the midst of constant troubles and worries about the needs of his great monastery, but Athos does not allow Fr. Michael is given peace and solitude and leaves him constantly at the same post due to its importance as the place from which the monastery receives its full annual food supply. Energetic activity about. Mikhail found appreciation for herself both in government spheres and in Fr. Michael was awarded a pectoral cross issued by the Holy Synod. It is impossible not to mention here about Fr. Hieromonk Iliodor, who for a long time was in charge of the courtyard in Thessaloniki and is now considered one of the “representative” elders of his monastery; about o. Hilarion, the most active collaborator of Fr. Archimandrite Jerome and the steward of the New Athos Simon-Canonite monastery, about Fr. Joseph, who for a long time was the head of the monastery's courtyard in the city of Thessaloniki and an amateur beekeeper, who now almost entirely devoted himself to caring for the “God's bee,” about Fr. Alexei, who now runs the farmstead in St. Petersburg, and about Fr. Ioanniki, a living and intelligent trustee of the monastery in the courtyard in Constantinople. But there is no way to name by name all the fathers who have worked and are still working for the benefit and with honor for the Russian Panteleimon Monastery on Athos and thereby earned their gratitude. We believe that the names of these workers, invisible to the world, fighters for the Russian cause on the Holy Mountain will be written in the “book of the belly.” After everything we have said in the previous chapters, we have finally come to events of deep interest and greatest importance in the history of the Russian community of the Panteleimon Monastery on Holy Mount Athos. Therefore, in order to move on to the further story and make this transition natural, we will look back and try to characterize in general terms: - what were the relatively small group of Russian monks on the eve of these events, who were destined not only to excite the Svyatogorsk hermits for a long time, but even to occupy the minds of the great diplomats of first-class European states? This is on the one hand. On the other hand, what is the element against which this community unexpectedly had to endure a stubborn struggle in order to defend the right to its existence on the Holy Mountain and the hidden antagonism of which it had to feel for many years to this day? To be impartial, we will make this characterization with the eloquent words of a great expert on the East and a remarkable learned archaeologist, Count Melchior Vogüe, who accidentally visited Mount Athos during the height of this struggle. “The Russian element,” he writes, “is still so small, it is so obscured in a general view of the community that we did not even mention it in our sketch. I am talking,” continues Count Vogüe, “about the Slavic element, about a group of Russians who, among seven or eight hundred monks, inhabit one of the largest monasteries on Mount Athos, namely the monastery of St. Panteleimon, and two monasteries in the name of St. Andrew and the prophet Elijah. There is no talk here of any loss of strength, of decomposition; on the contrary, we have to deal with a new, untouched generation, which, although it takes us into the Middle Ages, but into the Middle Ages of the West. There must have been important reasons that forced these neophytes to move here from their steppes. They fulfill all the regulations with all strictness and willingly indulge in some work. These Russian monks form one close family, obedient and passionately loving their fatherland, this obedient instrument is in the hands of several abbots gifted with rare administrative abilities. This group is developing rapidly, being quite secure (?) materially. It is known how zealously Russia guards its religious institutions in Palestine; with the same feelings, if not yet to the strongest extent, she relates to her Athonite offspring. Thanks to the abundant offerings from their motherland, all the Russian buildings in the monastery prosper and improve to the same extent that the Greek ones decay and become poorer; Russians are buying land here, constantly building new cells, renovating huge churches, majestically decorating them... They have their own printing house, their own engraving and photographic workshops, which disseminate their ideas about the Holy Mountain in all sorts of forms and works. We hardly need to explain the significance of this small group of people, closely connected with each other, active, rich and at the same time owning land in the midst of a disunited society, left to their own means. The influence of this group and the respect felt for it in such an environment as Mount Athos, located almost in the very center of the East, surpasses anything that can be imagined from our social habits. This influence is determined by wealth, independence and energy, that is, those conditions of life that are usually highly respected in a country where they do not exist. It is not difficult to guess, after that, the terrible antagonism that should have arisen between the former owners of the Mountain and the new newcomers who came with such a strong appetite for their meager meal. All the life that Athos is capable of is now concentrated in this struggle. The involuntary fears instilled in the dying generation of monks by the extraordinary activity of the leaders of the Russian community, their obvious superiority, constitute one of the most interesting spectacles that have survived for travelers. Finding these stern apostles at work, it seemed to us that the ancient Franconian and Saxon monks appeared before us, who so successfully destroyed the once feudal building. Always on the road or on foot, or on a ship, on the way to Kareya or to Istanbul, not sensitive to physical fatigue, knowing no rest, preaching both at home and from the height of their saddle, of all the passions of this world, retaining only love for their nationality - they reminded us of the 12th century apostles Bernard and Arnold of Brescian” 161. This is what a learned foreigner wrote about the Russian monastic community on Athos at this time in comparison with the communities of Greek monasteries, and we have nothing left to add to what has been said. Sapienti sat 162. This icon painting school did not last long in the monastery, since the best masters trained in it did not stay in the monastery, but went to their cells and there they independently practiced painting, supplying the Panteleimon Monastery with works of their brushes for a certain fee. This school for the monastery thus caused trouble and required large expenses, but did not bring any benefit to it. That is why now on Athos in the Russian monastery there is no school of icon painting and the icons sent from Athos by the Russian Panteleimon Monastery to Russia are painted, commissioned by the monastery, by Greek artists living in cells. Speaking about the lithographic press on Mount Athos, one cannot fail to mention the talented personality Fr. Archdeacon Lucian, peacefully living out his life in the cell closest to the monastery. The first lithographic works on Mount Athos were the work of either himself or his students who worked under his direct supervision. O. Lucian is not a bad painter. Many of the icons kept in the monastery, and even the paintings decorating the monastery archondariki or living rooms, belong to his brushes. His biographical sketch is published in a separate brochure under the title: Voinov I., priest. Russian on Mount Athos of the Panteleimon Monastery, Hieromonk Arseny. Ed. 3rd. M., 1890. Personality o. Panteleimon deserves some attention from our readers. We will talk about him in more detail in our place, in the chapter “Publishing activities of the Russian Panteleimon Monastery on Athos”; here we note that at the first stages of his entry into the monastery, he was made the head of the monastery office for his literacy and good handwriting and enjoyed the good will of the elders of the monastery. Some of these letters were published in special brochures: “Letters in Bose of the deceased Athonite elder hieromonk Fr. Arseny to different people in 2 issues.” Citizen. 1888 No. 296. Very interesting information is reported about Fr. Paisia in the correspondence of “New Time” for 1888 No. 4. P. 540 and No. 4. P. 547. O. Paisiy was once a rogue prophet. After renouncing his previous errors, already on Athos he described his morally flawed life in this role in a special brochure: “Admonition to the lost and confession of those who have turned from error” (Odessa, 1886). 151 Nikolaeva L. Abyssinian mission of Archimandrite Paisius and N.I. Ashinov. Odessa, 1889. The Kareya monastic school, as the inscription on it says, was completed on April 15, 1814. An excellent characterization of Fr. Matvey was made by the teacher of the Volokolamsk religious school P. Sokolov, who visited the Holy Mountain in person, in the article: “Russian monastic archaeologists on Athos” (Moscow Gazette for 1890. No. 25. P. 7). O. Agathodorus, from the merchant class, came to asceticism on Athos with two of his other brothers, who have hieromonastic rank, and are naturally very talented people. Elder brother Fr. Mina, who died in 1888, was for a long time the personal secretary of Fr. Macarius, even after his death, left up to 30 books of various notes and diaries. We owe a lot to him in compiling this work. Second brother Fr. Uriel is an anchorite hermit, a talented icon painter, under whose leadership several very efficient painters were trained. Kukuzel is the famous Greek singer who lived on Mount Athos in the Lavra of St. Athanasius is believed to be in the 12th century. Syrie, Palestine, mont Athos. Voyage au pays du passe, edit. XII. Paris, 1878, pp. 323–326. Enough said (lat.). You might be interested in: