Приложения

In the extensive literature dedicated to the holy righteous father John of Kronstadt, the book by I.K. Sursky (Ilyashevich) occupies a special place. Thanks to the abundance of material it contained, it became for the Russian diaspora of the 1920s–1960s not only a source, but also an incentive for many subsequent publications: fragments from it with quotes from the works of Father John were published in the form of small books, the purpose of which was to introduce the younger generation of Russian emigrants to the “people's shepherd” 627. Thanks to this same abundance of factual material, the book played a major role in the canonization of Father John abroad in 1964. And at the same time, the book attracted the grateful attention of readers to the personality of the author himself, whose presence in it is distinguished by noble restraint: a person who was personally acquainted with Father John, met with him several times and himself subsequently played a noticeable role in the church and social life of St. Petersburg in the first half of the 1900s, he does not at all try to become the center of reader attention. Having initially outlined his modest role as a collector and compiler of memories, he remains faithful to it to the end. And this despite the fact that being “in the shadows” for a memoirist is often a very difficult task: according to the testimony of many authors of memoirs, the stumbling block for them was often the fact that they unwittingly became the center of the narrative. Who is Sursky - Ilyashevich - Ilyashevich (he refers to himself with this last version of his last name in the Preface to the first volume of the book)? Why did he need a pseudonym for a work based on documentary accuracy? It is well known how important the name of the author is in reporting true facts; for example, memoirs about Father John, written by Elder Silouan, or Metropolitan Nestor (Anisimov), or Bishop Arseny (Zhadanovsky) are of particular value precisely because of the authority of the memoirists. To understand the reasons that prompted Ilyashevich to hide his real name, one should turn to his life path, the direction of which was determined by the Russian tragedy of the 20th century. I'M IN. Ilyashevich was born into an intelligent St. Petersburg noble family 628. His father, Lieutenant General Valerian Yakovlevich Ilyashevich, taught mathematics from 1858 to 1891 at the capital's closed legal educational institution - the Imperial School of Law and left behind several educational manuals 629. His son entered this privileged school, in which only young men from families of hereditary nobles studied, who certainly occupied a prominent position in society (among the “legalists,” as graduates of this school were usually called, were, for example, Prince A.P. Oldenburgsky, P.I. Tchaikovsky, I.S. Aksakov, A.N. Apukhtin, historian N.D. Talberg, publisher of “Citizen” Prince. V.P. Meshchersky and many others). Graduates of the school received the ranks of IX–X classes and were appointed to various departments of the Ministry of Justice. After graduating from college in 1891, Ilyashevich began serving as an assistant legal adviser in this Ministry and by 1900 had the rank of court adviser, corresponding to class VII 630. His track record as an official of the Ministry was not preserved in the Russian State Historical Archive, but the School’s commemorative books, published annually, which contained information not only about teachers and students, but also about graduates, allow us to trace the professional fate of the future memoirist. Thanks to this, it is possible to approximately determine the year of birth of the author of the book “Father John of Kronstadt”: as in all higher educational institutions, graduates of the School at the end of it reached a little over twenty years of age, therefore, Ilyashevich, who completed his education in 1891, was about seventy years old by 1938, when the first volume of his work was published. According to the materials of these memorable books, he did not have a brilliant career, but his career advancement was stable and even: having reached the rank of state councilor (civil rank of class V) by 1907, Ilyashevich was an assistant legal adviser to the Ministry of Justice until 1910, after which his place of service became the St. Petersburg District Court. He did not rise to the “ranks of general” (corresponding to classes I–IV) - in 1917, Yakov Valerianovich was still listed as a state councilor, continuing to serve simultaneously in two departments: in addition to the Ministry of Justice, he was listed as being “in excess of the set” for the 2nd Department of the Governing Senate at the Chief Prosecutor's table 631. During these same years, he became a member of the St. Petersburg Society in memory of Father John of Kronstadt: on November 9, 1909, the first meeting of “members of the board elected by the general meetings on October 22 and November 4, who, by closed ballot, elected from among themselves to the position of Chairman, Archpriest. A.A. Dernov, comrade chairman, widow of Infantry General A.N. Prokope, treasurer of the priest. I.N. Ornatsky and secretary of State Councilor Y.V. Ilyashevich" 632. While performing his secretarial duties and, in particular, conducting correspondence for the Society, Ilyashevich constantly communicated with people who were close to Father John 633, and this circumstance gives special value to his book. After on April 8, 1910, Yakov Valerianovich was elected chairman of the commission for collecting information about those who resorted to the help of the Society, he, in addition to Father’s immediate circle, began to get acquainted with many people who turned to the Kronstadt shepherd, since people came to the Society as to Father John himself 634. Thus, the author of the future book found himself on the path of human streams that flowed to Father John, and thereby gained the opportunity to capture all the voices addressed to Father. Quite early, Ilyashevich begins to comprehend the role of Father John in church and public life. His name, along with other speakers, appears, for example, in a newspaper report about a solemn meeting on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Society, held on October 19, 1910 at 8 pm in the hall of the Society for Religious and Moral Education in the Spirit of the Orthodox Church: “After the report of Father A.A. Dernova about the activities of the Society will be offered readings: 1) “A few memories of Father John” by priest John Nikolaevich Ornatsky; 2) “The nature of the charity of Father John of Kronstadt and the Society named after him in comparison with modern charity in general” by State Councilor Yakov Valerianovich Ilyashevich; 3) “Father John of Kronstadt as an ascetic” by a third-year student of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy Vasily Prokofievich Tarasov” 635. At the same time, Ilyashevich begins to collect information about the prayer help of Father John. So, on the fourth anniversary of Father’s death, he spoke at readings in Solyanoy Gorodok (a hall of public meetings in St. Petersburg), where he read a report “Two cases of manifestation of the wondrous power of prayer and the powerfully effective power of faith of Father John of Kronstadt” 636. He himself felt this “power of Father’s prayer” in the terrible years that followed the October Revolution, right up to his forced departure abroad in 1926. More than once his family was on the verge of death, and each time, following the prayers addressed to Father, deliverance came. He cited one of these cases on the pages of the book: being with his family in complete poverty, starving, Ilyashevich meets a merchant in the church, an admirer of Father John, and he gives him money, and insists that it is not on debt, but free of charge 637. A meager, sometimes humiliating existence in exile allowed Ilyashevich to especially deeply, from the inside, feel the great significance of the Houses of Industriousness, which were erected everywhere in Russia at the initiative of Father John, who loved to say: “First of all, give the poor a roof.” “Oh, how clear to us, refugees,” wrote Yakov Valeryanovich, “these words of the great heart-teller Father John, especially to those who (through great patronage) were allowed to sleep on the office desks of an unheated room. If the Russian people who took the royal money out of Russia, or the rich in general, had the Christian love of Father John for the suffering, then there would not be such frequent suicides caused by the bitterness of helplessness and lack of shelter. People who are ashamed to ask, that is, the best people, would not die of hunger; If these unfortunate people had their own bed in a dormitory, heated in winter, but had no money for food, then their neighbors would share with them: some would give them a piece of bread, some a mug of tea and a lump of sugar and help them find a job - they would feel moral support and would not fall into despair” 638. Ilyashevich lived among people who had lost their homeland and were sometimes socially degraded: former guards officers sometimes became laborers or bouncers in night restaurants, generals became footmen and doormen. For many emigrants, this became the impetus for rethinking their spiritual path, for re-evaluating their own past, for turning to God in emigration, which was facilitated by the memory of Father John, testified, for example, by the writer A.V. Amfiteatrov: “The “Seventies”, “Eighties”, “Nineties”, brought up by the materialistic trends of the last century, we lived for decades without religion, in indifference or even hostility towards it, having no need either for the Church or for the “hypothesis of God.” Christians in name are essentially atheists; in the majority, indifferentists. We began to regain the “vision of God” that we had lost from early childhood, experiencing the horrors of the Great War, in which God punished the Earth with a flood of blood, as once with a flood of water. And then they saw before them the monster of the Revolution, which rejected God and declared a merciless war on all His manifestations in man, and realized how terrible, low and insignificant a person is when God is no longer in him” 639. This life outside the homeland for the author of the book, like for many emigrants, awakened memories of pre-revolutionary church life, one of the central figures of which was Father John. And therefore Ilyashevich found himself in the most favorable conditions for collecting such memories of the Kronstadt shepherd. Nostalgically colored stories often turned out to be a means for memoirists not only to comprehend the depth of Father John’s asceticism, but also to look back on their own spiritual path. Another favorable circumstance for the creation of the book was that Ilyashevich settled in Serbia, a country that welcomed Russian emigrants more hospitably than others; In addition, patronage of various forms of Russian church life was provided here. One of the first significant events in this regard was the formation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia in 1921 in Sremski Karlovci, 640 where its First and Second Councils were held in 1921 and 1938. The Russians who arrived in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes were given the opportunity to build their own church in Belgrade; when news was received that the Bolsheviks had destroyed the Iveron Chapel on Red Square in Moscow, an exact copy of it appeared in Belgrade (in 1931). Several Russian Orthodox brotherhoods arose in the Serbian capital - the Brotherhood of Seraphim of Sarov, the Brotherhood of the Holy Blessed Prince Vladimir, the Brotherhood of Holy Rus' and the Brotherhood of Father John of Kronstadt. So, even after the death of Father, his name continued to unite people around him. The spiritual state of the Russian emigration in 1938 was characterized by Bishop John (Maksimovich): “The vast majority of Russian people live a difficult life, full of difficult emotional experiences and material deprivations. No matter how hospitably they treat us in some countries, especially in our brotherly Yugoslavia, whose government and people are doing everything possible to testify to their love for Russia and soften the grief of Russian exiles, Russians still feel the bitterness of deprivation of their homeland everywhere. The whole environment around them reminds them that they are aliens and must adapt to customs that are often alien to them, feeding on the crumbs falling from the meals of those who sheltered them. The school of refugee life has morally regenerated and elevated many. We must give honor and respect to those who bear their cross of refugee, performing work that is unusual for them, living in conditions that they have never known or thought about before, and at the same time remain strong in spirit, preserve the nobility of the soul and ardent love for their Fatherland and without grumbling, repenting of previous sins, enduring trials” 641. It seems that Ilyashevich was one of those Russian emigrants, observing whom Vladyka John came to this conclusion. The book “Father John of Kronstadt” has preserved for us a number of facts that testify to the close relationship between its author and Bishop John, who was also its first editor. Ilyashevich’s now living relative on his father’s side, Vera Valentinovna Ilyashevich, told the author of this article that even after the publication of the book, the friendly relations between the author of the book and the bishop were not interrupted, and Yakov Valeryanovich died on March 23, 1953 in Paris “in the arms of the holy saint of Christ John of Shanghai, Paris, San Francisco.” It is significant that it was Vladyka John who continued, after Ilyashevich, to collect evidence for the canonization of Father John, which was largely the fruit of his labors (Vladyka headed the canonization commission). In material terms, the life of Russian emigrants, even in Serbia, where state subsidies were allocated, was full of hardships and deprivations, which is explained primarily by the very large number of those who arrived: “45,000 Russian refugees found refuge in the Kingdom of SHS 642. By the mid-20s, the number of Russian refugees began to decline, and by the Second World War there were about 25,000 of them left” 643. Only doctors and engineers found work quite easily, but lawyers, which included Ilyashevich, and especially the military, were in a difficult situation 644. Therefore, the former member of the St. Petersburg District Court had to become a modest official of the cadastre service. Information about the emigrant life of the Ilyashevich family was found out thanks to the above-mentioned V.V. Ilyashevich, who in a letter to the author of this article conveys the memories of her parents (her father, Valentin Ilyashevich, was Yakov Valeryanovich’s nephew): “They lived in great poverty; they had a room partitioned off with tablecloths, where the girls were placed, one of whom was in a neck brace due to illness, the son was in the other, one of them had a kitchenette, and only Yakov Valeryanovich worked in a very poorly paid service. (This is from the story of my parents, who were blessed for marriage by him as my father’s cousin). My disabled father (minus one leg) married my mother, a Yugoslav, in Belgrade in 1926.” Therefore, it can only be called true asceticism of the author of the book that Ilyashevich collected memories of Father John for two decades in such conditions - without time (he had to work in fits and starts) and the opportunity to retire and concentrate, without the necessary books and magazines, even without a desk. Added to the material hardships was anxiety for Peter’s eldest son, who remained in Russia, and the fear of putting him at risk, which would certainly have happened if the book had been published under his father’s name. And Yakov Valeryanovich took a pseudonym associated with the life of Father John, a native of the village of Sura Arkhangelskaya, and when mentioning himself in the text of the book itself, he changed one letter of his surname (instead of Ilyashevich - Ilyashevich), which completely threw off the trace, both because the surname in the form “Ilyashevich” was a different surname, and because the book talks about another, real, Ilyashevich - a graduate of military educational institution 645. In this way, a possible blow from the son was deflected. On the other hand, the name on the cover is “I.K. Sursky” further emphasized the absence of any “writing” of his own. Nevertheless, the reader feels the author's presence of Yakov Valeryanovich both in his truly Christian humility, and in his sincerity, and in his ardent faith in the holiness of the Kronstadt shepherd. In general, Ilyashevich’s author’s position is distinguished by the absence of any political tendentiousness, any jurisdictional bias, while both the clergy and laity in emigration were often divided into “Karlovites” and “Eulogians” 646, monarchists and supporters of other political trends. Such polarization sometimes led to open conflicts, one of which was conveyed by hieromonk (later archbishop) John (Shakhovsky): “I remember once I concelebrated with Metropolitan. Anthony in the Belgrade church among other clergy. When the rector of the church, Rev. Pyotr Belovidov, after the Liturgy, from the pulpit announced a prayer service for the health of “His Imperial Majesty the Emperor Kirill Vladimirovich,” I left the ranks of the clergy standing in the middle of the church, went to the altar and unmasked myself there. I was not the only one in such feelings - half of the worshipers left the church” 647. Against the background of church divisions of that time, Ilyashevich’s position makes a gratifying impression: there is not a word in the book about church-political disputes; he publishes testimonies about Father John outside the jurisdiction of the memoirists. In this regard, the author’s solidarity with Bishop John (Maksimovich) is manifested, who, in response to the words of Father Vladimir Rodzianko: “Vladyka, I cannot throw stones at the Russian Church,” said: “The Lord is with you, I remember Patriarch Alexy at every proskomedia. He does everything he can there, I do everything I can here. I don't shout. I'm just praying. We do not have jurisdiction over the Eucharist, but the Eucharist over jurisdiction” 648. When work on the first volume of the book was completed, the author was faced with the task of finding funds for its printing. Admirers of Father John helped - from Bishop of Shanghai John (Maksimovich) to printing employees, whose selfless help the author notes in the afterword to the first volume. The second volume was born in even more difficult conditions. In 1939, World War II began, which led to economic decline in those countries that did not fight. Therefore, the publication of the second volume of the book in 1941 can be called a true miracle. As Ilyashevich himself wrote in the preface to the volume, the help of the famous aircraft designer I.I. was decisive in the implementation of his plans. Sikorsky, who lived in America. The publication of the first volume coincided with the arrival of I.I. Sikorsky to Belgrade, which was a major event for the entire Russian emigration. As one of the journalists wrote, “the arrival, or rather the arrival, of I.I. Sikorsky and the two-day stay in Belgrade passed not only as a great national holiday for the Russians. Honored I.I. Sikorsky Russian Scientific Institute, Union of Russian Pilots. The celebration organized in the Russian House named after Emperor Nicholas by 11 Russian organizations was especially grandiose” 649. Among those who gave welcoming speeches at the evening were those who were closely related to Ilyashevich’s work: for example, the cell attendant and biographer of the late Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky) N.P. spoke on behalf of the Tsarskoe Vestnik. Rklitsky 650, from higher military courses, General Shubersky, from the Union of Judicial Figures, former employee of Ilyashevich in the St. Petersburg Society in Memory of Father John of Kronstadt, Senator S.N. Tregubov. Most likely, Yakov Valeryanovich presented the just published first volume of his book to I.I. Sikorsky as the son of a famous admirer of Father John, and he assumed most of the costs of publishing the second volume. The Russian National Library (St. Petersburg) contains a draft of a letter from Ilyashevich sent to Sikorsky in America, from which one can see what a feat the creation of his book was for the 75-year-old author. Here is the text of this letter: Venerable and most God-loving Igor Ivanovich. The other day I sent you a letter and volume II of I.K.’s book. Sursky “Father John of Kronstadt”. Now I’m taking the opportunity that my friend is flying to you tomorrow, and I’m sending you Volume II, corrected by me. I live in Belgrade with my daughter, who is graduating from the local Conservatory. A year ago, during the exam, she trembled, being generally shy. The professors noticed this and said that you were trembling, because we are not wolves and will not eat you. When she sang, they said: “We are very glad that we saw that you were trembling, and now we are convinced that it (the trembling) did not prevent you from singing with a wondrous and strong voice - you are gifted by God, do not forget that you are gifted by God and never be afraid, since no one can take your talent away.” There was a Moscow Musicologist here, he was at the Conservatory and, inquiring about her talent, invited her to his place, sat her in his chair at the last evening of dancing and music, promised to send her his book and said that he would help her get a job singing in Moscow and invited her to dinner with representatives of the Russian embassy and military mission. When everyone got up to go to dinner, she got mixed up in the crowd and ran home. She graduated from the Russian Institute here with a gold medal, graduated from the university's Faculty of Philosophy and studied French, shorthand and dactylography for 2 years and received the first highest award from the Ministry. I wrote a book containing the amazing miracles of the Lord God Himself, Nicholas the Wonderworker, Innocent of Irkutsk and Seraphim of Sarov, which were in Soviet Russia, and the miracles of John of Kronstadt, which were in Belgrade 651. It is impossible to print this book here, since paper is given only to communist propaganda publications, but not to religious books. I am not a refugee, but left Russia in 1926 for the purpose of treating my eldest daughter, who had bone tuberculosis of the second and third cervical vertebrae, and the Moscow professor said that the only hope to cure her was to live for 2 years without leaving on the shore of the Kotarskaya Bay of the Adriatic Sea, where there are strong emanations of iodine, and she completely recovered. The local Russian Consul, who knows me and my daughter, says that he will recognize the rights of Soviet Citizenship for me and my daughter when I want to go to Russia. We did not accept Serbian citizenship and we have temporary certificates of residence in Belgrade issued by the Serbian authorities. So I had an idea: could you, thanks to your connections, arrange for us to move to you 652. We are completely ragged, have no means to eat, try to sell things to no avail, but no one buys. Living conditions are such that you have to stand in line for hours for every piece. I receive a pension of 900 dinars per month, this is not enough for lunch and dinner for 5 days. You have to pay 500 dinars for the apartment. My daughter earns 2,400, I have to buy fuel, but there is no left for food, in other words, starvation from exhaustion, but meanwhile I could publish a useful book, I could give lectures. Have mercy, help! I have about 640 books left in the second volume. The only small printing house that has Russian font undertakes to correct books for 50,000 dinars. We have preserved a gold artistic brooch with an amethyst that plays as if alive due to skillful cutting. This is a unique nugget, which was mined in the Urals and belonged in the middle of the last century to the Director of the Mining Department, who gave it to my mother for her wedding. There is no other amethyst like it in Europe; it weighs 34.5 grams. Buy it for Elizaveta Alekseevna. Connoisseurs and honest people valued it at 15,000 dinars. What is 15,000 dinars in a country where there is no gold backing of the currency. Making a coat costs 7 thousand. Stone and setting sizes. It is purple during the day and pink at night. Every day, when I go to bed, I make the sign of the cross to all members of your family. May the Lord bless you. I kiss the hands of Elizaveta Alekseevna. Address: St. Generala Lešjanina 2: Belgrade, Yugoslavia (on the fourth side of the book cover the address is printed in three languages)" 653. These circumstances of the author’s life explain both the merits of the book and some of its shortcomings. On the one hand, Yakov Valeryanovich did not have at hand the materials necessary to complete the picture - individual books, magazines, letters left in Russia, etc., on the other hand, the lack of the necessary printed sources turned out to be a significant advantage: the book became the living voice of the Russian emigration, remembering Father John and, thanks to the suffering he endured, discovering his true spiritual scale. It should be noted that Ilyashevich, as a collector of evidence about Father John, had predecessors; and first of all, this is the rector of the churches of the Ioannovsky Monastery, Archpriest John Ornatsky, Father's son-in-law (he was married to his niece Anna - the daughter of Daria Ilyinichna Malkina, the sister of Father John), an active member of the society in memory of Father John of Kronstadt, who immediately after the death of Father began to collect memories of him. First of all, his appeals to readers appeared in the spiritual press with a request to send their memories of Father John. Thus, in the editorial article of “The Kronstadt Shepherd” the following appeal was published: “The opportunity has arisen to collect and through printing perpetuate the glorious deeds of the Kronstadt Shepherd. We often met people who, with boundless love and gratitude, recalled their more or less close relationship with Father, his visits: stories about how he consoled the mourning and suffering, what he said, how strong and effective his prayer was, etc. Such memories are still vividly stored in the memory of eyewitnesses and contemporaries of Father John, but it turns out that many of them are not written down anywhere, and therefore can be forgotten without a trace. The editors humbly ask all such persons to report to her at the address - Karpovka, 41 654 - information about the life and activities of dear Father. On the pages of “The Kronstadt Shepherd” will be placed everything that Father John said or did, that can bring light and warmth into a sad, dull, gloomy soul, that can serve to the bright personality of the unforgettable shepherd among those who do not know him enough” 655. In addition to appeals through the press and publication of memoirs on the pages of the “Kronstadt Shepherd,” Father John of Ornatsky began collecting this kind of material at the Ioannovsky Monastery, which kept the well-known book for recording miraculous signs through the prayers of Father John of Kronstadt. Through his efforts, several editions of books were published at the monastery entitled “Miraculous phenomena of God’s wondrous mercy and gracious help through the prayers of the ever-memorable Father John of Kronstadt.” The compilation work of Father John of Ornatsky was characterized by the desire to include only reliable, documented evidence, thereby avoiding folklorization of the appearance of the Kronstadt shepherd. Thus, journalist Nikolai Bulanov, who wrote to the capital’s newspaper about a case of receiving help at the tomb of Father John, reported that Father John of Ornatsky, after listening to the story of the healing, wrote down the name and address of the applicant and asked him to visit her house to verify the accuracy of what was reported 656. Along with coordinating activities to perpetuate the memory of the Kronstadt shepherd, Father John Ornatsky appeared in the press with documentary essays, one of which begins like this: “On March 17, for the late Liturgy, Arseny Nikitich Moskvin (who lives in St. Petersburg, Lugskaya St., 6) arrived at the Ioannovsky Monastery with a little girl and told me with tears that I came to thank the Lord for the miraculous healing that I received through the prayers of Father Fr. John, his eight-year-old daughter Catherine" 657. Thus, among Sursky’s predecessors there was a circle of people closest to Father John of Kronstadt, who saw their life mission in testimonies about Father. Father John of Ornatsky put it this way: “We, believers, are obliged to do this, out of gratitude to God who benefits us through the saints, and out of love for our neighbors, who, like us, are just as in need of mysterious help from above. Based on such considerations, we consider it our duty to tell about cases of grace-filled healings known to us that occurred in recent years through the prayerful intercession of Fr. John of Kronstadt" 658. However, Ilyashevich set himself more complex tasks than his predecessors in pre-revolutionary Russia. Wanting to give the foreign reader as complete an idea as possible about the Kronstadt shepherd, he combines under one cover biographical information, excerpts from the works of Father John, memoirs, and even the experience of an akathist to Father. The memoir part of his book is not random scattered memories, but a collection of personal testimonies, carefully selected, verified and systematized “by topic.” In preparing this re-edition of his book, more than once I had to be convinced of the extraordinary accuracy of the author, who tried, first of all, not to deviate from the principle of strict documentation of printed materials. This author’s position – to treat the collected and printed materials concerning Father John with particular rigor, excluding the possibility of any exaggerations or individual inaccuracies and even typos – was manifested in his long-standing letter to the editor of the “Kronstadt Shepherd” (dated February 21, 1917). Referring to one typo in the story about Father (it was printed: “General’s wife M.N. Shvetsova” instead of “General’s wife M.N. Shevtsov”), he wrote: “I earnestly ask the fathers of the editors to publish this correction in the next issue of “The Kronstadt Shepherd” so that these inaccuracies cannot arouse in anyone doubts about the accuracy of everything else. Father’s memory should not be clouded by any doubts. Outlining the deeds of the great righteous man Fr. John, we must always remember the words of the writer of the lives of the saints, who said: “I am ashamed to lie about a saint.” Art. Advisor Y. Ilyashevich" 659. Ilyashevich’s book is also unique in that it is a fusion of reliable memoir facts with liturgical materials (service, akathist), which anticipated the canonization of Father John by the Russian Orthodox Church by half a century. At the same time, it cannot be said that in the Russian diaspora this was the first publication dedicated to Father John: in Serbia, in the city of Novi Sad, in the Russian printing house S.F. Filonov published the books “From the Diary of Father John of Kronstadt” (Belaya Tserkov, 1928) and the work of Archpriest Sergius Chetverikov, “The Spiritual Image of Father John of Kronstadt and His Pastoral Testaments” (Berlin, 1939), which was published a year after the publication of the first volume of Sursky’s book. However, Ilyashevich’s book stands out from similar publications in that it has preserved to this day the image of Father John that lived in the minds of his contemporaries - primarily in oral stories, as well as in letters and publications of the emigrant press, which the compiler of the book also widely used, apparently having previously collected all the articles available to him about the Kronstadt shepherd. The Russian diaspora - both the laity and the clergy - even before the glorification of Father John, spoke of the need to study every fact, every stroke of the life of Father John. Bishop Seraphim (Ivanov) of Detroit, who considered Father’s special gift to be “great compassionate love for people,” wrote: “You can pray for a stranger when asked, which is what our clergy does. But to be able to pray for a stranger as for your own family and friends, as for your father or mother, for a son or daughter when they are in trouble, is given to few. And to pray in this way every day and for hundreds of people is already above-natural, it is a special miraculous gift of God. We need to delve deeper and deeper into this holy and great life, or more correctly, life. Even the smallest touch of it must be studied with love. Listen with quiet tenderness to the simple, unartificial stories of the healed Fr. John or their relatives. Many of these stories are similar to one another, but this is the living truth, authentic evidence. This is true. And a simple, unvarnished reality is infinitely more valuable than the most beautiful fantasy” 660. The importance of publications like Ilyashevich’s book is also emphasized in the report of the Charitable Foundation named after Father John of Kronstadt (USA), the main goal of which was “to evangelize the name of Father John through charity”: “For a member of the fund, the personality of Father John is close. He knows about him more than others, and new facts from his activities and about his miraculous help reach him before others. Somewhere ahead, in the future, is the moment of the Church’s majestic glorification of Father John. To bring it closer, you need to vigorously prepare it. We see that we are not ready for it yet. What has been done for his name abroad can be compared with the drawing of the chapel on Sura, often placed in publications about Father John: we are not yet able to build - in the spiritual sense - the Kronstadt Cathedral, which we see in the same publications. We did not spread his name as it should" 661. The same foundation, appealing to the public with a request to help the Serikov spouses, elderly, sick, disabled people, cites an excerpt from a letter from Olga Vladimirovna Serikova, from which it is clear how much support the book “Father John of Kronstadt” could provide in a desperate situation. After World War II, the Serikovs had to move to Latin America, to San Paolo, where they settled “in a poor working-class area, in the most primitive conditions, water has to be carried from a well, and in an apartment without a ceiling, it is very cold in winter, and the wind blows through the room and kitchen.” Further, Olga Petrovna wrote: “Our situation was very difficult and hopeless, we owed money everywhere, and most importantly to the pharmacy, and had to stop medical care for our husband. I remember well that, while looking through spiritual books, wanting to read something and calm down, I found a book about Fr. John of Kronstadt, opened it and saw a portrait of Fr. John. He looked at me tenderly. From the depths of my soul I burst out: “Help, help me.” And suddenly, after a while, I unexpectedly receive help from the foundation named after him and such a nice, warm letter” 662. Another correspondent also writes about the consoling mission of this book, who introduces himself as follows: “a resident of Odessa, a student at the University there, living out his days as a worker in Paris.” He says that he bound the book “My Life in Christ” for the rector of the Russian church in Paris and then began to look for any book about the life of Father John. “My wish came true,” he writes. – A few months later, I received from an acquaintance living in the south of France Sursky’s book “Father John of Kronstadt,” published in Belgrade during the Second World War, for binding. Since this book was published in two volumes, my friend asked me to find the second volume of this book in Paris. I went around all the churches and libraries, looking for the second book by the same author, but I couldn’t find it anywhere, and the first volume was also impossible to find anywhere. I re-read the first volume of the book several times and came to the conclusion that most of us, old Russian emigrants, were honored to be witnesses or contemporaries of everything that is stated in the first part of the book, and the image of Father John appeared before me in all his greatness as God's Pleasant, who shone over the Russian land, and did not leave us even after his death, since in the second part of the book several cases that subsequently occurred were given in Serbia, when by placing a preserved piece of Father John’s belt on the sick, the sick recovered. This finally convinced me that the time is coming when the Orthodox Church canonizes Father John, canonizing him among the Saints of God, since all his contemporaries have long considered him such. This led me to believe that many of the predictions and miracles of Fr. John were not published also because Sursky’s books were published in Belgrade, which was known only to those emigrants who lived in Serbia, and now we, living outside Belgrade, have the opportunity to supplement with cases not included in these books by Sursky. Paris, 1951" 663. The book “Father John of Kronstadt” was also important in the canonization of Father John. Here are a few words about the events that preceded it: “The historical day when it was first decided to propose the issue of glorifying the ever-memorable Father John of Kronstadt for consideration by the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia was Sunday November 6/19, 1950. On this Sunday, Archbishop Vitaly of Eastern America and Jerzisite served the Liturgy at the Holy Fathers churches in New York. After the end of the Liturgy, Count Apollo Aleksandrovich Sollogub addressed Vladyka Vitaly, who, unmasked, was talking with parishioners, with a question: is it possible to submit a petition signed by the laity to the Council of Bishops, now sitting in New York, with a request to consider the issue of glorifying Father John of Kronstadt, the Great Righteous and Wonderworker of the Russian Land, and how Vladyka personally approached this issue applies . Vladyka Vitaly, smiling affectionately, immediately answered: “I bless the good intention.” Give me the petition, and I will present it to the Council of Bishops. I will be the speaker on this godly matter.’” 664. The petition was drawn up, and the main argument to prove that canonization was prepared was the book of Sursky, who over 50 years had collected many testimonies about the gracious help of Father John. Here is the text of the petition addressed to Bishop Vitaly: “We hereby have the honor to ask Your Eminence to consider at the upcoming Council of Bishops the issue of canonization of the great righteous man, man of prayer, miracle worker and prophet Fr. John of Kronstadt and time this canonization to coincide with December 20 of this year, i.e., the day of death of the great righteous man. Who in Russia was not aware of Fr. John of Kronstadt? Truly, there was almost not a single religious Orthodox family that would not have experienced in their lives the power of the prayerful intercession of Father John. Thousands of miracles continue to happen today, those who with faith and love turn in prayer to the protection of Father John. They are also carried out abundantly in Russia, where the Russian people, exhausted by the Bolsheviks, turn to the intercession of their dear Father, the miracle worker and good adviser, as evidenced by the new wave of Russian emigrants who arrived in 1942–44; They are also carried out among the Russian people, who have been in exile for 33 years and who turn in their hardships and misfortunes to the protection of the great saint. It is impossible and unviable to dwell on the opinion that the issue of canonization of Father John of Kronstadt can only be resolved at the Local Council of the entire Russian Orthodox Church. Never before has humanity experienced such persecution of the Church, never before has the Orthodox Russian Church experienced such hard times, and Orthodox believers have suffered such persecution and extermination as now, and therefore it is impossible to talk about any Local Council in Russia. And even if the Lord helps us get rid of the godless government, it is unknown in what conditions, after the persecution and torment we have experienced, our Orthodox Church will find itself. The relics of the great saint may still not be found, and interviewing witnesses, if some of them are alive, may be very difficult. In addition, an interview with witnesses in the case of canonization of Fr. John of Kronstadt is not needed: 2nd volume of the book by I.K. Sursky “Father John of Kronstadt,” published in 1938–41. in Belgrade, where hundreds of miracles received by the grace of Fr. John and recorded by prominent pastors of the Orthodox Church, bishops, priests, famous Russian people, indicating their exact addresses - is the best survey of witnesses. The canonization of Father John of Kronstadt will also lead to reconciliation in our Orthodox Church. In all jurisdictions, in particular the American one, the name of Father John is deeply revered, starting with the late Metropolitan Theophilus, who personally experienced the great mercy of the righteous man in his youth, which both parishioners and flock know. The new Saint will reconcile and unite everyone. The memorial service, canon and akathist of Father John of Kronstadt have already been compiled by the Athonite Hieroschemamonk Pachomius and are in the 2nd volume of the book by I.K. Sursky" 666. Largely based on the book by Sursky (Ilyashevich), the collection “On the 50th anniversary of the repose of Father John of Kronstadt” was compiled, which was published with the active participation of those who prepared the canonization of Father John abroad. This is how a successive connection arises between the people who worked most hard in glorifying the Kronstadt shepherd: Father John of Ornatsky (who was at the head of the collection of documentary materials about Father in the first twenty years of the 20th century) - Y.V. Ilyashevich (1920–1940s) – Bishop John (Maksimovich) (1950–1960s), for whom Sursky’s book was the most important argument in the matter of canonization. By the providence of God, their labors were crowned with success: on October 19 / November 1, 1964 - on the day of remembrance of the Venerable John of Rylsky, the heavenly patron Father - Father John of Kronstadt was glorified as a saint by the Council of Bishops of the Church Abroad. And in 1990, the canonization of Father John of Kronstadt took place at the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. The publisher of the brochure “The Holy Righteous Father John, the Wonderworker of Kronstadt” (Munich, 1965), Pyotr Suratov, who drew factual material mainly from Sursky’s book, explained the purpose of his publication as follows: “I especially long for our replacement – ​​the new emigrants – to learn the truth about the Holy One of Kronstadt and the people’s shepherd” (op. cit. p. 1). According to information provided to the author of this article by the chairman of the European Society of Genealogy and Heraldry in Estonia, Vladimir Nikolaevich Ilyashevich, their family belonged to the class of Russian hereditary nobility. In the XVIII volume of the “General Arms of Russia of the Russian Noble Families” on March 24, 1905, the family of Russian hereditary nobles Ilyashevich was included under Lieutenant General Valerian-Stanislav Yakovlevich Ilyashevich with his sons - Colonel Evgeny Valerianovich (with his wife and children) and collegiate adviser Yakov Valerianovich (with his wife Nadezhda Petrovna and children Valerian, Nikolai, Peter and Elena). The family coat of arms "Pelican" was approved by the Governing Senate. See, for example: Ilyashevich V.Ya., military engineer-colonel. Questions from stereometry and trigonometry. St. Petersburg, 1873. Memorial book of the Imperial School of Law for the academic year 1900–1901. St. Petersburg, 1900. P. 131. Commemorative book of the Imperial School of Law for the academic year 1910–1911. St. Petersburg, 1911. P. 135. A table was a special category of cases within departmental branches. Report, 1911. P. 11. The fact that Ilyashevich was not limited to just performing secretarial duties is evidenced by lines from a letter from Father John of Ornatsky, who actually assumed the duties of chairman, Archpriest. A.A. Dernov: “Maybe it’s time to give the job to Yakov Valerianovich?” (TsGIA SPb. f. 2216. Op. 1. D. 9. L. 6 vol.). Thus, in 1912, the board of the Society included, along with the above-mentioned archpriests Alexander Dernov and John of Ornatsky, priests. Mikhail Prudnikov, priest. Nikolai Gronsky, merchant Vasily Pavlovich Krutov, gr. Sofya Sergeevna Ignatieva (KP. 1912. No. 7. P. 139). In 1911, the list of active members of the society included: Prince Alexey Alexandrovich Shirinsky-Shikhmatov, secretary of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna Rostovtsev Yakov Nikolaevich, Archpriest Ornatsky philosopher Nikolaevich, priest Ornatsky Ioann Nikolaevich, Ornatskaya Anna Semyonovna, Lieutenant General Ozerov David Alexandrovich, Baroness Taube Elizabeth Konstantinovna and others (See: Report, 1911, pp. 81–83). Ilyashevich, as the Secretary of the Society, had to communicate with the above-mentioned persons, and the memoirs of many of them were included in his book. It is characteristic that contemporaries perceived the help of the Society precisely as the work of Father himself: when on December 20, 1909, the Society organized memorial dinners for the poor, “those returning from dinner said to those going to dinner: “Dear Father fed us well. He was merciful during his life, he is merciful even after death.” (Ibid. p. 19). Gazette of the St. Petersburg City Administration and Police. 1910, 19 Oct. No. 225. See: Present. ed. T. 2. pp. 503–504. {Paragraph beginning: “After the Bolshevik revolution, I lost...” and further. Editorial of the ABC of Faith.} See: Present. ed. T. 1. pp. 30–31. {Paragraph beginning: “Oh, how understandable to us refugees...” and further. Editorial of the ABC of Faith.} Amphitheaters A.V. Church and emigration. B/m, b/g. (Reprint from the Belgrade newspaper “Novoe Vremya”). pp. 5–7. On August 31, 1921, the Council of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church decided to accept under its protection the Provisional Church Administration of the Russian Orthodox Church, preserving it in independent jurisdiction. The Patriarchal Palace in Sremski Karlovci became the seat of the Provisional Church Administration. The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, a deep admirer of Father John, was headed by Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky). Quote from: Blessed Saint John the Wonderworker / Compiled by Hierom. Seraphim (Rose) and abbot. German (Podmoshensky). M., 2003. pp. 837–838. That is, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Jovanovic Miroslav. About Russian refugees in Yugoslavia // Russian emigration in Yugoslavia in documents of the Archive of Yugoslavia and the State Archive of the Russian Federation. 1920–1939 Belgrade-M., 2003. P. 9. Unable to find work, the military was often engaged in demining areas where battles of the First World War took place. Nephew Y.V. Ilyashevich, Valentin Ilyashevich, while participating in such mine clearance, lost his leg during a mine explosion. See: Present. ed. T. 2. P. 266. {Paragraph beginning: “My father V.D. Nikitin..." and further. Editorial of the ABC of Faith.} “Karlovtsy” was the name given to supporters of Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky), who was elected head of the Supreme Church Administration Abroad at the First All-Foreign Church Council, held in Sremski Karlovtsy in Serbia in 1921. “Evlogians” was the name given to supporters of Metropolitan Evlogiy (Georgievsky), who, by decision of St. Patriarch Tikhon, In 1922, management of foreign parishes was transferred. Faith and Credibility. P. 25. Conversational statement of Bishop John (see Kosik, p. 114). I.I. Sikorsky (Letter from Belgrade) // Sentinel (Brussels). 1938. 1 Dec. No. 224–225. P. 21. N.P. Rklitsky (later Archbishop Nikon) took part in the activities of the Brotherhood in Memory of Father John of Kronstadt, organized in Serbia by Ilyashevich, which can be seen in his publications (See, for example: Hierome Nikon. Consolation in Sorrows. Issue 1. Report read at the Brotherhood in Memory of Father John of Kronstadt and the General Meeting of the Russian Security Corps. Belgrade, 1943). He edited the newspaper Tsarski Vestnik in Belgrade (1928–1941). This book has not been published; the fate of the manuscript is unknown. As for the manifestations of God's mercy in Soviet Russia, publications appeared in emigration about miraculous salvation from the NKVD and flight abroad. For example, V. Bezrukov’s book “From the Kingdom of Satan to the Light of God” (Paris, 1927) told about the escape of eight people on a hijacked small ship from Sevastopol to Varna. It was a high-profile case, V.N. was concerned about the fate of the fugitives. Strandman is the Russian representative in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, so Ilyashevich could not help but hear about him. Through those who left the USSR in this way, information also reached about the situation of the Church. The same V. Bezrukov writes: “Easter night in 1924. All the churches of Sevastopol are full of worshipers. There are so many people that it is not only impossible to enter the church or church courtyard, but it is even impossible to penetrate into the space adjacent to them. There are many Red Army soldiers, Red commanders and sailors in the crowd. Hordes of Komsomol members are immediately hooligans, singing blasphemous songs, pestering girls and shouting vulgar curses. I couldn’t stand it and left. Approaching the Vladimir Cathedral, from afar I heard swearing and wild screams. The workers' faculty staged a clownish torchlight procession around the cathedral and drowned out the church choir with animal cries. Another group of them did not allow parishioners into the church” (Bezrukov B. From the kingdom of Satan to the light of God. Paris, 1927. pp. 30–31). At the end of World War II, the exodus of Russian emigrants from Yugoslavia began. The historian writes: “If a third of Russian emigrants left the country along with the Nazi troops, then in the early 50s. 4/5 of the remaining Russian people left Tito's Yugoslavia. Moreover, 10 percent chose the East, 90 percent chose the West” (Kosik, p. 165). The letter was enclosed in a copy of Sursky’s book, stored in the Russian National Library (St. Petersburg); now transferred to the Manuscripts Department of this library. This is the address of the church house of the Ioannovsky Monastery, where Fr. lived. John of Ornatsky with his family and in whose apartment the “Kronstadt Shepherd” gathered and prepared. In blessed memory of the good shepherd of Kronstadt // KP. 1912. No. 1. P. 11–12. Gazette of the St. Petersburg City Administration and Police. 1910. January 6 No. 4. Reporting another testimony, Nikolai Bulanov wrote: “I, as usual, visited those who were healed” (Miraculous healings through the prayers of Father John of Kronstadt in recent years. Pgr., 1915. P. 5–6). Priest John of Ornatsky. New healing through the prayers of Father John of Kronstadt and KP. 1913. No. 12. P. 220. Miraculous healings through the prayers of Father John of Kronstadt in recent years. Pgr., 1915. P. 5–6. KP. 1917. No. 9–11. P. 137. On the 50th anniversary of the death of Fr. John of Kronstadt. New York, 1958, pp. 64–65. Prot. Mikhail Pomazansky. Along one path // Orthodox Rus' (Jordanville). 1960. No. 7. P. 6–7. Orthodox Rus' (Jordanville). 1960. No. 11. P. 12. Ovdenko D.K. about the healing through the prayers of Father John of Kronstadt of a seriously ill woman at a distance // 50th anniversary of the repose of Father John of Kronstadt. New York, 1958, pp. 203–204. Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. Columns 370–371. In foreign countries, evidence appeared not only of the help of Father John, but also of his recognition by such major personalities as, for example, St. Seraphim Vyritsky. Nun Veronica, cell attendant of St. Serafima Vyritsky, who emigrated from Russia during World War II and died in America in 1953, wrote in her memoirs: “Sometimes there were strong temptations in my life. I’m going to the priest, asking for his blessing to visit my friends to take my mind off things. - Why is this? You are waiting for help from people. Only God alone is able to help. If you want, go to Blessed Xenia or to Father John’s little window. But there is no point in going to people for consolation.” (Memoirs of a Nun. P. 28). Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. Columns 372–377.