Глава VIII. Отец Амвросий – старец

In addition to the external ones, the hedgehog attacks all the days, and the care of all churches. He who faints, yet I do not faint; whoever is tempted, I will not be liquefied; Although it is fitting for me to boast, I will boast about my weakness (2 Cor. 11:28-30) My children, even though I am sick, until Christ is imagined in you (Gal. 4:19) Elderhood Fr. Ambrose began during his lifetime. Macarius and, of course, with his blessing and under his leadership. Here we consider it necessary to point out that eldership must be distinguished from clergy. Clergy is the acceptance of the confession of a repentant Christian and the resolution of his sins according to the authority given to the shepherds of the Church by the Lord Jesus Christ; eldership is not connected with the sacrament of repentance and consists in the fact that one person reveals to another person, more experienced in spiritual life, the state of his soul and receives from him useful advice and guidance, which is by no means connected with the forgiveness of his sins. Only a priest can be a confessor, a layman who does not have a sacred degree can be an elder, and a woman can also be an elder. Of course, eldership can also be combined with clergy, but this is not necessary. In monasteries, confessors are appointed by the highest authorities from among persons who deserve to be such due to their highly moral lifestyle, experience and, finally, due to their age. Elders are not appointed. The election of an elder is a voluntary matter. The elder is an unofficial person. There have been sad occurrences when those whom both the brethren of the monastery and lay pilgrims unanimously recognized as their elders were not recognized as such and were persecuted by the monastery authorities or diocesan spiritual authorities. So it was with the elders Theodore and Leonid on Valaam, so it was with the elder Leonid in the Optina Monastery, with the elder Anfia in the Belevsky convent. Shortly before his death, Fr. Leonid, in one of his letters to the nuns, speaks about the difference between eldership and clergy and about the path of “eldership” in general. “Couldn’t the repeated experiences of our instructions from the Divine Scriptures and the holy God-bearing fathers,” the elder wrote, “could not confirm you in the truth of the saving path followed by the reverend fathers, whom we strive to imitate to the best of our ability? Although you are unworthy and poor in virtues, we wish you, who want to be saved, to follow the path they showed us; and therefore your cowardice saddens us not a little... Examining almost subtly the actions of the enemy of the human race, we see how he strives, under the pretext of truth, to seduce you from the chosen path, from the path of virtue. We ask you: can someone who doesn’t know it teach a foreign language? There is a great difference between people who know by experience and those who know by hearsay. Whoever is called to what rank, let him remain in it. Experience is the best teacher. It is written: “Let your friends be many, but one advisor among thousands” (Cf.: Sir. 6:6). And when you doubt our advice and instructions, why do you resort to us? We don't attract anyone to us, you know that. According to the statutes of monastic tradition, when tonsured from the Gospel, they are handed over to the elders, and not to the spiritual fathers, to whom (i.e., the elders) the novices should open their conscience in order to receive advice and instructions on how to resist the temptations of the enemy; but this is not a confession, but a revelation; and in this case the apostolic tradition is fulfilled: “confess your sins to one another” (cf. James 5:16). The sacrament of confession is completely different and has nothing to do with revelation; the duties of a confessor are completely different from the relationship with the elders... As for the fact that it is impossible to pray in a cell without a priest, this is more worthy of surprise than probability. How many holy women we see, who lived in the desert and shone during fasting; What were they doing if not praying in solitude? Saint Mary of Egypt offered her prayers in the desert without a presbyter, and only in the last year of her life was she honored to see Saint Zosima and receive from him the Holy Mysteries of Christ. As for the fact that doing nothing without the blessing of the elder woman is not only useful, but also saving. From the many examples available in the patericon and the writings of St. fathers, we remind you of that disciple who, having been sent to obey an elder in the city, almost fell into fornication; but, remembering the elder, he was caught up by an invisible force and found himself in his cell. As for the elders, in nunneries we should mean the elders. Not all the elders were priests, this can be clearly seen from the life of St. Paphnutius, the Wonderworker of Borovsk (May 1), for in his monastery of 700 brethren there was not a single priest, but all were under the leadership of the elders. So, it is better to conform to the rules of monastic life and be calm. In the Philokalia, in the letter of St. Cassian to Leontin the Abbot (Part IV, folio 157 on the back) is printed: “Abba Moses said: Let us not just what we do, but what we think be revealed by our father; and let us believe in nothing of our own thoughts, but let us follow in all the words of the elder; and let us believe it to be good, even if they tempt us. Not only through true reasoning and the right path does he ensure that the monk remains unharmed, but he also preserves him from all the snares of the devil without harm.” The elder is nominated by his spiritual experience or the power of God’s grace acting in him. This experience, this power of grace is felt by believers. Every word of the elder, advice, instruction is accompanied by obvious good results; sometimes their words reveal obvious insight, sometimes they have the gift of miracles - all this attracts people to them. And no obstacles, no prohibitions and threats can stop this movement of people towards someone from whom they receive obvious spiritual benefits, who makes their souls experience new, hitherto unknown feelings of moral renewal and living faith in God. Fr. was just such an old man. Ambrose, successively prepared for this great service by the elders Leonidas and Macarius. Father Ambrose was not the designated confessor of the monastery; The confessors in his time were Fr. Paphnutius, Fr. Hilarion, Fr. Anatoly. He was only an old man, although, having a sacred degree, he also accepted confession. The first indication of eldership by Fr. Ambrose is usually attributed to 1846, but this opinion requires a reservation. Indeed, in the skete chronicle under 1846 it is recorded that this year on August 23, the monastery was visited by His Eminence Nicholas of Kaluga, listened to a vigil in the monastery and, leaving, stopped at the monastery gate, surrounded by the monastery brethren. Addressing her, he said: “Save yourself, fathers and brothers, Have peace and love among yourself. Obey your superiors." Then, turning to Hieromonk Ambrose, who was standing there, he added: “And you, Fr. Ambrose, help Fr. Macarius in clergy. He's already getting old. After all, this is also science, only not seminary, but monastic.” From these words of the Right Reverend Nicholas, spoken, as they think, at the prior request of Fr. Abbot Moses and Fr. Macarius, it is clear that already at that time Fr. Ambrose, who was only 34 years old, was distinguished by his great spiritual experience, but there is no reason to see in these words a blessing for eldership, since the Right Reverend is not talking about eldership, but about clergy, that is, about the fact that Fr. Ambrose helped Fr. Macarius to fulfill his duties as confessor of the brethren, and we already know that clergy and eldership are not at all the same thing. However, if we assume that the Right Reverend Nicholas here used the word “spirituality” not in the proper sense, but in the sense of spiritual leadership, then those who lay the foundation for the eldership of Fr. Ambrose. However, more likely is the opinion that Fr. Ambrose began to become an elder only in 1848, that is, after he had already suffered his serious illness. From this particular year, quite clear and definite evidence of his eldership begins. So Hieromonk Geronty tells about himself that he entered the monastery in 1848, and Fr. Macarius immediately blessed him to treat Fr. Ambrose, as an elder, for spiritual advice. ABOUT. Gerontius also talks about how Fr. Ambrose. “You used to come to him,” said Fr. Gerontius, you say what you need, and he will open the book and make me read the answer to my bewilderment. At that time I was jealous of high monastic achievements, but Fr. Ambrose taught me that my jealousy was not in accordance with reason, and forced me to read St. Isaac of Syria in the Philokalia. However, I note that during the five-year period, starting in 1848, we went to council with Fr. Ambrose only a few of the monastery and skete brethren, and not otherwise than with the blessing of Elder Macarius.” Another monk, schemamonk Gennady, also tells about himself that he often visited Fr. Ambrose, having the need to ask for advice on some matter, and at the same time mentions that he was visited by monastic and skete brethren for advice and revelation of thoughts. What at this time about. Few others visited Ambrose, this is self-evident, since Fr. Macarius could not at first entrust him with the leadership of many and had to gradually accustom him to the work of eldership. Particularly detailed and interesting information about the aging of Fr. Ambrose during the lifetime of Fr. Macaria reports Fr. Abbot Mark, who entered Optina Pustyn in 1854 and also received from the elder Fr. Macarius blessing to seek spiritual advice from Fr. Ambrose. He talks about his relationship with Fr. Ambrose as follows: “As much as I could notice, Fr. Ambrose lived at this time in complete silence. I went to him almost every day to reveal my thoughts, and almost always found him reading patristic books; if he did not find him in his cell, then this meant that he was with Elder Macarius, whom he helped in correspondence with those who related to the elder for spiritual advice or worked in translations of patristic books. Sometimes I found him lying on the bed and crying, but always restrainedly and barely noticeably. It seemed to me that Elder Ambrose always walked with God, or, as it were, felt the presence of God, according to the words of the Psalmist, “I will foresee the Lord before me” (Ps. 15:8); and therefore, whatever he did, he tried to do for the Lord’s sake and to please the Lord. Because of this, he was always lamenting, fearing that he would offend the Lord with something, which was reflected on his face. Seeing such concentration of my elder, I was always in awe in his presence. Yes, I couldn’t have it any other way. When I, as usual, knelt before him and received a blessing, he would very quietly ask the question: “What do you say, brother, that’s nice?” Puzzled by his concentration and complacency, I used to say: “Forgive me for God’s sake, father, maybe I didn’t come on time.” “No,” the elder will say, “say what you need to say, but briefly.” And, having listened to me with attention, he will teach me useful instruction with a blessing and dismiss me with love. He taught instructions not from his own wisdom and reasoning, although he was rich in spiritual intelligence. If he taught those who related to him spiritually, then in the rank of a student, and he offered not his own advice, but certainly the active teaching of St. fathers. For this purpose, it happened that he would open the book of one or another father, find, in accordance with the arrangement of the visiting brother, a chapter of Scripture, order him to read it, and then ask how the brother understood it. If someone did not understand what they read, then the elder explained the content of the patristic teaching very sensibly. And all this was done with boundless fatherly love and goodwill. It sometimes happened that, furiously inflamed with anger at my neighbor for some personal insult to my pride, I would come to him for revelation, not yet calming down, and I would begin to express my reckless sadness and chagrin without self-reproach, contrary to the teachings of St. the ascetic fathers, but on the contrary, with an accusation of my neighbor, and even because of a hostile feeling that had settled in my soul, with such a desire that the elder would immediately sternly admonish the brother who had upset me. Having listened to everything with his characteristic imperturbable calm and sympathy for my grief, the sickly old man would say in a mournful tone: “Brother, brother! I am a dying man!” or: “I’m going to die today or tomorrow. What will I do with this brother?” After all, I am not the abbot. You must reproach yourself, humble yourself before your brother, and you will calm down." Having listened to such a pitifully pronounced answer, you will become numb. At the same time, deeply aware of your guilt, you humbly fall at the feet of the elder, asking for forgiveness, and having received permission and blessing from him, you will go calm and consoled, as if you were flying on wings. It happened to me that I came to the elder very early, at about five in the morning. Through the usual prayer, having received permission to enter the cell, I always found him sober and cheerful, as if completely awake, and fatherly and kind beyond my expectations; During my early visits, he showed almost no displeasure. Those who were attentive to themselves and remembered his edifying words or instructions from Elder Macarius, such brother Fr. Ambrose was always very pleased, showed him attention and even brought him closer to himself. To those who sinned, but sincerely repented and reformed, he was lenient and merciful beyond measure. He did not distinguish between the rich and the poor, the worthy and the unworthy, following the example of the Lord, who ate and drank with tax collectors and harlots, just to return those who had gone astray to the path of truth and draw them to the fear of God. He never reproached the sins of others, and he did not tolerate slander against his neighbor, treating slanderers strictly, without distinguishing persons.” The story we have given about. Abbot Mark about his relationship with Fr. Ambrose is remarkable not only because it undoubtedly confirms the aging of Fr. Ambrose long before the death of Fr. Macarius, but also because it gives us a living and vivid image of Fr. Ambrose as an old man. From the words of Fr. Mark, it is clear what a self-absorbed and concentrated life Fr. was already leading at this time. Ambrose, how he was deeply immersed in prayer and contemplation of God, how he often cried, how carefully he studied the patristic writings, how he based all his advice and instructions not on his own reasoning, but on the clear testimony of the holy fathers, with what love and attention he received those who turned to him, how thoroughly he gave them answers to their perplexities, and to what extent morally satisfied and consoled he sent them away from him. In these spiritual traits of the 42-year-old hieromonk Ambrose we find all the main features of his later spiritual appearance. Sending to Fr. Ambrose of some of the brethren for spiritual guidance, Fr. Macarius also entrusted him with interviews with secular visitors who gathered in the hut adjacent to Fr. Macarius from the outside of the monastery. Father Ambrose zealously and lovingly engaged in this obedience, turning in perplexed cases to Fr. Macarius for advice and guidance. Seeing Fr. Ambrose, surrounded by a crowd of interlocutors, Fr. Macarius jokingly said: “Look, look! Ambrose is taking away my bread, taking away my bread.” To Fr. Ambrose will notice: “Look, you will remember this time.” On behalf of Elder Macarius, Fr. Ambrose walked, just like Fr. Makariy, for a conversation with visitors and to the hotel. A bag of shirts and socks was usually his constant companion. As soon as he needed to go to the hotel, he would put it on his shoulder and go. They say that one day Fr. Macarius sent Fr. Ambrose to the hotel of some visiting rich lady who was preparing for communion of the Holy Mysteries. Having heard about Fr. Ambrose had a lot of good things, she began to tell him about some of her failures, which caused her a feeling of grief, and expected to hear from Fr. Ambrose a word of sympathy. But after listening to her speech, he calmly said: “The thief’s deeds are punishable.” The lady did not like these words, and she stopped talking to Fr. Ambrose had a conversation, and he immediately retired to his cell. The next day after mass, Elder Macarius went to the hotel to congratulate this lady on receiving the Holy Mysteries, taking with him Fr. Ambrose. Seeing Fr. Ambrose, she said: “Well, father, I fiddled with your word,” I almost put off communion, “I thought through the whole Vespers and Matins; I came to mass, but I still couldn’t calm down; Only during the Cherubim I agreed that you told the truth.” In the fifties, the wealthy Klyucharyov family came to Optina Pustyn; the old men, father and mother, had the intention of becoming a monk. This family settled in the Gostiny Dvor, in a separate, small building, and was entrusted to Fr. Macarius to the cares of Fr. Ambrose, who visited the Klyucharyovs almost daily. “Once,” the priest said, “there was such a case. Klyucharyova often sent a horse for me. Archim. Moses must not have liked it. So he once came out to meet me and stood, leaning on a stick, at the intersection where I needed to pass. There was nothing to do, I took off my cap and bowed. Since then I no longer traveled, but walked.” At the same time, the spiritual guidance of Fr. Ambrose was entrusted with the nuns of the Borisov hermitage in the Kursk province who belonged to the Optina elders. And therefore, when they arrived in Optina, he, out of duty, immediately went to their hotel. Thus, the circle of people who used the spiritual advice and guidance of Fr. gradually expanded more and more. Ambrose both among the brethren of the monastery and among the monastics and secular persons who came to Optina Hermitage. Father Macarius, apparently, was preparing him to be his successor. It is remarkable that shortly before his death he predicted Fr. Ambrose about his future activities and said: “You will live in a shack on the other side of the gate, and look - here is my covenant to you - do not leave anyone who comes without consolation.” However, when Fr. Macarius died, Fr. Ambrose was not yet such a generally recognized and undisputed successor as Fr. Macarius after the death of Fr. Leonida. Fr. himself Macarius, dying, did not point directly at Fr. Ambrose as his deputy, and to the question of the brethren “What can we do without you, father?” - he ordered to give him an alphabetical patericon and read in it the answer of Abba Isaac of the monastery to a similar question from his students. Abba Isaac answered them: “You saw how I behaved before you; if you want to imitate this, keep the commandments of God, and God will send His grace and preserve this place; if you do not keep the commandments, you will not remain in this place. And we also grieved when our fathers departed from us to the Lord; but, keeping the commandments of the Lord and the testaments of the elders, we lived as if they were with us. Do this and you will be saved!” Saint Philaret of Moscow, who knew the affairs of Optina well, wrote about the death of Fr. Makaria: “The Optina people have lost Fr. Macaria. I think there are good spiritual heirs left from him; but is there anyone who could support them in unity of spirit and lead them?” Thus, a definite successor to Fr. Macarius, due to his old age, was not around after his death. Those who contacted Fr. During his lifetime, Macarius was elected to various leaders for instructions and guidance. Father Archimandrite Moses chose his brother Abbot Anthony as his confessor and elder; others turned to the new monastery leader, Fr. Paphnutius, who at the same time became the confessor of the monastery; others chose as their elder Hieromonk Hilarion, who in recent years had been cell attendant Fr. Macaria; and others finally became students of Fr. Ambrose. How highly many already at that time rated Fr. Ambrose, as can be seen from the following reviews about him. One of the spiritual sons of Fr. Makaria, K.K. Zederholm, about whom we will say in more detail below, wrote on November 17, 1860 to his brother: “You and I were orphaned (after the death of Father Makaria). Until now it seems to me that with Father Fr. All my consolation ended with Macarius. I am addressing Fr. Ambrose, a true disciple of the priest, imbued with his spirit.” In 1861, the inspector of the Tomsk Theological Seminary, Hieromonk Vladimir, in a letter to Fr. Archimandrite Moses expressed joy that his brother, accepted into Optina Pustyn, “was honored to receive such an elder as Fr. Ambrose! Around the same time, Hieromonk Anthony (Bochkov) wrote about Fr. Ambrose that the Optina monastery “receives strengthening and edification from him. The reason for this is his meekness, kindness and simplicity. His good example and advice can work miracles... It is in vain to praise him. Actions speak for him better than words... Apparently, he was destined to be saved by illness; His rare gentleness and Christian infancy endure everything complacently: both God’s guidance and human untruths.” Rev. Benjamin, Bishop of Voronezh, who came during Fr. Macarius to Optina, had a long conversation with Fr. Ambrose, and always after that treated him with deep respect. Over time, rumors about the spiritual experience and wisdom of Fr. Ambrose became more and more widespread, and the number of those related to him increased more and more. Those who at first, out of ignorance, related to Fr. Ambrose with distrust, began to change their opinion about him. So one lady, deeply saddened by the death of Fr. Macarius, having heard that there was now a new elder in Optina Hermitage, Fr. Ambrose, exclaimed: “What! So that after Macarius I would go to this monk, who kept hovering around in my father’s cells and walking around with a bag! This is impossible!" But after some time, having accidentally talked with Fr. Ambrose, she left him touched and subsequently said: “I knew both of them, but I feel that Fr. Ambrose is even higher Fr. Macarius." In 1862, the rector of Optina Hermitage, Fr. Archimandrite Moses. The elder brethren, by a majority vote, elected the monastery leader Fr. Paphnutia. However, Eminence Gregory did not approve this election, since he was informed by Fr. Ambrose, who succeeded Fr. Moses, at the direction of Fr. Macarius, there must be a skete hieromonk Isaac; It was he who was appointed rector of the monastery, promising Fr. Paphnutius did not leave him either, which he soon did, appointing him abbot of the Maloyaroslavets monastery. With moving o. Paphnutia in Maloyaroslavets, many of his spiritual children now began to relate to Fr. Ambrose. In 1865, the brother of Archimandrite Moses, Fr. Abbot Anthony, the last of the great Optina elders - the organizers of the monastery. His students also turned in significant numbers to Fr. Ambrose - and from that time on, two main spiritual leaders appeared in Optina Hermitage: Fr. Ambrose, the elder, and Fr. Hilarion, confessor of the brotherhood. By this time Fr. Ambrose was already becoming known to Saint Philaret of Moscow, who in the same 1865, together with an Optina monk who was in Moscow, sent the elder an icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands for blessing. Upon entering the feat of eldership, Fr. Ambrose continued to bear his heavy cross of illness, which became his inseparable companions until his death. At the end of 1862, in winter, Fr. Ambrose, on his way from the monastery to the monastery to visit the newly tonsured monks, whom he had received as an elder from the Gospel, by some fate fell out of the sleigh and dislocated his arm. Due to unsuccessful treatment, he suffered for a long time and greatly. His health, already weak, weakened even more, so that from that time on he could no longer go to the church of God for church services and even received Holy Communion in his cell every three, two, and sometimes one, weeks. He did not go out into the air in winter until his death. As if to strengthen the elder’s physical weakness, the Lord at this very time sends him several active and devoted helpers. In 1863, Konstantin Karlovich Zederholm, the son of the Moscow Reformed superintendent 49, a man with a university education, a friend of T. I. Filippov and the poet B. N. Almazov, a master of Greek literature, who was for some time an official of special assignments under the chief prosecutor of the Holy Synod, Count A. P. Tolstoy, entered the skete among the brethren. East and knew well the situation of the Eastern churches, ten years before entering the monastery he was joined from Reformation to Orthodoxy in the same monastery by the elder Hieroschemamonk Macarius. He was a deeply religious man and devoted to Orthodoxy, which attracted him to it from childhood. Having entered the monastery, Zederholm became one of the closest students of the elder Fr. Ambrose, helped him in his extensive correspondence, as well as in book publishing, which continued under Fr. Ambrose, as before under Fr. Macarius. As a monk, Zederholm received the name Clement and, after living in the monastery for 15 years, died in 1878 from pneumonia 50. Almost at the same time as Fr. Clement brought into the monastery those taken by the elder to his cell attendants: from Moscow - Maxim, later Hieromonk Mikhail, who served as a cell attendant for about 20 years under Fr. Ambrose, and from Kharkov province. - John, Joseph in monasticism, who remained with the elder until he moved to Shamordino and subsequently served as an elder in Optina Hermitage until his death in 1911. These two persons and their assistants had the hard work of reporting to the elder about visitors, as well as carrying out certain assignments of the elder and caring for him. With the assistance of Fr. Clement, as well as Fr. Leonida (Kavelin), Fr. Anatoly (Zertsalova), Fr. Agapit and other persons, Fr. Ambrose continued what Fr. Makariy is a book publishing business. Under him and under his leadership, the Optina Hermitage in the 60s and 70s published: 1) A legend about the life and exploits of the elder of the Optina Hermitage, Hieroschemamonk Macarius (compiled by Archimandrite Leonid Kavelin), 2) A collection of letters from Fr. Macarius in six volumes, 3) a new edition of Abba Dorotheus, prepared for printing by Fr. Clement and Fr. Anatoly, 4) Simeon the New Theologian 12 words translated by Fr. Clement and Fr. Anatoly, 5) Biography of Abbot Anthony (compiled by Father Clement), 6) Rev. our father Theodore the Studite, catechetical teachings in Russian translation - the works of Fr. Clement, Fr. Anatoly and Fr. Agapita, 7) Teachings of Peter Damascene translated by Fr. Juvenalia, 8) Biography of Elder Leonid (compiled by Fr. Clement), 9) Description of the Kozelskaya Optina Hermitage (compiled by Fr. Leonid (Kavelin), 10) The Royal Way of the Holy Cross translated by Fr. Clement, 11) Biography of Archimandrite Moses (compiled by Archimandrite Juvenaly), etc. In addition, Optina Hermitage at the same time published twenty brochures of various contents and printed new editions of previously published books. In August 1868, Fr. Ambrose again fell seriously ill with attacks of his usual cruel disease - hemorrhoids. The bleeding continued every day for five weeks. In the absence of the Kozel district doctor, Fr. Ambrose remained without medical care for nine days. And only on September 6th a doctor arrived from Belev, who helped the sufferer somewhat. Due to the fact that the illness did not stop, an admirer of Fr. Ambrose and his spiritual son Count A.P. Tolstoy, as well as other spiritual children of the elder, began to ask Fr. Abbot Isaac to send a monk to the village. Kaluzhenka (70 versts from Optina) to the local priest with a request to bring to the monastery a famous shrine - the miraculous Kaluzhensk Icon of the Mother of God, so that all the spiritual children of Elder Ambrose could pray before it for his healing. The holy icon was brought, and a prayer service with an akathist to the Queen of Heaven was served in the elder’s cells, and then a cell vigil. Although even after this the old man’s illness continued for some time, everyone’s hope for his recovery was revived. And indeed, by the end of September the elder recovered. But as soon as he felt better, on November 1, Fr. Ambrose caught another cold and fell ill again. The cold spread to his right eye, which became inflamed, so that the old man could not read for two months. Treasuring prayerful solitude and needing rest at times, due to the continuous influx of visitors and his serious illnesses, Fr. Ambrose used to spend some time every summer at secluded monastery dachas deep in the forest. In 1869, his admirers decided to arrange a comfortable room for him in one of these secluded monastery dachas. The beginning of this case was as follows. Accompanied by his secretary, Fr. Clement, scribe of the monastery Fr. Mikhail (Strukov) and the latter’s little son, Evgeniy, Fr. Ambrose arrived at the place designated for the construction of the cell. Turning to his companions, the elder said: “Bless, brothers, to build a cell here.” Everyone was silent. Then the elder, taking the boy’s hand, crossed the designated place with it and forced him to repeat the words after himself: “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. God will bless you to live here.” By the next summer, the forest priest’s cell was ready. On the evening of the thirteenth of July, Fr. Ambrose moved to new premises. The elder’s first task was to consecrate the new place of residence with prayer. An all-night vigil was held for the Mother of God, St. John the Baptist and St. Ambrose of Milan. The next day in the morning a prayer service was served to the Savior, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Rev. Macarius of Egypt and St. to the blessed prince Alexander Nevsky. A prayer was read for the consecration of the house, and the entire room was sprinkled with St. water Here, to this secluded place, for several years in a row, Elder Ambrose left the monastery, trying to choose a week with weekdays, and stayed here for five or six days. One of the spiritual sons of Fr. Ambrose, writer K. N. Leontyev, describes this summer residence of the elder. “Seven versts from Optina, in the wilderness, there is a dacha, to which the long-weary Optina elder Father Ambrose sometimes goes to take a break from the crowds. There, on a small green lawn, a simple, clean and spacious hut was built; Fr. spends several days in it from time to time. Ambrose. People, however, find it there too. When I visited Optina for the first time, I had to go to this dacha to give my confessor the letters that I had to him from Athos 51. There were already quite a lot of people around the hut in the meadow: monks, peasants, peasant women, nuns, ladies. Long poles on posts were placed on all sides so that everyone would not crowd into the elder at once and would not interfere with his conversation quietly with the one whom he had already called. Everyone waited patiently: some sat on the grass, others stood with their elbows on the poles, hoping that the elder, passing by, would bless them or say at least two words. Many, having some kind of business, wanted only one thing, that at the beginning of this business the elder would silently cross them. Nothing more. To do this, many come from far away. It was very hot. At that time, the sickly old man was walking quietly through the meadow under a large linen umbrella and talking with some man. They talked for a long time. When it was my turn, the elder, already tired from walking, called me into the room...” With special cordiality, the elder received monks close to him who came to visit him in his forest cell. Sometimes two people would come for the evening. They will be treated to a modest dinner there. The tired travelers fall asleep, and the elder no longer orders them to be woken up early, even to hear the morning rule. When the guests get up and, having listened to the clock together with the elder, come up to him under his blessing with an apology that they overslept the matins, he will say in a fatherly condescending manner: “Well, we don’t bother the guests.” Another time, when monks from Optina also came to the elder’s dacha, and the next morning the chief cell attendant began to wake them up as a rule, Fr. Ambrose said to him with disappointment: “Fool! Do people come here to pray to you? They will pray in the monastery; and they need to rest.” Such was the love of the elder! One of Fr.'s favorite guests. Ambrose in his forest cell was the novice Elisha, who lived in the monastery for fifty-two years and all the time refused all monastic promotions and distinctions. He lived a mile from the elder’s dacha in a small guard hut, guarding the forest. To this servant of God, Fr. Hegumen Isaac once offered to take monastic vows, or at least the ryasophores, and even demanded this with a threat. “Otherwise,” he said, “I’ll send you to the kitchen!” “And here I am,” answered Elisha, “and the ryassophore!” - “I’ll make you bow!” - “Here’s my robe!” Having spent a long time in forest solitude, Elisha himself became like a child of nature. In winter he fed the forest birds from his hands. He will go out into the air, sprinkle hemp seed on his head, on his beard, on his hands, and as soon as he says: “Birds, birds, birds!”, they will fly at him from all sides - some will sit on his head, on his beard, some on his hands, and will cover him all over. He died at a very old age, in a monastery hospital. Before his death, when the brethren turned to him with words of consolation and encouragement, he answered: “Glory to God! He consoled me here too - he granted me to love, praise and glorify Him! With God, here and there, everything is good. God is with us, understand, Gentiles, that God is with us!” In February 1871, the old man again began having severe hemorrhoidal attacks. But on February 24 they sent him a large icon of St. from Athos. Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, commissioned by the spiritual daughters of the elder, the nuns of the Belevsky Monastery. On the same day, Fr. Ambrose held a vigil for the saint of God, and the next day a prayer service was served for him. And from that day on, the old man’s illness, which had bothered him for about a week and was not inferior to any medical treatment, ceased. However, on August 8 of the same 1871, the illness recurred again in a very severe degree and did not leave the old man until September 10. At the request of the elder, in his cell on August 17, a prayer service with an akathist was served before the Kaluzhenskaya icon of the Mother of God, and on the 18th - before the Akhtyrskaya icon of the Mother of God, delivered from Kozelsk. Finally, on August 30, the miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” was brought from the Meshchovsky St. George Monastery, and before this icon, everyone around the sufferer, together with him, fervently prayed for his recovery. Regarding this illness of his, the elder wrote to one of his spiritual sons, Bishop Peter of Tomsk: “My health is currently more faulty than before. In the summer, following the example of previous years, I went several times to the forest cell I had built. And although there I had freedom from visitors in the morning and evening hours, the rest of the time they burdened me so much that by the end of the summer I was exhausted, and in August I fell ill; Hemorrhoidal bleeding began and lasted for a month. Then, thank God, he gradually began to get better; but after this illness I became noticeably weaker than before.” In December, hemorrhoidal disease recurred again, although to a lesser extent than before. The old man was completely exhausted. On the day of his Angel, December 7, he was so weak that he could not even accept congratulations. The cell attendants moved him hand in hand from cell to cell. However, the prayers of spiritual children also raised the sick old man from his sick bed this time, and his usual caring and selfless activity began again. However, even after this, the elder was repeatedly subjected to attacks of illnesses that never left him until his death. Father Ambrose in his correspondence with secular and monastics With the increase in the number of spiritual children, Fr. Ambrose's correspondence with persons seeking his spiritual guidance also increases. Not only monastics, but also secular people of the most diverse positions, conditions, and even nationalities and religions, turned to him with a wide variety of questions relating to faith and Christian life. Father Ambrose considered it his duty to give answers to questions addressed to him, and in these answers the personality of Fr. Ambrose, his views on certain issues of faith and life and his attitude towards people. In view of this, we consider it necessary to acquaint readers with the most important content of the elder’s correspondence. Father Ambrose convinced those who sought his advice that never, under any difficulties or troubles in life, one should not lose heart, but should rely on God’s Providence. “The ancient people decided long ago,” writes Fr. Ambrose, - that you cannot live a century without a parable, and they added that even pot and pot collide, since it is even more impossible for people living together to live without collision. And this especially happens from different views on things; one thinks about the course of affairs one way, and another another; one is convinced of his concepts, which seem solid and solid to him, while the other believes in his understanding. If in the original rule of arithmetic one and one are added, then two comes out; if in the third rule you multiply two by two, then you get four; if it comes to fractions, then there will be numbers at the top and bottom, and in the middle of them there is a line, this also happens in human affairs. If they are too fragmented, then there will be inconvenience both above and below with some kind of obstacle in the middle. As I wrote and told you before, so now I will say: if you believe in God’s Providence and hope in God’s all-powerful help, then you will not encounter such inconveniences as you expect, and moreover, you will always enjoy possible peace of mind.” In another letter from Fr. Ambrose writes: “I received two desperate letters from you. You write to me: “I died because the horses were stolen from the farm.” Come to your senses, what are you saying? That your horses were stolen is not some kind of mortal sin for which you must die; and besides, you couldn’t take the horses with you to the next world. Only our deeds, either good or evil, will go there with us. If we do not have virtues, then we will at least try to get rid of sins through repentance and patience with the advent of sorrows, which are sent by the Providence of God to cleanse our souls from sins, vices, and every inextricable impurity. I know that you have many sorrows and domestic troubles; but tell yourself and admonish yourself that in hell it is worse, and more painful, and more joyless; and there is no hope of getting out of there. And if a person endures sorrow with submission to the will of God, confessing his sins, then through this he is delivered from the burden of eternal torment. Therefore, it is better to endure troubles here, no matter how serious they may be, casting our sorrow on the Lord and praying to Him with humility to deliver us from cowardice and despair, which are worse than all sins.” To a mother who grieved over the godlessness and freethinking of her son, Fr. Ambrose writes: “You wrote that, having once given alms to a beggar for the health of your son, you were embarrassed when he began to pray for his repose. Do not be embarrassed by this. Nothing negative could and cannot happen to your son from the beggar’s mistake and misunderstanding. And no one can wish for anything greater or better than to be worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven in due time. And that in your grief for your son you sometimes thought that it would be better for him to die than to live the way he lives - reproach yourself for this and with full faith surrender both yourself and your son to the will of the all-good and all-wise God. If the Lord preserves whose days, then he does good; if he stops someone’s life, he still does good. And in general, according to the word of the Holy Church, the Lord, with the depth of wisdom, humanely arranges everything and gives useful things to everyone. And therefore for a person there is nothing better and more useful than devotion to the will of God; but God’s destinies are incomprehensible to us. You realize that in many ways it is your own fault that you did not know how to raise your son as you should. Self-reproach is useful; but, realizing one’s guilt, one must humble oneself and repent, and not be embarrassed and despair; Also, you should not be very alarmed by the thought that you alone are the involuntary cause of your son’s current situation. This is not entirely true: every person is gifted with free will, and will have to answer for himself before God. Are you asking if you should write to your son at random in Moscow, and how to write to him in order to touch his heart? Write to him briefly first to find out where he is now, and when you find out, you can write to him in more detail. You can then tell him that he has now probably experienced with his own experience what atheism and freethinking lead to; that, striving for unbridled freedom, he forgot that from sin, especially annoyance to his parents, slavery itself arose, which had never existed on earth before, etc. Having prayed to God, write what the Lord puts on your heart... In general, you should now not so much care about admonishing him, but more about praying for him, so that the Lord Himself, who knows the message of destinies, will admonish him. Great is the power of maternal prayer. Remember from what depths of evil Blessed Augustine was brought out by the prayer of his pious mother. And when you pray for your son, pray for yourself, so that the Lord will forgive you for what you have sinned through ignorance.” The elder wrote to another mother who was grieving over her daughter’s illness: “I hear that you are grieving beyond measure, seeing the suffering of your sick daughter. Indeed, it is humanly impossible for a mother not to grieve when she sees her little daughter in such suffering, suffering day and night. Despite this, you must remember that you are a Christian who believes in a future life and a future blessed reward not only for work, but also for voluntary and involuntary suffering; and therefore we should not be foolishly cowardly and grieve beyond measure, like pagans or unbelieving people who do not recognize either future eternal bliss or future eternal torment. No matter how great the involuntary suffering of your daughter little S., they still cannot be compared with the voluntary suffering of the martyrs; if they are equal, then she will receive a blissful state equal to them in the heavenly villages. However, we should not forget the tricky present times, in which even small children receive mental damage from what they see and what they hear; and therefore purification is required, which does not happen without suffering; For the most part, spiritual cleansing occurs through bodily suffering. Let's assume that there was no mental damage. But you should still know that heavenly bliss is not given to anyone without suffering. Look: do the very infants also pass into the future life without illness or suffering? However, I am writing this not because I would like the death of the suffering little S., but I am actually writing all this to console you, and for correct admonition, and real conviction, so that you do not grieve unreasonably and beyond measure. No matter how much you love your daughter, know that our all-good God, who provides for our salvation in every way, loves her more than you. He Himself testifies about His love for each of the believers in Scripture, saying: “Even if the wife forgets her child, I will not forget you.” Therefore, try to moderate your grief for your sick daughter, casting this sorrow on the Lord: “As He wills and deigns, so He will do to us according to His goodness.” I advise you to communicate with your sick daughter with a preliminary confession. Ask your confessor to question her more prudently during confession.” For those who are married and starting family life, Fr. Ambrose gives the following instruction: “You must always remember and not forget that only then will our lives pass peacefully and prosperously when we do not forget and forget God, our Creator, and Redeemer, and Giver of temporal and eternal blessings. Not to forget Him means to try to live according to His Divine and life-giving commandments, and to sincerely repent of violating them due to our weakness and immediately take care of correcting our mistakes and deviations from God’s commandments.” “If spouses shared the hardships of their lives exactly in a Christian way,” the elder writes in another letter, “then it would be good for people to live on earth. But since spouses are often resilient, both or one of the two, our well-being is earthly and is not strengthened.” With what love did Fr. Ambrose to his spiritual children, can be seen from the following. To one of his students, who expressed fear that the elder would leave her, Fr. Ambrose wrote: “I have long been planning to reassure you, much-concerned K., regarding your fear that I would leave you and not write to you. If, due to the weakness of my character, I did not abandon you, not knowing you as I should, but agreed to your proposal, not wanting to offend you, who are in extreme spiritual need, then can I now leave you when, due to a lack of true reasoning, I despised my soul, and left my own salvation to the mercy of fate, imagining to care about the spiritual benefit of my neighbors? I don’t know if there is anyone more unreasonable than me?!” Why do people feel sad? “Melancholy, according to the testimony of Mark the Ascetic, is a spiritual cross sent to us for the cleansing of past sins. Melancholy also comes from other reasons: from offended pride or from something that is not done our way; also from vanity, when a person sees that his equals enjoy great advantages; from difficult circumstances that test our faith in God’s Providence and hope in His mercy and all-powerful help. But we are often poor in faith and hope, and that’s why we languish.” “Before the judgment of God, it is not the characters that matter, but the direction of the will,” says Fr. Ambrose. – Know that characters matter only in human judgment, and therefore are either praised or blamed; but at the judgment of God, characters, as natural properties, are neither approved nor condemned. The Lord looks at good intentions and compulsion to do good, and values ​​resistance to passions..." How should one confess? “You need to confess how you sinned and what you sinned about - that’s all. It’s good to write a confession in advance, not from a book, and read it yourself in front of your confessor. It will be clear and easy for him, and it will be easy and joyful for the person confessing.” On the question of what children should be given to read, Fr. Ambrose wrote: “My opinion is that, first of all, the young mind should be occupied with sacred history and reading the lives of saints, by choice, imperceptibly sowing in them the seeds of the fear of God and Christian life; and it is especially necessary, with God’s help, to be able to instill in children how important it is to keep God’s commandments, and what disastrous consequences come from breaking them. All this comes from the example of our ancestors, who ate from the forbidden tree and were therefore expelled from paradise. Krylov’s fables can be left for the time being, but for now, keep the child busy learning by heart some prayers, the creed and selected psalms, for example: “Live in the help of the Most High,” “The Lord is my enlightenment,” and the like. The main thing is that the child is occupied to the best of his abilities and directed towards the fear of God. From this, everything that is good and good, as well as, on the contrary, idleness and failure to instill in children the fear of God are the cause of all evils and misfortunes. Without instilling the fear of God, whatever you do with your children will not bring the desired results in terms of good morality and a well-ordered life. When the fear of God is instilled, every activity is good and useful.” In another letter from Fr. Ambrose wrote about raising children like this: “You write that you notice in your son dryness, or little feeling and other shortcomings. But in childhood, not many people have a true, real feeling: and for the most part it manifests itself at a more mature age, already when a person begins to understand more and experiences something in life. Moreover, an excess of inner feeling imperceptibly serves as a reason for secret exaltation and condemnation of others; and lack of feeling and dryness involuntarily humbles a person when he begins to understand this. Therefore, do not be too upset that you notice this shortcoming in your son; over time, perhaps, the inevitable trials in life will awaken the proper feeling in him; but just take care to convey to him, as far as possible, sound concepts about everything, according to the teachings of the Orthodox Church. You write that until now you yourself have studied with him and went through the sacred history of the Old Testament with him; and you ask how and what to teach him, and who to choose for this? Having gone through the Old Testament with him, you yourself must finish this matter, that is, move on to the New Testament; and then begin catechetical teaching. You are afraid that the dryness of the catechism will not add warmth to it. The catechism does not add warmth to anyone; but it is enough that children have correct concepts about dogmas and other subjects of the Orthodox Church. If you want the Orthodox teaching to act on the heart of your son, then read with him the “Orthodox Confession” and the “School of Piety”; and let the teacher of the law teach him according to the catechism accepted in educational institutions. As for choosing a teacher, I, not knowing anyone from the Moscow clergy, cannot point you to anyone; but we remember that Father Fr. Macarius advised someone to elect not a priest, but a deacon, as a teacher of the law for young children: it is simpler, and therefore it is more successful; Moscow deacons are all graduates of the seminary course, and they know the catechism well... You find it difficult to choose and appoint a confessor. In order not to upset your confessor, just explain to him in advance everything that you find necessary and useful for your son, with the addition of a request to fulfill it, since in your mind a sacred atmosphere during confession is necessary for a child, although for someone who understands it it does not have any particular meaning. Before confession, you yourself will take care of your son and prepare him for this Sacrament as best you can. Make him read the commandments with an explanation before confession. Regarding correcting his shortcomings, you can sometimes tell him in a half-joking tone: “You are a young prince, don’t hit yourself in the face through such actions.” You write that you are deeply convinced that there is no other source of well-being for man on earth and eternal bliss in heaven except the Church of Christ, and that everything outside it is nothing, and you would like to pass on this conviction to your children, so that it would be, as it were, their hidden life; but it seems to you that you have no calling to teach and cannot speak with due strength of conviction about this great subject. As a child-loving mother, pass on information about these subjects to your children as best you can. No one can replace you in this, because you must first explain your concepts and desires to others, and besides, others do not know your children and their spiritual disposition and needs; and at the same time, the mother’s words can have a more effective effect on them than the word of a stranger. Other instructions act on the mind, but a mother’s instructions act on the heart. If it seems to you that your son knows a lot, understands a lot, but feels little, then, I repeat, do not be upset by this either. And pray to God about this, that he will arrange something useful for your son, like news. You write that he has an excellent memory; use this too. Give him, in addition to instructions, soulful stories, and ask him from time to time so that he repeats to you as he remembers and as he understands. Everything that he hears from you will first be stored in his memory and mind, and then, with the help of God, with the assistance of experiences in life, it can pass into feeling.” The elder also wrote to one spiritual daughter about the same subject: “Centuries-established experience shows that the sign of the cross has great power for all human actions, throughout the entire continuation of his life. Therefore, it is necessary to take care to instill in children the custom of protecting themselves with the sign of the cross more often, and especially before eating and drinking, going to bed and getting up, before leaving, before leaving and before entering somewhere, and so that children make the sign of the cross not carelessly or in a fashionable way, but with precision, from the forehead to the chest, and on both shoulders, so that the cross comes out correctly... Protecting yourself with the sign of the cross has saved many from great troubles and dangers." “You write, I would like my husband and I to avoid that disastrous disagreement in the matter of education, which I see in almost all marriages. – Yes, this thing is really sophisticated! But arguing about this in front of children, as you yourself have noticed, is not useful. Therefore, in case of disagreement, it is better to either evade and leave, or show as if you did not listen, but do not argue about your different views in front of children. Advice and discussion about this should be in private, and as calmly as possible, so that it is more effective. However, if you manage to plant the fear of God in the hearts of your children, then various human quirks cannot have such a harmful effect on them.” The elder wrote to one of his spiritual daughters about the inadmissibility of divorce: “You write that your mother is trying in every possible way to force you to persuade your daughter-in-law to divorce her husband, but you do not sympathize with this. And you are doing a good job not supporting them in this. Divorce marriages are hateful to God. If they are allowed, it is because of human weakness. Protect your daughter-in-law as best you can; You shouldn’t give in to your mother in this, even if it means you have to suffer trouble from her. You will save not only yourself, but also your mother from sin... Calling on you, and on your husband, and on your grieving daughter-in-law, and on her children, the peace and blessing of God, I remain with sincere goodwill, much-sinful I. Ambrose.” Being himself a strict ascetic and strict guardian of the statutes of the Church, Fr. Ambrose was at the same time very condescending to the real weaknesses of other people, placing humility and self-reproach above any bodily feat. “The upcoming fast,” he writes to one spiritual daughter, “try to spend judiciously, taking into account your bodily strength. Due to ill health and in the 69th Apostolic Canon, oil is allowed on Wednesday and Friday, and even for some during Holy Week with repentance and self-reproach, remembering the wise saying of St. fathers, that we are not body killers, but passion killers. St. Isaac the Syrian writes about one elder who ate food after two days. If he had to talk with those who came for an hour or two, then he could no longer eat food as usual, but was forced to shorten the time period and eat a larger portion than usual. You must remember that you are the mistress of the house, surrounded by children; besides, ill health becomes attached to you. All this shows that you need to be more concerned about spiritual virtues; Regarding the use of food and other bodily exploits, good reasoning with humility should come first. If in spiritual shortcomings repentance, dissolved in humility, is accepted, then in bodily weaknesses repentance and self-reproach take place even more. St. Climacus cites the words: “I did not fast, neither kept vigil, nor lay down on the ground; But I humbled myself, and the Lord saved me.” Begin, after praying to God, to eat food during fasting with oil. If, due to your ill health, need requires more, then you can use more in the form of medicine. Humbly present your weakness to the Lord, and He is able to work everything out for good. During preparation for the Holy Mysteries, you need to eat food without oil for several days, but I only advise you to come up with more nutritious food, from dry fruits and the like, according to your stomach, so that you are able to perform services (if possible) and look after the children and in the house.” Making fasting easier for the weak, Fr. Ambrose strictly condemned the prejudice against fasting, which is currently characteristic of many, and did not advise relying on the opinions of doctors who reject fasting. “You don’t like that N. forces his wife to eat fast food on fast days. And it is impossible that any well-intentioned people would like it, except some new and fashionable people. You can tell him in private so that he does not force his wife to do this, otherwise there may be harmful consequences, and unpleasant ones for him. When a wife, to please him, first involuntarily burdens her conscience with contempt for holy fasting, then she will voluntarily despise both. Evil does not stand in one position, but usually increases and increases.” “You write that the doctor advises you to eat fast food on fast days too... I think that if I lived the entire Great Lent without fasting food, then how can I not fast two days a week? You can’t really rely on doctor’s words, because doctors are for the most part prejudiced against lean foods. I heard that in Moscow there is only one doctor who is impartial in this regard. Although he is a Lutheran, he himself, it seems, almost does not eat meat, and does not force the sick to eat meat on fasting days. If you want, you can consult with him.” Convicting the violators of St. posts, oh. Ambrose, in everything else, firmly defended the truth and purity of Orthodoxy against all kinds of errors. Thus, he wrote about spiritualism: “Spiritism is nothing more than a new delusion and a new enemy charm. This teaching is the communication of people with spirits, but, of course, with spirits not of light, but with spirits of darkness. The Apostle Paul writes: “If an angel from heaven brings you good news, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8). The Apostle does not mention this about the good Angels, because the good Angels will not preach anything contrary to the teaching of the Gospel and the Apostles; but it is clear that this speaks of the angels of darkness cast out from heaven, who take on the guise of Angels of light to deceive the unreasonable... Through spiritualism, even atheists seem to become very religious. But if you delve well into the mental state of these imaginary religious people, it will clearly be revealed that in this situation they have become even more dangerous for those who have relations with them than they were in the state of atheists. Everyone turns away from obvious atheists and moves away; people who hide behind the appearance of false religiosity, but in their souls are saturated with old or new delusions and the charms of the enemy, are not suddenly recognized by anyone who understands the matter. The Apostle says: “Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). This means that whatever teaching in the Orthodox Church was first planted by the Holy Spirit through the Apostles and through the fathers of the ecumenical councils must continue until the end of the century. All new teachings are nothing more than new errors, sown, one way or another, by the ancient enemy, and hater, and slanderer of the human race, who, according to the word of St. Apostle Peter, “like a lion roaring, he goes about seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). This enemy in the teachings of spiritualism hides behind the guise of summoning dead souls, which supposedly explain the teachings of the Gospel more clearly. But this is a clear deception of the enemy and a clear delusion of people who decide to believe the spirits of darkness who appear in the form of dead people. For the souls of saints in the Orthodox Church, the certificate is completely different. They testify to their holiness by the obvious incorruption of their relics. Sinful souls, according to the teachings of the Orthodox Church, are imprisoned in hell and do not have the power not only to teach others, but also to come from there, awaiting in terrible groaning the Last Judgment of God. Consequently, it is not the souls of the dead who are summoned and appear, but the spirits of sinful darkness and the seducers of the human race.” Regarding one supposed duel, the elder wrote: “You want to end your enmity in a pagan way, that is, following the example of unbelieving people who do not believe in either a future life, or a future eternal bliss, or future eternal torment - to end with a duel, this hellish knot of two murders, or, rather, a combination of murder with suicide, because, although one sometimes remains alive, both of them thought to kill, and themselves voluntarily subjected to death, mentally dying in advance. Is all this appropriate for a Christian? Look at the Author of faith and the Perfecter of our salvation, the Son of God, the King of Angels and Archangels, how He did not turn His face away from spitting and strangulation and humbly endured every kind of reproach and humiliation! We, who are called His followers, do not want to humble ourselves in a Christian way!.. I beg you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ - you will bear wisely, for the sake of your salvation, the insult inflicted on you, without mixing anyone in here, and for no one, and for nothing. It is good to sacrifice your soul for the Lord, for the benefit of your neighbor and for your own salvation. But it is not only not good, but also reckless and worthy of all regret to sacrifice oneself for the destruction of another, and for one’s own eternal, never-ending, never-returnable destruction. Imitate our Redeemer, who prayed to His Father for those who crucified Him: “Let them go, for they know not what they do.” As a deeply believing Orthodox Christian, Fr. Ambrose did not doubt the final victory of good over evil in the world, but he rejected the moral progress of mankind. One day Fr. The following question was sent to Ambrose for his resolution: the duty of a Christian is to do good and try to ensure that good triumphs over evil. At the end of the world, the Gospel says, evil will triumph over good. How can one strive for the victory of good over evil, knowing that these efforts will not be crowned with success, and that evil will triumph in the end? According to the Gospel, human society before the end of the world appears in its most terrible form. This rejects the possibility of constant human improvement. Is it possible after this to work for the benefit of humanity, being confident that no means are able to achieve the possible moral perfection of humanity in the final result before the end of the world? The elder replied: “Evil has already been defeated - defeated not by the diligence and strength of man, but by our Lord and Savior Himself, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who for this purpose came down from heaven to earth, became incarnate, suffered as humanity, and through his suffering and resurrection on the Cross crushed the power of evil and the evil-doer of the devil, who ruled over the human race, freed us from devilish and sinful slavery, as He Himself said: “Behold, I give you power to tread on the serpent and the scorpion and all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:19). Now, in the Sacrament of Baptism, all Christian believers are given the power to trample on evil and do good, through the fulfillment of the Gospel commandments, and no one is anymore forcibly possessed by evil, except those who are careless about keeping God’s commandments, and especially those who voluntarily indulge in sins. To want to overcome evil with one’s own strength, which has already been defeated by the coming of the Savior, shows a misunderstanding of the Christian sacraments of the Orthodox Church and reveals a sign of haughty human arrogance, which wants to do everything with one’s own strength, without turning to God’s help, while the Lord himself clearly says: “Without Me you can do nothing.” You write that the Gospel says that at the end of the world, evil will triumph over good. This is not said anywhere in the Gospel; but it only says that in the last days faith will diminish (Luke 18:8), and “because iniquity will increase, the love of many will dry up” (Matthew 24:12). And St. The Apostle Paul says that before the Second Coming of the Savior “there will appear a man of lawlessness, the son of perdition, an adversary and one who exalts himself above all that is spoken of God,” that is, the Antichrist. But it is immediately said that “The Lord Jesus will kill him with the spirit of His mouth, and will abolish him by the appearance of His coming” (2 Thess. 2:3-8). Where is the triumph of evil over good? And in general, any triumph of evil over good is only imaginary, temporary. On the other hand, it is also unfair that humanity on earth is constantly improving. Progress, or improvement, is only in external human affairs, in the conveniences of life. For example, we use railways and telegraphs, which did not exist before; coal is dug up, which was hidden in the depths of the earth, etc. In the Christian-moral attitude, there is no general progress. At all times there have been people who achieved highly moral Christian perfection, guided by the true faith of Christ and following the true Christian teaching, in accordance with the divine revelation, which God revealed in His Church through inspired men, prophets and apostles. There will be such people in the time of Antichrist, which for their sake will be shortened, according to what was said: “for the sake of the elect these days will come to an end” (Matthew 24:22). And again: at all times there have been people who indulged in various vices and iniquities, or fell into various heresies and delusions, carried away by a false mind (1 Tim. 6:20) and thinking according to earthly principles, contrary to the warning of the saint. Apostle Paul, who says: “Brethren, beware, lest anyone deceive you with philosophy and vain flattery, according to the tradition of man, according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ...” (Col. 2:8) Moral perfection on earth (imperfect) is achieved not by all of humanity in the aggregate, but by each believer in particular, as they fulfill God’s commandments and as they are humble. The final and perfect perfection is achieved in heaven, in the future endless life, for which short-term earthly human life serves only as preparation, just as the years spent by a young man in an educational institution serve as preparation for his future practical activity. If the purpose of humanity was limited to its earthly existence, if for man everything ended on earth, then why “the earth and the things on it will burn up,” as St. Apostle Peter? (2 Pet. 3:10) He also adds: “The heavens are new and the earth is new according to His promise; in them righteousness dwells” (2 Pet. 3:13). Without a future blissful, endless life, our earthly stay would be useless and incomprehensible. The desire to work for the benefit of humanity is very plausible, but it is placed in the wrong place. Royal Prophet St. David says: first “turn away from evil, and then do good” (Cf.: Ps. 33:15). For today's people, things are turning upside down. Everyone wants to verbally work for the good of their neighbors, and care not at all or very little about the fact that first they themselves need to evade evil, and only then worry about the benefit of their neighbors. The broad ideas of the younger generation about great activities for the benefit of all mankind are similar to those who, without finishing a course at a gymnasium, dreamed a lot about themselves that they could be a professor and a great mentor at the university. But, on the other hand, to think that if we cannot move forward all of humanity, then it is not worth working at all, this is again the other extreme. Every Christian is obliged, according to his strength and in accordance with his position, to work for the benefit of others, but so that all this is on time and in order, as said above, and so that the success of our labors is presented to God and His holy will.” In one of his later letters (1875), Fr. Ambrose refutes a number of accusations directed against Orthodoxy and often expressed in our days. He cites in order these accusations made by the brother of one of his spiritual daughters, and examines them in order. “Your brother writes to you that very few dogmas belong to the evangelists. There are only two main dogmas of the Orthodox Church: the dogma of the Holy Trinity and the dogma of the incarnation of the Son of God. The entire Gospel speaks about these dogmas. And this is briefly and clearly stated in the preface of each Psalter... Read this yourself and point it out to your brother. Your brother writes: “Dogmas are clearly formulated provisions. Dogmas were developed by ecumenical councils.” Dogma is not a clearly formulated human position, but the Divine truth about God - a truth that people themselves could not comprehend in any way if it were not revealed by God himself. Truth can be inherited, truth can be known, truth can be affirmed, but truth cannot be assumed. Your brother asserts: “From dogmas to the Christian spirit, it is as far from a celestial star.” Not true. When the incarnate Son of God revealed to His disciples the dogma of the Holy Trinity, saying: “Go and teach all tongues, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” then immediately with this dogma he inseparably united the doctrine of the Christian spirit, saying: “And keep them often, according to all the commandments given to you...” (Matt. 28, 19, 20) Your brother writes: “Heresy is deviation from the opinion of the majority.” Not true. Heresy is a deviation from the Divine truth, and not from the opinion of the majority. The Lord did not entrust the truth to the majority, saying: “Do not be afraid, little flock: for it has been your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). The Roman Church is several times larger in number than the Orthodox Church, but, having deviated from the truth, it has deviated into heresy. Your brother writes: “I consider it absolutely possible for a person to resolutely recognize all the dogmas of faith, and at the same time be very far from the spirit of Christianity.” It is true that sometimes, unfortunately, this happens. Only such people, if they want to improve their lives, very conveniently find the path of salvation. Anyone who has incorrect, confused and false concepts about Christian faith and truth finds it inconvenient to find salvation whenever he wants. How much more impossible is it for him to have a Christian spirit and the spirit of Christ... You write that your brother completed a course at St. Petersburg University. If someone began to assure your brother that you do not need to study at a gymnasium or at a university, but only have love for your neighbor and you will get a good position in the district court or even in the judicial chamber, would your brother believe it? In a similar way, we should argue that it is impossible for someone who does not have correct and true knowledge of the dogmas of the Christian faith to have the spirit of Christ. Due to lack of time and poor health, I am no longer able to write. But in short, I will say: if your brother is a sincere and conscientious person, as you write, then let him pray with faith to our Lord Jesus Christ to enlighten him in the truth, and then let him also read with faith the “Orthodox Confession” of Peter Mogila (this book is in the Zadonsk bookstore, and if it is not found, then I can send it to you). As the All-merciful Lord arranges for your brother, so be it. “The Lord wants everyone to be saved and to come into the understanding of truth.” One philology student who turned to Fr. To Ambrose with his perplexities, the elder wrote (1871): “You write that, consciously believing in the existence of God, you reach almost the conviction that the representation of Him in three Persons and the division of heavenly powers into ranks is nothing more than the ideal of the state. This concept of yours is very incorrect and far from the truth, especially due to some confusion of the Divine with the creatures created from Him. Another is the One God in three Persons, and another is the nine ranks of angels created from Him, and, finally, something completely different - earthly and human states. The Triune God is invisible and incomprehensible to creation, even to Angels, much less to humans. We know in part by revelation, first through the prophets who spoke by the Holy Spirit, and then through the Only Begotten Son of God, who became man, as St. Evangelist John the Theologian: “No one has seen God anywhere, the Only Begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, is the one who confesses.” Just as the One God exists in three Persons, we see a small likeness of this in the three-sun light. One is the sun itself, and another is the light born from it, and another is the rays emanating from the sun. All this is one being and inseparable, and at the same time threefold. The second similarity is seen in the human soul. Another is the mind in man, and another is the inner word, heard from the mind, which is transmitted to another and at the same time remains inside us, and another is the spirit that animates man and leads his secrets, according to what was said: “No one knows what is in man, but the spirit of man living in him; just as no one knows God, but the Spirit of God.” All this constitutes one rational being of man, and at the same time it is threefold. About the One God and together the Triune, creatures, especially people, can only draw such a conclusion. Everything visible is from the Invisible. Everything material is from the Immaterial. Everything that has a beginning comes from the Beginningless. Everything that has an end is from the Infinite. Everything temporary is from the Eternal. Everything that has a limit comes from the Infinite. Everything measurable is from the Immeasurable. Everything comprehensible is from the Incomprehensible. Some of St. Fathers are wise that first ten ranks of angels were created... But the tenth rank fell; there are only nine ranks of angels left, in the likeness of which there exists on earth not any ideal human state, but the one true Universal Church, founded by the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ and redeemed by His dearest Divine blood... As for human states, they in no way relate to the heavenly hierarchy, or even to the earthly one, because the one, true Church is not limited to any state, but exists throughout the entire universe, having as its members true believers and truly pious Christians. For God, it doesn’t matter what state a person lives in, as long as he is a true believer and pious Christian. “There is only one who pleases God more than thousands of wicked people,” as St. Chrysostom It is true and indisputable that it is pleasing not only to God, but also to all the pious, if the whole state flourishes with piety and true concepts of faith. But what to do when the time has come that many are concerned about vanity, leaving one thing for need.” About the theater Ambrose expressed himself as follows: “Your N. recognizes theater as the only true school of morality. Why does he himself go to the church of God to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ? Therefore, theater is not the only school of morality... And the theater cannot be given a special advantage in the moral education of people. Take for example two pictures - one of spiritual content, for example, the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ, who endured the most terrible suffering and the most blasphemous death to save the lost human race; and another picture is secular, from people’s life, for example: how a husband and wife quarreled and separated. Let N. tell you in all conscience which picture will have a more beneficial effect on a person’s morality. If his taste in matters of morality is not yet completely corrupted, then, without a doubt, he should give preference to the picture depicting the crucifixion of our Lord for our sins. And what are they presented to the audience in theaters if not scenes from folk life? It must be added to this that these scenes can be very dirty at times. Also, what is the setting like in the theater? Secular music, which does not allow a single spiritual thought or a single spiritual feeling to arise in a person’s soul. And these distracted faces of the spectators, looking at each other, laughing, sometimes laughing at each other, and at some stage performances becoming indignant, expressed in violent screams, or carried away by voluptuous feelings, accompanied by incessant laughter and passionate applause and so on? Is this a moral school? On the contrary, this is a school of immorality, capable of destroying the last remnants of good morality in a person’s soul, if he has any. That's why people like your N. appear now - argumentative, stubborn, irritable - because they learn morality in the theaters. I have heard that some people call the theater the threshold of the Church. Perhaps we can agree with this that the theater is the threshold of the Church, only from the back porch” 53. The elder was asked whether it is possible to pray for executed state criminals? Father Ambrose, regarding the death of Karakozov, answered the following: “If he unfeignedly repented and brought before the Lord and before his confessor a sincere consciousness and confession of all his sins, then the word of G.A.P. is true that without a doubt he can be remembered, no matter how he is buried. The whole importance is not in the manner of the burial, but in the spiritual mood with which he departed from this life. If he only brought outward repentance for show and out of some human assumptions, then what benefit will he have from church commemoration? But we do not know at all whether he sincerely repented or not, and even whether he communed; let those who care about this find out, and then let them act in accordance with what they find out. And that he was deprived of burial and that he received the end of such a shameful death and the like - all this, with sincere repentance, can serve him to alleviate the grave guilt of the crime; This will serve as an admonishment for others, so that they do not forget themselves and do not extend their insolence so far. May the all-merciful Lord, willingly or unwillingly, enlighten us all and with the same message of destinies, may he have mercy on those who will.” About the power of evil spirits over people. Ambrose wrote: “Demons have the ability to first darken the mind, and then touch the heart, and even then they possess the whole body, like predatory animals, first they suck the blood from the head, and then they devour the whole body.” Read more about the power of evil spirits over people. Ambrose writes in the following letter: “I’m sorry that due to weakness and lack of time, I still could not answer your letter of June 3rd. You ask: “Is it really possible that at will, or as if at the whim of some woman, a demon can ascend into a person and into whomever she wants?” From the example you yourself give about pigs (Luke 8:32), it is clear that it is completely wrong to believe that, at the mere desire of an evil person, someone can be subjected to the enemy’s action. Only those who are allowed by God are subject to this action, and God does not allow it simply, but for various sins: for pride, for anger and enmity, for unclean life, as it is said in the letter of the blessed elder Macarius. Just as the Lord allowed demons to ascend into pigs, so He sometimes allows the enemy’s power to extend to those who lead a pig’s life or are enslaved by other passions. And whoever conducts Christian life as it should, according to the Gospel commandments of God, neither evil old women nor the demons themselves can have influence on him, according to what has been said: “tread on the asp and the basilisk and cross the lion and the serpent; and even if they drink something mortal, it will not harm them.” - Then you write: “Is it really that baptism, communion of the Holy Mysteries and, in general, all the sanctification that we receive from various sacraments are powerless to protect us from such actions?” These sacraments not only do not protect us if we partake of them unworthily, but they give the enemy’s power even more access to us, as can be seen in the example of Judas, who, having the malicious intent of betrayal, unworthily partook of St. Supper; and therefore it is said in the Gospel: “And through the bread Satan came into him.” – You also write: “It seems that our Church forbids, and not only forbids, but also teaches us not to believe in all kinds of fortune-telling, magic, sentences, etc.” – The Church prohibits resorting to these actions; but from the very thing that prohibits, it is clear that it recognizes their possibility and reality. The Church only commands not to believe in various superstitions, for example, signs, remarks, the difference of days and the like. - You ask: “Why are these secrets not known to scientific people? After all, they could do even more evil.” Very famous. What are spiritualists and all the like that are now widespread among educated people, if not the same deception of the enemy? Half of America is currently doing this. How many pastors in Holland are obsessed with this? How many people were captivated by the magician Hume in St. Petersburg? And is it not through the inspiration of demons that learned people shake faith and good morality in entire generations? Through ignorant people, the devil acts in an ignorant and superstitious manner, and through scientists, in a learned manner. – Did Voltaire do little evil, spreading the poison of unbelief and atheism, at the suggestion of a demon? And what is freethinking and all sorts of inventions by which people are turned away from God and the Church of God, if not an invention and suggestion of a demon? Also, in the actions of some of the so-called magicians there is so much that cannot be explained by simple dexterity or deception, and which they themselves attribute to magic. This is the same as witchcraft among the common people, but there it is aimed at superstition or gross malice, and here at the acquisition of money and subtle malice. - You write: “If the Lord wants to punish with such misfortune, then why does He use such sorceresses as instruments, and as if He cannot do without them?” The Lord does not constrain the autocracy of people and sometimes allows evil people, with the assistance of enemy power, to do evil when he wants to punish others; and why should He use other means when there are ready-made tools for it? This can be seen from the words of the Apostle Paul: “If our unrighteousness constitutes the righteousness of God, does God bring wrath through unrighteous food?” You also write: “The law of Peter I does not recognize corruption, and, probably, it was agreed upon by the Holy Synod.” That’s right, it wasn’t agreed upon, otherwise this wouldn’t have happened. Then you wonder why the priest could not cast out a demon from one of his daughters, while he reprimanded almost all of the demon-possessed people brought to him. Almost everyone means not everyone, and, therefore, the reason is in those whom he cannot reprimand. - Finally, you ask: “Why doesn’t every priest reprimand those possessed by demons?” “Power is given to everyone, and in order to use it, one must have firm faith and a pious life, and special will.” I wish you to have an Evangelical Orthodox mind.” Being a zealous defender of Orthodoxy, Father Ambrose, during the life of Elder Macarius, wrote several articles and letters containing a detailed and clear denunciation of the errors of Lutheranism and papism. And when people of heterodox confessions turned to him for advice, which often happened, the elder, having resolved their perplexities with love, always pointed out to them the error of their confession and had the joy of converting many to the Orthodox Church. One French Catholic woman wrote to Fr. Ambrose the following: “Dear and kind father! Forgive my courage that I dare to write you a few lines. I heard about you that you are a true man of God, and therefore I allow myself to ask through this letter your good advice, which I really need. The demon of pride controls me to such an extent that it does not allow me to fulfill my duties as I should. What should I do to get rid of it? Several years ago I was dangerously ill, and then I promised God that if He would save my life and restore my health, I would behave in such a way that the Lord could forget my past sins. But alas! I did not keep this promise, which I made then on my deathbed. The Lord saved my life, and instead of rewarding me, I became even worse than before; and therefore God punishes me and strikes me in that which is dearest to me. I had a friend who lived with me, very dear to me; he was a Catholic priest. And God, who gave me this friend, took him away from me; he died of consumption in Naples, and reproaches of conscience haunt me. I don't know what the cause of his illness is because he hasn't revealed anything to me about it. Were my letters to him intercepted? Or was he angry with me? Why didn’t he tell me anything (about his illness)? This is the question that I constantly ask myself, and which constantly torments me. Sometimes I'm afraid I'll go crazy; because some voice tells me that he wrote to me. But where are his letters? From whom should we demand them? “Then another thought comes to me: am I the reason for his death?” Was he punished for his guilt? Why did I torment him with my letters? Why did the demon choose me to tempt him? And why did I suffer so much and still suffer for him - why do I absolutely not want to forget him? - My father, help me, give me advice, what should I do? I wish to die to meet him. There is nothing attractive to me in life; but I am guilty, I am very bad and cannot appear before God, for I would be condemned, and I am afraid that I am already damned. The torment I experience has a reason. Why is God sending them to me? So that I repent, and in my situation this is very difficult. My position requires me to be healthy, to be cheerful. What should I do? Tell me. Forgive me for asking you to respond to the attached address. If you do not consider me unworthy of your answer, then I ask you, answer me. If I don’t get an answer from you, I will think that you are judging me too.” To this cry of a sick, sinful and tormented soul, Fr. Ambrose responded with the following letter, full of delicacy and Christian love: “I received a letter from you in December last year, and I was quite surprised that you, without knowing me, treated me in writing with such confidence. If for God’s sake you were trusting of me, unworthy, then I can’t leave your letter unanswered. But I will only answer your second question first, and I will answer the first, that is, about pride, after. You write that you had a friend who died of consumption. You are now tormented by various thoughts, doubts and perplexities: were you the cause of his death, because you tormented him with your letters, to which he did not answer. To this I will tell you that you cannot kill a person with letters. And that he did not answer you, there may be a very simple reason for this: either he did not want to upset you with the news of his illness, or he hoped to recover soon, and then he would tell you how all consumptives think and have such hope. You also write: “Has he not been punished for his guilt?” If you had a common guilt, then you should bring repentance and pray to the merciful Lord that He would forgive this guilt both to you and to your friend; because the Son of God in the flesh came to earth in order to call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance. You also write that although I continue to suffer, I cannot forget my friend. This happens to everyone when someone loves another with love not according to God, but with human love. However, if you remember your friend, as stated above, that is, with the thought of repentance before God, then such remembrance will be useful to him and to you. The promise you made before to correct your life and lead it as it would be pleasing to God obliges you to such a thought of repentance. But you write that your current position prevents such a state of mind, since it requires health and cheerfulness. Neither external cheerfulness nor physical health can hinder the thought of repentance, which, although it requires internal and spiritual lamentation, this lamentation can be dissolved with some joy, as the Apostle Paul writes: “Be patient with everyone, always rejoice, pray unceasingly and give thanks in everything. This is the will of God.” The word of the apostle shows that not only the righteous, but also those who have sinned can rejoice to some extent at the thought that the merciful Lord has given them a means of receiving God’s eternal mercy; and this remedy consists in sincere repentance and feasible correction of one’s life. Now I’ll tell you about your first question. You write: “The demon of pride controls me to such an extent that it does not allow me to fulfill my duties as it should. What should I do to get rid of it?” To this I must tell you a word that is not acceptable to everyone, but only to those who are truly well-willed and sincerely seeking the truth and the true path. And I will say not on my own behalf, but as the ancient holy father, St. John Climacus: that pride is overcome by humility, and the virtue of humility does not belong to all people of different faiths, but only to true believers. The right and true religion is one, as St. Apostle Paul, “one God and one faith.” The words of the apostle show: just as there is one true God, so there is one true religion, and not many, in which many human opinions are introduced, in addition to Divine truth. For example, in the Gospel the Lord Himself says about the Holy Spirit that it proceeds from the Father, but in your Roman Church, according to human inference, the word is added: and from the Son. The Lord also speaks about St. the mystery of communion with His Blood: “Drink of it, all of you.” In your Roman church, only the clergy arrogated to themselves the right to partake of the Blood of Christ; and you associate the laity with only one Body of Christ, saying in your justification to the laity that where there is body, there is blood. Here I have pointed out to you two irregularities of the Roman Church, the primate of which, out of love for fame, allowed a third irregularity, arrogating to himself primacy over the other patriarchs of this Church of Christ. And allowing for the love of fame, it is difficult and inconvenient, and even impossible, to fight the passion of pride. For this reason, I invite you to consider the teachings, rules and rituals of the Orthodox Church, which invariably observes the original Christian teaching, having received its beginning from Jerusalem, where the Lord was crucified and from where the apostles began their preaching. What do you say to my proposal? Answer sincerely." To another Catholic senator, Fr. Ambrose wrote: “Forgive me generously that, having received from you, through our Fr. Abbot, ten rubles for the poor, did not notify you in due time and did not thank you. Having received another twenty-five rubles from you (ten rubles from your brother for the poor, fifteen from you for my sinful discretion), I offer you both sincere thanks for your zeal with the addition of the psalm word: “Blessed is he who considers the poor and the wretched; on the day of cruelty the Lord will deliver him” (Ps. 40:2). I also thank you for sending me, a sinner, a beautifully bound Bible in a small format. When I received this book, the following thought came to me: The Bible is one, but its meaning is understood differently in different Christian denominations. Why did such a difference occur? The reason for this is the following. The Eastern Orthodox Church accepts in its entirety both the Old Testament and Christian teachings, following the words of the Lord Himself, who said to the apostles: “Go therefore and teach all languages, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and observe them often, according to all the commandments given to you” (Matthew 28:19-20). Other religions do not consider it obligatory to follow everything, but have composed a creed of their own choice: what they like is accepted, and what they do not like is rejected. From this choice various heresies arose. Heresy comes from the Greek word αίρέω - I choose. The Western Roman Church gave the first reason to various European faiths by adding, according to human logic, to the Gospel word of the Lord Himself that the Holy Spirit also proceeds from the Son. The addition was inevitably followed by a decrease by choice, contrary to the words of the Lord Himself, who said: “Heaven and earth will pass away, one jot, or one tittle will not pass from the law, lest all be fulfilled” (cf. Matt. 5:18). This is what came to my mind when I received the Bible from you, and I wrote it to you. Forgive me if I wrote in the wrong place and unnecessarily. St. John Climacus writes: “Be wise not before the wise.” From correspondence about. Ambrose with secular persons, let us turn to his correspondence with monastics. However, due to its more specialized nature, we will touch upon it briefly. Father Ambrose used to send short congratulations on the upcoming holiday to his spiritual children, mainly nuns, on the great holidays of the Nativity of Christ and the Holy Resurrection. When the number of spiritual children increased significantly, and the elder’s illness and weakness increased, he was forced to replace these private, individual congratulations with general congratulatory letters, which were sent to everyone related to Fr. Ambrose monastery. Such general congratulations began in 1870 and continued until the death of the elder, and they took on the character of deeply meaningful conversations about the meaning of the upcoming holiday or contained explanations of certain not entirely clear church hymns and passages of Holy Scripture, and sometimes were moral instructions concerning mainly monastic virtues - humility, obedience and others. Thus, for Christmas 1870, the elder wrote to his spiritual children about the high meaning of the Incarnation: “To those who meditate on the Lord. By God's mercy and patience we reach again and again the time of the annual celebration of the Nativity of Christ. Instead of just the usual congratulations, I want to tell you a few words about the great mystery of this great holiday. The Church in her songs already calls upon the faithful to contemplate with high minds “The Wandering of the Master and with purified hearts to mysteriously enjoy the immortal meal in a wretched den: how He who is everywhere, having bowed the heavens, descended to the earth, did not leave the bosom of the Father; how the Invisible One was seen to be; how the Co-Eternal Word and Co-essential Son of God, the Son of the Virgin, is; how The Eternal and Incomprehensible One is born today from the Virgin, like a child, unapproachable to all; today, like a child, He who covers the sky with clouds is wrapped in swaddling clothes; It is supposed that people will be delivered from dumbness; how today, like a baby, feeds on mother’s milk, Oh, terrible mysteries! How God inevitably makes man, and makes man God, prefaced by the words of the prophet: Az rekh, you are gods by nature, and sons of the Most High! But, oh our woe! We, like men, are dying." Oh, our vanity and negligence about Divine sonship! Having loved more than the slavery of passions and gold for the sake of our will, willy-nilly we bend our necks to the yoke of the opposite. Oh, our blindness and darkness! Blessed are the ears of those shepherds, who heard like angels in the air, singing the glory of God in the highest, they preached peace to the earth and God's favor to men. Blessed are their eyes, who saw like a blameless lamb in Mary's womb. Blessed are all those who are worthy of God's favor and peace, surpassing all understanding. Blessed are the wise magicians who came from distant countries to worship Him who was born of the Virgin, who brought Him worthy gifts: gold, like the King, frankincense, like God, and myrrh, like the immortal Dead. Blessed are all who worthily worship Him in spirit and in truth, bringing Him gifts, each according to their strength: 54 like gold, righteous mites of mercy, like frankincense and fragrant censer - doxology and pure prayers of repentance and confession; but like fragrant myrrh - grateful remembrance of suffering and reverent worship of the life-giving wounds of Him Who became Man and the flesh of Him Who was Crucified for our salvation. But what will we do, dull and insensible, from them I am the first, unable to enjoy with a mind elevated from the earth and a purified heart, immortally sowing meals in a wretched den. Humbling and contemplating ourselves, let us diligently listen with reverence to church reading and singing and from them, as from the source of life and immortality, so that we may draw for ourselves consolation and admonition, and salvation, by the mercy and ineffable love for mankind of Him who became incarnate for the sake of the Son of God; to Him belongs glory and power, honor and worship, with His beginningless Father and the Most Holy and Good and life-giving Spirit now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. Ineffably born of the Virgin, have mercy on us cold ones for the prayers of Your Most Pure Mother and all those who have pleased You!” By Easter of the following 1871, the elder sent out a message to his spiritual children, in which he explained the spiritual meaning of the Easter rituals: “To those who are wise in the Lord! On the occasion of the Nativity of Christ, instead of the usual congratulations, I wrote to you about the great sacrament of this great holiday. Even now I would like to tell you something about the mysterious significance of the triumph of Christian celebrations, that is, the holiday of the Resurrection of Christ. But due to my painful weakness I have neither the strength nor the opportunity. Let me just say briefly that the annual solemn celebration of the Bright Feast of the Resurrection of Christ, in addition to its own significance, also serves for us as a reminder of the general and worldwide resurrection, which is especially evident from the significant actions of Easter Matins. First. On a luminiferous night, after reading the Midnight Office, there is a solemn march and circumambulation of the church by the clergy and all the faithful with lit candles while carrying the cross and holy icons and ringing the bells. It is obvious that this church action directly points to the Gospel parable of the ten virgins, excited at midnight with a cry: “Behold, the bridegroom is coming, go out to meet him!” Then all the virgins arose and adorned their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom” (Matthew 25:6-7). These virgins are the souls of believers. The groom is Christ. Night is the life of this century. The lamps are faith and good deeds. Both the Gospel parable and the solemn circumambulation of the church by the believers with the ringing of bells do not depict the general resurrection at the end of the world, when the voice of the Archangel's trumpet will awaken all the dead, and those who believe in the Lord, like the Gospel virgins, will go out to meet Him with their lamps, each according to his own dignity. Second. When this solemn procession takes place near the church, the church doors are closed. The faithful, walking, see light in the church, but on the way in front of them and around them there is impenetrable darkness, and so they come to the entrance of the church to the closed doors. Doesn’t this mean that all those resurrected in the universal resurrection will see from afar the palace of heavenly Glory, but not everyone will enter it, but only the worthy ones, whose lamps, like those of the wise virgins, will not go out at the meeting of the Bridegroom-Christ. The rest, whose lamps have gone out, like the foolish virgins, will in vain repeat the beginning of the church verse: “I see Your palace, O my Savior, adorned and without clothes, but I will enter into it.” Third. On the threshold of the church, before its closed entrance, the first servant, having created the usual Easter beginning with the glorification of the Holy Trinity and the singing of “Christ is Risen,” with a cross in his hands, opens the church doors and is the first to enter the church, and after him all the other Christians enter indifferently, singing the joyful church hymn: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death and having given life to those in the tombs.” Repeating it many times, they also add other all-joyful chants: “Resurrection day, let us be enlightened, people!”, “Easter, the Lord’s Easter!”, “From death to life, and from earth to heaven, Christ God will bring us singing in victory,” etc. The usual reading, arousing the spirit of contrition, is no longer heard, but only continuous sweet singing is heard, exciting joy in everyone. The altar servers constantly appear in shining robes, we constantly see the Cross of Christ and worship this sign of our salvation, we are constantly overshadowed by the smoking of the sacred incense; everyone has lit candles in their hands; in the mouths of everyone, both those serving, those singing, and those standing by, all one hears is the joyful: “Christ is Risen!” This is how the temporary Easter of Christ is celebrated on earth, and all Christians, worthy and unworthy, are allowed to participate in this celebration, because real life is subject to change: often the worthy become unworthy, and vice versa - the unworthy become worthy, which clearly happened to Judas and the thief. The first was one of the chosen twelve Apostles of Christ, he followed Christ for three years, constantly listening to His teaching, and had the gift of casting out demons and healing many different diseases. But, finally, maddened by negligence and love of money, he betrayed Christ and perished forever. The latter was in a gang of inveterate robbers for more than 30 years, but, having come to his senses on the cross, he confessed the will of the Crucified Son of God as Lord and King and was the first to enter heaven. Let us always keep these examples in mind in order to refrain ourselves from the sin of condemnation, even if we see someone sinning at the end of their lives, as St. John Climacus. But the order of celebrating eternal Easter in heaven after the general resurrection and judgment will be different. Only a select few, worthy ones, will be allowed to celebrate it. And whoever is once admitted into the heavenly palace to celebrate the eternal Easter will forever remain among those celebrating it, in the voice of joy. Whoever turns out to be unworthy of participating in this celebration will already remain in eternal deprivation and eternal alienation. But now it is untimely to speak in detail about the bitter fate of the latter due to the all-joyful holiday. But let’s just say one thing: all of us Christians, while we are alive, must be careful and attentive to our salvation. And let those of us who think of standing, according to the word of the Apostle, be careful, lest they fall, always remembering the terrifying example of the lost Judas. Let those among us who are weak and fallen be excited by the hope of correction, seeing the comforting example of the prudent thief who inherited paradise. Oh, Easter, great and sacred to Christ! O wisdom and Word of God, and power! Grant us the opportunity to partake of You in the eternal days of Your Kingdom!” The elder’s Easter greeting, sent out by him in 1881, was of a different kind: “Sisters in the Lord and mothers! Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen! I congratulate you on the bright holiday of the Resurrection of Christ and sincerely wish you all to meet and celebrate this all-joyful Christian celebration in peace and joy and spiritual consolation, if someone is not hindered by unusual weakness. You ask, what kind of weakness is this? Perhaps you will think that this means faulty conduct of the fast of St. Pentecostals. But St. Chrysostom condescends to us in this, saying: “Those who fasted and those who did not fast, rejoice today, those who are abstinent and lazy, honor the day!” Also, you might think that this refers to the memory of past sins, which prevents joy. But he also says about this: “Let no one weep for sins, for forgiveness has come from the grave.” So, ask, what kind of weakness is this? That unusual weakness that prompted Cain to kill the gentle Abel, and prompted the Jews to crucify Christ the Savior and Deliverer of the world. You yourself can understand that I am talking to you about the passion of envy, which, according to Scripture, is not preferable to useful news. The passion of envy does not, on any joyful holiday, under any joyful circumstances, allow one to fully rejoice in the one it possesses. Always, like a worm, it gnaws at his soul and heart with vague sadness, because the envious person considers the well-being and success of his neighbor to be his misfortune, and considers the preference given to others to be an unfair insult for himself. One Greek king wanted to know which of the two was worse, the money-lover or the envious one, because both did not wish the other good. For this purpose, he ordered to call to himself the money-lover and the envious one and said to them: “Ask each of you from me whatever he pleases; just know that the second will receive double what the first asks.” The money-lover and the envious man bickered for a long time, not wanting to each ask first, so that later they could receive double. Finally, the king told the envious one to ask first. The envious one, being overwhelmed by ill will towards his neighbors, instead of receiving, turned to malice and said to the king: “Sovereign! Order me to gouge out my eye.” The surprised king asked why he expressed such a desire? The envious one answered: “So that you, sir, order my comrade to gouge out both eyes.” This is how the passion of envy is harmful and harmful to the soul, but also malicious. An envious person is ready to expose himself to harm in order to harm his neighbor twice as much. We have set the strongest degree of envy here. But it, like all other passions, has different sizes and degrees, and therefore one should try to suppress it and destroy it at the first sensation, praying to the Almighty God, the Knower of the Heart, with the psalm words: “Cleanse me from my secrets, and from strangers spare Thy servant or Thy servant” (Ps. 18:13-14). One must also humbly confess this weakness before the spiritual father. And the third remedy is to try in every possible way not to say anything nasty about the person we envy. By using these means, we can, with God’s help, although not soon, be healed of envious weakness. Envy comes from pride and at the same time from negligence in doing what is due. Cain neglected to offer his chosen sacrifice to God. And when God despised his sacrifice for such negligence, and accepted Abel’s zealous and chosen sacrifice, then he, overwhelmed with envy, decided to kill and killed the righteous Abel. It is best, as stated above, to try to destroy envy at the very beginning with humble prayer, humble confession and prudent silence. Whoever, with the help of God, is able to destroy the passion of envy in himself can hope to overcome other passions, and then not only on the Bright Feast of the Resurrection of Christ and on other Christian holidays he can rejoice with unspeakable joy, but also on simple days he will always be in a good mood and in a good disposition. Amen. And forgive me for the non-holiday greetings. On this holiday I wanted to tell you something useful, and useful things rarely coincide with pleasant things. Whoever does not like this congratulation, let him read it on St. Thomas Week and notice that envy is first revealed by inappropriate jealousy and rivalry, and then by zeal with annoyance and censure of the one we envy. So, let us be prudent and careful at the first appearance of an envious feeling, trying to reject it, asking for all-powerful help from us for the sake of the Lord who was crucified and on the third day of the Risen. Amen! Amen!!!" Without citing other holiday letters, of which, for the most part, the elder explains certain psalm words and church songs, for example, “My mouth will speak wisdom...”, or “In chastening, the Lord will chastise me...”, or “God will forget to be generous with food...”, or “Your virtue has covered the heavens, O Christ...”, or “The rod from the root of Jesus...” , or “A strange sacrament...”, etc., let’s just say that with these letters of his, Fr. Ambrose created in his spiritual children one common festive high mood and, thus, united them into one spiritual family. General letters constitute only a small part of those letters to monastics that were written by Fr. Ambrose for 30 years of his eldership 55. These letters are not as varied in content as letters to secular persons; they all teach the same thing: how to have the fear of God, how to eradicate passions, how to succeed in prayer, how to generally live as a monk or nun, avoiding charms and seductions; nevertheless, they are deeply edifying and can be useful not only for monastics, but also for the laity. Here are the main thoughts of some of them: Christian wisdom consists in maintaining faith in the Lord during temptations; cheerfulness comes from unity with the Lord, despondency comes from vanity; awareness of one’s weakness, self-reproach and patience are three steps to humility; the shortest way to Christ is to bear each other's burdens; the main obstacles to the assimilation of holiness are the lust of the flesh, the lust of desire and worldly pride; a serious illness turns one more seriously to God; spiritual rebirth begins with liberation from passions and ends with the achievement of virtues; that it is more useful for a sinner to remember hell than heaven; a proud student must look for a strict elder; to find perfection without repentance is self-deception; Rules and fasts alone without observing the commandments will not save; must take the middle path; one should not interfere in matters other than one’s own, but pay attention to oneself; there is no value in doing anything in moderation, but extremes come from the devil; about temptations in prayer, etc. Father Ambrose in his cell setting. Everyday and holiday day of the elder. Exceptional days The external environment of life. Ambrose was the most modest. He occupied, as already mentioned, a small building on the right side of the Holy Skete gates. A small porch from the inside of the monastery led to the vestibule, and from there to a low and dark corridor, on both sides of which there were benches for visiting monks and ordinary male visitors. From the corridor, the first door to the right led to a small reception hall, where the elder also went out for a general blessing. The front corner of the hall was occupied by St. icons. The walls are completely covered with paintings of spiritual content and portraits, between which one could see portraits of: the Sovereign Emperor, Metropolitans Philaret and Innocent of Moscow, Philaret, Arseny and Ioannikiy of Kyiv, bishops Gregory II, Vladimir and Anastasius of Kaluga, the Moldavian elder Paisius Velichkovsky and other spiritual elders, Optina and non-Optina. In the hall there was a sofa, chairs, tables and a bookcase with books of spiritual content so that visitors, while waiting for the elder to receive him, could read at their leisure. Next to the reception room is the small cell of the cell attendant. Mikhail. Opposite the reception room is the door to the cell of Elder Ambrose himself, which was always on a hook and was unlocked only during the service of cell vigils and in some other exceptional cases. The elder's cell had a vestibule, in which his simple, sometimes even patched, clothes hung: two cotton cassocks, two cold cassocks, a robe, a light duckweed fur coat made from Little Russian white smushkas 56 . His fly-fly mantle, duckweed and hood were also kept here. The elder’s very cell was all hung with St. icons and portraits of clergy, mostly donated to the elder by his admirers. Among the icons, special attention was drawn to: a) a small icon (4 inches high) of the Mother of God called “Tambov”, the parental blessing of Elder Ambrose. An unquenchable lamp glowed before her; b) the icon of the Mother of God “Quick to Hear” (12 inches high) sent as a gift to the elder from Moscow from the Athos Chapel; c) a large icon of St. the great martyr and healer Panteleimon, before whom an unquenchable lamp also burned; d) a large image on the canvas of the Kiev-Pechersk Mother of God with kneeling saints. Anthony and Rev. Theodosius. This icon stood over Fr.’s bed. Ambrose at his head; e) an icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands, an artistic work. Among the portraits of clergy were: the Troekurovsky recluse Hilarion, the Vyshensky recluse - Bishop Feofan, Archpriest Theodore Alexandrovich Golubinsky, Kronstadt Archpriest Fr. Ioann Ilyich Sergiev and others. At the eastern wall of the cell there was a small scribe’s table, where the scribe wrote letters under the dictation of the elder. In the holy corner there is a lectern with a cabinet, with a psalter written on it and other books necessary for reading the rule. Along the southern wall was another table, on which stood some icons, candlesticks with wax candles, and several spiritual books. Along the western wall stood the old man’s bed, and next to it the stove, which in winter was covered with socks and hung with flannel shirts. There was a cabinet filled with patristic and other spiritual and moral books placed against the northern wall. There is a door between the cabinet and the stove. Then three or four stools and two antique chairs for honored visitors. Next to the elder’s cell is the cell of his other cell attendant, Fr. Joseph, also covered in icons and portraits. Opposite the entrance doors, at the end of the corridor, there is a door to a shack, or an attached, rather spacious room for the female sex, consisting of several rooms and a corridor that led to another shack in the back, from which there was an exit to the outside. And here there were many icons, among which the most outstanding was the large Athos icon of the Mother of God, called “It is Worthy to Eat.” Such was the external situation in the life of Elder Ambrose. The elder's everyday day usually began with prayer. At one time, the cell attendants alternately read the prescribed rule, and the elder listened either standing on his bed, or, for the most part, due to weakness, sitting on the seat that was immediately arranged for him... When he was sick, he lay down while reading, but still never missed the rules. To listen to the morning rule, at first he got up at four o’clock in the morning, called, cell attendants came to him and read: morning prayers, twelve selected psalms and the first hour. Then, after a short rest, the elder listened to the hours - the third and sixth with pictorial ones and, depending on the day - a canon with an akathist to the Savior or the Mother of God, which akathists he always listened to while standing. The elder always had the described rules with more or less long stops. Having listened, for example, to half of the morning rule and feeling weakened in strength, he would dismiss his cell attendants and, after resting for a while, call again and listen to the rest of the rule. It was the same during the hours. Perhaps other, more important reasons forced the elder to take these breaks, namely, to exercise alone in mental prayer, which can be assumed with certainty. After listening to the prescribed prayers, the elder began to wash himself. One of the cell attendants would place a copper basin on a stool near his bed and begin to gradually pour lukewarm water from a large kettle onto his hands; and he was on his knees, bending over the basin, washing himself. During this action, the cell attendants began asking questions: “Father! So-and-so is in such-and-such circumstances—what do you bless him to do?” - Or: “So-and-so is asking for blessings on such and such a matter, will you bless it or not?” And so on, and so on... The elder did his job and answered questions together. After washing, the elder refreshed himself with tea, among which he dictated letters and then went out to the visitors... However, this was the case until the 70s, when the elder’s strength was stronger; and after that, with the number of visitors increasing year by year, due to extreme overwork, he usually got up later in the morning, at five o’clock, and after listening to the clock, with the canon and akathist, he often lay down on his bed for a short rest. Getting up, he would say: “Oh! Everything hurts "... In winter, he caught a cold very often. He would get up with a swollen face, with feverish chills or rheumatic pains in the body, wash himself, begin to rub himself with alcohol or some kind of ointment. The cell attendants still ask questions, and the elder answers in a barely audible voice. At the same time, the elder will begin changing clothes and changing shoes, which were repeated many times throughout the day. About his ill health, he repeatedly wrote in letters to close people: “Weakness and pain are increasing, and changing shoes and changing clothes has tripled; I can’t stand the heat and cold. Here you manage to spin around one degree, and how can you keep that one degree when natural stoves constantly come up and multiply the heat with their pushes.” While the elder, during his morning tea, dictates letters, visitors little by little approach his dwelling - on the one hand, from the inside of the monastery, men, and from the outside, women. Before he had time to finish the necessary letter, people began to knock on the door and ring the bell held outside. The cell attendant will come out. They ask you to report. He usually answers: “The elder is busy.” Soon there was again knocking and ringing from the impatient visitors; again the same request, and again the same answer. But the further they went, the more and more the visitors’ impatience increased, and already reached the point of murmur. The knocking and ringing repeated more and more often. The cell attendant who was leaving was already unceremoniously told: “Why aren’t you reporting?” or: “You don’t want to report,” etc. - Nuns from different monasteries will be crowded into the hut along with the lay people. Some say: “I already live here and go to the elder for a whole week, and I just can’t get to him,” while others say: “And I say two.” As soon as the cell attendant comes out to them, a hundred voices come to him: “Report, report.” Wanting to at least somewhat reassure the visitors, he will ask: “How can I report you?” Each, of course, says where they came from. But where can he remember everyone in such turmoil? Fr. reported about them in a peculiar way. Michael. He will come to the elder and say: “They are waiting for you in the hut, father.” - “Who’s there?” - the old man will ask. - “Moscow, Vyazma, Tula, Belevsky, Kashira and other peoples.” - “Tell them to wait.” Will come out again. “Well,” they ask, “did you report?” - “Reported.” - “What?” - “He tells me to wait.” - “Yes, you must not be reporting.” Meanwhile, the sickly old man, getting ready, went out to the visitors, changed his clothes, changed his shoes, and at the same time engaged with one of the brothers with one or suddenly several, and some kind of general conversation was carried on. Listening to the elder’s edifying speech, those present at the same time helped him in changing clothes and shoes. They took off boots and damp socks, served them with dry ones, etc. It's always been like that. Finally, perhaps around ten o’clock in the afternoon, if not later, the elder came out to the visitors who had been waiting for him for a long time. He will walk along the corridor where the men were; whom he will bless as he goes along, to whom he will say a few words; Those with special needs were received separately in the hall and studied for several hours. Then he went into the hut and stayed there for a long time. It is impossible not to notice that not everyone came to the sickly old man for business, but some only took up his time and thereby, in particular, burdened him. He himself complained about such visitors in his letters: “Old age, weakness, powerlessness, much care and much forgetfulness, and many useless talk do not allow me to come to my senses. One explains that his head and legs are weak, the other complains that he has many sorrows; and another explains that he is in constant anxiety, listen to all this, and also give an answer; but you can’t get away with silence - they get offended and insulted. It’s not for nothing that the saying is sometimes repeated: the sick man should talk to the doctor. The patient wants to explain his situation, but the doctor is bored listening; and there is nothing to do - he listens, not wanting to further irritate and alarm the sick interpreter.” To other impatient visitors, the elder held up the great saints of God as examples and, advising them to be patient, told them with his usual good nature: “Moses endured, Elisha endured, Elijah endured, so I will endure.” But then midday comes - time for lunch. Without letting go of the visitors, the elder went to the cell adjacent to his own - the cell of Fr. Joseph, his cell attendant; and there, reclining near the table from fatigue, he ate food, which consisted of two dishes - fish soup from fresh fish, not very fatty, and cranberry jelly, and on fast days, instead of fish soup, they prepared stew or potato soup in sunflower oil for him. Somehow the idea came to him to do without butter and, so that the lean food would not be too harsh, he ordered it to be seasoned with crushed walnuts. There happened to be some abbess familiar to the elder, whom he decided to treat with this drug. “What is this with you, father? - she said. “It’s an emetic.” The old man ate no more food than a three-year-old baby could eat. His lunch lasted ten or fifteen minutes, during which the cell attendants again asked him questions about various persons and received answers from him. But sometimes, in order to give his head some rest, the elder ordered one of his relatives to read something light during his lunch. Sometimes I liked to listen to something from Krylov's fables. This book was almost always lying with him on the table in his cell room. One day someone delivered him an essay by some gentleman about Russian monasteries, in which, unfortunately, the venerable writer noticed nothing except dirt. The elder listened to this book with a sad and serious expression on his face and did not express any opinion about it. At the end of dinner, the elder, if he was weak, immediately, lying on his bed, received whoever was most needed, or suddenly received everyone for a general blessing, first the male sex, and then the female. The cell will be full. At these general receptions, the elder admonished those in need with well-aimed words, often with proverbs that were understandable to those to whom they referred. Or he would tell something that served as an answer to the innermost thought of one of those present. Sometimes he forced one of the visitors to read a more relevant fable by Krylov; then he will say a few edifying words in a joking tone and, finally, having given everyone a blessing, he will go to his cell. A hundred voices behind him: “Father! Father! I have a word to say; I need a few words." But the tired, sickly old man somehow, with the help of his cell attendants, squeezed through the crowd, went into his cell and locked himself from the inside with a hook so that the people would not rush there too. If the elder had enough strength after dinner, then he went out to give a general blessing to the hut. The cell attendant first appeared and closed all the windows so that there was no through wind. All those sitting rose from their seats and stood on both sides, leaving a small passage for the priest. Finally, the door opened, and an old man appeared on the threshold in a white robe, on top of which he always, in winter and summer, wore a light fur duckweed, and with a cotton kamilavka on his head. Coming out of the door and stopping on the step, he always prayed in front of the icon of the Mother of God placed here, “It is worthy to eat,” and walked further, carefully peering at those who asked his blessing and making the sign of the cross over them. Questions were heard from the crowd, to which he gave simple but wise answers. Sometimes the elder sat down, and then everyone present knelt around him, listening with deep attention to his conversation, the meaning of which always included useful moral teaching or exposure of someone’s shortcomings. Most often, he offered advice on patience, condescension to the weaknesses of one’s neighbor and forcing oneself to do good, saying that the Kingdom of God is necessary, that through many sorrows we must enter into the Kingdom of God, and the one who endures to the end will be saved. Sometimes these instructive conversations, or general blessings, were overtaken by an hour of rest, and the cell attendant reminded him of this. Then the priest took off his cap, bowed and said, as usual, in a joking tone: “I am very grateful to you for your visit; O. I. says it’s time...” Another time the cell attendant will say: “Father, it’s already two o’clock”; and the priest will answer: “You move them back, and there will be an hour.” In the summer, on warm days, he went out into the air to bless; and his appearance was a true joy for all those who were languishing in anticipation. From the very porch of the huts, poles were built on posts, on one side of which the people stood, and on the other side a bent old man walked, teaching a blessing to everyone in a row and stopping at times to give answers to questions. No one dared to go beyond the fence to the elder without his permission and blessing; and if anyone dared to do this, he should, according to the elder’s instructions, make several bows. There were, although very rarely, days when the elder did not rest at all after dinner, perhaps because he felt strong enough to do without rest; or I just couldn’t sleep. Then he called a clerk and dictated a letter to someone. Thus, he did not have a minute to pass in idleness. During the rest, no one bothered the old man. People left for the hotel. The doors were locked all around, both in the hut and in the hermitage on the front porch. After a short midday rest, at about three o'clock, the elder was again on his feet and, if he felt his health was good, he again went to the visitors to interpret; if he was weak, he received the people in Fr. Joseph, lying on his bed. Here he was talking with people and drinking tea at about five in the evening. And again, and again he accepted and interpreted, interpreted and accepted. “Sometimes the priest unexpectedly interrupted his conversation with visitors and went to his cell for a while - there were moments when he felt the need to be alone with God, in prayerful self-deepening, so that with a refreshed soul he could return to people to do his work. At about eight o'clock the elder had dinner - the same thing was served on the table as at lunch. And in the middle of dinner, the cell attendants asked the elder about something and someone, but he did not stop answering. Or again forced me to read something. Soon after dinner, if the elder’s strength was completely exhausted, he limited himself to teaching everyone a general blessing. If his strength had not yet completely left him, then the usual receptions and discussions began again, which sometimes continued until 11 o’clock at night... Despite the extreme exhaustion and illness of the elder, the day always concluded with an evening prayer rule, consisting of Little Compline, the canon to the Guardian Angel and evening prayers. Due to all-day, almost continuous reports, the cell attendants, who continually brought the elder to the elder and brought out the visitors, could barely stand on their feet, but alternately read the prescribed prayers... At the end of the rule, the elder, according to custom, asked those present for forgiveness for those who had sinned in deed, word and thought. In conclusion, the cell attendants accepted the elder’s blessing and headed for the exit. Sometimes the clock will ring. In a weak, barely audible voice, the elder will ask: “How much is this?” “Twelve,” they will answer. “We’re late,” he’ll say. The priest always went to bed dressed - in the summer in a robe, and in the winter in a cotton cassock, always surrounded by a leather belt. He always had a monastic cap on his head and a rosary in his hands. He only took off his boots, leaving only his socks on. God knows how the old man spent his night hours. Only when they came to see him for morning service did the cell attendants notice that during the night he had changed several flannel shirts, from which it can be seen that he did not have continuous sleep. On the eve of every Sunday and holiday, Fr. Ambrose listened to the vigil in his cell. At first, in the sixties, these vigils were always served by the elder’s devoted spiritual son, Hieroschemamonk Gabriel. Right there near the door stood two or three singers. The future head of the monastery, Fr. Anatoly, at that time still a simple monk, sang in a bass voice. The cell attendants were readers; O. Clement - canonarch. Over time, circumstances changed. Unhealthy and infirm sketes, instead of going to listen to the vigil at the monastery, asked the elder for a blessing to be at his cell vigil; and the elder, of course, blessed. Thus, the number of worshipers increased. Therefore, so that the elder’s cell would not be crowded and stuffy, the singers were ordered to stand in the hallway, and finally, in the corridor, where the doors of the elder’s cell opened during the service. In the cell itself there remained only one serving hieromonk, and perhaps one of the people close to the elder. Subsequently, some remained in the hut, with the blessing of the elder, to listen through the door to his cell vigil and to pray. In the summer, Count A.P. Tolstoy came to Optina Pustyn several times and always loved to attend the elder’s cell vigil. The elder himself, even during vigils, was almost never left without his usual work. During the reading of the proverbs, kathisma and canon, he or someone confessed in the cell of Fr. Joseph, or received visitors whom he did not have time to receive during the day, or, finally, refreshed himself with an evening meal. It was always he who listened to the Six Psalms and the festive magnification with the reading of the Gospel, standing on his bed, as one could see, with deep attention. Greatness sang along. His voice, despite his age, was a bright and pleasant tenor bass. He always sang from the heart and, according to the word of the Holy Scriptures, intelligently. If the elder did not have visitors and confessors during his cell vigil, then he listened to most of the service sitting, in self-absorption, and sometimes from fatigue and lying down. It was often possible to see tears on his face at this time. If the elder did not have time to manage his affairs, and the vigil before the Six Psalms had already been served, then the service was interrupted for several minutes, and they waited for the elder. At the end of the cell vigil, which lasted three hours at intervals and ended almost with the vigil taking place in the church, the tired cell attendants read the end of the evening prayers for the tired old man and, having received the blessing, went to rest. In the morning, if the monastery had its own liturgy, which usually always began no earlier than six o’clock, the elder and his cell attendants got up half an hour or an hour before the service, listened to the clock with the symbolic clock and sent the cell attendants to church, while he himself remained alone with the One God. Only this short time was the only time when he could be silent. No one knows how he spent this time. And the cell attendants who came from the church, together with the clerk, found him almost always sitting on his bed, with his legs crossed, reading a book or the Epistles of the Apostles, or the Psalter, or the Philokalia, or St. Maximus the Confessor, or, finally, St. Isaac the Syrian. He always read all these books in the Slavic dialect, which he loved very much. He sometimes wrote notes on books with his own hand; for example, as I remember, under the words of the Apostle Paul, “The angel of Satan, who is a dirty tricker of the flesh, plays dirty tricks on me,” was signed by the elder: “Alexander Kovach.” In the Philokalia and in the book of St. Isaac the Syrian had a lot of places to remember that the elder emphasized. The clerk and cell attendants returning from church first entered the elder with prayer and received a blessing from him; and the elder, sitting at a book, will sometimes immediately point out to one of them a particularly edifying short article in the book and give it to them to read; then he let them all go to refresh themselves with tea and refreshed himself. Soon the scribe returned to the elder, and the usual dictation of letters began, and there the visitors came up. And so on until late in the evening everything was business as usual again. Sometimes, due to the large influx of visitors on a holiday, the elder was more tired than on weekdays. With some peculiarity, the elder met and celebrated the great holidays - the Nativity of Christ and Holy Easter. Two weeks before the holiday, the elder dictated his usual “general congratulations,” which were copied in a considerable number of copies. The old man was amazingly memorable. For twenty-one years, he dictated these congratulations and, despite the fact that he never inquired about the contents of the letters dictated in previous years, he always talked about various subjects. But then the eve of the holiday arrived. The cell attendants took care of the possible cleanliness of the elders' cells. The number of outside visitors decreased comparatively, since everyone took care to celebrate the holiday at home. The elder at this time was more occupied with confessors, and, moreover, from his brethren. Sometimes he slowly moved from cell to cell for some need. The face is so bright and holy. It was clear that gracious peace and undisturbed silence filled his pure soul. His loving heart was open to everyone. A fatherly affectionate word, glance or touch with a hand sometimes evoked tears of tenderness from those around him. The elder went to bed somewhat earlier than usual for a short rest; and at midnight, when the monastery struck for matins, he got up. The serving hieromonk and the singers were ready. Lighted up before St. candles with icons, and Matins began, which departed somewhat earlier than the monastery. Then the sickly elder lay down again to rest, which, however, was soon interrupted, because immediately after the end of Matins the monastery singers came to the monastery to congratulate the elder on the holiday, followed by all the monastery brethren. On the feast of the Nativity of Christ they glorified Christ, and on Easter they sang the ninth hymn of the Paschal canon, with the proclamation of the health litany about the elder. After this, the elder and everyone who came to him, sitting on his bed, made Christ and distributed red eggs. Before the Liturgy, the elder, according to custom, listened to the holiday hours and sent all his cell attendants to the monastery for mass, which began early. The monastery does not have its own service on the first days of these holidays. At the end of the liturgy, although there were almost no visitors with ordinary needs and sorrows, there were many who congratulated them on the holiday, and therefore the elder was in constant prayer on these great holidays. On the next day of the holidays of the Nativity of Christ and Easter, the rector of the monastery, Fr., always served the liturgy in the monastery. Archimandrite Isaac Cathedral. After the liturgy, he, together with the serving hieromonk and hierodeacon, went to the elder to congratulate him on the holiday. The elder received dear guests with love, and he himself, sitting on his bed with his legs crossed, ate tea with the guests. A light conversation about anything with loved ones, especially with older brothers, was a kind of entertainment for him. He loved to listen to the news - church and social, and he himself would tell him something. Having had some tea, Fr. The archimandrite dined at the monastery, and the elder received congratulators and ordinary visitors. Among the especially solemn days in the life of Fr. Ambrose must be attributed to the day when the miraculous Kaluzhensky image of the Mother of God was brought to his cell. Listening to the vigil or prayer service before Her, the elder could hardly hold back the tears, which sometimes literally flowed in streams against his will... Something touchingly festive was felt at that time in the souls of everyone around the elder-prayer-man; They believed more vividly in the intercession before God of the Mother of God and the saints for Orthodox people. The day of the Angel of Elder Ambrose, the seventh of December, the celebration of the memory of St. Ambrose of Milan, was also distinguished by its solemnity. The elder deeply revered his heavenly patron. In the evening, both in the monastery and in the monastery, and especially in the elder’s cell, a vigil was held for St. Ambrose. One of the monks of the Optina Hermitage in the 70s composed a special service to the saint with an akathist, which was always performed on this day in the elder’s cell. On the very day of the Angel, cathedral liturgies were held in the monastery and monastery, with prayers to St. Ambrose and with the proclamation of many years to Elder Ambrose, after which the brethren went to the elder’s cell and there they brought him congratulations on the day of the Angel, and he, for his part, offered them tea and refreshments. On this day, he also cordially received and treated outside congratulators. Special occasions in the life of Elder Ambrose include visits to him by the Kaluga rulers, which visits took place, for the most part, in the summer when viewing the diocese. To meet his archpastor, the elder dressed in all the hieromonastic vestments: a cassock, a mantle and a hood; he went out onto the porch of his cell, at the entrance to which the saint bowed at his feet, accepted the blessing and led him into the hall. Here, sometimes alone with the archpastor, he spent some time in mutual conversation... The elder had special reverence for Archbishop Gregory. The elder’s constant response to this saint was: “Smart and holy.” In 1887, Moscow Metropolitan Ioannikis visited Optina Pustyn, accompanied by Kaluga Bishop Vladimir. The elder was told to meet the metropolitan together with the monastery brethren in the church. Not knowing about this, Vladyka Metropolitan, having examined the church, said: “Well, now go to the elder.” But as soon as he turned back, he immediately saw the old man himself in front of him. Surprised by such a surprise, the Eminence graciously deigned to remark to him: “Why did you bother coming here? I myself will certainly be with you.” And he asked him to immediately retire to his cell. Indeed, the Metropolitan visited him in his cell, talked with him for a long time alone and, leaving the elder’s cell, respectfully said goodbye to him. “Blessed Elder!” - said the Most Reverend Bishop, walking along the path from the elder. In addition to the archpastors of the Church, Fr. Ambrose was also visited by many prominent secular figures, who sought from him guidance on the path of life or answers to the questions of life that tormented them. In the 70s, he visited F. M. Dostoevsky, who came to him to seek consolation after the death of his beloved son. The elder treated him with favor and said about him: “This is a penitent.” Together with F. M. Dostoevsky, V. S. Solovyov was with him, about whose views the elder, as they say, responded disapprovingly. K. N. Leontyev lived for several years under Elder Ambrose and, with his blessing, became a monk in Optina Hermitage. In 1887 Fr. Ambrose was visited by His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, who spent some time with him in intimate conversation and subsequently treated him with love. Count L.N. Tolstoy visited the elder several times; it must be said that he always treated the Optina Hermitage and monasticism in general with respect. For the first time, L.N. Tolstoy visited the elder together with N.N. Strakhov in 1874; the second time he came on foot in 1881 or 1882 in peasant clothes with his clerk and the village teacher, and the third time in 1890 he came to him with his family. The spiritual and moral image of the elder and his pastoral care for people While our secular fiction, in the person of its most outstanding writers, such as Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevsky and others, unsuccessfully strives to create an artistic type of an ideal person, the Orthodox Church in its depths from time immemorial has educated and is educating with its grace-filled means not imaginary, but living people, imbued with the spirit of true, unfeigned and active love for God and neighbors. They say that Dostoevsky wrote his elder Zosima with Fr. Ambrose, but if this is so, it must be said that the image turned out to be much lower than its original, and Dostoevsky far from exhausted all the fullness and greatness of the spirit of Elder Ambrose, did not adequately show either his selfless love for people, or, moreover, the love for God that animated him. Only the actual truth of life gives us the real spiritual appearance of the elder, and even then only insofar as information about him has been preserved in the memory of those who knew him. Based on this fragmentary information, we will try to outline, as much as possible, the inner spiritual appearance of the elder. The predominant feature of his attitude towards his neighbors was deep, compassionate love. “Loving your neighbor in such a way as to wish him every happiness blessed by God, and try to bring him this happiness - was his life and his breath,” says Fr. Ambrose is a man. And in this stream of love that poured over everyone who came to Fr. Ambrose, there was such power that it was felt without words, without actions. K o. Ambrose had only to approach to feel how much he loved, and at the same time, in response to his feeling, the heart of the person who came was opened, complete trust and the closest intimacy were born. “Among the general coldness and indifference, with the complete reluctance of people to see and feel beyond their own being, life is difficult for many. We need a person to whom you can take everything that worries you in your soul, to whom you can open all your thoughts and hopes without fear, entrust every secret, so that it becomes easier and happier. And it is necessary that this feeling be shared, so that behind a polite word there is no surprise that they are looking for participation, but that this participation, which is most difficult to achieve in life, shines in every sound, in every movement. In life we ​​need a sympathetic gaze, a kind word, we need the consciousness that we are loved and believed in, we need that the greatest and rarest treasure in the world is an attentive heart. Such a heart beat in Fr. Ambrose." “The love that animated Fr. Ambrose, was the one whom Christ commanded to his disciples. It differs in many ways from the feeling that is known in the world. There is no less poetry in it, but it is wider, cleaner and has no end. Her main difference is that she gives everything and asks for nothing.” “Love o. Ambrose walked inextricably with his faith. He firmly, unshakably believed in man, in his divine soul. He knew that in the most powerful human distortion, somewhere far away, there lay a spark of divine goodness, and Fr. honored this spark. Ambrose. No matter how dirty the one who spoke to him was, his conversation was already great because it gave the sinner the consciousness that the holy elder looked at him as an equal, that therefore he was not completely lost and could be reborn. He gave the most fallen people hope, and courage, and faith that they could take a new path.” “The social activities of Fr. Ambrosia will best define one very good Russian word, a word that cannot be found in another land. Father Ambrose was sorry.” However, this embraced Fr. Ambrose's feeling of broad Christian love, sympathy and pity for people, although it had its basis in his spiritual nature, was strengthened and developed in him under the influence of his entire ascetic life. Christian love, as a gift of God’s grace, stands in an inextricable and deep connection with Christian faith and heartfelt prayer, and faith and prayer are possible only with true humility, which is cultivated in a person through continuous internal struggle, self-abasement, sorrows and all kinds of trials. All this long path, clearly indicated by the Church and its great ascetic fathers, was traversed by all the saints, under the guidance of their spiritual mentors, and Fr. Ambrose, before he came to the measure of his full spiritual age. He went through those spiritual dangers and temptations that Elder Fr. Macarius: “Venerable A. entered your monastery with a very good disposition and desire to “seek Jesus,” that is, to acquire His love. This is a very good and good deed, but it must have a solid foundation, for love is tempted by the contrary. Due to her ardor and purity of soul, she will soon see comforting and delightful feelings in herself - this will reassure her in finding Jesus and His love. But this feeling is very dangerous and close to delusion: those who have not yet had a struggle with passions, who have not recognized their weakness and have not humbled themselves, are not reliable and comforting feelings. Even if they come when they do, be careful not to accept them and not be deceived by them, but consider yourself unworthy of it. St. Isaac writes in the 2nd homily: “The act of the cross is purely one; one is called an act and is fulfilled by the action of the furious part: enduring the vexation of the cross; and the second is called a vision and is fulfilled by a desirable part, and is acquired by subtle work of the mind and divine ever-teaching and abiding prayer. And whoever begins with this second part, and not the first, the wrath of God comes upon him. Although he does not do this out of laziness, he takes the second part for its sweetness, having not first purified the passionate structure of the soul through the patience of sorrows, that is, not accepting the crucifixion of the flesh with the vexation of the cross, he dreams in his mind the glory of the cross” (i.e. consolations), which are given after the soul has been healed of passions, and when humility is established in the heart, and then it is safe, which is why we suggest that you take care to warn her, if she has any pleasurable feelings, so that she does not rely on them and does not consider them too great; they will leave her soon. Otherwise, having been deceived and accepting them at the wrong time, he will soon lose it; and when the time comes, he will not receive it, like a careless and stupid farmer who, seeing a flower growing, would consider it a fruit and pick it: he will never receive the fruit again. Many have suffered while walking this path and have strayed from it; Instead of humility, thinking about themselves, they acquired exaltation, according to the word of the same saint. Isaac: “Whoever does not think that he is a sinner, his prayer is not acceptable before God.” Remind her that the love of God is tempted by the opposite: various passions will arise, with which it is necessary to have a struggle, and for those who have humble wisdom, the struggle comes with relief; but he who imagines something about himself, or hopes for comforting feelings, is allowed to fight more strongly, so that, having recognized his weakness, he humbles himself. But for them, victory is unbearable and leads to cowardice; and this is a sign of their pride. We must be wary of delusion, which comes in many forms: either, having been seduced by imaginary holiness, it will blind the eyes of the soul, or by a flash of joyful and comforting actions, deprived of them, it will fall into many different passions; and when you lead it moderately and constantly, studying in more detail, then you can develop something good out of it over time. Order her to read the more active teachings of St. fathers: St. Abba Dorotheus, St. John Climacus, St. Simeon the New Theologian, and so that she reveals to you about all her words, deeds, thoughts and actions, for what is revealed is light, and what is not revealed is darkness.” Having walked this mournful path of the cross, under the guidance of experienced elders, Fr. Ambrose acquired true humility, true faith, prayer, purity of heart and love, that is, the totality of all the gospel perfections, thanks to which he became a good shepherd, mentor, leader, helper and comforter for all passions still troubled in the mire, still overwhelmed by sinful temptations and lusts. In the sixties, Fr. Ambrose had a wonderful dream, which revealed to him the inevitability of this sorrowful path of salvation. “It seemed to me,” the elder later conveyed to his spiritual children, Fr. Clement and Fr. Anatoly, as if I were in my cell. Suddenly a man comes in, looks like a man of authority, and with authority commands me to follow him. I leave the cell. A stormy, dark night appears. It’s as if the sea or a large lake is agitated in front of me. Near the shore is a boat with rowers sitting on it; but in the dark it is impossible to see them clearly. At the behest of my counselor, I got into this boat, and it set sail from the shore. Angry waves began to toss her around like a light feather. I was in great fear for my life. But in the distance, through a yawning abyss, in the midst of impenetrable darkness, an extraordinary light appeared to me, and I saw some city of such wondrous beauty that I had never seen anything like it anywhere in my entire life. All my attention was focused on him. The sea, the waves, the storm - everything was forgotten; and I was in a kind of sweet rapture until the boat moored to the shore. Her push against the ground brought me out of oblivion. Having followed my counselor ashore, I, at his direction, entered a house where there were two people unfamiliar to me. One, however, having accepted my blessing, called himself Vsevolod, Prince of Czech; and the other seemed to me to be the Russian prince Boris Vladimirovich; then I soon woke up.” This dream of the old man contains a deep and comforting meaning for every ascetic leading an internal struggle, who must always remember: reward follows the test. And the more difficult the test, the more gratifying the reward. Without testing there can be no reward. Let us now turn to a consideration of those high spiritual qualities that Fr. acquired. Ambrose through the trials he experienced. Humility was the basis of Fr.’s entire ascetic life. Ambrose. He wrote about this spiritual trait to one of his spiritual daughters: “You always ask the Lord to grant you humility. But it is not given freely by the Lord. The Lord is ready to help a person acquire humility, as in all good things, but it is necessary for the person himself to take care of himself. Said by St. fathers: “Give blood and receive spirit.” This means, work hard until you shed blood, and you will receive a spiritual gift. And you seek and ask for spiritual gifts, but you are sorry to shed blood, that is, you want everything so that no one touches you, does not bother you. But in a quiet life, how can one acquire humility? After all, humility consists in when a person sees himself as the worst of all, not only people, but also dumb animals, and even the very spirits of evil. And so, when people bother you, and you see that you cannot tolerate this and are angry with people, then you will inevitably consider yourself bad. If at the same time you regret your badness and shortcomings and reproach yourself for your shortcomings, and sincerely repent of this before God and your spiritual father, then you are already on the path of humility.” In these words Fr. Ambrose not only teaches what humility is, but also shows the very path to humility, and so definitely that we can clearly see that he learned this path through his personal experience. Let us give a case that confirms the validity of the above words of the elder. One sister in Shamordino was severely reprimanded by the abbess for involuntary disobedience. The sister could not do otherwise and wanted to explain the reason, but the angry abbess did not want to listen to anything and threatened to immediately, in front of everyone, make her bow. She was hurt and offended, but, seeing that it was impossible to justify herself, she, suppressing her pride, fell silent and only asked for forgiveness. Returning to her cell, this sister, to her great surprise, noticed that despite the fact that she had suffered such an undeserved accusation, instead of shame and embarrassment, on the contrary, her soul felt so light, joyful, good, as if she had received something joyful. In the evening of the same day, she reported everything that had happened to Father Fr. Ambrose. The elder said: “This case is providential; remember him. The Lord wanted to show you how sweet the fruit of humility is, so that, having felt it, you would always force yourself to humility, first to the external, and then to the internal. When a person forces himself to humble himself, the Lord comforts him internally, and this is the grace that God gives to the humble. Self-justification only seems to make it easier, but in fact it brings darkness and confusion to the soul.” While teaching wise advice to others, the elder, at the same time, in his humility, himself sought advice from others, without relying on his own reason and with the wealth of reasoning. After the death of his elder Macarius, having no one to turn to for advice in his monastery, he first turned to his archpastor Gregory. And over time, having learned from reliable people about one hidden, wandering spiritual elder, he immediately tried to get close to him and was constantly writing secret letters to him with the goal of doing everything with the advice of another, in which he saw the expression of the will of God, being afraid to act according to his own will 58 . Here is another example of the elder’s humility. Once we looked at the portrait of the ascetic Basilisk, attached to his life. Someone said that his lips were somehow very bright, probably because he died with the Jesus Prayer on his lips. “Yes, this may very well be,” said the priest. “But one old man died in the Glinsk Hermitage,” and for about three hours after his death, his hand kept turning over his rosary. But I, a sinner, don’t know when I first went through them,” the priest added with a sigh and sadly waved his hand. – I even lived in the monastery, perhaps, only for one year. As soon as they took Fr. Macarius as a cell attendant, and since then I’ve been living in the market.” “Well, father, it’s not in your hands, but there – in your heart – the prayer moves non-stop,” someone said. “Well, no, you can’t get too many at the market,” answered the elder and turned the conversation to another subject. Another time the elder said: “I lived in the monastery for 40 years and did not earn 40 turnips; truly the roofs of others are covered, but your own stands open; and I’m already turning 67.” In his letters to various persons, Fr. Ambrose often asked to pray for him, “who speaks and does not do.” Humility Fr. Ambrose was also revealed in the fact that he was ready to tolerate around him persons who had the most difficult, unpleasant character. One very unpleasant nun annoyed him a lot. He was asked how he could stand it. He answered: “If here, where I’m trying to calm her down, it’s still so hard for her, what will it be like for her there, where everyone will contradict her! How can you not tolerate her!” The elder’s deep humility was the basis of his deeply prayerful mood. As we have already said, the elder often shed tears during prayer. He cried amid the services and prayers that were held for some occasion in his cell; especially when, at the request of the petitioners, a prayer service with an akathist was held in front of the cell icon of the Queen of Heaven “It is Worthy to Eat,” which they revered. While reading the akathist, he stood near the door, not far from St. icons, and looked tenderly at the gracious face of the Mother of God. One and all could see how tears streamed down his emaciated cheeks. During prayer, he was completely immersed in the contemplation of the ineffable Glory of Heaven, and his whole face was transformed. So one day the elder appointed two spouses who had important business with him to come to him in the evening, at that hour of the morning when he had not yet begun the reception. They entered his cell, the elder was sitting on the bed in a white monastic robe and cap. He had a rosary in his hands. His face changed. It especially somehow brightened up, and everything in his cell took on the appearance of some kind of solemnity. Those who came felt awe, and at the same time they were overcome by inexpressible happiness. They could not say anything and stood for a long time in oblivion, contemplating the face of the old man. It was quiet all around. Father was silent. They came under the blessing. He silently made the sign of the cross over them. They looked at this picture once again to keep it in their hearts forever. The old man, with the same transformed face, was immersed in contemplation of the heavenly world. Another case. According to custom, his scribe, Hieromonk V., came to the elder at the end of the morning rule. The elder, having listened to the rule, sat down on the bed. Father V. comes up for the blessing and, to his great surprise, sees the old man’s face glowing. But as soon as he received the blessing, this wondrous light disappeared. After a little time Fr. V. again approached the elder when he had already moved to another cell and was working with the people, and in his simplicity asked: “Or did you, father, see what vision?!” The elder, without saying a word to him, only lightly hit him on the head with his hand. A sign of special senile favor. The elder’s gift of prayer, his prayerful contemplation of the spiritual world combined with his ardent love for people, are also visible from the following story of one nun: “I had a family friend in Moscow. The husband, an educated and intelligent man, was completely indifferent to faith and did not fast for several years. At the same time, he had an addiction to alcoholic beverages. His wife grieved for him and prayed, but was unable to influence him. Finally, he lost his position in Moscow and moved to live in the V-province, where he received a position as an estate manager. However, even here he continued to lead the same way of life, so that one day he was brought from the city sick, and a few days later he died unexpectedly for everyone, without being admonished by confession and communion of the Holy Mysteries. All this greatly upset his wife, and she did not stop crying and praying for him, always thinking about what she needed to do to calm his soul. Shortly before the 40th day, she saw her husband in a dream, and he told her, firstly, that she had inaccurately determined the 40th day after his death and what exactly was her mistake, and secondly, that only alms could calm his soul.” Soon after this, the narrator-nun visited Fr. Ambrose and, at the request of the deceased’s wife, asked Fr. Ambrose to advise how to pray for the deceased, and what should be done in his memory? Father Ambrose was very upset by the nun’s story and kept lamenting how they allowed a man to die without repentance. Then he said: “I can’t tell you anything now, I’ll tell you later.” Several days passed. And then one day, after a general blessing, Fr. Ambrose unexpectedly sends his cell attendant for the nun. She comes to the elder and finds him in a form that she has never seen before: his face is upset, tears are flowing from his eyes. Having carefully locked the door so that no one could hear his words, he said: “Hurry up and save the unfortunate man from hell! To save him, let his wife sell all his property and give the money to the poor!” Obviously, all these days the elder prayed for the unfortunate man, and his fate and the means for his salvation were revealed to him. The words spoken by the elder completely coincided with the words of the deceased, which he said to his wife in a dream, although the nun did not convey these words to Fr. Ambrose. The wife followed the elder’s advice: she sold all her property and distributed the money to the poor, and she herself became a teacher. To what has been said, we add that after a while the wife again saw her husband in a dream, who, holding a notebook in his hands, cheerfully told her: “Here I have received a certificate,” and then, turning the page, read: “Glory to God in the highest... Praise the name of the Lord!” – and with these words he disappeared. The elder did not make a single decision, as one might think, without fervent prayer and without the clear direction of God. One Shamordino nun says that the priest assigned her, immediately after receiving her into the monastery, difficult obedience in the refectory. Not relying on her own strength, she went to the priest several times to refuse, but the elder did not free her. Finally, he told her in a serious and heartfelt tone: “After all, I did not assign this obedience to you, such is the will of the Queen of Heaven.” Fear fell on the nun, and she, having asked the elder for forgiveness, stopped bothering him with her request and then spent seven and a half years in this obedience quite peacefully and calmly. One nun really wanted to move from some other monastery to Shamordino and earnestly asked the elder to accept her. Living at a hotel in Shamordin, she came to the elder every day for a general blessing and daily asked the priest to take her to his monastery. The elder blessed her, but never answered her request. So much time passed. Finally, exhausted by the wait and her uncertain position, the nun says with tears to the elder: “Father, tell me something, because I’ve been living here at the hotel for three months; I’m ashamed to return to my mother abbess”... The elder answered: “What will I tell you if the Queen of Heaven doesn’t tell me anything about you?” A few more days passed, and suddenly the elder himself sent to the hotel for this nun, and when she came to him, he, cheerful and joyful, said to her: “Well, stay, stay with us!” - as if I had received a notification about this from above. Another fruit of the elder’s humility was his deeply contrite heart both about his own sins and about the sins of his neighbors. The hieromonk of Optina Pustyn, Fr., spoke about his confession. Plato, who was at one time the confessor of Fr. Ambrose: “How edifying was the elder’s confession! What humility and contrition of heart he showed about his sins! And what sins! About those that we don’t even consider a sin. For example, due to the soreness of his stomach, therefore, out of extreme necessity, he sometimes had to, contrary to the rules of the Holy Church, eat two or three pieces of herring on Wednesday or Friday. And the elder confessed this sin before the Lord with tears. At that time he was kneeling before St. With icons, as a condemned person before the terrible and inexorable Judge, expecting mercy from the Giver of mercy, one even thinks, as one might assume, with a humble thought, whether mercy will be given, whether sin will be forgiven. I’ll look, I’ll look at the crying old man, and I’ll cry myself.” Having a contrite heart himself, the elder wanted to see the same heart in those who treated him. Therefore, if he saw in one of his spiritual children absent-mindedness and inattention to himself, he would look reproachfully and say: “Oh, a painless heart!” He also loved to repeat the words of St. Ephraim the Syrian: “Pain is more painful, but vain illnesses pass by.” Humility and constant purification of his heart through sincere repentance, self-condemnation and prayer created in the elder’s soul a bright, peaceful, joyful mood that did not leave him even in moments of severe bodily suffering. No matter how much he had to experience various kinds of sorrows, misfortunes and illnesses, nothing could greatly upset him; he was always cheerful and calm. Lying on his sick bed, he, according to his custom, joked with the monks around him; being himself in extreme exhaustion, he consoled the faint-hearted either through force with a spoken word, or with a fatherly affectionate look, or with the touch of a weakened hand. Usually, when the elder was in severe illness - and this was often - almost all the monastery brethren, especially the newly admitted novices, were despondent. There was one monk in the monastery, already elderly, with a bald spot on his head. On the occasion of the elder’s serious illness, upset, he came to his cell in the hope that it would be possible to at least silently receive a blessing from the elder. Hope did not deceive him. With a tight heart, he approached the sufferer lying on the bed, bowed, as usual, at his feet and extended his hands to receive a blessing. Having given the blessing, the elder lightly hit him on the head, jokingly saying in a barely audible voice: “Well, you, bald abbot!” “Like a mountain fell from my shoulders,” the monk said afterwards, “it became so light, easy in my soul!” Having arrived at his cell, he found no place for joy. Everyone walks around the cell and repeats: “My God! What is this? Father, father, he can barely breathe, but he’s still joking.”... The most remarkable of spiritual gifts, Fr. Ambrose had the gift of reasoning, which in him passed, by the grace of God, into the gift of clairvoyance. Now we will talk only about reasoning, but we will talk about insight in another place. Fr.'s gift for reasoning was Ambrose is that he was able to immediately, in a few minutes, determine the spiritual structure of a person who came to him, understand all his circumstances, both spiritual and material, explain to him his condition and give him the most useful advice in his situation. It was this gift of reasoning, this insight in other cases, this wisdom that attracted Fr. Ambrose thousands of people who were confused in spiritual and life circumstances and needed the guidance of an experienced mentor. Father Ambrose had comprehensive experience, an extremely broad outlook and could give advice on any issue not only in the spiritual field, but also in the field of economics, trade, etc., in relation to a given person and given circumstances. Let's give a few examples. A wealthy Oryol landowner comes to the elder and, among other things, announces that he wants to install a water supply system in his vast apple orchards. “People say,” the elder begins with his usual words in such cases, “people say that this is the best way.” And describes the plumbing in detail. The landowner, returning to the village, begins to read about this subject. It turned out that the priest described the latest inventions in this area. The landowner came to Optina again. “Well, what about the plumbing?” - asks the old man. The water pipeline was built according to the elder’s instructions and has already brought great benefits: the neighboring gardeners have a poor harvest of apples, but this landowner has a rich harvest, and the apples are beautiful. One young man, who often visited the elder, once said that he wanted to have a shower at his place. Father sympathizes with him. “Do you,” he says, “need it to take up little space? Well, it's possible; Here's how to do it "... Several years pass. An announcement follows that new improved souls have appeared. It turned out that they are structured as Father Ambrose had explained to the young man long before. K o. Merchants turned to Ambrose, asking for advice and guidance on their trade affairs. He recommended estate managers to landowners or gave agricultural advice. He indicated how best to manage capital or real estate, how to manage households in monasteries, how to direct a case in court, etc. When construction took place in Shamordin, the elder, without leaving his cell, knew every corner of Shamordin and all the details. The monk in charge of the construction arrives and talk about sand comes up. “Well, Father Joel, your sand has now been dumped; arshin... (Father accurately estimates in his mind) two arshins and a half deep will it be or won’t it be?” - “I don’t know, father, I didn’t have time to measure it.” The priest asks about the sand two more times, and they still haven’t measured it, but when they measure it, finally, it will certainly turn out the way the priest said. The elder’s advice and instructions related to the area of ​​internal, religious and moral life are especially valuable and interesting. It should be noted that the elder usually expressed his advice and instructions in the form of individual thoughts, aphorisms or short edifying stories; He did this at general receptions with his visitors or in response to individual questions. In other cases, he was the leader and organizer of the entire lives of those who turned to him, and this life was often arranged completely contrary to their desires and expectations, but in the way the elder found necessary, and always, of course, for the better. Some of the elder’s instructions and advice were partly applied only to monastics, and partly to monastics and laity equally. Let us first give examples of instructions of the first kind, recorded by his spiritual daughter, the abbess of the Shamordino monastery, Abbess Euphrosinia (Rose), who reposed in the Lord. “When there is a vigil, evening prayers must be read about eight minutes before.” “After the all-night vigil they will come to your cell; then you get up, light a candle and say: “Come on, Sister Varvara, read the evening prayers,” and take turns.” This will teach you not to go to your cell.” “When you go to bed, baptize your bed and cell with the prayer “May God rise again.” “When you wake up, first cross yourself. The state you are in in the morning will be the same for the rest of the day. At St. John Climacus writes about this.” “In the morning, when you wake up, say: “Glory to Thee, God”; Father O. Macarius always said this. And one should not remember the past and dreams.” “It is a sin to spend time in idleness. It’s a sin to miss both the church service and the rules for work. Otherwise, look, it’s as if the Lord didn’t punish you for this.” “When you start going to services, you will be more sober.” “You shouldn’t talk in church. This is a bad habit. for this sorrow is sent.” “The rosary is given in order not to forget to pray. During the service, they should listen to what is being read and finger the rosary with the prayer “Lord have mercy”; and when you can’t hear (the reading) then: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” “Be sure to read the (Jesus) Prayer with your lips, but with your mind it’s not helpful—you could get hurt.” “Although say the (Jesus) prayer in a whisper, many have been harmed by the clever one.” “That’s why you doze off in church and don’t hear the service, because your thoughts wander here and there.” “You must definitely go to church services, otherwise you will be sick. The Lord punishes us with illness for this. And when you walk, you will be healthy and sober. Father o. It happened that Macarius would get sick, but everyone would go to church. He will sit, then go out to the bishop’s cell; If he doesn’t find a place there, he will go back to Fr.’s cell. Flavian, he will stay there; but when he sees that he is no longer able to be in church, he crosses himself and leaves. Otherwise, he still doesn’t believe himself.” “First of all, you need to ask God for mercy and pray: “Beholden by destinies, have mercy on me, a sinner.”” “Read the Mother of God 12 times or 24 times a day. She is our only intercessor.” “When you pray fervently, then be sure that there will be temptation. This happens to everyone." “You shouldn’t pray for your sisters. 59 It is the enemy, under the guise of goodness, who is inciting the spirit. This is a matter of perfection. Just cross yourself and say: “Lord, have mercy on us.” “After communion, one must ask the Lord to preserve the gift with dignity, and that the Lord will give help not to return back, that is, to previous sins.” “When they strike “Worthy” (if you are in a cell), you need to stand up and make three bows to the Holy Trinity: Worthy and righteously bow to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Ask for the intercession of the Queen of Heaven and read “It is worthy to eat as truly.” And if someone is a stranger (in the cell), then just cross yourself.” “When the clock strikes, you should cross yourself with the prayer “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”; as St. writes Dimitri Rostovsky: “For this reason, have mercy on me, because the hour has passed, it has become closer to death.” You can’t be baptized in front of everyone, but based on consideration of who you can or shouldn’t, you have to say the prayer in your mind.” “If something presents itself, cross yourself.” “You don’t have to believe in omens, and they won’t come true.” “Light the lamp; and if there is no oil, don’t grieve – let it not burn.” “Don’t put wax candles in church, but be the candle itself.” 60 “Read books in the morning for a quarter of an hour before work; and then chew the cud all day long - what I read, like a sheep.” “It’s probably possible to copy from books; you just need to internalize it. What is clear, then read. You need to read less, but understand.” “You can read the Gospel while sitting, but not at the appointed time.” “Before communion, read St. Ephraim the Syrian about repentance." “You need to read more on this day (when you receive communion), especially the New Testament, the Epistle to the Ephesians and the Apocalypse.” “The reason you don’t like your father’s books is because they expose you.” “Let’s read the books, even if they pour oil on them and stain them, it’s okay; only by analysis - who reads.” “Don't work on Sundays. And if there is a holiday, for example, St. John Chrysostom, etc., then you can work in the evening.” “Explaining lips are a pork trough.” “You must thank the Lord that He sends you everything. This is for three reasons - to bring you to your senses, to consciousness and to gratitude.” “When you judge someone, say to yourself: ‘You hypocrite! First remove the log from your mind!’” “God himself heals the proud. This means that internal sorrows (by which pride is healed) are sent from God; but the proud will not suffer from people. But the humble one bears everything from people and will always say: “He is worthy of this.” “When you feel filled with pride, know that it is the praise of others that makes you proud.” “When pride attacks, say to yourself: “There’s a weirdo walking around.” “The home of the soul is patience, the food of the soul is humility. If there is no food in the house, the tenant gets out.” “When you get upset, reproach yourself, say: “You damned one! Why did you disagree, who is afraid of you?” “Vanity and pride are one and the same. Vanity shows off its deeds so that people can see how you walk, how cleverly you do. And after that pride begins to despise everyone. Just as a worm first crawls and bends, so does vanity. And when his wings grow, his pride flies upward.” “Vanity, if you touch it with a finger, screams: “Your skin is being torn.” “Say to the one praising: “Don’t praise, otherwise we’ll quarrel later.” Climacus tells you to be wary of such people. It is better to accept the slandered person.” “Praise is not good. Praise is terribly difficult. For the glorification, for the fact that everyone bows here, the body will deteriorate after death - acne will appear. Abba Barsanuphius wrote: “Serid was such an old man, but even after death his body deteriorated.” “You have to be respectful to everyone. Be kind, but not caressing. Bow down and quickly pass by.” “You have to look down. Remember: “You are earth, and to earth you will go.” “Humility consists of yielding to others and considering yourself inferior to everyone else. It will be much more peaceful." “Sister, repent, humble yourself; Give in to your sisters what you can, and don’t judge others, even with their weaknesses.” “Humble yourself, and all your works will go well.” “If someone is angry with you, then ask him the reason.” “If your thought says to you: “Why didn’t you tell this person who insulted you?” - then tell your thought: “Now it’s too late to talk, I’m late.” “Be lenient with others.” “To live simply means not to judge, not to despise anyone. For example, Eliconidas is coming. It passed, and that’s all. It means thinking simply. Otherwise, when you see Eliconidas passing, you can think about her from the bad side: she is such and such, her character is such and such. This is no longer easy.” “Laughter drives out the fear of God.” “If blasphemous thoughts come and condemn others, then reproach yourself for pride and do not pay any attention to them.” “When the day comes that you seem to be living well - cheerfully and peacefully; and suddenly you become restless and your thoughts begin to confuse you; Then say to yourself: “Why are you embarrassed now? Do you remember when you were at peace?” Question: “How to acquire the fear of God?” Answer: “You must always have God before you. I will foresee the Lord before me.” “The fear of God is also acquired by fulfilling the commandments of God, and to do everything according to conscience.” Question: “How to listen to yourself, where to start?” Answer: “You must first write down: how you go to church, how you stand, how you look, how proud you are, how vain you are, how angry you are, etc.” “Don’t go to your cell and don’t bring guests to your place.” “If someone says: “Come in,” then say: “I’m in a sour mood now - I can’t.” “Tell your sins and blame yourself more than people.” “Don’t pass on other people’s business.” “Those thoughts need to be spoken that bother you. Another thought is attacked all day long, and nothing happens; and the other one will scratch you, and that’s what needs to be said.” “Despondency means the same laziness, only worse. From despondency you will weaken in body and spirit. I don’t want to work or pray; you go to church with neglect; and the whole man weakens.” Question: "The thought came: 'Why save ourselves? We will not be saved, no matter how we live. Moreover, now there are no one who is being saved, as it is written in the vision of the Athonite monk?'" Answer: "This is said to mean that now there are no people who are perfect in everything; but there are those who are being saved. Not everyone can be a general; and another is a general, another is a colonel, a major, a captain, a soldier and a common man - just like them.” Question: "N. She doesn’t die for a long time, everyone imagines cats and so on.” Answer: “Every sin, no matter how small, must be written down as soon as you remember it, and then repented. That is why some do not die for a long time, because some unrepentant sin is holding them back, but as soon as they repent, they are relieved. In our barnyard (in Optina) there was a cowgirl in consumption, whose three sins had been forgotten, and she imagined that cats were scratching her, or that the girl was crushing her, and when she repented, she died. There was also a sick monk in the skete; It seemed to him as if someone was lying behind him, and he could not remember the sin. During the week, he remembered his sin, and as he repented, he died. You definitely need to write down your sins as soon as you remember, otherwise we put everything off: sometimes the sin is small, sometimes it’s embarrassing to say, or later I’ll say it, but when we come to repent, there’s nothing to say.” Question: “Why do you sometimes feel comfort after communion, and sometimes coldness?” Answer: “The one who is cold is the one who seeks consolation from communion, but the one who considers himself unworthy has grace left.” Question: “What does it mean to live according to your heart?” Answer: “Don’t interfere in other people’s affairs and see the good in others.” Question: “When I am angry, I pray absent-mindedly.” Answer: “He who is angry is deprived of the protection of God. You need to pray without rancor.” Question: “Father, pray so that I can calm others down.” Answer: “First calm down yourself, then you will calm others too.” “You must have love, and love with wings, on the one hand - humility, and on the other - alms and all condescension towards your neighbor.” Question: “What does it mean to sincerely confess?” Answer: “Don’t hide anything, speak straight, don’t round things off.” Question: “What does it mean: if your enemy hungers, feed him, you heap coals of fire on his head?” Answer: “The coal of fire on the head signifies the mind. When you feed your enemy, his mind warms to love for you.” Question: “They say that when you take communion, you have to eat fast on that day?” Answer: “Father Leonid said that we should honor this day and not eat dairy, but Father Macarius condescended to the weakness and said that you can eat.” Question: “In the book of Barsanuphius the Great it is written: “Cast down your weakness before God.” How is this? Answer: “When thoughts attack and you are unable to fight, then say: “Lord, you see my weakness, I am unable to fight, help me!” Question: “Father, pray for me to improve.” Answer: “You have to help yourself. The prophet Nathan prayed for King David, and he wet the bed with tears, and prayed for Saul, and he was faster and snoring.” Father said: “Four virtues: courage, reasoning, chastity and truth. Chastity consists in observing oneself in all actions: in words, in deeds, in thoughts, which means keeping all virtues intact. And demons are pure, but they have pride.” “We must always tell the truth and not please people. We had a priest; I always told him the truth when he came to me. He didn't like it. And when he left us, he said to me: “If you had not told me the truth, then I could not live here.” Father said that when they came to Elder Leonid and did not recognize themselves as sinners, Father Fr. Leonid said: “If you are not a sinner, then go, otherwise there are sinners waiting there.” Question: “In a worldly house I was ashamed to be baptized, so that they would not see me.” Answer: "P. V. S. was in a good house, she was thirsty, and Father Macarius blessed her to be baptized. She thought: she can’t be baptized and she doesn’t want to not be baptized, and she didn’t start drinking. Likewise, if you don’t want to be baptized, then don’t drink tea.” Question: “Sometimes stinginess attacks.” Answer: “Give what you can, as far as your hand can.” How one wanderer begged for alms; one was stingy and gave him a thin scarf, and the other was kind and gave him everything the stranger asked of her. He had just left them when they started a fire, and everything was burned up. The wanderer returned and gave them everything - to the one who gave a lot, he gave a lot, and the stingy one said: “You are wearing your scarf.” Question: “What does “they who labor and are heavy laden” mean in the Gospel?” Answer: “Those who labor are those who work voluntarily, and those who are burdened are those who endure sorrows with difficulty for their sins, but still bear them.” Father said: “The cook came to Father Macarius and said: “There is no one to clean the fish.” Father Macarius put on an apron and went on his own; the brethren saw and found it, and the priest said to the cook: “You say that there is no one to clean.” “Thoughts of self-conceit must certainly be revealed. We had one brother who had these thoughts, but for some reason he didn’t tell them to Father Macarius, but he expressed them to some of the brethren, and they didn’t tell Father either. He left the monastery and shot himself.” Question: “When I fall into gross temptations, I become despondent and even despair.” Answer: “When Fr. Abbot Anthony was ill, then before his death Fr. Clement came to him. Father Clement at that time had doubts about someone, and Fr. The abbot said: “There is no need to despair for anyone, only the devil despaired, and others can be saved.” “A man comes, and the heart is deep. And God will be exalted, and the arrows of the child will cause their plagues. The evil enemy man will come and sow tares in the field of the Lord. The heart is deep - who listens to himself and does not look at who is doing what and how, and if he calls on God, then prayer will win and drive away the enemy’s attack, and then his arrows will be like the arrows of babies, like flies bite.” Father also says: “Man is like grass. He who is proud will wither like grass, but he who fears God will be shown mercy by the Lord.” Question: “How is it: cast your sorrow on the Lord?” Answer: “This means living simply and placing all your trust in the Lord and not speculating about what anyone has done, what and how it will happen. King David, when he thought and reasoned humanly, then reached a hopeless state, he could not find joy in anything: “My spirit was mocked and cowardly.” And when he placed his trust in God, then he was consoled: “I remembered God and rejoiced.” “On my ridge are the doings of sinners.” The enemy attacks a person with passions, and the person does everything that the enemy inspires in him, and all this echoes on his back.” “Be lenient with others. Simeon the New Theologian writes: “If you calm a hundred people and offend one, then everything is lost.” Question: “What does it mean: your rod and your club comfort me?” Answer: “The rod is the cross, sorrow, and the club is the Jesus Prayer. The rod is the active part of virtue, and the club is mental prayer.” Question: “There are thoughts that you trust me.” Answer: “And I’ll tell you a parable. One hermit was chosen as a bishop; he refused for a long time, but they insisted. Then he thought: “I didn’t know that I was worthy, surely I have something good.” At this time, an Angel appeared to him and said: “Ryadniche (ordinary monk), why are you ascending, people there have sinned and they need punishment, that’s why they were chosen, because there was no one worse than you.” During the embarrassment, the priest never gave his blessing to make comments or reprimands and told how Archimandrite Moses had a cell attendant, Fr. Nifont; he did something inappropriate and waited for the parting, but the archimandrite did not seem to notice anything. Father Nifont comes to him and is still waiting for a reprimand, and the archimandrite gives him various orders. This happened several times. Once upon a time o. Nifont came to the archimandrite very cheerful, and he now hooked the door and began to sneak through it. According to the notes of another nun, the priest said: “Bad dreams come from three things - from condemnation, from vanity and from gluttony. Someone asked a monk: “Who taught you to pray?” He answered: “Demons.” - “How are the demons?” - “Yes, so! They fought me with different thoughts, and I fought them off with prayer.” Without devotion to God's Providence you will not gain peace. If you don’t humble yourself, that’s why you don’t have peace. Chrysostom says: “If you want to know the truth about yourself, look for it from your enemies - they will tell you.” Three rings cling to each other: hatred from anger, anger from pride. When you speak with a humble person, you relax, it is easy with him; and when you talk to someone who justifies himself and blames others, oh, what a mess you get. When there is insensibility, then it is most necessary to practice verbal prayer. When the heart clings to earthly things, then we must remember that earthly things will not go with us to the Kingdom of Heaven.” About the sorrows caused by gossip and gossip that occurs in monasteries, Fr. Ambrose expressed both orally and in writing the following: “Whoever entered the monastery directly follows the path of humility in the fear of God, keeping his eyes, ears, and tongue in conscience, and resorting to self-reproach when making mistakes, he will see few unpleasant incidents, and the word “gossip” will not exist for him. If the Lord, for the sake of our salvation, endured spitting and strangling and every kind of humiliation, then whoever wants to be saved should not know, if only he has the right desire for salvation, that he must also suffer the same, although to a lesser extent, for his sins and for the sake of his salvation. The main idea during tonsure is expressed as follows: “Imashi will be annoyed, and humbled, and driven out, and bear all the sorrow.” For those who know and remember this, the word “gossip” cannot have any force. If anyone asks, for whom do they exist and have power? Of course - even for the weak, although well-intentioned, whose pride is still strong, even if it was plausibly covered with some supposedly blessed pretexts; - for those who look at things, although in some cases, with a human eye, not yet being free from receiving attention and affection and greeting, and some respect, and sometimes preference, especially when there seems to be some pretext for this through the benefits they have received. The Holy Apostle Paul clearly expressed both of these states with a reproach: “Having been made in spirit, now they shall perish in the flesh.” How can one be weak in this case? It’s very simple: realize your weakness, resort to self-reproach and humility, and in unpleasant cases blame yourself more than others, and above all, look at things simply, that we are all people, all human beings, everyone sees in their own way, understands in their own way, judges and interprets in their own way. In this we will be judged by the Son of God alone, to Whom alone this power was given from God the Father. When we leave simplicity and think and interpret what, and how, and why, and for what, and who they are, and how they are, then it will not be simple, but it will turn out to be tricky, and even more stupid. There will be confusion and misunderstandings; will not do without a complaint; and the sorrows, the sorrows will be unbearable. I don’t remember, it’s written somewhere that vanity, if you touch it with your finger, screams: “You’re tearing your skin.” Although this is not always the case, it happens, not in small part, only in various modifications. Our self-love is the root of all evil. It is the beginning of all passions, it is the cause of all our disasters and suffering, sometimes at the present time, and sometimes as a consequence of previous mistakes. However, it is not pride alone that is the cause of sorrow, but often a good determination to live piously, as the apostle says: “All who want to live piously will be persecuted.” And in another place it is said: “Many are the sorrows of the righteous,” only with the addition of encouragement: “But the Lord will deliver them from all of them.” Blessed is he who is one of these and endures tribulation for the sake of truth and a pious life. What about those about whom it is said: “Many are the wounds of the sinner?” And such should not despair, but without embarrassment and with hope in God’s mercy, complacently reach out to repentance and humility, imitating the publican, who, seeing his fault in everything, cried out to the Lord: “God, be merciful to me a sinner.” Trying to live piously, one must remember and never forget that everything one reads and understands must be applied to oneself, and not to others, to be prudently strict towards oneself, and lenient towards others. To be prudently strict means not to be stupidly embarrassed. We can see an example of this in children of different ages, who are treated with leniency according to their understanding. There are also spiritual children whose age is not calculated by their years or beards and wrinkles, but rather it is positively said: “The age of old age is an undefiled life.” Will we soon reach that age of old age? And having not lived, we all demand from each other indulgence, out of love for God: to hear condescendingly, to see condescendingly, to judge condescendingly about what we have seen and heard. All this is said only for information, so as not to be irrationally afraid. In fact, you will have to feel a lot, because a person does not suddenly acquire dispassion. And where there are passions, there are sorrows with many perplexities and misunderstandings.” The instructions of Fr. are of a slightly different nature. Ambrose, which he said in his hut not only for monastics, but also for lay people. We must remember what an impression this shack made in itself! “How joyfully your heart will beat,” says one of her regular visitors, “when, walking through a dark pine forest, you see at the end of the path the monastery bell tower, and on the right side the wretched cell of a humble ascetic! How light your soul is when you sit in this cramped and stuffy hut, and how light it seems in its mysterious half-light! How many people have been here! And they came here, shedding bitter tears of sorrow, and left with tears of joy; desperate - consoled and encouraged; unbelievers and doubters are faithful children of the Church.” “Here lived “Father” - the source of so many blessings and consolations. Neither a person's title nor his fortune had any meaning in his eyes. He only needed the soul of a person, which was so dear to him that, forgetting himself, he tried with all his might to save it, to put it on the true path. From morning to evening, depressed by illness, the elder received visitors, serving each according to their needs. His words were accepted with faith and were law. His blessing or special attention was considered great happiness; and those who were worthy of this left him, being baptized and thanking God for the consolation they received.” The quiet speeches of the gracious elder flowed in the hut like a bright, beneficial, inexhaustible stream and were carried by the attentive and tender hearts of listeners to the most remote corners of Russia and were passed on from mouth to mouth, like precious lessons of a holy, pure Christian life. “How to live? - said the old man. “To live is not to bother, not to judge anyone, not to annoy anyone, and my respect to everyone.” “You need to live unhypocritically and behave exemplarily; then our cause will be right, otherwise it will turn out badly.” “We must live on earth as a wheel turns - just one point touches the ground, and the rest certainly tends upward; but as soon as we lie down on the ground, we can’t get up.” “To go to a monastery, you need not a cartload of patience, but a whole convoy.” “To be a nun, you must be either iron or gold: iron means to have great patience; gold – great humility.” “Go where they lead you, see what they show you, and keep saying, “Thy will be done.” “What do you care what they say about you,” the old man once said, “if you listen to other people’s speeches, you’ll have to put a donkey on your shoulders.” “A promise without fulfillment is like a tree without fruit.” The elder also said: “Where it’s simple, there are a hundred Angels, but where it’s sophisticated, there’s not a single one.” And sometimes he added to this: “Where there is no simplicity, there is only emptiness.” When someone said to the priest: “I can’t,” he often told about one merchant who kept saying: “I can’t, I can’t, I’m weak.” And once he had to travel across Siberia; he was wrapped in two fur coats and dozed off at night; he opened his eyes and suddenly saw exactly a radiance in front of him, everything seemed to be flickering; looks, wolves... How he jumped up... Yes, forgetting about the weight of his fur coats, straight into the tree... “The asked cross,” said the elder, “is difficult to bear, but it is better to simply surrender to the will of God. For God will not allow temptation beyond measure, but with temptation He will create excess.” About the fact that without humility it is impossible to be saved, Fr. Ambrose said: “One lady saw in a dream the Lord Jesus Christ and a crowd of people before Him. At His call, a peasant girl came up to Him first, and then a man in bast shoes and all the other people of the peasant class. The lady thought that the Lord would soon call her for her kindness and in general for all her virtues. Imagine her surprise when she saw that the Lord had stopped calling. She decided to remind the Lord about herself, but He completely turned away from her. Then she fell to the ground and began to humbly admit that she was truly worse than everyone and unworthy to be in the Kingdom of Heaven.” Father then added: “But these are the ones who are good, these are the ones we need there.” To the words of one who stood near the elder, “pride interferes in everything,” he replied: “And you wrap yourself in humility; then even if the sky clings to the earth, there will be no fear.” A person in happiness forgets himself and attributes everything to himself - to his impotent strength and imaginary power; but as soon as some misfortune visits him, he asks for mercy even from an imaginary enemy. This truth about. Ambrose portrayed it this way: “Man is like a beetle. When it’s a warm day and the sun is shining, he flies, is proud of himself and buzzes: “All my forests, all my meadows! All my meadows, all my forests!” ? And as soon as the sun disappears, the cold blows and the wind starts to blow, the beetle will forget its prowess, cling to the leaf and only squeak: “Don’t push me away!” The elder also told how sometimes circumstances inadvertently humble a person: “Once someone hosted a dinner at his place and sent his servants to invite guests. One of those invited asks the servant sent to him: “Did your master really not find anyone better than you to send to me?” To this the messenger replied: “They sent good after good, but I am at your mercy.” He also spoke about. Ambrose about humility: “I came, it was, to the rector, Fr. One visitor came to Archimandrite Moses, but, not finding him at home, he went to his brother Fr. Abbot Anthony. In the midst of the conversation, the guest asked Fr. abbot: “Tell me, father, what rule do you follow?” – Father Anthony replied: “I had many rules; I lived in the desert and in monasteries, and all the rules were different; and now there is only one tax collector left: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” “As soon as a person humbles himself,” the elder used to say, “how humility immediately places him on the threshold of the Kingdom of Heaven.” “You cannot achieve reasoning,” said the elder, “without love and humility, and humility and love without obedience.” “One kept wanting to travel here and there - both to Kyiv and Zadonsk; and one old man said to her: “All this is not good for you; you better sit at home and say the publican’s prayer.” The elder said about irritability: “No one should justify his irritability with some kind of illness - it comes from pride. And the husband’s anger, according to the word of St. the apostle, he does not do the righteousness of God. In order not to indulge in irritability and anger, one should not rush.” Talking about envy and memory, the elder said: “You need to force yourself, albeit against your will, to do some good to your enemies; and most importantly, do not take revenge on them and be careful not to somehow offend them with the appearance of contempt and humiliation.” Someone said to the elder: “How is it that you, father, are not angry with those who speak ill of you, but continue to love them?” The elder laughed a lot at this and said: “You had a little son, were you angry with him if he did or said something wrong? Didn’t you, on the contrary, try to somehow cover up his shortcomings?” The elder spoke about St. Alexander Nevsky, that he was a governor, and a sovereign, and a father of a family, and a martyr, and a confessor, and a monk, and, finally, a schema monk. He was a model worthy of imitation to everyone and in everything he was able to do. He told about him that when he and others appeared in the Golden Horde and, like others who were with him, did not bow to the bush, the khan, having executed his companions, spared him for his beauty and representativeness. “Consequently,” said the priest, “beauty and representative appearance are also a gift from God, there is a talent, the use of which we must also give an account to God.” Father said: “Whoever does not honor the holidays has no luck.” Father also said: “Gregory Dvoeslov writes about the price at which the Kingdom of Heaven is acquired. There is no specific price for it. Every person must give everything he has for it. The Apostle Peter gave the net and received the Kingdom of Heaven, the widow gave two mites; whoever has millions, let him give them; and whoever has nothing, let him give his will.” “If you don’t want to pray, you have to force yourself,” said the elder; – the holy fathers say that prayer with compulsion is higher than voluntary prayer. You don’t want to, but force yourself: the Kingdom of Heaven demands it.” On the book by Rev. Barsanuphius the Great and John the Prophet, the priest wrote: “Whoever wants to listen to himself should read this book more carefully, sit at home more, look around less, not walk around his cells and not bring guests to his place; do not condemn others, but groan about your sins to the Lord God in order to receive God’s mercy.” The elder said about love: “Love, according to the word of the Apostle, forgives everything, is long-suffering, does not condemn, does not desire anything that belongs to others, and does not envy.” “Love covers everything. And if someone does good to their neighbors out of the desire of their heart, and not driven only by duty, then the devil cannot interfere with such a person; and where it is only out of duty, there he still tries to interfere with one or the other.” “God sends mercy to the one who works, and consolation to the one who loves.” “Love, of course, is higher than everything. If you find that there is no love in you, but you want to have it, then do deeds of love, although at first without love. The Lord will see your desire and effort and put love into your heart. And most importantly, when you notice that you have sinned against love, immediately confess it to the elder. This can sometimes be from a bad heart, and sometimes from the enemy. You can’t make it out yourself; and when you confess, the enemy will depart.” “It’s always better to give in,” said the priest, “if you insist fairly, it’s the same as a ruble in banknotes, and if you give in, a ruble in silver.” “Whoever has a bad heart should not despair; because with God's help a person can correct his heart. You just need to carefully monitor yourself and not miss the opportunity to be useful to your neighbors, often open up to the elder and give alms within your power. This, of course, cannot be done suddenly, but the Lord is patient. He only ends a person’s life when he sees him ready for the transition to eternity or when he sees no hope for his correction.” “If you accept people for God’s sake, then, believe me, everyone will be good to you.” “In order for a person to correct himself, he doesn’t have to suddenly push himself, but like someone pulling a barge: pull, pull, pull, give, give! – Not all at once, but little by little. Do you know the trouble on the ship? This is a pole to which all the ropes of the ship are tied; and if you pull on it, then little by little everything stretches out; but if you take it right away, you’ll ruin everything from shock.” “It’s not possible to become dispassionate now; and every time you feel your sinfulness, say: “Lord, forgive me!” The Lord alone is able to put love into a person’s heart.” Elder Ambrose said about alms: “St. Dimitri Rostovsky writes: “If a man on a horse comes to you and asks you, give it to him. How he uses your alms, you are not responsible for that.” Also: “St. John Chrysostom says: “Start giving to the poor what you don’t need, what you have lying around; then you will be able to give more and even with deprivation of yourself, and finally you will be ready to give everything you have.” “There is no excuse for the atheists,” said the elder. After all, the Gospel is preached to everyone, to everyone, including the pagans; finally, by nature, we are all from birth endowed with the feeling of knowing God; therefore, they themselves are to blame. You ask whether it is possible to pray for such people. Of course, you can pray for everyone.” “Father,” someone asked, “surely someone whose close relatives will suffer in hell cannot feel complete bliss in the future life?” The elder replied: “No, this feeling will no longer be there; Then you’ll forget about everyone. It's just like taking an exam. When you go to an exam, it’s still scary, and all sorts of thoughts are crowding around; But when I came, I took a ticket and forgot about everything.” The elder said about laziness and despondency: “Boredom is the grandson of despondency, and laziness is the daughter. To drive it away, work hard in action, don’t be lazy in prayer, then boredom will pass and zeal will come. And if you add patience and humility to this, you will save yourself from many evils.” The priest said about insensibility and fearlessness: “Death is not just around the corner, but behind us; and at least we have a stake on our heads.” “If at one end of the village they hang people, at the other end they will not stop sinning, saying: they will not reach us soon.” One gentleman came to the elder who did not believe in demons. The elder told him: “A gentleman came to one village to visit his friends and chose a room for himself to spend the night. They tell him: “Don’t lie here, it’s not safe in this room.” But he didn’t believe it and just laughed at it. Lay down. But suddenly at night he hears that someone is blowing directly on his bald head. He covered his head with a blanket. Then this someone moved to his feet and sat down on the bed. The guest was frightened and rushed to run away from there as fast as he could, convinced by his own experience of the existence of a dark force.” After listening to the elder’s story, the gentleman said: “Your will, father, I don’t even understand what kind of demons these are.” To this the elder replied: “But not everyone understands mathematics, but it exists. How can demons not exist when we know from the Gospel that the Lord Himself commanded demons to enter the herd of pigs?” The gentleman objected: “But this is allegorical?” “So,” answered the elder, “both pigs are allegorical, and pigs do not exist? And if pigs exist, then demons also exist.” Denouncing false shame and cowardice in faith, the elder said: “One of them did not believe in God. And when, during the war in the Caucasus, he had to fight, in the midst of the battle, when bullets were flying past him, he bent down, hugging his horse, and read all the time: “Most Holy Mother of God, save us!” “And then, when, remembering this, his comrades laughed at him, he renounced his words.” Having said this, the elder added: “Hypocrisy is worse than unbelief.” The elder said about repentance: “What a time has come now! It used to happen that if someone sincerely repents of their sins, they will already change their sinful life to a good one; and now it often happens like this: a person will tell all his sins in detail in confession, and then again take up his own.” “Once a demon sat in the form of a man and dangled his legs. He who saw this with spiritual eyes asked him: “Why aren’t you doing anything?” The demon answered: “Now I have nothing left to do but dangle my legs; people do everything better than me.” The elder spoke about the power of repentance: “Only one kept sinning and repenting, and so on all his life. Finally, he repented and died. An evil spirit came for his soul and said: “He is mine.” The Lord says: “No, he repented.” “But at least he repented and sinned again,” continued the devil. Then the Lord said to him: “If you, being angry, took him back to you after he repented to Me, then how could I not accept him after he, having sinned, again turned to Me with repentance? You forget that you are evil, and I am good.” They asked the priest: “What does crying mean?” The priest answered: “Crying means lamentation; non-crying comes from tears, and tears from crying.” “Sins are like walnuts—you can crack the shell, but it’s difficult to pick out the grain.” “Three degrees of salvation. Said by St. John Chrysostom: a) do not sin, b) having sinned, repent, c) whoever repents badly must endure the sorrows that come.” “It happens that although our sins are forgiven through repentance, our conscience still does not cease to reproach us. The late elder Fr. Macarius, for comparison, sometimes showed his finger, which had long ago been cut; The pain has long gone, but the scar remains. Likewise, even after the forgiveness of sins, scars remain, that is, reproaches of conscience.” “God does not create the cross for man. And no matter how heavy the cross that a person bears in life may be, the tree from which it is made always grows on the soil of his heart.” “For example, I have always been a talker, I loved to talk with people and have fun; The Lord arranged it in such a way that I had to interpret with the people all my life. Now I would be glad to remain silent, but I don’t have to.” “When a person walks the straight path, there is no cross for him. But when he retreats from him and begins to rush in one direction or another, then different circumstances appear that push him back onto the straight path. These shocks constitute a cross for a person. They are, of course, different, depending on who needs which one.” “A person is constantly confused by sinful thoughts; but if he does not deign to them, then he is not guilty of them.” “One ascetic was overwhelmed by unclean thoughts for a long time. When the Lord who appeared to her drove them away from her, she cried out to Him: “Where have you been before, O my sweet Jesus?” The Lord answered: “I was in your heart.” She said: “How could this be? After all, my heart was filled with unclean thoughts.” And the Lord said to her: “Therefore, understand that I was in your heart, that you had no inclination towards unclean thoughts, but tried more to get rid of them, but not being able, you were sick about it, and by this you prepared a place for Me in your heart.” “Sometimes sorrows are sent to a person innocently so that, following the example of Christ, he suffers for others. The Savior Himself first suffered for people. His apostles also suffered for the Church and for the people. To have perfect love means to suffer for your neighbors.” “Why do people sin? - the elder sometimes asked a question, and he himself solved it. - Either because they don’t know what to do and what to avoid, or, if they know, they forget; if they do not forget, then they become lazy and despondent... These are three giants - despondency or laziness, oblivion and ignorance - from which the entire human race is bound by insoluble bonds. And then comes negligence with all its host of evil passions. That is why we pray to the Queen of Heaven: “My Most Holy Lady Theotokos, with Your holy and all-powerful prayers, drive away from me Your humble and accursed servant despondency, oblivion, foolishness, negligence and all the nasty, evil and blasphemous thoughts,” and so on.” To many Fr. Ambrose advised, both in letters and verbally, not to abandon the short Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Father o. Ambrose advised to resort to the psalms of St. in case of human and enemy intrigues. the prophet David, which he prayed when he was persecuted by enemies, namely, read psalms: 3rd, 53rd, 58th, 142nd. Choose from these psalms verses appropriate to grief, and read them often, turning to God with faith and humility. And when despondency overcomes or an unaccountable sorrow torments the soul, read Psalm 101, 36 (Do not be jealous of those who are evil, nor envy those who do iniquity), then Psalm 26 (The Lord is my enlightenment) and Psalm 90 (Alive in the help of the Most High). If, in the name of the Holy Trinity, you regularly read these psalms three times daily with humility and zeal, surrendering yourself to the all-good Providence of God, then the Lord will bring out your truth like light and your destiny like noon, just obey the Lord and beg Him. It is also useful to read Psalm 39 (I have endured the Lord and listened). Pointing out that a person has nothing to be proud of, the elder added: “And why should a person really be proud here? - The ragged, plucked man asks for alms: “Have mercy, have mercy!” “And whether mercy will come, who knows.” When they complained to the elder that extraneous thoughts were interfering with prayer, he said: “A man was driving through the market; there is a crowd of people around him, talk, noise; and he kept on his horse: “But-but! but-but!” - so little by little, little by little, I drove through the entire bazaar. So you too, no matter what your thoughts say, do all your work - pray!” So that people would not remain careless and would not place all their hope in outside prayerful help, the elder repeated the usual folk saying: “God help me, and the man himself does not lie.” And he added: “Remember, the twelve apostles asked the Savior for a Canaanite wife, but He did not hear them; and she began to ask - she begged.” To show that God mainly looks at a person’s inner prayer disposition, Fr. Ambrose said: “Once I came to Fr. Hegumen Anthony is sick with his legs and says: “Father, my legs hurt, I can’t bow down, and this confuses me.” Father Anthony answered him: “But the Scripture says: son, give me a heart, not legs.” One nun told the elder that she saw an icon of the Mother of God in a dream and heard from Her: “Make a sacrifice.” Father asked: “Well, did you make a sacrifice?” She replied: “What will I bring? I have nothing." Then the priest said: “It is written in the psalms: the sacrifice of praise will glorify me.” When talking about Daryushka the Wanderer, the elder sighed and said: “Yes, the Lord rests in simple hearts. Gold is visible everywhere, and will appear everywhere, despite its angularity; and the other, no matter how curled he is, everything will not be gold.” To the remark that Daryushka died well, the priest said: “That’s why the death was good, because she lived well. How you live is how you die.” About how difficult it is to eradicate sinful habits in a person and how much the example of others means, the elder said: “Like a wild horse caught in a herd, when they throw a lasso and lead it, it still resists and at first goes sideways; and then, when she takes a closer look that the other horses are walking calmly, she herself will go in a row; so is man.” About the networks of the devil Fr. Ambrose said: “A lazy spider sits in one place, letting out a thread and waiting - as soon as a fly comes across, now off with its head! And the fly is buzzing.” At the same time, the priest added meaningfully: “Let’s buzz! – So the enemy always stretches out his nets; as soon as anyone gets caught, his head will be off.” Then the elder turned to someone and said: “Look, don’t be a fly, otherwise you’ll buzz like that.” Life itself often directs a person to the true path. “Some father sent his son into the forest on business; and the son says: “Father, how can I be there alone? I don’t know anything.” “Nothing, go,” his father tells him, “necessity will teach you everything.” He went; but in the forest his sleigh broke down. He remembered his father’s words, “need will teach you everything,” and let’s shout: “Need!” - And she answers him: “Ah-ah!” He waited and waited, screamed and shouted, no one came to his aid. Then he got down, somehow straightened the sleigh himself, came to his father and said: “You deceived me, father, because need did not come to my aid.” - “How did you cope?” - “Yes, just like that.” “This is the very thing that you somehow managed, and shows that need helped you.” Father sometimes liked to make humorous remarks in rhyme with the names or surnames of his interlocutors, in which, under the external joke, a deep inner meaning and serious instruction were hidden. “Look, Melitona,” he said to one nun, warning her against arrogance, “stick to the middle tone; if you take it high, it won’t be easy; if you take it low, it will be slimy; and you, Melitona, stick to the middle tone.” “Faith, be a strong faith, do not be a weak faith.” “Hope is not our souls.” “Love endures and endures for a long time, but if it does not endure a little, nothing will happen; the one who endures to the end will be saved.” "Kate! It won't be five minutes back." Or: “Why doesn’t Katya back away?” Also: “Katish! Watch where you're going. Roll to where it is quiet, smooth, and God’s grace.” “Lick! Look down, there is humility and patience is found.” “The pear is asking for help, but we will pull it by the ears.” “Manya! Mani, mani, don’t deceive me!” Also: “If Manya doesn’t deceive herself, it will be very, very good.” “Our Nile is dear to everyone, but sometimes it is rotten.” “If it were Anna, not Annette, Annettes would be of no use.” “Mother Eumenia! Collect your understanding." Or: “Mother Eumenia has lost her understanding.” To one person named Blokhina: “When are fleas bad?” Or: “Times have become bad: fleas even let out the wrong sighs.” (It is remarkable that when she was still a young girl, her sister, who had always treated her father, once expressed to him her disappointment that, no matter how much she persuaded her sister to go with her to the elder, she would not agree. Father said: “When the flea bites her, then she will come to us.” She took the word “flea” simply for an insect that bites, but it turned out that the word had has a different meaning. She married Blokhin, and when troubles began in their life, she came to the priest.) To one skete novice, Maxim, the priest repeated at almost every meeting: “In Kolomna, in the cemetery, there is this kind of inscription: “Under this stone lies Maxim. They should have lived and had fun, but they deigned to move to the next world.” Soon Maxim suddenly died. To the little girl Marfa: “Martha bakes in the sun, but when she grows up, she will bake others too.” Fr. His love for people and caring for them. Ambrose showed in every possible way - both material help and spiritual guidance. He distributed the things brought to him through his cell attendants to the needy monastics; He divided the money sent into three parts - he sent one part to the monastery commander for the needs of the monastery and for the commemoration of benefactors, the other part was assigned to the poor, and, finally, the third, smallest part, was allocated for lamp oil and wax candles for conducting his cell vigils and other prayers. Alms were also given to all the poor who came to him every day through his cell attendants. In exceptional cases, the elder himself served. One day he hurriedly leaves the hut for his cell and immediately, in passing, turns to his clerk: “There came a woman with orphans, little by little. There are five orphans, but there is nothing to eat. She cries bitterly and asks for help. And the smallest one doesn’t say anything, but just looks into my eyes, raising his hands with a rake. How can we not give it to him!” The old man began to take out money. My hands tremble with excitement, tears flow from my eyes against my will. Every year, on the great holidays of the Nativity of Christ and Holy Easter, the elder sent out several dozen money letters to different places to those who could not come to him for alms in person. Rubles were sent in threes, fives or more. By the end of the elder’s life, the number of such money letters sent out for great holidays increased to two hundred. There have been, although rarely, cases when Fr. Ambrose sent one person one hundred rubles or more. Some poor nuns were almost, one might say, supported at his expense. He helped many and supported entire families financially with the assistance of rich people who trusted him. Finally, the populous Shamordino monastery, with many poor, sick, orphans, cripples and homeless people, received its maintenance from the elder or for his sake. The elder’s love and compassion for people were such that he did not ignore their most apparently unimportant grief, which in the eyes of other people seemed ridiculous and not worthy of any attention, without attention, participation and help. One day he was stopped by a peasant woman who had been hired by the landowner to herd turkeys. There were no turkeys living with her, and the lady wanted to pay her off. “Father,” the woman screamed in tears, “at least help me. I have no strength. I can’t finish eating them myself, I’m closer than my eyes, but they prick. The lady wants to drive me away. Have pity, darling! Those present here laughed at her stupidity, why did she go to the elder with such trifles. And the elder kindly asked her how she fed them, and gave advice on how to support them differently, blessed her and said goodbye. To those who laughed at the peasant woman, he noticed that her whole life was in these turkeys. The woman's turkeys stopped sticking. When Shamordino was just being settled and there were few sisters, one elderly but healthy woman asked the priest to join the new monastery. Father accepted her and sent her to the Rudnovsky farm to go after the cattle. She set about her obedience with zeal and worked diligently, but then, little by little, she began to feel burdened by the fact that she did not live in a monastery, was far from the church and had no time to pray, all she had to think about was cows and pigs. Dejection took possession of her so much that she began to grumble at the elder, saying: “I asked the priest to go to the monastery, but he sent me to the pigs,” and finally decided to go somewhere else to another monastery, but she did not tell the elder or anyone about this. At this time it happened that the priest arrived in Rudnovo, and after him, as usual, many lay people came, among whom were several prominent persons. The priest received everyone for a general blessing, and the newcomers began to ask the elder to receive them separately, but the priest replied: “You are free people, but I came here to work with the local sisters, who are constantly working and rarely see me.” With these words, he escorted everyone out of his cell, and called the despondent old cowwoman to him. “You fool,” the priest said to her affectionately, “why are you grieving, that I don’t need you, and are planning to leave; I left all the newcomers and received you. Well, tell me how your calves and piglets are doing.” These short words, but warmed by fatherly love, were enough for any thought not only about leaving, but also about any dissatisfaction to completely disappear without a trace. Not only at that time, but also later, when the elder was no longer there, in moments when patience weakened, these words served her as inspiration and encouragement. One modern writer, who is generally not inclined towards monasticism but is very favorable towards Elder Ambrose, reports the following cases of the elder’s loving care. “The daughter of a famous merchant, an educated but modest girl, carried away by a young professor, became a mother. The enraged merchant kicked her out of the house with nothing, in all four directions. She crossed over to a neighboring town, handed the child over to some bourgeois woman, promising to pay, and then, like everyone else in these provinces, i.e. Kaluga and its neighbors, the confused people, went to Optina Pustyn to Elder Ambrose “for forgiveness and advice.” To the visitors, who gathered in large crowds, the elder came out into a quadrangle surrounded by poles; those who came stood near them, waiting in line for him to call everyone, and the elder walked inside the fence, now immersed in thought, now talking to one or the other, now calling him inside the fence. A young woman also intervened in this crowd. She was preparing for a difficult, embarrassing confession. Imagine her bewilderment and embarrassment when, bypassing his neighbors, he called her from afar; and as soon as she approached him and habitually bowed to the ground, he kindly and sympathetically asked her where she had left the baby she had given birth to. She told everything in tears. Then he told her to immediately go back, take the woman’s child, return to her father’s city, “and God will send money for food”... She did just that. I am still passing on what I heard, but I have already seen the rest with my own eyes. In the second grade of the gymnasium there was a tall, thin and unusually animated boy; eternal pranks, but unusually naive, innocent, so that without his pranks it would be more boring in class. And all the pranks were delicate, quiet, rather witty. He was very shy, impressionable, and at the same time open. He did not have at all that little impudence and importunity, without which, unfortunately, Russian children at the age of 13 are almost never found. I once gave him a point in the magazine and saw that for the previous week the “certificate of viewing points” was signed with another name, not his. “Why didn’t you let your parents sign?” – I asked mechanically. - “This is mom’s signature.” - “How are moms?” And I pointed out the difference in surnames. Surprise showed on his face: obviously, this had never occurred to him. “Is it true that your mother is married for the second time and has a second husband and bears this (not similar to the boy’s surname) surname?” - “No, I know for sure that my mother is not married for the second time.” It was only then that I began to realize that there was an abnormality in the student’s marital status. Having given him a point and seated him in his place, I then, taking advantage of the student’s cheerfulness and openness, and, as I often had the habit of doing with almost all students, began to ask him where and how and how he and his parents lived. All his answers were, so to speak, surprising, and together they formed a continuation of the story I cited above, which I heard just shortly before the incident with this boy. “My mother draws, she only writes images and nothing else; she won’t paint an image for you, because she doesn’t do it for strangers, but as soon as she writes it, she takes it to the priest.” - “Which one?” - “To Father Ambrose, in Optina Pustyn.” - “How does she know him?” - “We have known each other for a long time. He is as kind as anyone.” - “And you saw him?” - “He especially loves me.” We visit him twice a year. And every time he takes me to his cell and caresses, caresses me and always gives me gifts. And he is cheerful, cheerful, constantly joking and laughing, but he allows me to do everything at his place, and I feel like I am at home with him." Meanwhile, from other stories I knew that Father Ambrose can be serious, instructive, and at times even stern... Obviously, there was an exceptional connection. The elder saved the young woman with his advice, saved the boy too; and he loved them with special love, as his own creation, adopted them as his own; and the grateful woman She devoted herself entirely to the grateful religious feeling expressed in the painting of icons. As I asked and found out, the stern father gave her a little money for her maintenance, but did not let her into the house, and he and his family had no relations with her” 61. To one widowed woman, who was left with her daughter and granddaughter and without any means at all, without a pension or help, but who had a house, the elder said: “Don’t you dare think about selling the house.” You could get two thousand for a house and start making money; there would be enough time for the first time. But the elder did not calculate the first time, but the distant one. His ban was equal to the law. Three orphans lived in a cold and hungry house; but relatives helped for the first months, and then a tenant was found, became “the master’s grub,” and the family survived for the tenth year, with difficulty, but without falling into ruin and beggary, which could not be avoided without a home. Another case: “An adult son, already a teacher at a city school, disappeared from drunkenness. This drunkenness was so uncontrollable and at the same time unbearable for everyone that the father and all the relatives for a long time did not want to see the young man, or even let him into a clean and tidy house. Only one mother did not give up on him. After being kicked out of the house, he already spent the night in the garden, in the bathhouse, he was found drunk on the street, and in general there was a lot of shame. Meanwhile, in rare sober moments, the unfortunate man was reasonable, friendly to everyone, shy and modest. He was taught to drink in his youth by his thin seminary comrades. His mother, who was in despair, took him several times to “Father Ambrose,” and it was her, this most caring and inexhaustible mother in patience, that he tapped on the back with a staff (as they say, a sign of special senile favor, and sometimes a special type of strictly educational influence); he treated the drunkard continuously affectionately, “and deigned to speak.” They thought about turning their son into a soldier, which was possible both due to his meek character and because drunkenness was an obvious incorrigible disease. But the elder forbade this, and he instructed his mother to always take care of him, and about him he “predicted a wondrous fate, that he would become a priest and offer prayer before the Throne of God.” Such a prediction even dampened the desire to turn to him further for advice: the young man who was drinking was not even ordained as a psalm-reader, but was serving as a teacher, and most importantly, he was in such an ugly shape. But his mother still looked after him and married him there; and there the wife took the drunken husband to some doctor... Then, after the death of the father, a deacon’s place was opened, he was ordained and finally became a priest, and the mother who related this incident lived in his house and managed the entire abundant household and nursed her sons and daughter.” Under the loving and caring leadership of Fr. Ambrose sometimes radically changed the direction of people's lives, as can be seen from the following story of nun N. “I entered the monastery with the blessing of Father Ambrose, and previously my dispensation was not at all monastic, although I received my upbringing and education in a theological school. There was a convent next to our school. We often visited him, thus getting acquainted with the monastic life, and we did not like it, so we, peers, gave our word never to enter the monastery. After completing the course, I became a home teacher in secular homes and, living like this for six years, became even more involved in secular life. There was no mention of the monastery. But the Providence of God, through the message of destinies, arranges our salvation. One of my brothers, a priest, having lived with his wife for two years, became a widower, remained lonely and asked me to come to him. I left my teaching job and moved in with my brother. It must be said that my brother was of a spiritual dispensation and, while still a seminarian, aspired to enter the monastery, but Father Ambrose, with whom he corresponded about this, ordered him to first complete his course of study. At the end of the course, my brother had to help his mother and support his younger brothers, and therefore first became a teacher, and then, at the request of his mother, a priest. The Lord saw his spiritual dispensation and sent him a sick wife, who soon died. During her illness, the brother, through a wanderer in whom he had great confidence, turned to Father Ambrose, asking him to pray for the sick woman, and received the following answer: “Let him watch, plant a garden, water it more often, there will be a lot of fruit. The month of July will be mournful for him.” Indeed, his wife died in July. And so we gathered to him: me, my sister and my mother. And he decided to place one of us in his place, and to decide who, my mother and I went together to Optina, to Father Ambrose, who, at the general blessing, hit me on the head and said: “Don’t you want to go to the monastery?” I was embarrassed and couldn’t find what to answer. He took his mother, talked with her and ordered her to come to him again in a year; He didn’t give his blessing to either sister to get married, and he even said about the younger one that she was sick, where should she marry, although he had never seen her. The desert life of the hermits and the desert singing made a deep impression on me, and the penetrating gaze of the elder, his ardent fatherly love for all the mourning and suffering, completely recreated me, and I began to think about the monastery, left outfits, amusements, trips, ate only dairy food; So she spent a year and again appeared to the elder. This time I talked with him, confessed and received the blessing to enter the monastery. A year later I finally arrived, although it was difficult to overcome all the obstacles. After living for a year in the monastery, I received news that my brother fell ill with throat consumption, and that Moscow doctors declared him hopeless. I came with this grief to my father, and he said: “He needs to go to a monastery, but his mother is holding him; go and tell your mother what is easier for her - for him to die or for him to go to a monastery?” Arriving home, I conveyed these words to my mother. The mother began to cry and said: “God bless! Let him go!” The next morning the sale of property began. The priest gave his blessing to fill up the house and not wait for buyers. After some time, I returned to my monastery, taking my sister with me to stay. My sister really liked monastery life, and she stayed with me. Some kind of illness just befell her, and she was sick for two years, the doctors could not help her, but the priest cured her too, giving her some noodle root to drink. When she recovered, they dressed her and placed her on the choir. After my sister and I arrived at the monastery, my brother also came to Optina. Father took him in and gave him obedience - writing and singing in the choir. The brother doubted and said: “I have a sore throat, it’s difficult to sing.” “Nothing, it will pass!” said the father. And, indeed, the throat disease passed without a trace. After this, the brother lived in the monastery for 23 years, was the confessor of the Shamordino sisters, and then was appointed archimandrite to the Borovsky monastery. Six years after my arrival with my sister at the monastery, my mother also came to us and stayed with us. She lived in the monastery for ten years, was tonsured twice by Father Ambrose, and died as a schema monk. “That’s how great and holy Elder Ambrose was,” the nun ends her simple story, “how he knew how to guide people to the better and arrange their spiritual salvation and physical well-being.” The abbess of the Kashira convent, Abbess Tikhona, spoke about herself, how she herself experienced the power of the spiritual influence of Elder Ambrose and how useful the priest’s guidance was to her: “After the death of the unforgettable Optina elder Father Macarius, with his blessing, our cell, including myself, began to relate in sorrow, bewilderment and spiritual needs to the disciple of the deceased elder, Father Hilarion, a wise man, strong in faith and, as it were, an unshakable adamantine in obedience, which he unconditionally demanded from his spiritual children. After the death of this unforgettable spiritual husband, which followed in 1873, I was left without a leader, being only 25 years old; by temptation and on the advice of the evil hater of our benefit and salvation, she agreed with his suggestion to live according to her own will, without constraining herself and without submitting to the will of the new elder; especially since at times the severity of the late Father Hilarion seemed heavy to the wayward and sinful soul, which had already partly tasted the bitter fruit of self-will during the old man’s long illness. Meanwhile, the late mother, Abbess Pavlina, knowing from experience how dangerous it is for young people to live on their own, repeatedly suggested and insisted that I go to Optina and there turn to the leadership of Father Ambrose. Not wanting to resist the will of the abbess any longer, I went during Great Lent, at a time when the elder’s house is especially crowded. Being under the influence of temptation, I hoped that due to the crowds the priest would have no time for me, and I thought like this: “I’ll sit, look and go back, thereby appeasing Mother Abbess, who so persistently wanted to send me to Optina again.” It was here that the spiritual power and grace residing in the priest manifested itself in all its strength. He saw my cold attitude towards him and, regretting my soul, which was close to death, he treated me especially carefully and, without delaying me for long, took me to confession. When I entered his cell, the priest, leaving me alone, went into his bedroom. It was completely dark; only one lamp brightly illuminated the face of the Mother of God. “I remember that when I entered, coldness and emptiness filled my soul; Moreover, I felt somehow embittered and ironic about everything around the elder, and it was with such a disgusting feeling that I came to confession. This was not hidden from the priest: he penetrated the sinful soul with his spiritual eye and, leaving me, I think, went to pray in his cell. At this time, of course, without suspecting it, I stood waiting for the elder, and now, I find it difficult to express in words what suddenly happened in my soul: some kind of light, some kind of warmth warmed and illuminated me, I fell on my knees in front of the icon of the Queen of Heaven; the tears flowed freely; These were peaceful, special, joyful tears, and when the priest came in with a candle, I got up from prayer and turned to him with the words: “My Father! Save me! I want to open my soul to you; I want to speak sincerely, I sincerely repent, I want to be obedient and devoted to you; guide me to salvation, I beg you!” “From that moment on, everything in me seemed to be transformed: my previous mood seemed terribly disgusting to me. In order to open my soul to the elder in confession, I briefly told him my whole life and my last temptation - the desire for self-will, which so strongly entangled my still young heart! “What is this if not the grace-filled power of the elder’s prayer for me?!” Leaving Optina, I was completely calm and happy; Everything delighted me: the same road, the same familiar pine forest! But he seemed different to me... my heart felt the closeness of God, so that in His creations I recognized the greatness of the Creator God, and so, from then on, I became a sincerely devoted, spiritual daughter of the elder Fr. Ambrose until his death. I have repeatedly experienced the grace-filled power of the elder’s prayers and influence; comparatively, he was much more lenient than the deceased Fr. Macarius and Fr. Hilarion. I remember hearing such a comment from people experienced in spiritual life that if the name of fathers, wise leaders, was suitable for the deceased above-mentioned elders, then for Father Fr. Ambrose should have added to this title the title of a tender, loving mother. Father did a lot with gentleness; Leaving others, I will say about myself - that I was ready to do anything just to fulfill the elder’s desire. I had to sacrifice a lot, deny myself all the imaginary pleasures and the smallest entertainments that were not always allowed in the monastery. If I may say so, the priest had some kind of special tactics; He never strictly demanded or prohibited; It happened that you repented to him that you allowed a meat-eater to eat fish on Wednesday or Friday, precisely on those days when the regulations do not allow this. And only the priest will say: “I see that you are tired of being healthy; so you eat fish when you shouldn’t!” - Of course, after these words, for fear of angering God and not incurring the punishment of illness, you will no longer allow fish, and such a suggestion remains memorable for the rest of your life. In this way, in other cases, the priest acted with gentleness, but at the same time he acted so strongly that his word remained, as it were, a law and was no longer violated. Once I repented in confession to the elder that when I bought various items in a shop, when paying a merchant - the latter made a mistake and gave me one thing instead of another, more valuable - I did not notice here, and when I found out at home, I thought that it was not worth returning and left it at home. However, this act weighed on my conscience, and I, realizing my sin, repented to the elder. To this, the priest told me an incident from his life. "When I was still studying at the seminary," said the elder, "we, several comrades, went into a shop to buy various educational supplies; when paying, the merchant miscalculated, gave us the extra, something more than a ruble. At that time, we, the schoolchildren, were glad of the opportunity and divided this money among ourselves. Having completely forgotten about it, I already remembered in Optina, and my conscience began to worry a little; then, further and further, it became more and more burden; and how much did you do to calm her down? How much I gave to the poor - subsequently how much I donated to churches, to various charitable institutions, and all with the goal of paying back what was misappropriated, although, in essence, it’s nothing, but this circumstance torments me to this day, and I would give dearly if someone could show me at least the heirs of that merchant, whose last name I don’t even remember, so that I could return to them what was taken by untruth. That’s why I advise you,” the priest continued, “when you return home, immediately take it to the shop and tell the merchant that by mistake you ended up with “such and such.” – Father also said that debts after death weigh heavily on the soul, we must avoid them! God is infinitely merciful and forgives repentant sinners, but all people are not like that; others forgive, but there are those who do not forgive debts, but complain and are indignant at their dead debtors, and thereby the soul is burdened after death! He also said: “They will give a big answer to God for not keeping the statutes of the Church regarding non-observance of fasts, but they will answer precisely for the fact that they do not consider fasting to eat fasting for sin; in everything else they recognize themselves as sinners and repent, but they do not think of repenting for breaking fasts, and meanwhile they violate the will of the Holy Mother of the Church and, according to the teaching of the Holy Apostles, are likened to a pagan for disobedience and publican." I remember: once young secular ladies came to the elder for a blessing, they were led by curiosity alone. While waiting with us in the hut for the priest to come out, they were indignant at the whole situation and, speaking to each other in French, they kept making fun of us and the elder, and said among other things: “What are we waiting for? What interesting things can we hear from Father Ambrose? What does he understand?” Then the door of the hut suddenly opened, and the priest came out with his usual smile and, first of all, focused his attention on the newly arrived aforementioned visitors. Having blessed them, without asking anything about who they were or where they were from, he immediately busied himself with their dressing, began sorting through umbrellas, lace and feathers of hats, and started a conversation with them on this topic of ladies’ attire. So he spoke for a long time; We listened, and the ladies were embarrassed, realizing the emptiness of their ordinary conversations, in which the elder so wisely denounced them that they became humble, and afterwards they themselves treated the elder with great respect, from whom they had previously not expected anything special. While living in a monastery in Belev, I underwent choir obedience, and I was repeatedly sent to the monastery dacha to teach singing to the sisters living there, for a church was built at the dacha, and from time to time divine services were performed. So for three years in a row I had to celebrate Lent and Easter at the dacha, and there was such a case: once a poor village woman came to ask for cottage cheese for Easter; The dacha housekeeper was a good nun, but she was too economical and refused the petitioner. Then the sisters soon went to get some cottage cheese for Easter and were amazed when they saw that a large full tub of cottage cheese had been dug all the way to the bottom by a rat, and immediately died in the tub. When meeting with the priest, I told him this incident, and he answered me very significantly: “Remember and know: this will be useful to you and will be a lesson when you yourself become abbess. In that monastery where the housekeeper is generous, everything is always in abundance; and vice versa, where they skimp and save, then such and such always suffer punishment from God, as happened at your dacha with cottage cheese.” Repeatedly afterwards, the priest predicted that I would become an abbess, which subsequently came true; Only at this time did the elder tell me: “If these thoughts or the desire to rule come when you come, then you must try as hard as possible to resist these thoughts.” The priest said: “I know from experience that the heavy cross of a boss becomes twice as heavy for those who wanted leadership, and is completely inconvenient for those who achieve it.” Once I arrived in Optina in the rank of abbess, I asked the elder for instructions on how to behave with the sisters in the monastery. Father told me this: “In your soul, be more deeply aware of your insignificance; mentally throw yourself at the feet of your sisters, but do not show them; remember that the rod has been handed to you, not some kind of toy, so beware of jokes, beware of familiar treatment on their part; avoid having those especially close; make sure that they fear you, and love you, and listen to you. Know that not only for yourself, but also You will give an answer to God for your sisters; most importantly, try not so much with words as with your own example to instill in them the fear of God both in church, and in meals, and in handicraft obediences.” Indeed, sometimes the heavy yoke of a boss was beyond my strength; I was depressed in spirit, being far from the elder, due to my inexperience, constantly needing his advice and instructions. I remember how I cried bitterly at my father’s house, told him that I was afraid I would perish myself and would not serve others for salvation, and to this my father, consoling me, said: “In the same way, our Father Archimandrite Isaac cried for a whole year and was despondent, he also feared for himself and for his salvation, and the deceased Father Hilarion once said to him: “Why are you cowardly, enemy?” Are you having fun?! Look in the calendar, who are the saints there?! All the bishops and abbots pray for them, both the flock and the brethren; it is for their prayers that they are saved.” So don’t be shy! For the prayers of the sisters, you too will be saved; just humble yourself more, consider yourself mentally inferior to everyone, unworthy of everyone.” At the beginning of my admission to the abbess, during the construction of the cathedral church and on other matters of the monastery, I had to travel a lot, I had to work hard, sometimes it was very difficult - in all kinds of weather and far on horseback I had to ride in the rain. While visiting my father, I complained with tears and grief about my lot, asking him to St. prayers; to this the elder replied: “I have noticed many times that every person who has any particularly outstanding weakness in his youth is punished with it in his old age.” And then, citing himself as an example, he continued: "When I was young, I loved to talk and joke; I was a cell attendant with the elder Father Macarius. Sometimes, they would send me on business, and I would start talking and forget; - they were waiting for me, waiting for me, and then they would send someone else for me. - Now what about old age? The tongue does not move, the bast does not knit at times, but here people are waiting all around, they grumble, and you have to say it involuntarily. So you too, the young woman was still eager to go somewhere; remember how eager she was to travel, but now she has to travel, unwillingly.” - So the father, encouraging, always gave some example either from his life, or he would tell some parable and console him so much that it was as if he would take away sadness or sorrow with his hand! The leadership of the Optina elders remained memorable for the rest of my life: now I do not dare to undertake any business, any undertaking, without calling upon the prayers and blessings of the deceased saints for help. our fathers and leaders. May their strong, mighty prayers protect us and our monastery and forward them to the throne of the Lord of glory!” Before meeting Elder Ambrose, some, out of ignorance and prejudice, sometimes treated him unkindly. It even seemed strange to others when they were advised to go to Optina. “What can he and I have in common? Probably some hypocrite looking for fame. Familiar fishing rod; but only simpletons will fall for it.” This is how some reasoned and did not want to go to Optina; and to calm their conscience they did not want to believe the good things that were said about the elder. Those who visited Optina out of curiosity began, for the most part, with condemnation. In Optina, it is customary for monks to kneel before the elder for the sake of humility. Some laymen did so of their own free will. The elder himself always invited unfamiliar worldly visitors to sit opposite him on the chair; sometimes he even begged not to kneel before him. And how many bad speeches there have been about this! - “Why on earth should I kneel before every monk! This is where their humility lies!” It was as if someone was annoyed that people were going to the elder, and someone was trying to sow confusion. And when the moment of the first meeting came, some looked at the elder with a dissatisfied heart and with a desire to expose the old monk. But sometimes this mistrust dissipated all at once and gave way to the warmest feeling. The old man has a lot of people at his place on a summer day. One young woman, who was persuaded to visit the priest, is in an irritated state that she is kept waiting. Suddenly the door opens wide. An old man with a clear face appears on the threshold and says loudly: “Whoever is impatient here, come to me.” He approaches the young woman and leads her to him. After a conversation with him, she becomes a frequent guest of Optina and a visitor to Fr. Ambrose. One sister from a large landowner family, who often visited the elder, for a long time begged her beloved sister, with a very lively and impatient character, to go with her to Optina. She finally agrees to please her sister, but grumbles loudly all the way; and having come to the elder and sitting in the waiting room, he is indignant about something: “I won’t kneel, why this humiliation?” She quickly walks around the room from corner to corner. The door opens, so that it is completely closed in its corner. Everyone kneels down. The old man comes straight to the door, opens it and cheerfully asks: “What kind of giant is this standing here?” And then he says to the young girl: “It’s Vera who came to see the hypocrite!” The introduction is done. Vera gets married, becomes widowed and returns under the wing of her father to Shamordino. One young girl with a good education, with good aspirations, but exhausted by her internal duality, doubts, the emptiness of life and the interests of her environment, unconsciously, under the influence of stories about the elder, went to see him in Optina, without any specific goal in mind. The elder was holding an all-night vigil in his cell. There were a lot of people. Standing among the others, the girl felt some inexplicable excitement. A gracious warmth filled her heart. Looking at the large image of the Mother of God “It is worthy to eat,” she seemed to feel the affection of the Queen of Heaven Herself and, without noticing it herself, began to cry bitterly. Suddenly an old man comes out of his cell and, with a face full of compassionate love and sympathy, asks: “Who is crying so bitterly here?” They answered him: “No one, father, is crying.” “No,” repeated the elder, “someone is crying here.” Seeing this sensitive, sincere love of the elder, responsive to all human suffering, the girl was deeply amazed, and she herself fell in love with the elder. From that moment on, her fate was sealed. She asked the elder to take her to Shamordino. Her mother came, in her words, to snatch her daughter from “this terrible monastic world.” With sorrow and reproaches she went to the priest. The elder offered her a chair. Several minutes of conversation passed, and the distressed mother involuntarily, not understanding what was happening to her, gets up from her chair and kneels down next to the old man. The conversation continues. Soon the mother nun also unites with the nun daughter. One young girl lived with her mother, a very religious and pious woman; She believed, as they say, “in the old way,” firmly and unswervingly; She raised her daughter in the same spirit, who at an early age was also very religious, but then, already in the gymnasium, she succumbed to the influence of her friends and completely lost interest in the faith. After completing the course and becoming a teacher, she met a young man whom she planned to marry. He was a good man, but he was a Catholic, and this was enough for her mother to flatly refuse her. The mutual affection between the young people was so deep that they did not want to stop before this obstacle, and the young girl persuaded him to convert to Orthodoxy, which he soon did. But in her simplicity, the believing mother did not recognize this transition and for the second time refused to give her consent to this marriage. The daughter’s position was very difficult: on the one hand, there was personal attachment and embarrassment in front of the unwittingly deceived groom, and on the other, the fear of offending her mother. Her good friends, knowing the mental struggle she was going through, advised her to turn to Fr. Ambrose. The girl, who had previously heard about the wisdom and holiness of Fr. Ambrose, who had already partly experienced the power of his prayers (she suffered from severe headaches and wrote to Father Ambrose, after which the pain disappeared forever), agreed to accept this advice, deciding in her soul to obey exactly the elder’s decision. Soon she received an answer in which the elder advised her to distance herself from the groom if possible, but not to refuse him at all. Nine months passed after that. The uncertainty and awkwardness of the situation weighed on the girl, and she again wrote to the elder, asking him to somehow resolve this issue. The elder wrote to her asking her to come herself. Father Ambrose lived at that time in Shamordino, and when she entered the reception room and saw the priest sitting on the sofa, she was amazed by his appearance: he was all as if in rays. Shocked, she threw herself on her knees in front of him and began to sob. She could not say anything, and the elder let her go without saying anything either. A young girl lives in Shamordin for several days, sees the elder only at general blessings, and the elder does not pay attention to her. Meanwhile, intensified work is going on in her soul and an incomprehensible turning point is taking place. She makes a definite decision to go to the monastery, she feels that she cannot leave here anywhere, but she decides to remain silent about it. Finally, her vacation period ends, and the elder calls her to him. Having looked at her with his penetrating and deep gaze, he quickly and decisively asks her a question: “Well, tell me your wish?” Not expecting such a direct question, she says: “Father, at present I have one desire - to stay in the monastery.” “Well, stay,” the elder answered her simply, as always, he simply solved complex issues. “It was as if some weight had been lifted from me,” she says, “I felt so light and joyful, but I couldn’t understand how the elder took me, so unprepared, into the monastery. Moreover, I was embarrassed by the thought that I was acting in bad faith against a person who had even renounced his faith for my sake. When I expressed this to the priest, he replied: “Did you really harm him by doing this?” So she remained in the monastery quite calm and, despite the fact that she had absolutely no means of subsistence, according to the prayers of the elder, she never saw need. Here is an elder walking around the monastery, leaning on his stick; many men approach him. The cell attendant is walking slightly behind. One hieromonk brings two young men to the priest. They are very well dressed and have a very well-mannered appearance. But the elder is completely indifferent regarding faith in God; and the other for some reason very much condemned him when they talked about him; and now he is very dissatisfied that for several days in a row the elder could not receive them. He closely follows the old man and tries to guess what kind of person he is. The hieromonk asks to bless them. Father soon, without looking, blesses and moves on. Several peasants from a distant province are waiting for him. “We bow to you,” they say. – We heard that your legs hurt; Here they made you soft boots, wear them for your health.” The elder takes their boots and speaks to each one. And the second of the young people sees all this. And suddenly he imagined the old man’s working life, and all the other people’s burdens that he was lifting, and the faith with which all these people looked at him, and the love of the peasants who brought him boots; and the doubts that had been weighing on his heart disappeared. He is again near the priest and timidly says: “Father! Bless me! The elder turns around, looks at him cheerfully and begins to talk to him about his studies and life. He thinks about his father all the way; and the next summer she comes to him again, already at the behest of her heart. Suitable for o. Ambrose is an exhausted man who has lost all his foundations and has not found the purpose of life. He looked for it in extensive work, in Tolstoy’s conversation - and fled from everywhere. He tells the priest that he came to see him. - “Well, look!” - the old man answers. He then gets up from his crib, straightens up to his full height and peers at the person with his clear gaze. From this gaze, some kind of warmth, something similar to reconciliation, pours into the sore soul. An unbeliever settles near the priest and has a long conversation with him every day. A lot of time passes. One morning he says to the priest: “I have believed.” How irresistible the influence of Elder Ambrose’s personality was can be seen from the very interesting story of one Muscovite, V.V. Yascherov: “My acquaintance with Fr. Ambrose,” he writes, “happened under rather peculiar circumstances. In 1882, during my vacation from Southern Bulgaria, while living in Moscow, I met and became acquainted with a woman, a relative of a family very close to me. This woman was the reason for my acquaintance and rapprochement with the righteous elder; for he had been her constant spiritual father for several years. It should be noted that she was a remarkably religious person; During Lent, for example, she attended all church services every day, arriving at church earlier than everyone else and leaving last. To me, a person then with a completely different direction, all this seemed nothing more than hypocrisy and even mental illness. But soon I had to change my way of thinking. By the way, my friend was so carried away by obedience to some Optina elder, unknown to me, that she was ready to fulfill his every slightest demand and desire. One October day, this person showed me a note she had received through some nun from Fr. Ambrose, written in pencil, in which she was ordered to immediately drop everything and come to him in Optina. What especially bothered her was the instruction to take her pension book with her. “Apparently, Father has been calling me for a long time,” she said sadly. In vain I tried to convince her not to believe any “old men” or “fools” and to stay at home. The next morning I received a note from her by city mail that, not daring to disobey the priest, she was leaving for Optina; and eight days later I received a notification from her that Fr. Ambrose orders her to stay in Optina for the entire Nativity Fast; in the meantime, he sends her to a convent in Belev. This letter irritated me greatly, to say the least. Considering my friend’s behavior to be the fruit of a final mental disorder and blaming Elder Ambrose for this exclusively, I took two large sheets of notepaper and wrote him a very long letter, in which I expressed many harsh words in the most polite and respectful terms, peppering each with texts of Holy Scripture and interpreting these texts in my own way. Without reading what I had written, I immediately sent the letter by mail. So what? Five days later my friend returned; told me that, to her amazement, Fr. Ambrose was not only pleased with my letter, but ordered her to immediately return to Moscow; sent me a prosphora and asked me to convey his desire to see me in Optina. I was touched by this result of my message and decided to fulfill the elder’s wish at the first opportunity, feeling guilty before him for the unbridledness of my pen. In the fourth week of Lent in 1883, I left for Optina via Tula and Kaluga; from the last city I had to travel 60 versts using postal routes 62. I left Kaluga on Monday morning and arrived in Optina late in the evening. Tired from the journey, I quickly drank some tea and went to bed. When I was sitting over tea the next morning, my cell attendant, Fr. Ambrose with an invitation to “come to the priest.” I, however, was not at all surprised by this, assuming that he was informed about every visitor. The Optina hermitage consists of two parts: the monastery itself with churches, buildings of monastic cells, cattle and horse yards, which, by the way, are maintained in exemplary form both in terms of buildings and in relation to animals, hotels and various economic buildings, and a monastery, where at that time only strict ascetics lived. Women are not allowed into the monastery. The novice and I walked past the cathedral, through the orchard, crossing the entire area of ​​the monastery, and finally came out beyond the fence. In front of us, the forest, bare in winter, spread thickly in all directions, and a path ran straight ahead, trodden among the high drifts of snow by a mass of admirers of the reverend elder. It was she who led, through the forest, to the monastery, located half a mile from the monastery. We entered a clearing, and a white fence opened before us. To the right of the entrance gate one could see a small, white, stone outbuilding, with one half going outside and the other hiding inside the fence. In front of the porch of the outer part of the house, which for some reason the women call a “hut,” stood a crowd of fifty women, both high-born and of ordinary rank, waiting to see Fr. Ambrose. Most of them came or came from afar, and in all of them there reigned a firm belief that from him they would find consolation in grief, good advice in difficult circumstances, and even healing in illness. But it happened that, having unsuccessfully walked to the cherished porch for several days in a row, another praying mantis, not accepted by the elder, in great embarrassment had to leave home with nothing, without seeing him. Having entered the fence (skete), we turned right to the inner porch of the outbuilding, which turned out to be larger than it seemed from the outside. Directly from the porch, the door opened into a corridor that divided the outbuilding in half: to the right the first room is small, but cleanly furnished, a reception room for men, to the left is Fr.’s own room. Ambrose; and then rooms for novices and a reception room for women. The novice, having accepted my coat from me, invited me to the reception room to the right while he reported to the priest. A minute later he came out and said that the priest asks me to wait a little while he finishes his conversation with the visitor. I began to look around the reception area. The novice’s invitation to come to the priest interrupted my inspection, and I followed him along the corridor, lined on both sides with benches on which a dozen visitors were waiting. Turning left, through the small hallway, I went through a narrow door and found myself in a closet about four arshins long and about three wide, with a rather low ceiling. Directly opposite the door there was a small window, and under it a small table with a drawer and cabinet; I don’t remember the right side, because the left side of the closet attracted all my attention. On a bed two and a half arshins long and a quarter three wide, made of boards covered with a thin, two-inch carpet or mattress (I couldn’t see it), reclining on his left side in a worn black cassock and the same cufa, leaning his left hand on a chintz pillow and fingering the grains of his rosary with his right hand, was a small old man with a small wedge-shaped beard, with with penetrating, kind eyes and an extremely handsome face, a decisive contrast to the old man pictured in my imagination. I stopped, waiting for an invitation to approach. The old man, carefully and without moving, peered at me for a minute. Finally he stood up a little, smiled and motioned for me to come over. I approached and involuntarily had to kneel down to accept his blessing. Blessing me, Fr. Ambrose took my hand, looked into my eyes intently and said in a soft and cheerful voice: “So that’s what he is, this fierce defender of his happiness!” I muttered something like an apology, but he stopped me and, pointing to my letter lying on the table, continued: “There is no need to apologize! I am very pleased with this letter, as evidenced by my desire to see you. What uniform are you wearing?” – I replied that I command the South Bulgarian squad, and that this is the uniform of the East Rumelian troops. - “The first name is good, but the second should not have been!” – he said seriously. “I am very pleased, father, to hear that you completely agree in your views with the late Skobelev and with all the true Russians!” – I answered with a respectful bow. “You were also a volunteer in Serbia, as S told me. By the way, how is her health? I heard that she was sick after her trip to St. Petersburg.” “Thank God, I’m better,” I said. The elder smiled again and said: “I’m not holding you back any longer; have you seen how many people are waiting for a word of consolation. Go, we’ll talk later. Yes, have you come here for a long time?” - “I’m still thinking of going to take a look at your famous Kozelsk and leaving Optina on Thursday.” - “That’s great! That means you can tell me off here.” - “Father Ambrose! Today is Tuesday, when will I have time to answer? Thursday is the day after tomorrow!” – I objected in a slightly surprised tone. “For true repentance, you need not years or days, but one moment,” he noted seriously, almost sternly, “today you will be at the Vespers service, tomorrow at Matins and the Presanctified Liturgy, and after Vespers you will come to me for confession; on Thursday you will receive the Holy Mysteries and in the evening you can leave for Moscow.” Coming out of the fence, I noticed some special movement in the group of women. Curious to find out what was the matter, I approached them. Some rather elderly woman, with a sickly face, sitting on a stump, said that she had walked with sore legs from Voronezh, hoping that Elder Ambrose would heal her, that, having passed a beekeeper, seven miles from the monastery, she got lost, exhausted, ending up on snow-covered paths, and fell in tears on a fallen log; but that some old man in a cassock and skufa approached her, asked about the reason for her tears and pointed her in the direction of the road with a stick. She went in the indicated direction and, turning behind the bushes, immediately saw the monastery. Everyone decided that it was the monastery forester or one of the cell attendants; when suddenly a servant I already knew came out onto the porch and asked loudly: “Where is Avdotya from Voronezh?” Everyone was silent, looking at each other. The servant repeated his question louder, adding that the priest was calling her. - “My dears!” But I am Avdotya from Voronezh!” - exclaimed the narrator who had just arrived with sore legs, rising from the stump. Everyone silently parted, and the wanderer, hobbling to the porch, disappeared through its doors. It seemed strange to me how Fr. Ambrose learned so quickly about this wanderer and where she came from. I decided to wait for her return. About fifteen minutes later, she left the house all in tears and, to the questions that rained down on her, almost sobbing, she answered that the old man who showed her the way in the forest was none other than Fr. Ambrose, or someone very similar to him. I returned to the hotel in great thought. What is this, I thought. Let's say similarity; but, firstly, in the monastery there is no one like Fr. Ambrose, and secondly, two such strange coincidences: Fr. Ambrose, as everyone knew, due to illness in winter, could not leave his cell until warm summer days, and then suddenly, in cold weather, he appeared in the forest as a signpost for the wanderer, and then, after some half an hour, almost the minute she arrived at his “hut,” he already knew about her in detail. I decided to perform the ritual of my short fast according to all the rules of religion: I fasted like a monastery and all church services as well. On Wednesday evening, after Vespers, I went straight from church to the monastery. The elder received me only half an hour after my arrival. Entering the closet, I found him in the same position as the first time and, kneeling down, accepted the blessing. “Well, now I can talk to you longer, move closer here,” the elder said to me affectionately. I assumed that I would have a hard time at confession, since I had not fasted for six whole years, and I prepared to endure the thunderstorm. Father Ambrose began asking me about my childhood, upbringing, service, the more remarkable people I had encountered in life, about my unhappy marriage, about Serbia, Bulgaria and Turkey, peppering the ensuing conversation with remarks and smiles. I, who could not kneel even in church because of the pain in my legs, did not notice that our conversation lasted an hour and seven minutes - the elder’s conversation was so sweet, fascinating and intelligently instructive! With each of his phrases it seemed to me that I was becoming more and more close to him in soul and heart. “Give me the stole and the cross,” Fr. suddenly said to me. Ambrose paused for two minutes. I submitted both. Having put on the epitrachelion, he ordered me to bend down and, covering it with the stole, began to read the prayer of permission. I quickly pulled my head out from under the stole and exclaimed: “Father! And confession? After all, I am a great sinner!” The elder looked at me, so to speak, with a tenderly stern look, covered me with the stole again and, having finished the prayer, let me kiss the cross. "You can go now, my son! Tomorrow, after the liturgy, come see me!" And he kindly let me go. Never in my life have I taken such a wonderful walk as this time, from the monastery to the monastery. It was as if some kind of enormous relief was felt throughout my entire being; and around me the rays of the full moon were playing with myriads of diamond sparks across the snow of the meadows and fantastic flakes, fancifully clinging here and there to the branches of bare trees. I didn’t even notice how I reached my room and then fell asleep. The next day, having received the Holy Mysteries, after the liturgy, I went to my new spiritual father. The elder met me kindly, blessed me with prosphora and gave me a half-hour conversation, in which he gave me several instructions and directions on the path of my life, which I will never forget and which to this day often serve me as both consolation and support in difficult moments. Saying goodbye, he again blessed and kissed me, and gave me a prosphora wrapped in paper to give to his spiritual daughter... Returning to the hotel, I found a wonderful mushroom lunch prepared for me. Having made arrangements regarding the horses, I dined in the company of Fr. hotel and, after listening to Vespers, rushed on a postal troika towards Kaluga, taking with him the best memory of the friendly Optina Hermitage, and in his heart love and respect for the elder Fr. Ambrose, this great mentor and healer of human souls and hearts.” Here is another example of the remarkable influence of the elder’s personality. The father of one Shamordin nun, in her own words, was a non-believer. Arriving in Optina and staying at a hotel, he suddenly felt in his soul such anxiety and resistance against Fr. Ambrose that he decided to go back now. Because it was late, the hotel persuaded him to wait until the morning, promising to send for the horses. In the morning, the visitor, being in the same irritated mood, was in a hurry to leave, and the hotelier, experienced in such cases, invited him, while waiting for the horses, to inspect the monastery and monastery. Out of impatience, the guest agreed. At the monastery, the innkeeper, by the way, invited him to look into the elder’s hut, but the gentleman resolutely protested, saying that he did not want to see the elder. “Yes, I’m not calling you to the elder, but I’m only inviting you to take a look at his cell and the furnishings,” the innkeeper answered... We entered the reception room; There, the man who entered accidentally got into conversation with one visitor, and at that time the elder came out for a general blessing. All those present approached the elder, but the visitor, taken by surprise, deliberately retreated to the opposite corner and looked at the elder with hostility. Meanwhile, the perspicacious old man, bypassing everyone else, walked straight up to him and silently put his hand on his head. “I can’t say anything or explain how and why this happened, but I only know one thing: I knelt down in front of the elder,” he later said, “then the priest, taking me by the hand, led me to his cell and, sitting down on the bed, asked me if I was fasting. I replied that I did not believe in anything, and therefore I considered it unnecessary to fast. After this, a miracle happened that, as they say, made my hair stand on end. The elder began to ask me questions, thus going through my whole life step by step, delving into and opening with power all the secrets of my heart, revealing everything that was known only to me alone. This confession was so unique that it shocked me to the core. Having finished it, the elder blessed me and told me to go home; in the evening of the same day I myself went to Fr. Ambrose and told him that I want to believe and I want to fast.” He spent two months of vacation, which he took to improve his health, in Optina, attending all services and talking for a long time with the elder. From then on, he became a deeply religious Christian, nourishing reverent love for the elder to the end, and died a peaceful Christian death. Fr. made a strong impression. Ambrose and Count L.N. Tolstoy, whose arrival in Optina Pustyn was mentioned above. Tolstoy conveyed his impression of the conversation with the elder as follows: “This Fr. Ambrose is a completely holy man. I talked to him, and somehow my soul felt light and joyful. When you talk to such a person, you feel the closeness of God.” This was said by Count Tolstoy in 1881. And in 1890, leaving the elder, he said to those around him: “I am touched, touched.” And not only during his lifetime, but also after the elder’s death, his personality made an irresistible impression on many. One young girl, very religious and serious, longed with all her soul to enter the monastery. After graduating from high school, she became a teacher, and meanwhile she began to look closely and read all sorts of descriptions of different women's monasteries, but could not stop in her choice. She read a lot of very lengthy and interesting descriptions of monasteries and their founders, but something told her that this was not her place, that this was not where she should be, and where she could not give herself a clear explanation. In 1891, leafing through the Niva magazine she received, she saw a portrait of Fr. Ambrose of Optinsky and a very short note with him that this elder died in the Kazan women's community that he established. Despite the fact that the image of Elder Ambrose in the magazine was rather bad, it struck the young girl. The look of his penetrating and at the same time infinitely kind eyes, even from the picture, penetrated directly into her soul and she immediately felt that she should be in the monastery founded by this old man. The magazine article said nothing special either about the elder himself or about the monastery, but a firm decision had already formed in her soul. Soon, secretly from her mother, she left for Optina Pustyn, and from there to Shamordino, where she remained forever. Appeal from Fr. Ambrose and everyone who came to him were, as we have already shown, the most friendly. But he gave to each what and as much as each could accommodate according to his own spiritual disposition. People who did not need his spiritual advice, but had to see him on some matter, spoke of him: “A very smart man!” The elder could talk about any issue, maintained a conversation for as long as decency required, and parted with such visitors. Here he was very self-possessed, extremely polite, and only... But with people devoted to him, the priest was completely different. He always remained kind and affectionate, but he put the most sincere sincerity into such relationships. The elder did not have the habit of directly and sharply denouncing anyone in front of people; but he denounced him so skillfully that his denunciation, despite the presence of many people, was understandable only to the one to whom it applied. And not so much with a threat as with love, the priest knew how to lead people to correction, instilling in their souls the faith that not all is lost, and that it is possible, with God’s help, to defeat the enemy. To the end, the elder retained his natural liveliness, which was an expression of the versatility, kindness and caring nature of his character. When people who knew the priest came to him with their sorrows and adversities, their souls suddenly felt light and free. Everything somehow became clearer and was inexpressibly comforting. Nothing could compare with the happiness that the elder’s spiritual children experienced when meeting with him after a long separation. These are one of those moments that cannot be described, but must be experienced. Let's say a few more words about Fr.'s appearance. Ambrose. He was a handsome old man, slightly above average height and somewhat stooped from old age. Being very handsome from a young age, as those who knew him personally at that time said, even in old age he did not lose the pleasantness of his face, despite his pallor and thinness. On the front of his head he had a small bald spot, which, however, did not disgrace him at all and even seemed to go with his face, and at the back there were several strands of short, dark brown, graying hair; there are two or three wrinkles on the forehead, which on occasion are completely smoothed out; the eyes are light brown, lively, penetrating, seeing right through the soul; ordinary lips; the beard is quite long, sparse, gray, forked at the end. Because of the liveliness of the priest, the expression on his face was constantly changing. Either he looked at you with affection, then he laughed with you with a young, animated laugh, then he joyfully sympathized if you were happy, then he quietly bowed his head if you told him something sad, then he plunged into thought for a minute when you wanted him to tell you what to do in some matter, then he resolutely began to shake his head when he advised against some thing, then he began to intelligently and in detail, looking at you, do you understand everything? explain how to organize your business. And you felt that these eyes saw everything that was good and bad in you; and you were glad that this was so, and that there could be no secret in you for him. Superintendent is a clergyman at the head of a church district (for Protestants). His life is described by K. N. Leontiev in the book “Father Clement Zederholm, Hieromonk of Optina Hermitage,” published by the Kazan Ambrosievskaya Hermitage for Women. K. N. Leontiev then arrived from Thessaloniki, where he was the Russian consul. The whole letter is very interesting. Letters from Fr. Ambrose to the monastics were published by Optina Hermitage in 2 editions. Smushka is the skin removed from a newborn lamb. Mukhoyar is a variegated fabric made from a mixture of flax, wool, and less often cotton, dyed in yarn. There is an assumption that this mysterious wanderer was none other than one of the bishops who abandoned the see and chose the feat of pilgrimage. Is it not this wanderer who owns the famous “Frank stories of a wanderer about the grace-filled effect of the Jesus Prayer,” the manuscript of which, after the death of Fr. Ambrose, was found in his papers and the composition of which is attributed by some to Fr. Ambrose? (See the preface to the book “From the stories of a wanderer about the grace-filled effect of the Jesus Prayer,” published by Optina Hermitage, written by Bishop Nikon.) By the way, let us present here a very interesting story from the elder’s spiritual daughter about one also mysterious wanderer, perhaps related to the wanderer with whom the elder corresponded. One judicial investigator for the most important cases, a kind and pious man, reported the following. One day, on Easter, he, his wife and daughter were sitting in the evening on the gallery running along their house and were getting ready to have dinner. Suddenly a pleasant, sonorous voice is heard from the yard. “Give alms for Christ’s sake, I haven’t eaten for three days.” The investigator looked out the window of the gallery (the gallery was on the second floor) and sees a wanderer, not like a beggar, dressed in a cassock, belted with a leather belt and with a knapsack over his shoulder. His face was remarkably pleasant. The investigator put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a cop. 30 money, as much as he came across, thrust it into the maid and said: “Run, give it to him.” But then he came to his senses: the man asked for food, and he thrust money at him. He rushed after the maid and said to him: “Come have dinner with us, we have just sat down.” “No,” he says, “I won’t have dinner, but give me the kvass that you have on the stool.” The investigator immediately fulfilled the wanderer's request. The wanderer poured the kvass from the bottle to himself and left. Returning, the investigator began to think: “How could he, standing down in the yard or even near the front door, see that we had kvass standing in the corner on a stool? That man must be no ordinary person!” He rushed back after him in pursuit, but he was no longer in the yard or on the street, and no one saw him. When the spiritual daughter told the elder about this incident, the priest asks: “Didn’t he describe his appearance to you? Tall, blond, hook-nosed?” The narrator was amazed. “Yes, father, how do you know him?” - "Fool! Well, I know that there is such a thing going around. He will demand kvass, pour it over to himself, and leave.” - “But why didn’t any of the others see him and where did he disappear?” “Well, you see, a man of high life, with refined flesh,” said the priest. The narrator did not dare ask more questions. These words were spoken to M. Euphrosyne when she was still a novice of the Belevsky Monastery, and should have served as a warning to her against conceit. Of course, the elder did not reject the Orthodox custom, but he instructed with what feeling it should be performed. (Censor’s note) About the love with which the elder treated children, they also say that in Optina Pustyn, in his time, during the summer there sometimes lived one family in which there were small children. To prevent the children from getting bored, by order of the elder, a small house was built for them where they could play. The children themselves were so disposed towards the elder that, when they drew their pictures, they gave them to him for safekeeping. And the elder carefully took care of them. When these children had already grown up and completely forgot about their drawings, the elder one day showed them to them, asking what to do with them? So sacredly he kept everything entrusted to him even by children. There was no railway to Optina Pustyn at that time. Now they go to the Kozelsk station on the Ryazansko-Uralskaya railway. roads three miles from Optina Pustyn. You might be interested in: