Orthodox bishops visiting their flocks

One of the most important phenomena characterizing modern church life is the now quite common visit by a bishop to his diocese. Every day, burdened with the current affairs of their vast dioceses, Orthodox bishops find it possible from time to time to personally visit their dioceses, inspect monasteries and churches, console and inspire those living around them with bright Christian feelings, and, more recently, encourage them to zealously assist the government in the great cause of spreading school education. For the most part, crowded meetings of the Right Reverend, his blessing, conversation, and often service even in a rural church constitute an event, solemn, joyful, but quiet - a truly Christian holiday. Reading the description of contemporary visits by bishops to their flocks, and recalling the harsh instructions regarding these visits of the Spiritual Regulations, you receive a deeply gratifying impression of the immeasurable superiority of modern church life compared to past centuries. Then the bishop’s journey through the diocese instilled fear, especially among the clergy, and had the task of uncovering some kind of abuse, or generally any sad phenomenon that required a strict trial and harsh punishment for the perpetrators. At present, such only negative use of supervisory power, in view of the increasingly complex relations of church life, has become either insufficient or even unnecessary. It is unnecessary because the organization of the in itself simple diocesan administration is so well established that de jure, at least, rarely requires any extraordinary or extraordinary revision. Insufficient, because the mood of the age and its demands directly require the positive pastoral influence of the bishop on his flock. In the mood of the times we are now experiencing, one cannot help but note a certain religious excitement, an awakening of interest in issues of faith. This interest is currently awakened in all classes of our society, from the highest to the lowest. People everywhere turn to the church and its ministers, either for resolution of religious issues and their doubts in faith, or for satisfaction of moral needs, for support in the fight against /life/ - for religious help. From the ministers of the church, some expect the enlightenment of the mind with such knowledge that secular science does not provide, while others directly expect the sending down of divine miraculous power to heal their nature, shaken by the vices and failures of everyday life. In itself, this mood could be considered gratifying, but, unfortunately, there is an undesirable element in it - this religious inquisitiveness, as well as the thirst for miracles, often manifests itself as a painful symptom - a consequence of extreme moral disorder: - Please, heal a person who has been corrupted to the marrow of his bones! (there are a lot of such personalities, for example, among the mass of people who turn to the prayers of Father John of Kronstadt). This element, undesirable in the modern religious mood, served as one of the reasons for the emergence of sectarianism, sometimes mystical, sometimes rationalistic and extremely hostile to the church and its ministers. Pashkovshchina, Tolstoyism, countless gangs of Stundists, Baptists, Subbotniks, etc., from the South and North, like locusts or phylloxera never seen before in Holy Rus', crawled en masse into the church vineyard and began their destructive work there with amazing speed. Only thanks to the energetic assistance of the state government, the clergy stopped the friendly and rapid onslaught of these spiritual locusts. Terrible at first, the invasion of these essentially insignificant, but very numerous enemies, fortunately, provoked, although not a quick, but friendly and energetic resistance, both in the clergy and in the laity devoted to the Orthodox Church. Numerous missionaries, clergy and their collaborators - the laity - took up the cause. Along with this, so to speak, church fighting squad, countless workers among the clergy and laity came out to the work of Christ, in the form of humble sowers of the word of God in the field of church-organization, church-charity. The government's call to spread public education in the spirit of the Orthodox Church was responded to by countless workers among clergy and secular people. Church schools quickly began to appear with teaching staff, children of the clergy who had and had not completed the seminary course, as well as girls of clergy and secular rank who had completed the course of diocesan theological schools and women's gymnasiums. These little people have carried out and continue to carry out useful and important service to the church, most for an insignificant remuneration that barely provides them with food, and sometimes completely free of charge. Simultaneously with this initiation of educational activities in the spirit of the church, a desire arose among the people to revive and restore the activities of church brotherhoods and societies pursuing moral, charitable and church-building goals. Abolished church brotherhoods, church trustees, temperance societies, societies of lovers of church singing, etc. appeared or were restored, setting themselves the goal of influencing the common people in the form of awakening in them zeal for faith and the church and for the elevation of their morality. The result of the modest, but tireless and fruitful activity of these almost unknown workers was the currently very noticeable excitement of church life in our people. It is this most gratifying phenomenon of modern church life that should, apparently, be the main goal of the bishops when they visit their flocks. Their pastoral care and attention must now support modest figures of the above kind, encourage and maintain energy in them with their consolation, encouragement, as well as kindle zeal for this kind of church service where, due to circumstances, this zeal is imperceptible. Well, don’t think, kind reader, that these are only our pia desideria (Latin: good intentions) and, even more so, our aspirations from the bishops! What we have said so far is reality, attested by eyewitnesses to the diocesan visits of our bishops to their flocks. Reading the records of these visits, we were struck by those deeply edifying pictures of the modern church life of our Orthodox people, which are described in these records, and now presenting some of these pictures, we propose to check the judgments we have made. As soon as we decided to begin presenting our observations of this kind, however, we immediately felt the enormity and inconvenience of the work undertaken. Where to start and where to set the limit to the presentation of these observations? “From sea to sea, and from rivers to the end of the world” (Ps. 71, v. 8), the Holy Orthodox Church spreads; “The establishment of (its) land on the top of the mountains, its fruit will be exalted more than Lebanon: and it will flourish from hail like the grass of the earth” (v. 16). In view of this, we completely abandon concern for the completeness of the presentation and limit ourselves to the smallest part: we will walk, mentally of course, only along the outskirts of Great Rus', taking the alphabetical order of our dioceses as a compass for this journey. Therefore, we start from the sea - from the Arkhangelsk diocese. The Most Reverend Nikanor presides here. In the local diocesan gazettes for 1894 we read the following reports about his visit to his flock. “From July 6 to July 17, the Right Reverend Nikanor inspected the churches located along the coast of the White Sea... On July 10, the Right Reverend, with the participation of Archimandrite Varlaam, his clergy and his full choir, consecrated the church in the village of Soroki, and had a lengthy conversation about the extremes of errors and opinions of schismatics... The following days, the Right Reverend visited Kem, Keret, Kovda, Prince Guba, Kandalaksha, Umbu, Kashkarinsky parish and Kuzomen. Everywhere, and especially on the Terek coast, where the bishop had not been for about 40 years, the bishop was greeted with extraordinary enthusiasm, and it was mainly the Kuzomenites who distinguished themselves. Almost all of them met the Eminence 2-3 miles away and also saw him off, with church singing and even kneeling prayer. In Kereti, the Right Reverend invested in a school, collecting about 300 rubles for it; a church was founded in Knyazhaya Guba; in Kemi, a prayer service was served for the opening of the school, and in Kuzomen, from 1 o’clock to 4 o’clock in the morning, matins and a Liturgy were served, as on Easter, at which the Right Reverend said an inspired word about the spiritual joy of prayerful communication and the obvious manifestation of Christian love. From Kuzomen, with a very strong wind, the Eminence had to go again to Kem, and then to Arkhangelsk. And thus, the Right Reverend looked into the most distant corners of the bays of the White Sea, and at the same time drove across the entire sea, from east to west and from north to south, enduring more than one sea motion. Nevertheless, the Right Reverend returned home cheerfully on July 17, and that same morning he served the liturgy in the cathedral” 1 . In this coastal outlying diocese, naturally, one sometimes has to endure great inconveniences of travel. Thus, in the description of the bishop’s trip to the Pertominsky monastery, we read the following: “On the night of June 11, the bishop arrived at the monastery... Since the consecration of the newly created church - the main purpose of the visit - was scheduled for June 12, the bishop still had a whole day at his disposal, which the bishop decided to use to visit the neighboring church of the Yarenga parish, in which the relics of the Venerable rest. Ioanna and Loncina. The journey of the Right Reverend, generally successful, with the fulfillment of his real desire, was not without danger and not without difficulties. The Yarenga Church is located 25 versts from the monastery on the other side of the Unskaya Bay. The danger of the journey to Yarenga consisted of crossing the bay in a boat at a distance of 5 versts, during which crossing one had to experience the horrors of quite strong excitement. With the singing of the troparion: “Lord save your people...”, all the travelers, the boat safely moored to the opposite bank of the bay. Further the path lay along the sandy seashore on horseback. There were few horses, but many travelers. Soon the horses got tired and many of the bishop’s companions, and himself, had to walk several miles. As a result, the journey to Yarenga was completed around midnight. In the Yarenga church, a prayer service was served for the local reverends, and a sermon was given to the eminences. The next day, at 3 o'clock. in the morning, the Right Reverend served Matins, at which he himself performed the Liturgy 2. These episcopal labors are rewarded from time to time by the bright joy of the shepherd - a joy prompted by manifestations of truly Christian warmth, religious feeling and love for others among the flock, the poor inhabitants of this remote midnight country. So, on May 30 (1894) Ave. Nikanor left Arkhangelsk together with Fr. I. Kronstadt; The destination of the trip is the village of Sura, the birthplace of Fr. John. “Rare travelers,” says an eyewitness, “were greeted with delight in Pinega... But the meeting of dear guests in Sura was incomparable. Here, along the shallow bank, long bridges were built, ending in the depths of the river with a platform on which stood students and schoolgirls, all in the same clothes. As soon as the ship began to approach this makeshift pier, a harmonious concert was heard: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will to men.” Many who saw this extraordinary picture and observed the extraordinary enthusiasm of those who met and met, involuntarily brought tears of tenderness and delight to their eyes. The day was shining; the flags fluttered merrily, and from the height of the bell tower the friendly and harmonious sounds of magnificent bells were heard. The Right Reverend blessed the people, Fr. John greeted the Suryans as fellow countrymen and they unanimously responded: “Hello, Father Fr. John"! The meeting in the church was even more amazing. A beautiful, semi-velvet path led out onto the porch, and then carpets, one better than the other; the clergy shone with robes, the massive chandeliers with candles; the entire grandiose church shone with gold and precious paintings of icons and paintings. The Right Reverend greeted the parishioners with a short speech, in which he expressed his delight and surprise at the splendor of the church and expressed the hope that those praying here would “appreciate the work and diligence of this church by its builder, their venerable fellow countryman, who, as a noble branch from the ancient church family of this weight, is now bearing fruit a hundredfold, hoping to see them in you too!..” After that, vespers was served, and with the blessing of everyone, not entirely The expected guests went to the priest's house. Having stayed here for a few minutes, the Eminence suggested that we immediately begin preparing the foundation stone for the school building. And so, at 10 o’clock at night, the site of the building was measured and the workers immediately began digging ditches, continuing work throughout the bright night.” 3 No matter how deeply interesting it would be to accompany the tireless archpastor on his visits to his flock, who are discovering the fruits of Christian enlightenment 4 and the improvement of their morals, but neither time nor place allows delay - it’s time to go to another country. Our compass points to Volyn. The Most Reverend Modest, Archbishop of Volyn and Zhitomir, presides here. The local diocesan body defines the general nature of the visits of His Eminence Modest as follows: “On this (1894) trip, as before, Vladyka had in mind to familiarize himself in detail and visually with the spiritual needs and requirements of his flock, with the condition of parish churches, with the activities of the rural clergy; The archpastor wanted to instruct, bless and console both the shepherds and the flock with his visit. Vladyka also wanted to learn more about the situation of parochial schools and how successfully the education of peasant children was going on there. With this in mind, the archpastor, by a special circular, ordered in advance the clergy through the deans, so that in all parishes to be reviewed, students of local schools should be gathered, and in those villages where bishops' services were scheduled along the route, so that they would sing the bishop's mass. In every parish where there is a school, the bishop tested the children in their knowledge of prayers, sacred history, and the ability to read Slavonic; asked whether the children went to church and participated in church singing and reading. When the boys answered the questions promptly and intelligently, read expressively, and took part in the choir, the bishop thanked the priest and teacher, and sometimes rewarded them, and blessed the children with crosses and icons. In those cases where for some reason there was no school in the parish, the Eminence explained to the parishioners about the benefits and necessity of teaching, convinced them to build a school building and send their children to study. Inspecting the churches and getting acquainted with the knowledge of the students of local schools, the Bishop with no less interest watched in each parish to see if there were historical monuments of Volyn antiquity in the churches. The Eminence Shepherd, as a lover of church antiquities and the initiator of the church-archaeological society and ancient repository established in Volyn, when reviewing churches, carefully examined church libraries and archives, and where there was anything worthy of the attention of an archaeologist and of historical significance, he suggested to the local clergy and dean to deliver such items to the Zhytomyr Archaeological Museum" 5 . This general characteristic of the visits of the Right Reverend is very vividly illustrated by the following rather detailed descriptions of them. Treasuring place and time, we will extract from these descriptions only that which most clearly expresses the characteristics of the religious life and morals of the Orthodox flock of this region. “Before reaching 2 versts to the town of Pulin - we read, for example, in one description - the Eminence Archpastor was met by Czech horsemen from the village of Okolka (Okolok from Pulin, 11 versts away), belonging to the neighboring parish of Ivanovich. There were 12 riders; each of them was belted over the shoulder with a national color ribbon and had a flag in his hand. Lined up two in a row, they accompanied the Vladyka’s carriage not only to Puliny, but also until the night in the village. Stribezh. In the borough of Puliny, in front of the church graveyard, when the bells were ringing, a multitude of people met the Bishop: Orthodox, Catholics and Germans of various sects. At the church graveyard, the Okolkovo Czechs and Pulino representatives from the parishioners brought bread and salt, and the local priest greeted the bishop with a speech in which, on his own behalf and on behalf of the parishioners, he expressed joy and gratitude for the archpastor’s visit to the Pulino St. Nicholas Church” 6 . "In the village In Smoldyrevo, at the church graveyard, the bishop was met by the clergy with a cross and St. water and representatives from the people with bread and salt. Having venerated the cross and sprinkled himself with St. water, the bishop, along a path covered with greenery and flowers and planted with birch trees, proceeded to the church, where he deigned to inspect the altar and the church sacristy, and found them in proper order. At the end of the usual prayer, the bishop addressed those present with a teaching about the gospel beatitudes, which were presented in detail and explained with all clarity and intelligibility for the people, with moral instruction. Then he tested both the boys of the one-class public school and those older, who had previously studied in the same school, in reading Slavonic, in the knowledge of prayers, St. history and catechism; questions were asked about the prophets, in particular about David the prophet, about the sacraments. The children responded satisfactorily. The bishop tested both older parishioners, men and women, in their knowledge of ordinary prayers; the answers also turned out to be more or less satisfactory. Both at the meeting and in the church, a choir formed from parishioners by the local priest Dobrochinsky sang. Having awarded the boys and some of the peasants who participated in the choir with icons and crosses, the bishop was pleased to visit the house of the local priest, from where, after a short rest, he deigned to go to the next point along the route in the village. Radulin." “In the village of Radulin, the peasants have not seen the bishop for more than 10 years. Despite working hours, almost all the parishioners gathered to meet the archpastor. In addition, the owners of the houses adjacent to the street along which the Bishop was passing each came out to meet the distinguished guest with bread and salt and St. icons. Vladyka deigned to move forward at a slow pace, called everyone to his crew, blessed bread and salt and gave crosses as souvenirs. Arriving at the church graveyard, Vladyka was met by the rector of the church with three neighboring priests, as well as dense crowds of people led by sisters and brothers, orderly lined up in rows on both sides with brotherly candles lit in their hands. Upon entering the church, after the usual litia, the bishop examined the sacristy, church utensils and library, and also tested the students of the local parochial school in their knowledge of the Law of God. The boys answered smartly and clearly. Then he called his brothers and sisters to him, the bishop graciously thanked them for their efforts in the splendor and decoration of the parish church, urging them to work zealously for the glory of God in the future; The rector of the parish, for the excellent order found in everything, as well as the exemplary performance of pastoral duties, was immediately awarded a loincloth in the presence of the parishioners.” “It was three o’clock in the afternoon when the bishop arrived in Great Gorbasha. Along the route through the village of Gorbasha, right up to the church itself, parishioners at their houses, as well as in Radulin, greeted the distinguished visitor with bread and salt and St. icons. At the church graveyard, where a triumphal gate decorated with greenery was erected, with an appropriate inscription, the bishop was met by the rector of the parish, three priests and a deacon with a huge number of parishioners gathered. Having accepted bread and salt from the parishioners and sprinkled himself with St. water, the ruler, while singing: “from the east of the sun,” entered the church along a path covered with red cloth and flowers. The vast, majestic church, with the mass of candles and lamps lit in it, with the large number of parishioners who filled it and stood with lit candles in their hands, made a pleasant impression in the archpastor’s soul.” “At half past five in the evening, the bishop arrived in the village of Mokroe. When passing through the village, right up to the church itself, the people met the bishop with bread and salt, receiving the Hierarch's blessing. Along the long street leading to the church, parishioners with lit candles and banners were placed in orderly order on both sides. Along the way of the procession to the church, the children of the peasants and the children of the parish priest covered the path with flowers. At the entrance, the bishop was met by two priests, led by the rector of the parish. Having venerated the Holy Cross and sprinkled himself with St. with water, the lord, while singing “The angel cried,” entered the church. Here, having prayed as usual, he examined the sacristy, church utensils, and tested the students in their knowledge of the Law of God and Church Slavonic reading.. The children answered satisfactorily. The Bishop awarded them crosses and icons... Directly from the St. Nicholas Church, the bishop went to the Czech Cyril and Methodius Church. At the entrance to the Cyril and Methodius Church, the archpastor was met by Czechs - representatives from the society, one of whom in a short speech expressed his deepest gratitude for visiting their church and village, and presented bread and salt, and the clergy presented a cross and St. water. A choir of Czech children sang, whose harmony was approved by the saint, and archpastoral gratitude was expressed to the psalm-reader. The singers were given crosses and sheets of religious and moral content. Upon leaving the church, at the end of the church graveyard, an orchestra of Czech children began to play the national anthem and “How Glorious.” The Bishop, praising the playing children, graciously thanked them for the warm welcome and blessed them with crosses and icons. Reading such descriptions, one cannot help but rejoice at the successes of Orthodoxy in this outlying diocese, which for a long time suffered under the yoke of Latinism and Polishism. The joyful and solemn meetings of the Orthodox bishop with local Christian societies are of particular interest not only for their local characteristic flavor (meeting with banners, lit candles for brothers and flowers for children and girls), but also for their truly joyful and victorious mood, the feeling of complete freedom to express their sincerely religious and patriotic feelings. To understand and appreciate the sincerity of this sentiment of the Orthodox of this diocese, one should recall the not too distant past, when “the Poles mocked St. Orthodox faith, desecrated St. churches of God. And when the Polish lords and under-punks, who pranced on argamaks through the fairs, for the sake of fun, whipped the wives of the clergy with whips, tried the point of sabers on the backs of their fathers, or subjected the Russian clergy to other public insults and blood grievances.” 7 Having been in Volyn, it is a sin to bypass Podolia, although our compass resists this. His Grace Dimitri, Bishop of Podolsk and Bratslav, presides here. Like Volyn, the Podolsk diocese is currently, one might say, still experiencing the moment of liberation from the moral and social oppression of Latinism and Polishness, and spiritual revival, in alliance with the ancient Great Russia of the same faith and tribe. The Orthodox population of Podolia waged a heroic struggle, sometimes with the Tatars, sometimes with the Poles, and the memory of this struggle lives to this day in legend, confirmed, often by material monuments. So, about the village of Stena in the description of the Right Reverend, we read: “This is one of the oldest settlements in Podolia, they think that here, even before the invasion of the Tatars, there was a city (Toygrad), devastated by the Tatars. The village of Stena is located on the Rusava River, in a very picturesque area, between the mountains (of which there are four: Zamkovaya, Shpil, Kolka, Bolichka). On Castle Hill (where there was a church), you can see the remains of an ancient stone fence, which, according to legend, served as a fortification of the city. In this fortress lived the Orthodox population, who, when the Tatars attacked the city, locked themselves in the fortress and withstood the siege for a long time, but the fortress was nevertheless taken by the Tatars, then the Christians hid in underground passages from the Tatars, into which food supplies were only delivered to them; but the Tatars opened their refuge, blocked the passage into the dungeon with stones, and those who were there died of hunger and lack of air.. The first church in the Wall was built, as some believe, on the basis of an inscription on a slab embedded above the church entrance door, in 1353, by the Cossack Stefan Nechay. But the inscription is so illegible that it can only be read by guesswork. A local legend reports that the said Cossack decided to build himself a house on Castle Hill and began to dig the ground there, and found there the image of St. Nicholas (still preserved and sacredly revered). At night the saint appeared to him and he was ordered, instead of a house for himself, to build a house of God, which Nechay fulfilled by building a church in honor of St. Nicholas... The first settlers of the present village. Walls, there were Cossacks from different areas, who settled in farms, “odays”, and were mostly engaged in cattle breeding, since for this, the area is very convenient. Initially, the Wall belonged to the Lyubomirskys, and now to Sobansky. 8 About another village, Bush, in the same description of the visit of the Right Reverend we read: “This village is one of the oldest in Podolia; located in a very beautiful area, on the left mountainous side of the river. Murafy, but communication with this village, along the steepness of the mountains, a narrow road winding over the river, is difficult and unsafe. This village was once a populous city with up to 20 thousand inhabitants. Two separately existing villages, Goroshovka and Petrashevka, according to folk legend, were one with the city (although the latter village is located 3-4 versts from Busha). In Bush there are still legends about the heroic defense of the inhabitants against the Poles, especially about the feat of the centurion Zavisnaya, above the place of whose death there is an ancient stone, but, unfortunately, no inscriptions have been preserved on it. One of the most terrible bloodsheds broke out near Bush, for the Orthodox faith, for devotion to the Russian Tsar. It was like this. Soon after the annexation of Little Russia to Great Russia (in the city of Pereyaslavl, January 8, 1654), the Poles decided to severely punish the Podolyans. Hoping for the help of the Crimean Khan, the crown Polish hetman Potocki, with 60 thousand soldiers, devastated Podolia with sword and fire; Mogilev was burned and many of the inhabitants of this city fled to Bush; 6,000 Levenians (that’s what the Podnestrovsky regiment was called) with their families, under the command of Grechka, took refuge there; There were also 12 thousand residents of Busha of both sexes and a crowd of Moldavian daredevils who served in the Ukrainian freemen. But the Polish army was too large, and therefore the Podolians decided in advance to die rather than surrender to the desecration of their enemies. As soon as the Polish detachment approached the walls of the city, a strong volley was heard from the fortress; The Cossacks quickly jumped out of the city gates and scattered the enemies; in this skirmish the head of the detachment himself died. Encouraged, the Levanites, as a sign of triumph, rang the bells, but after this, the Polish commander Czarnecki, with several regiments, rushed to attack (Bushi). He saw that one gate stood lower than the others; there the wall descended from half a mountain; he sent the zholners there. The Leventsy gave a strong resistance, then retreated and allowed the Poles into the city; but as soon as they entered the city, suddenly a strong fire broke out behind them, and besieged men with weapons, scythes, spears and clubs rushed at them in front. The Poles were pushed into the fire; many of them died and Charnetsky himself, with a shot in his leg, barely managed to jump out of the flames. The hetman, seeing such stubbornness, sent a trumpeter to the city with an offer of voluntary surrender, for which he promised them an amnesty; but the Levenites shot this trumpeter in full view of the enemy. After this, the leaders ordered the entire army to launch a general assault. Bush was surrounded on all sides. Landskaransky ordered the cavalry to leave their horses and climb the rocks; for a long time all efforts were in vain; the Levantsy rained a hail of bullets on the Poles, lowered huge stones and blocks; The enemies fell from the fortifications, Busha was unharmed. Czarnecki ordered the water to be released from the pond that adjoined the city - a dam was made; the Polish cavalry crossed the pond and rushed at one tower; the Cossacks defended themselves for a long time, but hour by hour new forces arrived at the Poles; The enemies made a breach in the wall, set fire to the tower and broke into the town, Grechka fell in battle. The Podolyans, in bitterness, not wanting to surrender to their enemies, set fire to their houses and began to kill each other. The wife of the murdered centurion Envious sat on a barrel of gunpowder and said: “After my dear husband, I don’t want to be desecrated by the soldiers!” She lit the barrel and flew into the air. Encouraged by her example, the women threw their children into the flames and wells, and they themselves rushed there after them. 16 thousand brave people died. All property became the prey of fire, and the Polish zholners could not use anything. 70 women managed to hide in a cave near the town, closed by thick thorns. But some, having fled, lost their headscarves. This was noticed by the servants of the Polish colonel Tselyarg, who ordered the zholners to force them to surrender, but they responded to the offer of voluntary surrender with shots from the cave. Tselyarg ordered water to be brought to the cave from a spring flowing nearby, the women drowned, but not one of them surrendered into the hands of the enemies. 9 Along with this, so to speak, mass struggle of the native local population, devoted to Orthodoxy and their nationality, against Polishness and Latinism, there was a partial struggle of individuals, both lay people and, especially, clergy, a struggle that has not completely stopped to this day. As a result, the diocesan visits of the Right Reverend Demetrius receive particular special interest, as they introduce episodes of this struggle of the past and present: since, delving into the present situation of his flock, the Right Reverend Archpastor, (like others), in his conversations with the priests, inquires about the past of the parish, encouraging them to carefully keep parish chronicles. In this regard, the following messages about the presence of the bishop in the village of Konishchevo deserve attention: “The church in this village, which previously existed, was dedicated to the memory of the miracle of the Archangel Michael in Khoneh, then, on the occasion of the liberation of the peasants - residents of Konishchevo from serfdom, at the inspiration of the former priest, Elijah Zelinsky, (+19 January 1891), was dedicated to the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (since 1863), celebrated on October 22. The church chronicle describes in great detail the solemn service in the Konishchevo church on the occasion of the liberation of peasants from serfdom (by the Polish landowner S). In a feeling of deep gratitude to the Tsar-Liberator, priest Ilya Zelinsky, from the Konishchevo peasants, sent a letter to Metropolitan Isidore in St. Petersburg, in which he asked that the prosphora enclosed in a special package be presented to the Sovereign Emperor, as well as 10 rubles. to perform a prayer service in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, with the relics of St. Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky, about the health of the Emperor and His August Family. At the same time, through the same priest Elijah Zelinsky, the Konishchevo peasants asked the St. Petersburg Metropolitan Isidore to send them an exact copy of the miraculous icon of the Kazan Mother of God, located in the St. Petersburg Kazan Cathedral. The request of the Konishchevo peasants was graciously heard. By the highest command, to the church with. Konishchev, was sent, through Metropolitan Isidore, an icon of the Kazan Mother of God, in a silver gilded robe, with precious stones. This icon, received by the Novo-Ushitsa post office, was solemnly, with a religious procession, brought (December 4, 1865) to the Konishchevo church, where it was placed in a special icon case near the iconostasis, on the right side. From that time on, it was established that October 22nd should be celebrated annually with special celebration. The late Fr. Ilya Zelinsky was distinguished by a strong, persistent character, a strong sense of patriotism, and throughout his life he was forced to wage a real struggle with the enemies of the Orthodox Church and the fatherland (not only with the Poles, but, unfortunately, also with Russian officials who patronized the Poles), for which he was subjected to persecution and great trouble. The chronicle describes several cases of attempts by the manager of the Konishchevsky estate to take the life of priest Ilya Zelinsky. So one day, in the dead of midnight, the priest’s house was set on fire, and the doors of the house were propped up with stakes from the outside to block the path to salvation for those in the house, but God’s providence miraculously saved the life of Fr. Elijah and his entire family. The chronicle, which describes in detail the pastoral and patriotic activities of the priest Ilya Zelinsky, deserves to be published, at least in extracts. Priest Ilya Zelinsky also cared a lot about providing the Konishchevo clergy with land and various lands, and achieved, although through personal troubles, a large provision, compared with other parishes (up to 100 acres of land).” His Eminence Demetrius visited the village of Konishchev as follows. “Upon arrival at the Konishchevo church, His Grace, in the concelebration of the dean of the 5th Umitsk district, priest John of Kompansky, priests from the village. Bakhtin, Nikolai Angalevich, p. Petriman, Procopius Gordzievsky and s. Kurnik, Mikhail Martsishevsky, performed the liturgy, at which the priest Mikhail Martsyshevsky was awarded a loincloth. At the liturgy, the following were remembered for the repose: metropolitans - Arseny of Kiev (former Archbishop of Podolsk + April 28), Moscow - Macarius (for the sake of his namesake on May 1st) and Leonty (the first was Bishop of Vinnitsa, and the second - Archbishop of Podolsk), Bishop Jeremiah (of Nizhny Novgorod, for the sake of the namesake May 1st) and Priest Elijah. The sermon (about the life of St. Apostle James Zebedee) was delivered by the Right Reverend. After the liturgy, a prayer service was sent to the Mother of God (for the sake of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, venerated in Konishchevo), and then at the grave (behind the altar of the Konishchevo church) a funeral litany was performed for Priest Elijah (Zelinsky). The church of St. is considered to be attached to the Konishchevsky church. Alexander Nevsky in the village. Bogushevka. This wooden church was built in 1888 by parishioners, at the inspiration of St. Elijah Zelinsky, in memory of his liberation from serfdom. In the Konishchevo parish, the parishioners, in comparison with the residents of the surrounding villages, are distinguished by their special piety, zeal for the church of God, goodwill towards their clergy and other good qualities, which they owe to the late Fr. Elijah Zelinsky, who served as a priest in Konishchevo for more than 40 years. At the end of the service, the Right Reverend visited the building of the parochial school. For the school, recently, at the inspiration and with the active participation of the priest Theodore Zelinsky, (son of Father Elijah), parishioners at their own expense built a very good and spacious wooden house, covered with an iron roof (costs more than 2000 rubles). The school has an apartment for the teacher. There were up to 80 students in the school. The answers on the Law of God and other subjects showed the very good condition of this exemplary school. Boys graduated from the Konishchevo school every year with preferential certificates for military service (the number of such was sometimes over 10). Children participate in reading and singing during worship services. Teacher Dimitry Lazarkevich is very diligent in his lessons with children. Under the leadership of the parish priest (Theodore Zelinsky), a well-organized choir of singers was formed from students who had previously studied at the school. During the bishop's service, this choir, under the direction of Priest Zelinsky, sang the liturgy and prayer service. The post office premises in Konishchev have recently been installed.” 10 About visiting the village of Krichanovka, we read the following: “Parochial school in the village. Krichanovka, opened through the efforts of a local priest in 1862. There is a special, wooden, rather spacious, two-story wooden building with an apartment for the teacher. In the chronicle of the construction of the school building, it is noted that the local landowner (Catholic P.D.), according to the conviction of the priest, decided to build a special house for the school, but he had a goal, to build a school only for Catholic children (this was before the uprising of the Poles), for which material was prepared (wood, etc.), but since the rebellion of the Poles was not successful, the wood, with the knowledge of Mr. D., began to be used for various economic buildings. At this time, Fr. Mikulinsky turned to Mr. D. with convictions to complete his good intention - to build a house for the children of his estate, and Mr. D. was forced to build a school. While visiting a school, the Right Reverend asked one boy to read the Lord’s Prayer, but he refused, since he was Pole and did not know how to do Russian prayers; then the same boy was asked: what prayer is read for the king? Stubborn silence followed; Finally, the question was proposed: what is the name of our Orthodox Russian Tsar? Again stubborn silence and reluctance to answer. The Right Reverend made a reproof to the teacher of the law, and gave advice to the teacher not to allow children of Gentiles and Jews who do not want to study the Law of God and know the prayer for the Tsar into the parish school. The students at the parochial school (of which there were more than 30) responded quite well. The teacher, peasant Ivan Motyl, formed a small choir of singers from his students.” 11 The Eminence also saw some other conditions in the life of the people that were unfavorable for the establishment of Orthodoxy, with which the priest had to fight. Thus, repeatedly, when visiting different parishes, the indifference of parishioners to the pitiful state of churches, and especially the clergy premises, is noted. There are often cases of positive hostility from parishioners towards clergy. Thus, in the description of a visit to the town of Snitkov, it is noted: “The Snitkov society, consisting not only of Orthodox Christians, but also of Catholics, is not sympathetic to the needs of the clergy. The Orthodox, despite the priest’s intense requests, to assist him in the construction (of a church house), even by transporting wood from the forest, not only refused, but also complained, not only to the Diocesan and civil authorities of the Podolsk province, but even to the governing Senate, from where they were ordered to provide all assistance to their clergy in the construction of church buildings.” 12 Particularly characteristic in this regard is the following message: “The church (the village of Gabzhievki) is of very beautiful Byzantine architecture with one large dome; but despite the recent construction, a significant crack appeared in the dome, threatening the destruction of the church itself; in the refectory, the ceiling is sagging and in danger of collapsing. The parishioners, although they are disposed towards the church of God, but, under the influence of the village elder, and especially the tavern owner, are constantly agitated against their parish priest, and spend their money on drawing up slanderous petitions for hiring lawyers. For several years, every now and then, they wrote complaints against their former priest, not only to the Diocesan authorities, but also to the Holy Synod, and spent more than 2,000 rubles just to expel priest A.I. from their parish. No sooner had the new priest arrived in Gabzhievka than the diocesan authorities received a complaint from the slanderers of this parish.” The former priest (A.I.) lived temporarily in the landowner's house, but since the said priest arbitrarily entered the landowner's house into the clergy register, as if belonging to the church, as a result of which there was a trial that ended in favor of the actual owner (landowner), then after priest A.I. left, the Gabzhievsky landowner no longer allowed the new priest into his house (although it remained unoccupied). The current priest (D.), a priest with a large family, is forced to live in a peasant hut, two miles from the church, since there was no room closer (or rather, they did not give him) premises. And he lives alone, and his family lives in another parish, which is why the newly appointed priest turns to the Diocesan authorities about moving him to another parish. The construction committee found the clergy premises in Gabzhievka to be very dilapidated and recognized the need to replace them with new ones, but neither the clergy nor the parishioners, due to the low price (1400 rubles) for the clergy buildings, undertake to build new ones. In other parishes, to the allocated normal price (1400 rubles), parishioners add the missing amount from themselves, or, without compensation, through labor, facilitate the construction of church buildings, but in Gabzhievka, some of those who are dissatisfied with the former priest reject those who would decide to take on the contract for the construction of houses for the clergy. There are many consecrated images on the walls of the church, but they, due to time and careless maintenance of the church, have faded and require renewal.” 13 “The parishioners of the Kukavka Church (village of Kukavka),” we read elsewhere in the description of the visits of St. Demetrius, “are too indifferent to their church, they care little about its splendor, although they are quite wealthy. In addition, according to the abbot, they have up to 6,000 rubles. of their reserve capital, but reluctantly donate for the maintenance and repair of the church, in 1893, the priest with great effort managed to obtain 200 rubles, of which 180 rubles. used for painting the church, and the rest for fixing the fence. The priest suggested that the parishioners build a guardhouse on the church graveyard, but the parishioners not only did not react sympathetically to his statement, but even prevented this, and at the present time they are thinking of dismantling the building of the church guardhouse, and meanwhile, in the church, in addition to precious icons, there are many expensive things donated by Counts Morkov and other landowners.” 14 Unfavorable conditions and circumstances similar to the above highlight all the more clearly the significant successes of pastors - fighters for Orthodoxy and zealots of church education. The efforts of these zealous shepherds bear good fruit, especially among the younger generation - students of church schools. The establishment of these schools in the Podolsk diocese, recently, has been strong and fruitful. His Eminence Demetrius is very attentive to the matter of teaching in church schools; When he visits, he always examines schoolchildren and celebrates working people with special zeal, in this great work, teachers. Young pupils of the church school almost always meet and surround the Reverend on his visits to parish churches; they greet him with singing, and they also form choirs for singing during the bishop’s service in rural churches. Such participation (i.e., by singing) in the church life of the young generation is, in general, an extremely gratifying phenomenon, which sometimes has its own characteristic features. So, in the description of the visit to the village. Mikhalovtsov, notes: “For the meeting of the Eminence, although unexpected, a huge number of parishioners gathered in St. Michael’s Church. When examining the documents, everything was found in proper order; Between the documents there was a liturgical journal for recording the boys (students of the parochial school) who read during the service, with marks of the dignity of reading. The establishment of such magazines is a very commendable matter. From the liturgical journal of the village. Mikhailovets shows that even on Easter, the reading of the Acts of the Apostles was distributed among schoolchildren. From the liturgical journal (clerical), it was noted with pleasure that the Mikhailovsky clergyman performed divine services throughout the entire Easter week.” 15 In the description of the visit. Borovki, we read: “At the end of the all-night vigil, the Right Reverend tested the students in the parish school of the village. Kittiwakes (estate of Mr. Mankovsky). This school, thanks to a generous reward from Mr. Mankovsky (a salary of 300 rubles is given), has a seminary student (V. Losyatinsky) as a teacher. It is small in terms of the number of students, but the curriculum is well organized; Every year it graduated boys with preferential certificates for military service. After testing the Moevsky students, students at the local public school (in which more than 50 children studied) were tested in their knowledge of the Law of God; These answers were good; it is clear that both the teacher and the teacher of the law (priest Pyotr Smerchinsky) worked diligently at school. Crosses and books were distributed to the children. The students make up a very good choir of singers. During the all-night vigil, for the most part, peasant boys and adult peasants read - very well, clearly and with a reverent mood of soul, which, unfortunately, is rarely found not only in rural, but also in urban churches. 16 In the description of the visit. Kachkovki, we read: “The local psalm-reader, Atheonius Kobrzycki, organized a very good choir of singers, consisting mainly of girls (mostly illiterate). All the singing boys and girls are dressed smartly in dark blue clothes; on each of them, on ribbons of different colors, there are metal crosses and belts of different colors. The singers are sorted by voice according to the color of the ribbons for crosses and belts. Between the residents of the village. Kachkovki, in general, a noticeable desire for good costume and panache, which is explained both by the proximity to the city of Yampol and by the prosperity of the parishioners. The parochial school, as it was seen from the responses of the students in it, was set up very well; it is clear that priest I. Kostetsky, despite his advanced years, studies at school with love.” 17 “Local choristers sang - we read about the bishop’s visit to Chernivtsi - under the direction of the parochial school teacher, Natalia Mankovskaya, and psalm-reader Gladkevich. In both the Assumption and St. Nicholas churches, communal singing has been introduced. 18 “The Right Reverend was greeted (in the borough of Kopaigorod) by the singing of all the parishioners, both adults and children of both sexes. General singing in Kopaygorod was introduced by priest Vladimir Shostatsky in 1869, and so it became common here that during the service, both the all-night vigil and the liturgy, all those present in the church take an active part, which encourages the parishioners themselves to visit their church with love; from neighboring villages also come to Kopaygorod to listen to common folk singing. This feature of the Kopaygorod church attracted the special attention of the archpastors, who (Reverends Justin and Donat), visiting this place, expressed their approval to both the priest and the Orthodox parishioners of the Kopaigorod metropolitan area. In the church of this town, from the evening of May 1, an all-night vigil was held: for the litia and polyeleos, the bishop, due to the cramped conditions of the church, and also to give all the parishioners present the opportunity to take part in the general church singing, went out to the churchyard. 19 Here are the new fruits of the faithful workers of the vineyard of Christ in the ancient Russian, Orthodox and much-suffered Podolia! Now, obeying the instructions of the compass, let us go, reader, to Orthodox Georgia. Arkhangelsk Eparch. Ved. 1894 No. 14. Arhang. Eparch. Ved. No. 11. It is worthy of mention that on the initiative of St. Nikanor, a translation of the Holy Gospel of Matthew in the Lapp language was published. The title of the holy book in this language reads as follows: “My Lord Jesus Christ Shepherded the Gospel Matveest, Same kille.” - translation made by St. Pozretsky parish, K. Shchekoldin. Eparch. Ved. 1894 No. 17. Volynsk. Eparch. Ved. 1894 No. 33. Volyn. Eparch. Ved. 1895, No. 5, article by priest. A. Buinitsky, pp. 205, 206. Podolsk Eparch. Ved. 1894, No. 37. Hem. Eparch. Ved. 1894, no. 38, 933–734. Podolsk Eparch. Ved. 1894, no. 28, pp. 551–553. Under. Eparch. Ved. 1894, no. 32, p. 618. Under. Eparch. Ved. No. 29, p. 577. Under. Eparch. Ved. No. 38, pp. 731, 732. Under. Eparch. Ved. No. 33, p. 643. Under. Eparch. Ved. No. 28, pp. 553, 554, 1894. Under. Eparch. Ved. No. 37, pp. 703, 704. Under. Eparch. Ved. No. 38, p. 727. Under. Eparch. Ved. No. 30, p. 585.