Часть II. Путевые заметки Александры Нарцизовой

Letters about travels with Father John of Kronstadt to his homeland and other places It never even occurred to me that my name could appear in print; Having not received a thorough education due to deafness that befell me from the age of ten, could I ever think about literary works?! But, apparently, every word of God’s chosen one, Father John, must come true... For many years I fervently wanted to talk to him and ask him to show me the path of life along which I could follow, but for a long time, due to the mass of people who always surrounded him, I did not have the opportunity to fulfill my desire. In 1891, God arranged for me to travel to the homeland of Father John in Sura for the consecration of the church 228. When the ceremony of consecration was over and the guests had left, with his blessing I remained with him in Sura, among the very few of his companions, and could calmly talk to him. To my question about what way of life I should choose, Father John said among other things: “You have a writing hand, share your talent!” I didn’t know how I could share when before, except for letters to family and friends, I had never written anything, but this issue soon resolved itself completely beyond my expectations. Among the new acquaintances I made during my trip to Sura was the editor of the magazine “Russian Pilgrim”, to whom I, like some others, described my journey with Father John from Sura to the Goritsky Monastery 229, not at all suspecting that my letter could be published - and was quite surprised when I read it almost entirely in “Russian Pilgrim” 230. Thank God, many people really liked it, which was evident from the letters of approval I received from different places in Russia, but most importantly, I later received the warmest and most flattering response regarding this letter from Father John himself. My second and third stories - a trip to the Goritsky cinnovia and St. Petersburg memories - were written by me for myself - I wrote down everything that I saw and felt in order to preserve for the rest of my life the memory of the brightest and happiest days of my life, without at all thinking of publishing them, and only at the request of my friends, who convinced me to share my memories with admirers of Father John, and in view of my letters being cordially received in print, I decided to collect my stories into one whole, so that, if possible, nothing from the life of this beacon of love, faith and prayer falls into oblivion. The sympathetic reader will not find a single fictitious word in these stories, because all this was written not by the head and the hand, but truly by the heart, full of reverence and selfless devotion, and gratitude to the powerful prayer book before God for us sinners - Father John. If anyone condemns me for unnecessary details, then let them keep in mind that all this was written not for the reading public, but for itself, without even suspecting that all this could appear in print. If someone likes some thoughts or a description of something, then again I ask, let them not attribute this to my mind or knowledge - the Lord put everything in my heart through the prayer of Father John, who, apparently, it was not without reason that he often laid his hand on my head and seemed to pray for me, and his prayer before God is strong and can make the foolish - wise and the hopelessly sick - healthy. From a letter to the editor of “Russian Pilgrim” I don’t know why, but some irresistible desire makes me share with you thoughts that do not leave me for a minute. I had no idea that I would be the only representative from Yaroslavl at the consecration of the Church of Father John in Sura. On July 15, I parted (in body, but not in spirit) with the guardian angel of every step of my life, but I am still under the strong, irresistible and most beneficial impression of everything I have experienced recently. I don’t know how to thank God that He led me to Father John, the thought of whom I lived for more than five years. To tell the truth, many people confused me about this road, and I went completely upset and upset; but I was supported by a strong faith that one way or another I would see Father John, and I hoped that he would calm me down and show me the path along which I could follow. The Lord saw my sincere desire and gave me much more than I expected. You yourself witnessed how Father John received me and with what true fatherly love he treated me all the time; and I fully felt that I was not worth even a hundredth part of the attention with which he surrounded me; but when you all left, he became even closer to me, accepting me as one of his spiritual daughters and deigning me to receive the Holy Mysteries. I cannot express in words the feeling with which I accepted the Holy Body and Blood of Christ from his hands. His living, ardent prayer, even though it was deaf, so completely enveloped me and carried me away somewhere far, far, into the heights that, in all honesty, I honestly don’t know where I was then, on earth or in heaven. And every service performed by Father John carried my soul away from the earth. But I didn’t have to be so blissful for long. On July 4, in the second hour of the day, Father John left Sura, and all of us with him. Death did not want me to part with this blessed corner, where everything, every blade of grass told me about the presence and labors of the great chosen one of God. The owners of the ship were Mrs. Makarov and Mrs. Scholz. At 9 o'clock in the evening we stopped at the Verkolsky Monastery 231. Father John went straight from the pier to the cathedral; After listening to the prayer service and venerating the relics of the righteous Artemy, he went into the abbot’s cells, where he and all of us were offered dinner; In the absence of the rector, Father Archimandrite Vitaly 232, Father John himself was a hospitable and attentive host. The next day, in the morning, we stopped in the Pirinem parish, eighty miles from the Verkolsky monastery, on the left bank of the Pinega River. High on the mountain stands a wretched wooden church; under it, legend says, the body of Paraskeva, the sister of the holy righteous Artemy 233, is buried. Father John asked to serve a memorial service for her, after which he passionately pressed his head to the tomb and for several minutes, apparently with his whole being, was immersed in prayer. Looking at his fiery prayer, we also prayed fervently in front of this wretched, simple, wooden, most crudely made and even unpainted tomb, the decoration of which was a small, most modest-looking shroud lying in the middle. When we drove further, the ship soon ran aground. For more than an hour, all the male passengers and workers fought, trying to refloat it, but it was all in vain: the ship sank even deeper into the sand. Seeing this, Father John also took up the hook and began to help the workers. Not even ten minutes had passed after this, when the steamer set off and went at first quietly, and then more and more freely, and did not stop any more. On July 6 we arrived in Arkhangelsk, and E.E. Scholz invited us all to stay with her. The kind soul of Mrs. Scholz beamed with happiness that she again had the opportunity to receive her dear Father. I really liked the design of her house, and I called the garden, due to its picturesqueness, the Arkhangelsk Peterhof. On July 7 at 7 pm Father John left Arkhangelsk. The entire shore was dotted with people, and two steamships with the public saw him off for a long time. The journey to Sura was happy for me; but the way back was truly a royal way, because it was sanctified by the personal presence of the great lamp of God, whose name is sacredly revered by all Orthodox Rus', which I saw with my own eyes at every step. Only the people can greet the dearly beloved Tsar as genuinely and sincerely as he met and saw off Father John everywhere. Wherever the ship landed, everywhere, as if from the earth, crowds of people instantly appeared and rushed to Father for a blessing. But especially, to the depths of my soul, I was touched by the meeting arranged for Father John in one village (Krasnoborsk). When the ship stopped at the pier at 10 o'clock in the evening, all the shore residents, both healthy and sick, hurried to the ship's wheelhouse to see Father. After the first whistle, everyone left, and a huge mass of people formed on the shore. Suddenly the whole crowd seemed to freeze, everyone took off their hats: I ask those around me what this means, and they answer me: the whole people sing in chorus, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace” 234 . I looked at Father John: he, standing on the wheelhouse with a hat in his hand, was apparently immersed in prayer, and his face, illuminated by the evening dawn and inspired by prayer, was truly, like that of an Angel of God, wonderfully beautiful. Never in my life will I forget that holy expression on his face. They sang for a long time and, they say, very well and harmoniously. When the ship started moving, I passionately kissed his hand in tears, and he clearly understood my thoughts, smiled and pressed my head to him. On July 8, he drank tea in my cabin (in 1st class). I can’t express in words how happy my soul was about this! I talked to him. After tea, he went out to the wheelhouse and, sitting down, began to read the Gospel aloud. Everyone surrounded him, and I sat down at Father’s feet, and although I didn’t hear his voice, I didn’t take my eyes off his lips, and every word he uttered resonated sensitively in my heart. And how I ardently wished then for these happy moments to last as long as possible, even for a lifetime - it was so precious to be at the feet of Father John. On July 9, due to shoals, the ship stopped every now and then; the luggage and the entire 3rd class had to be transferred to a barge. On July 10 we arrived in Ustyug: here we were told that there were no further ships, we had to go by boat or on horses. Not knowing what to do, I turned to Father to resolve this issue, and what? He took me with him, telling Father Gennady to go with me 235. That’s what we did, we took the troika together, and while Father Gennady was busy with the horses and luggage, Father had already driven off for an hour. I had to catch up with him, but it was not an easy task. The horses walked for a long time, but the driver did not listen to me when I asked him to go faster. Meanwhile, Father John raced quickly, stopping only to change horses, and was more than 6 hours ahead of us - and if he had not stopped in Totma to serve, we would never have caught him. He arrived in Totma on July 11 at 10 pm, and we arrived only at 5 am on the 12th. I ran straight from the road to the monastery: I entered the church, and there Father John was already serving Matins. And how I sincerely thanked God that I had finally caught up with him. After mass, all of us, in five troikas, with Father John at the head, flew on like a whirlwind. I just prayed to Father Gennady not to lag behind, and, thank God, we didn’t lag behind anymore. Only then did my soul rest: and I could not see the wagon rolling in front of me without tears of joy. I didn't take my eyes off her almost the entire way. What wonderful places we passed! Looking at the surroundings around me, I involuntarily wondered and thought how wise the Lord is in His creation and how He generously endowed the nature of Mother Rus' with truly wondrous beauty - there is really no need to go to Switzerland. On the morning of July 13 we stopped in Kadnikov. Father John went straight from the road to the church to serve matins and mass, and I followed him there too. Then at 3 o'clock we were already in Vologda and, having rushed through almost the entire city, we stopped at the Volkovs 236. It's hard to describe what happened then. The news that Father John had arrived spread like lightning around the city, and in a few minutes the entire street in front of the house was flooded with people who did not disperse until Father left on his visits. Late in the evening he returned tired and prayed several more times for the sick, who did not leave the house until late at night. On July 14, Mother Ioanna, my soulmate friend, flew in from the Goritsky Monastery before the light, who brought a large comfortable carriage for Father Ioann (and took me with her to stay in Goritsy). After mass, Father left Vologda, and I was moved to tears by the ardent devotion of the Vologda residents to Father John. Almost all of Vologda stood as trellises along all the streets following Father John, and then flowed like a river behind him. And for a long, long time a whole line of carriages saw him off. On the way, we stopped at Zaonikiev Hermitage 237 to visit Archimandrite Seraphim, also an old friend of mine; We dined and drank tea with him. Father rested with him. Soon, on the right side of the road, in the distance, Lake Kubenskoye, famous in ancient times, opened up, which stretches for as much as sixty miles; on the opposite side of the lake, one can see churches and monasteries every now and then, in which, as I was told, almost everywhere rest the relics of holy Russian hermits, who in ancient times retreated from rumor and human glory into the impenetrable forest wilds of the Vologda and Novgorod provinces. Here we entered a large village, also called Kubenskoye, which looks more like a city than a village, with two magnificent ancient churches; There, Father John was met by a countless mass of people, everyone asked for his blessing, and while they were shifting the horses, standing on the porch of the station, under the hot rays of the sun, he blessed the people for more than an hour: many cried with joy that God had brought them to receive the blessing of Father John, dear to everyone. Late in the evening we stopped in the small village of Gora: in one peasant hut, Father John rested for a few minutes and drank tea. Then one peasant woman brought to Father John her son, about seven or eight years old, completely insane, so that he did not know how to put the sweet cracker given to him in his mouth, and with tears on her knees she begged him to pray and help her son. Father John, holding the child in his lap, hugged him with both hands, and apparently prayed fervently with all his heart, pressing his head to his head, then suddenly released the child and only said: “You are mothers, mothers!” It was necessary to see with what deep compassion and tender love for the unfortunate boy these words were spoken: the mother began to ask even more, but he again only repeated the words, shaking his head: “You are mothers, mothers!” It is clear that according to the impartial justice of God, even their children bear punishment for the sins of their parents. At 3 o'clock in the morning we arrived in Goritsy. Another four miles away, as if on Easter, the ringing of monastery bells was heard, with which the nuns greeted Father John, whom they deeply revered. When he entered the monastery, the delight and joy of the nuns was indescribable: everyone crossed themselves, hugged and cried with joy, and vied with each other to try, if not to kiss his hand, then at least to look at him. At 7 o'clock Father served Matins and Mass, after which he gave communion to almost everyone. There was a general confession, during which Father John spoke for a long time, and they told me that every word of his, in his warm, sincere speech, imbued with a living faith in God, deeply etched itself into the souls of all who listened to him. The whole church (the large cathedral church was packed 238) was crying. After mass, the kind old abbess had tea and dinner, during which she did not know how best to treat her dear guest. During lunch, three choirs of nuns sang together. Then Father John went with the abbess to the Kirillov Monastery 239 and Mikulino 240. Then I had to part with my dear Father, I cried bitterly... It would be easier, it seems to me, to part with life than with him... He hugged me several times, blessed me and wrote to me in consolation: “See you in a year” (I now live with this word only). At 7 o'clock in the evening he left for Cherepovets, and I remained in Goritsy and thought to stay there until the fall, since I was closely acquainted with the good abbess and her cell attendants, but on July 23 I was suddenly called to Yaroslavl; I flew home and just got to the funeral. Now, thinking about everything I have experienced, I am fully aware and feel that these were the most joyful and bright days of my entire life. It is not for nothing that they were given to me with such difficulty, and I can only sincerely, from the heart, say together with King David: He gave me the desire of my heart... 241 and What will I repay to the Lord for all His good deeds to me? 242 Trip to Goritsky cinnovia in 1892 Thank God, last summer of 1892, God led me once again to visit little-familiar, and to most readers, completely unknown corners of our vast Mother Rus'. For the third year, every summer I go to the Goritsky convent (Novgorod province of Kirillovsky district), this hotbed of cenobitic convents in Russia 243; it attracts me with its antiquity, having been founded in 1544 by the uncle of Ivan the Terrible, appanage prince Andrei Staritsky and his wife Euphrosyne, and there is a legend that Ivan the Terrible subsequently imprisoned its founder, Princess Euphrosyne, together with her niece Juliania in this monastery, and six years after the imprisonment he ordered them to be drowned in the fleeting Sheksna River; their bodies were then taken out of the water and buried under the altar of a warm church 244. The charter of the Goritsky Monastery is distinguished by the strict implementation of the hostel, the unforgiving and reverent performance of all church services, and most importantly, the pure life of the nuns, these true workers, secret to the world and known only to God. Looking deeper into their too simple, but filled with the fear of God, way of life, starting from the abbess and ending with the last novice, I find a great lesson for myself in their example. But I still have not had the opportunity to see the so-called “Goritsky cinemas 245”, of which Gorits have three. Last summer I had the opportunity to visit them, and, in addition, to meet and spend two days traveling with Father John of Kronstadt, dear and deeply revered by almost the entire Christian world, for which I thank God with all my heart. On June 30, I was telegraphed from Arkhangelsk that Father John had already left there. On the same day I went to Moscow on my business. Having completed these matters, on the morning of July 2, I returned to Yaroslavl, and, without stopping, drove straight from the station to the ship, and at 4 o’clock I was already in Rybinsk. There, without wasting a minute, she moved onto the Milyutinsky steamer and arrived just in time for its departure to Sheksna (the next steamer would have departed in another two days). On July 4, I arrived in Goritsy, where I was greeted with sincere cordiality. Two days later, when I had rested enough, I was offered to go to Fetinino and the island to the Monk Zosima, the Wonderworker of Vorbozom 246. I gladly accepted this offer. The good abbess gave me a carriage, and as a guide - my constant companion on all Goritsa travels, Mother Mauritius. This wonderful old woman, as a child her mother brought her with her to Goritsy, and since then she has been living here almost hopelessly for 60 years; With childish naivety, she sometimes asks me: “What is worldly life? I have no idea about her.” For 14 miles we drove there as if in an uninterrupted park, which approaches the monastery itself on three sides, and only when we arrived almost to the gate did I see a huge church from behind a low wooden fence. The gatekeeper, having seen her own people, now opened the gate for us. Not without a special feeling of reverence, for the first time in my life, I entered a women’s monastery, where 60 nuns live, completely removed several miles from any human habitation. The only people who live behind the fence are the priest and the watchman and their families. Since the boat was already ready, we, inviting a priest with us and capturing the clergy women, went to the Monk Zosima. We drove three miles along a lake as smooth as a mirror, and how picturesque it was! Wide as the sea, it spreads out like an endless tablecloth all around, and 14 islands, mostly hayfields, are scattered on it like bouquets of flowers. On the main island there is a small stone church. Getting out of the boat, we went straight to the church, where, at my request, the priest served a prayer service to St. Zosima. The reverent service of the humble monastery priest made the most beneficial impression on me: I prayed fervently at the saint’s shrine, but a sad feeling was aroused in me by the poverty of both the shrine itself and the entire church 247 . There are five thrones in it, and only one has utensils, and they are tin, worn out and even broken from antiquity (only in very recent times, with money collected from various people, complete altar utensils have been built there, all silver-gilded, beautiful workmanship); the walls are bare, in the whole church there are only a few images, and those are dark, of ancient writing, even without frames. I have never seen such squalor anywhere. The main altar in the cold church is dedicated to the Annunciation of the Mother of God; the right side chapel is to St. John the Theologian, the left side is to St. Zosima; right there at the pulpit his relics rest under a bushel. In the refectory church, separated from the cold one only by a door, there is a chapel of the Nativity of Christ on the right side, and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker on the left. Right there on the floor, near the side-chapel, they showed me a piece of bone, as thick as the girth of a man and about an arshin in height, of some kind of sea animal, which, according to legend, was brought here by the Monk Zosima himself, when he was still a Pomor. I sincerely prayed in this ancient, but forgotten church due to its inaccessible location. Two years ago he was assigned to the Goritsky monastery, and, thanks to the constant care of Abbess Nila 248, he was brought, as far as possible, despite his poverty, into a more decent appearance. Leaving the church, we went to a wooden house that was still being built with cells for future hermits; now three elderly nuns live in it, who look after the horse and calves; the latter brought a whole herd here with Fetinino. Having examined the house, which was very conveniently and practically arranged, I went out into the street, where I saw about 30 nuns, very diligently busy harvesting hay. Walking along the shore, I was amazed by the multitude of strawberries that grow here, apparently and invisibly. After feasting on and taking these wonderful berries with us, we returned in the same boat to Fetinino, where a wonderful ide fish soup (Lake Vorbozomskoe abounds with various fish) and tea were waiting for us. I really wanted to explore the church here, and the good nuns unlocked it: I was so glad that they fulfilled my desire. This modest, but quite magnificent church of God made on me the most joyful and somehow warm impression. It is not high, but it is built so comfortably, with choirs, and everywhere there is such exemplary cleanliness and order that the soul was involuntarily disposed to pray. There are three chapels in the church. The main one is located, as it were, in the depths, which resembles the location of the church of Father John in Sura in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker; The side chapels protrude somewhat: the right one is of the Holy Great Martyr Theodore Stratelates, the left one is of St. Mary Magdalene: before her miraculous image an unquenchable lamp glows. Back in the 30s, 249 there was only a chapel (it is still intact) and a small house in which several hermits lived, cultivating a small patch of land in complete solitude. The Abbess of Mauritius, known for her strict and righteous life, built a monastery on this site, introduced a proper dormitory and erected a wooden church, which, unfortunately, soon burned down 250; the unfortunate nuns, caught in the fire at night, not only could not save anything, but almost burned themselves out. Left homeless, they still did not want to part with their beloved solitude; Somehow, taking shelter in one surviving house, they just all prayed and cried, and the Lord soon heard their prayers. One St. Petersburg lady took monastic vows in Goritsy 251 and built a beautiful stone church on Fetinin, which even now flaunts for the glory of God for the joy and consolation of hermits who have completely devoted themselves to God and work. From the church I went to the wooden bell tower, where a twelve-year-old girl - a clergy member (she is also a bell-ringer), the granddaughter of an older nun - began to ring the bell for me (fortunately, there is no human habitation for several miles around, so there is no one to frighten with inopportune ringing). Deftly moving the ropes with her hands, she at the same time pressed the board with her foot, to which the ropes from the tongues were also tied, and the bells unanimously and in tact obeyed the little commander, who handled their pound tongues like toys. Then I was amazed by an amazing phenomenon: being completely deaf, God alone knows why, for the second time in my life I clearly felt the ringing of a bell. I vividly remembered the half-blind bell ringer Ivan Ivanovich, who, in the happy days of my life in Sura, tuned the bells and rang the bells from morning to night. To him, with the permission of Father John, I climbed the bell tower, and although I heard almost nothing with my ears, with my whole being I clearly felt not only the ringing, but also the shimmering of the bells. And I was simply delighted with this true wonder for me - after all, for over 27 years I had not heard anything like it. Now, for the second time, I clearly felt the ringing, although the local bells were much inferior in number and weight to those in Sur. Having thanked the little ruler of so many languages, I went down and visited all the cells; Everywhere is clean and simple, truly monastic, and in every closet hangs a card of Father John, dear to everyone. There weren’t many nuns in the monastery at that time: some worked in the fields, others caught fish, and others immediately dried last year’s rye. There were few free people, and I went with them into the forest, which was located right behind the fence; At this time they struck for vespers, and my companions turned back, and I had to follow their example. Once again I went to church; all the nuns stood decorously in their places, the choir was full of clergy women, but there was not a soul outside. After praying, I left the church; here the horses were waiting for me and M. Mauritius, and we went back to Goritsy; my soul felt so joyful and at peace from everything I saw. After all, even in our time there are hermits who, for the sake of God, have left everything in the world, counting earthly joys as nothing... Our road was wonderful, we drove like a continuous garden. On both sides of the road there are forests, groves, lawns covered with flowers; Looking at all this, I couldn’t help but think: what a great example of obedience nature gives us in her works! The Lord gave each tree, grass, and flower its own form and outlined the measure of development, and in what an amazing order, how harmoniously and beautifully they grow and develop, without deviating one iota from the order destined for them by the Creator. Only man, created in the image and likeness of God 252, gifted with reason and free will, by nature directed towards good, with his waywardness and harsh heartlessness towards his neighbor, whom Christ commands everyone to love as himself, 253 has distorted and disfigured his moral image beyond recognition, so that the words of the psalmist are fulfilled over many: be likened to senseless cattle and become like them 254. That is why people with noble morality and warm, selfless love, which they express not so much in words as in deeds towards their neighbors, are so dear to everyone, and they shine like stars on our sinful earth; God only grant that we have more of them! In such thoughts, I didn’t even notice how 14 miles flew by. We arrived late at the monastery, where my dear friend M. Ioanna was waiting for us for tea. Until almost midnight, we spent time with her in a quiet conversation about our dear lamp of God, Father John, whom we were expecting in Goritsy from day to day. The next day, we had just begun to get ready for the all-night vigil when the alarm sounded. There is a small settlement outside the walls of the monastery, and due to carelessness, a fire broke out in it. The kind abbess sent all the nuns to the disaster site with a fire pipe. Like birds of heaven they flew there, almost each one with a bucket. I also ran and saw the burning barns; Almost all the residents were in the field at work, only the old and small remained at home. Distraught with fear, they only cried and prayed. The flames raged greatly, as the wind blew directly onto the planting, and the thatched roofs of several houses began to smoke. At this time, several nuns came out of the monastery gates with images, including a miraculous image - the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God. The undaunted nun, holding the image in her hands, stood directly against the flame and began to overshadow the conflagration with the icon of the Mother of God... And a wondrous thing! The wind suddenly rushed in the opposite direction, and the fire turned sharply into the field... From the amazement and joy of the miracle that happened before my eyes, I involuntarily crossed myself, and tears rolled from my eyes... Thus, the Queen of Heaven, in Her miraculous way, miraculously preserved the settlement from complete destruction; After all, if the wind hadn’t turned into the field, perhaps not even a log would have remained from the planting. The nuns worked for a long time, pouring fire, and I must say, they worked with complete dedication and with all their might. Exhausted, they returned to the monastery, and despite their fatigue, they immediately went to the all-night vigil. Everything ended well: only my dear friend, M. Mauritius, suffered grief - while carrying water from Sheksna up the mountain with her new, just bought iron bucket, she carelessly dropped it into the fire, and together with the barn it burned, but still she did not want to part with her new thing and then, pulling it out of the coals, brought it home in the most deplorable state. Moreover, a misfortune happened to me: while carrying straw thrown from the roofs with others to the river, in one place, when I had just grabbed an armful, a whole heap of smoking straw fell on top of me and almost crushed me; With difficulty I got out from under it. Previously, I visited the third Goritsky cinnovia, Mikulino, located two miles from the monastery, and I really liked it: on a high mountain there is a large three-story house (donated to the Gorits by the Rybinsk benefactors Tyumenevs) with a beautiful house church in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. 30 nuns live there and there is a barnyard and a sheepfold. Last year, 91 255, Father John was in Mikulin, and he really liked it: for a long time he admired from the balcony the picturesque hilly surroundings, covered with meadows, groves and forests for several miles, as far as the eye could see. On July 8, I was just getting ready to go there, when suddenly I received a telegram that Father John was already on his way. Everyone began to prepare for Holy Communion, and these days for Gorits were days of fasting and prayer, everyone was preparing as if for a bright holiday. On the night of July 10-11, almost no one went to bed, waiting for the ship from minute to minute. Finally, at 9 and a half o'clock in the morning, the solemn ringing of the hundred-year-old Goritsa bells was heard... The whole monastery seemed to have risen with joy... The nuns stood orderly in two rows from the holy gates to the abbot's house and the cathedral, and I went out onto the balcony with the abbess from her cells and saw a steamer white as a swan approaching, and on its wheelhouse, like an Angel of God, Father John stood and joyfully bowed to everyone... I cannot express in words what I felt then. Tears of joy flowed uncontrollably from my eyes: finally I saw him again, my sun, which alone illuminates and warms my life. From the pier, Father John drove straight to the cathedral, where matins immediately began, during which he, as usual, read and sang himself. During mass, I happened to stand at the southern door of the altar, and thus I had the rare, happy fate of seeing Father John serve before the throne of the Lord: what happy and unique moments in my entire life did I experience then! Seeing the fiery, tearful prayer of this true servant of God before the throne, his deep reverence for the performed Sacraments, you involuntarily feel with your whole being that the bread and wine being transformed are truly the Body and Blood of Christ. At these moments you somehow renounce everything earthly and see in front of you only the holy throne and Father John praying in front of it; the soul prays fervently, although at these moments you cannot move your body: and how beneficially such prayer acts on the soul! You will definitely be resurrected after it, and you can pray like this, it seems, only with Father John. After mass he gave us Holy Communion to almost all of us; there was a general confession, after which his sincere speech, deeply penetrating into the soul of everyone, flowed like a river: and they told me that, listening to Father John, everyone cried (there were even more people than last year), but except for Father John speaking, I saw no one and nothing. How bitterly I regretted that I was deprived of the happiness of hearing him, every word of which for me, truly, is sweeter than honey and honeycomb. In the second hour of the day it was all over, and Father John, tired, entered the abbess’s cell, drank tea and immediately left, together with the abbess, for Kirillov. Then they told me that Father John was suddenly called to St. Petersburg and that after lunch he was leaving back to Rybinsk. When he returned, I told him: “Father, take me with you on the ship, I need to return to Yaroslavl.” He hugged my head and, of course, took me, and how glad I was of that! Then they sat down at the table, during which all three choirs of nuns sang again. Father John himself chose the hymns, and the first one sung was a touching prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos: “Who will not please You...” 256 The good abbess, barely alive, having forgotten her ailments, beamed with joy that the Lord had again brought Father John to them. Goritsy’s farewell to Father John touched me to the depths of my soul. The bell hummed so solemnly that even the ground beneath our feet shook. The entire shore was flooded with people and nuns, and I wondered where such a mass of people came from in such a relatively deserted place? When the ship set off, almost all the nuns moved like a wall along the shore behind the ship, so it was so dear to everyone to see this great man of prayer before God for us sinners. And for a long time the nuns ran after the ship. As luck would have it, every now and then there were fences along the road, which they quickly dismantled or climbed over. Father John smiled cheerfully, looking at their work, and first with his hat, and then with a white flag, he waved a cross at them. Finally, the most tireless ones fell behind and bowed to the ground; Father John blessed them and bowed to them too. And for a long time he looked at the retreating monastery, as if praying and internally calling on God’s blessing on him. The steamer was hired specifically for Father John, and therefore, apart from his companions, there were no other passengers on the steamer. And then my bliss began: I talked to him, telling him almost everything that my soul was busy and sick with, and I received an answer to everything. And with what true fatherly love and attention he treated me! Every minute here was life for me and more valuable than entire years of life without him. Finally, having received his blessing, with a clear conscience and a soul overflowing with consolation, I went to the cabin. However, I could not sleep all night: the joyful thought that Father John was right there behind the wall drove away sleep. At 2 o'clock in the morning the ship arrived in Cherepovets, but, in order not to disturb Father, it stopped in the middle of the river and only at six o'clock in the morning it quietly approached the pier. I quickly went to the church, where Father John had also arrived, but with difficulty and only thanks to one of Father John’s companions, I managed to get into the church, which was jam-packed with people. After mass, Father John returned to the ship. It seemed that the whole city had gathered ashore to see Father John off, and everything was flooded with bright rays of the sun. Cherepovets is picturesquely located in greenery along the mountain; It was bright and joyful to look at all this, and Father John himself cheerfully and with visible pleasure admired this festive living picture. I noticed a dear and wonderful trait in the residents of Cherepovets - this warm concern for the needy and sick. We continued to admire this picturesque corner for a long time; Finally, after several turns of the river, the city disappeared from view. The cheerful Sheksna River, it seems, does not flow even half a mile in the straight direction, but everything bends in zigzags, presenting a new landscape at almost every turn. How happy and joyful this whole day was for me! Sitting on the wheelhouse, I was with Father John almost all the time; several times he himself came up to me. Sometimes he’ll come up, sit, caress me, whatever I ask, answer everything and walk away again; and once he gave me his diary, volume 4 257 (this book, in its deep meaning, is invaluable, in it you will find a wise and clear answer and advice to all questions of life), and he wrote on it the most dear inscription to me. In the evening, Father John served a general prayer service on deck with the blessing of water; all the steamship employees prayed fervently with Father John. Then a wonderful circumstance happened to me. In the morning, for some reason, my right leg ached, in the evening the pain intensified, my foot was swollen like a log. Frightened by this sudden illness, I told one of Father John’s companions about it, but he could only advise that when I arrived in Yaroslavl, I should quickly consult a doctor, because the illness was dangerous. But I thought: I’d better turn to my free 258 doctor and with difficulty, due to severe pain, I climbed up to the control room. There, showing Father John my sore leg, I said: “Father, my leg hurt a lot, what should I do?” And he just lightly patted the sore spot and walked away. Imagine my surprise: the pain instantly disappeared, so I couldn’t even believe that my leg was hurting so much now. A few minutes later, water gushed out of the foot, and that was the end of it. Only a small scar that remains to this day indicates that the leg really hurt. This incident reminded me of an almost identical incident that happened to me last year. When Father John returned from Arkhangelsk, we had to travel from Ustyug to Vologda for three days by postal service 259. The constant shaking gave me a terrible headache. When we approached the last station, from unbearable pain I fell into some kind of semi-conscious state and only thought: Lord, will we arrive at the station soon? I’ll ask Father there to put his hand on my head. Arriving at the station house, Father John quickly got out of the wagon, people rushed to the porch at once, and I barely made my way to the station. When I entered the room, Father John was looking out the window. Before I had time to open my mouth to make a request, he quickly turned to me, took my head and shook it hard - it amazed me so much that I, having forgotten why I came, instead of asking, I told him: “Father, death shook me,” and he again shook my head, then I remembered why I came, and told him: “That’s why I came to you, to ask you to put your hand on my head, it hurt a lot.” And he just smiled at that. So what? The pain immediately disappeared, so that when three hours later we arrived in Vologda, I felt not only pain, but even fatigue. So strong is one touch of the hand of a person who is devoted to God with all his being - to those, however, who treat him with sincere trust. I was glad that my leg recovered through Father John’s prayer, but I didn’t have time to share my joy with anyone, since I had to say goodbye to Father John here. I burst into tears, warmly clung to his hand, and sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, told him: “Really, Father, it’s easier to say goodbye to life than to say goodbye to you!” He hugged my head with both hands and seemed to be praying over me, and I only wanted that through the prayers of Father John the Lord would enlighten me and give me the opportunity to live with benefit for people. Before reaching Rybinsk, we were met by a police steamer. Father John transferred to him, and then he was transferred to a steam boat, which was escorted by four steamships. From the moment the image of Father John disappeared from my eyes, I immediately felt orphaned: I no longer saw anyone or anything, I went to the wheelhouse and did not take my eyes off the red and blue lights of the boat, which seemed to be sinking in the wide expanse of the Volga, because these lights were my whole life. Soon the boat disappeared between the barges, and on the shore, as I was later told, out of fear that Father John would not be crushed on the pier due to darkness, his carriage was waiting for him. A few minutes later we stopped at the pier. In the morning I was told that Father John was serving in a convent 260, so I quickly went there. The residents of Rybinsk apparently did not know where he served, and therefore they could freely go to the church. Glory to God, standing at the pulpit, I saw closely and clearly the ministry of Father John and prayed with all my soul that the Lord would protect this truly chosen one of God and a prayer book for us sinners on all paths from enemies, visible and invisible. After mass, Father John stopped by to see the abbess. Having learned where Father John was, the Rybinsk residents flowed like a river to the monastery; some fled, some rode, to receive at least a general blessing from Father John, dear to everyone. When I returned to the ship, I needed to move to the Samoletskaya pier, and I began to look with my eyes for someone to ask to move my things; Noticing this, two workers (that the wheels on the wheelhouse were turning, they saw how attentively Father John treated me) volunteered to move them; I remarked to them that one worker was enough for me, since my luggage was small, but they both certainly wanted to carry it. Having carried my things and arranged everything for me in the cabin, they began to leave; I wanted to give them a tip, but they flatly refused, and only bowed to me and crossed themselves, as if making it clear that it was dear to them to serve those to whom Father John showed his attention. Looking after these good workers, small in the eyes of people, but big in God’s eyes, I thought how good it would be in Rus' if at least a fifth of Father John’s admirers revered him in word and deed, taking from him a living example of warm love for one’s neighbor and mutual help to each other! Then there would be less such outrageous poverty around us, and at the same time less crime. This is the only way, it seems to me, that it is easier and faster to achieve the Kingdom of Heaven, according to the words of the Savior Himself, Who says: Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy 261. Thus ended my current journey with Father John, for which I don’t know how to thank the Lord God. My heart was light and joyful when I returned home; the soul was filled with some kind of unaccountable peace and tranquility: what she wanted, she received in full. So the words of Father John were fulfilled. Last year, when he was leaving Goritsy, he wrote to me in consolation: “See you in a year,” and exactly a year later God brought me to see him in the same Goritsy. And every word of Father John is always literally fulfilled. Only grant, Lord, that this journey of mine with him will not be my last. Petersburg memories Arriving in Yaroslavl from this happy trip, from the very first day I was up to my ears in a wide variety of troubles, which by the end of October God helped me to finish everything very successfully, and before I had time to put myself in order, on November 18 I received from St. Petersburg from my sincere acquaintance, priest Fr. M.K. (he, as a fellow countryman of Father John, went to him for the consecration of the church in Sura, and I met him on the ship from Arkhangelsk, and we were all in Sura together) 262 letter with a convincing request to come to him for the consecration of the new church at the Alexander Nevsky Craft School 263, where he is the rector. On the same day I left Yaroslavl, and on November 20 I was already with Fr. M, where is the whole family, thank you - you met me with kindred cordiality. On the 21st I went to the all-night vigil in the new church. Upon entering it, I was struck by its splendor, like the bride of Christ it was decorated: tall, bright, spacious; The pulpit is built a whole arshin higher than the floor of the entire church, and the sacred ceremony can be seen from all points of the church, which is very important for those praying. The iconostasis is white, all covered with elegant gold carvings, the icons are picturesque, and only the local ones of the Savior and the Mother of God are in silver robes; The crown on the head of the Mother of God is especially remarkable for its grace and beauty; the outline of the crown is made of a solid diamond thread, which is clearly visible and pours out a whole sea of ​​lights. The whole church with its choirs made the most joyful and bright impression on me; indeed, as if she were standing before Christ as a bride in gilded robes 264 . A particularly warm and beneficial impression on the soul is made by the inscription placed in the altar on the entire eastern side - a saying from the Gospel: Come to Me, you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest: take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you will find rest for your souls... 265 I could not stop looking at her. All accessories for the consecration of the throne were placed on a table, which was placed in the middle of the church, in front of it and the service was performed. The choir accommodated a choir of 65 boys and girls – students of the school. The all-night vigil began, and for the first time the new church was resounding with the clear voices of children... The children sang with visible zeal, and some of them were so small that the words of the psalm almost literally came to them: From the mouths of babes he made ecu praise 266! Several priests served the all-night vigil, and it ended at ten o'clock. All night I could not sleep for even a minute from the joyful thought that I would soon see the service of Father John. On November 22 at 6 o’clock in the morning we went to the new church, where Father John immediately arrived; God brought me to stand on the choir, and Father John, coming out of the altar, happened to stand next to me and, opening the books before my eyes, began to read and sing, so that for the first time in my life, quite unexpectedly, I had to read the canons of Matins, which struck me with their deep and touching meaning; I thought how wonderfully touching the hymns of our Orthodox Church are; and for the first time I had to recognize them from the hand of Father John! (He always holds his finger over the words he reads.) Lord, I cannot express the joy that I experienced then. After Matins, Father John, leaving school, accidentally went into the dining room, where all the students were gathered to drink tea; Seeing Father John at the door, all the children bowed at his feet at once, and Father John smiled at their sincere childish zeal and affectionately said: “Hello, children, hello, darlings!” And the children screamed to him: “Hello, Father, bless!” Having blessed them, he left, but by nine o'clock he returned again. At exactly 9 o’clock Bishop Nikandr (vicar of Narva) 267 arrived and the solemn consecration of the church began. Anyone who doesn’t know this deeply touching and touching ritual will have their heart trembling with joy looking at this whole wonderful ceremony. While the throne was being washed, we women stood in the altar, and I, standing next to Father John, saw everything close and clearly, which made me incredibly happy. After kneeling prayer, the women left, and the bishop began to anoint the throne with holy myrrh; then, lighting a candle from the censer, he illuminated all the candles and lamps in the altar with it, and then all the clergy and people, with lighted candles in their hands, went in a religious procession, in which Father John carried the church icon of the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky, to the old church, where the bishop took the holy relics on the paten, and went around the church. When they returned to the porch, in front of the closed doors of the church (where the singers had passed in advance), the bishop, having placed the holy paten with relics on the prepared table, while singing the 23rd Psalm, dousing the holy relics, exclaimed: Lift up your gates, O princes, and lift up the eternal gates: and the King of glory will come in! And the singers from the church, as if from another world, asked: Who is the King of glory? Master at the words: Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory 268! raised the holy paten with relics high and shaded the church with it in the shape of a cross; at that moment the doors opened, and everyone, singing, entered the church, which was already completely flooded with lights. Lord, how bright and joyful it was then! Then they began to anoint the church with a cross in the shape of a chrism and sprinkle it with holy water, after which the first Liturgy in the new church began, which was performed by the bishop with Father John, the archimandrite and a whole council of priests and deacons. At the end of the mass, Fr. M. preached a sermon on the words of the psalm: The Lord reigns, clothed with beauty... 269 ​​He spoke with visible enthusiasm, proving how extremely necessary this church was, and on behalf of the Church he sincerely and warmly thanked everyone who in one way or another contributed to its establishment; After him, the bishop said a wonderful teaching on the words of the apostle: “You are the church of God, and the Spirit of God lives in you 270.” After the thanksgiving service, everyone headed to the dinner table, which was arranged in three halls for 500 people. I had to stay close to Father John, and I was glad in my soul that God again brought me to be with him. During dinner there were many toasts and speeches made, but Father John was in a hurry somewhere and, having stayed only until half of dinner, left. Without him, we soon went to Fr. M. to the house. But we didn’t have to rest for long: at 6 o’clock we all gathered again in the church for the all-night vigil, since November 23 was the church feast of the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky. Thus, full of joy and consolation, the consecration of the main altar in the church took place. The chapel was not yet ready, and it was planned to consecrate it in the near future. Father John, they say, really liked this church, and he then already said: “I will also be at the consecration of the chapel in this church.” For a whole week they held divine services in it, and I could not stop admiring this wonderful church; it was a pity to leave the church when the service ended in the evening and the last reflections of candles and lamps died away in the elegant gilding of the iconostasis. December 11 was set for the abolition of the holy see in the old house church. At nine o'clock in the evening, without people, Fr. M., with the clergyman in full vestments, walked into the altar of the old church, which was completely immersed in deep darkness, and only the holy altar was illuminated by candles; a prayer service was served there, after which the priest (and after him we all) prayed fervently on our knees for the last time before the holy throne, on which the Bloodless Sacrifice had been offered for 20 years. Then, on the paten, he lifted the holy antimension with the holy relics onto his head and, while singing the troparion: “Thy martyrs throughout the whole world...” 271 solemnly transferred them to the new church (the next day he took them to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra), which, with the Royal Doors open, was consecrated in advance, and placed them on the throne. Then, having returned, he took off the clothes from the throne and the altar with his own hands and also transferred them to the new church, placing them in the place of the future chapel: in the place where the holy throne was, they now placed the image of the twelve feasts in a large icon case. For the first time in my life, I saw the ceremony of the abolition of the throne, which made a deep and indelible impression on me: I vividly imagined the matins of Great Saturday - when we commemorate the burial of the Savior, so that tomorrow we can brightly celebrate His resurrection. On December 13, I again had to be at dinner with Father John at some friends’ place. I spent two hours with him, and how these hours were dear to me: he cheerfully listened to what was said to him, but said very little himself, it is clear that his inspired speech flows like a river only in the church of God, but how much ardent love for his neighbor shone in his clear and penetrating gaze, and how sharply he differed from everyone present: looking at him, you somehow involuntarily become convinced that between us there are truly not of this world 272 people. I asked him if I could go to Kronstadt to fast? He replied: “Come whenever you want.” On December 15, I was already flying to Oranienbaum, where we were met by more than a hundred cab drivers, most of them Chukhons; Having hired one ship 273, I went to Kronstadt by sea; I am going and crossing myself, looking at a sight I have never seen before: an endless procession of the most diverse pilgrims rode along with us, starting from the rich on trotters, with fur blankets, to the Chukhonians with the poor on a barely alive horse, and a tall Spitz with the cross of St. Andrew's Cathedral in Kronstadt served as a guiding star for all of us. And the same continuous and varied train of pilgrims already returning from Kronstadt was moving towards us. For the first time in my life I had to see this truly maritime religious procession (which has been repeated here almost every day for many years). Suddenly I see, towards us, hurrying to the train to St. Petersburg, Father John is flying like an arrow in an open carriage with two horses. And every day, no matter what the weather, rushing to help the suffering and sick, this great worker travels like this. The next day at five o'clock in the morning I went to the cathedral. The night was dark, the whole sky was dotted with stars and it was freezing... When I went out onto the square, my heart trembled: from all the streets, in all directions, people were constantly running towards the cathedral and stood in a whole mass at the locked doors for about an hour. When the cathedral was opened, everyone rushed into it, and in a few minutes this huge church was filled with people praying (I note with sadness that we, visitors, sometimes thousands of miles away, lower class residents of Kronstadt are unceremoniously pushed back and thus many are deprived of the only opportunity to see Father John). At 6 o'clock matins began, and Father John went out to the choir, but to my grief, me, small and deaf, no one wanted to let me forward to the bars, and I, squeezed on all sides, did not see or hear anything. On December 18, God helped me get to the bars in front of the Royal Doors and see the service of Father John... How glad I was for this. After mass there was a general confession: Father John, having read the prayers for confession, began to speak to the people. I don’t know what happened here, because I only saw Father John speaking, whose face, and his whole appearance, were illuminated by some kind of unearthly and inexpressible greatness and, at the same time, a bright and joyful animation. But involuntarily two gentlemen standing behind bars in front of me drew my attention to themselves: one gray-haired, the other young, both elegantly and smartly dressed: at first the old one listened to Father John with a condescending look, and the young one simply with a smile, but as Father John continued his speech, the expression on their faces became serious and concentrated - it ended with both of them not getting up, but straight falling to their knees and crying bitterly, covering their faces with their hands... So strong Father John's words of conviction awakened their conscience. I also saw how Father John, looking at the hot repentance of a crowd of more than two thousand, began to cry and prayed with tears... Then he raised the epitrachelion and marked everyone with it in the shape of a cross. Everyone fell to their knees and burst into tears. The spectacle was truly touching and amazing. Here, by the way, as they told me, approximately in what words Father John addresses the repentant and explains “Sinners and sinners who wish to begin the Holy Mysteries, brothers and sisters! Are you prepared to receive such a great Sacrament? You know that I bear a great answer before the Throne of the Most High if you approach unprepared. Know that you are not repenting to me, but to the Lord Himself, Who is invisibly present here, whose Body and Blood are currently on the altar. Listen, brothers and sisters, to prayer. (The first prayer of repentance is read.) In this prayer to God the Father, the First Person of the Most Holy Trinity, the All-Good, All-Holy, Omnipresent, All-Wise, All-Creator, All-Powerful, All-Ruling, Terrible of Every Creation, the Holy Church prays to the Lord to grant mercy to repentant sinners and sinners, to forgive them their sins, all iniquities committed either through frivolity or thoughtlessness, willingly or unwillingly, he would forgive and have mercy, as he once had mercy on the prophet and king David, who sinned gravely before God. Walking one day on the terrace of his palace, he saw a very beautiful young Jewish woman bathing, was captivated by her beauty, was inflamed with passion for her and wanted to make her his wife, for which he sent her husband to war and ordered the military leaders to place him in a dangerous place, where they killed him. But the prophet Nathan, sent from God, began to strongly and firmly denounce King David of lawlessness, urging him to repent. David finally realized his grave sin, began to sincerely and fervently repent before the Lord and pray, shed bitter tears about his sin; then the Lord heard the cry of his heart and forgave him his sin 274. Before David sinned, he had the Holy Spirit, who departed from him after the sin, but when he repented, the Spirit of God again dwelt in him and did not leave him until the end of his days. King David expressed his heartfelt and sincere contrition for his sins in psalms in which he thanked and glorified the Lord. He left behind a book - the Psalter, most commonly used in the Orthodox Church, and the well-known psalm 50, “Have mercy on me, O God!” represents a wonderful and irreplaceable example of heartfelt repentance. Brethren! King David was a pious, meek, kind, wise man, who had the gift of prophecy, but he sinned and did not take care of himself. Oh, how easy it is for a man to sin! You need to be vigilant towards your soul, you need to always look after yourself, curb your feelings. Another king, Manasseh, fell away from God and fell into idolatry, practiced sorcery, summoning spirits, was a spiritualist, as it is today, and taught his children the same. The ungrateful, proud, despised the people who loved God, and caressed and brought closer the selfish, like themselves. With his iniquities he angered the Lord, the Lord’s patience was exhausted: during the war between the Jews and the Assyrians, Manasseh was taken captive, his hands and feet were chained in stocks, and a copper ring was threaded through his nostrils; in such a shameful form he was led through Babylon and thrown into a gloomy dungeon, where he was kept for three months. And so, being in such severe captivity, he came to his senses, realized his sins before the Lord and his insignificance, realized that he was a worm, that he had nothing to be proud of, because before the Lord everyone is equal: God created everyone equally, created them from one dust and will turn everyone into dust. Manasseh began to pray earnestly, repent, and cry day and night about his errors: the Lord heard his prayers and forgave him 275. King Manasseh left the prayer of repentance 276, which is read during Great Lent, at Compline. In the person of these two kings, David and Manasseh, who sinned gravely, the Holy Church represents examples of sincere and deep-hearted repentance. The Lord God is the Terrible Judge of the whole earth. He will not look at anyone’s face: a man or a woman, a boy or a young woman, a king or a commoner, a gentleman or a peasant, a general or a soldier, a rich or a poor man - everyone is equal before Him, but he looks at what the hope is, what the faith is, what the deeds are, he looks at the heart. The Lord will demand more from high-ranking, educated people than from common people, although he does not let the latter off when they sin, get drunk or commit adultery. Listen, brothers and sisters, to the second prayer to Jesus Christ, the Son of God: (The second prayer of repentance is read.) In this prayer, the Holy Church prays to the Chief Shepherd that He, the Most Merciful, forgives our untruths, prays to have mercy, to deliver us from eternal torment and to forgive our lawless intentions, our thoughts and lawless deeds. The Holy Church prays to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who took upon Himself the sins of the whole world and will come with terrible glory to judge the living and the dead, to have mercy on us, as two gospel debtors who had nothing with which to pay off a large debt to their creditors; like the harlot who washed Christ's feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair 277. The Lord God saw her true repentance, her desire to atone for her sins, and let her go in peace. Also, all who repent will be forgiven and delivered from eternal torment. We are given a lot of time in life to come to our senses, so that we mourn, grieve, cry, but people are lazy, do not want to take care of their souls, do not want to fight the sins that, like thieves and robbers, break into their souls, do not want to fight with them, drive them away. The Lord God does everything for those who love Him, but those who boldly push away the right hand of God do not wish good for themselves and go to their own destruction. Without God, we cannot exist for even one second: we owe everything to Christ for our life, our breath, the air we breathe, the light of the sun, our food, our drink; we owe Him endlessly, we are His unpaid debtors. The Lord God is a Terrible, Righteous Judge, He did not have mercy on the fallen angels who were proud against God Himself, but condemned them to eternal torment. We sinners sin every minute and anger the Lord with our sins. Why do we need such leniency? God the Father sent His beloved Son into the world, Who took upon Himself the sins of the whole world, suffered for the sins of people, removed from people the curse that had weighed on them since the fall of the first people, and, instead, bestowed blessing. The Lord Jesus Christ, through His suffering on the Cross, delivered us from eternal torment and thus satisfied the Divine truth and fulfilled all the truth of God, and this could only be done by the Son of God, and not by man. God the Father gave all the power of judgment over people to Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ gave the power to the apostles, and those to the bishops and priests, therefore, including me, the sinful priest John, to allow the repentant to forgive or not forgive, depending on whether they sincerely repent or not. If a person repents sincerely, with contrition of heart, then the priest absolves him from sins; on the contrary, if a person does not repent sincerely, unconsciously, then the priest does not absolve him of his sins so that he comes to his senses. So, in order to receive forgiveness of sins, you must repent ardently, sincerely, from the heart. What is repentance? Repentance is a gift of God, bestowed by God for the merits of His beloved Son, who fulfilled all the righteousness of God. Repentance is a gift given for self-condemnation, self-accusation, self-reproach. Repentance is a firm and unwavering intention to leave your former sinful life, to correct yourself, to be renewed, to love the Lord with all your soul, to be reconciled with God, with your conscience. Repentance is firm hope, hope that the Merciful Lord will forgive all our sins. He who does not repent becomes an enemy of the Church; just as rotten twigs or branches fall away from a tree, so unrepentant sinners fall away from the Head of the Church - Christ. Christ Himself is the vine, and we are branches feeding on life, the juices of this vine. The schismatics die in error, the Pashkovites also die, the Tolstoyans also die, they are all unrepentant sinners: they themselves die and drag others to destruction. Brothers and sisters, do you repent? Do you want to improve your life? Are you too lazy to pray to God? were you drinking? committed adultery? deceived? oathbreakers? blasphemed? were you jealous? were they cunning? were you angry? slandered? stole? Yes, you have many, many sins, brothers and sisters, you can’t count them all.” (A prayer of permission is read.) After this, Father John came out of the Royal Doors with the Holy Cup in his hands and began to give communion to almost everyone. On this day, I asked that Father John be invited to my room, but he was in St. Petersburg all day. On December 19 there was a terrible snowstorm, and I could not even go to the all-night vigil; at nine o'clock in the evening they suddenly say to me: “Father has arrived!” And before I had time to run out to meet him, he, like an Angel of God, appeared to me: he served a prayer service, sat, wrote a little - what I needed and, having treated me kindly, left. I can’t express in words how he touched me and with what reverence I saw him off: to go to those who ask; Neither cold nor blizzard delays him, as long as he has a free minute. That same evening, my good friend O. arrived from St. Petersburg and stayed in the same room as me. On December 20 she received communion; after mass, Father John visited her, served a prayer service and, at her request, stayed for dinner; We were both glad of this with all our hearts and, having seen him off, went to the station. God led us to ride in the same carriage with Father John, and I sincerely thanked God for this, and I thought how close the Lord is to us and sees our desires: He saw how bitter it was for me in church that the people did not let me go forward to the bars and thereby deprived me of the only consolation of seeing the service of Father John, so he gave me the opportunity to see and talk with him so closely and for a long time, and thus truly revived my soul. I spent the holiday of the Nativity of Christ joyfully and peacefully in the kind and sincere family of Fr. M. December 31st about. M. tells me: “Today at 12 o’clock we will go to church to celebrate the New Year with a prayer service.” I incredulously noted to him that hardly anyone would go to listen to a prayer service at night, everyone had guests today or were visiting themselves, he answered me: “But we’ll see, this prayer service will be our first, before it was impossible, because the old church adjoined the bedroom of the school children; but in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and in some churches in St. Petersburg these prayer services for the New Year have existed for a long time.” At twelve o'clock at night we went to church. Imagine my surprise when, approaching it, I saw that people from all sides were rushing, as if on Easter, to the church of God. The whole church was flooded with lights, and there were so many people that we barely made our way to the pulpit. I look, oh. M. stands on the pulpit and speaks a lesson on the topic: why, when congratulating each other on the New Year, are we accustomed to adding wishes for new happiness, and what does this happiness consist of? And explaining that true happiness consists in being satisfied with what God has given each of us as an inheritance. His extemporaneous speech flowed like a river, and one had to see with what deep attention and interest his people listened; Five minutes to noon, at 12 o'clock, the teaching ended, the Royal Doors opened, and the priest and deacon in full festive vestments came out to the pulpit, and a prayer service with kneeling began. The whole church prayed fervently. At two o'clock in the morning the prayer service ended and the people began to disperse; everyone joyfully crossed themselves and congratulated each other on the new year. Looking at the full illumination of the church, at the brilliant vestments of the clergy and at the whole sea of ​​ardently praying people, I was joyfully and to the depths of my soul touched by this whole spectacle and from the bottom of my heart I thanked God for the one who gave the first idea to introduce these prayer services 278; With his truly sensitive and pious heart, he very aptly understood the euphonious string in the heart of a truly Russian Orthodox person and gave it the opportunity to break out at this midnight prayer service. Each of us, starting any business, will involuntarily say in his soul: “Lord, bless!” Everyone wants their work to end happily, and therefore at the beginning they ask for God’s blessing. How can one not ask for this blessing at such an important moment as the beginning of the new year? The Holy Scripture itself teaches us this, saying: Bless the crown of the summer of Your goodness 279, Lord! Is this how we act most of the time? It is at this very moment that we have, as they say, Babylonian pandemonium: wine, cards, dancing - this is the usual New Year's Eve, with minor exceptions. True, many of those who are having fun when the clock strikes will say in the depths of their souls: “Lord, bless us for the New Year!” It was this prayerful cry of the soul that was heard and understood by that truly kind and insightful person, and gave the opportunity to everyone who sincerely wants to sanctify these important moments with prayer, and, thank God, there are a lot of those who want to, which, they say in St. Petersburg, is increasing every year. Only grant, Lord, that these truly beneficial prayer services at 12 o’clock at night on New Year’s Eve will quickly spread throughout all of Russia. How many sins and temptations we will avoid and bow the Lord to mercy on us sinners if we celebrate the New Year not with sinful feasts, but with prayer in the church of God. True, I know that the church day begins with Vespers of the previous day, and the New Year is counted not from January 1, but from September 1, then, apparently, it would be necessary to serve a New Year’s prayer service, but we, sinful, worldly people, by decree of Tsar Peter the Great, are obliged to celebrate the civil New Year on January 1, and from time immemorial Russian people are accustomed to celebrating it exactly the day before at 12 o’clock at night. This indigenous, ancient custom is difficult to change. True, many are not averse, perhaps, to going to vespers or all-night vigil in the evening, but they still have a whole free evening left, which they dedicate to celebrating the New Year, and many, not knowing how to kill time, indulge in unpardonable revelry. Therefore, looking from the moral point of view of the Russian people, I repeat, it is so ardently desirable that these midnight prayer services spread as quickly as possible in cities and throughout Russia (depending on the mutual desire of the church clergy and parishioners) and would not encounter any obstacles due to the apparently inappropriate timing. If we act according to the letter of the church charter, then we must celebrate our Midnight Office not before Matins, as we usually do it, at 6 o’clock in the morning, but at midnight. I think that everyone who really values ​​and holds the good morality of a Russian Orthodox person close to their hearts will clearly understand how much beneficial good the above-mentioned prayers can bring; It’s harmful that this is exactly what that truly enlightened person had in mind, on whose initiative these soul-helping prayer services were introduced in St. Petersburg... On January 21, I again had joy: I was told that on that day the new Metropolitan Palladius 280 would serve mass at the Resurrection Convent, and I went there; I was very happy that I would see the service of the Metropolitan. Suddenly the Royal doors open, the priests in full vestments come out into the middle of the church, and I look - Father John is walking between them. At this point I forgot everything and everyone, tears of joy rolled down like hail... My soul fervently prayed with him and again came to life in spirit for several days... The consecration of the chapel was supposed to take place in February, but since the painting of the icons was not yet ready, it was postponed until May 2. I was about to go home to Yaroslavl, but kind Fr. M. and his wife persuaded me to stay until the consecration, and I gladly agreed, especially since I sometimes had the opportunity to see the service of Father John. I spent the entire third week of Great Lent in Kronstadt and every day I was present at the service of mass by Father John, and although I did not always see him, Father John was often in our room, and I had the good fortune to enjoy his affection and attention and was consoled by this when I could not see his service in church. There were an awful lot of people all week; on Saturday there were five thousand communicants, and I was afraid that I would be completely crushed among the people, since they wouldn’t let me go to jail - I didn’t dare to take communion, and only on Sunday, according to a handwritten note from Father John, I ended up behind bars, and the Lord vouchsafed me to receive His Holy Mysteries, and I, happy and joyful, left for St. Petersburg on the same day on the same train with Father. Long before May 2, active preparations were underway for the consecration of the chapel in memory of October 17, 1888 281. The chapel was built on the right side at a level with the main altar. The iconostasis is the same white, covered in elegant gold carvings. The church icon depicts the saints whose names are borne by the God-preserved Royal Family, and at the top are all the saints whose memory the Church celebrates on October 17. On May 1, all preparations were completed, and at 6 o’clock we gathered for the all-night vigil; Afterwards, late in the evening, Father John visited Fr. M. is in his apartment, which made the whole family incredibly happy; although tired, he was cheerful and joyful, he entered the house and immediately began to serve a prayer service. Here I was struck by one phenomenon - how the prayer of Father John has a strong effect not only on adults, but even on infants. Three-year-old baby, son of Fr. M., looking at the praying Father John, began to pray so fervently on his knees that any adult pilgrim could envy him. On May 2 at 7 a.m. Father John served matins in the new church; God again brought me to stand next to him on the choir. He served Matins for a long time and after it remained in the church until mass; He spoke to many and consoled many, to whom he gave advice. At nine o'clock Bishop Nikandr arrived, and the solemn consecration of the chapel began, in the same order as the main altar. Both during the religious procession and inside the church, Father John sprinkled holy water. During the Liturgy, after the sacrament, Fr. M. preached the following sermon: So recently, brethren, less than six months ago, we brightly celebrated the spiritual triumph of the grace-filled consecration of our new church. But today we have a joyful holiday again! By the grace of the Holy Spirit, through the episcopal blessing, with the joint prayer of the council of clergy and you, Orthodox Christian brethren, the second altar in our church was consecrated today, and on the newly consecrated holy throne today for the first time the bloodless saving Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ the Savior was offered to God for all of us and for the whole Christian world! This means that a new inexhaustible source of God’s grace has opened in our church, abundantly pouring out on everyone who comes running to it with faith and reverence, in the simplicity of a humble and contrite heart; It means that a new thread has appeared in our church, connecting earth with heaven, connecting creation with its Creator, and man with God... Glory and thanksgiving to the Lord, Generous and Merciful, Long-suffering and Much-merciful to us sinners!.. The newly consecrated church is dedicated to the great name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of Christ... His fame is great in the Christian world: the East and the West know him, and all the ends of his miracles are seen... But in the fate of our charitable institutions, the sacred name of the great saint also has a special meaning. The celebration of his memorial day is associated with the day of the initial opening - many years ago - of our public house of mercy. And therefore, those who live in institutions especially honor the memory of the saint of God. Now that we have a church in his name, he - the saint of Christ - will be even closer to us with his prayerful intercession before God for us sinners... From now on, he, together with the blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky, to whose name our main church is dedicated, are our special, closest heavenly patrons to us! From now on, brothers, we will call on them more and more often, more diligently and more diligently in our prayers. The construction of a second holy altar or chapel for the brownie church does not seem to be necessary. Right! But this device, brothers, appeared as a tangible sacrifice of the grateful hearts of the St. Petersburg Craft Society to the Lord God for the great miracle of God’s wondrous mercy to our dear Fatherland, revealed in the miraculous salvation of our most pious Sovereign, our Emperor, the Empress and their August Family on the seventeenth day of October 1888. Our new church means a grateful sacrifice to the Lord God, who has done good for us 282. He is an everlasting memory of our loyal love for the Emperor. May these holy feelings live in our hearts always, now and ever and forever and ever! And the existence in our church of the now consecrated second holy throne always reminds us of the need for these feelings, that is, grateful prayer to the Lord and filial, loyal love for our Monarch. So, brethren, now in our church we have two sources of one grace - two holy thrones, as if there were two churches, and, thank God, both are splendid, both are beautifully decorated. And this, brethren, may serve as a constant reminder for us that we also have a church, closer to us - an internal, spiritual, miraculous church... This is us ourselves: our soul, created in the image and likeness of God, our heart and even our body... Don’t you know, says the holy Apostle, that you are the church of God, and the Spirit of God lives in you? 283 And this church of ours, not made by hands, should be as clean, splendid, beautifully decorated and bright as all this is inherent in our new church made by hands. And in order to see what is needed for this, let us pay attention to what constitutes an integral part of physical churches as places of the special presence of God, for example, at least our church. First. First of all, we see sacred images, icons, which clearly represent to us what God did to save people and how the holy people pleased Him. Let's look into our inner church - into our soul - and see: are these images of the works of God and His saints in our mind and in our memory, and are they in a prominent place with us, that is, do they often attract attention to themselves and do they have a beneficial effect on us; Do they excite us to imitate them?.. Second. In front of the icons in the church we see lit candles and lamps as images of spiritual light and the grace of God... Does the lamp of faith and good deeds burn in our souls as an expression of our reverence for God and love for Him? Does this spiritual light shine so that others see our good deeds and glorify the Heavenly Father?.. Third. Incense is repeatedly burned in the church as a sign of respect for the faces of God and His saints depicted on the icons... Do we sacrifice to God, like a fragrant censer, our prayers, our thoughts, our desires and our feelings? Do they spread the fragrance of holy things from themselves, or do they emit the smell of burning and smoke of sinful passions?.. Fourth. The word of God is constantly proclaimed in the church. Is the voice of conscience, the voice of God and his law, heard, even occasionally, but clearly, like thunder in our soul? Fifth. The church resounds with the singing of hymns of petition, thanksgiving and praise... Is religious feeling ever aroused in us to such an extent that we sing to the Lord in our hearts?.. If everything that we observe in the church - in material images - is also in our soul in spiritual images, then it is prepared for a church for God, for His worthy dwelling. If someone does not notice in his soul the correspondence with what is noticed in the churches of God made by hand, then he must correct himself, renew himself, in the image of the latter, while there is still time, brothers, time and opportunity, while we still live on earth; let us try to fill our mind and memory with images of the great deeds of God and His saints, let us kindle in our hearts the fire of love for God so that it spreads the light of faith around itself; let our prayer ascend like a fragrant censer before God, and let the word of God dwell in us richly, through reading and meditation. Let the song of love for God resound in our hearts, then our souls will be living churches of God, and He will choose them as an everlasting dwelling place for Himself, both in this earthly life and in the future life; and then our internal church will be in full accordance with our man-made church, “having two thrones,” and let this latter always remind us of the first. Amen". This teaching apparently sunk into the souls of many and made a deep impression. After mass, Father John, hurrying to the Duma, did not stay for the prayer service and, having undressed, went out into the reception hall. We definitely had a presentiment of this and went there even earlier, and, having met him, we could slowly talk with him while he was eating tea. Soon he left, and we, with a heart full of joy from Father John’s visit and from everything we saw, went home to Fr. M. The whole day was a pure, bright holiday for us. Thus, safely and joyfully, the complete consecration of the church at the charitable institutions of the St. Petersburg Craft Society took place, which will be remembered for a long time for all those participating in it as the most joyful and bright event. So again the word of Father John was fulfilled: back in Sura, at the consecration of the Sura church, he promised Fr. M. to be with him at the consecration of the church, which he now literally performed. God only grant that in this beautiful church, looking at the orderly and reverent service of the clergy, everyone would find joy and consolation for the soul. Traveling with Father John of Kronstadt to his homeland in 1893 I don’t know how to thank the Lord God for His mercy to me. For the third time I am beginning to write down memories of my journey with Father John of Kronstadt, but my soul is still so filled with these most precious and joyful memories that I don’t know where to start. The Lord is close to everyone who sincerely asks Him, hears and fulfills their desires. He saw how ardently my soul wanted only one thing - to see the service of Father John and to pray with him longer in the open air, and immediately connected me with this great lamp of His, which so illuminated my soul that during all these 22 days of my inseparable stay with him, I really don’t know where I was, in heaven or on earth. Back in April, when I was in St. Petersburg, Father John told me: “Let's go to Sura!” And these words made me so happy that I would hardly have been as happy if someone had given me three million money then. At the end of May I left for Yaroslavl to prepare for a long journey. On June 6, having received news from St. Petersburg that Father John had already left, the next day I flew to Vologda and, arriving there on the morning of June 8, went to the Volkovs 284, where in 1891 I stayed with Father John. Through them I received a ticket for the Kostrov steamship and immediately boarded it. At four o'clock the crowd began to pour in, and by eight o'clock the entire embankment, pier, balconies, barges, boats - everything was flooded with a sea of ​​heads. At 9 o'clock in the evening, Father John arrived on a small steamer and entered the wheelhouse of the Kostrovsky steamer. Seeing Father John, the mass of thousands of people prayed to him: “Father! Pray for us sinners!” And he answered them: “I pray, I pray!” He took off his hat and began to pray at the nearby church, then he blessed the people in all directions and bowed: everyone began to bow and cross themselves, many cried... It was a wonderful picture! When the ship departed and everything calmed down, I went up to Father John, fell on his knees and burst into tears of joy. He cheerfully hugged my head, but from the excess of joy I could not say anything, and only said: “My heart, Father, from the joy of it, my heart will jump out of my body.” He smiled and pressed my head even tighter. From that moment on, in the full sense of the word, the happy and incomparable days of my life began. On June 9 we arrived in Totma, and Father John went straight to the monastery, no one there knew about Father John’s arrival, and we freely followed him to the monastery to visit St. Theodosius the Wonderworker. The church was now opened for Father John, and in it, at the saint’s shrine, the archimandrite of the cathedral served a prayer service. I rejoiced in my soul and thanked God that He again brought me, together with Father John, to venerate the open relics of Saint Theodosius of Totem. This tall, bright, spacious church made the most joyful and beneficial impression on me; upon entering it, it somehow involuntarily fell from my tongue: I will go into Your house and worship at Your holy church 285! She prayed and admired him, and as a souvenir she acquired the image of St. Theodosius and the appearance of his monastery. When we returned to the pier, it was already difficult to get onto the ship: crowds of people flowed like a river from all sides. A retired former Archbishop of Arkhangelsk 286 came to see Father John off on the ship. The sight of this harrier-like gray-haired old man with an intelligent, calm face and deep gaze made a reverent impression on me; I thought: what magnificent beauty of face the Lord gives to holy and righteously living elders. On June 10, early in the morning, we arrived in Ustyug, and Father John went to the city for a short time, but not all of his companions decided to go ashore, risking not getting on the ship at all due to the mass of people, which was increasing every minute. Here I was accidentally met by my Goritsky friend, Mother Ioanna, who was now sent to collect; she went with us to Arkhangelsk, which made my heart happy; Her father John had known her for a long time and treated her with attention and affection, encouraging and comforting her, and she, reassured, then left for other provinces. On the afternoon of June 11, in the village of Krasnoborsk, the villagers again greeted Father John and saw him off singing: “Glory to God in the highest...” and “It is worthy to eat.” I vividly remembered how two years ago they, at a wonderful evening dawn, saw off Father John with the same wondrous song, and how I was then struck by the holy expression on Father John’s face, inspired by prayer. At 11 o'clock at night we arrived in Arkhangelsk and stopped again at Scholz. These kind people, whose souls were devoted to Father John, accepted me as if they were their own. On June 12, Father John served Matins and Mass in the Church of the Assumption, and on Sunday on the 13th in the Trinity Cathedral - with the new bishop 288. At the end of the mass, Father John said a lesson on the words of the Gospel: And Jesus said to the centurion: Go, and just as you believed, so will you be. And his lad was healed... About the power of faith, and what should be the qualities of godly faith, and why unbelief and deceit are disgusting to God? “With the blessing of the Right Reverend Bishop, I address you today, brothers of Arkhangelsk - dear fellow countrymen, my weak word; where do I start with it, what do I make it the subject of a word? The beginning will be the current Gospel, or the word about the faith of the Roman centurion, a pagan, by the power of which he asked the Lord for the healing of his servant. The Lord praised the centurion’s faith and set it as an example to all Jews, who were raised from time immemorial in faith and countless miracles and blessings of faith and did not have it as much as a pagan who was not taught faith had it. “Truly I tell you, even in Israel I have not found such faith,” said the Lord to the standing people. What is the secret, the dignity, the superiority of the centurion’s faith, so pleasing to the Lord that He Himself was surprised by it and immediately fulfilled the centurion’s desire and request, saying to him: go, and as you have believed, be it done for you. And his servant recovered at that hour 289. The secret is the power of favorable faith in the centurion's humility, simplicity, kindness, compassion, firm, unshakable and reasonable faith. Take note! The master himself comes to the Lord and asks for his servant, diligently, relentlessly, with faith in the unsearchable goodness and power of the Lord; he seems to be saying to Him: if people do what we ask them to do or command them to do, they are evil and weak by nature, then You, the real goodness and the real omnipotence, Whose wave everything obeys, will you not fulfill my request, although I am unworthy; for You Yourself said: if you, being evil, know how to give good things to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give good things to those who ask Him 290! This is the secret, this is the euphonious string of the centurion’s heart that touched the compassionate heart of the Lord, who tests our hearts and bellies. It is not for nothing that the Lord set her as an example for all future generations until the end of the world. Let us also ask the Lord with such faith, with such humility, repentance and with such sincerity, firmness, with such compassion and mercy for our neighbor, and we will certainly receive, and we always receive if we ask, for the Lord is faithful in His words, saying: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you 291. Why is it that faith, or believers and those who ask in this way, are given the grace and help of God, but doubters and unbelievers are not given this? The reason is simple: like is united with like, that is, with the Lord, the righteous with the righteous or seeking truth, the pure with the pure, or sincerely desiring purity. A vessel that is unclean and closed cannot be cleaned unless it opens and the uncleanness flows out of it. Thus, a person’s heart, open by faith and repentance, a contrite heart, shedding tears of repentance, is granted purification and holiness, and the body is granted healing; and the heart, closed with doubt and unbelief, hardened, remains unclean and inaccessible to the grace of the Holy Spirit, for what communion of light with darkness, righteousness with lawlessness, or what part will I return with the unfaithful? 292 And the sinner man now understands why faith with prayer and repentance is so strong and bends the Lord to mercy on us. Because we, who have arbitrarily moved away from the Lord through our sins, through the prayer of faith draw closer to Him, and He, as the All-Good One, also draws closer to us; cleanses from the impurity of sin, sanctifies, heals, strengthens, changes for the better; because He created us free and accepts those who voluntarily convert into His fellowship and bestows blessings, but He turns away those who are stuck in sins, the wicked and unfaithful and deprives them of grace as unworthy. Through sincere faith and prayer with repentance, a person can receive everything from the Lord, all grace and mercy: do you want to receive from God the gift of the word for the salvation of yourself and others? You will receive, for it is said in the Scripture: believe in Me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living waters will flow out of his belly 293. Do you want to be healed of an illness or receive the gift of healing others? The prayer of faith will save the sick, of which we see countless examples today. Do you want to conquer your passions that are fighting you? Pray with faith, fight, resist, do not give in and you will win: “... many passions fight me, but intercede and save me Yourself, my Savior! 294 “So the saints were people subservient to us, but through the prayer of faith, fasting, vigil, humility, patience, they conquered the passions in themselves and achieved dispassion and holiness and eternal blissful life: for they firmly believed into the life of the next century and into the Righteous Judge and Rewarder and labored unremittingly, and by their example they teach us not to weaken in the exploits of earthly life, short, like smoke, disappearing and given in preparation for the future life, endless. Thus, with repentance, faith has made sinners righteous, prodigals chaste, drunkards sober and hardworking, the evil good, the envious sincerely benevolent to everyone, the cowardly courageous, the weak strong; with prayer and repentance, sincere faith in God has always worked miracles in people, making a saving change in their souls and bodies: so let us believe and so let us please God with our faith. At the end of my words, I will allow myself to greet you, good residents of Arkhangelsk, with your new archpastor; Let us pray for him to the Supreme Shepherd, may he, the angel of the Archangel Church, grant him the word of truth safe, healthy, prosperous, and rightfully ruling. Amen". Anyone who does not know, who at least once had to be present when Father John delivered a teaching, how irresistibly beneficial the effect on the soul of everyone is not only his voice, which, they say, penetrates into the very depths of the heart, but also his entire appearance, which is inspired by this, will easily understand with what deep attention and reverence the Arkhangelsk people listened to their dear and great preacher: everywhere you look, they were crying everywhere, even the policemen, these imperturbable guardians of order, and they secretly wiped away the tears that were rolling down their sleeves with their sleeves. After mass, all the priests in a cathedral, with the archpastor at their head, went to the pulpit. One of the priests was holding in his hands an ancient image of the Holy Trinity in a silver robe. Vladyka addressed Father John with a speech in which, as they later told me, he asked him to accept the holy icon on behalf of the entire clergy as a sign of their gratitude for all his care and concern for them; Father John reverently bowed down to the holy icon and venerated it. On the same day, June 13, at 4 o’clock, the bishop and former Arkhangelsk governor, Prince Golitsyn, came to Scholz to say goodbye to Father John; he was still at Father John’s in Sura for the consecration of the church. At 6 o'clock in the evening the Arkhangelsk people escorted Father John on his further journey. The Makarovs' steamship was small, due to the shallow waters in Pinega, and we had to fit in the same cabin with Father John; his room at the front of the cabin was separated only by drapery. By nightfall, everyone began to settle down for the night: I was about to settle down on a bench like everyone else, but soon I got up, my conscience and reason did not let me sleep, and indeed, could I, unworthy and sinful, lie down on a par with such a great chosen one of God. The next night I couldn’t think of anything better than, under the pretext of giving others space, I climbed under the table, making everyone laugh, it turned out to be very convenient, and I fell asleep like the dead. When the next day in the morning Father John and I started drinking tea, I told him: it was wonderful for me, Father, to sleep under the table, he smiled and said, as they told me, you feel good everywhere as a little girl. On the morning of the 14th we arrived in Matigory (seventy versts from Arkhangelsk) to the sister of Father John A.I.; the kind old woman and her husband, like a harrier gray-haired priest 295, received Father John and us all with truly kindred cordiality; Father John served matins and mass with them. After dinner, he walked for a long time and admired the truly wonderful picture that spread out below, as far as the eye could see. The village of Matigory bears its name very aptly; it is located on a high mountain, with a marvelous view of the Northern Dvina with its countless islands and branches. The blessed river is the Northern Dvina, along which we traveled from Ustyug to Matigor, it is wide as the sea, and one native Archangel, a companion of Father John, told me that from Matigor to Vavchuga the Northern Dvina is 12 versts wide. Here it is divided into four branches, and all the islands are covered with forests and meadows, some have villages and hamlets. We traveled for four days from Arkhangelsk to Sura - and what memorable and dear days those were! No one disturbed Father John, and he either read or was completely focused on himself, and only while eating was he cheerful and talkative with us. Looking at him, we all sat quietly, and often our cabin looked like a home church: some prayed, others read holy books, others wrote, and I joined the latter. I was very interested in the sermon preached by Father John in Arkhangelsk, and I asked him for permission to copy it, he willingly allowed it; I happily took on this work. The sermon was written by Father John with his own hand, and I, not being able to understand some of the words, turned to him for clarification, and every time he kindly wrote me words that were incomprehensible to me, sometimes kneeling down at the same time, since I, for lack of another place, wrote on the bench. That’s how humble and simple this wonderful man is! And it was precisely by this that he “acquired for himself high humility and rich poverty” 296 . After all, there was a time when he, too, experienced poverty, which, however, did not prevent him from sharing his last with the poor. On the road, Father John did not show me anything, did not instruct me, and even spoke very little to me; but meanwhile, by living example at every step he taught me true fasting, prayer, humility and abstinence in everything. Indeed, if we have at least some strength of spirit, a sincere desire to imitate Father John to the best of our ability, then even in the midst of the world and its vanity we can please God; For this, only one thing is needed - a sound mind, united with a kind heart that loves God and one's neighbor - the rest, really, will all come to us on its own. On June 15, I really wanted to treat Father to tea, and I decided to ask him about it; he willingly agreed, and thanks to him from God and me, a sinner. He was the first to understand my sincere love to treat everyone with whatever God sends me, and let me give tea to all my companions one by one. I was simply delighted that for the first time God had sent me such a dear and generous host. After all, no one could understand me until now! On June 16, we stopped at Ust-Pokshenga: Father John had to visit the dean there and visit a priest - his friend at the seminary 297; and he ordered the steamer to go further and receive him at a well-known place. We went and lost him. On Pinega there are islands in this place. We walked back and forth for three or four hours; the ship blew its whistle every now and then. Finally, from a distance they saw him walking, accompanied by a whole crowd of villagers. We were all incredibly happy; They quickly moored the steamer, jumped ashore, and everyone ran to it; Father John greeted us cheerfully. On June 17 at 5 o'clock in the morning we arrived at the Verkolsky Monastery. The archimandrite and the brethren met Father John on the pier and headed to the church, where matins immediately began. I was glad with all my heart that for the third time the Lord brought me, together with Father John, to pray before the relics of the righteous youth Artemy, whose life, although short, was full of edification. After Matins, Father John inspected the newly built cathedral and climbed high onto the stage, where the workers were carrying bricks at that time; looking at them, we began to carry bricks to the top as a souvenir. After mass, the archimandrite invited us all to his place with Father John and drank tea and dined with him. When the ship left, I didn’t even look into the cabin: I kept looking into the distance, because today we have to arrive in Sura! My heart was beating strongly... Father John was also still on deck; By four o'clock everyone had gathered around him. We passed the last village with a wooden church; now we have passed Zasurye; the steamer turned sharply to the right, and Sura opened up before us in full view. At that moment, the solemn ringing of the bells in Sura, as if on Easter, rang out. Father John joyfully took off his hat and began to pray at three churches almost standing next to each other: two completely blackened from ancient times and the third, in the middle of them, standing as white as snow, a majestic church. Then he turned to us and said: “I humbly ask you to come to me in Sura!” - and shook hands with everyone. I cannot express in words what I felt then at the sight of this truly promised land for me, and with joyful tears I kissed the land dear to me. All the Suryans poured out with the clergy at their head to meet their great fellow countryman. From the ship, Father John drove straight to the new church. Lord, how majestically wonderfully beautiful she is. Upon entering it, you involuntarily joyfully say in your soul the words of the Ever-Virgin Mary: My soul magnifies the Lord, and My spirit rejoices in God, My Savior 298! And it vividly reminded me of the Church of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk in Zadonsk. Having prayed in the church, Father John, not having rested at all, went to the newly built parochial school 299 and, having examined it in every detail, went to other places on his business, which he had “up to his neck” in Sura, and during the entire time he spent in Sura, he was in trouble from morning to night; he enters into everything himself directly, nothing escapes his attention: the whole Sura for him is like his one home, everything and everyone there is dear and close to his heart. Only in the evening did he enter the house prepared for him, where he took us with him. I was glad in my soul that God had finally brought me under the same roof with Father John, and in his blessed Surah to boot! He is the most hospitable owner, the kind I have never seen in my life: he takes care of everything himself, takes care of everything himself, and was cheerful and joyful all the time, and for all of us, all four days in Sura were like the first day of a bright holiday, truly it was like Easter. The villagers, whom Father John generously endowed with money, walked in crowds in festive attire. On June 18, and on all the following days, Father John himself served the Liturgy, and at Matins he read and sang in the choir. Lord, what dear and unforgettable days these days were for me! I was just waiting for Father John to go to church: when you see him standing on the choir or serving in front of the throne, you will forget everything earthly, as if he would tear you away from the earth and, merging with your weak and infirm, with his fiery prayer, take you somewhere above all earthly things. I tell the truth: in my entire life I have not shed as many tears of true joy as during these three days in this wondrous church. On June 19, after mass, Father John celebrated a memorial service in the newly built chapel over the grave of his father and a litany at the grave of his grandfather, the priest Father Michael. All that day the school was in full swing: the teacher and the newly arrived teacher were sorting out and putting books and teaching aids in order, writing, accepting and enrolling boys and girls, of whom, as I was told, 60 people were admitted on the first day. I couldn’t stop looking at this school: the rooms are large, tall, bright, and the whole thing is so simply, conveniently and practically arranged that it would be a credit to any city. After mass, numerous icons were solemnly transferred to the school, where Father John himself indicated where and what image to place. The last night in Sura we hardly slept; all of us - his companions - were preparing to receive the Holy Mysteries. At 5 o'clock in the morning everyone got up. During the Liturgy, Father John made us all partakers of the Holy Body and Blood of Christ. How ardently I thanked God that He vouchsafed me to confess again to Father John and receive communion in the Sursk church that was dear to me. At the end of the mass, Father John said a lesson on the words of the Gospel: leave the children to come to Me 300. “When our Lord Jesus Christ walked the earth in the flesh, then parents and relatives brought children to Him so that He could touch them, and His disciples sometimes did not allow those bringing them. Seeing this, the Lord was indignant and said: leave the children to come to Me and do not hinder them, for such is the Kingdom of Heaven. You see how pleasing children are to Him because of their innocence, simple-heartedness, kindness and obedience. The Lord sometimes set children as an example to adults and said: if you do not convert and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven, 301 that is, if you do not become humble, simple, gentle, obedient, kind in the depths of your soul, then you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, I rejoice that during my service children are brought to the communion of the Holy Mysteries, for those who bring them fulfill the will and desire of the Savior Himself. So, fathers and mothers, continue to bring your children to Communion! Through communion, your children are sanctified, enlightened by God's light, drawn closer and appropriated to God, protected from sin, strengthened and made partakers of the Kingdom of God. Here in your village a parochial school has now been built and established for children to teach literacy and handicrafts, with the maintenance of poor remote children during the winter months at the expense of the amounts allocated for the school. This is the great mercy of God in such a dark corner of Russia, remote from the place of enlightenment, where ignorance and schism have built a wide nest for themselves and where poverty is increasing every year. Thank God the Provider for His mercy towards you, Suryans. Over time, your learning children will bring you great joy and joy with their literacy and handicrafts, their piety and devotion to the Church of God, the faithful guide to God and eternal salvation. Let your children come to God and henceforth be the joy, support and consolation of your families. And for me, who established and provided the contents of your school in the future, pray to God to extend my days in health and all prosperity for years and years. Amen". At the last words, the whole church became agitated, everyone began to pray fervently on their knees. After mass, with the bells ringing, Father John with a cross in his hands and all the clergy in full vestments and singing went to the school. There, in the main room, in front of a large image of all the saints, a prayer service for water was served, and Father John himself sprinkled the entire house. Then he delivered a warm, heartfelt sermon to the teacher and teacher, asking them to work diligently with the children entrusted to their care. After which E.O. Korelin, as a representative of the diocesan authorities, gave a speech 302; he spoke sincerely and warmly, and Father John thanked him heartily. Then they began to call the children who had entered the school according to the list; Father John laid his hand on each head, as if taking them into his own hands; The Gospels and Psalms, and various religious books were distributed to all children and people. When it was all over, Father John entered his house and, opening the window, crossed himself. I looked out the window; my heart sank. The entire square was flooded with people coming from all sides. Seeing Father John in the window, everyone fell to their knees and thanked him for the school with tears. The people, they say, only heard the words: “Thank you, Father! Save you, Lord! God have mercy on you!” And he answered them: “Why do you bow to me, thank God!” He blessed them, bowed and was baptized himself. Tears rolled down the tanned, rough cheeks of the men... Father John was apparently touched to the depths of his soul by this sincere, warm gratitude of the Suryans, and indeed, this genuine expression of sincere gratitude defies description, and it was impossible to see it without tears. I have heard a lot about how a gray man cannot feel or express gratitude - a great injustice. If you do a real benefit to him or help him at the right time, then he knows how to feel, appreciate and express his gratitude much more deeply than any privileged wise man, of which living proof was then before my eyes: bows made the whole square, like the sea, agitated. Father John had a lot of guests, and he cordially treated everyone to tea and breakfast. After which everyone dispersed, and we began to get ready for the road. At 6 o'clock in the evening, Father John and I, having prayed, went to the ship: the whole mass of people ran to the shore; many almost in the water bowed at his feet. Father John said goodbye to everyone, blessed everyone, and for a long time, they say, the farewell ringing of the sonorous Sura bells could be heard on the departing ship. Father John could not take his eyes off his dear native Sura, and for a long, long time he still looked in that direction, as if praying that the Lord would dispel the darkness of this dark side and enlighten him with the light of His enlightenment. And I sincerely believe that the time is not far off when not a single schismatic will remain, and from wisely taken measures the people will live in contentment with their labor. We traveled safely for three hours, but then the ship ran aground. We all moved to the shore and began to drag the steamer on a rope, and Father John worked on it with a hook. They fought for two hours and finally pulled it off, but by nightfall they crashed into the sand again. (Before this, there were hot days, and the water subsided greatly.) Father John almost did not go to bed, he prayed all night; and begged God for rain! In the morning we reached the Verkolsky Monastery, where Father John served matins and mass. So what? The wind rose sharp, cold against the flow of the river, clouds drove in, and as soon as we returned to the ship, the rain started pouring down in buckets, almost the whole day it fell: the water rose, and the ship at first, although it still stopped often, then moved freely. Looking at the rain, I vividly remembered the words of the holy Apostle James: Elijah was a man subservient to us, but he prayed with faith, and the sky gave rain 303 . So now a man has appeared among us, apparently servile to us, but with the power of his prayer and faith he approaches the power of Elijah’s prayer... What a memorable day this was for me; Sitting all day with Father John, cooped up in the cabin, we were like in heaven. At first, Father John read everything, and we all sat quietly, each doing his own thing; In the evening, Father stopped reading and began to walk around the cabin; he was cheerful and talkative with everyone, talked a lot, and they told me that every word he said was deeply edifying. And I, not hearing anything, just looked at him and with all my heart wished that this blissful evening would last for at least an eternity. I will never forget June 21st! On June 22 the weather was good. It should be noted that steamships often stop there in villages, or simply near the shore to receive firewood. Usually the firewood is carried by the villagers, with whom a crowd of children gathers. Father John always generously and kindly gives money to all of them and talks to others. Looking at these scenes repeated in front of me every now and then, I sadly remembered how some people told me that Father John prefers only the rich - what an outrageous injustice: for the sixth year I have seen the exact opposite. True, he often treats the rich with sincere love and attention, but everyone knows that even among millionaires there are some kind of poor people, and it is these unfortunate ones that he treats cordially. But in reality, the poor people are closer to his heart - these are his truly dear children; Everywhere he is simple and kind with them, so here at almost every stop he will talk to them; but sometimes the steamer stops at a completely deserted shore, where there is not a soul, then we, in order not to torment Father by standing in vain in one place while the steamship workers bring wood, we all go to the shore and in a few minutes we haul a whole mountain of firewood. It was good for me; almost all of Father John’s companions were his fellow countrymen, all kind, non-offensive northerners. The night from June 22 to 23 was our last on the banks of Pinega; Almost no one went to bed; they watched the sunset and sunrise with Father John. We drove first past huge mountains of iron ore, completely red in color, then past dazzling white alabaster and plaster ones. My God, what mountains are these! Either they go for a mile with impregnable fortresses and suddenly end in deep gorges covered with dense greenery, or in huge cliffs, which at any moment seem ready to collapse over our heads; at their base there are bizarre caves made by nature; then colossal castles of the most fantastic shapes and outlines rise straight into the sky, and above all this magical world, high at the top stands a dense forest, and even higher is the light, blue northern sky. No artist in the world is able to draw this wondrous picture, which the Lord created with His single word. Let there be mountains! No matter what kind of insensitive materialist - an unbeliever - would be put in our place then, it seems to me that, looking at these mountains, his soul would be filled with reverence for the wondrous creativity of God. Father John looked in reverent delight at this wonderful, incomparable, indescribable living panorama of the fleeing mountains and only occasionally crossed himself. Then he turned to me and cheerfully said: “Describe it.” And I was so fascinated by a wonderful sight I had never seen that I could not say a word and only said: “Tell me some sense.” He looked at me and put his hand on my head. Looking at all this, it was only possible to repeat Psalm 103 with David, which could not have been more suitable for this generous creation of God 304. When the sun had already risen high, we lay down to rest, but not for long, because we were already approaching Kholmogory; there Father John immediately went to the Assumption Convent, where he performed matins and mass; After her, the old abbess with sincere cordiality invited Father John and all of us to dinner 305. The best and most joyful impression on me in this far north was the warm hospitality of the good abbess and her simple, clean, bright cells. After lunch, Father John went to say goodbye to his sister A.I. to Matigory, and E.O. and I Korelin and a teacher from Sura went to inspect the Transfiguration Cathedral, which is remarkable because Arkhangelsk bishops are buried there 306, starting with the first Athanasius, the founder of the Assumption Monastery in Kholmogory 307. Now there are already eleven bishops buried there, and above each tomb there is a portrait of the deceased and an icon of the saint whose name the deceased bore. I really liked this idea. All the bishops stand, as if alive, along the northern and southern sides of the church, and in the middle is their bishop’s pulpit; This church also has remarkable choirs, which are placed not on the western side, as usual, but on the eastern side, above the altar. In the warm church in the name of the twelve apostles, I was surprised by the iconostasis: it consists entirely of through carvings, and only the icons are the only blind places. I really liked the originality of this iconostasis. Then we went for a walk, and from the high bank I admired Denisovka, which is located opposite Kholmogory, the birthplace of our immortal Lomonosov; I really wanted to visit it, but there was little time, and the Northern Dvina in this place is very wide, and I was satisfied with admiring the famous Kholmogory cows and stocking up on flat cakes, which are called “Kholmogory grouse,” and returned to the ship. Then we received a new passenger, not yet an old gentleman. Soon Father John arrived and the ship departed. Suddenly someone comes into the cabin and says to me: the new passenger is completely dying, give me holy water, consecrated by Father John. I poured it into a cup and went upstairs: I saw the sick man sitting at the side of the ship and his throat was bleeding heavily, and then his nose, he was in some kind of frenzy and unconsciously moved his hands. They called Father John. He approached, first gave the patient plain water to drink, then blew into his face three times in a cross shape, put his hand on his head and, after praying, gave him holy water to drink: the blood immediately stopped flowing, the patient calmed down and apparently recovered by evening. When I later saw him in the carriage between Vologda and Yaroslavl, I asked how he was feeling. He wrote to me: “Through the prayer of Father John, I am now healthy; but ask Father to pray for the sinful Artemy - I’m a failure in life.” I calmed him down. So this incident, which happened before my eyes, amazed me! That same day, towards nightfall, we arrived in Arkhangelsk. Father John was accompanied to Sura from Arkhangelsk by the son and daughter of the ship's owner, the Makarovs; they asked Father to stay with them, to which he agreed, and the ship drove straight into their yard (the house is located on the very bank of the Northern Dvina, so there is no fence near the river). They were deeply delighted that Father John was staying with them; I was touched by their simplicity and cordiality with which they received me. On June 24, Father John served matins and mass at their cemetery in Solombala. Then he went to the city, and we began to get ready for the ship. At 6 o'clock in the evening, with a huge crowd of people seeing off Father John, he left Arkhangelsk, and for a long time he admired this large, almost seaside, beautiful city with a whole forest of masts on the wide expanse of the Northern Dvina. We drove for almost 6 days to Vologda, and what happy days those were for me; One girl from Rostov and I had a separate cabin, which I decorated with icons, views of monasteries and portraits of Father John, and invited him to drink tea with me. He marveled and admired the decoration of my corner and drank tea with me three times; how much inexpressible joy each of his visits gave me, as if I were meeting him as an Angel of God, this can only be understood by those who sincerely, with all their hearts, were worthy to receive him. Here I could talk to him about everything I needed and get an answer to everything. He wrote me many words of consolation, which truly resurrected my soul. Even earlier, I asked him if he was tired of me. And he answered me: “Your sincere affection will never get boring.” After him, all my companions were treated to food, and for me these days were a pure, bright holiday. And for dinner I went to Father’s cabin. In Ustyug, the Vologda bishop 309 arrived on the ship with his retinue, returning from his trip around the diocese. The modest saint stood for hours at a time, like a candle, on the control room, in front of everyone, and hardly spoke to anyone. From Ustyug to Totma, the banks of the beautiful Sukhona amazed me with their picturesqueness; on both sides of it there are almost continuously high mountains of the most diverse types and shapes, covered with luxurious and dense vegetation; every now and then you can see high on the mountains, all in greenery, picturesquely huddled villages with beautiful white stone churches. In some places, the mountains are so high and closely packed above the river that it seems like you are driving along a colossal corridor with living walls made of earth, and above your head there is a blue sky instead of a ceiling. When looking at this wonderful panorama, the words will involuntarily burst out of your chest: O Lord our Lord, how wonderful is Your name throughout all the earth 310! On the eve of Peter's Day (June 28), I was surprised along the way by scenes I had never seen before: wherever we passed by villages, everywhere along the shore, near the water, dozens of fires were set up with cauldrons of water hanging over them, and all the women were fussing around them; It turned out: in order not to make a mess in the huts and not waste time carrying water up the mountain, the peasant women take all the laundry with troughs and go with them, set up their simple fire near the river (like shepherds in the field) and here they wash, rinse and dry their armor in the sun. I marveled at the original practicality of the Totem villagers and vividly remembered the Icelandic types, how Icelandic women, also for the sake of order, prepare food for their families in hot springs in the open air. The day of June 29 went miraculously well: in the morning Father sat with me for a long time, eating and talking, I was touched to tears by his attention; he gave me the 5th volume of his book “My Life in Christ” 311, and I read it a lot with him. This book is wonderful and invaluable, and it was dear to me to read it with Father John, because he alone could understand my sincere delight at the deep meaning and meaning of almost every word in it. All the passengers, seeing Father John’s attention to me, expressed their affection for me: from one end of the ship to the other, I was everyone’s favorite, just as on Makarovsky... My heart was light and joyful; but my entire journey with Father John was like one bright, joyful day, without the slightest shadow of night (and in fact, from June 10 to June 27, I literally did not see night, because at this time of year in the Arkhangelsk province there is absolutely no night: there at 12 o’clock at night it is as light as at 12 noon), I just thanked God with all my heart for everything. But there is always good weather before a thunderstorm. The same thing happened to me: on June 30 at 3 o’clock in the morning we arrived in Vologda, and despite the early hour, Father John was met by a mass of people; Many, they say, have been sitting on the pier since the evening. Father immediately left for the city, and we stayed on the ship in order to get to the station before the people and get settled with our luggage. At the station, Father John was seen off by a multitude of people, and at each station whole masses were waiting for him; Father John blessed people almost everywhere from the carriage window. I was especially touched by the meeting of Father John in Danilov: there was a whole stream of people when the train started, everyone rushed after him, and no police could restrain them, so the train had to go quietly for a long time; Looking out the window, I just crossed myself and thought: this is sincere love and faith running! Before reaching the last station of Utkino, Father John called me and, saying goodbye, said again: “Let's go to Goritsy,” and went out to Utkino to ride horses somewhere nearby; and we, his companions, having arrived in Yaroslavl (there a mass of people with the governor at their head were also waiting for Father) and having boarded a boat, headed to the steamer, which was hired for Father John by two merchants living in St. Petersburg, L and Z 312. Imagine my grief: when we arrived at the ship, L-I and Z-I rudely refused me, saying that there was no room (the ship was empty, without passengers). I asked them and noticed that if there is no space in the cabin, then I will happily fit not only on the deck, but even in the car near the firebox, for Father John I am ready to endure everything, just to go with him, because he himself just told me: “Let's go to Goritsy”; but they responded to me with ridicule. There was no one to stand up for me; my companions on the boat - the niece of Father John and the woman serving him - although they were sincerely disposed towards me, they did not dare to intercede, and I, like a lamb torn from its mother, found myself alone; their contempt with which they reacted to the words of Father John that I conveyed simply stunned me. There was no end to my grief, and it’s understandable: my whole life from the cradle passed in one row of grief and loss; but nothing in my life has ever upset me as deeply and painfully as this refusal of heartless women, and only Father John, who knows my life well, will fully understand my grief. So, quite suddenly and against the will of Father John, my journey with him ended, and all only thanks to blind hatred, covered with a plausible pretext. But I was also sorry (and I’m not the only one, they say, it’s a pity) that I was deprived of the opportunity to describe how the Gorits brightly greeted their dear sun for the third time, which alone warms and pleases them in this life. But, apparently, the demon became jealous of my happiness. I couldn't calm down for a whole week. On July 8, my good friend Ch. invited me to go with her to the Tolgsky Monastery (eight miles from Yaroslavl). I gladly accepted her offer. On July 10, at five o’clock in the evening, Ch. suddenly said to me: “Look, some steamer is whistling”; I looked and barely had time to wave my hand at her before I flew like an arrow onto the pier. The steamer is quietly approaching, and Father John is standing on the deck... Only the Lord knows how I felt then, I could barely stand on my feet, but I didn’t cry, I cried all my tears in a week. Coming down to the pier, Father John hugged me, and I said to him: “It’s my grief, Father, they didn’t let me on the ship, no matter how much I asked.” He, as they later told me, said with visible regret: “How is this so? And because of my troubles, I didn’t even bother to put her on the ship,” and once again he hugged my head. From the pier he went to the monastery to see Archbishop Jonathan, and I followed him there. The good Bishop, knowing earlier from my stories about my grief, gave me every opportunity to see Father John at home, for which I am sincerely grateful to him, and indeed, nothing in my life could have given me greater joy than with this permission. For this I will never forget the kind, sympathetic soul of our Bishop. At Vladyka's, Father John reassured and consoled me, and with the joy of seeing him again, I forgot my grief. Then everyone went for a walk in a wonderful cedar grove, perhaps the only one in this part of Russia. Father John arrived so unexpectedly that there were almost no people there. At the entrance to the grove, he took off his hat and crossed himself, saying: cedars of Lebanon, which he planted 313! After the all-night vigil, during which, as usual, he read and sang in the choir, he again walked with the bishop in the grove and garden. On July 11, before mass, Father John visited the grove for the third time, he liked it so much. At mass, giving Holy Communion to the babies, he gave me Holy Communion... My God, what I experienced then, receiving the Holy Mysteries... It was as if the sky had opened above me, tears rolled down like hail. I fervently repeated the words of the post-communion prayer: “The thorns of all my sins have fallen. Cleanse your soul, sanctify your thoughts...” 314 Indeed, no matter how deeply upset I was, with the acceptance of the Holy Mysteries all the bitterness disappeared, my heart became light and joyful again, and for a long time I could only repeat: “Glory to Thee, God,” with all my heart. At the end of the mass, Father John preached a sermon on the words of the Gospel read that day: And having commanded (Jesus) the people to recline on the grass, and receive five loaves and both fish, looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves of the disciples, and the disciples by the people. And I ate the ecu and was satisfied. “With the blessing of the Right Reverend Bishop, calling on the Lord for help, I want to offer you, beloved brothers and sisters, a few words for general edification. As a basis for the word, I will take the Gospel read today about Jesus Christ’s miraculous healing of the sick and also His miraculous feeding of five thousand people in the desert with five small loaves of bread and two fish. The Gospel begins with the words: At that time, Jesus saw many people, and had mercy on them. The entire Gospel, beloved brethren, in its main features is the sacred story of the countless acts of mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ towards people. For the sake of extreme mercy, He came down from heaven to earth, took on our flesh and became a man, similar to us in everything except sin, without ceasing to be God, in order to heal like with like, in order to heal the malignant scab of sin - the entire human race; lived with people, did not disdain a single sincerely repentant sinner, instructed everyone with a word, showing the path to salvation, performed countless beneficial miracles that demonstrated His immeasurable goodness and Divine omnipotence, labored His most pure feet in travel, endured slander, reproach, persecution, beatings, suffering on the Cross and death, and was resurrected as God. So great, so immensely all-embracing is the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ. He, as the Creator, Provider, Redeemer and Doctor of humanity, cared for everyone, called everyone to salvation and rejoiced for everyone who turned. But let us turn to the sacred story of the miraculous feeding of the people. The Lord’s mercy towards the crowd of five thousand people, who, out of thirst to hear His word, withdrew with Him into the desert and felt hunger, is extremely instructive and edifying. It shows that Jesus Christ is the Creator of all things, the Savior and Nourisher of the human race. Having sufficiently taught the people with words and nourished their souls with imperishable food, He feeds their bodies with material bread and fish, but He feeds them not as a man, but as God Almighty. The disciples of Christ, still imperfect and of little faith, ask Him to let the people go into the villages to buy bread, but He tells them that this is not necessary, and, commanding all the people to lie down on the grass, he takes the five loaves of bread and two fish that the disciples had, lifts his eyes to heaven to His Father, blesses them, breaks them and gives them to the disciples for distribution, and the disciples distribute them to the people. And a wonderful miracle! No matter how much the loaves are distributed, they do not decrease, just like the fish, until they receive everything in sufficient quantities. Everyone was satisfied, no matter how hungry they were, and the pieces remaining after satiety far exceeded the amount of food that was at the beginning, for twelve baskets were filled with the remaining pieces. Wonderful creativity, wonderful blessing! Wonderful hands! For these are the Divine Hands that in the beginning created heaven and earth, and firmly hold them in order for many thousands of years. These are the Hands that produce beneficent thunder in the circle of heaven and illuminate the earth with terrible lightning, as those who did not sleep last night heard and saw 315 - thunder and lightning, from which everything that breathes trembles. These are the Hands that brought from non-existence into existence countless fiery servants of heaven, Angels, rejoicing in heaven in a harmonious hierarchical rank, constantly praising the Lord and enjoying the indescribable bliss of seeing God. These are the Hands that created countless animate and inanimate earthly creatures and multiplied and multiply from one blood the entire human race. These are the Hands that destroyed hell, bound Satan, captured his multi-human wealth and brought out of hell the souls he contained. These are the Hands that bring forth all the fruits of the earth and give food to all flesh, that abundantly produce bread for men in the fields and grass for livestock. These, I will say finally, are those Hands that at the Last Supper blessed the bread and wine dissolved in water, with the words of the Giver: “Take, eat, this is My Body, which was broken for you” and: “Drink from it ecu, this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins” 316. Yes, it is wonderful to be fed with five loaves, but immeasurably more wonderful is the feeding of us with the Most Pure Body and Blood of the God-Man, which we, unworthy, are so often granted by His mercy. It is instructive, touching - a touching spectacle of the miraculous feeding of the people with loaves and two fishes, but immeasurably more instructive is the feeding of faithful Christians with the Lord’s Own Flesh and Blood, which renews our nature, corrupted by sins, and adores worthily those who partake. Let us, beloved brothers and sisters, love, thank and glorify the Generous and Most Merciful Lord, who feeds us every day with bread and all kinds of fruits and earthly sweets; but let us especially love and thank Him for the fact that He gives us His Most Pure Body and Divine Life-giving Blood for food and drink, and we will love each other and show mercy to our neighbors, as He commanded us. Amen". He spoke with visible passion and fervor. The residents of Yaroslavl heard Father John at home for the first time, and there is no need to say with what reverence they caught every word of their dearly loved and revered Father John. It seems that never before in this ancient, vast church of the Tolga Monastery have so many tears of tenderness been shed as now during the sermon spoken by Father John. The whole cathedral, packed to capacity, was crying. Soon after mass, Father John and the bishop left for the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery, and I went to Yaroslavl 317. In the evening I went to the car to see Father off; On the road I met the nephew of Father John I.V. Fidelin, who kindly invited me and brought me to the station. Thanks to his kind soul, I had the opportunity to say goodbye to Father John in his carriage; and only when the train sped away did I again feel terribly orphaned and burst into tears... A trip to Sura and return from there with Father John of Kronstadt I didn’t think that the Lord would bring me to see the blessed Sura this year, 1894! When we were in Sura last year, I was very concerned and interested in how concerned Father John was (as I was told then) about the seeding of the meadows! Anyone who has been to the north knows how poor it is in vegetation: apart from dense forests of pine and spruce and all kinds of moss, there is almost nothing - and nowhere in Russia have I seen such pitiful and rare grass as grows in Pinezhsky district. And they say that due to lack of feed, livestock deaths often occur. Father John is always concerned about how to fertilize the sandy soil on which everything grows so poorly. Last September, I accidentally came across an article in the newspapers about a new fodder plant for livestock, which, as the newspaper said, grows well in any soil and in any climate. I was delighted and showed this article to Father John. He fully approved of it, and he blessed me to take this herb to Sura for testing, and if it is really useful, to plant it in other places. God helped me find these roots in St. Petersburg, and, having received a telegram from Vologda on April 26 that the first ship would leave for Pinega on May 3, I, with the blessing of Father John, flew on a long journey, taking the roots with me. To tell the truth, it was scary for me to go alone, because I had to change boats several times, and in Arkhangelsk and Pinega I had to wait for several days for them. But God, apparently, blessed me with this journey: in Vologda, Arkhangelsk, Pinega and other places, good friends, having learned for what purpose I was traveling, assisted my journey in every possible way, and in Ust-Pinega on the Volodin steamship they even offered free travel in 1st class to the Verkolsky Monastery (four days). Finally, on May 16, I reached my dear Sura and was warmly welcomed by old friends and Sura residents. I cannot express in words how I felt when I again saw the most dear corner on earth for me: it was dear to me to breathe that air, walk on that land and see those places where our great man of prayer was born and spent his childhood before God. From the first minutes of my arrival, I was involved in a wide variety of chores. Now they planted the roots, which had already grown by the time Father John arrived (two weeks later). They began to confer with the priest and the teacher on how best and more solemnly to meet dear Father, with whom, as rumors circulated, perhaps the Archangel Bishop Nikanor would come. They cleaned the church, put the sacristy in order; at school - in this beloved brainchild of Father John, which constituted his main concern - they were preparing for exams. We must give complete justice and sincere gratitude to the priest and the deacon and the teacher and the teacher for their impeccably conscientious attitude to their duty 318, as well as to the pupils of the school: on October 1 of last 1893, education began, and the children who entered the school as complete savages, barely able to speak, now, by the end of May 1894, read perfectly, knew a lot of prayers, learned the law of God, the Russian language, arithmetic, and they wrote so correctly and beautifully in Russian and Slavic that I, in all honesty, admit that even in the second grade of the gymnasium I had never seen such correct and beautiful handwriting on students. All the boys and girls sew and knit well and have made their own shirts; All the students in the school, 60 people, say they sing the notes perfectly. And I couldn’t believe that all this was achieved in eight months of training; it is clear that both the teachers and students put their whole souls into learning - and God grant that this school in the homeland of Father John, in the most remote and remote corner of Russia, just like its founder himself, be a model for all of Russia... Everywhere in Sura there was vigorous work; everyone seemed to be preparing for a bright holiday... In my free time, almost every day I went for a walk to the two most cherished places for me: the birthplace of Father John and Poklonnaya Hill. The first is at the opposite end of the village from the churches, completely in the field, near a barely alive ancient wooden chapel, among the loose sand; Last year, only fragments were visible (I carefully collected them then and keep them as material witnesses to the birth of Father John) of half-rotten logs from the hut in which on the blessed night of October 19, 1829, the wondrous chosen one of God was born... My God! With what thoughts my head and heart were filled then in this place: here, almost in the middle of a field, in a dilapidated hut, the contemporary star of the Russian land began to shine and over the years it began to rise and shine higher and higher, brighter and brighter, and now it can be seen far beyond the borders of Rus' - and it shines for everyone with a living, strong faith in God, and it warms everyone with sincere, ardent love for people... Here is a patient sentenced to death by doctors; whether a bitter drunkard or a dissolute one, but wanting to improve; whether spouses, exhausted by family discord; whether they are a failure in life or innocently disgraced and driven into despair, and other similar unfortunates - who should they turn to? Who will support and console them? And they, hearing about the warm prayer book Father John, strive for him as the nearest star of their salvation... And he accepts them all with love, fervently prays for them all, and according to their faith, the Lord gives many of them what they ask for. I sincerely confess that I am not as surprised by the numerous healings that occur through the prayer of Father John (and a skilled doctor can cure a sick person), as I am amazed by the gracious moral uplift of the spirit that occurs with the assistance of Father John’s prayer over the unfortunate who have died alive in their souls (everyone who has experienced it knows that moral illness is much more dangerous than physical illness). How many examples do we have to hear and see of how completely morally lost people, who went to general confession and heard the passionate, divinely inspired speech of Father John, penetrating into the soul of everyone, or had the good fortune to talk with him, as if sobered up, came to their senses, abandoned their previous way of life and became good family men, honest and useful workers. Is it surprising after this that every year the mass of the people grows and surrounds Father John more closely! His all-encompassing love, like the rays of the sun, warms everyone and attracts everyone to himself... And in this seemingly wretched place where this great lamp of God was born, God led me to spend whole hours in deep thoughts. And sometimes you involuntarily bow with body and soul at this place and press your head tightly to the stone... Now they are building a stone chapel here, and the foundation has already been laid. Another place for my thoughts was Mount Poklonnaya, Father John’s favorite walking place, two miles from Sura, across the Sura River. Having passed a meadow, then, along the edge of the forest up the mountain, a small village, the area rises higher and higher into a mountain covered with forest. Leaning slightly to the left along the mountain, you will find yourself right at the cliff of the mountain and involuntarily cross yourself: the entire Sura with its churches immediately opens up before your eyes. The forest here thins out somewhat and goes downhill; right below the Sura River winds through the meadow like a wide ribbon; to the left is the Pinega River; right next to the village of Sura, and beyond and in breadth stretch the forest and hills as far as the eye can see. Father John, they say, in his free time likes to spend whole hours here in prayer. Indeed, looking at the surrounding picturesque nature, among the greenery of which the white wonderful church of God rises, you involuntarily come into a prayerful and grateful mood to the Creator of all visible wonderful creation - God. In all these walks and troubles, I didn’t even notice how I spent two weeks in Sura with my dear friend, school teacher A.A. Sosina, with whom she mostly shared her walks. On May 21, Saturday, permission was received to dismantle the old warm wooden church 319, in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, due to its dilapidation, move it to the cemetery and reinstall it there. On the same day, the All-Night Vigil was celebrated there, and on May 22, the Liturgy was celebrated. For the first time, I was in this wretched, log, smoky church at a divine service, and a reverent emotion seized my soul: I vividly imagined how in the old days, through this low door of the church with a high threshold, over which, probably, the little then, but now great John, climbed, like him, standing just as barefoot, perhaps, as all his peers, with reverence and listened attentively to what was being sung and read in the choir; and how beneficially all our wonderful church hymns had a beneficial effect on his sensitive, impressionable childish soul; on what fertile soil they fell and what rich and abundant fruit they bore! I couldn’t help but wish that our modern children would learn to stand in church with reverence and attention, learning from it lessons of pious life. On the morning of May 23, the clergy and the entire school went to the named church. The priest and the deacon in full vestments, having distributed to us the icons that were in the church, having prayed for the last time before the holy altar, raising the holy antimension and relics on the paten on their heads, while singing first the troparion: “The rule of faith and the image of meekness...” 320, and then the Easter stichera, with the solemn ringing of the bells, with a procession of the cross they headed to the old cold church, in which they laid the holy antimension and icons, returned back, removed the holy altar (the pillars of which were deeply embedded in the floor, so that the floor had to be cut out in order to remove them intact), the remaining icons and the Royal doors and, in the same order, transferred there. Now they began to break the elegant old scaly five-domed dome, and huge blocks of scales, like boats, they say, whistled down the block to the ground; but the crosses from the domes were kept intact (which was entirely possible, thanks to the prudent stewardship of the priest). They tied a rope around the cross on the main chapter and carefully pulled the block: the cross moved from its place... At that moment the Easter bells rang. The cross quietly and solemnly began to descend in a vertical position and stood straight on the ground. It was impossible to see this sight without tears: high from above, as if from the sky, a life-giving cross, simple, wooden, descended onto our heads, all darkened with time and covered with white moss. The remaining four crosses were removed just as carefully. Having numbered all the logs, they quickly began to dismantle the entire church. The most difficult thing was to disassemble the huge ancient stove, which occupied almost a third of the church meal. Within a week, everything was dismantled, the ground was leveled, and a pedestal was placed in the place where the holy altar was located. On May 29, news arrived that Father John was already going to Sura 321. Everyone perked up... I hired post horses (an amazing breed of northern horses: they look unsightly, shaggy, on short legs, but, sensing the harness, they unanimously pick up the tarantass and rush at a smooth trot like a whirlwind, so breathtaking (they are great to ride!), and - march to the Verkolsky monastery: to meet Father. There they told me that Father John with Archangel Bishop will arrive on the evening of June 1 and that the archimandrite is going to meet them at Karpov Gora (forty versts from the monastery). On June 1, at about two o'clock, I accidentally went ashore. Suddenly a steamer appeared; getting closer and closer to the pier: I see the bishop and Father John standing on the wheelhouse. The archimandrite went down to the pier, and the ship began to set sail. Out of surprise that Vladyka and Father John did not go ashore (I was told that they would spend the night in the monastery), I threw up my hands and asked Father John: “What should I do?” He leaned towards me and waved his hand towards him, and ordered the sailors to lower the ladder. They did it quickly, the archimandrite supported me below, and from above the sailors caught me, and in one minute I found myself next to Father John: what a joy it was for me! The ship was a government-owned, military one, 322 so there were no passengers except the commander’s wife and a relative and Father John’s companions. After lunch, Father John and I were all on the wheelhouse, impatiently waiting for Sura to appear; finally, at 9 and a half o'clock in the evening, at the last turn of the steamer to the left, Sura immediately opened in front of us, and at the same time a solemn bell was heard there. Father John joyfully took off his hat and crossed himself with the words: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace.” The Bishop, as I was told, turned to Father John and said: “I congratulate you, dear Father, on your arrival to your homeland.” “And you, Vladyka, welcome to me in Sura,” Father John cheerfully answered him, and both heartily embraced. The ship was getting closer and closer. Father John, Vladyka, and everyone on the ship were pleasantly surprised by the picture that opened: due to the shallow water, the bridge went almost a third of the river; at the end of them there was a triumphal arch, all decorated with red cloth, flags and wreaths of fresh flowers. The students of the school stood in order on the walkway: girls in uniform, boys in red shirts they had sewn themselves. Under the arch there was a choir of singers, with the clergy, a teacher and a teacher at the head, and everyone sang harmoniously: “Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth!” The entire shore was covered with people, some climbed knee-deep into the water. You should have seen with what joy and pleasure Father John looked at all this. This joy shone in his eyes. When the singing ended, he bowed to everyone, saying: “Hello, Suryans, sister and nephews 323!”, and they answered him with low bows, wiping their eyes with their sleeves, and they all ran after the carriage in which he and the bishop went to church. Even earlier, the clergy and singers had driven there and met them on the porch: the clergy in full vestments with the holy cross and holy water, and the singers singing: “Thou art exalted in glory, O Christ our God 324!” The bishop and Father John entered the church and apparently admired it, and indeed there was something: the entire church was covered with magnificent carpets (the main one was embroidered on canvas by us, Yaroslavl women), all the Royal doors of the three altars were open, and the entire church was flooded with lights and rays of the setting sun, from which the richly gilded iconostasis glowed dazzlingly and seemed like some kind of unearthly palace. Involuntarily, as I followed Father John, the wonderful words of the prayer came to mind: “I see Your palace, O my Savior, adorned, and I am not wearing clothes...” 325 After Vespers, Vladyka made an ardent but simple speech to the Suryans, as they told me, pointing to Father John that the Lord had raised up for them such a wonderful patron and benefactor from among them, and proved how necessary it is to teach children the fear of God and piety. Having finished his speech, the bishop began to bless everyone. Then he and Father John went to plan a new stone school, which they want to put between the current school (it is far from accommodating all the children who need to study) and the church. The whole place was cluttered with piles of stones prepared for laying. Having planned the place, Father John turned to the workers with a request to remove stones from this place by morning and dig around it, promising to generously reward them for this. And then the hectic work began (I didn’t sleep all night, admiring everything, and on this night, bright as day, no one in Sura seemed to sleep). By nine o'clock in the morning on June 2, everything was ready for laying. After mass, celebrated by the bishop with Father John and other priests, in a procession with bells ringing, everyone headed to the burial site. A prayer service was held there, after which the bishop placed a tin board with the inscription stamped on it: when, by whom and what kind of building was being founded. Silver coins immediately fell on this board, and it was covered with a slab and sealed. On the remaining corners, the first stones were simply laid by the bishop, Father John and others, and then they returned to the church in the same order. For the first time in my life, I attended the groundbreaking of a building, and this ceremony interested me very much. After tea everyone went to the parish school for the exam. The ruler of the first began to examine the girls, but the girls he summoned, seeing for the first time in their lives after the gray, usual situation, seeing in front of them, as they put it, “the greatest” in crosses and orders, became afraid and overembarrassed (in Sura, I noticed that the girls are surprisingly shy and in this they differ sharply from the boys). But the purely fatherly affection of Father John soon encouraged them, and they answered intelligently and quite satisfactorily. The boys looked out and answered smartly. The bishop distributed the brochures he had brought with him to everyone. After the general education exams, we went to the handicraft class, in which there was a whole mountain of linen sewn by the children. Here two little girls presented Vladyka and Father John with knitted napkins that they themselves had made. The exams ended with the singing class, formed through the efforts of the new priest - Father F. Tsvetkova. In Sura, since the fall of last year, a small but, they say, wonderful choir has been formed, however, now the whole school sings excellently. After the exams we toured the old, cold church. The day was red, the sun was burning purely in the south. While they were running to find the guard with the keys, Father John and the bishop, apparently tired from the heat, sat down on a log that happened to come across here. It was dear to see how two lamps of the Church of God, preaching the word of God from the church pulpit, modestly sat on one log on the porch of a wretched wooden church! Finally the keys were brought, and everyone entered the church. Everything about it breathes deep antiquity, although it has been updated a little. All the altar utensils are made of tin, but decorated with ancient elegant carvings; in the sacristy, the Chinese surplice with flowers and Chinese characters painted on the shoulder is especially remarkable; he is said to be about four hundred years old. Father John showed us another large image of the holy righteous Artemy Verkolsky, from an ancient letter; and there are quite a few other antiques there. I was so interested in this church that I didn’t want to leave it. After church we went to the chapel over the grave of Father John’s parent and then to the grave of his grandfather. Both here and there, Bishop and Father John, with the participation of almost all those present, sang the litiya and “eternal memory” in chorus. Finally, tired, they returned to the house prepared for them. Father cordially invited all the guests to his place for lunch. It must be said that behind the government steamer we were traveling on, there was a passenger steamer full of pilgrims coming from Arkhangelsk, so it is not surprising that Father had a house full of guests. At dinner the first toast was to the Emperor; everyone stood up and sang in chorus: “God save the Tsar!” It was expensive to drink to the health of the sincerely beloved Emperor, and where? - in the far north, in the hopeless wilderness, visiting Father John himself. While singing, Father John crossed himself several times, as if he was praying that the Lord would protect His Anointed One in all the paths of his life. Everyone was joyful, happy from the hours they had experienced under Father’s roof; time passed merrily and unnoticed. After lunch, Vladyka began to get ready to go to the Verkolsky Monastery. Even earlier, with his kindness and sincere simplicity, the Bishop endeared himself to us all; and then I, sitting at the table, in only a dress and a cape, went to accompany him to the ship. Father John wanted to accompany Vladyka to Verkolsk in order to immediately return back, and he took me with him. By nightfall we arrived at the Verkolsky monastery and went straight to the cathedral, where a prayer service was served by the council of hieromonks, and when it was late everyone went off to rest. On the morning of June 3, together with the teacher from Sura, we were about to go to the cathedral, but when we learned that matins was going on in the bishop’s cells, we headed there. Suddenly someone comes from the ship and reports to Father John. He shook his head worriedly and began to say something. I ask the teacher what does this mean? She answers me: “They have now informed Father that the water in the river has completely dropped: the steamer cannot return back, and Father decided to immediately go to Arkhangelsk after mass.” This news scalded me like boiling water. When Matins ended, I asked Father: what should I do? “Come with me!” - was his answer to me. God! I can’t express how happy these words made me – it was as if a stone had been lifted from my soul. I was not embarrassed for a minute that I would have to travel almost two thousand miles in one dress; I had only one thought: “Let everything be lost for me, so as not to lose Father John, who is dearer to me than everything on earth.” After the mass, which the bishop served with Father John, the archimandrite and many hieromonks, a solemn prayer service was performed to the holy righteous Artemy, during which Father John, looking at the shrine, prayed fervently and with tears... and indeed, God has led me a lot in Rus' to travel around and venerate the relics of the holy saints of God, who shone with the deeds and holiness of their lives, but nowhere do I experience such a deeply reverent feeling as here, when looking at a small shrine with the relics of the holy youth Artemy: he was not distinguished by any special feats, he worked in the field and at home with his father; but what made him holy and righteous was the constant memory of God and the fear of God, which guided his every step from infancy, sown in his heart by his parents, although simple, uneducated farmers, but deeply wise in their piety, and from whom today’s enlightened, educated parents could learn a lot, giving their children a brilliant education, but not knowing how to sow in their souls the most important thing - piety, which, according to the holy Apostle, everything is useful 326 . After the prayer service, the archimandrite cordially invited us all to dinner. There were too many guests here too. The first toast was also to the Tsar and again, like Father in Sura, everyone sang in chorus: “God save the Tsar!” Then there was a toast to the Bishop. When they began to drink to the health of Father John, the good bishop said a wonderful speech, apparently pouring straight from his heart, which moved everyone to tears. Father John thanked him warmly. Here one circumstance surprised and pleased everyone: when I approached Father John with an ordinary-sized glass to clink, he, filling it with red wine from his glass, indicated that I should give it to everyone; I walked around the entire table, everyone drank from it, and all the guests, of whom there were up to fifty people, had enough wine. Finally, there was a toast to all the true admirers of Father John (and I sincerely asked God to put in the hearts of the people around him to honor Father not with their tongue, but with their soul, taking from him in practice a living example of love for everyone, meekness and complete selflessness). Here they brought from the sacristy a large ancient silver ladle, 327, all decorated with eagles and inscriptions, which, as the inscription says, was donated to the Verkola monastery in 1692 by a resident of Verkola, Nikita Pestov, “for the commemoration of the souls of his parents” and received by him from the royal governor. The Bishop poured red wine into it, and the ladle went around the whole table from hand to hand, everyone drank from it and everyone got enough. This dinner was also very lively, they talked about antiquity, of which there is a lot in Verkola. Then the good E.S. and I Rynina (from Arkhangelsk) still managed to travel two miles to the place where righteous Artemy was killed by lightning; There is a tiny wooden church there, without any decorations, but for believers this place is especially dear. At 4 pm, with the bells ringing, the bishop and Father John left the monastery. A multitude of people gathered from nowhere in one night and filled the entire monastery. I had a great time on the ship: the kind commander of the ship I.I. Zelenkovich and his wife, their souls devoted to Father John, settled me warmly and calmly in a 1st class cabin. At 11 o'clock in the morning on June 4 we stopped in Pinega - this is the smallest (but for us, admirers of Father John, and expensive) town. It has one church, a white stone cathedral on two floors 328. In the lower one there is a warm church, in the upper one there is a cold one, both are very splendid and immaculately kept. Vladyka and Father John went to the city for a short time and soon returned. All the Pinezh residents poured out onto the shore and saw off their dear guests with the ringing of bells. At 5 pm we arrived in Ust-Pinega. Wax candles were bought there, the bishop's choristers were transferred from the passenger ship; in the front part of the cabin they set up a kind of throne, placed on it the images that were only found on the ship, lit candles and the all-night vigil began. Lord, what a wonderful all-night vigil it was, perhaps the only one in my entire life! The steamer flew like a bird along the mighty waves of the Northern Dvina, and from it came wonderful glorifications of the Holy Trinity... I ask once: “What are they singing?” And they answer me: “Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of Truth, Who is everywhere and fulfills everything!” And indeed, the water, the sky and the forests and mountains visible on the sides were filled with this wondrous chant! It seemed that everything together with us in the Trinity glorified the One God!.. Never before, it seems, has a service made such a beneficial impression on me as this all-night vigil among the Dvina waves. Father John stood in front of me and, apparently, prayed with his whole being, which I instinctively felt. At ten o'clock the all-night vigil ended, and all of us, as if after bright matins, joyfully congratulated each other, and for a long time everyone, from the bishop to the last sailor, was in some kind of solemn mood and, apparently, were influenced by the end of the service. Everyone definitely felt and realized that in the last minutes we were in such close, close prayerful communication with Father John, and these minutes were dear to everyone and hardly any of us will erase them from memory. Then tea and dinner were served in the cabin. We all sat together, as if one family, near Vladyka and Father John. It was truly, as in the time of the apostles, a supper of love 329. Everyone was cheerful and happy. Father John was also cheerful and talkative. Soon Arkhangelsk appeared! When we stopped at one o'clock in the morning, despite the fact that there was not even a whistle, there were a lot of people on the pier. An apartment was prepared for Father John by the shipowner Bulychev, but at the request of Father, he spent the night with the bishop. Here I had to say goodbye to the good Archangel bishop, who all the way surprised us all more and more with his spiritual qualities, and, saying goodbye, I sincerely told him: “Really, Vladyka, you are not only in rank, but also in soul, a true bishop of God!” And indeed, it seems, he can boldly say, together with the apostle, to his Archangel flock: imitate me, as I imitate Christ 330. What should I imitate? To this, the people of Arkhangelsk, and most importantly the clergy of the Arkhangelsk diocese (who told me about him and sincerely love him) will themselves answer: “In heartfelt kindness, patience and love for everyone.” On June 5, Trinity Day, there was a church holiday in the Archangel Cathedral. The bishop, co-served by Father John and a whole council of priests, performed a solemn service. After mass, when they venerated the cross, the bishop gave flowers to many. Father John spent this entire day on visits, but came to spend the night with the Bulychevs. The next day, June 6, Father served Matins at the seminary; he and I arrived there early: there was no one in the yard, and the church was still locked. The priest perked up there, quickly, like his own man, ran up the stairs, turned right and rang the bell at the rector's door 331. While they unlocked the church, the seminarians gathered and put everything in order, a good half hour passed. Finally everything was ready. Father John with the rector, joyful, entered the church, prayed to the icons (which he probably prayed to while still a seminarian) and cheerfully greeted the students. They bowed to him, and matins began. The singers sang in both choirs. Father John stood on the choir almost all the time, reading and singing with them. In the church, on the left side, the rest of the seminarians stood in orderly rows; All of them and the singers did not take their eyes off him for almost the entire service. What thoughts were running through their young heads? I think that not one of them sincerely wished in his soul to be at least a little like his great predecessor; after all, the same seminary, as it was in the old days, now teaches and educates them. Grant, Lord, I prayed then, that this blessed seminary would give us at least one more such lamp of God. After Matins, Father John addressed the seminarians with a speech. Unfortunately, there was no one near me who could, even briefly, convey to me his words, and I myself do not hear anything; but she noticed that he spoke passionately, and with what attention his students listened: everyone seemed to freeze, many had tears in their eyes. After the speech, they all hurried to kiss his hand, and he, blessing them all, left the church. Father John celebrated late mass with the bishop at the Arkhangelsk Monastery. The tall, bright, large church made a joyful impression on me. The bishop's choristers sang on the left choir, and the students of the diocesan school sang on the right. Before mass, Father approached them, greeted them affectionately and talked to them; their almost childish pink faces shone with joy. Since last year, this church has been under renovation; on this day there was a solemn raising of the cross to the main dome. After mass, Vladyka, Father John and numerous clergy left the church and a water-blessing prayer was served by the Vladyka in front of the western doors. The prepared huge cross, all tied with ropes, was sprinkled three times with holy water and, with the ringing of bells while singing: “Save, Lord, Thy people,” it quietly began to rise higher and higher. I remembered here how two weeks ago, also quietly, solemnly in Sura, the holy cross descended on us, and the words from the canon of the Holy Cross involuntarily came to mind: “The cross rises, and the spirits of the air ranks fall. The cross descends, and everyone is horrified by wickedness, like seeing the power of the cross like lightning” 332. On this day, Father John at 4 o’clock in the afternoon went to Matigora to visit his sister A.I. 333 From all sides, Arkhangelsk residents flocked to see off their dear fellow countryman. Father John arrived on the ship with the bishop, and here we completely said goodbye to the good bishop, who left me with the kindest memories. When we drove away from the pier, Father crossed himself with visible pleasure and admired the cross that had just been raised today, which, all carved and gilded, shone like heat high in the air under the bright rays of the sun, and for a long time it, like a star, saw us off. The steamer was again Makarov's; It is so dear to me from the memories of last year’s trip on it. In addition to Makarov’s son and daughter, several Arkhangelsk residents also went with Father to Kholmogory; Father John talked with them almost all the way, and how much joy and mental health he brought them with his conversation! Towards midnight, which was as bright as noon, we began to approach Kholmogory, and we were the first to be greeted by the famous and indigenous inhabitants of this district - the Kholmogory cows, who, as if wanting to show off, marched pompously to the river bank. Father cheerfully admired this large, beautiful breed, which we, in Russia, seem to rarely see very often. For more than two hours, the steamer in sight of Matigora walked back and forth, trying to land on the shore, and all without success; Almost halfway up the river the water was almost waist-deep. Finally, the boat was lowered, and Father and I, leaving everyone accompanying us on the ship, safely sailed to the shore, where Father John’s horse had been waiting for a long time. At 3 o'clock in the morning we reached Matigora. Needless to say, with what heartfelt joy the kind old lady and her husband met their dear great “Brother”. They expressed their cordiality so unpretentiously, patriarchally and at the same time sincerely that for the three days I spent with them, I felt at home, under my own roof. At 6 o’clock in the morning, Father John rose to serve matins and mass, at which he deigned me to receive communion of the Holy Mysteries, for which I thanked God with all my heart. The church in Matigora, in honor of the Resurrection of Christ, is very interesting: on July 10 last 1894 it turned two hundred years old 334 . He is tall and fair; five-tier iconostasis; The icons in it are much older than the temple and were moved here from the old church in the village of Shiltsov, and are distinguished by the antiquity of their writing. The local image of the Mother of God “The Burning Bush” is especially remarkable in painting. The bells were also moved from the same church; the main one, 30 poods, has a Greek inscription, the other, 17 poods, is broken and completely blackened with age. Last year, Father John climbed the bell tower and struck each bell himself, testing the ringing. After dinner, for which many of Father John’s relatives had gathered, he went somewhere and, having rested, went out for a ride again. I was amazed to see my dear Father on some kind of two-wheeled carriage, incomprehensible to me, in which I have to sit, holding my knees almost to my chest, because instead of a seat there was a pile of hay and a pillow, and I thought what the St. Petersburg admirers who ride Father in carriages of thousands would say if they saw him in such a biblical chariot, which, judging by the pictures, looks a little like Elijah’s chariot the prophet, in which he was taken to heaven; only that chariot was of fire, and this one was the most ordinary, wooden. But the truth must be told: Father sat in this carriage with noticeably greater pleasure than in the St. Petersburg carriage. There he is forever under the escort of a whole crowd of people, who press and squeeze him from morning to night; here he was completely at ease and, apparently, enjoyed this freedom. Nowhere do I see him as cheerful and calm as in Arkhangelsk Palestine: there he has everything to himself. Having finished riding, he walked around the house for a long time; no one bothered him. I also went for a walk to the churchyard and vividly remembered our walk last year with Father John at this place. Then, among the graves, his special attention was paid to the slab, the inscription of which reads as follows: “Under this stone lies the ashes of the priest, Alexy Poromov, who died in 1826 on July 27; priested in Matigora for 16 years; made two trips on ships from Arkhangelsk to Kronstadt; for 1812 he received a pectoral cross.” Now, I thought, God has raised up another priest who makes annual trips from Kronstadt to Arkhangelsk, and how beneficial and beneficial these trips are for the Arkhangelsk province! The next day, June 8, the abbess of the Kholmogory monastery Seraphima sent horses for Father, and we went there (five miles from Matigora). Father John served matins and mass at the monastery in the newly decorated church. Towards the end of the mass, I remembered that today in Yaroslavl we are celebrating a bright celebration of the Yaroslavl Icon of the Mother of God and the memory of the holy noble princes Vasily and Konstantin, the Yaroslavl wonderworkers, whose relics rest in the cathedral. Father John accurately guessed my thoughts, came out of the altar and with a gentle look handed me a large prosphora, as if he had given it to me for the sake of the holiday. Then the old abbess invited Father to her cell; He dined with her and rested. Mother asked me to spend the night with her, saying that Father John would serve in the cathedral tomorrow; but I didn’t have the courage to part with him, and I followed him and drove off to Matigora. And she did a great job: everyone at home went on a visit, and we spent the entire evening almost alone. Father was in such a calm mood; He gathered the little children around him, seated them on the sofa and began to drink tea from his hands, admiring the pleasure with which they drank sweet tea. At 6 o'clock in the morning, horses again came from Kholmogory for Father, this time he went to matins and mass in the cathedral. In last year’s description, I said that Arkhangelsk bishops are buried in this cathedral; Now, at the end of the Liturgy, Father John, in the concelebration of other priests, solemnly celebrated a requiem mass for them, among which he himself walked around the inside of the church and covered all the tombs. It was touching to see this memorial service: Father John served with a special reverent feeling, and it seemed as if his soul, along with the singing, ascended to heaven. I didn’t hear anything, I just looked at his lips and didn’t feel at all that I was on the ground; It’s as if he took my soul somewhere, above all earthly things... After mass, Father made several visits, and again came to the abbess for dinner. Then the rest of Father John’s companions appeared from Sura on carbass 335 with their things, and we, having said our heartfelt farewells to the kind old abbess and her nuns, set off for the ship at 3 o’clock in the afternoon. A few hours later we were met by Bulychev’s steamer “Vychegda”. When Father John and we moved onto it, the Arkhangelsk residents who accompanied him on the Makarov steamship cried, parting with their dear Father. He poured a lot of consolation and tranquility into their souls in these short days! Right there at Ust-Pinega we said goodbye to the Pinega River, which, pouring its sky-blue streams into the Northern Dvina on its left side, modestly makes its way near the shore, as if afraid to interfere with the majestic but muddy Dvina waves. Bulychev provided Father John with the entire 1st class; and here we were with Father John for almost six days. These days were precious and irreplaceable! They say that there is no complete happiness on earth, but, being close to Father John, one can confidently say: “There is!” By his closeness, through prayer to God, he can bring everyone closer to Him and infuse into their souls deep faith in the Lord, hope in His mercy and love for God and neighbor; and this, in my opinion, is true happiness on earth! Almost all the way, Father John looked through and put his writings in order. Looking at the solid volumes of his works, I could not resist and simply remarked to him once: “And how, Father, could you come up with so many books full of deep edification!” To this he smiled and answered just as simply (as they told me): “Little by little, little by little - that’s how much it has accumulated!” Lord, I thought, how great, holy and at the same time difficult are the duties of priests. They were given the command by God Himself: preach the word, insist in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and edification, 336 and they, to the best of their ability and ability, on behalf of the Church, teach and ask us, for our own salvation, to live like a Christian. How do we listen to them? While they are teaching us, we listen, and when they finish, we get out of our heads, justifying ourselves by saying that you never know what they (that is, the priests) say or write there, you can’t change everything and you can’t listen again; and we turn, in the expression of the holy Apostle Peter, like a dog to vomit and a washed pig to mud 337, to our heartlessness, hypocrisy and other passions and vices. What can we expect for our indifference? To this the Lord Himself answers in the Holy Gospel: everyone who knows the will of God and does not fulfill it will be beaten many times 338. God save us from this sentence! Let us more firmly remember the words of the apostle that it is not the hearers, but the doers of the law who will be justified before God 339 . While I was thinking this way, Father John was completely concentrated in his work. At midnight we approached Krasnoborsk; there the villagers again greeted Father by singing: “It is worthy to eat, as truly...”; Father John listened to them with a reverent look, bowed to them and said: “Thank you, brothers and sisters, for your attention and zeal towards me!” They answered him with bows and accompanied him with harmonious singing: “Now you release your servant, O Master” 340. Here those wonderful moments that so amazed me three years ago were repeated again: the dawn was bright, light, and the entire appearance of Father John (who was apparently completely concentrated in prayer) was illuminated by it. On June 12, at noon, we began to approach Ustyug the Great, and my heart began to beat joyfully at the sight of this wonderful ancient city with numerous churches of ancient elegant architecture, which were somehow all grouped on the embankment, like the Moscow Kremlin. There Father John was met by a mass of people who flocked like birds to the pier, and was immediately taken to the city. His niece and I 341 and, with his permission, went to the church where the relics of Saint Procopius, Christ the Fool for the Fool, the Ustyug Wonderworker 342 are buried under cover. The church is old, but it has just been restored; tall, light, with a brightly gilded iconostasis. The canopy over the tomb is especially original. It is gilded, with life-size angels sitting on it in all corners, their legs dangling; You just expect them to fall on our heads. After praying at the holy relics, we left the church. Here I involuntarily drew attention to a five-pound gray stone lying on a pedestal in front of the entrance to the church. He, says legend, is one of those stones that fell from a thundercloud, which one day, during the life of Saint Procopius, gathered over Ustyug, but through his prayer it passed by and, 20 miles away, burst into a terrible hail of stones, which destroyed a huge forest. With sincere pleasure, I drove through the streets of the city. Everything there breathes with dear antiquity. At 4 o'clock Father John arrived on the ship. The people of Ustyug saw him off cordially. By nightfall we admired the marvelous panorama of the mountains, the so-called town of Opoki. On one side of the river, a rock rises vertically above the water by 50 fathoms (they say), its top is covered with dense forest; and on the other side, at the top of a mountain almost the same height, there is a village with a beautiful white church. Here the mountains go either in ridges endlessly receding into the depths, covered with forests, or in some bizarre cliffs, painted by the hands of nature to resemble marble in different colors, exactly like a painted picture of a Chinese pagoda. Father John could not stop looking at these marvelous views and said: “How beautifully the Lord created everything! What architect would build something like that!” Indeed, God’s creativity is marvelous! It is a pity that many Russians disdain nature in Rus' and go abroad to admire it, while in Russia there are many places of wonderful, inexpressible beauty. Such Russians, indeed, as the proverb goes, “travel seven miles to eat jelly,” when this “jelly” at home is much better and tastier than that abroad, as evidenced by the road from Vologda to Sura. In Ustyug, many new passengers boarded the ship; many of them, apparently, were traveling only to have the opportunity to talk with Father John, and he spoke attentively and for a long time to everyone who turned to him. Quite a few poor people were traveling; he fed them all the way and gave them money; He prayed over the sick, and with what love and care he did all this - as if they were all his relatives. Especially one “damaged” one touched everyone: she was brought onto the ship and laid on the deck, but as soon as Father John passed by her, she began to break down badly, and she began to scream terribly. Father John, leaving the cabin, grabbed her tightly with his arms. She began to beat even harder and scream: “I’m afraid, I’m afraid!” “It’s not you who are afraid, but the demon in you who is afraid,” said Father John. “Who spoiled you?” The woman began to call out a name. “The Lord will heal you, but he will punish her,” said Father and, taking her head with both hands, he began to pray without words, but fervently, raising his eyes to the sky. As he prayed, the woman became quieter and only occasionally frantically clung to him with her hands. At the end of the prayer, Father John, as they told me, said in a particularly strong, sovereign tone: “Oh, come out, spirit of malice! In the name of the Lord I command you, come out!” The woman fell to the floor as if dead... and Father John went to the wheelhouse and began to read the Gospel. This soul-stunning scene made a strong impression on the passengers; many were crying... At that moment my attention was diverted by another patient; but the next day and further I saw that woman, although weak, but healthy and calm. On June 13, in the evening we stopped in Totma; Father only went out to the pier for half an hour. Again, the venerable elder, the Most Reverend Nathanael, who was, they say, two times Bishop of Arkhangelsk 343 came on board the ship to see Father John. But on the ship and on the pier there was such a crush of people, who ardently wanted, if not to receive a blessing, then at least to look at Father John, that the Bishop did not manage to talk with Father for even five minutes. June 14 was the last day of our trip on the ship. Each blow of the steamship wheels on the water (which, although I cannot hear with my ears, I clearly feel with my body) resonated painfully in my heart, because it brought me closer to the moment of separation from Father John, which I expressed to him. Father took a pencil and wrote to me: “In faith in the Lord, in prayer, in worship, in a virtuous life, all our goodness.” At 9 pm we arrived in Vologda. Here Father John was met by a countless number of people. It seems that all of Vologda was there. The priest from the wheelhouse greeted everyone, waving his hat. The governor and the mayor 344 appeared on the ship, and they immediately took him to the city. All of Father’s companions fled to visit their friends. I, too, although I have good friends there, but out of grief that I had lost my sunshine, and it was painful to look at the white light, I buried myself in the corner where Father John used to be, and cried all night. On the morning of June 15 we moved to the station. There were two separate carriages for Father John, and we arranged everything there before his arrival. At 12 o'clock Father John arrived amid a sea of ​​heads, and soon the train began to move. For a long time, kind, warm-hearted residents of Vologda watched the quietly departing train, in the window of the carriage of which they saw Father John blessing them. There were crowds of people at all stations; but Father rested for the first time, and then during stops he blessed everyone from the window of the carriage. I was especially interested in the scene at one station: two boys, about seven or eight years old, barefoot, ragged, could not get to the window of Father John, ran away and, climbing on some boards, began to take turns lifting each other in their arms. I was moved to tears by the attention and reverence with which their black faces looked at the window they cherished: it is clear that their children’s hearts felt that they were seeing him, Father John, dear to everyone, about whom they had apparently already heard a lot. Approaching Danilov, Father said goodbye to us and, seeing my grief, said: “The Lord has a lot of mercy, He will comfort you!” This was his last word to me: soon the train stopped. In Danilov, he got out of the carriage among the masses of people, rode off somewhere on horseback, and I returned to Yaroslavl. On June 18, our Yaroslavl diocesan Jonathan School held an annual act 345. Our bishop had invited Father John to this celebration even earlier. At 9 o'clock in the morning the good news spread through the school: Father John had arrived! And indeed, from the other end of the courtyard, since the front porch was besieged by a crowd of people, Father John appeared and entered the apartment of the teacher of the law, priest O.M. T. 346 (He arrived from Tolga by boat, and crowds of people and a carriage were waiting for him at the station beyond the Volga.) A few minutes later, he left there and went to the school’s house church. Seeing him, all the pupils joyfully greeted him with the words (sincere thanks to the kind boss M.A. Stanislavova: although I was next to Father John all the time, due to my deafness I did not hear anything; she very kindly later wrote down for me all the words of Father John, which I have the opportunity to share with readers): “Hello, Father! Thank you for visiting!” - “Hello, dear ladies! Glad to see you!” - they heard from him in response to their heartfelt greeting. “You are a nursery of spiritual flowers, living flowers of the garden of Christ,” Father John said, caressing them, “today, dear young ladies, you have a holiday, a celebration, and I came here to share it with you, let’s go and pray to the Lord together.” All the disciples, without exception, cried with joy as they received his blessing. “And here is the church of the Lord!” – he said somehow solemnly. Indeed, this church in the name of the Intercession of the Mother of God amazes with its beauty: tall, bright; finely carved American cedar iconostasis; all icons are picturesque. Then those present in the church rushed to him, and he, blessing them, walked to the pulpit and, venerating the icons, went to the altar. All the students who had completed the course, already in light, non-uniform dresses, stood on the right choir. Suddenly, Father John came out of the southern doors to them on the choir: “Will you sing?” – he asked them affectionately. “We, Father,” they answered. “Now you are becoming like the Angels serving at the Throne of the Most High,” he said, blessing them. I was moved to tears by the heartfelt joy with which the pupils caught the hand blessing them. Everyone was definitely crying. Soon the Reverend Jonathan arrived. He was greeted with the singing of “It is Worthy to Eat,” and the Liturgy began. This service was somehow especially solemn. Together with Bishop and Father John, the archimandrite and a whole council of priests served 347. After the mass and prayer service, everyone headed to the assembly hall, where, following the chant “To the Heavenly King,” the pupils sang a wonderful hymn to Saints Cyril and Methodius: “Slavs, with a high song we will honor the Slavic apostles,” and then the actual act began with the reading of reports. On the table at which the founder of the school, His Eminence Jonathan, Father John and the governor were sitting, were laid out the Gospels, certificates and icons, which the bishop had previously ordered from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. After the reading, the bishop stood up and, turning to the pupils, said: “Well, beloved pupils, you are now entering a new life, be guided by the example of that saint whose name each of you bears!” - and began to bless them in turn, and each received from his hands an icon of the Angel of his name. I was touched by the caring love of our good ruler for his pets: the icons are small, but beautifully crafted, all in a silver-gilded robe. Together with the bishop, Father John distributed the Gospels in excellent binding, and the governor distributed certificates. When everything was distributed, the pupils sang the assembly song “With the bright joy of grief, greet the solemn day!”, and the act ended with the hymn “God Save the Tsar!” The Bishop and the guests went to the boss’s rooms, where they were offered tea and breakfast. After which we all went into the garden; there were relatively few people, and Vladyka and Father John walked freely and sat in the gazebo; all the time the pupils, like bees, surrounded them and sang. Between conversations, the bishop asked Father John: “Why are the people so eager to come to you: I think it’s not easy for you?” To this Father John answered seriously and with a deep sigh: “What to do! I am a sinful man, but this is the grace of God.” Having said this, he thought... Soon lunch was served and everyone went to the dining room. Passing by the hall where the pupils were, Father John asked them: “What did you read the Gospel about today?” “About Martha and Mary,” they answered. "What was Maria doing?" - “I listened to the word of God and tried to fulfill it!” - “What did Martha do?” – he asked again. “I also listened to the word of God and did housework!” - they answered him. “So you imitate them,” said Father. According to the established order at the school, on this day all the students who completed the course had lunch with the bishop, the headmistress and their guests, and so it was this time. Lunch was served on four tables; The first student was seated opposite the bishop, near Father John, and he, noticing that she was not eating anything, said: “Why, dear young lady, are you not eating anything?” “She’s getting ready to recite poetry to the Eminence, so she’s worried,” the boss, who was sitting next to him, answered for her. Father John turned to the bishop and said: “Vladyka, the young lady is preoccupied, she’s getting ready to tell you poetry and that’s why she’s not eating anything!” To this the bishop replied: “Well, let her get rid of her worries and speak now!” Pupil S. stood up and with feeling recited a truly beautiful poem: Most Reverend Bishop, Our good shepherd and father! Accept farewell greetings from us, Hello grateful hearts! The last day of separation has come With you, our dear shepherd, And the hour is near when we will appear For the last time we are in front of you! We bring you gratitude For everything you have done for us. You gave us all an education. You kept us under a good roof, He prayed for us before the throne, May God send us good things! But if there were misfortunes, - You didn’t leave us in them either. And you took part in them, “Study, children, and work,” - More than once you told us here, And a word of truth into our souls You saw off with meek affection. Feeding us holy love. You also taught us, To live like the God of love Our whole life is in your shelter Our minds strived for science here, And the heart is for the knowledge of good. Love and meekness were instilled in us Like a bright ray of sunshine! God grant that everything that was suggested here And in our lives it remained Time has flown by forever... Now we all have to go back Go where your relatives are waiting! And in a new life, in a new world God will send us all kinds of things; He will bear his cross in this life. But we are without fear, but with hope Let us ascend into this unguarded space: Your blessing, father Our entrance here will be illuminated! A faithful guide will be here, And work, prayer and humility Everything in life can please! So. we must leave We must enter into another life; They must say goodbye to you, father; Thank you, lord, For all your concerns about us, May the Creator send for them And a bright Angel, an Angel of God. And your life is for the good of your neighbors May it last for many years! You should have seen with what attention Father John listened, with his head bowed; it was as if he was afraid to utter even one word. At the end of the reading, he turned to the speaker and asked: “Well, dear young lady, did you compose these poems yourself?” “Herself,” she answered. “I really liked them - keep in your soul the feelings you just expressed!” At the first toast to the Tsar, almost everyone present sang in chorus “God Save the Tsar!” During the toast to Father John, one of the pupils, on behalf of all of them, sincerely thanked him for making their holiday happy with his presence, and wished him many years to come. “And I wish you all many summers and happiness in your new life!” - he answered. After lunch, Father began to say goodbye to everyone, and then I had to finally say goodbye to him. All the students surrounded Father John, trying for the last time to receive his blessing, and earnestly asked him to pray for their parents and their beloved singing teacher, regent of the bishop's choir, priest M.V., who had been lying in bed seriously ill for two weeks. Father John promised them to visit the sick man himself, which he immediately fulfilled; from the school he went to the cathedral house to see the sick man; While serving a prayer service, he prayed for his recovery with the words: “Lord! Rise up Your servant, the priest, who diligently sings Your glory!” After this, Father greatly patted his sore chest and, encouraging him, wished him to sing the glory of God for many more years. In front of a huge crowd of people, Father John left by boat, as I was told, first to Uglich, and then to Saratov. On June 20, I visited the sick regent and found him, although weak, but already on his feet; On June 25, I accidentally met him on the street walking from the bishop’s house home (a distance of about a mile), cheerful and healthy; he himself told me earlier: “I sincerely believed that through the prayer of Father John the Lord would give me health”; here on it the words of the Savior were fulfilled: according to your faith it will be 348 for you! The journey of the father of Archpriest John Ilyich Sergiev, the shepherd of Kronstadt, to his homeland in the village of Sura, Arkhangelsk province Pinega district in 1897 Going on a regular trip to his homeland in the village of Sura, our deeply revered and dear Father, the worthy Archpriest Father John of Kronstadt, on May 16 told me to board his ship before him, which I did, sincerely rejoicing that for the fifth time God was bringing me to accompany Father John on his dear Sura 349. On May 26, at 6 o’clock in the morning, the steamship “St. Nicholas the Wonderworker”, intended for the Sursk parish trusteeship 350. Having placed our luggage and put everything in order, we began to wait for Father John. From three o'clock on the shore and pier on Shlisselburgsky Avenue, a mass of people began to gather, wanting to see off the shepherd dear to everyone. At four o'clock Father John arrived on the small steamer "Lubezny" and, without leaving it, blessed all those gathered and, bowing to them, sailed on; it was followed by the steamer "St. Nicholas the Wonderworker." Finally, at 8 o’clock in the evening, Father moved onto his ship, which we were incredibly happy about. Father John was extremely tired from the daily bustle that surrounded him from morning to night and, stepping onto the ship with visible pleasure, he said, as they told me (I am deaf): “Thank God; Finally I’m on my ship!” - and was very happy and cheerful. At 10 o'clock we stopped for a few minutes in sight of Shlisselburg, where a priest and several officers came to see Father in a boat. Here, behind the Shlisselburg Fortress, to the left, the vast Ladoga Lake opened up, and to the right, the great “Mariinskaya System” began - the first Novoladoga Canal, along which our steamer went. For a long time I was extremely interested in the said system, and now I admired with true delight this great waterway, created by the hard work of human hands, and its banks, completely covered with forests, meadows and very rarely encountered settlements. At 6 o'clock in the morning on the 27th we stopped at the Shaldikha pier. From there, Father John went on horseback three miles away to serve Matins and Mass in the village of Putilovo. It was raining, but it didn’t stop a lot of people from gathering there. Many came there from St. Petersburg. Soon "St. Nicholas the Wonderworker" went further, and Father A.F., the mayor of the city of Vytegra, invited him for a ride. Loparev on his small cozy steamer “Shestovets”, which kept coming with us from St. Petersburg itself. At 4 o'clock Father John again boarded his ship together with Mr. Loparev, who remained with Father until Vytegra. Luckily for me, he turned out to be very kind and friendly. He kindly explained to me all the areas that interested me. At 8 o'clock in the evening we passed the city of Novaya Ladoga. The shore was strewn with people who ran after the steamer along the shore for a long time. Father John greeted everyone from the deck, taking off his hat and blessing. Here, having passed the Volkhov River, we headed along the Sessky Canal. At 12 o’clock at night, near the village of Ses, beautifully nestled on the corner of the bank, having passed the river of the same name, we entered the Svirsky Canal, from which at 4 o’clock in the morning on the 28th we emerged into the wide Svir River, very similar to Sheksna. Here the St. Petersburg province ends and the village of Sermiksa begins our still wild, unique Olonets province with its almost impenetrable swamps and forests. The banks of the Svir are mostly covered with forests or small woodlands; fields and meadows are less visible; The shores are mostly sloping, but in some places there are picturesque mountains overgrown with dense forest. But villages and hamlets are common. By two o'clock in the afternoon we passed the small town of Lodeynoye Pole, standing on the plateau to the right; it has only one church of modest appearance, standing in the middle of the town. Behind Lodeynoye Pole the famous Svir rapids begin; there are ten of them, and the main ones - “Sigivets”, “Purkhovets”, “Medvedets” and “Govsky” - are said to be very dangerous for ships. They consist of piles of stones going from the bank to the middle of the river. The water in the rapids, spinning, rages strongly, causing the ship to shake. At 4 o'clock we passed the large village of Vazhiny; In it, Father John was greeted with the ringing of bells. Crowds of residents came ashore; On the porch of the open church stood the clergy in full vestments. The priest from the wheelhouse prayed to the church, and the ship passed by without stopping. At 5 o'clock in the morning on May 29 we approached the large village of Voznesenye. There was almost no one on the shore, and Father John freely went on foot to the church located not far from the shore to serve Matins and Mass. But when the residents found out about his arrival, they rushed into the church at once, and at the end of the service it took us a lot of effort to get out of it. Near the village of Voznesenye, the Svir flows into Lake Onega, which, like a sea, spreads out to our left; but the steamer again headed through the canal, this time the Onega canal, running parallel to the lake for some time. From the moment we left St. Petersburg, the weather was cold, windy, and it rained every now and then; but this did not bother Father much, and he, as usual, spent most of the day and night on the deck or in the wheelhouse. Every day in the evening he gathered us all around him and read the Bible aloud, then explaining in detail what he had read. I bitterly regretted then that I was completely deaf. Each of his words, spoken sincerely from the heart, penetrated directly into the souls of those listening, as they themselves told me, and I myself, looking at his lips, only felt in my heart what he was reading. At 6 o'clock in the evening of the same May 29, having left the canal into the Vytegra River, they began to approach the city of Vytegra itself. There, Father John was greeted very solemnly: bells were ringing in all the churches of the city, and a mass of people stood on both banks. Father John stood on the wheelhouse and, blessing both sides, bowed to the people. The steamer quietly approached the pier, decorated with flags and red material. Numerous clergy and city authorities met Father there. After greeting everyone, he and Loparev went to his house, located three miles from the city. I marveled at the elegant, purely Russian architecture and decoration of this house. It is made of wood, logs, built in the form of an ancient Russian mansion, and everything in it is so cozy, in Russian taste and elegantly arranged that it is rare to find anything like it anywhere. In this spacious house, which sheltered all the gathered guests, Father Demidov, the Olonets governor who had arrived a little earlier than us, met Father, and immediately everyone went to the church-school that Loparev had just built in the nearby village of Shestovets. The building is two-story, wooden; on the top floor there is a small but tall, bright church with an elegant oak carved iconostasis; everything in it is simple, and only the faces of saints in beautiful painting adorn it. To the right of the Royal Doors is the Savior blessing the children; behind Him is the church icon of the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky and the Venerable Alexander of Svirsky; on the left is the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” and the icon of the saints whose names Mr. Loparev’s family bears. During the all-night vigil, 9 priests came out for litia and magnification. It was performed in the middle of the church in front of the church icon and image donated by Mr. Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod K.P. Pobedonostsev, - the icon of the Mother of God “The Sign”, placed on the analogue. There was also a table with altar items for the church being consecrated. The Olonets bishop, due to poor health, could not attend himself, and therefore Father John, at his request, at 9 o’clock in the morning on May 30 began to consecrate the church. Twelve priests and five deacons participated with him. It was necessary to see with what deep reverence and attention Father John performed the consecration. And this ritual is always touchingly touching when the holy throne is dressed like a bride in white vestments, 351 but now this ceremony was somehow even more touching and solemn, at the sight of the fiery prayer of Father John. Every word of the kneeling prayer he read seemed to come from his heart, which had an irresistible effect on everyone present. At the end of the consecration, the diocesan observer priest Father Chukov 352, turning to Father John, said the following with apparent sincerity: Created by the diligence of the revered A.F. 353 Loparev this church is now consecrated by you. The children of the first second-grade parochial school in the diocese now received a new, special, grace-filled means of being raised into perfect men, living under the constant shelter of the Church, in the canopy of the church. Glory and thanksgiving to the Lord! For this, the hearts of all of us who stand at school, caring about the true enlightenment and Christian upbringing of children, rejoice with indescribable joy. Undoubtedly, the heart of the God-loving creator of this holy church, the deeply revered A.F., who devoted so much zeal and love to the benefit of the great cause of enlightening the younger generations, also rejoices with great joy. The hearts of all who recognize the great significance of grace-filled sanctification in the matter of human upbringing also rejoice. The hearts of all of us rejoice, especially because this church (the first and in the first second-grade school of our diocese) was consecrated by a shepherd, a truly evangelically good shepherd, whom all Orthodox Russia (and not only Russia!) considers its prayer book; a shepherd whom the heart is drawn to call “a man of grace.” Let this joy of ours testify to you, venerable Shepherd of Kronstadt, our common complete gratitude to you! Now, after the consecration of the church and almost before the imminent parting, I would like to express to you, Your Reverence, one wish and request. Once the prophet of God Elisha, parting with his teacher, the prophet Elijah, asked him: may the spirit that is in you be in me... This request of the holy prophet, under present circumstances, involuntarily comes to his lips. May that spirit of deep faith, full of hope, fiery and all-encompassing love that distinguishes you - may this spirit be exclusively in the children brought up at this church in the local school, may they be true Christians and honest and useful citizens. We know that, like Elisha then, we are asking a lot. 354 But we hope, but we believe that your prayer will help them with this. Pray, dear Shepherd, for the students of the local school! Pray for all the great and difficult work of true enlightenment! Pray especially for those who, like the God-loving creator of this church, with the same zeal, with the same zeal, come to help in this great matter!” Soon the first Liturgy in the newly consecrated church began, a choir of peasant children sang - future pupils of the school, of whom for the first time it was supposed to accommodate forty people in a dormitory in this very comfortable and spacious school, but with those who come it can accommodate up to a hundred people. After the sacramental verse, Father John preached a sermon on the words of the Gospel: Truly I tell you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven; So whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. “Today, by God’s grace, with the blessing of the Archpastor of Olonets and Petrozavodsk Pavel, we were honored to consecrate the newly built church-school for the glory of God and in the name of the great saints of God - the holy blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky and our reverend and God-bearing father Alexander of Svirsky. This church is intended mainly for children, and precisely so that their education takes place under the constant blessing of grace and the guidance of the Holy Church. Let us pay attention to the words spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ addressed to adults about children: truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not go into the Kingdom of Heaven. Adults, elders and children! Let us all take a lesson from the words of our Heavenly Teacher - Christ the Lord. He teaches everyone humility, simplicity, sociability, trust in truth, righteousness, kindness and obedience, characteristic of children. At the beginning, people sinned with pride, deceit, self-will and disobedience to the Creator, they themselves wanted to be gods without God; as now, many dream that they can study and live prosperously without God, without the participation of the Holy Church in our education and upbringing, under the guidance of one vain, one-sided, worldly learning, which teaches youth to know a lot, but does not want to know and teach youth what is more important and more important than everything, which is, according to the Lord, the only need for 355 human souls, namely, the word of God, which is useful for everything - for learning, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, so that the man of God may be perfect, equipped for every good work 356 This church-school takes upon itself the responsibility to correct this important deficiency in our schools and in all educational institutions, to correct it in its circle, that is, to teach children, mainly, to be good Christians, good obedient children, honest workers - citizens and loyal subjects of their natural King-Father. The goal is true, correct, beneficial! God grant that it be achieved through diligent, correct and friendly training of mentors, and the diligence and success of children. Russia and the Church need just such pets, because only those brought up in faith and piety are the most reliable - and subjects of the Tsar, and faithful children of the Church, and the support of Russia. Earthly wisdom and learning is often crafty, proud, arrogant, perverse, false and goes against the Creator, sometimes it does not want to know Him, attributing everything that exists to some impersonal reason and its own elemental, only imaginary, wisdom - only to itself, to the human mind; exalts him, almost idolizes him, bows to him as an idol and idol, but rejects God's Scripture and Revelation, humiliates him, considers it wrong. Those worldly writers who write only about worldly things and do not say anything about God or speak incorrectly about God and the Church are held in the highest esteem by many pseudo-scientists and unbelievers. For what? Because they say something new, unheard of, invented by themselves, provocative, but we will say - absurd, absurd, senseless. O wise men of the earth, deprived of the wisdom of God! Long ago, God’s Word pronounced His righteous verdict about you and your wisdom: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and reject the understanding of the prudent. Where is the sage? where is the scribe? where is the questioner of this century? Has not God turned the wisdom of this world into foolishness? 357 I confess to You, Father,” says the Lord Jesus Christ, “Lord of heaven and earth, that I hid this from the wise and prudent and revealed it as a child: to her, Father, that I was well pleased with You 358.” So, let us pray to the Lord that He will teach us all uplifting humility - both in life, and in faith, and in virtue, and in science: for humility is the foundation and root of any well-intentioned science. We, according to the apostle, are unable on our own to think about God as from ourselves, but our ability is from God. Amen". At the end of the service, the hospitable owner of the city, Loparev, invited all the guests to his place for a meal. A lot of toasts were proclaimed and speeches were made, but the speech of Governor Mikhail Denisovich Demidov, who, out of an excess of grateful feeling, warmly thanked Father John for his visit to the Olonets province, was especially sincere. Father thanked him heartily for his heartfelt words. For everyone, this day was a bright holiday, everyone was joyful and happy: the street in front of the house was crowded with people from morning to night. On the same day, Father John intended to leave further, but then they announced to him that the steamer “St. Nicholas the Wonderworker”, when checked, turned out to be almost a whole fathom wider than the narrow locks, which from the village of Shestovo are every now and then found on the Mariinsky system almost all the way to Lake Kubenskoye. With regret, Father John left this beautiful and convenient steamship due to the fault, as they said, of its customer, who traveled this way last year with Father John and did not pay attention to the narrowness of the locks. While other ships were called by telegram and talked, Father and I had to sit for two more days with the hospitable Loparev, who with his family, apparently, was glad with all his soul to have such a dear guest and provided him with complete peace. On May 31, Father John served at the Vytegra churchyard; the church was crowded with common people who brought their babies to Holy Communion in large numbers. During the all-night vigil celebrated by the diocesan observer, Father was in the new church-school and, as usual, read the canons and sang with the children in the choir. On June 1, the Day of the Holy Trinity, he performed divine services in the Vytegra Cathedral. The most gratifying impression was made on me by this church, in the name of the Presentation of the Lord, high with choirs on both sides and a pulpit rising several steps above the church platform. On the left side of the choirs, the gymnasium students sang, and, they say, very harmoniously and well. Before Great Vespers, large branches of birch trees were distributed to all the people filling the church, and the whole church instantly turned into a dense grove. It was light, joyful and at the same time touching to look at all the surrounding and complete splendor of the church and the solemn divine service of a whole host of priests, whose vestments were made of gold brocade with green leaves (only one Father John was in white vestments), and a sea of ​​heads among a whole forest of fragrant birch trees, from which, along with the smoking of incense, there was a wonderful aroma in the church. Before the end of the mass, Father John said the word that is included. Come, people, let us worship the Trinitarian Divinity. Stichera on “Lord, I have cried” “This day, the Holy Orthodox Church throughout the world celebrates and triumphs the sending down from Heavenly God the Father to the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ and to all who were with them in the Zion Upper Room of the Holy Spirit, the Lord Life-Giving, Consubstantial and Co-essential with the Father and the Son, who enlightened and renewed them and made them fiery and strong, to carry the sermon about Christ to all the ends of the world and enlighten and renew it with His Divine teaching and saving and terrible miracles. On this day, all the Persons of the Holy Trinity were solemnly and truly revealed to the world: the Father, who sent down His Holy Spirit, the Son, who begged the Father to send Him, and the Spirit, who descended on the apostles in the form of tongues of fire 359 and accomplished their miraculous rebirth, renewal, affirmation, sanctification and deification. The sending of the Holy Spirit completed and sealed the work of the redemption of mankind by the Son of God - the faithfulness of all the verbs and promises of Jesus Christ, who fulfilled His promise, was revealed, and the teaching about the Holy Spirit as True God, Consubstantial and Co-essential with the Father and the Son, One-Powered and One-Glorified and - only from the Father, but not also from the Son, was revealed: for the Son begged the Father to send Him into the world, and if the Son had not gone to the Father, the Holy Spirit would not have come. Holy Trinity, who has so deigned to reveal itself to the faithful, glory to Thee! Now let's talk about the saving, creative and powerful actions of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Church both in the material world and together - about the greatness and power of the entire Holy Trinity. The third Person of the Holy Trinity - the Holy Spirit - descended to earth to continue and accomplish the work of salvation of the human race together with God the Father and the Son: for each Person takes an equal part in our salvation, and when, by the good will of the Father, the Son of God completed the work that the Father gave Him, let him do, and ascended into heaven, without being separated, however, from us, then the Holy Spirit came into the world to continue the work of salvation, and He revives us in the Sacrament of Baptism, and each the Christian soul is the daughter of the Holy Spirit; in anointing, the Holy Spirit sanctifies all our powers and feelings, mental and physical; in repentance, he consoles and absolves the sinner from his sins and reconciles him with God; in the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, by His life-giving power he transforms bread into the Body of Christ, and wine into the Blood of Christ; in marriage, sanctifies the marital union of husband and wife for the natural birth and upbringing of children; in the Blessing of Unction, he resolves the sins of the sick and heals bodily infirmities; in the Priesthood bestows grace on chosen persons to teach the people the Word of truth, perform the Sacraments and worship, and spiritually guide everyone to holy life and eternal salvation. The Holy Spirit preserves the entire Universal Church in truth and Orthodoxy. The Holy Spirit gives sincere prayer, and when we pray fervently, we do it with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives faith to a person, and we cannot sincerely believe in the Lord Jesus Christ without the grace of the Holy Spirit: no one can say the Lord Jesus, but by the Holy Spirit 360, the Holy Spirit is the Life that gives life to everyone; Light and Light Giver; Self-good and Source of goodness; through Him the Father is known and the Son is glorified and known from all; He is the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of reason - just and intelligent; God worships the worthy; Fire comes from Fire, speak, act, share gifts with people. In visible nature, the Holy Spirit dissolves the air, supplies life-giving warmth and illuminates and adorns the entire heavenly realm with the light of the sun, and illuminates the night with the quiet light of the moon and stars; grows from the ground and decorates all plants with countless types of flowers, imparts to them an infinitely varied fragrance, and to the fruits tastes and countless sweets; the entire animal kingdom adorns and gives animals various powers, abilities and arts that surprise man and bring great benefit; multiplies, beautifies and enriches the human race with various natural gifts; gives people the ability to speak different languages ​​and dialects; gives them many different talents; teaches arts and inventions needed in the community; enlightens human minds and hearts; gathers people into well-ordered societies, places kings and rulers and all sorts of authorities over them, and promotes all correct community life, peace, quiet and the generally correct flow of life; disposes people's hearts to mutual love and sympathy; all this and many other good and useful things, without number, are created by the Holy Spirit with the assistance of God the Father and the Son. Thus, we owe every good thing in faith, in life and in nature, both indirectly and directly to the Holy Spirit - God, together with the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit helped all the saints and now helps those who will to achieve holiness and incorruption and eternal life, and He rests in all the saints. Such is the grace of the Holy Spirit in the Church, in the world and in nature. Now let's say something about the greatness, goodness, holiness, wisdom and omnipotence of the entire Holy Trinity. God in the Holy Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - by His sole goodness, by His will and command, created heaven and earth in the beginning and by His omnipotent power contains all creation; With the all-encompassing handful of His hand He holds unshakably the sky with all its luminaries and the earth with its dry land and waters. The Holy Prophet Isaiah speaks thus of the greatness and power of God; All nations are like a drop from a bucket before Him, and are counted like a speck of dust on the scales. Behold, He raises the islands like dust. All nations are considered as nothing before Him - less than insignificance and emptiness are considered by Him 361. Having created the entire world from the four elements, He annually crowns the annual circle with four seasons - spring, summer, autumn and winter - and makes all the beneficial changes in the air. He concluded in the bowels of the earth countless riches and diversity of kingdoms - plants and fossils and all kinds of liquid and solid substances necessary for human life; as the Creator, Father and Wise Owner and Builder, He did not leave in oblivion anything that needed to be foreseen, created and given to people and animals for the benefit of life, so that every mind is amazed at the wisdom, goodness, care and foreknowledge of our Creator and Trustee. But especially the Trinitarian Creator and our God became glorified in the creation of man and in his providence for the human race. Before the creation of man there was an eternal Council in the Trinity, as the Revelation of God told us. God foresaw the fall of man, whom He had to create in His own image and likeness, 362 just as He foresaw the fall of many angels, led by Dennitsa, and conceived a miraculous means for the salvation of the human race: this is an extraordinary embassy to earth, after the fulfillment of times, of His beloved Son in the flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was completed in its time and fulfilled perfectly, and has brought and continues to bear wonderful fruits of the salvation of people, since countless numbers of martyrs and all kinds of saints, through the redemption of the Son of God, have already inherited the abode of paradise, after the struggle and victory over sin and the demonic hordes, and in all centuries, starting from the Nativity of Christ and from His glorious life on earth, suffering, death, resurrection and ascension into heaven, and to this day many have been saved by His wonderful grace and the Holy Spirit; and finally, all the enemies of God and ours will be completely defeated and destroyed according to the immutable word of God, and death itself will be destroyed. The Holy Church was planted on earth by the Son of God - this is a God-established and God-governed society of those saved in Christ, and in it the power and glory of the Holy Trinity constantly manifests itself in the constant revival, enlightenment, confirmation and salvation of believers and those who struggle for their salvation - and the gates of hell will not prevail against it 363. Most Holy Trinity, our God, glory to You always, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen". On this day, Loparev gave a big farewell dinner to Father John. Many guests gathered to say goodbye to the prayer book dear to everyone. At 7 o'clock in the evening, Father rode out, accompanied by Loparev, on horseback to the village of Devyatinnoye, twenty-one versts from the city. The helpful police officer Kachalov kindly invited me to ride with him in a troika. The entire area through which we passed was extremely picturesque; on the right lay a lowland covered with meadows and thickets, among which the Mariinsky system meandered like a ribbon; on the left, for the most part, mountains rose from red clay, whimsically decorated with forests and groves; Often one came across villages huddled at their edges. One thing surprised me: in all the villages, except for the guys, we didn’t meet a soul. But when we arrived in Devyatinnoye before Father John, everything became clear. There, in the church, around it and along the road, the entire population of the villages was present; a huge crowd of people was beautifully colorful in their festive clothes. The school's pupils stood in trellises in the churchyard: boys and girls with bouquets of wild flowers. In the illuminated and quite beautiful church, decorated with trees, the clergy were waiting for Father John. But for some reason he did not visit the church and, stopping for a few minutes at the priest’s house, hurried to the two small ships that were waiting for him, belonging to Messrs. Loparev and the timber merchant Nevorotin. Both of them, the Vytegorsk police officer and us - the four companions of Father John - barely fit on these toy steamboats. At 11 o'clock at night we set off along the lock part of the canal, where at almost every mile we had to stop at the locks while the gates were closed and opened to raise the water. At night we left the Onega Canal and with it the Olonets province, which I really liked for its harsh natural beauty, and entered the Kovzha River in the Novgorod province at 5 o’clock in the morning on June 2. We stopped at Mr. Nevorotin's extensive sawmill with a beautiful house surrounded by a garden. Father immediately left nine miles away, to the village of Ascension, to serve the Liturgy; at 10 o'clock he returned. The young Nevorotina couple greeted Father John very cordially, and during lunch, instead of talking, the choir of school students sang various hymns to the accompaniment of the piano, which Father apparently really liked. All, it seems, of the surrounding population gathered to receive the blessing, and for more than an hour he blessed the people who approached him in order. At 12 noon we went further. The weather was excellent all day, and soon from Kovzha we again entered the Belozersky canal. At 6 o'clock in the evening we passed the ancient, beautiful city of Belozersk, crowned with numerous churches - the place of exile of many famous boyars from the time of Ivan the Terrible. The entire shore and pier were dotted with Belozersk people welcoming Father John, but the ship did not stop here, and a mass of people ran along the shore for a long time, bowing to Father John. He, too, bowed and blessed everyone from the ship. At 8 o'clock in the evening at Chaika 364, leaving the canal in Sheksna, we met the Milyutins' steamship "Orkan" waiting there for Father John. At this time, heavy rain began to fall, and Father stayed overnight on Loparev's ship. At midnight we drove past the Goritsky Monastery, where they were also waiting for Father John, and the gates were open, but he did not stop here either. Having passed from the Sheksna River into the Prince of Oldenburg Canal at 5 o’clock in the morning on June 3, we landed on the open bank. Here the horses were waiting for Father, and he went to serve mass in the village of Georgievskoye, located three miles from the city of Kirillov. It was a wonderful morning, and the city with its ancient monastery, founded by St. Kirill of Belozersky, a contemporary of St. Sergius of Radonezh, stood out sharply in silhouette between the cloudless sky and Lake Siverskoye. We very much regretted that it was not possible, due to lack of time, to visit the monastery and venerate the relics of St. Cyril, especially since on June 9 of this year the five hundredth anniversary of the repose of this saint of God was celebrated. At 9 o'clock Father John returned to the ship, and soon we completely left the great system and, having passed the small Porozovitsa River, at 7 o'clock in the evening we entered Lake Kubenskoye, glorious in ancient times, stretching 60 versts in length and 13 in width. On both sides, between the sky and the water, churches and monasteries could be seen, like white swans, in many of them resting the relics of holy ascetics, who in ancient times hid from worldly fame and rumor in the impenetrable forest jungles and swamps surrounding Lake Kubenskoye. In the middle of it, on a huge stone, like a lighthouse, the ancient Spaso-Kamenny Monastery protrudes from the water. At 8 o’clock in the evening we entered from the lake the beauty Sukhona, which had long been known to me, and soon stopped behind the village of Voskresensky at the long, high above the water, iron bridge of the great Arkhangelsk Railway, also spanned over high embankments. Here Father John was supposed to be received by Mr. Kostrov’s steamship, and we, waiting for him, stayed here overnight. I marveled at the construction of this bridge, without abutment in the middle of the river and with wooden ends; It is built too lively and easily, so that, looking at it, one involuntarily thinks: God save and have mercy from riding in a train over such a bridge. At 8 o'clock in the morning on June 4, Father John served matins and mass in the village of Voskresensky, and despite the pouring rain, crowds of people were waiting for him on the shore and in the church. At one o'clock in the afternoon the steamer "Crimea" arrived, and our dear Father and I immediately boarded it. Kostrov put the entire 1st class at the disposal of Father John, and he felt very comfortable and calm here. At 5 o'clock we stopped for an hour in Vologda. There, almost no one knew about Father John’s arrival, and no one bothered him; and since this ship was not a regular one, there were very few passengers on it. On June 5 in the afternoon we stood in Totma for several minutes, and at 6 o’clock in the morning on June 6 we stopped in Ustyug the Great. There, Father celebrated Matins and Liturgy in the cathedral. The high three-tiered iconostasis of the cathedral amazes the eye with its originality and antiquity. It is all covered with gold carvings and decorated with human-sized statues of Angels. The royal doors are covered from top to bottom with fragments of mirror; In the gold carving, many of the mirror parts have already fallen out. Exactly at 12 o'clock Father left Ustyug. Here the steamer was already flying in the wide expanse of the Northern Dvina, and the darkness of the night disappeared: the nights here are as bright as day, and in this the proximity of the Arkhangelsk province was clearly felt. On the afternoon of June 7, we stopped in Berezniki, and Father went ashore for a few minutes, where a lot of people were waiting for him; With a joyful feeling I admired from here the distant banks of the Northern Dvina. Over the past 6 years, a lot has changed here for the better: where in our first passage in 1891 there were the most wretched, log churches, rickety from old age, now there are slender stone or wooden ones everywhere, and all this is being built and updated everywhere in Rus', and in the Arkhangelsk province in particular, by Father John, who himself admires the fruits of his prayer with visible joy. After all, only his living and fiery prayer for everyone puts tens and hundreds of thousands of rubles into his hands for charitable works. On June 8, at two o’clock in the morning, we stopped in Ust-Pinega, where the Volodins’ steamship, dear to me from my memories, “Verkolets”, was already waiting for Father; On it we rode with the Archangel Eminence Alexander in 1891 to the consecration of the church in Sura and subsequently traveled with Father several times. Having crossed to the “Verkolets”, we turned right and sailed along the bright, beautiful Pinega. In the morning we landed at the village of Polenga, and Father served in its small, log, newly renovated church. It was Sunday. The entire population gathered in church. Somehow my heart felt especially joyful and at peace in this purely rural setting. All nature around was in full beauty and the blossom of the northern spring. The church stands on a small hill; All around it, free meadows spread widely across the hills, behind which the forests merged with the horizon. In the evening we stopped for two hours in the town of Pinega, where Father visited the owner of the ship, Volodin. The weather was excellent and all the Pinezh residents poured out to see off their dear fellow countryman. Here we boarded the ship with the police officer of Pinega Rogachev, Father’s constant and most zealous guardian in all his trips around the Pinega district, and the official for peasant affairs N.F. Znamensky. I was very glad to see these wonderful, kind people who accompanied Father John to Sura and back. That night I didn’t want to go to bed. We drove past the marvelous Pinega Mountains, which, like fairy-tale castles, rose on one side or the other of the river in a whole labyrinth of the most fantastic shapes and outlines. I have already had the opportunity to write in detail about them (see “Russian Pilgrim” for 1893 365). At 10 o'clock in the evening we arrived at the Verkolsky Monastery. All the monastics, with the archimandrite at their head, with the bells ringing, met Father John on the pier and escorted him to the monastery, where he went straight into the old cathedral and, having venerated the relics of St. Artemy, went to inspect the magnificent two-story new cathedral that had just been built and prepared for consecration, from the outside very similar to the church at the site of the Baptism of the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Vladimir in Chersonesus near Sevastopol. Entering the cathedral, Father John stopped and, crossing himself, said: “This is splendor, a real Lavra, and truly an earthly paradise!” A tall five-domed church in the Byzantine style and snow-white, decorated inside and out with paintings; its middle, separating the first floor from the second, is surrounded by a belt, on graceful pillars protruding from the walls, by a beautiful gallery. Above the entrance to the church, as if in the air, in a golden radiance, the image of the Mother of God “The Sign” is placed. From the spacious porch there is a door directly to the lower Church of the Nativity of Christ. It is low, with vaults, but magnificently decorated: a wide three-tiered iconostasis is entirely covered with gold carvings on a gold background. In the first tier there are large-sized icons, in the other two – small ones. All the vaults are painted with the faces of Angels, as if in the clouds, the brightest painting. Two wide staircases, located on both sides of the porch, lead to the upper church in the name of the Dormition of the Mother of God. Entering it, Father John apparently admired the inner grandeur of this church. Large, bright, with high arches, wide, straight, reaching the ceiling, a four-tiered iconostasis, as in the lower church, is all covered with elegant gold carvings on the same background. In the first tier, behind the local icons of the Savior and the Mother of God, there is a whole row of icons of various saints. The second tier contains icons of the twelve feasts; in the third, the holy apostles stand, and in the fourth, the prophets of God; and everything is written in beautiful, light painting. In the middle of the church, a large, massive, three-tiered gilded chandelier descends from the ceiling; On it, better than any decoration, there is an inscription: “The Light of Christ enlightens everyone!” Having examined the entire church, Father and I all headed to the hospitable cells of Father Archimandrite Vitaly 366, where he cordially treated us to dinner. At twelve o'clock the ship set off straight for Sura. That night, too, few people slept, least of all Father John himself. He spent almost the entire night, as bright as day, sitting in the wheelhouse, peering with visible pleasure at the mountains and forests stretching on both sides of Pinega. At 5 o'clock in the morning on the 10th we all gathered around him. At the end of the sixth hour, when we went around the cape on the left side, the Sura churches of God were the first to open before our eyes, and behind them all of Sura unfolded at once. Father, taking off his hat, joyfully crossed himself; at the same time, remembering his childhood, he said: “When I was a nine-year-old child walking home from the Arkhangelsk school 367, then on this cape, seeing my native Sura, with joy and tears, I began to pray on my knees.” As soon as we saw the steamer in Sur, a solemn ringing of bells immediately reached us from there, and all the Suryans rushed to run to the pier. On long walkways protruding far into the river and lined with birch trees, there was a platform covered with red cloth. Among the greenery of birch trees and flags, an arch rose beautifully, also draped in red fabric with a metal wreath at the top and with the monogram of Father John under the crown. In front stood the clergy and school staff with all the students in the school. When the steamer docked at the pier, Father, taking off his hat, said: “Hello, Suryans: fathers, mothers and children!” They answered him in one voice: “Hello, Father, Father Archpriest!” - “Here, brothers! - he spoke again, “I was here last year, and again God blessed me to come to Sura!” At this time, the clergy and singers sang: “Many years!” - and Father, walking among the pupils of the school, placed in trellises on the walkways, went straight to the church, where Matins immediately began, followed by mass. After tea, he went by steamer 60 miles further than Sura to the village of Nyukhchu to see the church. The further we drove along Pinega, the more picturesque and wild its shores became (as did the inhabitants of these shores). Forests and mountains, also overgrown with forest, either moved towards the water itself, thus forming a real boulevard, or, moving away, gave way to small clearings with wretched villages. At 6 o'clock in the evening we stopped at a steep bank, where a large crowd of peasants stood, looking with all their eyes at an unprecedented curiosity - a steamboat. When Father said to them: “Hello, guys!”, they, standing rooted to the spot, did not utter a word. He says again: “Hello!” Then one man jumped out of the crowd and shouted: “What do you want, Father?” He said for the third time: “Hello!” – and laughed. It was funny for all of us to look at a whole crowd of people standing motionless, like a herd of sheep, unable to say a word and only looking at the ship with curiosity. Here Father traveled three miles to the village of Sultsy, where a wooden church had recently been built to replace the old one, which had been closed several years earlier due to its disrepair 368 . At 9 o’clock we arrived in Nyukhcha, also located three miles from the coast. Here Father was met by people led by a priest and bowing. We drove to the village in impossible carts through terrible mud. The Church in the name of the Hodegetria Icon of the Mother of God is extremely poor and wretched, 369 but it is now being renovated; the new, small iconostasis is decorated with carvings. Having prayed and venerated the holy icons, Father, having examined the entire church, went to the priest’s house. Here we were struck by the squalor of the furnishings of the home of a servant of the Holy See, burdened with a huge family. Leaving him a generous contribution, Father John hurried to the ship. The crowd of people who had gathered rushed to run after him, pushing and dropping each other, and everyone gathered on the shore. Blessing them, Father said: “Farewell, Nyukhites!” They answered: “Goodbye, Father, thank you for visiting us.” He asks: “Do you have a school?” - “No, there is one 30 miles away in Sultsy.” - “It’s bad, brothers!” - said Father. “Yes, we would be happy to go to school, but there are no funds,” they answered. At this time, on the cape of the opposite shore, in the tall grass, a whole detachment of children gathered, bowing to the revered, most worthy shepherd. Blessing them from the ship, Father said: “Farewell, children, the Lord God bless you!” By two o'clock in the morning we returned to Sura. I was very pleased that I was still able to see a new hopeless and wild corner of our vast north. Father decided to spend two days in Sura and from morning to night he was busy, giving orders and inspecting everything down to the last detail, and was apparently pleased with everything. Yes, and there was something! Thanks to the conscientious activities of those chosen to serve in Sura, it is now difficult to recognize it. The main innovations here, which especially pleased Father, were: a post office and a public shop 370. The latter did a true good deed by ridding the Suryans of the kulak-shopkeepers who sold all kinds of rot at exorbitant prices. The entire church is now painted in the Russian style and decorated with paintings depicting the last days of the Savior’s life on earth. A large two-story house was built almost next to the church fence. The first floor contains: a classroom, a girls' bedroom and a teacher's room. At the top there is a library and a room for Father John. But what pleased me most of all was that the ancient wooden church in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and the house in which Father John spent his childhood, which had been dismantled for three years, were now reassembled and placed - the first in the cemetery, and the second at the place of his birth. To protect it from the influence of bad weather, they made a kind of case over the house, very similar to the one above the house of Peter the Great in St. Petersburg. On June 13, after mass, we left Sura, the inhabitants of which, without exception, stood on the bank and, knee-deep in the river, saw off their transformer and benefactor with zealous bows and shouts of “Hurray!” and the ringing of bells that did not stop for a long time. At 4 o'clock the Verkolsky monastery joyfully greeted the dear and eagerly awaited Father John, and soon after his arrival they celebrated the all-night vigil in the new cathedral. Due to his ill health, the Archangel Bishop Ioannikis could not come to the consecration of the church and asked Father John and the rector of the Verkolsky Monastery, Archimandrite Vitaly, to consecrate it. The all-night vigil was celebrated in the upper church, since it was supposed to be consecrated first. The table with the accessories of the consecrated throne stood on the ambo, in front of it, as usual, the divine service was performed. Father John and Father Archimandrite came out for the litia and magnification with a whole cathedral of monastics and white clergy. The service ended at 10 o'clock and at 8 o'clock on June 14 the good news for the consecration began. The consecration of the church was performed by Father Archimandrite with the participation of Father John and nine priests. The procession of the cross first went to the old cathedral, where the father archimandrite, having received an antimension with holy relics on his head on the holy paten, returned to the new cathedral and with a procession of the cross walked around it along the gallery, as if between heaven and earth, which was very original and beautiful. At the end of the consecration, Father John preached a sermon on the apostolic words: You are the church of the living God, as God said: I will dwell in them and walk in them; and I will be their God... Therefore, come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord, and do not touch the unclean; and I will receive you. “Here the apostle speaks of our duty to build within ourselves, in our hearts, the church of God and to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, creating holiness with the assistance of God. Now, with the blessing of His Eminence Ioannikis, Bishop of Arkhangelsk and Kholmogory, the consecration of this majestic and magnificent newly built church has been completed. I thank the Lord, who has made me worthy to take part in the celebration of consecration. Marvelous are God’s fate regarding this monastery! I remember its extreme squalor and poverty: a wooden, dilapidated, low fence surrounded a small stone church in which the relics of the saint of God, the righteous youth Artemy, rest; There were two or three more wooden buildings in this fence. The monastery was run-of-the-mill; its chief was a builder with five or six monks, but he cared little about its improvement, and it was heading towards complete decline. How many times has it been destroyed by fire in the past centuries and renewed again! But finally, from half of this century, the time of revival and glory is coming for her. By the will of the archpastors of Arkhangelsk, pious and zealous hieromonks began to be appointed as rector of her, who began to take care of her well-being, and in the fifties, the hieromonk of the Kozheozersk monastery 371 was made rector of her, later elevated to the rank of abbot, Theodosius 372, an educated, pious, enterprising man, a zealot for splendor and all deanery, who, with his reasonable, tireless efforts, built a high stone fence near it, and in it - a majestic bell tower with a euphonious ringing and with a church in this last one; He also built a wooden church with a fraternal dining room and a building for the brethren with a large wooden room for the abbot, decorated and enriched the monastery, and for his zealous labors and pious life he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite. Soon this monastery was transformed from a mediocre one by the Holy Synod into a first-class one, at the request of Bishop Nathanael, and its abbots began to be elevated to the rank of archimandrite. Its current rector, Archimandrite Vitaly, a zealot for splendor, first erected a stone building for the rector, and now a real majestic church, and now it shines and flaunts - firstly, with the grace of God, which has now infused into it after sanctification by the Holy Spirit, and then with external splendor and beauty. Now this church is the earthly sky; this is the house of God and this gate of heaven. Here the Providence of God and the eyes of the Lord will be open day and night on this church and on those entering it. Now every day a terrible and saving Sacrifice will be offered to God the Father - the Most Pure Body of Christ, broken for us, and the Life-giving Blood, shed for us and for many 373 and taught to us for the cleansing of sins, for sanctification, renewal and deification. Another holy place of saving sacrifice has increased on earth; a place of refuge has yet appeared for Christian souls seeking reconciliation with God and union with Him. Thanks be to the Lord, who cares for our salvation and reveals to us new sources of His grace. So, the new church is ready, finished, decorated, consecrated, scented with incense, illuminated by burning lamps; from now on, the Lord sat on His throne, but where is “the coming of the King, and the order comes,” 374, according to the expression of the church song, that is, the main and closest Royal ranks, the Royal retinue. And here, in this house of the Heavenly King, all the Heavenly ranks were established, and firstly, the Most High of all creatures, the Queen of Heaven and Earth Herself, our Most Holy Lady Theotokos, the holy Archangels and Angels surrounding the throne of God during the celebration of the Liturgy and the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ; holy patriarchs, prophets, apostles, saints, martyrs, saints, unmercenaries, righteous and all saints - the entire Heavenly Church, represented figuratively in the holy iconostasis! But is everything here? Is everything ready here for the Heavenly King - what would He like to constantly see and hear and smell here? No, not all. Here our inner spiritual purity and splendor are lacking, our spiritual, heartfelt, holy correspondence with the shrine of the church and the holiness of the Lord and the saints who graciously reside here is lacking. After all, for us and for you, brothers, who struggle here, and for all who visit the churches of God, this church was created. True, we adorn ourselves in appearance, but the glory of the Tsar’s daughter, that is, the Christian soul, lies within, in her inner holiness and beauty; We are present here with our bodies, but are we always present with all our thoughts, with all our hearts, with all our good will; Do our hearts always burn with faith and love for the Lord? Are our souls always fragrant with humility, meekness, purity, chastity, mercy and truth? Churches made with hands are built and consecrated for us, so that we, like living stones, can build ourselves into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 375 So, beloved brethren, we ourselves must be churches of God, not made with hands, spiritually adorned and fragrant. You are churches of the living God, as (the Lord) God said: I will dwell in them... and I will be their God. What love the Creator has for his intelligent creatures! What condescension! What close communication! The Lord is ready to dwell in us, in our hearts. But are our hearts such that the Lord can enter and live in them?! Unfortunately, no; for they are not cleansed from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, from all sins and passions. What kind of fellowship does righteousness have with lawlessness? What does light have in common with darkness? What agreement between Christ and Belial? What is the complicity of the faithful with the infidel? What is the relationship between the church of God and idols? 376 So, we must prepare, cleanse and decorate our inner churches, our souls and bodies, just as the apostles and those who were with them and awaited His Coming prepared themselves for the descent of the Holy Spirit and the reception of Him on the Day of Pentecost. Let us hasten to prepare for the Lord our churches not made by hands through faith, fervent prayer, repentance, attention to ourselves, the fear of God, always walking in the presence of God, constant spiritual vigilance over thoughts, feelings, lusts, fighting the passions that arise in us, caution in words and deeds, mutual love. The Lord is most comforted by our mutual love, like a Father. So, I will say with the Apostle Paul: Let our love for a friend be unfeigned; turn away from evil, cling to goodness; be kind to one another with brotherly love; warn one another in respect; do not slacken in zeal; be on fire in spirit; Serve the Lord; take comfort in the hope of future incorruptible blessings, which the eye has not seen, and the ear has not heard, and the heart of man has not sighed, what God has prepared for those who love Him; be patient in sorrow, constant in prayer; take part in the needs of your neighbor; be zealous for hospitality. Bless your persecutors, and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind among yourselves; do not be arrogant, but follow the humble; don't dream about yourself; do not repay anyone evil for evil, but strive for what is good in the sight of all people. If possible on your part, be at peace with all people. Do not avenge yourself, but give room to the wrath of God. For it is written: Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 377 Amen." After the Liturgy, all the guests were invited to the father archimandrite for lunch and barely had time to rest when at 6 o’clock the all-night vigil began in the lower church in the name of the Nativity of Christ: it was also celebrated in the middle of the church, in front of the table with altar utensils, by a whole cathedral of clergy. At the agreed upon 8 o'clock in the morning on June 15, the solemn announcement of the consecration rang out; everyone rushed to his call. Such a mass of people had gathered that not only was the entire vast church and porch full, but there were also crowds of people on the street. Today the consecration was performed by Father John himself with the participation of six priests. Words cannot express with what attention, joy and deep reverence he performed the rite of consecrating the church; these feelings shone throughout his entire appearance. He was all focused on action. Having thoroughly washed the throne with his own hands and nailed its top cypress board with nails, he poured incense over it and, having wiped it off, turned to the people and began to read a kneeling prayer in the Royal Doors. Then even his very face changed and took on an enthusiastically inspired look. Apparently, all the strength of his soul and heart was in this prayer. After her, they began to dress the holy throne, and Father John sprinkled both the throne and the altar and the entire church with holy water. After this, with a procession of the cross, they went again to the old cathedral for the holy relics and, taking them from there, walked, as usual, around the consecrated church among the masses of people who had come from almost the entire district. Stopping in front of the church doors, covered with a white cloth, Father John placed the paten with the holy antimension on the table and, having surrounded the shrine, uttered the mysteriously prophetic words of the 23rd Psalm: Lift up your gates, O princes, and lift up the eternal gates: and the King of glory will come in. Then, as if answering a voice from the depths of the church: Who is this King of glory, raising the paten with the holy antimension above his head, he exclaimed: Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory 378 and made a sign of the cross over the doors. At this time, the white cloth was opened and everyone, singing “The Lord of hosts is the King of Glory,” entered the church, illuminated by three chandeliers and many candles set by the people. Having placed the holy antimension on the throne, Father John with a joyful face, turning to the people, said a word about the holy duty of a Christian to love the church of God. Since Thy village is beloved, O Lord of hosts 379! “And now the church has been consecrated by the grace of Christ in this majestic, heavenly cathedral of the Verkolsky monastery: yesterday the upper one, today the lower one. The beauty and splendor of both are equally pleasant. You feel something dear, cheerful, holy, attractive in a Christian church and involuntarily exclaim with the king-prophet: How beloved is Your village, Lord of hosts! The church is the house of God, the village of the Lord: here is life, joy, peace of our heart; here is our protection from enemies visible and invisible; here we pour out our souls before the Lord, our Heavenly Father; here our repentance and reconciliation with God are mainly accomplished; here the forgiveness and cleansing of our sins is taught; in church we read the word of God every day, enlightening and making us wise for salvation; in the church we are taught the Divine, life-giving and terrible Mysteries, the Most Pure Body and Blood of Christ; in the church our rebirth and spiritual education for the Kingdom of Heaven takes place. Beloved brothers and sisters! Every person, no matter who he is - in purple or in rags, of high birth or low, learned or unlearned, rich or poor, male or female, baby, youth, youth, husband, old man - is a weak, sick, sinful person; for everyone, from the very birth into the world, inherits from his parents a soul weakened, darkened and defiled by sin, and the first who, with true God’s love, greets his birth into the world is the Church, which, from birth to death, takes him, by the will of God, under her spiritual, gracious guidance and throughout his life takes care of his spiritual education, repentance, correction and salvation, feeding and strengthening him spiritually with the word of God, worship and the Sacraments. She is his first, God-given mentor and leader, she is his spiritual mother, invariably loving him during life and after death. She is also his spiritual doctor, healing his mental and physical ailments; and therefore the Church, or the church of God, in which we enjoy all its care, must always be sincerely loved and revered by us. Man, created in the image of God 380, with a rational and immortal soul, is a deeply and terribly fallen being, in enmity with his Creator, and except the Church no one can reconcile him with God, for only the Church, that is, its clergy, and no one else, has been given from God the power and grace to reconcile man with God. God, through Jesus Christ, reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, says the holy Apostle Paul 381. And this reconciliation takes place in the church through prayers and the Sacraments. How can one, therefore, not love the house of God, the village of the glory of the Lord, where the Lord, constantly angered by us, bowed down by God-pleasing prayers and Sacraments, is reconciled with us? That is why the repentant cry of faithful souls for mercy often rises in the church: “Lord, have mercy!” Only in the Church lies every truth revealed by God for our good and salvation, while in the world every lie and delusion of sins and passions dominates, darkening and destroying humanity; the charm of carnal lust, lust of the eyes and worldly pride, and every book lie printed by some erring writers; Only in the Church, in the church, can a person get rid of the charm of this delusion and see all things in the true light and walk and live in truth and righteousness. How can one not honor and love the church, this heavenly village on earth, where we learn all truth and righteousness, and the charm and deception of sin! Finally, the Church shows each of us the true goal of life, and in the church of God, a person constantly hears that the main goal of his life is to strive with all his might against sin, to strive for every virtue in order to achieve possible likeness to his prototype - the Heavenly Father, from Whom sins removed and alienated us; she points him to the Heavenly Fatherland as the ultimate goal of his earthly life, while the world completely distorts man’s concept of life and teaches him to seek the goals of life only on earth, in wealth and collecting treasures, in enjoying food and drink, in elegant clothes, in achieving earthly distinctions and advantages, in various games and amusements, in reading exclusively secular, vain, and sometimes even debauchery books that teach. Many, following this worldly charm and dream, are exclusively concerned with their body and concerns about its health and beauty, pleasures, earthly glory, gaining wealth in all sorts of ways, completely neglecting the immortal soul, leaving it to perish in wretchedness, poverty, misery, blindness and nakedness. So, the church of God or the Church of God is our mother, our teacher, guide to the eternal life, our spiritual and physical doctor, our nourisher, educator, she alone shows us the true purpose of life, she alone reconciles us with God, saves us and brings us to Him reconciled, prepared, pleasing to God, and besides her - no one. How can we not love our church, or the church of God? Oh, how beloved are Thy villages, O Lord of hosts! How venerable you are to me, the church of God! Everything about you is worthy and honorable: the throne of God, on which the Lord will sit invisibly; and the altar, or offering, where the Holy Gifts are prepared for the sacred rite; and the faces of the Lord, the Mother of God and the faces of all the saints; Your incense is pleasant - a sign of the grace of the Holy Spirit; Your lamps are pleasant - signs of the all-enlightening light of God and Divine fire and hearts burning in prayer; worthy are the clergy who continually perform Divine services and the wonderful and life-giving Mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ in it. May God grant that all Christians love you, strive for you, as David, the king and prophet, loved his church, and they rejoice spiritually in you, as he rejoiced when they said to him: let's go to the house During the speech, Father John was completely filled with joy, and this speech flowed from his lips like a river. Soon the hours began to be read, after which the Liturgy began. It was as if on Easter it was light and joyful: the joyful appearance of Father John seemed to electrify everyone, everyone looked cheerful and happy. At the end of the service, Father, coming to the cell of the archimandrite’s father and congratulating him, said: “Today you have the joy of Solomon.” To this, Father Archimandrite answered him: “Yes, Father, but not without sorrows.” “Without sorrows there are no joys,” said Father John. Indeed, having founded this church in 1891, Father Archimandrite Vitaly endured a lot of labor and grief while creating it, and only thanks to his tireless energy he achieved the result he desired, creating a truly “heaven-like” church in which it is so easy and joyful to pray. Lunch that day had a purely family character, almost all the toasts were pronounced by Father himself. During the first toast, he said: “Friends, let’s drink to the health of the First Supreme Shepherd, Metropolitan Palladius!” All those present sang in chorus “many years” to the Metropolitan, but when Father Archimandrite made a toast to the health of Father himself, everyone congratulated him and warmly thanked him for the consecration of the church; At the same time, the official for peasant affairs, Mr. Znamensky, made a speech in which he expressed the great benefit for the entire district population in Father John’s establishment of a school and a public shop in Sura, and on behalf of the entire population sincerely thanked Father for the true benefit he had provided to the entire district. At 4 o’clock Father, having been across the river, boarded the “Verkolets” again, and he, in heavy rain and wind, continued on. In the evening the weather cleared up, and by 12 o'clock we stopped three miles from the village of Ust-Pokshenki, where the kind old priest Terentyev, a friend of Father John in the seminary 383, begged both him and us to visit their church and house; and we, on the wild northern horses waiting for us on the shore, in covered tarantasses, flew through an almost continuous swamp to the village, where we stopped at a newly built wooden three-altar church. The completely landscaped main altar has not yet been consecrated in the name of the Nativity of Christ, but the right one - in the name of the Georgian Icon of the Mother of God and the left one - in the name of St. John of Rila - have already been consecrated. Then they examined the old, most wretched-looking church in the name of the Great Martyr George the Victorious; It contains a remarkable ancient large-format image of the Great Martyr George slaying the serpent, carved on wood and placed on the left side of the choir; Near it there is a low, roughly hewn door with a high threshold, leading to a tiny chapel - in the name of the righteous Artemy Verkolsky. It is touching to see the extreme poverty, but at the same time the immaculate purity of the churches of God, located in the hopeless wilderness of our vast mother Rus', built and supported for the most part by the penny alms of well-wishers. Here I involuntarily remembered the churches and monasteries I had seen in the holy places of the East, 384 where tens of thousands of rubles are annually sent and brought by Russian admirers visiting Jerusalem, and yet all of them, with the most insignificant exceptions, are maintained by the Greeks in an extremely outrageously dirty and wretched state. From the church, Father went to the house of his fellow priest, where the cordial welcome of the whole family and exemplary cleanliness were a hundred times more pleasant than the gilded chambers of the proud rich. At two o'clock in the morning, cheerful and satisfied, we returned to the ship. On the 16th, approaching Pinega at one o’clock in the afternoon, we met the steamer “St. Nicholas the Wonderworker,” who, after dismantling the wheels, was led through the locks on a whip, and now he was flying at full speed towards us. Father was so happy with him that he immediately moved onto him and decided to go to Sura again to show him to the Suryans, which we were all very happy about. On June 17, having stopped for half an hour at the Verkolsky monastery, Father John invited Father Archimandrite, who came out to meet him, to take a ride to Sura. At 10 o'clock in the evening our beloved Sura appeared; No one there expected such a sudden return of Father John, but when they saw the steamer, they rang the bells. The people rushed headlong to the pier and swarmed around it like flies in the most simple and amusing disorder, joyfully bowing to Father. Having said hello to everyone and going ashore, he immediately set off alone on a steamer along the river, and we headed to the house to settle down for the night. Having returned, Father drank tea with us, and everyone went to rest. On the 18th, after serving matins and mass, Father John assembled a general council, at which it was decided to give the ship into the ownership of the parish school under the leadership of the Sursky guardianship, for the transportation of food and materials, and this resolution was to be submitted for approval to the local bishop. Having finished all his work, Father left Sura at 3 o’clock amid general cries of “Hurray” and “Much long life” from the assembled people. Now the steamer traveled 18 versts per hour with the current, instead of 10 against the current, and at 8 o’clock in the morning on the 19th we stopped in Pinega, and Father drove straight from the steamer to the cathedral. After he served Matins and Mass, he visited Volodin again, and at one o’clock in the afternoon we set off further. At 4 o'clock in the morning on June 20, Arkhangelsk appeared with its whole forest of masts on all kinds of ships. Father, out of old memory and at a convincing request, stayed in the Scholz house, where he constantly stayed for the first 6 years of his visit to Arkhangelsk, and immediately went to serve the Liturgy in the Assumption Church closest to their house. In the city, almost no one knew about his arrival, the church was completely empty, and Father, with visible pleasure, entered it and prayed, he himself put candles in front of the icons. At the end of the service, with great difficulty, from the masses of people, we got out of the church. Father John spent almost three days in Arkhangelsk, but we, his companions, only saw him in the evenings, and each time he was already extremely tired. He was on the road all day; Everywhere he was asked to visit - sometimes his old acquaintances, sometimes the sick, and he, as far as possible, tried to satisfy everyone. On the 21st, Father served in the Church of the Nativity of Christ. That same evening, at the all-night vigil in the cathedral, he read the canons, where he served with a whole council of priests the next day, Sunday, June 22, the Liturgy, during which, after communion, turning to the solid mass of pilgrims, he said a heartfelt word, taking as his theme the words from the Gospel read that day: The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is simple, your whole body will be light; if your eye is evil, your whole body will be dark. "God! Give me the pure meaning and integrity of understanding of Your Gospel, read today, in order to teach Your people the pure wheat of Your word. This reading speaks about the beginning of wickedness, which has infected and penetrated the human heart and with which it suffers and suffers secretly and openly to this day, about that absurd duality and hypocrisy, about the vanity to which the sons and daughters of fallen Adam are subjected in life, about that pitiful darkening of the spiritual lamp, which was given at the beginning to Adam and Eve and in the light of which they were supposed to achieve perfect love for God and affirmation of their eternal times to the shrine, in a word, about the source and root of our sin. Where did the cunning of man and the darkness of his wonderful spiritual lamp begin, by the light of which he penetrated into all the properties of the creatures subordinate to him, into their characters and gave names to all animals according to their properties - it is so true that the Creator Himself approved these names. It began with a conversation with the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, who flatters the entire universe 385, from trust and obedience to him and distrust and disobedience to the Creator, from transgressing the clear, easily fulfilled commandment of God, from eating the fruits of a forbidden tree 386. But was it really so criminal and disastrous for a person to eat the fruit that it could entail the curse of a person blessed by God, all the subsequent corruption by sin, all the countless disasters and illnesses and death itself, temporary and eternal? Yes, indeed, this damned disobedience and eating was really so criminally disastrous, firstly, because it was disobedience to the holy, wise will of the Creator, who immeasurably benefited man, and secondly, because, having believed the tempter and leaving obedience to the Creator, the first people ran over to the enemy’s camp and became his slaves; thirdly, because from this disobedience and eating of the illicit fruit, all the countless sins of the first people and their descendants, the inclination to every sin, all their unfaithfulness to God, arrogance, ingratitude, malice, arrogance and pride, the evil eye, their removal and alienation from him, blasphemy against God, addiction to carnal, earthly, fleeting goods developed, as from a seed. and neglect of one’s immortal soul and the eternal blessings of paradise and the Kingdom of Heaven, for which man and all his descendants were created; from this source and root of sin flowed and multiplied to infinity all the sorrows, illnesses and innumerable disasters of the human race and death itself as the dues of sin 387. This is why and how our spiritual lamp went out, this is where all human wickedness began, all absurd passions, our passionate attachment to our sinful flesh and to everything earthly: excessive care for food and drink, clothing, for acquiring wealth, honor and glory, and negligence about love for God and about faith and love and mercy for others. Each one of you, conscientiously examine yourself regarding your daily cares, worries and passions, and say with your conscience: do you care more about the immortal soul, about its correction and salvation and the fulfillment of God’s commandments, or more about the flesh and its unnecessary demands and whims? Why do drunkenness and debauchery dominate people? Why the feverish passion for profit and enrichment to the point of forgetting about God and the soul? Isn’t your life mostly spent in empty worries and vanities? Do your hearts cling to the Creator through faith, prayer, repentance, love, or only to creatures? Are they for eternal benefits or only temporary ones? Test yourself: do you live by faith or without faith, only according to the flesh? “No one can serve two masters,” says the Lord in today’s Gospel, “for either he will hate one and love the other; or he will be zealous for one and neglectful of the other. You cannot serve God and mammon 388, that is, wealth and your multi-passionate flesh, its lusts and passions. Why? Because our soul is spirit, a simple being, and division, duality, deviation into deceit is its disease and its destruction. For example: you stand in the church and think about your profits, interest, or the arrangement of your house, or about revenge on your neighbor, about his offense; Through this you fall away from God and serve the enemy, who teaches you to neglect God and the salvation of your soul and serve him, do what pleases him. Do not be anxious - that is, overly anxious, says the Lord - what shall we eat? or what to drink? because the pagans seek all this, and because your Heavenly Father knows that you need all this. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all this will be added to you 389. The Lord speaks of people’s ardent, restless, fussy concern only for the body and the neglect of spiritual needs, repentance, correction, love for God and neighbor, prayer, almsgiving, and others. The life of people, as a result of their heartfelt sinful blindness, goes wrongly, so to speak, inside out, or upside down: first of all and everywhere, bodily needs and concerns stand in the foreground, and to the strongest extent, and only then slightly - some care, and then from time to time, about the soul, although God gave man six days a week for cares and work for the body, and for God and the soul the seventh day and other holidays. And because of this vicissitudes in worries, the whole spiritual life goes wrong, or does not go right at all, and the soul becomes ossified in all sorts of sins and often completely perishes, as, for example, among drunkards, depraved, self-seeking, hard-hearted and others. The consequences of eating from the forbidden tree by the first people were so harmful that in order to destroy them, the truth of God required an endless sacrifice - the nailing of the God-Man Himself to the Tree of the Cross and His atoning, most painful death. Bearing this firmly in mind and desiring to somehow satisfy the truth of God, holy people firmly maintained abstinence and fasting throughout their lives and crucified their flesh with passions and lusts, and many of them surrendered to the tormentors to terrible, unbearable torment in order to be crucified to Christ, their Savior, to crucify sin within themselves and to earn the blessing of the Lord and the crowns of incorruption and holiness. So, brothers, let us keep our spiritual lamps, our souls and hearts unquenchable. Let your loins be girded, and your lamps burning: and you be in the likeness of a man who waits for his Lord, so that when He comes and knocks at the door of your heart, you immediately open them to Him 390 so that He may enter and sup 391 with you, sanctify and save your souls. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and the salvation of the soul, and all earthly blessings will be added to you. Amen". Father John's words apparently made a deep impression on the listeners. Subsequently, one elder hieromonk from the Solovetsky Monastery, who had arrived by chance before and served with Father, confessed to me that for the first time in his life he heard a sermon that penetrated so deeply into the soul and was delivered with irresistible conviction. At 4 o'clock, the residents of Arkhangelsk, led by the governor, saw off Father John, who spent a long time admiring his native Arkhangelsk from the wheelhouse of the steamer, where he spent his sad adolescence and youth. The last to say goodbye to us were the golden-domed Archangel Monastery and the tops of the theological seminary building. At 10 o'clock in the evening we approached Kholmogory. Here they greeted Father with the ringing of bells. The shore was covered with people, joyfully welcoming their dear guest. Here, from the convent, Father John was given a carriage, and we were given small lines with novice coachmen on goats, and we quickly flew to the monastery. In it, all the monastics with the new abbess Eupraxia 392 received with true joy the long-desired, dear guest. Soon they brought to Father the elderly, dearly beloved, kind Abbess Seraphim, who had worked in this monastery for 65 years and had become completely blind from old age. It was touching to see how tears of joy rolled from her blinded eyes when she fell into the hand of her deeply loved and revered Father John, who in turn apparently loves and respects her. After spending the night here, Father celebrated mass the next morning on June 23. By lunchtime, the hospitable abbess had many guests, among whom was Father John’s sister A.I. with my priest husband, with whom Father and I immediately drove off to Matigora. Every time Father visits them, the good old people carefully try to provide him with complete peace and space, and now he has taken full advantage of it. For almost the entire day, Father John walked, either at the top of the cliff of a steep mountain, densely overgrown with dense forest from top to bottom, or at its foot along the banks of the Matigorka River, and admired with pleasure the marvelously picturesque views all around. Everything was before our eyes: beautiful Kholmogory, the majestic Northern Dvina and a whole sea of ​​forests, fields and meadows, and among them could be seen villages with white churches, between which Denisovka, Lomonosov’s homeland, stood behind the Northern Dvina; behind on the mountain lies the village of Nizhnyaya Matigora. Admiring all this, Father said with delight: “Wonderful are Your works 393, Lord! It’s so good here!” When I invited him to live here for a week, he answered with a sad smile (as they told me): “You are a bird of God, you are free, but we are involuntary people.” Walking on the top of the mountain, Father John said: “Matigora is so called because it is higher than all the mountains surrounding it.” Down by the river, he watched as fishermen caught fish with nets, walking waist-deep in water. When they, having pulled out the nets, brought him a considerable amount of different fish in a basket, Father, examining them with lively interest, asked what they were called; They answered him: perch, pike, burbot and others. Father blessed them and generously rewarded them for their work. After mass, on June 24, having once again taken a walk near the church, Father John invited all the guests gathered here to dinner, after which we regretfully parted with this blessed corner. The hospitable forester Mr. Kutepov and his wife suggested that I go to them in Kholmogory, since Father promised to visit them. Wonderful northern horses carried us to the city like the wind. In the city, Father John was greeted again with the ringing of bells. After serving a prayer service in the forester’s house and blessing the whole family, he hurried to the ship, and at three o’clock we set off on our further journey. At 7 o’clock in Ust-Pinega we said goodbye to the bright Pinega River and the sincerely kind-hearted family of Father John’s sister, A.I. Here we were left alone, Father was completely free and was the complete owner of the ship. Cheerful, friendly, every day more than once Father John gathered us around him and read the Bible aloud, explaining what he had read. I bitterly regretted that I was deaf. The next stop was on the 26th in the village of Verkhnie Toymy, where at 6 o’clock in the morning Father served matins and mass. It was as if there was a bright holiday in our souls when we returned from church. The morning was magnificent and warm; the entire visible surroundings were flooded with bright rays of the sun. The village of Verkhnie Toymy is located on a high, almost vertical mountain; The church in the name of the holy apostles Peter and Paul with a five-tier, ancient painting iconostasis is very good. There are two chapels in the refectory part of the church. On the 27th, on the occasion of cleaning the car, the ship spent almost the entire day near Ustyug, which we passed by in the evening. On June 28, we spent the whole day admiring the extremely picturesque banks of the beautiful Sukhona. On the morning of June 29 at 8 o'clock we landed in Totma, and Father immediately went to the monastery of St. Theodosius, the Wonderworker of Totma. When he and I arrived there, the church was still locked and there was no one there. The wonderful, high and bright cathedral church, where the holy relics of St. Theodosius rest openly, all painted with beautiful paintings, produces the most joyful and reverent impression upon entering it. Particularly characteristic for its vitality is the painting in the altar, which occupies almost the entire eastern wall and depicts the descent of the Holy Spirit. Having venerated the holy relics, Father John immediately began to read and sing Matins. After serving the Liturgy and prayer service to the holy apostles Peter and Paul, he went briefly to the father archimandrite of the monastery, and we hurried to the ship. Under the vivid impression of the life of St. Theodosius that I read, and seeing to the left of the road beyond the field the tops of the stretching one-story buildings-salt works, where St. Theodosius worked during his lifetime, were visible, the words of our Russian Chrysostom, the Right Reverend Innocent 394, involuntarily came to mind, uttered by him during a chance visit to the salt works. “Who now,” he exclaims, turning to the workers, “Reverend Theodosius? Friend of God, interlocutor and cohabitant of the Angels, adornment of the Orthodox Church and luminary of our country. But he also once lived in this place, worked on the same thing that you did; like you, he dug the earth, chopped wood, sat by the fire day and night; All these so-called black labors did not prevent him from making his soul whiter than snow, 395 and these coarse carnal activities did not prevent him from becoming a vessel of grace, the spiritual salt of the land of Totem. How and with what could he combine such a kind of life with such spiritual perfections? The fact that, among all his activities, he protected himself with humility and the fear of God. Because he looked at everything around him with the pure eyes of faith and knew how to extract edification and spiritual benefit from everything. The sensual salt that he processed constantly reminded him of the words of Scripture: Let your word be dissolved in the salt of grace 396! - and forced him to try to acquire those good qualities that salt expresses (purity, constancy, auspiciousness, etc.). Sitting by the fire on which the salt was being cooked, Theodosius was always transported in thought to the fire of hell and thought to himself like this: if the fire kindled by my hands is so unbearable and terrible, then what should the fire kindled by the right hand of the Almighty be like for sinners? If it is impossible to remain in this, our, fire for even half a minute without cruel torment, then what should be the torment of those who will be cast into eternal fire? This is how the monk reflected with himself, and through the fear of eternal torment he saved himself from any inclination to sin. The holy saint of God, of course, was in your place for this reason,” the archpastor concludes his words, “in order to leave you an example: imitate him, then the fire that burns almost unquenchably within you will have a profound effect; forming salt in your hands, he will contribute to the formation of spiritual salt (purity and good qualities) inside you, in your souls and hearts.” This beautiful word, which I read earlier, in these moments, while driving and contemplating with my own eyes the place of life and exploits of the Monk Theodosius, was even more deeply imprinted in my memory. At 12 o'clock, in the pouring rain, Father returned to the ship. Our dear mentor sat with us all this day; I read the Bible aloud for a long time, explaining everything, and ended up with the righteous Job, as the Lord rewarded him for his patience. Then in the evening, until 12 o'clock at night, he kept telling something and was apparently in a cheerful mood. And again I bitterly complained about my deafness, since those around me explained absolutely nothing to me about what Father was talking about, every word of which is more precious to me than gold. On June 30, at two o'clock in the afternoon, we had barely finished lunch when Father John pointed out the window to me at the church domes of the approaching Vologda. My heart sank painfully at the thought that our journey through the north with our dear prayer book had ended, where I always felt so good and at ease with Father, among his kind, simple, warm-hearted fellow countrymen - the northerners. In Vologda, a mass of people met Father John on the pier; from here the mayor took him to the city, and we began to pack our luggage to move to the station the next morning. On July 1, Father served Matins and Mass in the Church of the Savior. For the first time I had to bow to the main shrine of Vologda - the miraculous image of the Savior, depicted in full height - and I involuntarily fell in love with the elegant decoration of this vast church. Almost the entire iconostasis and side icons are decorated with beautifully crafted artificial flowers. At one o'clock in the afternoon, Father John, among a solid mass of people, arrived at the carriage, where we had been waiting for him for a long time. The train went quietly for a long time; The good residents of Vologda did not want to part with their dear Father so soon, and for a long time they ran after the train, and Father John blessed them all the time from the window, and at almost all the stations he also blessed the crowds of people who gathered in large numbers from the carriage. At 6 o'clock in the afternoon we stopped in the town of Danilov. Here Father John left the train and, among the impenetrable crowd of people, barely made it to the troika waiting for him and departed somewhere in an open carriage. Returning to Yaroslavl, I thanked God from the depths of my soul that He had brought me in 1897 to accompany the deeply revered mentor and prayer book Father John to the north. Traveling with him was, is and will be the most precious consolation on earth for me. Blessed is the Lord God, who gives us shepherds so high in life and great in the active grace of God, sincerely zealous and ardent prayer books, worthy servants and performers of the saving Mysteries of God, teachers and leaders of the salvation of the verbal sheep of the flock of Christ! 397 Application. Biography of Alexandra Flegontovna Nartsizova Little is known about the personality and fate of Alexandra Flegontovna Nartsizova. She was born in the city of Yaroslavl in 1850 or 1851. Her father Flegont Ivanovich was a titular councilor. At the same time, the surname Nartsizov (Narcissov) is one of the so-called “seminary surnames” given to seminary students in the 18th-19th centuries. “by churches, by flowers, by stones, by cattle, and as His Eminence delights” (cf.: Giatsintov, Rozov, Landyshev, Fialkov, etc.). Therefore, it can be assumed that Alexandra Nartsizova’s ancestors included representatives of the clergy. Alexandra was the youngest child in the family, her sister Vera was six years older than her, her brother Nikolai was ten years older. In “Letters about Travels with Father John of Kronstadt...” Alexandra Flegontovna writes that her life “from the cradle passed through one series of grief and losses” (see p. 168 of this edition). When the girl was eight years old, her mother, Anna Alekseevna, died. Six months before his death due to A.A.’s illness. Nartsizova made a spiritual will, in which she entrusted custody of the children to her sisters, the disposal of property in the interests of the children to the husband of one of the sisters, her son-in-law, and the wife asked “not to interfere with both the estate and their disposal.” 398 Flegont Ivanovich tried to challenge the will and began litigation with his wife’s son-in-law. The final court decision was made only a year and a half later - in favor of son-in-law A.A. Nartsizova. It also follows from the will that the family lived in a dilapidated house and was short of money: “... I have nothing in cash with me,” wrote Anna Alekseevna. At the age of nine, Alexandra fell ill with scarlet fever and completely lost her hearing at the age of ten. As for the future life of Alexandra Flegontovna, she herself complained that she did not receive a “thorough education” due to the deafness that befell her, but people who knew her closely testified to something else: “Her spiritual nature was endowed with wonderful properties, and she, despite her serious illness, did not bury the abilities given to her, but continued to study and develop and finally achieved such an education that many of her healthy peers would envy” 399 . The memoirs and letters written by Alexandra Flegontovna testify not only to her education, but also to her literary talent. It is no coincidence that her close friends asked her to describe the pilgrimages and travels she had been on, and Father John even blessed her to devote her life to literary work. “You have a writing hand, share your talent!” (p. 117) - he told his companion during their first joint stay in Sura. There is no doubt that Nartsizova was a deeply religious and religious person. In her memoirs, she writes about her close acquaintance with Jonathan (Rudnev), Archbishop of Yaroslavl and Rostov. When Father John arrived in Yaroslavl in 1893, Bishop Jonathan gave Alexandra “full opportunity to see Father John at home” (p. 169), which aroused her deep gratitude: “I will never forget the kind, sympathetic soul of our Bishop for this” (ibid.). Archbishop Jonathan blessed A.F. Nartsizov to keep and publish notes about his travels. In the preface to “Notes on the Holy Places of the East,” she reported that she “kept her notes about the journey, obeying the will and desire of the venerable and kind Most Reverend Archbishop Jonathan, who, blessing me on the journey, personally expressed his desire to do so” 400. Alexandra Flegontovna lived for a long time in different monasteries, entering into friendly relations with their abbess and superiors. So, starting from 1890, she visited the Goritsky convent of the Kirillovsky district of the Novgorod province for several years in a row in the summer. In her memoirs about her trips there, she wrote that she was greeted “with sincere cordiality,” the “good abbess” gave her “a crew, and as a guide, my constant companion on all Goritsa travels, Mother Mauritius” (p. 125). From Nartsizova’s letters to Father John, it is known that she spent the summer of 1906 in the Donetsk Monastery near Boguchar, actively helping its abbot: “Its abbot, Fr. Archimandrite, was mortally ill, and the doctor asked me to take care of him. And I don’t use medicine so much as St. She treated him with the water you blessed, and with the help of God, Fr. The archimandrite completely recovered, even to the surprise of the doctor himself.”401 In Yaroslavl, Nartsizova was engaged in decorating churches. In one of her texts, she mentions a “magnificent carpet”, “embroidered on canvas by us, Yaroslavl women” (pp. 178–179). Despite her deafness, Alexandra Flegontovna traveled a lot. In addition to numerous trips around Russia (to St. Petersburg, to Moscow, to the Goritsky Monastery, to Sura with Father John, to the Crimea), she made a trip to the Holy Land - visited Jerusalem and worshiped “the most sacred place in the whole world: the birth, life, suffering, death, resurrection and ascension into heaven of our Savior - the Son of God - Jesus Christ” 402. Her pilgrimage began on October 25, 1895 and lasted 11 months. She made the “long and difficult journey” alone and “completely deaf.” When Alexandra Flegontovna left Yaroslavl for the Holy Land, many dissuaded her from the long and risky trip, but, as in many other cases, her strong character, hope for God’s help, as well as the blessings of Archbishop Jonathan and Father John of Kronstadt helped her overcome internal timidity and doubts and set off on the journey. In 1885 or 1886, probably from one of his acquaintances A.F. Nartsizova first heard about Father John Sergiev and was inflamed with a desire to meet him personally: “I ardently wanted to talk to him and ask him to show me the path of life along which I could follow” (p. 117). Perhaps during Father John’s visit to Yaroslavl in August 1890, this acquaintance took place, although it was very brief due to the crowded crowd surrounding the Kronstadt Father. Alexandra Flegontovna turned to Father John “with a request to pray for her and give her spiritual consolation.” Father John “reacted fatherly to her request and wrote her a few words of consolation” 403. Alexandra kept these words in a medallion on her chest like a precious treasure. Wanting to continue the communication that had barely begun, Nartsizova in the summer of 1891 went to Sura, where the celebrations of the consecration of the church in the name of St. took place. Nicholas the Wonderworker, built at the expense of Father John. According to the editor of the magazine “Russian Pilgrim” A.I. Popovitsky, in Sura the “deaf middle-aged girl” attracted general attention. She stood out among the many admirers of Father John who had gathered here not only for her physical disability and the need to “talk to her on her fingers,” but also for the special “joyful feeling” and “lively interest” with which she asked everyone about Sura and the upcoming celebration. When the church was consecrated and the guests left, Alexandra Flegontovna, with the blessing of Father John, remained in Sura among the very few of his companions and had the opportunity to talk calmly with him. In a letter to Popovitsky, she said: “The Lord saw my sincere desire and gave me much more than I expected. You yourself witnessed how Father John received me and with what true fatherly love he treated me all the time; and I fully felt that I was not worth even a hundredth part of the attention with which he surrounded me; but when you all left, he became even closer to me, accepting me as one of his spiritual daughters and deigning me to receive the Holy Mysteries” (p. 119). Subsequently, Nartsizova accompanied Father John on his trips to his homeland several more times and maintained constant correspondence with him. In her memoirs about her trip to the Northern Territory in 1897, she reported that this was the fifth time she had “accompanied Father John to his dear Sura.” From letters it is known that she was preparing to travel to the North in 1900, for which she asked for the blessing of Father John: “Bless me to go to Arkhangelsk in the spring, and I beg you, take me, take me from there with you to Sura, where, as we hear, you have already founded a convent: this is great joy and consolation for the entire Northern region! My heart yearns to be free to pray and strengthen my spirit in prayerful communication with you. Dear Father, please inform me whether you will take me to Sura (which will be dearer to me than all earthly blessings) and where I can meet you to travel together? 404. It is not known whether Father John responded to the request of his spiritual daughter, but Nartsizova was not mentioned among the people present in Sura at the opening celebrations of the women’s community. In 1899, after a trip to the Holy Land, A.F. Nartsizova moved to live in the town of Boguchar, Voronezh province. The move was apparently due to her health and the need to live in a warmer climate. In her letters, she often asked for Father John’s blessing to travel to Crimea for treatment with sea air: “Back in May, you blessed my journey to Crimea and sent me a hundred rubles. This trip brought me great benefit. In Boguchar I was very sick, but when I went out into the open sea in Taganrog, I immediately came to life. The sea air had a wonderful effect on me, but living in Crimea, I became completely healthier. The sea air and climate of Crimea, and most importantly, your holy prayers work a miracle on me” 405. Alexandra Flegontovna, apparently, did not have her own family, although she asked Father to remember the “sick Semyon,” her “Catholic son-in-law” 406 (we are probably talking about the husband of a sister or niece). However, despite her deafness, she easily got along with people and stayed for long periods with those she met on her many trips. So, at the celebrations of the consecration of the Sursky Church, Nartsizova met the St. Petersburg priest Fr. Mikhail Kalinnikov and later, during her visits to St. Petersburg, she stayed in his house. He admonished her with “prayer singing” and “with the whole family” 407 accompanied her to the Nikolaevskaya railway station when Alexandra set off on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Not being a wealthy person, Alexandra Flegontovna generously shared the main treasure of her life - her acquaintance with Father John: “In Boguchar they only live in your name, they often come to me with a request to write your name on the sick or unfortunate and through your prayer they receive wonderful relief from illness and sorrow. Bless, dear Father, bless me, a sinner, and all those who ask for your blessing." 408 The last letter known to us from A.F. Narcisova wrote to Father John on October 10, 1906. In it, she congratulated Father on his upcoming birthday and the Angel and prayed that he would have enough strength “in peace of mind to endure all the malice of the servants of the devil who have risen up against you as a true guardian of the Orthodox Church and a follower of Jesus” 409. If in the early 1890s Alexandra Flegontovna Nartsizova sought from Father John, first of all, mental and spiritual consolation for herself, calling him her “earthly life and joy,” then her last letter, written during the persecution of Father, was filled with the desire to serve her spiritual father, to protect his dear name: “And truly there are many more thousands of people in Russia who are devoted to you with soul and heart, especially in the Region The Don troops, among whom I had to spend this entire summer: and I rejoiced in my soul that there are still many Orthodox people in Rus', ardently devoted to the Tsar Father and who honor you as a strong man of prayer for us sinners. Only, Lord, keep you in good health for the benefit and consolation of the true children of our Motherland; I tearfully pray to God about this every day” 410. In 1891, God arranged for me to travel to the homeland of Father John in Sura for the consecration of the church. – We are talking about a new stone church in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, organized by Father John in the village. Sura at his own expense instead of a dilapidated wooden one. The new church was founded on July 8, 1888 and consecrated on June 27–29, 1891. Numerous guests arrived at the solemn consecration of the church, including the Arkhangelsk governor, Prince N.D. Golitsyn, Bishop of Arkhangelsk and Kholmogory Alexander, editor of the magazine “Russian Pilgrim” A.I. Popovitsky (The Kronstadt Shepherd. Issue 1. M, 2002. P. 46–77). ...to the Goritsky monastery... - See the story about the Goritsky monastery below, “A trip to the Goritsky monastery in 1892” (p. 124). ...I read it almost entirely in The Russian Pilgrim. – Letter from A.F. Nartsizova was published in the magazine “Russian Pilgrim” without a signature in Nos. 42–52 (October 19 – December 28) for 1891. ...in the Verkolsky Monastery. – The Artemiyevo-Verkolsky Monastery is located in the Pinezhsky district of the Arkhangelsk region. The monastery was founded in the first half of the 17th century. at the site where the relics of the youth Artemy Verkolsky were found in 1577 († 1545; commemorated June 23 / July 6 and October 20 / November 2). In the 19th century the monastery began to flourish. In 1861, a monk from the Kozheozersk Hermitage, Theodosius, was appointed rector, who introduced a strict communal charter in the monastery, modeled on the Konevsky monastery. A wide stone wall around the monastery, a bell tower, new fraternal buildings, a refectory, and a water supply system were built. In 1890, by decree of the Holy Synod, the Verkolsky Monastery was converted into a first-class communal monastery. In 1891–1897 a two-story stone Assumption Cathedral was erected. In 1920 the monastery was closed. The brethren managed to hide the relics of the righteous Artemy. The relics have not yet been found; it is believed that they are hidden on the territory of the monastery. The revival of the monastery began in 1991. ...father Archimandrite Vitaly... – Archimandrite of the Verkolsky Monastery. Vitaly (in the world - Vyazemsky Vasily Ivanovich). In 1867 he was tonsured a monk, in 1870 he was ordained a hieromonk, in 1887 he was elevated to the rank of abbot, from 1888 he was appointed abbot of the Verkolsky monastery, and from 1891 - archimandrite. In 1900, due to illness, he was dismissed from the position of rector; lived in a monastery at the Holy Lake. Archim. Vitaly was the chairman of the commission created to oversee the construction of a new stone St. Nicholas Church in Sura. ...the body of Paraskeva, the sister of the holy righteous Artemy, was buried. - Right. Paraskeva of Piriminskaya, or Pirinemskaya (†XVI; commemorated together with the Council of Novgorod Saints on the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost). (Luke 2:14). The beginning of the great doxology, from the sequence of Matins. He took me with him, telling Father Gennady to go with me. – In 1891, Father John was accompanied on a trip to his homeland by the hieromonk of the Zadne-Nikiforovsky hermitage of the Olonets diocese Gennady (Borisov). “When he was in Kronstadt in 1889 to collect alms for the benefit of the Rear Nicephorus Hermitage, Hieromonk Gennady attracted the attention of Fr. John with his unfeigned humility, the meekness of his character, his energy in the mission he accepted as a collector of alms for the construction of the desert and his earnest and reverent performance of divine services. From this time on, Hieromonk Gennady became a person close to Fr. John, and together with him carries out intensive labors for the benefit of the Kronstadt St. Andrew’s guardianship” (Olonets Ev. 1899. No. 2, January 15. Ch. neof. pp. 36–38). ...stopped at the Volkovs'. – Vologda merchant Nikolai Aleksandrovich Volkov (1854 - after 1917) repeatedly hosted Father John during Father’s trips to his homeland. Thus, in a letter dated May 16, 1907, Father John reported: “After the Liturgy, I was content with lunch with the former mayor Nikolai A. Volkov; and then he visited some sick residents of Vologda for prayer” (GMIR, f. 38, on. 1, d. 10, l. 34–36 vol.). ...in the Zaonikievskaya Hermitage... – The Zaonikievskaya Vladimir Hermitage of the Vologda Diocese was founded by St. Joseph of Zaonikievsky, a holy fool for Christ's sake, in 1588 at the site of the appearance to him of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, later called Zaonikievskaya. The monastery reached its peak in the second half of the 19th century. There were workshops, a school, and an almshouse at the monastery. During Soviet times, the monastery was destroyed. ...the large cathedral church was jam-packed... - We are talking about a summer stone two-story cathedral in honor of the Resurrection of Christ, built in 1549 by the dependent of the appanage Belozersk prince Andrei Staritsky and his wife Euphrosyne, in monasticism Evdokia. The church had five chapels on the upper floor and one on the lower floor (see: Chronicle of the Goritsky Monastery // Kirillov: Historical and Local Lore Almanac. Issue 1. 1994. P. 320. Further: Chronicle). ...to the Kirillov Monastery... - Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. ...Mikulino. – Mikulinsky (Nikulinsky) skete of the Goritsky Monastery, located near the Sheksna River, two miles from the monastery. The former estate of the Rybinsk merchant N.I. Tyumenev, donated to the monastery. ...a hotbed of cenobitic convents in Russia... - The Goritsky convent was transformed from a special habitation into a communal one under the abbess of Mauritius (Khodneva), who became the abbess of the monastery in 1810. The annals of the monastery reported: “With firm faith and undoubted hope in God, having entered into the exercise of the abbot’s office, being 33 years old, the abbess Mauritius, first of all, with the blessing of her spiritual father, the great elder Theophan of Novoezersk and under his wise leadership, set about introducing full communal life in her monastery” (Chronicle. P. 311). ...their bodies were then taken out of the water and buried under the altar of a warm church. – A stone three-altar warm church in honor of the Holy Trinity was built in 1821 by Abbess Mauritius (Khodneva) on the site of a wooden chapel erected over the grave of the royal prisoners of the princesses-nuns Evdokia and Alexandra (in the world – Euphrosyne and Juliania) (Chronicle. P. 325). ...Goritsky cinemas... – From the Greek. κοινόβιον – hostel, monastery. In this case, the monasteries of the Goritsky Monastery. ...to go to Fetinino and to the island to visit the Monk Zosima, the Wonderworker of Vorbozom. – We are talking about two monasteries of the Goritsky Monastery: Fetininsky and Zosimo-Vorbozomsky. The first was located 12 versts from the Goritsky monastery in the Fetinino wasteland, donated to the monastery by Emperor Paul I in 1801; the second is three miles from Fetinino, on the picturesque island of Lake Vorbozom, where the monastery of the Monk Zosima, the Wonderworker of Vorbozom, was previously located (Chronicle. pp. 338–341). ...a sad feeling was aroused in me by the poverty of both the shrine itself and the entire church. – Zosimova Hermitage was abolished in 1764. In the 1840s. The Annunciation Church of the former Vorbozom Monastery was assigned to the nearby Church of the Exaltation and, due to lack of funds, quickly fell into disrepair: “The poverty and desolation of this church made a sad and difficult impression. The shrine kept here, in the form of the honest remains of the saint of God, St. Zosima, was as if abandoned, forgotten by everyone; the altars are completely empty - they have nothing in themselves: no images on the walls, no altar icons; thrones and altars in ancient calico robes. Of the five altars, only one had church utensils, and they were tin, worn out and even broken over time; printed vestments; walls of bare stone. The floors, ceilings, stoves and in general the entire furnishings were so dilapidated that they were in danger” (Chronicle, p. 350). By decree of the Novgorod spiritual consistory of October 9, 1890, Zosimova Hermitage was annexed to the Goritsky Monastery. From that time on, its restoration and improvement began. ...thanks to the constant care of Abbess Nila... - Abbess Nila (in the world - Elizaveta Uskova) came from the merchant class of Moscow. She entered the Goritsky Monastery in 1856, was tonsured a monk in 1870, and in 1878 became the treasurer of the monastery. She assumed the position of abbess in 1884, and in 1885 she was elevated to the rank of abbess. She managed the monastery until 1895 and died in 1897. ...built a wooden church, which, unfortunately, soon burned down... - According to the Chronicle of the Goritsky Monastery, the church and monastery building of the Fetiny Monastery burned down in 1858 (see: Chronicle. P. 339). One St. Petersburg lady took tonsure in Goritsy... - We are talking about the nun Maria (Syamina). ...a touching prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos: “Who will not please You...” - This refers to the hymn included in Vespers, the Theotokos dogmatist of the 6th tone: “Who will not please You, O Most Holy Virgin; Who will not sing of Your Most Pure Nativity: the Only Begotten Son, who has risen from the Father, has passed away, indescribably incarnated, by nature, and by nature was Man for our sake; not divided into two persons, but inseparably cognizable into two natures. Pray to him, O Pure All-Blessed One, to have mercy on our souls.” ...and once he gave me his diary, volume 4... - We are talking about the 4th volume of the Complete Works of John Ilyich Sergiev, which included the first part of Father John’s diary “My Life in Christ” (Kronstadt, 1892). Gratuitous (obsolete) – gratuitous, free. ...from Ustyug to Vologda we had to travel for three days by postal service. – About this journey, see: Nartsizova A.F. From a letter to the editor of Russian Pilgrim. Present ed. P. 118. In the morning I was told that Father John serves in a convent... - Father John served the Liturgy in the church of the Rybinsk Sophia Convent, headed by Abbess Gabriela. ...from my sincere friend, priest Fr. M.K. (he, as a fellow countryman of Father John, went to him for the consecration of the church in Sura, and I met him on the ship from Arkhangelsk, and we were all together in Sura)... - We are talking about the St. Petersburg priest Fr. Mikhail Kalinnikov (1858–1906). During the solemn meal on the occasion of the consecration of the new St. Nicholas Church in Sura, Fr. Mikhail made a speech dedicated to Father John: “From different countries, from near and far and even very distant, we have come here in such large numbers, gathered here - in Sura, in a small, poor village, in a remote, deaf and completely unknown area. For what? What prompted us? Who brought us here? The answer is clear. We were gathered here by the gracious builder of the newly consecrated church. We did not pay attention to the distance or the difficulty of the path, but with all our souls strived only to see him, to hear his soul-touching voice, to pray with him, our righteous prayer book...” (The Kronstadt Shepherd. Issue 1. pp. 75-76). ...the consecration of a new church at the Alexander Nevsky Craft School... - The Alexander Nevsky school-orphanage for orphaned children of St. Petersburg artisans 3–14 years old was opened at the almshouse for the elderly and disabled craftsmen. Initially, the school was located in the building of an almshouse at the address: Chernigovskaya street, no. 5. In 1892, the school was transferred to a separate three-story building with windows overlooking Ligovka, built nearby by the architect V.A. Prussakov. Here, on November 22, 1892, a new church for a thousand people was consecrated. ...Exactly at 9 o’clock Bishop Nikandr (vicar of Narva) arrived... – Bishop Nikandr (in the world - Nikolai Dmitrievich Molchanov; 1852-1910) was consecrated Bishop of Narva, vicar of the St. Petersburg diocese, in 1891. In 1893 he was appointed rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, leaving him as vicar of the same diocese. Since 1895 - Bishop of Simbirsk and Syzran, since 1904 - Archbishop of Lithuania and Vilna. (Ps. 92:1); Prokeimenon from Vespers. ...while singing the troparion: “Who is Thy martyr throughout the whole world...” - Troparion for the Sunday of All Saints, tone 4. ...having hired one veik... - Veiks (from Finnish veikko - friend, comrade) in pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg were called cab drivers of Finnish or Estonian origin. See: (2 Samuel 11:2 – 12:25). See: (2 Kings 21:1–18); (2 Chronicles 33:10–13). ...with all my heart I thanked God for the one who gave the first idea to introduce these prayer services. – The tradition of celebrating the New Year in church at a New Year’s prayer service appeared in Russia at the end of the 19th century. The first example was set by the Moscow Governor General, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and his wife Elizaveta Fedorovna, who celebrated the New Year in the house church of the Alexandria Palace on Bolshaya Kaluzhskaya. Since 1899, this service began to be held in all Moscow churches, and the main service was performed in the Kremlin Assumption Cathedral. In 1911, the Holy Synod recommended the midnight New Year's prayer service “for general use” throughout Russia. ...new Metropolitan Pallady... - Bishop Pallady (in the world - Pavel Ivanovich Raev-Pisarev; 1827–1898) On October 18, 1892, he was elevated to the rank of metropolitan with the title of Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga, sacred archimandrite of the Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra and leading member Holy Synod. ...in memory of October 17, 1888 - This refers to the crash of the train of Emperor Alexander III near the Borki station of the Kursk-Kharkov-Azov railway. The royal family was miraculously unharmed as a result of the disaster. ...went to the Volkovs... – See note. No. 236 to this part. Vologda merchant Nikolai Aleksandrovich Volkov (1854 - after 1917) repeatedly hosted Father John during Father’s trips to his homeland. Thus, in a letter dated May 16, 1907, Father John reported: “After the Liturgy, I was content with lunch with the former mayor Nikolai A. Volkov; and then he visited some sick residents of Vologda for prayer” (GMIR, f. 38, on. 1, d. 10, l. 34–36 vol.). A retired former Archbishop of Arkhangelsk came to see Father John off on the ship. – This refers to Bishop Nathanael (in the world - Nikolai Ivanovich Soborov; 1824–1907), who occupied the Arkhangelsk See from May 23, 1879 to March 6, 1882 and from February 16, 1885 to June 3, 1890. Since 1890, Bishop Nathanael resided in retirement in Totemskoe Spaso-Sumorinsky Monastery of the Vologda Diocese. ...but not all of his companions decided to go ashore... – On a trip to his homeland in 1893, Father John was accompanied by his nephew I.V. Fidelin, hieromonk Gennady, railway engineer, actual state councilor M.D. Silvanov, future Sur teachers A. Sosina and f. Krasilnikov; in Arkhangelsk they were joined by a member of the Diocesan School Council E.O. Korelin (see: The Kronstadt Shepherd. Issue 1. pp. 113–114). ...Father John served in the Trinity Cathedral - with the new bishop... - From April 16, 1893, the Arkhangelsk and Kholmogory Sees were occupied by Bishop Nikanor (in the world - Nikifor Timofeevich Kamensky; 1847-1910). The Arkhangelsk Diocesan Gazette reported that after the Liturgy in the Trinity Cathedral, “the cathedral clergy, headed by His Eminence Nikanor, solemnly presented to Father John an ancient icon of the Holy Trinity in a silver robe” (Kronstadt Shepherd. Issue 1. p. 113). Antiphon, tone 4, from the sequence of Matins. ...to the sister of Father John AL.; a kind old woman and her husband, like a harrier, a gray-haired priest... - Since 1879, Father John’s younger sister Anna Ilyinichna Fidelina (born in 1836) lived in Matigory. In 1852, she married the sexton of the Sursky parish, Vasily Ivanovich Fidelin, with whom she had 12 children. V.I. Fidelin (1832–1902) in 1889 was ordained a priest of the Verkhne-Matigorsk parish of Kholmogory district. During his trips to his homeland, Father John regularly visited his sister’s family. The Fidelins' son John was Father John's personal secretary. Compare: General troparion to the saints, tone 4. ...Father John had to visit the dean there and visit one priest - his friend from the seminary... - This refers to the dean of the Sur churches, priest Fileter Afanasyevich Tsvetkov, and Father John’s fellow student at the Arkhangelsk Theological Seminary, rector of the Poksheng parish, Kirill Kirillovich Terentyev (c. 1832–1906). In 1897 Fr. Kirill was moved to the vacancy of a priest at the Solombala Cathedral in Arkhangelsk. ...a newly built parochial school... – The main purpose of Father John’s trip to Sura in the summer of 1893 was the opening of a parochial school, established at his expense. The school was designed for 40 boys and 40 girls. Member of the Diocesan School Council E.O. Korelin, in his speech at the opening of the Sura school, described the role of Father John in its establishment: “You see this beautiful, spacious, bright and clean building; you see many books and teaching aids, these precious holy icons. All this was given to you by your benefactor for your constant use. Salary for the teacher, teacher, teacher and craftswoman; the maintenance of the building, maintenance and improvement of teaching aids is provided with a large inviolable capital of 26 thousand rubles. An unprecedented sacrifice in our diocese! The new school is exemplary for all our church schools in terms of its wealth of resources” (Kronstadt Shepherd. Issue 1. P. 118). ...E.O. Korelin, as an authorized representative of the diocesan authorities, made a speech... - Text of the speech by E.O. Korelin, see: The Kronstadt Shepherd. Vol. 1. pp. 117–118. Looking at all this, it was only possible to repeat the 103rd Psalm with David, which could not have been more suitable for this generous creation of God. – The sight of the Pinega River and its surroundings evoked similar feelings and thoughts in Father John himself. During a trip to his homeland in 1899, he wrote the following lines to Abbess Taisia: “Bless my word for Thy praise, Lord! The Pinega River and the world of God in its wonderful beauty on June 10 on the steamship “St. Nicholas”. An unforgettable, delightful, glorious night that I saw in the north, when on June 10 I was traveling on my steamship “St. Nicholas the Wonderworker" along the Pinega River! It was not far from its confluence with the great Northern Dvina, sweeping like a sea. It was 12 o’clock at night, but in reality there was no night, and there wasn’t even twilight; it was the brightest, quiet evening. In fact on the horizon - radiant cirrus clouds; the river - like glass, did not sway; from the bright dawn it was all like fire. On both sides of the river, the banks are bordered by smooth coniferous forest with green meadows; the water, like a mirror, wonderfully reflected the crimson sky. Silence is dead! The thought and heart are carried away to God, who is clothed in such splendor, clothed with light, like a robe, stretching out the sky like skin (cf. Ps. 104:1-2). You feel that He Himself is here, Omnipresent, filling everything, decorating everything, containing everything, giving life and breath and everything to everything (cf. Acts 17:25). And this Pinega is my native river, flowing near my native village of Surskoye, near which I ran so many times as a child and a youth, which was so noisy and delighted me with its majestic spring ice drift, its abundant and wide, all-enthralling flood. This is the Pinega along which I sailed so much, when I was a student of a theological school and seminary, I sailed with great difficulties in a large boat, exposed to downpours of rain, and sometimes showered with snow and hail, at the end of August or beginning of September. How many memories are presented to my mind and imagination! How many feelings awaken in me - both joyful and sad! My parents were poor; Moreover, my father was constantly ill, from hard work he suffered from severe stomach pain, which was either a hernia or cancer, from which he died early, only forty-six years old; my mother died in Kronstadt in 1870 from cholera. Today, June 10, I didn’t sleep all night - and now I waited for the sun to rise, dazzlingly sparkling and wonderfully playing with the tints of light. It was in the first quarter of the second hour of 1899, the night of June 10" (Letters from Father Archpriest John to the abbess of the St. John the Baptist Leushinsky first-class monastery, Abbess Taisia. (Hereinafter - Letters to Abbess Taisia.) St. Petersburg, 1909. pp. 23–25). ...the old abbess with sincere cordiality invited us all to dine with Father John. – In 1893, the abbess of the Kholmogory Assumption Monastery was nun Seraphima (in the world - Anna Petrovna Varfolomeeva). In 1878, she was unanimously chosen as the abbess of the monastery, and in 1896, “due to poor health,” she retired, living at the monastery until 1906. ...we went to inspect the Transfiguration Cathedral, which is notable for the fact that Arkhangelsk bishops are buried there... - The tradition of burying Arkhangelsk bishops in the Transfiguration Cathedral is due to the fact that until 1731 the diocese was called Kholmogory and Vazhskaya and had an administrative center in Kholmogory. ...starting with the first Athanasius, the founder of the Assumption Monastery in Kholmogory. – Archbishop Afanasy of Kholmogory and Vazhesky (in the world - Alexey Artemyevich Lyubimov) headed the Kholmogory See from 1682 to 1702. On November 3, 1687, Archbishop Afanasy “founded a new wooden church in the name of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, on Kurtsevo, for a new nunnery.” The church was consecrated on August 4, 1688. The first abbess of the monastery was the mother of Archbishop Athanasius, Paraskeva (in monasticism - Martha) (see: Pashchenko E. Women's monasteries of the Arkhangelsk province (XVII-XX centuries). Arkhangelsk, 1999. pp. 39–40). Solombala is a district of Arkhangelsk. In Ustyug, the Vologda bishop arrived on the ship... - In 1893, Israel was the bishop of Vologda and Totem (in the world - Nikulitsky Nikolai Evgrafovich: died 1894). ...he gave me the 5th volume of his book “My Life in Christ”... – This refers to the 5th volume of the Complete Works of Archpriest John Ilyich Sergiev, which included the second part of the diary “My Life in Christ” (Kronstadt, 1892). ...two merchants living in St. Petersburg, L and 3... - Perhaps we are talking about the Rybinsk merchant Lipovskaya and the St. Petersburg merchant of the second guild Zaitsevskaya. On a steamship sent by the Lipovskys, Father John traveled to Rybinsk in 1891 (Yaroslavl TV. 1891. No. 59, July 30). Alexandra Ivanovna Zaitsevskaya, an admirer and spiritual daughter of Father John, was his “carriage maid” from 1893 (accompanied Father when visiting the sick); had a dacha in Strelna, where Father John vacationed in the summer. Prayer 3, Simeon Metaphrastus. That night a terrible thunderstorm broke out over Tolga and Yaroslavl; they said the houses shook from thunderclaps. – Auth. Wed: (Matthew 26:26, 27–28); (1 Cor. 11:24); cf.: exclamations of the priest after secret prayer during the Eucharistic canon “With these blessed Powers we too...”, from the sequence of the Liturgy. Soon after mass, Father John and the bishop left for the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery, and I went to Yaroslavl. – Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery is a men’s monastery in the village of Nekrasovskoye, Yaroslavl region. The monastery was founded in the 15th century. in the area of ​​​​"Babaiki" (the dialect name for oars for rafting timber), where the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was found, sailing on one of the oars. The monastery grew quickly, but in 1719 there was a fire in which most of the monastery property burned down, and in 1764, by decree of Catherine II, the monastery was classified as supernumerary. In 1861–1867 St. lived here in retirement. Ignatius Brianchaninov, through whose efforts funds were found for the construction of a church in honor of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God. In the 19th century St. Nicholas Cathedral was also erected. In 1919 the monastery was closed. The revival of the monastery began in 1998. ...to the priest and deacon and the teacher and teacher for their impeccably conscientious attitude to their duty... - On July 5, 1893, priest Fileter Tsvetkov was appointed rector of the Sursky parish. Teacher of the law at the Sura parochial school in 1893–1895. was the deacon of the Sura parish Georgy Makkaveev. The position of teacher was held by a graduate of the Totem Teachers' Seminary, Fyodor Krasilnikov, who arrived in Sura with Father John in 1893; teacher – A.A. Sosina. ...to dismantle the old wooden warm church... - We are talking about the old wooden church in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, built in 1687 by decree of Archbishop Afanasy (Lyubimov) of Kholmogory and Vazhesky on March 22, 1687. Troparion to the Saint, tone 4. On May 29, news arrived that Father John was already going to Sura. – Father John’s departure from Kronstadt to his homeland was scheduled for Monday, May 16, but was postponed to Sunday, May 22. On May 24, Father John arrived from Moscow to Vologda by evening train. The day after the Liturgy in the Church of the All-Merciful Savior, he left the city by ship (Vologda GV. 1894. No. 21, May 27. Part unofficial). On the evening of May 28, the steamer with Father John arrived in Arkhangelsk. “At 8 o’clock in the evening on May 30, the travelers left Arkhangelsk and exactly two days later they were in Sura” (Arkhangelsk EV. 1894. No. 11, June 15. Neof. P. 283). The steamship was a state-owned, military one... - Father John and the Arkhangelsk diocesan bishop Nikanor (Kamensky) made a trip to Sura on the state-owned steamship of the Department of Railways “Nikolai”. Due to the low water supply of the Pinega River, the steamer "Nikolai" was escorted by Volodin's steamer "Verkolets", on which the bishop's retinue and pilgrims were traveling to the Verkolsky monastery (see: Kronstadt Shepherd. Issue 1. P. 121). ...sister and nephews... – The family of Father John’s younger sister Daria Ilyinichna (1839–1911), who married a peasant from the village of Gorskaya, Sursky parish, Semyon Prokopyevich Malkin, lived in Sura. The Malkin family had six children. Troparion of the Ascension of the Lord, tone 4. Exapostilary (luminary) during Holy Week. Bratina is an ancient large spherical vessel in which drinks were served for pouring into bowls or drinking in a circle. ...a white stone cathedral on two floors. – The stone two-story Holy Trinity Church in Pinega was built in 1800–1817. On the upper floor of the church there was a throne in honor of the Life-Giving Trinity, on the lower floor there was a main altar in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, side – in the name of Elijah the Prophet. ... rang the bell at the rector's door. – The rector of the Arkhangelsk Theological Seminary since May 11, 1887 was Fr. Alexander Efimovich Orlov. Troparion 4, hymn 6, canon of the Honorable Cross, tone 4. A.I. - Anna Ilyinichna Fidelina. The church in Matigora, in honor of the Resurrection of Christ, is very interesting: on July 10 last 1894 it turned two hundred years old. – Construction of a stone three-altar church in the village. Upper Matigory began in 1686 by decree of Archbishop Afanasy (Lyubimov) of Kholmogory and Vazhesky. On July 10, 1694, he consecrated the main altar of the church in honor of the Resurrection of Christ. Side church with a warm meal in the name of the Great Church. Paraskeva was consecrated on June 5, 1708, the second chapel is in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The church is one-story, in one connection with a three-tier bell tower. There were 10 bells on the bell tower, the largest of which, weighing 105 pounds, was cast in 1517. The ancient five-tiered iconostasis was 4.5 fathoms high and 5 fathoms wide. Karbas is a small sailing vessel for fishing and transporting goods among the inhabitants of the North. Wed: (2 Pet. 2:22); (Prov. 26:11). Prayer of St. Simeon the God-Receiver from Vespers; (Luke 2:29). ...with his niece... – Father John was accompanied on his trip to his homeland by his niece Anna Semyonovna Malkina. In 1891, Father John took his niece from Sura to Kronstadt, and then placed her in the Leushinsky Monastery, entrusting her upbringing to Abbess Taisia ​​(Solopova). In 1894, Anna Malkina was preparing to marry the future priest Ivan Nikolaevich Ornatsky. In a letter to Abbess Taisia ​​dated May 4, 1894, Father John wrote: “I am going to my homeland after May 17, I will take Anyuta with me not so much for a visit there, but for my mother’s blessing for marriage: this is a great thing!” (Letters to Abbess Taisia. pp. 6–7). ...Saint Procopius, Christ for the Fool's sake, Ustyug Wonderworker. - Memory is right. Procopius († 1303) takes place on July 8/21. ...a venerable elder, the Right Reverend Nathanael, who was, they say, twice Bishop of Arkhangelsk. – See note. No. 286 to this part. The governor and the mayor appeared on the ship... - This means the Yaroslavl governor, Major General of the General Staff A.Ya. Friede and mayor of Yaroslavl I.N. Sobolev. ...there was a year-long act. – The ceremonial graduation day for students who have completed a full school course. On June 18, 1894, the fifth graduation of students in the 12 years of the school’s existence took place at the Yaroslavl Diocesan Ioanafanovsky Women’s School. 45 students graduated from the school, of which: 29 were daughters of priests, 9 were deacons, 6 were psalm-readers, one was a teacher (Yaroslavsky EV. 1894. No. 48. Neof. pp. 755–756). ...father John appeared and entered the apartment of the teacher of the law, priest O.M. T. – The teacher of the law of the IV and V classes, the priest at the school church and the chairman of the Council of the Yaroslavl diocesan Jonathan School was the teacher of the law of the Yaroslavl provincial gymnasium, priest Mikhail Troitsky, who completed a course at the Moscow Theological Academy with a candidate of theology degree (see: Yaroslavl Ev. 1894. No. 46. Neof. P. 723). The archimandrite and a whole council of priests served together with Bishop and Father John. – The Divine Liturgy in the house church of the Jonathan Diocesan Women’s School was performed by Archbishop Jonathan of Yaroslavl and Rostov, co-served by the Archimandrite of the Afanasyevsky Monastery, Fr. Vladimir, Fr. John Ilyich Sergiev, rector of the local theological seminary, Archpriest. N.A. Barsky and members of the school council (see: Yaroslavl GV. Daily addition. 1894. No. 47, June 23). ...for the fifth time God has brought me to accompany Father John to Sura, dear to him. – A.F. Nartsizova accompanied Father John on trips to his homeland in 1891, 1892, 1893 and 1894. ...the steamship “St. Nicholas the Wonderworker”, intended for the Sursky parish church trusteeship. - The first steamship "St. Nicholas the Wonderworker,” tested in the summer of 1897, turned out to be unsuitable for traveling through the narrow locks of the Mariinsky water system and was sold, as evidenced by the diary entry of Father John: “August 24, 1897. Give permission to Deacon Maccabee to sell my ship for 19 thousand for No. 250 (August 25) paper.” Sursky peasant Lukiyan Laryushev wrote to Father John: “According to your letter addressed to your nephew Evdokim Semenovich Malkin about receiving the steamer “St. Nicholas”, I was invited by Malkin to serve as an employee on the ship. Upon our arrival in Arkhangelsk, it turned out differently. The ship was sold, and therefore I was left idle and neglected my homework” (TsGIA St. Petersburg, f. 2219, on. 1, d. 4, l. 211–211 vol.). ( Rev. 3:5, 4:4, 7:13 ). ...diocesan observer priest Father Chukov... - In 1897, the position of diocesan observer of parochial schools and literacy schools of the Olonets diocese was filled by priest. Nikolai Chukov (1870–1955), later a prominent figure in the Russian Orthodox Church, since 1945 – Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod. (1 Tim. 4:8); ( 2 Tim. 3:16–17 ). (1 Cor. 1:19–20); cf.: (Isa. 29:14; 33:18). At 8 o'clock in the evening at Chaika, leaving the canal in Sheksna... - Chaika is a village in the Belozersky district of the Vologda region. ... (see “Russian Pilgrim” for 1893). – See present. ed. P. 164. ...Father Archimandrite Vitaly... – This refers to the rector of the Verkolsky Monastery, Archimandrite. Vitaly (see note about him No. 232 to this part). ...When I was a nine-year-old child walking home from the Arkhangelsk school... - Father John entered the Arkhangelsk parish theological school in September 1838 at the age of 8 years. He was able to visit his native Sura only in the summer of 1839 during the summer holidays in Arkhangelsk theological schools (see: Kronstadt Shepherd. Issue 2. M., 2010. pp. 55–56). ...to the village of Sultsy, where a wooden church was recently built to replace the old one, which had been closed several years earlier due to its disrepair. – The Suletsky parish, located 30 versts from Sura upstream of the Pinega River, was one of the poorest in the Pinega district. Until 1883, the villages of the Sulesky parish were part of the Sura parish, but were separated into an independent parish due to the large distance to the parish church. On June 14, 1865, a church in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord, built at the expense of the Holy Synod, was consecrated in Sultsy. However, in the 1890s. The church was closed due to disrepair. The Church in the name of the Icon of the Mother of God “Hodegetria” is extremely poor and wretched... – The Church in the name of the Icon of the Mother of God “Hodegetria” was built according to the charter of Bishop George (Yashchurzhinsky) dated December 5, 1844 and consecrated in 1848. However, churches in Nyukhcha existed earlier. Thus, it is known that in 1792, Kharlampiy Stepanovich Sergiev, possibly a distant relative of Father John, served as a sexton in the Nyukhchen parish of Pinezhsky district (see: The Kronstadt Shepherd. Issue 2. P. 95). ...public shop. – A public shop was set up by Father John in Sura in the late 1890s. in order to counteract local traders. It sold essential goods to peasants at reasonable prices. Father John helped purchase goods for the shop from merchants he knew. The shop had an annual turnover of almost ten thousand. In February-March 1901, the shop was transferred to the ownership of the newly established Sursky Convent (GAAO, f. 310, on. 1, d. 14, l. 12, 29). ...Kozheozersky Monastery... – Epiphany Kozheozersky (Kozheezersky) monastery is located in the Arkhangelsk region on the shore of Kozheozersky. Founded by the Monk Serapion of Kozheezersky in the middle of the 16th century. St. lived in the monastery for about three years. Leonid of Ustnedum († 1654), St. Nikodim Khozyugsky († 1640). In the 1630s, the future Patriarch Nikon moved to the monastery from the Solovetsky Monastery; in 1643–1646. he was the abbot of the monastery. In 1764 the monastery was abolished, in 1853 it was restored. By the end of the 19th century. there were 25 monks in the monastery. After the revolution of 1917, the monastery was closed; its revival began in 1999. ...in the fifties, the hieromonk of the Kozheozersk monastery, who was later elevated to the rank of abbot, Theodosius, was made rector... - Hegumen Theodosius (in the world - Feodor Vasilyevich Orekhov; 1830–1885) came to the Kozheozersk monastery in 1856, was tonsured a monk in 1860 and a year later ordained hieromonks. In 1861, Hieromonk Theodosius was appointed builder of the Artemiyevo-Verkolsky Monastery. Compare: Eucharistic canon; cf.: (1 Cor. 11:24); (Matthew 26:26, 27–28). Stichera on the lithium “Today the creature is enlightened...”, ch. 4th, from the observance of Great Vespers on the feast of the Epiphany. Wed: (Rom. 12:9–19, 21); (1 Cor. 2:9). ...the kind old priest Terentyev is Father John’s friend in the seminary... - See, let’s accept. No. 297 to this part. Here I involuntarily remembered the churches and monasteries I had seen in the holy places of the East... - In 1895–1896. A.F. Narcisova made an eleven-month journey to the Holy Land. She outlined her impressions of the pilgrimage in the book “Notes on a Travel to the Holy Places of the East” (Ryazan, 1904), published with the blessing of Father John. ...with the new abbess Eupraxia... - Nun Eupraxia (in the world - Paraskeva Zelyanina; 1835-1906) became the abbess of the Kholmogory Assumption Monastery in 1897 at the age of 62 years. Since 1844 she was a novice of the same monastery; later the treasurer passed obedience there (see: Pashchenko E.V. Women’s monasteries of the Arkhangelsk province (XVII-XX centuries). Arkhangelsk, 1999. P. 47). ...the word of our Russian Chrysostom - the Right Reverend Innocent... - St. was called the Russian Chrysostom. Innocent, Archbishop of Kherson (in the world - Ivan Alekseevich Borisov; f 1857; memory - May 25 / June 7). Published according to publications: Nartsizova Alexandra. Letters about travels with Father John of Kronstadt to his homeland and other places. St. Petersburg, 1894; Nartsizova Alexandra. A trip to Sura and return from there with Father John of Kronstadt. Yaroslavl, 1895; Nartsizova Alexandra. The journey of the father of Archpriest John Ilyich Sergiev, the shepherd of Kronstadt, to his homeland in the village of Sura, Arkhangelsk province, Pinega district in 1897. Yaroslavl, 1899. GAYAO, f. 151, op. 2, no. 30940. The publishing house expresses gratitude to the director of the Centralized Library System of Yaroslavl, Svetlana Yuryevna Akhmetdinova, and the chief librarian of the Central Library named after. M.Yu. Lermontova Natalya Ivanovna Fondo for her help in finding materials about Alexandra Flegontovna Nartsizova. Popovitsky A.I. From summer memories // Kronstadt Shepherd. Vol. 1. M., 2002. P. 106. Nartsizova A.F. Notes on a trip to the Holy Places of the East. Ryazan, 1904. P. 3. TsGIA SPb., f. 2219, op. 1, d. 11, l. 119–120. Nartsizova A.F. Notes on a trip to the Holy Places of the East. S. 5. Popovitsky A.I. Decree. op. P. 106. TsGIA SPb., f. 2219, op. 1, d. 4, l. 13–14. TsGIA SPB., f. 2219, op. 1, d. 7a, l. 48–49.