Семинар студентов духовных и светских учебных заведений «Духовное наследие Святителя Феофана Затворника» (в рамках XXV Международных Рождественских образовательных чтений)
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Clement, Metropolitan of Kaluga and Borovsky, Chairman of the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. The service of Saint Theophan in Palestine in the first composition of the Russian Spiritual Mission (1847–1853)
A visit to the Holy Land - those places where the Lord Jesus Christ became man, lived, preached, performed miracles, accepted death and was resurrected - occupies a special place in the life of any Christian believer. The stay of Hieromonk Theophan (Govorov) in Palestine is of great importance not only for his spiritual development as an ascetic and future Vyshensky recluse, but for everyone who resorted and to this day resorts to the wise advice and soul-saving writings of the saint.
It was during the period of his service in the Holy Land that Saint Theophan received a rare opportunity for his time to study the works of ancient Christian ascetics in originals and early copies. Having gained access to the treasury of patristic thought, he not only strengthened his personal experience as an ascetic, but also enriched the entire domestic spiritual tradition, telling his contemporaries about the right way to achieve the goal of Christian life - salvation in Christ.
This period of the life of Saint Theophan can be reconstructed from numerous official documents from the largest Russian archives of the Russian State Historical Archive and AVPRI, as well as from the published memoirs of the first head of the RDM 1. Part of the unofficial correspondence, which is concentrated mainly in the funds of NIOR RSL, CIAM SPbF ARAN, ARDM and others, helps to clarify a number of biographical facts and understand the motives of individual actions and decisions of St. Theophan related to his stay in the Holy Land. First of all, these are two letters from the saint, written from Jerusalem in 1851: A.N. Muravyov on April 9, 2 and then still to Hieromonk Antonin (Kapustin) on June 20. 3
The main body of documents related to the copying and translation of Greek manuscripts by St. Theophan in the Middle East is stored on Athos in the archives and library of the St. Panteleimon Monastery.
Unlike other foreign missions, the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem operated on the canonical territory of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church, performing the functions of an embassy or diplomatic mission. When the mission was created in 1847, there were three main goals. In addition to strengthening ties between fraternal Local Churches, these include organizing the stay in the Holy Land for pilgrims from Russia who need both spiritual nourishment by Russian-speaking priests and the resolution of various problems associated with being on the territory of a foreign state. In addition, the presence of the Russian clergy in Palestine, where representatives of many Christian churches and non-Christian faiths historically strive to go, should have served to strengthen the position of Orthodoxy there.
The first head of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem was a church scientist, specialist in the field of oriental studies and archeology, Archimandrite Porfiry (Uspensky), who had previously visited Palestine and upon his return substantiated the need for the permanent presence of Russian priests in the Holy Land. Fulfilling the order of Emperor Nicholas I, the Holy Synod decided to send him again to Jerusalem, accompanied by one hieromonk and two novices, the choice of which was entrusted to Metropolitan Anthony (Rafalsky) of Novgorod, St. Petersburg, Estonia and Finland.
At a time when issues of financing the mission were still being resolved, Hieromonk Feofan (Govorov) made an attempt to become a member of it. Being an assistant inspector and a bachelor of moral theology at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, on July 29, 1847. turned to Metropolitan Anthony with a petition. In it, the 32-year-old teacher wrote about his desire to “venerate the Holy Sepulcher and other Palestinian shrines” and asked the first-present member of the Holy Synod to seek permission for him to accompany Archimandrite Porfiry “to Jerusalem and be with him there, carrying out any assignments that the authorities wish to assign to me” 4 .
A little earlier, Archimandrite Porfiry, for his part, pointed to Hieromonk Theophan as a useful person for the mission: pious and sedate, who, as he knows, “will not refuse to work in the East for the sake of Christ” 5, i.e. free of charge. The rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, Bishop Eusebius (Orlinsky) of Vinnitsa, also highly characterized his subordinate, calling him in private correspondence a wonderful monk and ascetic. 6
Based on the petition of Metropolitan Anthony 7, Hieromonk Theophan was enrolled in the mission along with two graduates of the St. Petersburg Theological Seminary 8.
In addition to paying for travel to Jerusalem, as well as expenses for food and accommodation, he was given an annual salary of 1,000 silver rubles. 9 Shortly before departure, on October 29, 1847, another 429 rubles were added to this amount in silver of the annual salary of a bachelor’s salary, with which the Holy Synod considered it necessary to reward Hieromonk Theophan for “constant service and excellent diligence” in the performance of official duties. 10
However, having already received his dismissal from service at the Academy, Hieromonk Feofan was not yet aware of the funds allocated to him. Getting ready for the trip, he wrote that he had revised the list of books he intended to buy, for fear that he would not have enough money for the trip. This message, as well as the phrase “they would give money for the journey” 11, indicate that he really decided to go to Palestine at his own expense.
When departing from the capital, the status of all members of the mission, according to paragraph 2 of the instructions for its head, was unofficial - they were all heading to the Holy Land as pilgrims. 12 At the same time, Archimandrite Porfiry was provided with an official letter from Metropolitan Anthony to the Patriarch of Jerusalem with a request to “facilitate their temporary residence in the Holy City” and “to allow them to perform divine services there” 13, which gave the mission the status of an official representation. Having received such permission, the priests in the mission were required to perform divine services in Church Slavonic and take part in joint divine services with the local clergy in Greek.
Having left St. Petersburg on October 14, 1847, the mission proceeded to Odessa, where Saint Theophan arrived on November 6, 4 days later than the others, visiting the shrines of Kyiv dear to his heart. 14 From Odessa, the saint wrote a letter under the impression of his trip through the Russian outback. Far from the capital, something was revealed to him that he had not noticed before: how far the spiritual state of the people was from the ideals of Holy Rus'. Most of all, he was upset by the separation he saw between the pastors and the flock, the cause of which was “the police and clerical form in church affairs”: “we do not have fathers in the Church, but something terrible, supervisory, judicial. That is why light and warmth do not flow from fathers to children, and children turn their backs to their fathers: but the accursed one strangles both of them” 15. The rural priests themselves were unable to change the situation because of their dependent position: “The priests of God could speak the truth and have power; but my heart bleeds when I think about their shy and extremely meager situation” 16.
In Odessa, Archimandrite Porfiry taught his companions modern Greek before being sent to Constantinople, where they arrived on November 23 after two days of sailing on the ship Chersonesus. While staying for 2 months in Constantinople, Hieromonk Theophan found himself for the first time in the sphere of external church relations: he met with the Ecumenical Patriarch Anthimus and Metropolitan Hierotheus of Tabor, and also met the Russian envoy V.P. Titov. Here the saint began scientific works, which over time took the main place in his ministry in the Holy Land. Having access to the library of the Holy Sepulcher Metochion in Jerusalem, Hieromonk Theophan, under the leadership of the head of the mission, translated several 18th-century manuscripts from Greek. 17
The saint's stay in the Holy Land began in Beirut, where all members of the mission left the deck of the ship on February 2, 1848. The next day, Russian pilgrims visited the village of Shuefat, where they observed local church customs in the Assumption parish. During lunch, Archbishop Benjamin of Beirut spoke a lesson to his spiritual children and taught them food from his hands, calling each by name, and they reverently took the food, “as if they were taking communion.” This touched the head of the Russian mission. “The dining room seemed to me like a nest in which an eagle feeds its chicks,” Archimandrite Porfiry wrote down his impressions. – ...This is how our bishops should visit their children and be in their homes; but with us this is impossible due to the great number of families in each diocese.” 18
On the road to Jerusalem, which the Russian spiritual mission traveled on horseback, its members visited Christian monasteries and churches, examined ancient ruins and areas mentioned in the Bible, studied monastery libraries, being interested in ancient manuscripts. The journey was little like a pilgrimage; rather, it was a scientific expedition, as far as circumstances and the need to reach the goal of the journey - the Holy City - permitted.
Finally, on February 17, 1848, all members of the mission arrived safely in Jerusalem 19. The next day they were received by Patriarch Kirill of Jerusalem, who received advance notification of the purpose of the arrival of Archimandrite Porfiry and his companions from the Russian Consul General in Syria and Palestine K.M. Basili 20
According to the testimony of Archimandrite Porfiry, after listening to the letter of Metropolitan Anthony of Novgorod and St. Petersburg, the Patriarch promised to accept the Russian clergy as his clergy and do everything in his power for them, and also invited the entire group to remain in the Monastery of the Holy Sepulcher until a permanent place of residence is determined for them 21. From August 16, 1848 this permanent place became the Archangel Monastery in Jerusalem, where they could perform divine services in the Slavic language. 22
The lifestyle of the mission participants was determined by its head. According to the description of Archimandrite Porfiry, Sunday and holiday services were performed in the Slavic language, but according to the Greek charter 23. At the appointed hours, a common meal followed: tea, breakfast, lunch. Learned conversations were held at the table, and Arabic, Greek and French were spoken as an exercise in learning these languages. Hired servants, Orthodox Arabs, helped to run the household, and the mission participants treated them as members of the household.
On the second day after arriving in Jerusalem, members of the Russian Spiritual Mission bowed for the first time to the shrines of the Holy Sepulcher and the Church of the Resurrection of Christ. Mentioning this exciting event for every Christian, Archimandrite Porfiry scrupulously notes which of the local bishops attended and which ignored it 24
In general, from the first days there can be seen a difference in attitude towards holy places and a different approach to the activities of the mission between its head and Hieromonk Theophan.
Judging by official reports and memoirs, Archimandrite Porfiry paid the closest attention to church diplomacy and scientific research. The main goal of the mission in Jerusalem, in his opinion, was to familiarize himself “with the various Christian churches existing in the East, both native and foreign, of which the latter are represented there by various spiritual missions and monasteries,” believing for this purpose it is necessary “to study the architecture of Christian churches with its symbolism, their sacred painting, poetry, singing, holy calendar, Chetya-Minea, liturgy, their history, diplomacy, morals, customs, rituals, charters, regulations, the power of rights, the power of money and trade, the power of speech and school, the power of home and church, and all this to be learned both in their own books and in living treatment with them” 25.
For his part, Hieromonk Theophan was more interested in the spiritual treasures of the Holy Land, which he sought in the teachings of ancient ascetics and in the life of contemporary monasteries. The church life of Palestine turned out to be the same spiritual hibernation that he observed in the Russian outback. “Jerusalem is dead. This is a Russian village... One thing occupies everyone: that the Latin serpents are planning to take away all the places from us - the Orthodox - and great worries about this are going on in Constantinople,” the future saint wrote to Hieromonk Antonin (Kapustin) in Athens, expressing his constant aspiration to find “the spirit of faith and the true life of Christ.” 26
During the second week of Great Lent, 1848 (March 6), members of the mission led by Archimandrite Porfiry visited the place of the Nativity of Christ - the city of Bethlehem “to meet with Metropolitan Dionysius of Bethlehem” 27 . From this official trip, everyone returned to Jerusalem the next day except Hieromonk Theophan. Continuing the pilgrimage, the future saint went deep into the Judean desert to the Lavra of Sava the Sanctified.
In his “Letters from the East” A.N. Muravyov rightly likened Saint Savva to the Russian ascetic St. Sergius of Radonezh, asserting that “the great hermit Savva is the same for Palestine as Sergius is for Russia” 28 . Being the Abba of all Palestinian monasteries, the Monk Savva the Sanctified drew up a monastic rule, which became widespread and is still accepted in Orthodox monasteries in different countries, including Russia, where it was brought from Holy Mount Athos.
Being within the walls of a secluded monastery, glorified by the exploits of many saints, Hieromonk Theophan had the opportunity to become acquainted with its internal routine. Many years later, in letters from seclusion, he cited the rule of reading the Jesus Prayer adopted at the Lavra of St. Sava. 29 In the Lavra of Sava the Sanctified, the future saint saw the life of monks who adhered to ancient ascetic rules. The hegumen of the monastery, Elder Joasaph, who labored in the Lavra for more than thirty years, according to the testimony of A.N. Muravyov, was a worthy successor of Saint Sava: “spiritual simplicity in him reaches childlike innocence, an everlasting smile on his lips, unparalleled patience...; Meanwhile, he... is gifted with spiritual insight and well-read in spiritual books, knows all the lives of holy hermits and loves them like family,” imitating “the ancient abbas with his ascetic life” 30. Communication in the Holy Land with such spirit-bearing ascetics was not only educational for Hieromonk Theophan, but also important for his personal growth as an Orthodox ascetic.
While working in the Lavra library, Hieromonk Theophan discovered manuscripts in Greek of the collection of ascetic teachings “Pandect of the Holy Scriptures,” compiled in the 6th–7th centuries by the monk of the Lavra, the Monk Savva Antiochus. Saint Theophan rewrote this collection, and thanks to his labors, a significant part of this ancient monument has been preserved 31. The autograph of the translation of the beginning of the collection (up to chapter 12 inclusive) is currently kept in the library of the St. Panteleimon Monastery on Athos 32. Some teachings were published in the journal “Soulful Interlocutor” at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.
The difference in scientific interests of the head of the mission and the future saint is evidenced by the lists of texts written out, collected and translated by them. Thus, during the first half of his stay in the Middle East, Archimandrite Porfiry collected historical evidence and unpublished works “about the spiritual power of the Ecumenical Patriarch and his Synod...”, as well as “about the significance of the central power of the Constantinople Patriarchs in the entire Orthodox Church” 33.
At the same time, Hieromonk Theophan “with special zeal” was studying “the ascetic works of Orthodox writers from publications little known to many, and especially from the most ancient manuscripts of the libraries of Jerusalem, Savvinsk and Athos” 34. By mid-1848 he read the collection of patristic teachings “Evergetin”, published in Europe in the 18th century, and also began to translate two handwritten monuments: “Pandect of the Holy Scriptures” by the monk Antiochus and “Admonitions of the Holy Fathers”, known in Russian as the “Skete Patericon” 35.
Archimandrite Porfiry, who had already been to Palestine before, was more attracted to places that had not yet been visited by anyone from Russia. Thus, during the expedition to Jaffa in May 1848, the head of the mission traveled around the area, remote from the pilgrimage routes. There the scientist carefully searched, described and sketched “all sorts of antiquities” 36: the ruins of the ancient city of Apollonia, Byzantine columns, capitals and friezes of the church in Abud, the destroyed church in the village of Ibne (Philistine city of Jamnia), the ruins of the Saracen fortress and the source of the Oje River 37.
And Hieromonk Theophan, discovering a different purpose for his stay in the Holy Land, repeatedly wrote: “I am not a lover of stones and stones” 38, “I am not a hunter for walls, and not for any dead antiquities,” and emphasized that his soul thirsts only for “the undying words of the godly fathers” 39
In the first year of the mission’s work in Jerusalem, another, very significant, discrepancy between Archimandrite Porfiry and the future saint was revealed in relation to theological issues important to Hieromonk Theophan related to the history and practice of Orthodox asceticism. The discussion was about the rootedness of the monastic tradition in Orthodoxy, as well as about the relationship between God's grace and demonic inspirations in the soul of a Christian. On this occasion, October 25, 1848. an explanation took place in a personal conversation, during which Hieromonk Theophan directly said to Archimandrite Porfiry: “My soul is upset from your conversations with us” 40.
It turned out that the head of the mission, during “learned conversations,” deliberately touched on these issues for educational purposes in order to save the hieromonk from what he considered to be excessive daydreaming. In his memoirs, Archimandrite Porfiry stated only his point of view, omitting the answers of Hieromonk Theophan, which could have been convincing. “You believe that monks existed under the apostles,” Archimandrite Porfiry recalled these disputes, “and I read you the words of St. John Chrysostom about: “during the time of the apostles there was no trace of monasticism”" 41. But there was no need for a special monastic rite during the time of the apostles, since all the first Christians spent their lives entirely directed towards Christ, and were ready at any hour to surrender their souls to the Lord. In essence, monastic vows have only one significant difference from general Christian duties - this is the vow of celibacy. But in the letters of the Apostle Paul there is an indication of the preferability of serving God, not being burdened by the bonds of marriage, for those who are capable of it.
The apostle himself was unmarried and advised others that “those who have wives should be as if they had not;... and those who buy as if they were not acquiring; and those who use this world as if they do not use it” (1 Cor. 7:29–31). Are these not the principles of monastic life?
“You think that even those Christians who believe, repent and do good deeds with the help of God’s grace (Compare: 1 Cor. 8:1) are under the power or influence of evil spirits. About you, the Right Reverend Innocent told me before I left for the Holy City that, while living at the academy, you blessed water every month and sprinkled it with it in all the corners and all the cracks of your home there, imagining evil spirits nesting everywhere here. Knowing this, I used to say that by the grace of God, which is taught to us in the sacraments, we are stronger than the devils” 42. To support his words, Archimandrite Porfiry cited a story about the Nitrian hermit Abba Pamva, who explained to his student that demons cannot prevent an ascetic from doing good to his neighbor. But, it should be noted that in the lives of saints since ancient times there are many examples when spirits of malice tried in every possible way to hinder the prayer of hermits, and even clearly appeared to St. Anthony the Great, Sergius of Radonezh and many others. Thus, the very point of view of Archimandrite Porfiry in this dispute revealed him as a rational scientist.
It can be assumed that all the discrepancies were not limited to what the head of the mission listed. The essence of the misunderstanding was obviously the different nature of the religiosity of these people. Hieromonk Theophanes was ardent in his spiritual aspirations and, accordingly, quite idealistic. While Archimandrite Porfiry, known for the harshness of his character and criticism, religious idealism was alien.
Constant contact with such an internal structure that was not close to him, which was characteristic of Archimandrite Porfiry, forced Hieromonk Theophan to take a decisive step: he announced to the head of the mission his desire to leave it. However, heeding the arguments of Archimandrite Porfiry, in particular, “that the Holy Synod would be very unpleasant if you were returned to the public account,” 43 Hieromonk Theophan remained in Jerusalem.
Taking advantage of his right to assign scientific tasks to its participants, the head of the mission entrusted Hieromonk Theophanes with the translation from Greek of a complex of official church documents of the 17th century. According to Archimandrite Porfiry, this translation was of great value, because it provided the opportunity to “get acquainted with the diplomacy and judicial eloquence of the Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church.” 44 Instead of exciting work with sources that revealed the horizons of patristic wisdom, Saint Theophan was engaged in work that had no spiritual-cognitive interest for him for more than a year.
Nevertheless, this incident providentially had a positive impact on the future of St. Theophan as a spiritual writer. Remaining an employee of the Russian mission in Jerusalem, he was subsequently able to continue researching libraries and other archives of the Christian East in search of treasures of the spiritual wisdom of ancient ascetics. Being in a skeptical and rational environment, the future saint looked for compelling arguments and inspiring examples in the ascetic teachings of Eastern Christian ascetics, in the descriptions of the lives of monks in Egypt, Mount Athos and Palestine for preserving the inner disposition that was nurtured in him by his spiritual mentors - Bishop Jeremiah (Soloviev) and the elders of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.
Hieromonk Theophan not only learned, but also learned from his own experience the ascetic science of Eastern monasticism. Wishing that all Orthodox Christians in Russia could better know these traditions and follow them, he collected manuscripts and printed editions of texts compiled by ascetic monks. In the future, this allowed him to carry out the famous work of translating the Philokalia and other texts of ascetic literature into Russian.
In addition to studying and translating ascetic works, the future saint strove in every possible way to provide the help that was needed by numerous Orthodox pilgrims, as well as local Orthodox parishes and monasteries, for which he sang icons starting in 1850.
His stay in the Holy Land significantly expanded the future saint’s knowledge of modern foreign languages: Greek, French, Italian, German (which the saint studied in theological schools), as well as Arabic and Hebrew. 45
Knowledge of languages was necessary for mission members in the Holy Land, where they often had to communicate with representatives of heterodox Christian denominations: Catholics, Lutherans and followers of Armenian-Gregorianism. Entering into communication on Mission matters with followers of non-Orthodox faiths, Hieromonk Theophan learned a lot about the nature of the teachings of these faiths, about their strengths and weaknesses, as well as about the peculiarities of their polemics with Orthodoxy. Thanks to the acquired knowledge, he was subsequently able to provide assistance to those who encountered the activities of representatives of other faiths directed against Orthodoxy.
In January 1850, Archimandrite Porfiry petitioned for Hieromonk Theophan to be awarded a gold cabinet pectoral cross for commendable zeal in his studies 46 . Having gone through the required authorities: the embassy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Holy Synod, the Emperor's Cabinet, this issue was resolved positively 47. In May 1851 the head of the mission was notified that the award cross to Hieromonk Theophanes would be delivered by the Empress's maid of honor, the widow of the Adjutant General Maria Pavlovna Kavelina, who was going on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem 48 . The cabinet cross was also presented to Hieromonk Theophan on May 21, 1851.
Due to intense work in an unusual climate, Hieromonk Theophan’s health deteriorated. This was, in particular, mentioned by the Russian Consul General in Syria and Palestine K.M. Basili in his report dated April 13, 1849 about the activities of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem 49. Other members of the mission also suffered from various diseases, the cause of which were unsatisfactory living conditions: “The staleness of lime and stale air and dampness damaged the health of the archimandrite and the hieromonk and caused fevers in the students,” he reported to the capital 50.
Archimandrite Porfiry mentioned the need to improve the health of the members of the mission and expressed his intention to go on a trip to Egypt and Sinai in 1850. Planning to visit the Christian monasteries of Thebaid there, the faithful scientist head of the mission set the main goal of the trip to study “exclusively the Arabic language 51. It is worth noting that only in the last, sixth year of his stay in the Holy Land, Hieromonk Theophanes was able to abandon the study of Arabic, and only because another member of the mission learned to read and translate from Arabic 52 .
Members of the Russian spiritual mission set off for Egypt from Jerusalem on March 18, 1850. Their first stop was Alexandria, where, in addition to performing divine services, they studied the history and description of the monastery of St. Sava 53. Then in Cairo they examined ancient manuscripts in the libraries of the Orthodox Patriarchate and the Juvaniy metochion of the Sinai Monastery 54, and also examined church monuments, in particular the St. George Monastery 55.
In Cairo, members of the mission visited the Coptic Patriarch Peter to receive letters of guarantee to the abbots of the monasteries of St. Anthony the Great, St. Paul of Thebes 56 . Upon returning from the Thebaid to Cairo, the learned pilgrims proceeded through Sinai, where they visited the monastery of St. Catherine, to Jerusalem, where they arrived on August 17, 1850. 57
While working in the library of the Sinai Monastery, when Archimandrite Porfiry looked through Greek manuscripts from the letters α to η, and Hieromonk Theophanes - from η to σ 58, the future saint had the opportunity to examine the famous biblical manuscript of the 4th century. This was the Codex Sinaiticus, which was brought to St. Petersburg by Konstantin Tischendorf in 1859 and published three years later. The result of the work of Hieromonk Theophan in the same monastery library was his translation from Greek of the “Collection of Ascetic Works. Extracts from the Sinai manuscripts" 59. Texts from this collection can be found in the Appendices to Letters on the Christian Life 60 .
In addition, in the Sinai Monastery, Hieromonk Theophanes found and copied the missing 18 words of the “Pandect of the Monk Antiochus,” the main part of which he had copied earlier in the Lavra of Saint Sava, and another letter that supplemented his previous finds in the libraries of Jerusalem.
Returning from a trip to Egypt, Saint Theophan was finally able to begin translating the collected manuscripts. In 1850, he completed the translation of the “Collection of ascetic writings extracted from the patericon of the monastery of Saint Sava, near Jerusalem.” In 1851 he translated “Miterik” - a collection of instructions from Abba Isaiah to nun Theodora, which was soon published in the magazine “Sunday Reading” in 1853-1859.
Also in 1851, Saint Theophan completed the compilation of the Great Patericon, in which he combined the Greek manuscripts of the Lavra of St. Sava the Sanctified, the metochion of the Sinai monastery of St. Catherine in Juvania, the libraries of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Greek Gerondikon. This translation, entitled “Instructions of the Holy Fathers on how to achieve perfection in Christian life,” began to be published in the magazine “Tambov Diocesan Gazette” during the time the saint was in charge of the Tambov diocese.
After finishing work on the translations, Hieromonk Theophanes planned to visit Athos to “collect everything that is ascetic there” 61 . However, his plans did not come true. In October 1851, Archimandrite Porfiry was forced to go to Russia for treatment, and based on the attitude of the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, the management of the mission was temporarily entrusted to Hieromonk Theophan 62.
From a series of letters to Archimandrite Porfiry and the Russian envoy in Constantinople V.P. Titov can conclude that, while conscientiously fulfilling the will of the church authorities, Saint Theophan nevertheless felt his inability to fulfill positions of authority (“I am not ashamed to announce my powerlessness, for this is not a vice; and besides, it is known that not everyone has a government spirit. - You can have meaning, love work and work, but not be able to manage affairs”) and asked to be transferred either to the Academy or to a monastery 63. In the spring of 1852, to the joy of Hieromonk Theophan, Archimandrite Porfiry was able to return to Jerusalem. The life of the Russian spiritual mission returned to normal.
The next year, on April 8, 1853, mission employees, as well as Russian pilgrims, went to the Jordan River to perform the sacrament of Baptism in its waters of a thirteen-year-old Abyssinian from local residents, who was brought up at the mission. At Baptism he received the name Frumentius. The sacrament was performed by Hieromonk Theophan, and Archimandrite Porfiry 64 became Frumentius' successor. After this, the mission participants visited “places dear to the archimandrite’s heart, rarely visited by anyone”: the sources of Ein-Hajla, Ein-Feshka and Ein-Zhegair 65, explored the remains of the ancient monastery of St. Gerasim of Jordan 66 and climbed the Mount of Temptation (Forty Days Mountain or Carantal), from where, according to the description of Archimandrite Porfiry, a “wide panorama, extensive and fascinating with many, many biblical and historical memories" 67.
It seemed that the time had come for Hieromonk Theophan to ask to go to Mount Athos, but difficult times came for the mission. After the Russian ambassador left Constantinople on May 9, 1853, the mission began to experience financial difficulties. After all, it was through the embassy representation of the Russian Empire in Constantinople that Archimandrite Porfiry and his companions received money, mail, and books from Russia 68 . Attempts to establish financial support for the mission through other channels were unsuccessful 69 .
With Turkey’s declaration of war on Russia on October 4, 1853, Archimandrite Porfiry requested orders from the director of the office of the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, which noted the disastrous financial situation of the mission 70 . In December, the issue of allocating travel money for the return of the Russian spiritual mission to its homeland in the capital was fundamentally resolved, while Archimandrite Porfiry was ordered “that he, with the men with him, remain in Jerusalem until circumstances force him to leave” 71. The following year, 1854, military events forced the members of the mission to leave for their homeland.
Saint Theophan's six-year stay as part of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem was providential. It was only by the Providence of God that Saint Theophan for a long time had the opportunity to live and be imbued with the spirit of the sacred places of biblical history; visit ancient monasteries and famous places of ancient Christian asceticism; have the opportunity to study ancient languages and explore little-known manuscripts from the treasury of patristic literature; learn icon painting by studying ancient frescoes and mosaics. Participating in the work of the Mission and often being in a hostile and heterodox environment, Hieromonk Theophan always showed himself as a real ascetic monk, testifying with his very life to the heterodox environment about the truth of the Orthodox faith.
Theoktist (Igumnov), hierome, deputy chairman of the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. The work of Saint Theophan the Recluse on the translation of “The Invisible War” based on his letters to the Svyatogorsk fathers
It is known that the “Invisible Warfare”, well known to the Russian reader, by St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain is the author's adaptation of St. Theophan the Recluse, works of St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain, who, in turn, translated the work of the Catholic Theatine monk Lorenzo Scupoli “Spiritual Warfare”.
Unfortunately, no drafts or white copies of the translation of “The Invisible Warfare” have survived. Therefore, to judge how St. Theophan the Recluse worked on this translation; the creative history of the work can only be indirectly revealed through his letters to various people. Until recently, only the published correspondence of 72 (an eight-volume volume that was published shortly after the death of the saint and was subsequently reprinted several times) was in scientific circulation. Since most of the archive of St. Theophana is located in the Athos Russian Panteleimon Monastery, but until recently it was not known. For the last six years, the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church has been working on the publication of the Complete Works of St. Feofan, the Recluse of Vyshensky. Within the framework of the same project, work is underway to publish the Chronicle of the life and works of the saint. The first volume of the Chronicle was published in the summer of this year, and the second volume is currently being prepared for publication.
While working on the Complete Collection of Works, the staff of the Publishing Council conducted a thorough archival search, as a result of which we were able to obtain, among other things, a copy of the saint’s Athos archive. This report will touch upon the correspondence of St. Theophan the Recluse with the Athonite fathers 73. We are talking about letters concerning the work on the translation of “The Invisible Warfare”. This correspondence itself is quite extensive, it contains 1088 sheets and covers the period from 1875 to 1893. Some of the letters in this document are repeated twice: they are contained in the original and in the handwritten copy. Unfortunately, the saint's letters were included in this document without sorting by date. Therefore, working through any topic on them is quite difficult, especially considering that this correspondence has not yet been deciphered.
Over perhaps his most famous and popular translated work – over “The Invisible Warfare” – St. Feofan, the Recluse Vyshensky began working in January 1885. He himself, in a letter to N.V. Elagin wrote that “from Athos the elders sent “The Invisible Warfare” by Nikodim Agiorite, offering to translate it. Ran. It's coming. Can you translate..." 74
A month earlier, the saint wrote to Mount Athos:
Write about translations... Good! I looked up something about The Invisible Warfare. Can be translated. Now I have one thing on my hands that will take another month, another, and maybe even more. And what then - I don’t know how to say. I already had one thing planned, and then your “Invisible Warfare” arrived. We will see which of them will prevail then.
Now here's what you should take the trouble to do. A book under this title, i.e. “Invisible abuse” was in use among us. I have seen and read it... But since it is almost 40 years old, I cannot say whether the contents of books under similar titles are similar? But it would be good to know this and have that old one at hand. It would help the translation a lot if it turned out that they are one and the same thing.
Our Russian one is not Russian, but a translation, from which language I don’t remember. Maybe someone wise, whom Nicodemus corrected and put in order, will turn out to be the same one who compiled the book from which he made the previous Russian translation. What did you do - ask!
Instruct your people in St. Petersburg to look for this “Invisible Warfare” at flea markets and send it to Vysha when they find it. If there is a flea market in Moscow, then the Moscow people would be given the job. If I start the translation either today or tomorrow, that book may arrive in time for the start of the translation. Every translation will be made" 75.
In March 1885, the saint wrote to N.V. Elagin: ““Invisible abuse”... is translated, albeit very sedately. I see that this is exactly the book that I knew back in the Kyiv Academy and then in St. Petersburg. This is translated from Latin, in the days of Golitsyn. She's very good. Many of its provisions were included in my descriptions in the first forties, and even in academic student articles, such as, for example, the fight against sin 76. I do not translate it, but I freely rearrange it - in my own speech, adding and subtracting and changing it from the original. In modern Greek it belongs to Nicodemus Agiorite. Where did he get it from? From the original Latin? Hardly. I believe it’s from a Russian translation, but I can’t figure out how 77. Having finished the translation, I will send it to the elders - and invite them to select the sayings of the ascetic elders for every article in this book - from the Limonar, from the Patericon and Gerondice. If they had arranged this, it would have been amazingly good." 78
A month later, at the end of April, St. Feofan proposes to change the concept of work on the translation; he abandons his original plan: to send it to Mount Athos upon completion of the entire translation to be supplemented with patristic and ascetic quotations and to print it as a separate book after the additions have been made. So, at this time he writes to the Holy Mountain residents:
The translation of “The Invisible War Is Coming”...chapter 30 is completed. It occurred to me to propose to you - would you agree that I give my translation for printing to “Soulful Reading”. As the translation progresses, the printing will proceed, the translation will end, and the printing will end...
To do this, you need to tell the editor to prepare as many reprints as you want... three, five, ten thousand. You will receive as many copies at the end of printing. You only have to pay for paper and printing. This is how all my interpretations were published.
The benefit from this will be, firstly, that the publication will cost very little, instead of thousands - hundreds. Secondly, there will be no mistakes. Thirdly, the main benefit is that typing will prevent me from becoming lazy. I confess, I'm very lazy. Well, the printed translation will come to an end, whether you like it or not, you’ll sit down to translate it.
The disadvantage is small, the fact that what is printed in the magazine sells less... But this is not significant. Anyone who wants to have a special book of this abuse will buy it... Besides, there are not a ton of subscribers to “Soulful Reading.”
Another small disadvantage is that printing will take a long time. Well, the translation won’t be done at all. What if I go to bed?! This way it will last longer.
There is one more benefit - no correspondence is needed. I usually send draft notebooks. They print from them. And correspondence is a real torment.
So what? Do you agree? Take the trouble to notify. Then you have nothing to worry about anymore. I will sort everything out with the editor... When everything is over, you will be presented with a bill - and you will receive the books... i.e. elders of the chapel.
If you decide to say “yes,” indicate the capacity and the number of copies. Due to the cheapness, it would be possible to prescribe more.
"Invisible Warfare" 79 was sent. I guessed right. This is the one. Only Elder Nicodemus corrected it here and there and added notes. Two volumes have been sent, the second is heretical... quietist” 80.
From the quoted letters it is clear that translation was not easy for the saint. And in order to finish it, he was forced to resort to some cunning: to put himself in conditions under which he could not leave it, and would be forced to complete what he started. In addition, from further developments it is clear that the Athonites agreed to work according to the proposal of St. Feofan scheme. Thus, it can be assumed with a high degree of probability that all the patristic and biblical quotations that supplement the Russian translation and which are not in the Greek belong to the saint himself, and not to the Holy Mountain fathers.
From a letter from V.A. Kolobova can see that in November 1885, work on the translation was still ongoing: “The people of Athos entrusted me with the obedience to translate “The Invisible Warfare” into Russian. I'm translating little by little. A book of ascetic nature. Published in “Soulful Reading” 81. In this letter of his to St. Feofan mentions the consistent publication of his translation of “Invisible Warfare” in “Soulful Reading,” which began in September 1885. 82 (then the preface and the first six chapters of the first part of the book were published). Then three more publications were made: in October 83 (chapters 7 to 13), November 84 (chapters 14 to 20) and December 85 (chapters 21 to 24). The publication of successive parts of the translation continued in 1886. in the issues of “Soulful Reading” published from January to June inclusive. Also in 1886. The first book edition of “The Invisible Warfare” in the translation of St. Theophan the Recluse, which was published in Moscow by the Athos Russian Panteleimon Monastery. Thus, the work on translation, editing and publication of this work took about a year. In a letter to N.V.
To Elagin on December 30, 1885, the saint writes: “The translation of “The Invisible War” is finished. It will be a useful book. We already had this book translated from a foreign language. Elder Nicodemus corrected her in many ways, and Vyshinsky was a troublemaker, and even more so. Many chapters had to be compiled anew” 86. Also: “Are you reading “Invisible Warfare” in “Soulful Reading”? I finished the other day. By half the year will end with printing. It is too blurred, and Elder Nicodemus himself would not have recognized the original. I wanted to say everything more clearly” 87.
We can conclude that the newly discovered letters confirm the idea that the translation activity of St. It makes sense to consider Theophanes from the point of view of our contemporary theory of translation - the theory of skopos 88, which sees the translator as the central figure of interlingual communication. In this approach, the translator is not just an intermediary, but a language consultant, a specialist who knows the language and culture well, has deep knowledge of the topic of the work being translated, is able to assess sociocultural factors and create a text that would adequately translate information in the target language about the information expressed in the source language. The theory allows for the situation that the original text does not exist at all, and the translator independently creates his own text, guided by knowledge of the goal 89. The theory of skopos proceeds from the fact that translation is, first of all, a type of practical activity, and the success of any activity is determined by the extent to which it achieves its goal.
On the one hand, the understanding that the translation concept is a function of the translation goal seems to be on the surface; on the other hand, differences in goals lead to differences in the approach to translation and make it impossible to create a unified translation theory with which to evaluate the translated text. Despite the fact that the theory of skopos was developed at the end of the 20th century, St. Theophan the Recluse acted within its framework. He went beyond the dominant understanding of translation at his time as “a two-phase act of communication in which the translator perceives the original text and transforms it into a text in the receptor language” 90, i.e. transcodes from one language to another. This approach is incomplete in that it underestimates the issue of culture and completely ignores the function of translation, which, theoretically, may differ from the function of the original text. St.
Feofan made his own decisions when translating in each case, depending on the intended – educational or edifying – function of the translation text and based on the qualities and expectations of the recipient.
As a result, the translations of the patristic works made by St. Theophan the Recluse, including the translation of “The Invisible War,” fulfill the main condition: they achieve fasting in accordance with his own goal, he managed to create texts that satisfied the spiritual needs of the widest mass of believers, moreover, they became independent works that adequately express the patristic experience. This adequacy was achieved by St. Feofan thanks to his translation concept, the basis of which was reliance on the sociocultural factor, deep personal penetration into the living and unchanging Eastern monastic tradition and constant interaction with its other bearers.
Sergei Rybakov, prot. Chairman of the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis of the Ryazan Metropolis. The problem of modern education in the light of the patristic heritage
A people that wants to preserve its continued existence as a subject of the historical process must necessarily perform two functions: firstly, fencing itself (territory, economy, culture, religion) and, secondly, reproducing itself. Both of these functions are closely related to the pedagogical system formed by the people themselves.
The pedagogical system of a people is a set of goals, values, ethical and aesthetic standards, content, forms and methods of education and training, integrated into the spiritual/religious ideal of the people.
In the future, it is appropriate to define the ideal as the Ideal image, which is the goal of pedagogical activity. The very word “pedagogy” reveals the task of leading children (students, pupils) to a certain perfection (according to K.D. Ushinsky - “Ideal of Perfection”), which is presented and revealed in the presented Ideal image (hence the concept of “education” as the assimilation of a certain image).
An ideal image is a personified owner and source of axiological, ethical and aesthetic norms, a bearer of absolute truth and a specifier of epistemological priorities, fixing the ultimate goals of existence and setting ways to achieve them. The ideal image is very often the source of cosmogonic and cosmological concepts.
In connection with the importance of the category of the Ideal Image, it is necessary to dwell in more detail on the properties and functions of this category in pedagogy.
First of all, it is necessary to establish the subject who, from a historical perspective, is an adherent of the Ideal Image. Obviously, such a subject is the people (not the “population”, not “consumers”, not the “electorate”, but the people) as the subject of history.
The source of the Ideal image was and remains religion, i.e. organized worship of those higher powers that are most prominently and maximally concentrated in the Ideal Image. Such images are Christ in Christianity, Mohammed in Islam, Buddha in Buddhism, etc. During the USSR period, the founders of Marxism-Leninism were presented to the Soviet people as a collective ideal image. Here we should distinguish between the Ideal image as a subject (personality, person) and the Ideal image as a category that describes in religious philosophy the properties and qualities of the subject itself. It is not difficult to see that the Ideal image is a category associated with religious doctrine. In monotheism and paganism associated with idolatry, worship occurs to a really existing subject (subjects), with whom subject-subject (personal) relationships are established.
In atheistic and pantheistic religions, such relationships do not and cannot exist at the level of religious philosophy, but they can be induced in the popular environment at the level of religious belief, understood as a cult-ritual component of religion, shaping the life of the people as a layer of culture. For example, in Buddhism, the worship of Buddha occurs contrary to the religious philosophy of Buddhism, which has no concept of personality as a substance endowed with eternal existence.
Based on the Ideal Image perceived by the people, the content of education, goals and objectives of education are formed, designed to form:
– historical thinking and ethnohistorical consciousness of young citizens of their country and continuers of the cultural traditions of their people.
– ethnolinguistic culture, ensuring the continuity of the spiritual, moral and ideological foundations of the people’s existence.
– an aesthetic culture that captures a historically verified worldview and the associated emotional tension of the soul of the people.
In Orthodox Russia, the pedagogical system of the people, formed under the influence of the Church, presented the image of Christ and His saints, on whose lives and teachings generations of Russian people were raised for a thousand years. “Among true Christians,” wrote Saint Theophan, “there has always been and is a need to have at hand the holy and paternal writings about spiritual life... It has always been satisfied both by editions of these writings in their entirety, for example St. Macarius, Isaac and Ephraim Syrian, Climacus and many others...” 91
However, a feature of religious education systems is the limitation in the type of knowledge itself: mining and metal smelting, for example, are not a popular educational content for the Church. Therefore, many areas of knowledge necessary for the state come under the jurisdiction of the state, which begins to form its own education system. Unlike the pedagogical system of the people, which is formed together
with the people in the format of confessional preference, the state education system arises when a significant layer of knowledge appears, the assimilation of which by students requires special institutions of different levels: schools, colleges, academies, etc.
Our people, like some other peoples in the past and present, have realized the God-given talent of building a state. It should be especially emphasized that a state created by the people acquires the properties of a separate subject, just like a confession that fixes the religious aspirations (spiritual dominant) of the people. Thus, as a first approximation, we can consider the model of a mono-ethnic and mono-confessional state as the result of the interaction of three subjects: the people, the state (the hierarchy of the ruling elite) and the confession (the hierarchy of the spiritual elite).
The basic principle of the model: the people create their own state to fully realize their religious aspirations.
The special place of a confession in relation to the people is that it is in the confession that the existence of the people is sacralized, it is in the confession that the life of people is spiritualized and sanctified and the main events in the life of both an individual and the entire people as a whole are described iconographically. The special place of a confession in relation to the state is that only in it does the sacralization of power take place, which makes it possible to govern the people on the basis of universally recognized rules (laws). The very laws of the State of the People and the Confession of the People acquire, to one degree or another, a religious connotation, and the most important of them directly appeal to the higher powers whom the people worship. In this system, power is limited not so much by legal norms as by the need to obey those basic laws that have sacred origins, and on the basis of which all aspects of the life of the people and the actions of the elites are regulated.
At the same time, it is appropriate to note the fact that the state, as the subject of managing the life of the people, has clearly expressed interests (will), which do not always coincide with the interests of the people and the interests of the dominant religion. In addition, this discrepancy is often superimposed by the complexities of subject-subject relations, projected onto the interpersonal relations of the ruling and spiritual elites.
The reflection of the emerging and established differences in the worldview and approaches to organizing the life of the people among the leaders of the state and the dominant confession is ultimately recorded in the differentiation of the professed Ideal Images. At the same time, each of the elites presents its own Ideal Image to the younger generation, providing the right to choose on conditions that are not entirely equal: the state, as a rule, has much more advantages compared to the confession 92 .
In Russia, a serious conflict in relations between the state and the Church arose under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich with Patriarch Nikon, and then developed and deepened under Emperor Peter I.
Formed by the beginning of the 19th century. The public education system, thanks to the religious reforms of Peter carried out in its time, had a powerful potential for Protestantism and atheism, which ultimately led to the beginning of the 20th century. to deformations and splits of the pedagogical system, the teaching environment and the entire Russian society. The ideal of the pedagogical system and the ideal of the educational system entered into irreconcilable antagonism, which caused the destruction of the systems of spiritual and state security, and then the revolution that changed the political system and the spiritual dominance of the people.
The state, as an entity that governs the people, can successfully implement policies when the people understand and accept these policies in the light of the prevailing confessional doctrine. The doctrine is revealed in religious philosophy, concentrated in ideology that justifies the policies being pursued that change the state of the people. Under the influence of the current policy, as well as expected and unexpected influences (other states, natural disasters, civilizational processes), the state of the people changes, which requires study, comprehension and response from the state and spiritual (confessional) elites.
So, analysis of the interaction of the state, confession and people on the basis of this model allows us to present the conditions of stability/instability in the following diagram.
A universal scheme of a stable (option A) and unstable (option B) system of relations between people - confessions - state
As can be seen from the diagram, two modes of functioning of the people-confession-state system are possible. Regime “A” is characterized by the fact that the state of the people is assessed jointly by the spiritual and intellectual elites in the format of religious philosophy in the light of an invariant religious doctrine. Those. in this case, various sections of religious philosophy are being developed, based on the doctrinal provisions of the dominant confession. So, for example, in the Soviet period, philosophy developed within the framework of the religious doctrine of atheism - “there is nothing in the world except moving matter” - in the format of the “Marxist-Leninist” teaching, recognized as the absolute truth. This philosophy substantiated the place of confession, which was occupied by the Communist Party, which allowed the party, as the unconditional authority, to formulate ideological guidelines, and the state to pursue appropriate policies.
The rather short existence of the Soviet Union raises the question of why the Soviet education system could not reliably reproduce the new type of community proclaimed in the USSR Religious doctrine Religious philosophy State ideology State politics State of the people epistemology ethics and aesthetics anthropology axiology eschatology, etc., the new type of community - the “Soviet people”. What allowed option “B” to be realized, despite large-scale agitation and propaganda, as well as the ideal structure of the educational process in the format of the Marxist-Leninist religious doctrine of atheism and the corresponding philosophy of materialism?
To understand this, one should pay attention to the fact that the stability of mass and individual consciousness requires the formation of the necessary core structure, which includes ethno-confessional, ethnohistorical and ethnolinguistic consciousness, based on the Ideal image associated with religious doctrine. Soviet pedagogy, in principle, could not form these layers of consciousness, since from the very beginning it was built on nihilism and denial of the spiritual traditions of our people. The idea of class struggle as the dominant feature of all previous history can evoke the desire to build a “new world” - “heaven on earth”, but is not capable of forming the core structure of consciousness indicated above.
Therefore, such a community as the “Soviet people”, in principle, could not be stable for a long time. Therefore, the modern education system must necessarily take into account the mistakes of previous eras, which forces us to turn to the wisdom of the holy fathers, who gave clear instructions on the path leading to the Ideal image - to Christ the Savior.
This is roughly how St. Theophan the Recluse advises constructing the content of education: “Read with reasoning and believe what you read with the true truth of our confession. Whatever agrees with him, accept it, and whatever disagrees, immediately reject it as an ungodly thought, and throw away the book in which such thoughts are expressed.” Therefore, both the school and the family must be guided in the selection of books and textbooks, protecting children from everything harmful and contrary to the Truth.
It is obvious that the first instance where a child should receive a model of life leading to the Ideal image - to Christ, should be the family. The most important condition for the stability of a family is the sacredness of marriage and intrafamily relationships. The spirituality of these relationships allows the husband to exercise dominance over his wife and parents over their children. This domination, carried out according to the Commandments of God, benefits both those to whom power is given (parents, elders) and those who submit to it (children, younger ones), since it allows each family member to fix himself in a God-determined place, balancing rights and responsibilities in the small church - in the family. Children are required to obey their parents, which teaches them to obey God Himself. In turn, parents are required to raise their children in strictness and obedience. “Do you have sons? Teach them and bend their necks from youth. Do you have daughters? Take care of their body, and do not show them a cheerful face” (Sir. 7:25, 26).
Children are in the complete power of their parents: “You see,” says John Chrysostom, “what fear he instilled in the children? What kind of fear did you protect? How much your power has done.”
But correct upbringing can only be given by those parents who themselves are in obedience to the Church of God.
“Small children have the life of their parents as a rule: what they see in them, they themselves do. How does it happen that when parents live in luxury, their children live the same way, and they add more to suit their needs, and thus the parental morals are passed on to the children. It is written: “Woe to that man, for unto them comes temptation” (Matthew 18:7). For this reason, when you want, Christian, for your children to be good and good, be good and good yourself, and in every way beware of temptation; otherwise you won’t have time; They listen more to your words, deeds and actions than to your commands and instructions. In order not to set temptation, but even more so to show a good example to their children, parents, both in word and in deed, must act extremely carefully: “in word”: not say anything idle, rotten, or nasty in front of them, although this must always be removed, just as “for idle words we have to render account on the day of judgment” (Matt.
12:36), according to the words of Christ; “in practice”: not only do not do anything bad in front of them, but also something mediocre, so that over time the evil of lust and the Fall may be the cause of them, even if the parents themselves were sinless,” 93 – this is how Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk teaches.
If we take into account the teaching of St. Tikhon, then it comes down to the task for the education system to create a nationwide state project for the education of parents. Today's parents, for the most part, did not even go through Soviet school; they were exposed to revolutionary changes and reforms in school education, and therefore do not have proper knowledge of science, moral standards, or the principles of spiritual development.
Thus, we can say that we need to restore and further develop our pedagogical tradition, relying on the patristic heritage, which alone can give practical results in the education and training of the younger generation of our people.
Vera (Rovchan), abbot, abbess of the Assumption Vyshensky Monastery. Hierarchy in the church structure
According to the will of the Creator, our Universe was created in the first six days of creation: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). Our Lord accomplished the creation of the world, according to the word of St. Basil the Great, out of His omnipotence. In the beginning, first of all the visible world and man, God created the sky, i.e. the spiritual, angelic world, and the earth, i.e. substance (matter), from which he gradually created our entire visible, material (material) world.
The crown of creation was man, to whom God commanded: “And God bless them, saying: Grow and multiply, and fill the earth, and rule it, and subdue the fish of the sea, (and the beasts) and the birds of the air, and all the livestock, and all the earth, and every creeping thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28).
Hieromartyr Dionysius the Areopagite, disciple of the Apostle Paul, in his work “On the Heavenly Hierarchy” in the chapter “What is hierarchy, and what is the purpose of hierarchy?” gives the following definition of hierarchy: “Hierarchy, in my opinion, is a sacred order, knowledge and activity, as far as possible, assimilated to Divine beauty, and with the illumination imparted to it from above, directed towards possible imitation of God. Divine beauty, as simple, as good, as the beginning of all perfection, although completely alien to any variety, communicates its light to everyone according to their dignity, and perfects those who become partakers of it through the Divine secret action, in accordance with its immutability” (Chapter III. § 2).
As Dionysius the Areopagite wrote, “the goal of the hierarchy is possible assimilation to God and union with Him” (Chapter III. § 2).
Saint Theophan the Recluse sets the goal of spiritual life as communion with God. In the book “The Outline of Christian Moral Teaching,” the saint notes that “living, internal, direct communication between God and man and man with God is his final goal” 94 .
It is the constant striving towards God, one’s Creator, and remembering Him that allows a person to build a hierarchy, or in modern language, a system of values in life. According to Theophan the Recluse, “the main thing is to establish yourself in the heart before the face of God, and to stand so relentlessly. When this is there, then everything else will come on its own with the battle” 95.
This is the internal spiritual meaning of the hierarchical structure, to which the structure of our external life is subordinated.
According to the teachings of Dionysius the Areopagite, the angelic orders are organized into three triads. The first of the Archangel ranks - Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones - stand before the Heavenly Throne of the Most Holy Trinity. The second triad: Dominances, Powers and Powers, the third – Principalities, Archangels and Angels.
The church hierarchy is a reflection of the heavenly hierarchy, order and structure as visible evidence of the unity of the Heavenly and earthly Church.
The divine establishment of the church hierarchy is based on the command of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: “I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18), “... go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit...” (Matthew 28:19-20) and “... having given the Holy Spirit commands to the Apostles, whom He chose, to whom He revealed Himself alive, after His suffering, with many true proofs, appearing to them for forty days and speaking about the Kingdom of God” (Acts 1:2-3).
On the day of Pentecost, the apostles received the grace of the Holy Spirit and, with the help of the gifts of this grace, went out to preach Christianity throughout the world. The Holy Apostle Paul says that the basis of church unity is the headship of the Church by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself: “The God of Him (Christ) has given the Head above all to the Church, which is His Body, fulfilling all things in all” (Eph. 1:22–23), “From the head the whole body, joints and bands are given and taken down, grows the return of God” (Col. 2:19), i.e. from the Head of Christ, the entire body of the Church represents a single whole, which grows and is strengthened by the grace of God.
The Lord Himself established a hierarchy, as it is said in the Apostle: “He appointed some apostles, others prophets, some evangelists, some shepherds and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ...” (Eph. 4:11–12)
“And He gave you two Apostles, and you were Prophets, and you were good messengers, and you were shepherds and teachers” (Eph. 4:11).
Interpreting this verse, Saint Theophan notes that the Apostle Paul puts the Apostles in first place, “since they had everything,” in second place are prophets, “persons with the special gift of seeing the future,” in third place are evangelists, in fourth place are shepherds and teachers, i.e. bishops and priests 96.
According to the words of the Apostle Paul, “grace has been given to each of us according to the measure of the gift of Christ” (Eph. 4:7). Interpreting this passage of the Apostolic Epistle, Saint Theophan notes: “Just as there are different members in the body and each member has its own special purpose, fulfilling which it works for the whole body, so it is in the body of the Church, whose head is Christ the Lord. But in a natural body the head does not produce members and does not assign them a purpose, but in the body of the Church the Lord Jesus Christ, its head, is also its producer, the producer of each member. Each member receives spiritual existence from him; from Him a place is assigned to him in the body of the Church and the gift of grace is given to serve Him <...> Everyone received from the Lord grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit to the extent that it was pleasing to the Lord. Serve those others, and you will be in lively and active communication with everyone” 97.
Thus, in the Church, which is a single organism, everyone fulfills his obedience in accordance with the received gifts in order to build a single church organism, “to serve each other, who can do what and who will receive the gift for what” 98, for “different graces and different gifts are given not for himself, but for the body of the Church.” 99
As St. John Chrysostom notes in his commentary on Eph. 4:7: “If another has something greater in his talent, then do not be upset about it. Because he has more than “100” works.
The responsibilities of those leading the Church are also clearly defined - for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the Body of Christ... (Eph. 4:12).
Interpreting this passage of the Apostolic Epistle, Saint Theophan notes that the word accomplishment here is conveyed by the Greek word καταpτισμός, which means “bringing a thing into its proper order and order, putting it in such a state that it is what it should be according to its meaning and purpose.” 101
Thus, this passage in relation to believers is understood:
- from the outside - “bringing them into order and order and keeping them in it, so that everyone is in his place and does his job as he should”;
- from the inside - “the mood of their minds and hearts, their thoughts, feelings, dispositions and their whole lives - such as is required by Christianity, or which is characteristic of those whose characteristic feature is life in Christ by the grace of the Holy Spirit” 102.
Thus, church government provides both external and internal aspects - spiritual care and edification. In the Preface to the anthology of patristic texts “Orthodox teaching on the church hierarchy” it is noted: “Communication with the church hierarchy is the main sign of belonging to the Church of Christ, and unauthorized removal from it is a sin against church unity” 103.
However, the church hierarchy should not be viewed as a form of power over the Church and should not be a kind of church oligarchy. Archpriest Sergius Bulgakov wrote very clearly about this in his essay “Hierarchy and the Sacraments”: “The entire doctrine of hierarchy should be illuminated in the spirit of the principle of conciliarity, according to which the hierarchy exists in the Church and for the Church, but not above the church, it is its organic member, although vested with special powers” 104.
The bearers of hierarchical power, through whom it is preserved in the Church, are bishops, and apostolic succession is the succession of episcopal ordination. The succession of the episcopate is evidence and a guarantee of the integrity of the truth present and preached in the Church. Bishopric (from the Greek ἐπηζθνπέσ - supervision, observation, custody) is the highest of the three God-established degrees of priesthood in the Orthodox Church. The business of the bishopric, based on the etymology of the word, is to maintain piety and preserve the purity of the faith.
According to the words of Saint Theophan, “The Church is the house of God, over which a bishop is elected to rule” 105. Episcopal ministry is not an earthly ministry, although it is performed on earth. The place of such service is the church, in which there is a throne dedicated to God. According to the interpretation of Saint Theophan on 1 Tim. 3:1, this service requires zeal, however, not in order to “be a bishop and enjoy power and honor, but the very work of episcopacy, that is, looking after those being saved and leading them to salvation” 106. The episcopal ministry also includes the instructions that are given to Timothy in other chapters of the Epistle: laying on of hands, judging elders, caring for widows, teaching, governing the Church as one’s home, preserving church tradition. This service also requires praiseworthy behavior and piety, according to the words of the Apostle: “It is fitting for a bishop to be blameless, of one husband, sober, chaste, reverent, honest, hospitable, and a teacher” (1 Tim. 3:2).
Here we recall the example of obedience of St. Theophan, his famous words, where he compared his church tinning with a ball, “rolling back and forth without a crack, in the direction of the blows given to him” 107 .
He uttered these words when he was named Bishop of Tambov on May 29, 1859. This speech is an edifying example of how one should treat any appointment to a church post - realizing one’s human powerlessness and the height of service, humbly accept the new appointment as the will of God: “I thank and accept, and no less contrary to the verb. What else could I say about a matter already decided by the council of your Holiness, and approved by the Highest will? – Do not think, however, that when I utter these words, I am hiding under them the illness of self-confidence and arrogance... No. I know my powerlessness, I know the height and burden of the service entrusted to me; but I also know that it is unsafe to interfere with one’s own plans in the arrangement of the path of life, especially contrary to the will of God, visible by faith in the determination of the church and the ruling authorities. Therefore, in the closeness of both, with these words I keep one thing in my mind and heart: God’s will be done! The Lord knows my weaknesses, and yet He allowed the election and confirmation to take place. For what? - known to Him alone; but there is hope that Nachny will do it.
“Such confidence only calms a troubled conscience.” For this, a good deed according to the apostle (bishopric), may be desirable from afar; but when you have to come face to face with it, it strikes you with fear, bones with those around you. “And involuntarily and with bargaining from the chest: be the will of God!”
There must also be hierarchy in the state structure, and, according to St. Theophan, only autocratic power, and not democracy and other forms of government, is power from God. Addressing the Vladimir flock, Saint Theophan noted: “The Orthodox God-given Kingdom is the Kingdom of God who is ruled. For the heart of the King is in the hand of God. Our neighbors do not think so, and we began to think and speak differently. And as it occurred to anyone, everyone was ready to rebuild everything, in general everyone was carried away by the spirit of arbitrariness. For those who have fallen away from the Holy Church and fallen into oblivion of God, this is natural, but it is not appropriate for the rights of a glorious people to philosophize so much. In addition to the forms of government formed in the West, there is also autocracy, paternal patriarchal rule. Western malicious superstition does not understand him. It is understandable only to a true believer, who contemplates the unity of command in the Most Holy Trinity, and in the angelic world - a single Archangel, and in the Church of God - a single head, and in the family of a father, caringly, but independently acting for the good of all" 108 .
The example of zealous service to the Church taught by Saint Theophan serves as a model of service for us, the modern inhabitants of the Vyshenskaya Hermitage, who need to restore not only the external appearance of the monastery, desecrated and distorted in the Soviet years, but also revive the spiritual life in the monastery.
According to Saint Theophan, in monastic life there are several “orders of life” 109 – external and internal.
The external order is the passage of the monastic ladder, which consists of entering the monastery as a laborer, then bearing obedience in the status of a novice and moving on to monastic tonsure and monastic vows.
External order in the monastery is organized by officials who report to the abbess/abbess:
– the dean, who oversees the divine service, monastic discipline and order, and the moral state of the sisters;
- the sacristan, who manages the sacristy and church utensils; – housekeeper and cellarer, who supervise the monastery’s economy;
– a charter member who oversees the order of church services, etc.
As Saint Theophan noted, it is a mistake to see only one external side in monastic life: “The obediences that are imposed in the monastery all relate to this external life. Those who do not know that these obediences are necessary only because we bring our body with us to the monastery, and that the work of saving the soul must go on among these obediences in its own way, can turn away from the monastery from the first steps, considering them inappropriate to his goals and his mood - or, remaining in the monastery, limit the whole work of monasticism only to these obediences, and work in vain, without taking a single step in the purification and improvement of his soul.”110 .
It is very important for the salvation of your soul to always keep in mind the main goal of Christian life, to keep in mind the need to climb the spiritual ladder of virtues.
For this purpose, the institution of eldership, the revelation of thoughts, which has been known in the monastic tradition since ancient times, is being revived in monasteries.
In the book of Hieromonk Seraphim (Kuznetsov) “Women's Monastic Rules,” a separate chapter is devoted to the elders, whose duties include “helping the abbess guide the sisters in a God-pleasing life with frequent and useful instructions that are consistent with the rules and teachings of the Holy Fathers, to incite repentance and accept revelation of thoughts from the sisters, not for permission, but for spiritual guidance.
The attitude of the sisters towards the old woman
– sisters must openly, without concealment, reveal the thoughts and sins of which their conscience denounces them;
- to sincerely regret that you have angered the Lord with your sins, and, sick at heart, make a firm intention not to anger Him any more and not to crucify Christ a second time with your iniquities.
The attitude of the old woman to her sisters
- the old woman must calm down, protect the sinner from despondency and convince her to accept penance as a sign of true repentance;
- to keep secret the thoughts and sins revealed to her, not even revealing them to the abbess, and remembering that for violating this duty, she is deprived of the title of elder and is punished, without leniency, with the same punishments as a confessor who dares to reveal a sin confessed to him is subjected" 111 .
Thus, hierarchy permeates the entire church organism and with the correct arrangement of internal and external institutions, with their harmony, the development of the entire church organism is possible.
M.I. Shcherbakova, Head of the Department of Russian Classical Literature, IMLI RAS, Prof., Doctor of Philology. Sciences. Russian Spiritual Mission 1847–1854. in the context of the Holy Sepulchre case
The dispute over the shrines of Jerusalem and Bethlehem had historical roots. Christians of different confessions have long claimed ownership of them.
From the second half of the 1830s. Disagreements between the clergy of the Greek and Armenian Churches became especially aggravated. The heightened atmosphere of hostility proved favorable for the intervention of the Roman Catholic Church in affairs in the East. In the 1840s. The activity of Western powers, especially France, increased in the Holy Land: consulates were established, schools and hospitals were organized, churches were built.
Russia, meanwhile, pursued a cautious policy so as not to harm the cause. Its authority and influence in the East were supported by the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty, concluded with the Ottoman Porte following the Russian-Turkish War of 1768 - 1774. In particular, Article 8 of the Treaty read: “Both spiritual and secular subjects of the Russian Empire will be allowed to freely visit the holy city of Jerusalem and other places worthy of visiting, and from such wanderers and travelers may they not demand, either in Jerusalem or in other places, down the road from anyone, any harach, tax, tribute or any other taxes; but in addition, let them be provided with the appropriate passports and decrees, which are given under this by the other 83 friendly powers.
During their stay in the Ottoman Empire, may not the slightest offense, below insults, be inflicted on them, but may they be protected with all the severity of the laws” 112.
When Pope Pius IX in 1847 restored the title, which had not been conferred since the last Crusades, and appointed Bishop Valerga as “Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem,” the threat from the Catholic Church to Orthodoxy in the Holy Land became obvious. It was necessary to monitor the actions of the Catholic prelate. A brochure by the French missionary Eugene Boret on the right of Catholics to Palestinian shrines caused a lot of noise in the East. At the same time, the initial motives of the dispute quickly began to acquire political overtones.
Archimandrite Porfiry (Uspensky) was perhaps one of the first who realized the importance of establishing the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem; He outlined his thoughts on this matter in a note dated January 6, 1845, presenting it to the Russian envoy in Constantinople V.P. Titov. The famous Byzantine scholar and orientalist, Archimandrite Porfiry, at that time made his first trip to the Middle East, visiting Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Libya, the Sinai Desert, and also visiting Holy Mount Athos in two and a half years. Observing the state of Orthodoxy, he became increasingly convinced of the need for interaction between Local Churches to solve common problems.
There was another important reason for the establishment of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem. Russian Orthodox pilgrims have long flocked to the shrines of Palestine. Overcoming a long journey, fraught with road difficulties and often even dangers, they, although unpretentious in terms of living conditions, still needed some help and supervision when they reached their cherished goal. Therefore, an official Russian institution in Palestine had to take care of them, but there was no such thing, except for the embassy in Constantinople and the consulate in Beirut. This, in connection with the growing number of pilgrims to the Holy Land, was repeatedly emphasized in his official letters by the Russian consul K.M. Basili.
For two years the matter of the Spiritual Mission was kept secret and discussed by a narrow circle of people.
At the beginning of January 1847, envoy Titov, while in St. Petersburg, again turned to Archimandrite Porfiry with instructions to prepare a note within two days on the need to establish a mission. Having appreciated the arguments presented by Archimandrite Porfiry and taking into account his previous works and merits, Titov decided to seek his appointment as head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem.
The first official date in the history of the mission should be considered February 11, 1847. On this day, State Chancellor K.V. Nesselrode presented a note with proposals to Emperor Nicholas I, having previously agreed on them with the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod N.A. Protasov, about the establishment of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem. The document received the highest approval. On the same day, Count Nesselrode was instructed to identify future employees and think about sources of funding for the Mission.
The choice settled on Hieromonk Feofan (Govorov), bachelor of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, and students of the St. Petersburg Theological Seminary Pyotr Solovyov and Nikolai Krylov. They were “sent abroad to worship Holy Places” 113; they were allowed to stay in Jerusalem under Archimandrite Porfiry and take part in the teachings entrusted to him.
The salary estimates for the Mission staff, compiled by August 28, 1847, were submitted for the Highest consideration. On the document, Emperor Nicholas I inscribed with his own hand: “Therefore be it” 114.
Finally, on October 14, at eight o’clock in the evening, as follows from the report of the secretary of the St. Petersburg Ecclesiastical Consistory, the members of the Mission left for their destination. There was a long, long journey ahead: on horseback from St. Petersburg to Odessa; then by steamship to Constantinople, from Constantinople to Beirut; then eight days' journey by mule.
The difficult political situation in the East influenced the decision of the Holy Synod to give the Mission, for the first time, an unofficial status. The employees had to introduce themselves as pilgrims, or, as it was customary to say then, admirers, who, however, had a recommendation from the Russian spiritual authorities to the Patriarch of Jerusalem. Archimandrite Porfiry was given an antimension “for sacred rites in Holy Places.” Counting on the permission of His Beatitude the Patriarch of Jerusalem, the Russian mission intended to establish divine services in Palestine in the Slavic language - but in such a way as not to cause discontent among the Greeks. The exceptional authority of Archimandrite Porfiry, his deep knowledge of the Orthodox East should have strengthened Russia’s relations with the Antioch and Jerusalem Patriarchates, in alliance with which it would be possible to resist the plans of the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant countries of Europe.
In Odessa, where they arrived on November 2 and began packing luggage with books and household items, they ordered full monastic robes for all members of the Mission, “which in our cut cannot be made anywhere abroad.” Due to this, one steamer had to be missed. But they didn’t waste time: they met with the famous philosopher Alexander Skarlatovich Sturdza and a full member of the Athens Society of Antiquities Spiridon Yurievich Destunis; Hieromonk Theophanes and the students learned modern Greek.
On November 21, the steamship Chersonese with members of the Mission on board finally left the shores of Odessa and headed for Constantinople. Colonel Yegor Petrovich Kovalevsky turned out to be an unexpected and pleasant fellow traveler; the famous traveler was heading to Egypt, Nubia and Abyssinia. The voyage in the Black Sea lasted two days. Having passed the Bosporus, the Chersonese dropped anchor in the Golden Horn Bay.
Russian missionaries spent two months in Constantinople. According to the protocol, everyone was presented to the Russian envoy Vladimir Petrovich Titov, received a blessing from the Ecumenical Patriarch Anthimus in the presence of the entire Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople; participated in divine services and patriarchal receptions. At one of them, Patriarch Anfim told guests from Russia that he “secretly remembered our sovereign in his prayers” 115; he also prayed “for the salvation of the Serbian people, according to the will of the former ruler of Serbia, Milos Obrenovic the elder” 116.
In the travel diary of Archimandrite Porfiry we find a message about the unseemly participation of Catholics in the oppression of Orthodox Christians, which he witnessed: “A papal missionary lives in Constantinople who knows the Church Slavonic language well. He bought liturgical books here, printed in Russia, and sent them to the pope, and showed them to the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs a prayer for the consumption of the Hagaryan kingdom. And now the local book examiners are cutting out these prayers and tearing out those pages where the names of our kings, queens and their children are printed. I feel sorry for the Bulgarians who willingly buy our liturgical books. I am afraid that the Hagarians will begin to oppress them under the pretext of searching for these books in order to destroy in them sayings that are contrary to their Hagaryan rule” 117 .
In Constantinople, the scientific studies of the Mission’s employees acquired a new quality. Archimandrite Porfiry compiled brief notes about the Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem Churches for the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. Under his leadership, Hieromonk Theophan completed the translation of three Greek handwritten monuments from the codex of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, identified in the library of the Constantinople metochion of the Holy Sepulcher Monastery: “Acts of Archbishop Cosmas of Sinai” (1702) and two epistles of the Patriarch of Constantinople Chrysanthos (1721).
Having received a letter of recommendation from the Ecumenical Patriarch, the Russian missionaries intended to visit the Greek theological school opened in 1844 on Fr. Halki. This is one of the nine Prince's Islands in the Sea of Marmara, 20 miles from Constantinople. On the highest hill of the island, in its northern part, was located the Greek monastery of the Holy Trinity, which housed the theological school, which became the main educational institution for the higher and lower clergy in the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Over the years of the school’s existence, until its closure in 1971, 930 students received diplomas for completing the training course.
But the poor health of Archimandrite Porfiry and winter weather prevented Russian missionaries from visiting the island of Halki. “This work can be carried out by a future clergyman of the local embassy church” 118, wrote Archimandrite Porfiry K.S. Serbinovich. And so it happened. Later, on Easter 1857, already in the rank of archimandrite and as rector of the Russian embassy church in Constantinople, Feofan (Govorov) visited the Khalki school and became convinced of how wonderful everything was arranged in it. The Khalkin theological school in subsequent years attracted attention and aroused in Russian people the desire to help the noble cause of educating Orthodox youth in the East. In 1861, Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin) attended the final exams and described his impressions in the essay “From the East.” Archpriest Seraphim Serafimov dedicated an analytical article to this educational institution, “A few words about the teaching of the Slavic language at the Chalki Theological School in Constantinople.”
The members of the Mission were transported from Constantinople to Beirut by the ship Istanbul, on board of which an unexpected meeting took place. Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol sailed with the Russian missionaries. Student Pyotr Solovyov described in his memoirs how he had the opportunity to treat the great Russian writer and his companion to Rhodes oranges. This is where the missionaries’ acquaintance with Gogol, in fact, ended. Later, in a letter to A.S. Sturdze, Archimandrite Porfiry explained what happened: “I met Gogol on the way to Jerusalem and could not recognize him because of the inviolable concentration of his soul in himself and in God.” 119
Upon arrival in Beirut, the members of the Mission settled in the house of Archbishop Benjamin of Beirut. The travel diary of Archimandrite Porfiry preserved the colorful details of the dinner ceremony of the archbishop with his spiritual children and a description of the Mission’s further journey to Jerusalem: passing Sidon, Sarepta, Ajlun, through Tire and further to Jaffa. It took another two days to travel from Jaffa to Jerusalem, with an overnight stop at the Greek hotel monastery in the city of Ramla.
Finally, on February 17, 1848, before dark, Russian missionaries arrived in Jerusalem and settled in the cells of the Monastery of the Holy Sepulchre. The Holy Sepulcher Monastery was closely adjacent to the Church of the Resurrection of Christ; he owned two small churches - Tsar Constantine and St. Thekla.
A reception with His Beatitude Patriarch Kirill of Jerusalem took place the next day. Both parties testified to their intentions to treat each other “with the trust and love that has always existed between the Russian and Jerusalem churches” 120.
The Holy Land, as the first employees of the Russian Spiritual Mission saw it, is described by Russian pilgrims of those years. In addition to N.V. Gogol, these are such outstanding personalities as Prince P.A. Vyazemsky, A.N. Muravyov, Archimandrite Zephaniah (Sokolsky). Their impressions are reflected in letters, travel notes, diaries, later published and becoming a fact of literature: “Journey to the East (1849 – 1850)” by Prince P.A. Vyazemsky; “Letters from the East” by A.N. Muravyov, whose literary addressee was Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna Filaret (Drozdov); “Trip to the Jordan” by Archbishop Zephaniah (Sokolsky). Filled with a wide range of subtle observations and artistic images, they still serve as a rich source of information about the state of Palestinian shrines and the events around them on the eve of the Crimean War of 1853 - 1856.
For the Russian spiritual writer A.N. For Muravyov, who arrived on the Syrian shores in mid-1849, this was not his first encounter with the Holy Land. Twenty years earlier, he had already undertaken a long journey to these parts and visited, in addition to Jerusalem, Alexandria and Cairo, and visited Cyprus, Smyrna and Constantinople, and Anatolia. Contemporaries in Russia, “with tenderness and involuntary envy,” according to A. S. Pushkin, read his “Journey to the Holy Places in 1830.” At a new meeting with the Holy City and its environs, Muravyov was accompanied by Joasaph, abbot of the Lavra of Sava the Sanctified, employees of the Russian Spiritual Mission - Hieromonk Theophan, the future Vyshensky Recluse, and students. On one of the trips, the monks served a Liturgy for the famous pilgrim from Russia - perhaps the first in the Slavic language on the banks of the Jordan, in the open air, constructing “a throne from brought columns and tree branches, cut down on the spot; covering it with green herbs, dressed it in brocade clothes and placed on top the antimension, the cross and the Gospel, with the icon of the Epiphany of the Lord” 121.
In “Letters from the East,” pictures of Bethlehem, Jericho, the Lavra of Euthymius the Great, and Gorny are interspersed with facts of church and political history, with genre sketches, and lyrical digressions. Muravyov organically combines the deep humility of an Orthodox pilgrim before shrines, the true talent of an artist and observer, and the authenticity of a documentarian.
Muravyov's pilgrimage was of a special nature, akin to a scientific expedition. His research sense and brilliant knowledge of biblical history suggested the direction of the search. Thus, it can be assumed that it was Muravyov who became the first of the Russian pilgrims to discover Paran - the first of the founded saints. Chariton in the center of the Judean desert a monastic monastery. Six months after Muravyov’s journey, one of his guides, who twice went on his assignment to search for Paran, told about this to Archimandrite Zephaniah (Sokolsky), another famous pilgrim, and he, after a long journey under the scorching sun, also saw in front of him “a wild, lifeless, deaf and uninhabited wilderness, with several lairs for jackals and hyenas” 122. And only in 1865 the study of Faran was continued by Archimandrite Leonid Kavelin.
The entries in Archimandrite Zephaniah's travel diary are filled with vivid pictures of events in the Holy Land in the years preceding the Eastern War. On many trips, Archimandrite Zephaniah was accompanied by officers and sailors of the Russian brig Nearchus, on which he sailed from Constantinople to Jaffa and back - more than 25 people; “Upon arrival in Jerusalem, they fasted with me, and then everyone confessed to me and partook of the Holy Mysteries at the Holy Sepulcher,” recalled Archimandrite Zephaniah. Brig commander N.E. Ryabinin, later a rear admiral of the Russian fleet, five years after the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, was seriously wounded on the Malakhov Kurgan during the heroic defense of Sevastopol.
The authors of travel notes about the pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the early 1850s. there were also lesser-known contemporaries, for example, the Tula noblewoman Ekaterina Volkova or a St. Petersburger who hid behind the initials N.Shch. Their travel records contain little-known and difficult to imagine today details of the life of Russian pilgrims in the Holy Land, where they went for several months, mainly from autumn to spring, to celebrate Easter at the Holy Sepulcher.
“A brief description of the journey to Palestine” N.Shch. – published in Moscow in 1851. The censor of the book was Archimandrite Leonid (Krasnopevkov), later Archbishop of Yaroslavl and Rostov. Pilgrimage N.Shch. refers to 1847 – 1848; he was literally months ahead of the arrival of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, so the naturalistic sketches he left provide a rare opportunity to imagine how the Russian missionaries saw the Holy City, supplementing the official documents of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem with reliable details and vivid everyday details.
It became an extremely important source of information about Syria and Palestine in the middle of the 19th century. book by K.M. Basili "Syria and Palestine under the Turkish Government in Historical and Political Relations."
Basili served as Russian consul in Beirut and Palestine from November 1839. After the Beirut consulate was transformed into a consulate general in 1843, the consular service of all Syria was subordinate to Basili. It is not surprising that the first employees of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem found a reliable and faithful assistant in Basili.
Basili was born in 1809 in Constantinople into a wealthy Greek family that took part in the Greek liberation movement. With the outbreak of the Greek uprising in 1821, Father Basili, in order to avoid the death penalty that threatened him, moved with his family to Odessa. A year later, Konstantin Basili was admitted to one of the privileged educational institutions of Russia - the Nezhin Gymnasium of Higher Sciences and the Lyceum of Prince G.A. Kusheleva-Bezborodko. Russian cultural values became dear to Basili. “The destinies of the East and my personal destiny gave me a new fatherland - Russia,” 123 he wrote later.
Basili, who knew well the environment in which he grew up and, due to his deep interest, acquired much knowledge about the region, was perfectly suited to work in the East. By the time he was appointed consul in Beirut, he had already written and published the books “The Archipelago and Greece”, “Essays on Constantinople”, “Bosporus and New Sketches of Constantinople”, as well as articles “Istanbul Originals”, “Libraries of Constantinople”, “Corinth”, in which his remarkable literary talent was revealed. Palestine 1840s became a true find for Basili’s inquisitive mind and investigative nature; This is how the idea of a new book was born: about the system of public administration and the country’s economy, about the historical roots of modern phenomena, about the moral state of the population caused by a tangle of religious clashes and conflicts, about the ancient culture of the Orthodox East.
The official activities of the Consul General of Russia gave Basili many opportunities to observe the current course of events and participate in them; he often “had occasions to ease the fate of Christians, to fight against tyrant authorities, against Muslim fanaticism and to tame feudal violence and outrages” 124.
Basili’s new book on Syria and Palestine was, according to the author’s plan, to be included “in the category of materials whose study is useful in studying the question of the fate of the East” 125. By the summer of 1848 the book was completed. In the preface to it, Basili wrote: “More than once I was lucky enough to be a reconciliator between warring tribes and save villages and cities. I consider myself entitled to mention this, because the merits of the agent of the Great Power in the East should be attributed not to his personality, but to the title with which he is invested” 126.
The knowledge and experience of the Consul General, his positive role in resolving complicated interfaith and diplomatic issues, was repeatedly appreciated by the staff of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission. This is confirmed by the official and private correspondence of Russian missionaries with Beirut, Constantinople, St. Petersburg, Kiev and Odessa preserved in the archives.
In the documents and letters of the Mission, central and peripheral themes are revealed, integral plot threads are revealed, and individual episodes in the lives of peoples and private destinies are built. This is the history of the translation and printing of the District Message of the Eastern Patriarchs in response to the letter of Pope Pius IX, the translation of the Slavic catechism into Arabic; started by A.S. Sturdza purchased an olive garden for the Saidanay women’s monastery; organization of schools for Arab boys and girls; litigation surrounding the harem on the roof of the Holy Sepulcher Church; placement of the Mission in the Archangel Monastery in Jerusalem, renovation of the monastery “hidden from the Muslim authorities” 127 and unrealized plans for its reconstruction. The correspondence also reconstructs the exact dates of many intermediate events, down to the day and hour; individual services in the Slavic language in which members of the Mission participated are recorded; finally, the names of helpers, benefactors and pilgrims to the Holy Land in the years preceding the Crimean War are established.
In the legacy of the first head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, Bishop Porfiry (Uspensky), a significant amount is occupied by his correspondence with contemporaries and diaries, partly completely completed, partly in brief notes. The thoroughness and detail of the daily records is precious against the backdrop of the meager knowledge of Palestine in the mid-19th century. In 1894, on the ninth anniversary of the death of the Right Reverend, the Imperial Academy of Sciences published “at the expense of the Imperial Palestine Society” the diaries of Bishop Porfiry - in the form of a book with the author’s title: “The Book of My Being.” When preparing the manuscript, the publishers considered it necessary to “strictly adhere to the original,” understanding that the sometimes very strong and harsh expressions of Bishop Porfiry “should be attributed to his selfless and selfless love for Russia and Orthodoxy, for the defense of which his spirit, in his own words, was aroused by Eliina’s zeal” 128. Thanks to the records of Bishop Porfiry, we have the opportunity to judge the works of the first Russian missionaries.
They examined the book collections of ancient monastic libraries in Syria, Palestine and Egypt, preserved the rarest documents and artifacts for the history of the Orthodox Church and world Orientalism, many of which were donated to the ancient repositories of Russia.
The tasks set for the unofficial Mission, which went to Jerusalem for three years under the guise of admirers, were as follows: “To study the architecture of the Christian Churches with its symbolism, their sacred painting, poetry, singing, calendars, menaions, liturgies, their history, diplomacy, morals, customs, rites, charters, decrees, the power of rights, the power of money and trade, the power of speech and school, the power of the house and the church, and to study all this both in their own books and in living dealings with them, either in the Valley of Jehoshaphat and at the Holy Sepulcher, where all Christians gather annually, or while traveling through their native countries, with a stock of knowledge of the languages of Armenian, Chaldean, Syriac, Arabic, Persian, Coptic and Ethiopian (for which twelve students of seminaries are needed)” 129.
Archimandrite Porfiry regularly, every six months, compiled reports on scientific studies, which formed a reliable and complete picture of the scientific results of the activities of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission. Its first employees diligently mastered ancient and modern languages in practice; went on expeditions in search of places associated with biblical history; studied the architecture of ancient Palestinian churches and created a collection of their plans and views; arranged the life of Palestinian churches with icons of their writing and service books; collected and translated acts of spiritual diplomacy and spiritual judicial eloquence of the Eastern Orthodox-Catholic Church, letters, spiritual and ascetic creations of the Eastern Patriarchs and writers; studied church books in Arabic, the history of Arabic printing houses and much more.
Meanwhile, the time that Mission employees could devote to science reduced serious illnesses resulting from the climate, poor living conditions, damp premises, and lack of funds. In a private letter, Hieromonk Feofan addressed A.N. Muravyov, who understood the essence of the matter well, with piercing words: “What kind of miscarriages are we? And what a careless stepmother she is, who has an urgent duty to take care of us. It would be good - the child does not cry, the mother does not understand. Written and rewritten. And this way and that... This is a sin before God and people... And it harms our goal!.. For even the blind will see that we are abandoned” 130.
We find another evidence of the selfless work of the small staff of the Jerusalem mission from Archimandrite Zephaniah (Sokolsky), who served in the Russian embassy church in Constantinople; he writes to Archimandrite Porfiry: “I just finished reading your report. What can I say about him? Much, much... encyclopedic erudition and learning, not school, but practical, developed in the crucible of sound self-thinking and experience - this is what especially attracted my attention and makes me love you, respect and kiss you even more. But, do you know what I’ll tell you about this? I will tell you my fear and apprehension that you and your works will not be understood, will not be unraveled, and will not be appreciated. However, this does not keep you in the most useful field of your arduous action. They won’t understand now, they will understand later - future centuries” 131.
The results of the selfless labors of the first staff of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem are often underestimated and are reduced to an unfounded and short conclusion: the Mission was a failure. A refutation of this hasty judgment is found in the annalistic collection of documents dating back to the beginning of the history of the Russian presence in the Holy Land. They clearly convey the deep respect of the Eastern world for the northern Orthodox power, whose envoys were an example of high service to the faith, an example of piety and learning, active assistance to Christians in the construction and decoration of churches, in the organization of schools, and the establishment of hospitals. The first Russian missionaries spared no effort to, as far as possible, complete the work they started. They supplied the pupils of the patriarchal throne with decent clothing, took care of the level of teaching not only in Jerusalem schools, but also in Bethlehem, Bet Jala, Nablus and Nazareth; opened a new school in Lydda, and urged the Patriarch of Jerusalem to take special care of orphans, widows and the poor.
The first practical steps were taken to improve the life of Russian pilgrims and their safety in the Holy Land. Archimandrite Porfiry considered the new Mission house built and decorated under his supervision to be the material result of his efforts, which in Jerusalem “everyone admires as a rarity”: “I probably won’t be able to live in it; but at least I will leave behind a wonderful monument of my architectural art and elegant taste” 132.
With the outbreak of the Eastern War, not only the results of the energetic and successful works of the Russian Spiritual Mission were threatened, but its very presence in Jerusalem became illegal. Not without reason, Archimandrite Porfiry was worried, “as if he would leave me and my squad in a real dangerous whirlpool without any help” 133. The issue of removing the Russians was persistently raised before the Turkish authorities by the French Consul General P. - E. Botta; as an archaeologist, he also saw in Archimandrite Porphyria a serious rival in Orientalism. For a long time, Russian missionaries were patronized by the Austrian consul Count Pizzamano, but by the spring of 1854 his possibilities were exhausted. “The storm is taking me away from the East,” Archimandrite Porfiry wrote on March 28 to the director of the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs N.I. Lyubimov.
– I can’t resist her strong pressure, but when I think about the interruption of my influence on the improvement of the Palestinian Church and my scientific studies devoted to the multifaceted study of the East, I confess that I regret that I was destined to leave the field early, although not trodden by any of ours and therefore difficult, but corresponding to the innate aspirations of my soul to understand the unknown and to work in circles distant and extensive, not tiring my strength and leading to high and beneficial goals” 134.
Although everything was calm in Jerusalem, the echo of military operations could be heard here, as well as the echoes of victorious reports and malicious attacks against Russia from the Turks and allied powers rushing to the Crimea; “as if these allies will not meet a single Russian regiment there, and as if our Minister of War will leave Taurida, this pearl of Russia, open to be devoured by crayfish brought from the Seine and Thames” 135 - Archimandrite Porfiry angrily exclaimed in the same letter. And as if in response, the words of the Supreme Manifesto “On the War with England and France” were heard: “Is Orthodox Russia afraid of these threats! Ready to crush the insolence of her enemies, will she evade the sacred goal destined for her by Almighty Providence? - No!! Russia has not forgotten God!”
The day came when the members of the Russian Spiritual Mission had to “part with the beloved shrines” of Jerusalem. On May 5, 1854, Russian missionaries left the Holy City, and on the evening of May 11, on the Austrian steamer Empress, they sailed from Jaffa to Alexandria. Their further route lay through Smyrna, the island of Syros, and on May 21, the Empress approached the Athens pier of Piraeus for a day stop. There was enough time to travel to the capital of the Greek kingdom.
In his diary, Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin), who served as rector of the Russian embassy church in Athens, wrote: “Friday. May 21, 1854 Peter, having arrived, told me that Fr. Porfiry has been waiting for me for a long time. Here's a new surprise for you. I came home, found guests and Fr. deacon. There were three of them: Fr. Porfiry, Fr. Feofan and one student with them. No matter how much I begged them to stay at least for a while in Athens, I could not persuade them. After drinking a glass of wine, we went to Fr. icon. After sitting there for a quarter of an hour, we went to Piraeus. The steamer was already smoking. On the deck he was met by a whole Russia of praying mantis women. I had the honor and pleasure to meet Fr. Benjamin. Once again they said goodbye to the fathers of Jerusalem, sending their respects to Rome. How long the Jerusalemites waited... I saw it as if in a dream.” 136
This is how the providential meeting in the history of the Russian Spiritual Mission took place between its first employees and the future creator of Russian Palestine.
About the further fate of the first employees of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem
Student Pyotr Alekseevich Solovyov (1825 - 1898) became an archpriest and church writer. Upon returning from the Holy Land, he served for ten years (1855–1865) as a priest of the Church of Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene on Malaya Okhta in St. Petersburg; then for another twenty years he became a priest of the Church of the Intercession in Bolshaya Kolomna in St. Petersburg, becoming its rector in 1885. P.A. Solovyov was accepted as a member of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society. The result of his work as part of the RDM was the “Album of Monuments of Christian Antiquity in Palestine and Egypt,” published by Archimandrite Porfiry (Uspensky). He wrote memoirs about what he saw and experienced.
Student Nikolai Petrovich Krylov (1828 - 1905), returning from Jerusalem in 1852, due to illness earlier than others, was received as a psalm-reader at the Church of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem in St. Petersburg. Having served there for two years, after being ordained as a deacon in 1854 he was transferred to the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Malaya Kolomna; There he was ordained a priest in 1872 and appointed rector in 1888. The last fifteen years of his life were associated with the Church of Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene on Malaya Okhta.
Hieromonk Theophan (1815 - 1894) became a famous theologian. After active service as rector of the Russian embassy church in Constantinople (1856 - 1857), rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy (1857 - 1859), ruling bishop of the Tambov (1859 - 1863) and Vladimir (1863 - 1866) dioceses, he went into seclusion in the Assumption Vyshensky Monastery, devoting himself to prayer and works, including works of an exegetical, catechetical and ascetic nature, spiritual, moral and homiletical works, journalism, translations of the works of the holy fathers, letters. Among Russian spiritual writers, Bishop Theophan ranks first in terms of the scale of his heritage. In 1988, at the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, he was glorified as a saint.
Archimandrite Porfiry (1804 – 1885) continued his scientific research, replenishing museum and library collections in Russia with the most valuable manuscripts and artifacts. After his third trip to the East in 1861, he never left Russia again. In 1865 he was ordained Bishop of Chigirinsky, vicar of the Kyiv diocese. In 1878 he was appointed a member of the Moscow Synodal Office and rector of the Novospassky Monastery.
V.V. Kashirina, Dr. Philol. Sci. The Shishkovs as recipients of St. Theophan
The letters of Saint Theophan are precious evidence of his pastoral activity and concern for the human soul. They are also important sources on many issues of church and social life in Russia, sources for summarizing the views of St. Theophan on the issues of translation of the Holy Scriptures into Russian, the Greek-Bulgarian schism, false teachings, sects, etc.
The work carried out by members of the Scientific Editorial Council for the publication of the Complete Works of St. Theophan, the Recluse of Vyshensky, in the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church made it possible, on the one hand, to identify new unpublished letters of St. Theophan, on the other hand, the result of painstaking research work was the attribution of the addressees of St. Theophan, allowing us to talk about their destinies, to understand more deeply and broadly context of already published letters.
Letters to Anisiya Andreevna Shishkova and her husband, actual state councilor, famous chemist Leonty Nikolaevich Shishkov, were originally published in the magazine “Tambov Diocesan Gazette” (one letter was reprinted in the magazine “Strannik” 137), as well as in the magazine “Soulful Reading” with an indication to Mrs. M.D. Later - in the 2nd issue of the 8-volume collection of letters of St. Theophan, and the publication from the magazine “Tambov Diocesan Gazette” was taken as a basis, which is confirmed by the composition and discrepancies with the letters published in the magazine “Soulful Reading”.
In the magazine "Tambov Diocesan Gazette", which was founded by Saint Theophan in 1861, when he headed the Tambov See, a selection of the saint's letters, prepared by his confessor, Abbot Tikhon (Tsiplyakovsky), began publication in August 1894 138. Anticipating the publication, Abbot Tikhon noted: “The Word of Christ, which richly dwelt (Col. 3:16) in the pure soul of Saint Theophan, poured out like living water (John 7:38) from his soul into the souls of all who thirsted spiritually. His word was always in grace, diluted with the salt of the wisdom of God (Col. 4:6), even good, for the creation of faith, that he might give grace to those who hear (Eph. 4:29). The proposed letters of the Right Reverend Bishop Theophan will serve anyone who reads them as visual evidence of the above. He wrote to the bishops of God, priests, workers of science and life, nobles and ordinary people. To the rich and powerful of the world and the poor, of all ages and ranks, to the people of God who wanted to live according to God, advice, admonitions, solutions to perplexities, reinforcement in patience, troubles and misfortunes and all the labors and sorrows of life...
In a word: according to the Apostle, Saint Theophan was everything to everyone, so that he would save everyone (1 Cor. 9:2) and lead everyone to Christ” 139.
Among this selection of letters without indicating the names of the addressees, in January - June 1895, letters to L.N. were published. and A.N. Shishkov under Nos. 90–150 140 (later published in the 1st issue No. 89 and in the 2nd issue of the 8-volume collection of letters Nos. 248–308).
Particularly extensive publications dedicated to the memory of the Vyshensky ascetic were prepared by the editors of the magazine “Soulful Reading,” with which the saint had collaborated since 1873. It is known that after his death in the saint’s cell, on a table near the bed, an open book of the latest issue of “Soulful Reading” was found. About the magazine itself, the saint said that it was “a very suitable magazine” 141 (1893), that it was “better than all spiritual magazines” “Soulful Reading” 142 (1893), that “this is the only magazine where the articles are not clouded by wisdom” 143 (1893), and advised many of his recipients to subscribe to the magazine 144.
In June 1894, the editors of “Soulful Reading” appealed to readers with a request to send the original letters of St. Theophan or copies thereof for publication: “From the past and present books of “Soulful Reading,” readers already have some idea about the life of the late Bishop Theophan in God “at rest” and “in seclusion.” In order to present this life with all possible thoroughness, the Editorial Board makes a humble request to everyone who has letters from the deceased saint to provide her with copies of them, if it is not possible to send the letters themselves.” 145
Among those who responded to this request from the editors was Anisiya Andreevna Shishkova. In the December issue of the magazine, the editors thanked Ms. M.D., who “provided 64 copies (some with the original attached)” 146.
Publication of letters to M.D. in the magazine “Soulful Reading” lasted for 5 years: from 1895 to 1899. 147: 1895 – Nos. 1–28; 1896 – Nos. 29 – 44; 1897 – Nos. 45 – 58; 1898 – Nos. 59–61 (letter No. 59 was not included in the 2nd issue of the 8-volume collection of letters of St. Theophan); 1899 – Nos. 62 – 63.
Four letters were published with thematic subheadings:
Thus, the Shishkovs connected for us two famous spiritual centers of the 19th century. - Vysha and Optina. This is far from the only example when Saint Theophan and the Optina elders provided spiritual care for the same person. At the Feofan readings, we presented a report “Notes of St. Theophan in the margins of the manuscript “The Key to the Eastern Question” 152, which told about the life and work of Stepan Onisimovich Burachk (1800–1877), shipbuilder, lieutenant general, publicist, publisher of the Mayak magazine.
The Shishkov family also left a significant mark on the history of Russian culture and the Russian Church in the second half of the 19th century.
Father L.N. Shishkova – Nikolai Petrovich Shishkov (1791 – 1869)
The Shishkov family has been known in Rus' since the 15th century. An honorary member of the Academy of Sciences, Minister of Public Education, Admiral Alexander Semenovich Shishkov (1754 - 1841) belonged to him. Nikolai Petrovich was his nephew. Maternal grandfather N.P. Shishkov was Andrei Timofeevich Bolotov (1738 – 1833), memoirist, one of the founders of agronomy in Russia. The daughter of the famous writer Elizaveta Timofeevna (1767–1804) was married to Pyotr Gerasimovich Shishkov (1767–1812).
Nikolai Petrovich Shishkov, a graduate of Moscow University, participated in the Patriotic War of 1812, and later wrote memoirs about M.I. Kutuzov 153, with whom he was related. In 1817, he retired and settled in the family estate Speshnevo, where he founded and headed the Lebedyansk Society of Agriculture, became an honorary member of the Council of the Moscow Society of Agriculture and the Sericulture Committee. He was one of the leading Russian specialists in beet sugar production in the field of theory 154 and practice. In 1826 built a beet sugar factory, where many important sugar-making technologies were tested and put into practice.
On June 26, 1847, he retired with the rank of collegiate adviser.
The Shishkov family was closely connected with the church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “The Sign” in the village of Speshnevo-Podlesnoye and with the church of Saints Cosmas and Damian in the village of Sugroby, Ryazan province (now the Danskovsky district of the Lipetsk region).
The parish of the Znamenskaya Church was small. In mid. XIX century numbered 60 households (262 men and 273 women), in the third quarter of the 19th century. there are 89 households in the parish, in 1873 there were 108 households (392 men and 442 women). With the construction of the church in the village of Krugloye, the arrival of the village. Speshnevo-Podlesnoye in 1877 decreased by 132 souls. Instead of the minimum 450 souls required in the parish, only 437 remained in it.
In the village of Speshnevo-Podlesnoye in 1834, at the expense of local landowners, collegiate adviser Nikolai Petrovich Shishkov and captain Stakhovich, a new stone bell tower and a fence around the church were built in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “The Sign”. In 1851–1852 the old refectory “due to its dilapidation, together with the bell tower adjoining it, was dismantled and built... a new one through the efforts of N.P. Shishkova. Consecrated on November 28, 1853."
As noted in the modern description of the Church of the Sign, the construction of a new refectory significantly changed the appearance of the church part 155.
Funded by N.P. Shishkov in 1861, another church with a stone bell tower was built in the village of Sugroby, as well as a stone fence around it.
At the church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “The Sign” in the village of Speshnevo-Podlesnoe in 1862 N.P. Shishkov built a new stone building, a third of which was originally occupied by the zemstvo school, a third by a chapel, in which the coffins of the dead were placed before burial, and a third by an apartment for the church guard. In 1897, there were 38 boys and 27 girls studying at the parish school.
The church was closely connected with the priestly dynasty of the Skvortsovs 156. From 1849 to 1884, from the moment of ordination until his death, Father Mikhail Ioannovich Skvortsov (08/23/1825 – 10/03/1884) served in the church, from 1888 to 1930. - his son father Tikhon Mikhailovich (1865 - ?). In the family of another son, also the priest Gabriel Mikhailovich (04/29/1864 – 08/17/1917), the future Bishop of Ryazan and Kasimov Boris (Skvortsov, 10/12/1895–08/11/1972) was born, who headed the Ryazan see during the difficult Soviet years from 1965 to 1972.
In 1894, according to a contemporary, “the church beautifies and the school is supported” 157 by Nikolai Petrovich’s son Leonty Nikolaevich. In 1899, actual state councilor L.N. Shishkov was approved for the third three-year term as the church warden of the church. In 1902, the chapel was repaired - the walls were plastered and painted, the gilding on the iconostasis was renewed, the windows and doors of the entire church were corrected.
From 1909 to 1914, the chamber cadet Nikolai Leontievich Shishkov served as church warden, under whom in 1910 the Church of the Sign was once again renovated: the interior walls and windows were painted, the iconostasis was gilded.
Many generations of Shishkovs were buried near the walls of the church. The Shishkov family necropolis was located near the southern wall of the refectory. Several cast iron tombstones were fixed to the base of the wall. Two black marble tombstones over the graves of Nikolai Petrovich († 01/17/1869) and Pyotr Nikolaevich († 01/13/1886) Shishkov have still been preserved.
In 1901, the actual state councilor Leon Shishkov donated 2,000 rubles to the Church of the Sign, “so that the interest from one thousand rubles would go towards decorating the church and maintaining monuments at the graves of his relatives. And on the other hand, in favor of the clergy for the eternal remembrance of his relatives according to a special synod” 158.
Leon Nikolaevich and Anisya Andreevna Shishkov were admirers of the Venerable Elder Hilarion of Troekurovsky and generous benefactors of the Troekurovsky women's community, which was located 20 versts from their estate.
Saint Theophan, while at the Tambov See, visited this monastery in 1860, when it still had the status of a community, and in his word bequeathed to the sisters to strive for the community to acquire the status of a monastery, which was predicted by the Venerable. Hilarion Troekurovsky: “In your present form, you are a community. But this is only a preliminary state, half-worldly and half-monastic. You can't stop halfway there. We must go further - to demonstrate the virtues of the most perfect rank that has been revealed, so that we do not enter it unprepared 159 . At the request of the third abbess Anfisa (Pridarogina), in 1871 the monastic community was renamed the Troekurovsky Dimitrievsky Ilarionovsky Convent, and in the same year the grand opening of the monastery took place.
In 1880, with the support of sisters Alexandra and Anna Nikolaevna Goldobin and Shishkov, the construction of a gate church with two altars was completed: in honor of St. the Prophet Elijah and the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, which was located above the Holy Gates of the monastery.
On August 26, 1880, Bishop Pallady (Gankevich) of Tambov and Shatsk consecrated the Ilyinsky Church. According to contemporaries, “the consecration was magnificent. The worshipers shed tears of tenderness, remembering how wonderfully the elder’s will was fulfilled. His Grace Palladius, with his splendid divine service, gave the celebration a special spiritual solemnity, deeply felt by all.”
In the same 1880, on the site of the wooden Vladimir Church over the grave of the reclusive Hilarion, a large cathedral church was founded, consecrated in 1893. Below, at the tomb of Hilarion, a cave church was built in the name of St. Equal to the Apostles Methodius and the martyr Theodosia in honor of the heavenly patrons of the parents of Elder Hilarion, for whom Leon Nikolaevich and Anisia Andreevna Shishkov built a single-tier iconostasis and a metal tomb, covered on top with a silver board with a chased full-length image of the recluse. The plaque for the tomb was donated by schema-nun Pelagia Andreevna Uvarova. Saint Theophan, congratulating the Shishkovs on the completion of their godly work, noted: “I congratulate your husband on the completion of the work of building a church. How much you both work in matters pleasing to God and not small! But blessed are you. With all this, a kosht is prepared for you for an eternal meal in the kingdom of God. God bless you!” 160
Leon Nikolaevich Shishkov (02/23/1830–12/31/1908)
In the village of Speshnevo, the son of Nikolai Petrovich was born - Leon Nikolaevich Shishkov (1830 - 1909) - an outstanding Russian chemist, great-grandson of A.T. Bolotov, on his mother’s side, is a descendant of the Georgian princes; he inherited his name from the Abkhaz prince Leon II, who became the Georgian king George XII, from whom his family descended on his mother’s side.
Having received a home education, Leon was assigned to the Artillery School in St. Petersburg in 1845. He graduated from the Mikhailovsky Artillery School (1848) and the Mikhailovsky Artillery Academy (1851) in St. Petersburg, where in 1852–1865 he taught at the department of chemistry (from 1860 - professor). He studied the chemistry of explosives and invented isocyanuric acid, which was important for improving the weapons of the Russian army. In 1855 his first scientific works appeared. In 1856, the scientist was sent abroad, where he continued to study explosives. Together with R. Bunzer in Germany, he studied the combustion of black powders, and in the laboratories of Dumas and Wurtz in France, explosive acid. Thanks to his research, he became famous among chemists in Western Europe. In 1857 J.B. Dumas reported on the results of research by L.N. Shishkov in the field of explosive acid at the French Academy of Sciences. This was the first time that the work of a Russian scientist was considered at the French Academy of Sciences. L.N. Shishkov, among 12 young chemists, participated in the founding of the Paris Chemical Society in 1857. In 1860
was invited to Germany, in Karlsruhe, to the First International Congress of Chemical Scientists (together with D.I. Mendeleev, A.M. Butlerov and others). The Congress played an important role in the development of world science; it provided classical definitions and explanations of such concepts as atom, molecule, equivalent, and clarified many other scientific terms.
In Russia L.N. Shishkov created the first chemical laboratory at the Mikhailovsky Artillery Academy. A.M. Butlerov wrote: “As for laboratories, undoubtedly the most extensive, the best in design of all that I have seen so far and in this respect interesting is the laboratory of the artillery school in St. Petersburg.”
In 1865, unexpectedly for many, 35-year-old L.N. Shishkov - Colonel of the Guards Horse Artillery, Professor of the Mikhailovsky Artillery Academy, Knight of the Order of St. Stanislav 2nd degree, St. Vladimir 4th degree, medal on the St. Andrew’s ribbon “In memory of the war of 1853 – 1856.” After the death of his wife, he retired and settled in the village of Speshnevo. Leon Nikolaevich perceived this grief as punishment for the invention of deadly substances and decided to change the direction of his scientific works.
His second wife was Anisya Andreevna Shishkova, according to St. Theophan, “a beauty, a clever woman and a craftswoman (a merchant’s daughter, who converted her unbelieving husband to the faith, who now remains a sincere believer" 161.
In the village of Speshnevo, he equipped a small chemical laboratory for experiments in the study of livestock and agricultural products, and controlled technological processes at his sugar and distillery factories.
A thrifty owner, L.N. Shishkov built an estate that was one of the best in Russia, where advanced farming methods were used - livestock was improved through selection, seeds were improved through sorting. To cultivate the land, they ordered the most advanced machines, and also used machines designed by the owner himself - a cob crusher, a quick plow, etc.
The Shishkov estate was located on the northern outskirts of the village of Speshnevo. Its detailed description has been preserved: “The entrance to the estate, on the eastern side, was marked by two stone pillars with a gate. All outbuildings were practical, expedient, durable and cheap. The buildings were built from brick and wild stone, covered with “paper” - cardboard soaked in oil and covered with cement in boiled oil. The house, which was part of the estate complex, is one-story, stone, built in the first quarter of the 19th century.
Its main facade in the center was highlighted by a wide risalit with a low pediment crowning it, decorated with crackers and a large semi-circular window of the tympanum. In front of the main entrance there is a full-width porch with steps and a canvas canopy in the summer. On the opposite side, between two projections located at the edges of the courtyard façade, there was a covered terrace with railings. Hypocaust heating was installed in the house 162.
The stove was located in the basement of the house. According to the recollections of A. Ermakov, who visited the house, there was a fireplace in the office. The living room was decorated with paintings, “the laboratory and office were occupied with chemical glassware, tripods, and scales; There was a fume hood in the laboratory. In general, it was crowded there.” According to the same recollections: in terms of area, “the laboratory and the office are almost equal, the office is a little larger. Approximately about 4x4.5 meters, and from these dimensions you can imagine the size of the remaining rooms.” Opposite the entrance to the house there was a sundial right in the middle of a spacious courtyard, part of which was occupied by flower beds. Next to the house there is a garden with flower beds, benches and a gazebo. The garden contained many exotic plants and was located on the north side on the slope of a ravine. There was also a small tree nursery here. The second building of the estate housed the chemical laboratory of L.N. Shishkova. Nearby there was a stable, barn, drying shed and other outbuildings. On the west, the estate was bordered by two ponds, near which stood a second sugar factory. Built by N.P. Shishkov in 1830
On the south side there is a small park, and on the north there is a garden. To the east of the entrance gate of the estate, across the road, there is the Church of the Sign of the Blessed Virgin Mary...” 163.
In his chemical laboratory L.N. Shishkov studied the properties of milk 164.
In 1868, at the 1st Congress of Russian Naturalists and Doctors, with the active participation of Shishkov, the Russian Chemical Society was created, where he became a permanent member of the board and developed its charter. In 1891 he was elected an honorary member of the Moscow Society of Agriculture. He was also a member of the Russian Technical Society, having equipped a laboratory where analyzes of soils, fertilizers, and agricultural products were carried out.
In 1888 he became the leader of the nobility of the Dankovsky district of the Ryazan province, and from 1899 - a member of the French Academy of Sciences.
Leon Nikolaevich was buried in the family necropolis near the altar wall of the Znamenskaya Church in the village of Speshnevo. After the death of L.N. Shishkov, an international prize was established in his name for outstanding work in the field of research on protein substances, milk, and mercury fulminate. The prize was awarded twice: in 1912 - G.A. Tamman (Germany) and in 1916 - V.S. Gulevich (Russia).
The Shishkov children became worthy heirs of their ancestors. Among them it is worth mentioning the son of Nikolai Leonovich Shishkov (1868 - 1931). Since 1915 - Simbirsk vice-governor, honorary member of the Simbirsk branch of the Care of Motherhood and Infancy, chairman of the council of the Brotherhood of St. Mary Magdalene Equal-to-the-Apostles at the Mariinskaya Gymnasium, honorary member of the Simbirsk Agricultural Society, member of the Simbirsk Volunteer Fire Society. From the beginning of 1917 - the last Olonets vice-governor, was removed from office according to the decree of the Provisional Government of March 5, 1917. In 1930, he was arrested on charges of anti-Soviet agitation and espionage and executed in January 1931.
Let us highlight the main range of issues that were discussed in the saint’s letters to the Shishkovs:
– Prayer in the life of a worldly person
– Tips for housekeeping
– Advice from Theophan the Recluse on compiling akathists
– Question about the translation of liturgical texts
According to Saint Theophan, just as in ordinary life a mentor and teacher are needed, even more so in spiritual life. And the Shishkovs become his long-term close children, who try to follow his advice in all areas of their lives.
It is noteworthy how thoroughly and thoroughly the saint answered each question. In one of his letters, he noted: “I followed your letter, line by line, and it seems that I left nothing that the thought occurred to me to tell you. Didn’t you make out something?” 165 The letters primarily discussed issues of spiritual life - about prayer, about inner life, about jealousy and pleasing God.
Here is just one response from the saint to L.N.’s letter. Shishkova: “You write that you would like to have a conversation with someone about life according to God. If you are not bored, I am happy to satisfy your need. It’s true that it’s difficult without advice, but it’s not all about advice. God begins life, God leads in it. Therefore, we must resort to Him and always resort and wait for a decision from Him. How He decides and how His decision reaches the heart cannot be understood, but it is certain that every deed pleasing to Him is aroused by Him and brought to completion by Him. “Without Me you cannot do anything,” says the Lord (John 15:5). And so it happens. And none of those who please Him of their own accord does what pleases Him. Our relationship with God is all marked by prayer. It was all about prayer. Lean on it.
Prayer is not just about standing in prayer. Keeping your mind and heart turned to God and aspiring is already prayer, no matter what situation one is in. The rule of prayer is in its own way, and this state of prayer is in its own way. The path to it is the habit of always remembering God and the last hour, with judgment following it. Get it right, and everything will go well. This will be: dedicate every step inside to God. And steps must be directed according to the commandments. You know the commandments. That's it! Each case can be brought under a commandment and one can internally dedicate one’s action in Him to God. In this way, your whole life will be dedicated to God. What else is required? Nothing. See how simple it is. You have zeal for salvation. It is marked by the care you express. This means that spiritual life is glowing within you. You should support it by supporting jealousy and inciting it. When there is jealousy, there will be life, and life never stands on one thing, therefore there will be prosperity. But you cannot notice it, just as you cannot notice the growth of children, who are always in front of your eyes.
This zeal is the fruit of grace. The Lord has called you. Always confess this with full thanksgiving. If He called, He will not abandon Him, just do not shrink away from Him. For not everything is from the Lord, but some is also from us. Что же от нас? All-powerful action to please God. It will be as long as there is jealousy. When there is jealousy, it is evidenced by a burning concern for salvation. You have to run in every possible way to cool down. Cooling happens like this: it begins with oblivion. The blessings of God are forgotten, and God Himself, and one’s salvation in Him, the danger of being without God, and mortal memory passes away - in a word, the entire spiritual realm is closed. This happens both from the enemy and from distraction of thoughts with affairs, worries, and many ways of dealing with people. When all this is forgotten, the heart becomes cold and its sympathy for the spiritual is cut off, and that is insensibility. And when it happens, a movement of negligence and carelessness occurs along with it. As a result, spiritual pursuits are postponed for a while, and then abandoned completely.
And the old life, both careless and careless, went on in God-forgetfulness, to please only its own. Although nothing will happen carelessly, don’t look for God either. Пустая жизнь!
If you don’t want to fall into this abyss, then beware of the first step - oblivion. Therefore, always walk in remembrance of God, that is, about God and God’s things. This will maintain sympathy for them, and therefore jealousy will constantly simmer in the other. And behold life! God bless you! I hope well that by renting out your farm, you will get rid of the hassle. You have more time to devote your thoughts to God. Pray, read. What next? We need to do something. The best thing is charity. If you have something of this kind, do it every day, for the Lord’s sake, and not for foolishness, or know ours. If there is still time left, you can come up with some kind of needlework - not entertaining. You are studying chemistry. Isn't it troublesome? As you are already used to, this activity may be more difficult for you. But I think it should be too entertaining. Try this activity to its fullest, i.e., isn’t it too entertaining? If yes, and yet there is no need for it, then you can choose something else. This is the show itself.
Relationships with others. How can we live without them? But it seems that everything that distracts from the life of God and in this regard must be eliminated as much as possible. But your duty is to fulfill the word of the prophet: “I will teach the wicked in Your way, and the wicked will turn to You...” God converted you, wanting to save you; You, accepting salvation, must, out of gratitude, save others who are still dying there, where you died. Your word is stronger than any other" 166.
It is characteristic that to explain the phenomena of spiritual life, the saint very often resorted to those comparisons and images that were understandable to his addressee. The saint explains to Leon Nikolaevich how the Lord dwells in a person’s heart with the help of the following image: “God is everywhere and as soon as He finds a heart that does not resist Him, He enters into it and makes it glad. It rejoices and, clinging to Him, does not want to leave Him. Imagine an empty ball. The air there is stale and foul. If you drill a small hole, then the fresh air from the outside, gradually being forced inside, will displace the old - spoiled. If you gave the ball a feeling, it would certainly respond: “Oh, how good I feel now!” Same with us. A heart plugged up by selfishness spoils inside, and everything goes wrong. We turn to the Lord, a hole is drilled in it by the labors of a new life, the unclean inner comes out, and something else comes in its place - something clean. This is the Divine spiritual element - the Lord Himself. Feeling this, the heart rejoices in the joy of life drawn from the Lord. The Lord is called the Visitor of souls.
When he visits, the soul plays” 167.
The saint writes about the most common spiritual wounds so figuratively and vividly that this allows you to feel sin more acutely and try to correct it as quickly as possible: “Language?! There is no more evil thing under heaven. It would be desirable to arrange it in such a way that for every impermissibility on his part, something would prick him (even a pin). Then he would have been more quiet, otherwise he’s like a machine that sings songs, when they started it up and started it up, it started to chatter” 168 .
The saint’s letters sometimes contain reproaches for non-correction and even a promise to give penance: “For suppressing readings from the Holy Scriptures, you must pay penance. But it can be postponed, taking into account your desire to improve. After all, you don't need to read a lot. It is enough (for you) to read what is written in St. Churches, i.e. Gospel and Apostle for every day. Reading this will take no more than five minutes. It will take the same amount if you want to think about something you read or memorize a text. The New Testament is sold in the synodal shops, with readings indicated for each day. There is a small format. Get it. I wish you all the best." 169
The main service of a worldly person is in the family, this is service to his neighbors: “You are family men. You cannot help but worry about everyday things. This is not prohibited; on the contrary, it is commanded to work in order to have a living and help others. You just need to not torment yourself with worries and, while working, place all your hope in God, and return everything that God gives in excess to Him, through the poor, as the Lord’s dues. After all, it’s no wonder to be saved. You just need eyes and energy. It's simple. Be with God in thought and in body, do the deeds that are assigned to you according to the commandment. That's it! Is this too much? 170
The saint wrote to Anisiya Andreevna: “A wife, mother, mistress, these are your possessions. Your ministers: head, hands with legs and soul with strength. Law codes are the commandments of the Gospel. Watch your ministers more closely; otherwise they are always ready to take advantage of the oversight of the ruler, and pull everything to their own benefit, and not for the common good.” 171
During her illness, Anisya Andreevna asked about the possibility of entering a monastery, to which the saint replied: “Why go to a monastery? You have to die at your post. Your post is in the family. This is where you die. Handle your affairs properly, that’s all!” 172 And in another letter: “And you to the monastery. There is no way for you to go there now. Set up a monastery at home. This is very possible for you. After all, your husband also has monastic inclinations. Now it is absorbed by salts, acids, gases, etc. This part gives nothing: it is too mundane. But the infinite Wisdom of God, which has arranged everything in measure, weight and number, is here more tangible to even bodily eyes. Let him talk to God in the elements, and you remain in prayer and doing good. And your mother-in-law’s life will be good” 173.
Prayer in the life of a worldly person
Despite the necessary worries about the household, which take a lot of time, even in the family circle, a lay person must have a constant prayer rule, for, in the opinion of the saint, “the work of prayer is not only the work of the silent, but of all Christians - and this is to its highest degrees. All degrees of God’s prayer are the essence of the matter.” 174
Prayer cannot be approached formally, because any prayer is a conversation with God. Prayer should always be sincere and reverent, and remembrance of God can be unceasing, even for a mortal person burdened with many different worries: “When things do not allow you to fully complete the prayer rule, then perform it briefly. And you should never rush. God is everywhere. Say thanks to Him in the morning and ask for a blessing in your own words, a few bows and that’s enough! Never approach God haphazardly. And always with great reverence. He does not need our bows or our verbose prayers. A cry from the heart is short and strong, that’s what’s profitable! And this can be done casually. And, therefore, pray unceasingly. Take care of this and direct everything here. They asked Saint Epiphanius: how should we set the clock? Watch?! There are no special hours for prayer: it must be all-hourly and all-minute. At St. Basil the Great was asked: how to pray unceasingly? He answered: have a prayerful disposition in your heart and you will pray unceasingly.
Work with your hands, and lift your mind to God. The apostles walked around the whole earth, how much work?! Meanwhile, they prayed incessantly. And they wrote this commandment. The spirit of faith, trust and devotion to the will of God is what needs to be warmed in the heart. Memorize the prayers you read and read them from memory with understanding and feeling. Insert your own prayer here and there; The less you depend on the book, the better. Memorize a few psalms and when you go somewhere, or do something else, and your head is not busy, read them. This is a conversation with God" 175.
The saint more than once advises “to be the mistress of the rule, and not its slave,” that is, to treat the prayer rule with responsibility, but also with inner freedom: “Formality and mechanism in prayer must be avoided in every possible way. Let this always be a matter of a deliberate, free decision and make it with consciousness and feeling, and not somehow. In case you need to be able to shorten the rule. Are there a lot of coincidences in family life? You can, for example, in the morning and evening, when there is no time, read only the morning prayers and those for bedtime as a memory. You can even not read them all, but several at a time. You can not read anything at all, but make a few bows, but with true heartfelt prayer. The rule must be handled with complete freedom. Be the mistress of the rule, not the slave. She is only a servant of God, obligated to devote all the minutes of her life to pleasing Him” 176.
Too much care can lead to a weakening of spiritual life, especially when it is associated with the secularization of a person’s interests and concerns: “The greatest danger from tireless worries is the suppression of religious feelings. You seem to be experiencing this. And it's a shame; It is very possible to become completely cold, as you fear. But this is not due to the nature of everyday affairs, but because of our oversight, due to which we allow ourselves to get bogged down: with thoughts, and feelings, and desires, and worries, in one everyday thing. But this may not happen. Start everything with prayer, continue with hope, end with gratitude and food. Every deed will be shrouded in the Divine robe, and will not knock God out of the soul. Then, moving from task to task, at the transition, drive out everything worldly from your soul, and be with God with attention and feeling, or repeat some verse from the psalms. The suppression of prayer is a very sad thing. Whenever you feel it, don’t ignore it. Take a book about prayer and read in depth. Little by little, the ascent to God in prayer will revive.
Remember to take care of this and pray to the Lord so that He does not deprive you of the consolations of prayer. Nothing in human affairs is achieved without labor. Spiritual endeavors require the most intense labor and, moreover, continuous work” 177.
Over-concern is dangerous because a person gets used to attributing the success of his business exclusively to himself, this develops pride and arrogance and alienates him from God: “Over-concern is sinful in that it wants to arrange and obtain everything itself without God, because after that it teaches one to rely on what has been obtained and on one’s other methods exclusively without God’s providence, and through both of these, it sets one up to regard the blessings of life as the main thing. goal and present finite life, without extending thoughts about the future life. You see what a God-fighting spirit moves in this much care! Take from this the motivation to fight this evil, as you would fight if the enemy approached and inspired murder in you. If you don’t fight, worry will completely eat you up, but if you start to fight, it will go away like any other mental illness when you fight it. How to fight? Get started and learn. First of all, begin by praying to clear away this worry, and then cleanse all your affairs, so that your affairs will go on as usual, and there will be no worries. How can prayer be cleared of worries?
As soon as worries come during prayer, drive them away; will come again, drive again. And so it always is. Never keep worries in prayer as soon as you realize that it has come. This is the struggle! And you will see the fruit. Even before prayer, decide not to succumb to worries if they come during prayer, and protect this, confirm this intention with various thoughts. You will see the fruit, just don’t give up, but fight!” 178
An important means of fueling prayer is constant remembrance of the Lord; When performing numerous household chores, do them as if in the presence of the Lord Himself: “You complain about chores that distract you and prevent you from remembering the Lord. Try to understand all your chores around the house and in other relationships, as if they were assigned to you directly from the Lord Himself; not only in general, but in particular, to understand every matter as such. Then, when starting a task and completing it, you can also keep in mind that you should complete it as it would be pleasing to the Lord. Through this, when doing it, the thought will be with the Lord. If at the end, recognizing God’s help, you thank the Lord, then here is the Lord at the end. If then, in the same order, perform the second - third and so on until the end of the day; then you spend the whole day thinking about the Lord. And this is what is required, that is, to walk in the presence of God. From here there will be a feeling for the Lord, a feeling of fear, reverence, devotion, gratitude. Feelings are prayers without words” 179.
Leon Nikolaevich, who was engaged in scientific activities that required constant attention and concentration, had a particular difficulty maintaining prayer. To preserve and warm the spirit of prayer, the saint advises the scientist: “Your academic studies, you say, distract from prayer and cool it. This is par for the course. All spiritual pursuits of this kind and business enterprises of all kinds, and scientific work, and artistic works are all of the same nature. And about those who are even lower, there is nothing to say about them. There is one way to avoid this, this is to do everything on behalf of God, according to the principles of the truths revealed by Him, not allowing yourself any suggestions that are contrary to them, but, on the contrary, turning everything into confirmation of them. Try to come to your “Laboratory” with the thought of God, that you are going through the work of His hands, to examine in more detail, so that, having seen the work, you can glorify His wisdom. Be in this mood during all classes. Maybe in this case, I think, the soul will not cool down so much” 180.
With internal cooling, even a short prayer, said sincerely and fervently, can return the disposition to prayer: “You remind us of spiritual cooling in the matter of prayer. This is a lot of damage. Try to wake up. Household affairs can only be excused by not standing for a long time in prayer, and they cannot excuse the impoverishment of inner prayer. The Lord desires little, but at least a little from the heart. Raise your mind to Him and say with contrition: “Lord, have mercy! God bless! Lord help! - there is a prayer cry. And if the feeling for God is reborn and there is in the heart, then it will be unceasing prayer without words and without standing in prayer. <…> Insert short prayers of St. into your prayer rule. Chrysostom: “Lord, do not deprive me of Your heavenly blessings!” and so on. You can skip any of the prescribed prayers, and say these 3, 5 and 10 times. How the soul lies. Sometimes they can replace the entire rule. It’s good to read them during the day between times. You need to think about them and feel them. And then they will be like a lever” 181.
Tips for housekeeping
At L.N. Shishkov had several factories - a sugar factory and a distillery. He published several works on the technology of these industries 182. In 1874, Leon Nikolaevich turned to St. Theophan for advice about his factories. The saint from his Vyshensky retreat advises him to sell the distillery as a source of all evil and destruction for souls: “I don’t know how to solve the question of the distillery. For all everyday affairs there is one solution, in order to adapt them to a single need, and not to lead them to the detriment of it. It seems to me that it would be better to sell the distillery out of hand. Vodka does a lot of evil. How would some of the responsibility not fall on its manufacturers?! And come on! What instead of it? Starch will be better in every way” 183.
In the Vyshensky retreat the saint in the early 1870s. arranged a house church, consecrated in honor of the Epiphany of the Lord, where the recluse performed divine services in complete solitude.
Anisiya Andreevna, with her own diligence and with the blessing of the saint, embroidered the airs for the liturgical set and the shroud on which the cross with holy relics lay on the throne, for, according to the saint, she has “golden hands.” 184 From the saint’s letters we learn the exact measurements for liturgical objects, which is very important for recreating the modern situation in the saint’s cells in the modern Vyshenskaya monastery.
In one of his letters to Leon Nikolaevich, Saint Theophan asks his wife to give him air, “airy, light”: “Your wife offers to work hard - to do something for the church. Very grateful. If your zeal for this has not yet faded, work on the air - the most airy, lightest. The diameter of my chalice is two inches, 185 three eighths. Make the top like this. The same measure, of course, applies to the covering on the paten. The large cover is three-quarters long, and the width is proportionately smaller, but I don’t know how to say. I think two quarters and an inch or an inch and a half would be good. Just, please, more airy” 186.
Upon receiving the job, he thanks Anisiya Andreevna: “I got some air. Very good. Thank you" 187.
After some time, responding to Anisia Andreevna’s zeal, the saint asks her to embroider the veil as well: “But even if it turned out to be like that, I can’t find anything to show you to do for my church, no matter how much I admire your work: both for the completeness of the decoration and for its elegance. And your work is enough for me: three beautiful airs. In addition, there are absolutely no other things near the throne and the altar, and in general during the service, to which embroidery work would go. Is that so! On my throne lies a cross with St. relics, under it there is a small veil that has already worn out. So I ask you to work and decorate such a shroud with embroidery: the size is half a larshina square, with a lining and braiding or fringe” 188.
Upon receiving the work, the saint was also very pleased: “I received the excellent shroud you made and have already assigned it to the task. Now the upper part of the throne is covered with a veil of your labors, and beautiful airs serve at the sacred vessels. God bless you!” 189.
Anisya Andreevna gave the saint a carpet, which he also placed in his small church: “I received the carpet you sent, a magnificent work of your hands. Thank you. He will be given a place in my church" 190.
Saint Theophan was also engaged in handicrafts at the Vyshensky retreat. In one of L.N. He hands over to Shishkov two book cutters, turned with his own hands on a lathe, noting: “Books are difficult to make, but book cutters (turned on a lathe) are very easy. So I’m going to replace the first with the second” 191.
In letters to the Shishkovs, Saint Theophan mentions spiritual literature, which he advises to read. Among the authors are Isaac the Syrian, John Climacus, Ephraim the Syrian, Abba Dorotheus, Barsanuphius and John, Rev. Hesychius, “Memorable tales about the asceticism of the holy and blessed fathers. Alphabetical Patericon” and others 192.
The saint also sends his books, making important remarks: “I am sending you the 5th volume of the Philokalia.” If you take the trouble to read, you will see not only what happens at the last stages of strict Christian living, but also how to achieve it. There are images of the entire path to God, written by persons of high rank and a life of renunciation and perfection. Which of this is applicable to you in everyday life, you will see for yourself. Just don’t think that nothing is applicable. For all Christians have one goal - to be in living unity with God. And all such one form a body, and outside this body there are no people living in spirit. And this is the same work for everyone: to overcome passions and become pure, whether one lives in everyday life, or by moving away from everyday orders” 193. And in another letter: “You received the Philokalia.” - Good! Take the trouble to understand especially what has been extracted from St. Macarius of Egypt, and partly Mark the Ascetic. And everywhere there are scattered fatherly instructions on the matter - the main thing" 194.
Also: “Patristic instructions on prayer and sobriety or attention in the heart to God and the interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer in the words of the Holy Fathers” (M., 1881), noting that this book “little by little can attune the soul to real prayer” 195; “The Gospel story about God the Son, who became incarnate for our salvation, presented in sequential order in the words of St. Evangelists in indicating the reasons why this particular order, and not another, was chosen in the order of the Gospel events one after the other” (M., 1885) 196; “Invisible Warfare: Elder Nikodim the Holy Mountain of Blessed Memory” (M., 1886), noting that “even though this title smells of monasticism; but you will find everything here presented almost in such a way that no one should refuse this advice. I wish you edification from the spirit of the Holy Mount Athos, moving in this book” 197.
In 1891, several books by the saint were published at once, which he sent to his long-term correspondents: “The Outline of the Christian Doctrine” (M., 1891); “Letters about Christian life” (Moscow, 1891); “The soul and the angel are not the body, but the spirit” (Against the brochures: “The Word about Death and an Addendum to this Word”) (M., 1891); "Miterikon: Collection. instructions of Abba Isaiah to the honorable nun Theodora” (M., 1891), noting: “If you want to read, start with the last one - “Miterikon”, this is a collection of instructions to nuns and, in part, spoken by the saints. elders. Then notice "The soul and the angel are not the body." This (spiritual) revolver is a toy. Every page is a shot. You can practice shooting and get used to shooting” 198.
In 1892 he sent the book “Ancient Monastic Rules of St. Pachomius the Great, St. Basil the Great, Ave. John Cassian and Ave. Benedict” (M., 1892), with the following explanation: “Here the laity can benefit a lot, precisely where the matter is about inner life, which is the same everywhere, despite the difference in the external orders of life. But it is not useless to review what is not applicable to everyday people, making sure that in general our monastic life is the same as it was established and conducted from ancient times. And this is enough to calm us down when we see some deviations from the ancient in particulars in other places. Theory, after all, is always higher than its implementation in practice” 199.
Based on the surviving letters, it can be assumed that Leon Nikolaevich did not meet the saint personally, but knew him only through correspondence. At the end of December 1876, the saint wrote to him about the possibility of coming to Vysha: “You are going to talk and as if you would like to come to Vysha. Is this good? I think that when you arrive at a new place, you will only look around, satisfying your curiosity, and completely forget about the fasting and the purpose for which it is being undertaken. Fast where nothing can entertain you. There is no need to go to Vysha. You probably want to see my shrine. Alas! how shameful and disgusting my shrine is, and it is much better for you never to see it and not to bother to see it. If you don’t see it, but only carry on a written conversation, something useful will appear in my words, and if you follow this, you will benefit. So, for your own sake, you don’t want to see me” 200.
And in another letter, the saint confirms that even having arrived at Vysha, the Shishkovs will not be able to meet with him, since he will not be able to interrupt his retreat: “You are going to Vysha. Good! Our monastery is not bad. May the Mother of God console you for the labor of visiting Her monastery. But I am afraid that you might not be deceived in some expectation. I'll tell you straight, don't you think you'll see me? It's not good for anyone to see me. That’s why I flatly refuse everyone, although sometimes it’s very bitter. It will be bitter to refuse you. Still, I will refuse you. By writing this, I am in no way constraining your actions. But I have one thing in mind, to warn you against setting expectations that cannot be fulfilled” 201.
In letters to the outstanding chemist, the question of the relationship between science and religion in human life, the Orthodox attitude to science, etc. is repeatedly discussed. Already in our time, a detailed work on this issue, based on the works of the saint, was compiled by Abbot Theophan (Kryukov) 202 . It is characteristic that the last chapter of the book is called “the science of sciences - the science of salvation” 203; it was this science that the saint considered the most important and fundamental in the life of any person.
Any science testifies to the greatness of the Creator: “And chemistry is part of the book of God - in nature. And here it is impossible not to see God - the Wise and Incomprehensible" 204.
And a person, even with the most perfect knowledge, will never be able to fully understand the full depth of the Creator’s plan: “we know less about the material world than about the spiritual. And God does not give and will not give, because it is not necessary for us. We will always remain on the surface in this regard. Mastery of the elements and forces operating on earth will expand; but this is not knowledge, but only the ability to use what is revealed by itself. The essence of the matter is forever hidden from us." 205
Science is limited in the scope of its knowledge, the completeness and depth of which can only be given by true deep faith: “Turn from earth to heaven and make it easy for your favorite - chemistry; otherwise she has her nose buried in the ground and is digging in it, like some creature with her snout” 206.
Science cannot dominate man and his soul. To do this, it is necessary to understand its boundaries and the boundaries of human knowledge: “Science is not an independent mistress. It has become fashionable to present science as some kind of royal personage. This person is a dream. We don’t have a single science that is firmly established in its principles. Something has been obtained in all sciences. But all this is not such as to give the right to refer to science as a decisive authority. There is no science, but there are scientists who spin science as they please. Therefore, there are only guesses and suggestions from scientists. This is also what was said before: reason demands it. Since reason has proven itself poorly in the history of human wisdom, they stopped expressing themselves this way and began to replace it with science—something impersonal. Women are now worshiped. And science was presented as some kind of beauty, they curtsied in front of it 207 . From this you can conclude that your science is also your considerations. And you can dominate her and train her as you please.
There is something established about it; but these are external forms, but the essence of the matter is not given. Here is your freedom and together the side where a religious element can be introduced, both legally and in the interests of science itself. If you please, set up your science this way and it will be good. Then you will pray for science” 208.
The saint gave detailed advice on how not to lose the prayerful mood while studying science: “I regret a lot that your studies distract you from the prayerful mood. This extinguishes spiritual life, but it is real life. You are doing a good thing by fighting this convenient (imposed by circumstances) sin. And continue. And express your pain in your heart to the Lord in prayer, asking Him to let your studies go on as usual and the spirit of prayer not to leave. The Lord will help. But we ourselves need to put in some work of this kind. Try to see the traces of God in the phenomena that you study, and, having seen it, confess it to the Lord and mentally ascend to Him in the continuation of your work itself. Then your studies will be a little like reading a spiritual book. Another thing: acquire the skill of working on scientific studies only at certain hours; at the end of them, get out of your head and stay with the Lord alone; Don’t let earths, salts and acids get into your head. This skill will come, but you have to work smart.
This will also help prevent health problems. For the last thing, don’t hesitate to take a walk in the fresh air every day: either in your garden or outside the city. Please obey what is prescribed and you will see how good it will be. Just don’t be kind and drive me away - you can’t! Your inclination towards certain activities is a gift from God. But God does not give anything that in itself would deviate from Him, but everything that would lead to Him. This is your gift too. If acting according to a gift deviates from God, it is not God who gave the gift who is guilty, but the person who acts according to it is not guilty” 209.
At the same time, “all science is cold. Even theological science is not excluded from this, although here the subject, chilling the way the subject is interpreted, may sometimes and accidentally fall on the heart by the subject itself. Science is of a spiritual nature, and prayer is of a spiritual nature. That's why they are at odds. And there’s nothing to say about everyday affairs, especially those who unfortunately have a caring disposition” 210.
When Leon Nikolaevich decided to leave his studies in science and take up housekeeping, St. Theophan sincerely supported this decision: ““Abandon scientific things.” It is discordant. For spiritual work it is like water for fire. And it will be even better if you never turn back to it, never again.” 211
Advice from Theophan the Recluse on compiling akathists
According to the remark of a modern researcher of akathists, Priest Theodore Ludogovsky, today “the akathist genre is experiencing another flourishing,” 212 which explains the relevance of turning to the spiritual experience of St. Theophan.
The attitude towards the creation of new akathists has always been characterized by some restraint. Saint Philaret of Moscow was not a supporter of compiling new akathists, explaining this by the need to “be jealous” of the splendid reading and singing of church services, instead of expanding the service with akathists, “arbitrarily again compiled from a multitude of vague, refined laudatory expressions, little capable of admonishing and edifying the reader or hearer” 213.
Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky) believed that only akathists to Christ, the Mother of God and some others are distinguished by “high dignity”; the rest “represent a repetition of meaningless indulgences, often relate to the needs of a worldly, everyday nature and, to top it all off, are an almost literal and often meaningless repetition of one another” 214.
Saint Theophan the Recluse, according to the famous pre-revolutionary researcher of akathists, professor of the Kazan Theological Academy Alexei Vasilyevich Popov, on the contrary, “encouraged the compilers of akathists, encouraged them in their works, gave them instructions and advice” 215.
Saint Theophan discussed practical issues related to the compilation of akathists, with the peculiarities of their writing, in correspondence with Anisia Andreevna Shishkova.
Initially, the saint noted his addressee’s gift for writing prayers: “Would you like to compose prayers for every everyday need and for every spiritual need? If it comes, work hard. This will be a great blessing for the pious." 216 And in the next letter: “I mentioned in passing about writing prayers. And if your soul is more inclined towards akathists, then work on them. However, try composing prayers. There is more freedom of spirit here. A certain external form does not constrain. You ask: what prayers? Regarding all the various circumstances of life: spiritual, family and civil. A child was born, the child fell ill, and died. A good child shows promise. A widow, over her husband’s grave, alone or with the children he left behind. Prayer of the poor. Prayer of the offended, oppressed and unable to find a way out. A prayer for someone who is in contrition after a bad life. Deciding to work for the Lord who is tempted within. Disturbed by invisible enemies, and the like. Enter into the feelings of such persons, and your heart will tell you what to call on God!” 217
In another letter he advised A.A. Shishkova: “You wrote that you are making a selection from the canons of the Mother of God. Look also at services for holidays in honor of miraculous icons. There you will find instructions for chants and invocations to the Mother of God” 218. About prayers compiled by A.A. Shishkova, we know nothing, but information about her as the author of akathists has been preserved. With the blessing of Saint Theophan and thanks to his active advice, she compiled an akathist to St. the silverless and miracle workers Cosmas and Damian, who “since ancient times during the service” was read before the miraculous image in the Troekurov community 219, akathist to the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God 220, akathist to the “Bogolyubskaya” Icon of the Mother of God 221, St. to the blessed Prince George of Vladimir 222, to the Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer 223, to the Kozelshchanskaya Icon of the Mother of God 224.
On the eve of the 700th anniversary of the birth of St. Prince George, the Wonderworker of Vladimir, which was especially widely celebrated in 1889 in Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod, A.A. Shishkova worked on compiling an akathist to St. Prince George.
The saint’s letters set out in detail the rules for compiling akathists: “God bless your work! You say the truth that the entire life of the glorified saint should be consistently illuminated in the akathist, as well as in his canon. But it always comes to my mind that the form or image of akathists should be diversified. Sometimes we rejoice, sometimes we praise you, sometimes we praise you, or we pray, just a prayer and the like. And for each appeal, either assign a whole ikos and kontakion, or repeat them in a row in each ikos and kontakion, so as to transform the entire akathist into a song of praise and prayer for the one being praised. How many new akathists we have, but no new prayers are visible” 225.
The saint’s idea of composing an akathist as a song of praise directly echoes the conclusion of A.V. Popov, who wrote: “The tone of the akathist as a victorious Christian song is cheerful, upbeat, festive, solemn. As a song imbued with a tone of cheerfulness and joy, the akathist is attractive to every prayer-minded soul, especially a sad, restless, grieving soul. The akathist brings a clean stream of healthy freshness and the fragrance of holiness into the atmosphere of a Christian’s soul, spoiled by sin and suffocated by despondency. Exciting the heart of a Christian with a system of higher feelings, it encourages him, inspires him, and disposes him to better and higher aspirations” 226.
The manuscript of the akathist on September 19, 1888 was transferred to the St. Petersburg Spiritual Censorship Committee by the Council of the Orthodox Brotherhood of the Holy Blessed and Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky. According to the decision of the Holy Synod of March 14 / April 8, 1889, No. 536, the akathist was approved for publication after making the necessary corrections. The decree was sent to the St. Petersburg Spiritual Censorship Committee on April 13, 1888 under No. 1301. The akathist was published in print in 1889 227.
The specific advice of Saint Theophan regarding those thoughts that should be expressed when glorifying the saint are of considerable interest.
Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer was one of the most revered saints. Ambrose of Optina. As A.A. later recalled. Shishkova: “When I said goodbye to my father, his speech about St. Ignatius the God-Bearer; with what special ardent feeling, fully inspired by the grace of God, he narrated that the Lord always dwelt in the heart of this martyr saint, and the name of Jesus Christ was imprinted there. “Have you read his life?” - asked the dear father, and ordered me to take his messages for reading and guidance. Then I learned that the priest especially revered this saint of God and always resorted to him with prayer in all the difficult moments of his life.”228
In the akathist to the Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer, Anisiya Andreevna wanted to insert a phrase that after the death of the saint, the name of the Savior was written on his heart. Saint Theophan advised: “The most ancient legends do not mention that the name of the Lord Jesus was written in the heart of this saint. St. Demetrius of Rostov did not insert a legend about this into the text of the biography of St. Ignatius; but at the end he added in a special font: netsyi narrate, and so on. This is what he usually does when the reliability of any legends is recognized by him as not being fully justified. And in the church service of St. Ignatius is not mentioned about this. Therefore, no matter how desirable it is for it to be so, not mentioning this in the akathist will not be a sin. Instead, manage to insert the expression two or three times that Christ dwelt in his heart, that he felt Him existing within himself and carried Him in his heart. To enrich the mind with thoughts other than the life of St. Ignatius in Chet-Minea, read the church service for him in the Menaion of the Month and, if you find it, his epistles. They were published separately a long time ago” 229.
Before being sent to the censor A.A. Shishkova sent an akathist to St. Theophan, in which he “corrected something” and about which he wrote in 1892 that “the akathist is very good” 230. He also advised: “The Life of St. Isn’t it better to write the God-Bearer in Russian? In case you would like to do this, I am enclosing a book about the apostolic men for your considerations. But it’s fine with you, if you don’t find the desire to redo it” 231.
February 24, 1893 Actual Privy Councilor P.I. Salomon presented the manuscript of the akathist to the St. Petersburg Spiritual Censorship Committee. On May 4, 1893, Archimandrite Tikhon, who examined the manuscript, reported to the committee that the akathist “both in its content and in its presentation is fully consistent with church chants and can be approved for church prayer use.” The Akathist was submitted to the Synod on May 7, 1893 under No. 572. The Holy Synod on June 9/14, 1893 under No. 1516 approved the printing of the Akathist after making corrections. The decree was sent to the St. Petersburg Spiritual Censorship Committee on June 15, 1893 under No. 2659. The akathist was published in print in 1893. 232
In the text of the akathist there were two ikos, in which the thoughts of St. Theophan and Rev. were clearly conveyed. Ambrose of Optina: “Rejoice, for you had God in your heart” (ikos 1); “Hearing the people of your faithful confession, I praised God, but Trajan, gnashing his teeth, again asked you: “Why are you called God-Bearer?” You said: “For I carry my God in my heart” (ikos 4).
A.A. Shishkova also compiled an akathist to the Kozelshchanskaya Icon of the Mother of God, which became famous in 1881 in connection with the healing of Countess Maria, daughter of Count V.I. Kapnista.
Having learned about this miraculous healing, Saint Theophan wrote about his desire to have the miraculous image of the Mother of God: “What a joy! May this be an inexhaustible joy for all sincere believers! Or it already is. Please write to me what position is the right and left hand of the Mother of God, what the vessel stands on, how and where the spoon lies, where the Savior’s face is turned. How the head of the Mother of God is tilted and where her eyes are looking, the body of the Mother of God, or her waist, is taken high, to the waist or more. Write everything down so you can draw it. I'll ask one of ours about this. It would be better if there was a photo. The Count should have taken the photograph and distributed it. If he didn’t do this, tell him to do it, even through his relatives and friends, if you don’t know each other. I would very much like to have one like this” 233.
Having received a photograph of the icon from A.A. Shishkova, thanked her: “I have now received the photograph you sent of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Kozelshchinskaya.” Very grateful. Thank you in advance for the book, with photographs of the same icon, which I have received through your kindness. God sent this to us against the Pashkovshchina, to shame this empty wisdom, which, however, as I hear, finds access elsewhere” 234.
In 1885, a women's community was founded on the prince's estate, transformed in 1891 into the Kozelshchansky Nativity of the Mother of God Monastery.
It is from this time that the letter dates back to A.A. Shishkova asks the saint’s blessing to compile an akathist. Saint Theophan not only approved the compilation of the akathist, wanting “the akathist to come out as a complete moralizing book, and at the same time be read easily and smoothly” 235, but also gave detailed recommendations for its compilation: “It would be good to include in short, where necessary, words everything relating to this icon. How it was discovered. What miracles there were even after the first one. It would also be good to arrange appeals to the Mother of God according to our spiritual needs: repentance, struggle with passions and purity of heart, in which all spiritual perfection lies. You can collect this kind of appeal from the canons of the Mother of God, at Compline, which you will find in the Osmoglasnik - the book of repentance” 236.
After some time, when A.A. Shishkova made extracts from the canons of the Mother of God, the saint advises: “Also look at the services on holidays in honor of miraculous icons. There you will find instructions for hymns and appeals to the Mother of God” 237, noting that “the main concern should, of course, be that every appeal contains a complete thought, worthy, briefly, clearly and effectively expressed” 238.
Akathists compiled with the blessing of St. Theophan A.A. Shishkova, are still republished and used in Orthodox worship and in cell prayers.
Question about the translation of liturgical texts
In the 19th century Several basic approaches to the translation of liturgical texts have emerged:
1) Translation of liturgical texts into Russian is unacceptable and not timely.
2) It is possible to partially correct texts – gross typos and incomprehensible places.
3) A new translation of the service into Slavic is possible.
4) A new translation of liturgical texts into Russian is possible.
The remark of A.G. is typical. Kravetsky and A.A. Pletneva about the mixing of accents in the discussion about the translation of liturgical texts by the beginning of the 19th century: “If earlier the focus was on issues of textual criticism (that is, the correspondence of Slavic liturgical books to the Greek original), now problems of semantics are central” 239.
Saint Theophan “lamented the darkness and difficulty in understanding the liturgical text” 240 and was a supporter of creating a new translation of liturgical texts, but not into Russian, but into the Slavic language. And in this sense, his comments were not only theoretical, but also practical. An expert in ancient and modern languages, Saint Theophan created a corpus of exegetical works and prepared a new translation of the Philokalia, in which he also acted as an innovator.
Translation of the “Philokalia” by Paisius Velichkovsky, according to Dr. ist. Sciences N.N. Lisovoy, is a tracing paper, a word-by-word translation. On the other hand, Saint Theophan, when translating a difficult passage into Russian, “explains it using modern language and a modern conceptual theological apparatus - regardless of the fact that the translation will not be very similar to the language of some abba of the 7th century” 241, therefore he “did not translate at all in the sense that is familiar to us. He created his own patristic text" 242. The translation of the Philokalia, prepared by Theophan the Recluse, began to be published in 1877. The saint showed himself to be a free interpreter of patristic texts, his translations had a “targeted educational character” 243 . These principles largely determined the views of St. Theophan on the problem of translating liturgical texts.
Important for understanding the saint’s views on the problem of translation is his polemics in the period 1875–1877. on the translation of the Holy Scriptures into Russian. The saint was a supporter of translating biblical texts not from the Masoretic text, but from the Septuagint 244.
The saint wrote about the need to translate liturgical books in 1887. - on the eve of the celebration of the 900th anniversary of the baptism of Rus'. Manager of the Moscow Synodal Printing House (1885 – 1893) Andrei Nikolaevich Shishkov (1821–1909), one brother of L.N. Shishkov, through A.A. Shishkov turned to Saint Theophan with advice on preparing for the anniversary 245. Several letters from A.N. have survived. Shishkov to Saint Theophan in 1891, in which he discussed preparations for the publication of a new edition of the “Rite of Confession” 246.
In a letter to A.A. Shishkova Saint Theophan formulates a whole program for preparing the celebration of the 900th anniversary of the baptism of Rus', which was widely celebrated in Russia, proposing not to limit ourselves only to the publication of the life of Grand Duke Vladimir and an akathist to him; The main thing, according to the saint, is to prepare a translation of liturgical books that will “influence church life.” As an example of the translation of liturgical books, the saint points to the translations of the canons made by Bishop Augustine (Gulyanitsky) and published in the journal “Soulful Reading” for 1882 - 1884, noting that the translation was done “both reverently and understandably.”
The translation principles that were used by Bishop Augustine are the simplification of complex syntactic constructions unusual for the Slavic language (for example, dative independent and accusative with infinitive), archaic Slavicisms that are either completely unknown in the Russian language or have a different meaning, simplification of the grammar of the Church Slavonic language (for example, replacing the form of the dual with a plural, eliminating the use of the pronoun “izhe” in the function of the Greek article etc.) 247.
The saint’s letter is very extensive and written sincerely, from the very heart: “There was and is a need to say one word on the occasion of the proposed anniversary (900th anniversary of the baptism of Rus') next year, or not of him himself, but of what is being prepared to commemorate him. Such a big anniversary, and what is being prepared to commemorate it? Life of St. Vladimir and an akathist to him with pictures. Both are good: they just do not correspond to the greatness of the celebration. Here we need to do something that will influence the entire church life. And there is a thing of this very nature, an extremely necessary thing. I mean, a new, simplified, clear translation of church liturgical books. Our liturgical hymns are all edifying, thoughtful and sublime. They contain all theological science and all Christian moral teaching, all consolations and all fears. Anyone who listens to them can do without any other teaching Christian books. Meanwhile, most of these chants are completely incomprehensible. And this deprives our church books of the fruit that they could produce and does not allow them to serve the purposes for which they are intended and available.
As a result, a new translation of liturgical books is urgently needed. Now, tomorrow, we must begin to do it if we do not want to bear the reproach for this malfunction and be the cause of the harm that comes from this. One of the reasons that inclined the Orthodox to shtunda is precisely the incomprehensibility of church hymns. Nemchura, the pastor who started the shtunda, chose several hymns and asks the Orthodox, as if out of curiosity, what do these songs say? They responded with misunderstanding. He said: go and ask the priest; but the priest could not indicate the meaning. This greatly shook the Orthodox. And he soon easily confused them. Someone tells something similar from his conversations with the Molokans, who said: “What are we going to do there in your church? The sexton mutters, you can’t understand anything; even if you take it apart, you won’t understand anything.” And you see that neither the Molokans nor the Stundists have a single church song, but all are new, often with empty content. From what? From the fact that they are understandable.
So it would be a worthy commemoration of the anniversary if by that time they decided to begin a new translation of liturgical books. Let them do it, but now they will have to translate all the books again; and for the anniversary they will prepare one book, for example - Osmiglasnik - Octoechos. Translate not into Russian, but into Slavic. Experiments have already been done. In “Soulful Reading”, several services translated in this way have already been published. Both reverent and understandable. So let them translate the entire book. Please convey these thoughts to N.N. and convince him. No, no need to convince. Please beg us to begin the work immediately, to ask permission from the Holy Synod to arrange the translation and print it. That would be a commemoration on his part of his management of the printing house. And the life of St. Vladimir with an akathist would go like dessert and sweets, but a festive meal would be a book” 248.
However, some time later, in a letter to L.N. and A.A. Shishkov, Saint Theophan states: “The matter of translating liturgical books (speech) swept from B to C, and from there to M, and dissipated in the air. That's right, it's not the time! Will he come someday” 249, noting that Andrei Nikolaevich Shishkov “is worried about the difficulties of completing this task? Why worry? This will all be judged in the Synod and everything will be considered and everything will be taken care of to settle. Liturgical books can not only be updated by translation, but also changed in content. That's what the Greeks do. In S. they are swamped with business and have no time to think about liturgical books; this needs to be suggested to them from the outside. And then things will go by themselves” 250.
The opinion of Saint Theophan on the need to translate liturgical texts not into Russian, but into the Slavic language, was not heard at that time. By the beginning of the 20th century, the issue of correcting liturgical books became one of the most discussed, 251 and continuous attempts were made to reform the language. In 1907, under the chairmanship of Archbishop Sergius (Stragorodsky), a Commission for Correcting Liturgical Books was organized. At the Local Council of 1917–1918. this issue is also one of the most pressing 252. In 1918, the report “On the Church Liturgical Language” was considered, which allowed for the partial use of the “general Russian” language in worship, spoke about the need for work to simplify and translate liturgical texts, etc., but no Council decision was made on the admissibility of using the Russian language in worship.
In the second half of the 19th century. in Russia, the religious and philosophical works of L.N. began to be distributed in lists. Tolstoy 253. The Shishkovs were one of those recipients who sent these manuscripts to the saint for review.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to accurately determine the title of the work from the context. Perhaps here we are talking about the essay “What is my faith,” mentioned in another letter 254: “I thank your husband for the letter and especially for the book or notebook that he is sending: I mean the ravings of the superstitious N ... Tolstoy, the enemy of God, the son of the devil. Your husband is writing to write notes on this emptiest of empty notebooks. If I find an opportunity to say something, I will certainly write. I’ll go through it all, line by line, take notes on everything, and then the general conclusion is praise for Tolstoy. I am not saying that I will definitely do this; but I want to do it. And I will do it if I can put my hands on it” 255.
In the next letter, the saint reports that he copied the manuscript and asks to send him “A Study of Dogmatic Theology” by L.N. Tolstoy, which was compiled by the writer on the basis of “Orthodox Dogmatic Theology” by Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna Macarius (Bulgakov), author of the famous multi-volume “History of the Russian Church”. It is known that L.N. Before writing his work, Tolstoy met with Vladyka 256: “I hasten to send you the manuscript back. I was in a hurry to rewrite it. And just now I finished. Your husband didn’t write. It’s true that he has no time for that. Yes, now there is nothing left to write. But tell him this: my earnest request that he obtain and send this same criticism, or examination of the dogmas of the Church. It is very necessary in order to better understand the manuscript that has just been copied. Here you can only see that he doesn’t believe in anything, worse than a Tatar. But why is not clear. This is known from him in the aforementioned examination or criticism of dogmas. Please beg him to get this thing too. Or maybe S. will get it. Then I will have all the nonsense of T-th.
The correspondence was coming to an end when they sent me from Moscow the gospel of this Lion roaring against the Church of God. Here the quotes are taken from the Gospel and what is written against them is there. So I’m writing off these nonsense. Then, I need to write something” 257.
Based on these writings, Saint Theophan initially intended to write a separate teaching with an analysis of the teachings of L.N. Tolstoy: “To denounce this without knowing the reasons why he thinks so is very inconvenient. That is why it is extremely necessary to have his criticism of dogmas at hand. He really doesn’t like these dogmas, because he doesn’t like the Church. And why the Church is not to his heart is not clear. One thing is clear: she is against his teachings. But this is not a reproach, but a praise, for his teaching is the most fantastic. It seems to me that he is close to madness. Everything about him is so ridiculous. And I marvel at the words of your husband, that many are offended. I’m thinking of writing something against it, but I can’t figure out who he is according to my system” 258.
Having received the “Study of Dogmatic Theology” by L.N. Tolstoy, the saint notes: “Of all the articles of T., this is the most insignificant. He runs through Dogmatics like carriages on cast iron, and his notes are the most fluent and incorrect due to the speed of his flight” 259.
After some time, the saint, in a letter to A.A. Shishkova reports that for criticizing the teachings of L.N. Tolstoy “took on this several times and gave up, and now, although I haven’t completely given up, I’m unlikely to take it up soon, because I have something on my hands of a different kind and related to a different area, which I really like. I am not strong against Th, because he is too cunning or stupid, there is terrible confusion everywhere in his speeches, now he says one thing, then something completely different about the same thing. Demons teach him deceit. Someone undertook to expose his deceptions, it seems, successfully. This will be N. T-stand turned on its face, for in its writings there is only its reverse side. These articles against him are published in the magazine “Faith and Reason”, published in Kharkov” 260.
The accusatory works mentioned in the letter belong to Mikhail Andreevich Ostroumov (1847 - 1920(?)), Honored Ordinary Professor in the Department of Church Law at Kharkov University, author of the theological and philosophical journal “Faith and Reason”, published at the Kharkov Theological Seminary (1884 - 1917). In 1887, his separate work “Count Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy” was published in Kharkov, which contained a critical analysis of the “Confession” 261.
Later, the saint abandoned the idea of writing a critical analysis of the teachings of L.N. Tolstoy, however, in many letters noting the harmfulness of Tolstoyism: “In our time, unbelief and licentiousness of his mental and moral principles, despite their inconsistency, can have disastrous consequences, especially for student youth” 262.
Pashkovshchina is a doctrine of Protestant Christianity that became widespread in Russia at the end of the 19th - first half of the 20th centuries.
To the saint, who was in the Vyshensky retreat, many correspondents wrote about Pashkov, who sent him books published by the “Society for the Encouragement of Spiritual and Moral Reading.” The Shishkovs also became one of these correspondents. L.N. The saint asked Shishkov to collect as complete information as possible about the false preacher: “I will wait to hear what you say about the Pashkovites; I urgently need to know what they rely on, that they have fallen behind the Church. Your few words: “they are zealous to enlighten the people and distract them from superstition (churchism) and idolatry (veneration of icons)” say a lot. It turns out: they are Molokans, as I exalted them. I also remembered regarding the Pashkovites that it would be necessary to find out, namely: what do they mean by superstition? Idolatry is icon veneration, but what is superstition? After all, this should not be taken from them in a general sense, but in relation to church ranks. So they would definitely speak out, what do they mean by this in the Church? Can’t you find out about this?” 263. And in another letter: “Your husband has probably returned from St. Petersburg. Did you bring anything new about Pashkov?
Very desirable" 264. Having received notification that L.N. Shishkov was unable to meet with the Pashkovites: “They didn’t see Pashkov, so be it. I’ll wait until someone overhears more and says” 265.
According to the saint, Pashkov “is the most evil Molokan and whip, who has no Church, no sacraments, no priesthood, no prayers, nothing. Repent, believe in the Lord and live well - that’s all. Everything else is on the side. He travels everywhere with this sermon. And he collects it at home, and has already confused many. He’s about to announce a sect” 266.
Since 1880, letters from the saint began to appear against the teachings of Pashkov. A total of seven letters were written, which were published in the magazine “Soulful Reading” between March 1880 and February 1881. 267 The first letter was also published in separate editions in 1880 in Moscow and St. Petersburg 268 . All seven letters, which were later included in the collection “Letters to Various Persons on Various Objects of Faith and Life,” were published as a separate publication in 1881. 269
“Letters to a Person” were published by the Holy Synod in large quantities and were intended for free distribution. The saint also sent to his recipients the copies of books he had for distribution. In 1880, he sent several books to the Shishkovs: “Perhaps you will meet one of those who wisely philosophize, like him, and let them look through” 270.
In another letter: “The Holy Synod published my letters against him in large quantities and is giving them away for free. And they sent me a very pretty one for the same purpose. I believe that there will be people around you who would benefit from reading them. I'm sending you ten. Give it to anyone you find useful and keep it for yourself if you don’t mind. In St. Petersburg, a society of spiritual and secular people was formed to counteract this false teacher. I don’t know what they are doing for this; but one cannot help but rejoice that such a society exists” 271.
The fourth letter contains the most detailed refutation of Pashkov’s misconceptions, which is analyzed in 20 points. Subsequently, it was this letter, with minor additions, that was cited in notes in many works against Pashkovites.
The main points of the teaching of the Pashkovites, which the saint refutes 272:
1) Salvation is accomplished, and all who believe in Christ are saved.
2) Salvation was given to us tuna, and the gifts of God, as immutable and eternal, cannot be taken away.
3) A person is saved through faith in Christ
4) He who believes in Christ, and therefore takes redemption as his own, is not subject to eternal destruction.
5) Everyone who believes in Christ immediately receives remission of sins and is delivered from eternal punishment.
6) To be saved, you must accept Christ within yourself. To do this you need to recognize yourself as a sinner. To believe in Christ, to thank Him for everything that He has done for us, to recognize ourselves as saved forever, and to be convinced that from this moment all our sins are forgiven, and we become constant participants in eternal life.
7) In this way we accept Christ into us, who, no matter what, never leaves us, but always abides in us.
8) Those who have accepted Christ into themselves are not subject to mortal sins; for sins in general he is subject to only temporary punishments.
9) Faith in Christ as a gift of God is never taken away from those who have accepted Christ into themselves; because the gifts of God are immutable and eternal. The grace of redemption also remains with them and is not taken away from them.
10) He who has accepted Christ into himself and then sinned only needs to repent, and he immediately receives immediate forgiveness, since Christ is an inexhaustible source of mercy and forgiveness.
11) The first duty of one who has accepted Christ within himself should be the gospel, confession and preaching.
12) Evangelism, preaching and good works are the indispensable consequences of accepting Christ into oneself.
13) Everyone who has accepted Christ into himself certainly does good deeds, which do not save a person, but are the fruits of faith; from it they flow by themselves.
14) Baptism does not benefit those who have not consciously accepted Christ into themselves.
15) Anyone who has accepted Christ into himself can understand all of Holy Scripture and interpret it to others. However, everyone can understand Holy Scripture to some extent, even those who have not accepted Christ into themselves.
16) The Church is on its own, and first of all you need to seek Christ.
17) Christ dwells in sinful and unclean people, if only they believe in Him.
18) God so loved the world that for our salvation He separated from His Father.
19) All eternal rewards and punishments are equal. Abodes many mean precisely many, but not different; since God has no partiality.
20) All days are equal, not excluding the Resurrection.
Pashkov himself was deported abroad in 1884, but his teaching had many followers, one of them, the great-grandson of Catherine II, Count A.P., mentioned in the saint’s letter. Bobrinsky: “I don’t know how to understand why the authorities are weakly acting against the Pashkovites? After all, they can cut the whole of Russia in half and then there will be trouble. Pashkov was driven out, but Bsky remained, who, as I heard, is much more eloquent and intelligent than Pashkov. By winter they will return to St. Petersburg, and the same story will follow. Meetings and conversations, with the possible difference that our church superstitions and idolatry will be exposed more clearly” 273.
And in another letter to L.N. Shishkova: “You remember your conversations with GB. I am collecting information about the thoughts of these newcomers of ours. Therefore, I turn to you with the most humble request to tell me everything that you have retained in your memory from your conversation, especially if you have preserved and remember what they rely on in order to lag behind the church, while what they interpret in the most perfect way is preached and acted in St. our Church. I especially need to know this. Then you can quickly place a mine under them and blow up their fortress. And now there is shooting from a distance. Another time, if you meet this talker (he, according to Pashkov, is the first and better than him, more eloquent and smarter), deliberately start a conversation about the same thing, and try to find out why they are falling behind the Church." 274
At the end of the 19th century. Numerous anti-sectarian brochures and writings appeared that analyzed Pashkov’s teachings and were addressed to both ordinary readers 275 and church historians 276, while it can be said that the book of the saint, according to his life writer P. A. Smirnov, subsequently became “the main stronghold of Orthodoxy in the fight against all our Protestant sects. The Holy Synod highly appreciated them...” 277 As Archpriest Mikhail Khitrov noted, “a new life must awaken in our educated society. Not a change of views and convictions, not a mental revolution, but a spiritual rebirth - this is what must be accomplished - by the internal activity of the spirit" 278. The book of Saint Theophan was printed in many copies and intended for free distribution; extensive excerpts from it were given in many books devoted to the analysis of the teachings of the Pashkovites 279.
Application. A.A. Shishkova. Several additions to articles about Father Ambrose 280
Reading various descriptions about the recently deceased Optina elder, Father Ambrose, I cannot keep silent about the wondrous healing and his insight, which I myself witnessed. It is reliably known that there are thousands of similar examples; for not only sometimes, but daily the elder showed them with every visitor; whether he gave advice, or resolved bewilderment, everything was spiritually explained to them, spoken prophetically, and lovingly proposed for fulfillment. Those who did not immediately understand the meaning of his speech, or did not want to understand, were later convinced of the gift of this prophecy and were amazed by it.
This is how this righteous old man of God became famous, pure in soul, strong in heart and love for his loved ones.
How gratifying it was to be in his cramped, small cell (both in the Optina monastery and in Shamordin). I cannot remember without tears about the merciful, cheerful face of the priest and his friendly voice!
In 1877, I was very ill for almost a year with a severe sore throat (a consequence of a long-standing cold at the top of the snowy Pyrenees mountains), I could barely swallow liquid food; I was living in the village then, receiving treatment; the doctors, seeing that my illness was getting worse, advised me to go to Moscow, convene a council and live abroad in a warm climate. At this time, Mrs. Klyucharyova 282 came to the neighboring Troyekurovsky convent 281, living with her granddaughters and near the Optina Monastery, having her estate nearby. Having learned that I was so ill, I invited the nuns of that monastery to convey to me her advice - to contact the elder in writing, to ask for his prayers, knowing all the miracle and effective power of them. At first I didn't pay attention to these words; but, seeing the worsening of my painful condition, I decided to write to the elder (although I didn’t know him), asking for his prayers for me, who was sick. Father quickly answered: “Come to Optina, without hesitation, just serve a prayer service to the Savior, the Mother of God, the holy disciple John the warrior and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker."
The offer to go to Optina greatly frightened me, knowing what a difficult and long journey I had to make; meanwhile, due to exhaustion of strength, I could not get up.
“How will I go?” - I thought; but the words emphasized “without hesitation” strengthened my spirit and my strength, and I, despite the children’s request not to go and the doctor’s conviction, invited a priest, served a prayer service and the next day went quietly in a carriage to Efremov; from there by rail to the city of Kaluga, and then by horse to Optina Pustyn; everywhere, of course, I rested for a long time due to severe weakness and fatigue. Upon arrival in Optina, I asked to find out from the priest at the monastery when I could come to him. He ordered me to tell him to rest now, and the next day to go to mass and from there to him. I could barely walk; but I accomplished all this through the prayers of the elder, who apparently strengthened me. When I went up to my father’s room with Mrs. Klyuchareva, she knelt down in front of him and began to ask with tears: “Father! Heal her as you know how to heal.” The elder became very angry at these words and ordered Mrs. Klyucharyova to leave immediately, but he said to me: “It is not I who heal, but the Queen of Heaven, turn and pray to Her” (in the corner of the room there hung an image of the Most Holy Theotokos).
Then he asked where his throat hurt; – I showed the right side of it. The elder crossed the sore spot three times with prayer. Immediately, as if I received some kind of cheerfulness, having accepted the blessing from the priest and thanking him for his gracious welcome, I left. I arrived at the hotel, where my husband and a lady I knew, V.D., were waiting for me. Musina-Pushkin; in front of them, I tried to swallow a piece of bread to make sure whether I felt better through the prayers of the elder; Before I couldn’t swallow anything solid; and suddenly, what a joy it was that I could eat everything without pain, very easily, and until now the pain has never returned - fifteen years have already passed.
How can I, in gratitude for such a benefit, not now publicly express this miraculous healing to glorify such a wondrous, loving old man!
Let other admirers of him and spiritual children remember him, and also not hide under a bushel the amazing impressions of insight and wondrous healings experienced on themselves. Non-believers will not believe anything, but what sweetness it is to the soul of a believer to know that in our time there was such a lamp of God, who, through love for the Lord and for his neighbors, achieved such gracious insights of the soul on earth, and now, after his righteous death, will offer prayers to the Almighty for all his spiritual children and admirers of his blessed memory. Having told about my healing, I cannot remain silent about the wondrous foresight of this righteous elder. I will present several cases. Before going to Optina Pustyn, I always asked Father Ambrose for his blessing; sometimes he gave; sometimes not; I didn’t go without a blessing.
Once, when I came to visit my father, I also went to see Klyucharyova, who told me with sadness. That the priest does not bless her to take a Frenchwoman to her granddaughters. “You know,” she said, “is it possible in our circle not to know foreign languages, because the children will move around in the world; and he advises wearing them more simply. You will be with the priest today, ask him to bless you to find me a foreigner for the children, and there is a demand for dresses.”
I come to the priest and among other things tell him: “Now I live in Moscow, and it would be very easy and convenient for me to find a foreigner for the granddaughters of Mrs. Klyucharyova; I would gladly fulfill this order; won't you bless? She mentioned the same about dresses.
Father answered me: “No, don’t do that; children don't need a French girl; I placed an excellent pious Russian person with them, who will instruct them and prepare them for the future life. You know, the children will not live, and in their place in the estate there will be prayer books for them; Just don’t tell her that.” To console Mrs. Klyucharyova, I told her that the priest ordered to wait a little; but she immediately told her husband about everything she heard. So, within 7 years, the perspicacious elder announced the death of the children and the structure of the community. First, Mrs. Klyucharyova died, two years later, and her granddaughters, both at the same time, from diphtheria. How righteous their death was; how they wrote to the priest until the last minute, asking for his prayers and blessings.
At this time, I was on my husband’s Efremov estate, where very soon I received news from the priest about the death of the children. I have always believed in the words of the elder; but then I was unspeakably struck by this news - this prophetic fulfillment in all its power! So the children were gone, and a monastery was established on their estate; how many orphans took shelter near her - and all of them pray for the departed, whom the priest so lovingly cared for, guiding them to salvation.
Father especially honored the entire Klyucharyov family 283. The husband and wife, by mutual consent, were monastics, exemplary in obedience and piety. Father Ambrose used to tell me: “Do you know that Klyucharyov’s mother is incorruptible - that’s how she knew how to please the Lord with her righteous life! She is buried here, and when we had to dig near the wall, we accidentally touched the coffin and saw it.” And then he added, “In general, their entire family bears a special blessing from God!” If Father said that the whole family had a special blessing from God, then he did not exclude the Klyucharyov children. What must it be like for the nuns of the monastery founded by Elder Ambrose to hear other disrespectful stories? guided solely by rumors, not based on anything and not properly verified.
Here is another case when the priest so wonderfully and clearly foresaw what had happened: during one of my visits to the elder, he blessed me with the book “of the Cross of the Lord, the royal path that leads into eternal life,” 284 adding, “read it often.” I told him, you already gave me such a book last time. “Have you read it?” “I think I read it,” was my answer. “That’s it, it seems: without unwrapping it, she gave it as a gift.” Then I remembered that it was exactly when I did this; I asked for forgiveness, and the priest, with his usual kindness, giving me the book again, said: “Read this one more often.” Not to mention the many instances of the most astonishing insight repeatedly expressed to our entire family.”
The last time I visited my father was three months before his death. She asked for his blessing in writing; the answer was: “Come, we will be very glad to see you.” The elder was already in Shamordin, in his favorite corner. Soon after receiving the letter, I arrived at the monastery; I go in to the elder and say: I haven’t seen you for a long time; last year I asked for a blessing to come; but you didn’t give it to me, and I didn’t dare go; but how glad I was to receive it this time. Father blessed me kindly, with such a cheerful face shining with kindness, said: “Now don’t ask me anymore, you can come whenever you want,” repeating this affirmatively twice, as if he wanted me to understand the meaning of what was said. At that moment I was very glad for this permission, and thanked him. Only later did it become clear to me that with these words the priest predicted his imminent death.
On the same day, the elder invited me to his small cell for the all-night vigil; it was the eve of Whitsunday; the nun read kathisma; I thought that he wasn’t reading quite clearly. Immediately the priest turns around and says: “Read clearly, otherwise Shishkov will be condemned,” and looked at me expressively, seeing my thoughts here. It was scary to think anything in front of the righteous old man; Now he saw deep down all her thoughts. When I said goodbye to my father, his speech about St. Ignatius the God-Bearer 285; with what special ardent feeling, fully inspired by the grace of God, he narrated that the Lord always dwelt in the heart of this martyr saint, and the name of Jesus Christ was imprinted there. “Have you read his life?” asked dear father, and ordered me to take his messages for reading and guidance. Then I learned that the priest especially revered this saint of God and always resorted to him in prayer in all the difficult moments of his life.
In the Tambov province, at this time, another prophetic legend of the elder came true: his relative was married to a priest of the Troekurovsky monastery (20 versts from our estate). When her husband was appointed priest to this monastery, she went to the priest to ask for a blessing to build there, because until then she was in a rented, inconvenient building. The priest did not bless her for this, saying: “Wait another 10 years, and see what God gives.” The priest's wife was looking forward to the approach of this 10th year; she was tired of living in someone else’s house, and she repeatedly told the nuns: “Something will happen this year, because it’s the 10th; If something had happened to us, if my husband had not died? (he was sick). The end of the 10th year is approaching, the priest’s wife suddenly falls ill, develops a fever, a fever, and on the third day she is no longer there. The priest, as a widower, had to leave the women's monastery. For 10 years, the priest prevented the damage that the priest would have to suffer when moving to another place, and stopped the desire to build them.
How many similar examples have we seen of the priest’s inexhaustible love for every suffering soul; the elder is exhausted from fatigue, and still receives visitors, consoles them, caresses and helps; he doesn’t have money for the journey, he gives; he needs to be looked after, or he finds a place, or leaves him in a monastery. The monastery has already accepted more than 50 orphans, there is no free space; one poor fellow comes from Siberia and gives his little daughter to the priest: “Take it,” he says, “she doesn’t have a mother, what am I going to do with her.” Father leaves her too. The elder was so kind and merciful that he could not refuse anyone. I witnessed the father’s compassion and tender love for sick children, how every day, despite his weakness, he went to the hospital to visit them; how he spoiled them; He will give them candy or gingerbread, caress them, joke. One cannot help but marvel at the wisdom and skill with which the priest arranged everything in his new monastery: how quickly he erected it, it’s fashionable to say, there was nothing of them in the very place where there was only one manor house of Mrs. Klyucharyova (a church was built in it).
Those approaching the monastery are so pleasantly struck by the beauty of nature, the wonderful location, under the mountain a river meanders like a blue ribbon between green fields; on the steep bank you can see a forest with monastery buildings everywhere. The blessing of God and the tireless labors of the righteous elder are visible in everything.
A terrible loss for those who knew dear priest; terrible sorrow for those whom he so graciously received and instructed, and inexpressible bitter loss to whom he served as a father and patron, for he was moved by such a warm feeling of compassion. A feeling of meekness and humility, a feeling of amazing condescension towards the weaknesses of others. They will not listen to him, will not follow his advice, sometimes they will even make an offensive objection; Father never got angry, always with the same childish gaiety and cordiality. Again he accepts the same disobedient person, the same one who offends him and listens to him just as carefully as before. It is difficult to express such kindness of soul and heart! This is the special grace-filled power of God, which descended on this righteous elder, through the prayers of his predecessor, the pious elder, Father Macarius, for whom Father Ambrose served with faith, truth and humility, and thereby gained this grace of God.
The priest’s receptions were also wonderful; whoever came to him with great zeal and faith, he showed great insight, without hesitation, he told him directly what would happen, warned him, advised him to do or not to do, etc. Whoever came out of curiosity or did not want to receive advice, he received him as a secular person, talked about various subjects that concerned him. Others did not come to ask for guidance in life, but only with questions about the economy, about the family; with those the elder spoke allegorically or joked. Therefore, if there were people who would not see anything special in the priest, that righteous soul illuminated by the special light of God’s grace, it would only be because they were unable to contain the full measure of his piety. I believe that such a special love of the priest for his neighbors on earth will be reflected spiritually and from heaven for everyone who honors the memory of this unforgettable elder, Father Ambrose!
Help the Lord to honor this memory, not forgetting his newly built monastery, helping it according to the strength of our means; so much of the priest’s work was put there; every path was paved by him; every building was measured, consecrated, started and completed at his expense.
It seems that for the begun stone church, for which Father Ambrose laid the foundation, generous donors will now be found, and it will be erected soon, soon! How many prayer books and nuns are waiting for this in order to offer prayers to the Lord in the new church for their dear priest, for the zealous church builders and decorators of his monastery.
A.B. Khokhlova, Ph.D. ped. Sciences, Associate Professor Department of Theology and Religious Studies of Kursk State University. Intellectual education in the pedagogical system of Feofan the Recluse
“Rejoice, having nourished your mind with God’s wisdom from your youth.”
“Rejoice, you have nourished your mind by reading the holy scriptures,
finding in them great power and spiritual light"
(Akathist to St. Theophan the Recluse)
The work of many specialists is devoted to the study and development of the human intellectual sphere. Thus, leading teachers throughout the history of pedagogy spoke about the need to educate thought. For example, J. Locke noted: “It is very important that the mind be taken care of and properly directed in the search for knowledge 286 .
And the American teacher of the 20th century. D. Dewey noted: “since the process of comprehension is influenced by countless factors: experience, the voice of egoism, passion, mental laziness, social environment, etc.,” then the human mind needs not only limitation, but also education 287 .
The last aspect is an important point in the joint development of secular and religious pedagogical thought, since the latter has enormous potential for solving this problem, revealing a holistic vision of a person and indicating adequate means for the development of his intellectual potential.
In this case, one significant point should be pointed out - secular pedagogy focuses on and turns to natural means of educating thought, relying in this process on natural curiosity, a tendency to imagination, etc.
It seems to us that the solution to this problem itself is impossible with research approaches that exclude the spiritual principle, since spirituality is the most important property of a person, one of the manifestations of which is the need and ability to cognize the innermost essence of the surrounding world and oneself (mind), i.e. in the pursuit of knowledge of the truth.
In addition to considering the general problem of knowledge, the spiritual approach also makes it possible to understand its individual moments, for example, discovery, creativity, etc. As we know, so far science, at the level of its great thinkers: A. Poincaré, A. Einstein, etc., claims that this phenomenon represents a great mystery. The patristic heritage, including the teachings of Theophan the Recluse, helps us get closer to understanding this mystery. For example, his teaching makes it possible to understand intuition as a spiritual phenomenon of human cognitive ability.
The saint speaks about what actually is the essence of intuition, insight, illumination: “It is especially remarkable that those enlightened by grace often contemplate the meaning of things without special help from reason, that is, their reason does not yet know the actual structure of things or knows it partially, but they already contemplate their meaning” 288.
However, the initial stage of the process of cognition is the activity of imagination and memory (“spiritual archive”), since without passing them nothing can enter the inner world of a person, and further mental activity is based on their data. However, these forces of the soul do not think; they are forces of “laborers” 289.
The birth and further movement of thought is carried out by the mind, which is called upon to “reason, think, find solutions” 290. Theophan the Recluse refers reason to mental activity - this is “an ability directed to the knowledge of the visible, created, finite” 291; it is focused on understanding the surrounding reality and operates with clearly formulated concepts and definitions. The activity of the mind is based on imagination and memory, which, with the help of feelings and observation, collect material for it. The intellect must transform all information collected in this way into clear concepts and form knowledge from them.
Theophan the Recluse distinguishes two sides in the activity of the mind: formal and material. To the first, he includes the techniques that the mind uses to acquire the necessary knowledge: drawing up concepts, judgments and conclusions, generalization and development of thoughts. But the second side is more significant - it consists of objects to which the mind turns in the process of cognition: the properties and composition of things, cause and effect, goal and means. In both cases, the basis for reason should be observation and experience, and the means should be generalization, in other words, reason determines and develops thought. Science is the crown of the mental work of the mind. However, “few people are given the opportunity to become scientists; not everyone can study science, but everyone can and should discuss surrounding things in order to obtain certain concepts about them” 292 . That is, it is through mental labor, by searching for answers to questions, options for solving problems that a thought is born in a person, and it is this knowledge that is genuine.
The work of reason contributes to the development in a person of certain good qualities, “virtues of reason,” as St. Theophan calls them: work, conscientiousness, attentive prudence (especially when working with facts), trust in others, etc. But the saint also identifies vices that are opposite to these good qualities, including arrogance, imprudence, dishonesty, etc. He writes that for all its importance and necessity, reason has essential a flaw, even among scientists: “Many of them have precise, laborious, and sophisticated knowledge, while they apparently stand outside the kingdom of grace both in their way of thinking and in their lives.” However, “some visible successes persuade them to shun all help from above and encourage them to believe that they are safe and sound. But such self-confidence now exposes the unsoundness of their minds, for a healthy person always tangibly sees and points out his weaknesses and his infirmity. If now this arrogance is common to almost all strong minds, then all of them must be considered damaged” 293.
Considering in general the shortcomings of reason in people alienated from God, Theophan the Recluse notes the following: for some it acts only formally; others are more inclined to acquire knowledge itself and collect a wealth of information; still others do not do deep mental work. The shortcomings shown expose the ill health of the mind and the painful state of the entire soul, the reason for this lies in the spiritual damage of the person. The situation is different in a person enlightened from above: in reason, under the influence of grace, the destruction of imperfections and his healing occurs.
Each thing, creation, in addition to the actual visible, tangible content examined by the mind, also has an internal, “contemplated being.” “Every thing has its own innermost thought - its life-giving essence” 294.
“In the world we always see the visible, manifested side, underneath it are the forces and elements, and underneath them we must also see the thought of God hidden there. This thought is the goal of our efforts; comprehending it is knowledge itself, and the rest is all preparatory information,” 295 writes St. Theophan.
In this regard, the goal of human knowledge is to see the Divine plan in the world and each of its creations, to “see the thought of God hidden there,” and the comprehension of this thought, the revealed truth, will constitute knowledge itself. The ideal, according to Theophan the Recluse, is nothing more than God’s plan in the creation of this or that thing, and knowledge is the discovery of this plan. This approach is fundamentally different from the idealistic one, where some ideal from itself generates the material world, and from the material, where nature itself generates the ideal.
Only the power of the Divine order is capable of realizing this goal, and such a power, according to Theophan the Recluse, is the mind, which the saint attributes to the highest part of the human being - the spirit.
The subject of the knowledge of reason is the Supreme Being-God and the divine eternal order of things. “It is possible to know the innermost of created things, which is placed in them from the Divine mind, only through the power of the Divine property. This power in us is spirit, and in spirit is reason” 296.
“The activity of the mind is higher than ordinary knowledge,” since the subject of its knowledge is “the Supreme Being - God and the Divine eternal order of things,” which is reflected both in the spiritual world and in the structure of created nature and humanity. A person has such an ability due to the presence of spirit in him - “this is that side of inner life that is turned to God, virtue, Heaven and eternity” 297. Spiritual life bears the stamp of the Highest Principle, for God is Spirit. Saint Theophan calls the spirit “the organ of communication with God.” Human spirituality is associated with the most important manifestations of the spirit, the highest qualities of a person, which are reason, conscience and fear of God (honor and reverence for God). All these parts are combined in the personality (I) of a person, thus it represents the unity of spirit, soul and body.
So, it is natural for the human spirit to strive for knowledge of the ideas of the higher world, since we have a need for the Divine, moral order, and a better eternal life. The main instrument of this knowledge is reason, which, however, as St. Theophan notes, “is only the visual power of the spiritual world,” therefore, for the further development of acquired knowledge, it is necessary to “exercise the power of spiritual vision with actual vision...” 298, through communication with God and the spiritual world.
At the same time, Theophan the Recluse points out a very important fundamental reason for the imperfection of human knowledge - the Fall, as a result of which there was “confusion” (disorder) in the composition of man, therefore the mind in man, who is in an unnatural, fallen state, away from God, has lost the tools of knowledge, as a result of which knowledge about the spiritual world is presumably, incorrect, partial and one-sided. In this regard, truth is contained in the mind as something alien. “Knowledge does not lie in their mind, but, as it were, on the mind, like dust, ready to immediately fly away, that is, it has not dissolved with its essence, which is why the conjecture inherent in it is not destroyed in it, and it is often subjected to attacks of doubt, sometimes very deep” 299. On the other hand, it can manifest itself in the bustle of the mind, “the continuous movement of images and ideas without any definite purpose or order. Thoughts after thoughts rise up, and now they go in a row, now they contradict each other, now they run ahead, now they come back, now they run away to the side, without stopping at anything.
This is not reasoning, but wandering and scattering of thoughts” 300. In a word, in the apt expression of Saint Theophan: “The head is a crowded market, and it is impossible to pray here.”
“Some days (and aren’t there more like these?), the saint laments, “not a single serious thought will come to mind. I ask you to pay attention to this and begin to resolve the question: is it appropriate for an intelligent creature to act this way?” 301.
So, we see that sin leads to confusion in a person’s mental powers and clouding of the mind; true wisdom is hidden for such a person, and he remains in a state of ignorance of God. “It is impossible to achieve perfection in knowledge without containing a holy confession” 302.
On the contrary, reason, participating in the grace of God, makes it possible to better understand the truth than reason: “From this, a person who has not devoted himself to science often becomes sensible and sane, and through long life experiences finally acquires true wisdom” 303.
So, a person, enlightened by the grace of God, not only receives the opportunity to “contemplate” the truth, but also gains wisdom, since Divine grace helps to purify the inner man and opens the eye of the mind. Knowledge is now living, experiential, true, because it is based on personal spiritual experience.
And here special attention must be paid to the methods or “exercises” with the help of which the Christian “education of the mind” is carried out. In his work “The Path to Salvation,” Saint Theophan notes the following: reading the Holy Scriptures, studying the patristic heritage, reading the lives of saints, talking and resolving issues with experienced spiritual mentors. At the same time, in accordance with the level/stage of a person’s spiritual development, the saint recommends that he choose reading: “life is best for beginners, the writings of the fathers are for average people, God’s word is for the perfect” 304 . If reading satisfies a person, then it is necessary to turn to conversation. The purpose of such exercises is “to impress truths and excite the spirit” 305. If this result does not exist, then such activities “are an idle pastime, empty questioning,” as a result of which “truths are packed into the head like sand, and the spirit grows cold, stale and proud” 306.
How relevant today are the words of the saint about “the disease of reading a lot... when one follows with one’s mind what one reads, without bringing it to the heart” - “this is the science of dreaming, which does not create, does not teach, but ruins, always leading to arrogance” 307.
Therefore, the law is the same for everyone: “imprint the truths so that they excite the spirit” 308. For education, this discovery and this requirement are important because it makes it possible to understand that the combination of persistent mental work (rational activity) of the person himself and the help of Divine grace (revelation of the mind) provides a person with new perspectives in the process of searching for new knowledge.
Therefore, in the pedagogical system of St. Theophan, the education of the mind is organically connected with the spiritual development of man.
“Where in any branch of knowledge concepts that are contrary to the truths of faith are allowed, they darken the mind of those being educated and weaken it with an admixture of lies, and where, moreover, they somehow alienate them from the Church, they spoil the heart, allowing unnatural passionate feelings and dispositions to open up in it and grow stronger” 309.
Thus, the religious approach in explaining the process of development and education of the mind is based on the premise that it is not limited only to the knowledge acquired by the person himself, but also includes the knowledge that God reveals to him.
“Ask the saint from the All-Bountiful God...
...teacher - knowledge of God and wisdom,
students - zeal and help of God"
(Prayer to Saint Theophan, the Recluse of Vyshensky)
A.E. Lukyanova, member of the Historical and Genealogical Society (Moscow), Russian Genealogical Society (St. Petersburg). Some problems of educating youth in the practical solutions of St. Theophan
“If someone does not provide for his own, much less for those close to him,
... the infidel is bitter"
The upbringing and education of children and adolescents, helping young people choose a life path have been and remain incredibly important and difficult problems in all times and eras. At first glance, there is a contradiction in the presentation of the topic: a reclusive monk and issues of internal family life. In the case under consideration, there is no contradiction, since the responsibility to the loved ones of St. Theophan was so great that it adjusted his personal desires and aspirations. Even in seclusion, the saint had to solve the problems of relatives; not a single letter remained without an answer or help: he advised how to create a course for a young teacher, write a sermon, how to receive treatment, how and to whom to marry a girl, married nephews, gave dowries to poor nieces, their daughters, their granddaughters, raised orphans. It is unclear how he managed to conduct this huge correspondence, and we are only talking about relative correspondents!
The nephews (by “nephews” we mean different degrees of kinship) of St. Theophan - the children of the clergy, clergy, studied in theological schools, seminaries, and academies. St. Theophan tried to accustom seminarians and students of the academy to a thoughtful attitude to education, to working with books, and supplied them with the necessary literature.
In a letter dated January 11, 1843 to sister Lyubov Vasilyevna and her husband, priest Vladimir Nikitich Makrinov, there are lines relating to the Makrinovs’ seminarian son, Nikolai (born November 15, 1826): “... I read Nikolushkino’s letter with great pleasure. ... notify him that I have a book with me, which I will try to send as soon as possible. ….
He will now be in philosophy. So I’ll look for some better logic and psychology to use in the manual. Brother! Accustom him to book ownership. Let him buy himself at least some little book every third, from here he will transfer to the property of the written out, ... and his business will be very good” 310.
Subsequently, Nikolai Vladimirovich Makrinov served as a priest in the village of Domoviny, Eletsk district.
In 1853, the sons of Feofan-Evdokia Vasilievna Pereverzeva’s middle sister were left orphans. The help that the saint provided to her son Ivan (born 1835) was amazing. After graduating from the seminary, Ivan Gavrilovich Pereverzev entered the St. Petersburg Theological Academy in 1855, from which he graduated in 1859. The last years of his studies at the academy coincided with the rectorship of Archimandrite Feofan. About their relationship in 1857 - 1859. we can only guess - there is no correspondence between them these years and there cannot be, since they lived, as it seems to us, as one family. Apparently, from that time on, the closest, most trusting, friendly relations were established between uncle and nephew; no one was personally as close to the saint as Ivan Gavrilovich Pereverzev and his wife Anastasia Filippovna.
In 1859, Archimandrite Feofan was appointed to the Tambov department, and a graduate of the St. Petersburg Academy, candidate Ivan Pereverzev, at the same time entered the service at the Tambov Theological Seminary as a teacher of general civil history and the Latin language 311.
A year later, on July 29, 1860, 25-year-old Ivan Gavrilovich married 18-year-old Anastasia Filippovna Dobrova 312.
Here are a few more facts from his track record 313:
– in October 1860, Ivan Pereverzev was ordained a priest;
– November 27, 1860 ordained archpriest to the Shatsk Resurrection Cathedral with instructions to fill the position of caretaker of the Shatsk Theological School;
- On December 23, 1860, he was appointed to the position of member of the Shatsk spiritual board, dean of the Shatsk city and suburban churches, censor of sermons and member of the prison trustee committee;
- at the end of January 1861 Fr. John was approved as the caretaker (director) of the Shatsk Theological School.
The Reverend, understanding the difficulty of the position of the young “archpriest” (as he called his nephew in his letters), constantly monitored him and gave the necessary advice. Letters to him are filled with concern about teaching, about the health of the “archpriest and archpriest,” about preserving his reputation, urging him to preach sermons more often and write articles for the “Tambov Diocesan Gazette.”
In August 1866, Ivan Gavrilovich was appointed rector of the Trinity Church in Tambov and teacher of pedagogy at the Tambov Theological Seminary. This coincided with the retirement of the Right Reverend to the Vyshenskaya hermitage in the Shatsk district of the Tambov province.
Again the saint helps to start a new task for Ivan Gavrilovich - to read a pedagogy course at the seminary, checks and corrects his notes. Later Fr. John taught dogmatic theology in the higher department of the seminary (“free of charge”) and liturgics. Saint Theophan goes into the details of seminary relationships and the organization of a new economy in Tambov. At the same time, the archpriest also carries out the orders of the Vyshensky recluse in Shatsk and Tambov.
The childless Pereverzevs took in their nephew, the son of Ivan Gavrilovich’s sister, Mitrofan Ivanovich Nikolsky. While living with his uncle, he graduated from the Tambov Seminary, served in the consistory, got married, and only then began to live at home. Often Saint Theophan in correspondence with I.G. Pereverzev discussed the employment of his nephew. Subsequently, the priest Mitrofan Nikolsky preserved his uncle’s enormous correspondence with Saint Theophan and wrote wonderful memoirs 314.
In the 1870s. A boy appeared in the Pereverzevs’ house, Anastasia Filippovna’s nephew, Philip Aleksandrovich Dobrov. His father was a military doctor, Alexander Filippovich Dobrov, who advised St. Theophan, even “by correspondence.” The boy needed a systematic education, which the distant garrisons, his father’s places of service, could not provide. Many lines in the letters of St. Theophan are devoted to the issues of upbringing, training, and accustoming “Philippushka” to work. Philip Dobrov graduated from the Tambov gymnasium, Moscow University and became a doctor, like his father.
Another nephew-teacher-middle son of the saint’s sister Anna Vasilyevna, candidate of the Moscow Theological Academy Ivan Aleksandrovich Krutikov. After completing the course, Ivan Krutikov taught at the Oryol Seminary, at the Kursk Seminary (Belgorod), at the Efremov Theological School. He had a long correspondence with his uncle; teaching methods, theological problems, topics of philosophical and theological essays that Ivan Alexandrovich intended to write were discussed, and here - advice on treating his infant daughter. At the Kursk Seminary he taught Exposition of the Holy Scriptures. Memories of his lessons from former seminarian Anatoly Tankov have been preserved: “...The peculiarity of teaching was that I.A. Krutikov tried his best to ensure that the students read the text of the sacred books, understood it, were able to retell the chapters of these books and knew the interpretation of the meaning of the text, especially its not entirely clear words and expressions. Almost the entire lesson was spent directly studying the text of the Bible.
This, of course, most rational method of studying the Holy Scriptures, which is certainly widely used at the present time, was welcome news in our time, since previously seminary students and even academy students studied a lot about the Bible... and about the Bible, and not its original text and its meaning. …. His Eminence Theophan wrote out detailed instructions for him (I. Krutikov) on how to conduct business, and persistently, with special emphasis, placed the direct acquaintance of the students with the text of the Holy Scripture at the forefront. “The rest will all follow,” he wrote. ... Krutikov’s explanations were clear and interesting ... (he) was even-tempered, self-possessed, careful, kind to his students and loved by them...” 315.
In January 1887, the great-grandson of the saint’s elder sister Lyubov Vasilievna Makrinova, Ivan Dmitrievich Andreev, wrote to Saint Theophan about his desire to enter the Moscow Theological Academy. They did not know each other personally. At this time, the Andreevs (the widow of the priest of the village of Malinova and her children) were in a difficult financial situation. The saint immediately responds to Ivan’s letter - writes a response to the young man and sends some money through a relative well known to him, the priest of the village of Zdorovets, neighboring the village of Malinovo, Alexei Stepanovich Voskresensky. Thus began an intensive correspondence that did not stop until the last days of the saint.
Letter to priest Alexei Stepanov Voskresensky dated July 16, 1887:
“God's mercy be with you! Yves Andreev, who completed the course, wrote that he was not among those sent to the Academy... But he wants to continue his studies, for which he would not mind trying and putting himself to the test. This is not a bad thing. I am sending it to him for travel and living expenses during the exam. Maybe they’ll accept him as a government official, or they won’t, maybe I’ll find some scraps for the contribution... but the solution to this is ahead.
Please take the trouble to give him this money. And whisper in your ear... so that every penny is blown away.
This year we have a lot of expenses and we can hardly manage without a deficit” 316.
Ivan Andreev entered the Academy only a year later, in 1888, at public expense.
I'm very glad! Now God bless you to carry out your academic courses in good health.
State-owned! Great mercy of God! But I still believe there will be some needs. Please speak about this frankly. I will always send you what you need for your needs.
...Keep your speech simple" 317 .
The saint gives the young man thoughtful, fatherly advice on how to behave with teachers and comrades, discusses new books, warning against spiritual dangers: “German books cannot be read without crossing yourself many times” 318, enters into all the details of the student’s life, transfers books through him to the academic library, discusses the topics of essays, and highlights the main, fundamental points in the subject being studied.
“... Follow a simple rule: to assimilate what is passed on by your mentors.
If anything seems incomplete, look for additions in books.
In general, think and ponder in order to leave the Academy with a large reserve - a ready-made mentor. “Don’t waste time” 319.
“You inform that the new O. Inspector is introducing severity after severity... and you seem to find that this is not a very pleasant thing. Strictness is not pleasant only to those who do not like order, to self-willed people. And those who live modestly... and do not bother about anything else than to study and practice, for those of any kind of severity, they will pass by them without touching them... Considering you among the latter, I ask you to move away from all freemen who start courts and gossip, like cattle... Sit quietly and patiently at work, as if nothing concerns you... and do not enter into conversations... Be careful..." 320
In practice, a certain amount is invested in each letter - 15 rubles.
Along with his studies, the saint discusses family issues with the young man: the marriage of Ivan-Lubov Dmitrievna’s sister, her dowry, the reconciliation of the newlyweds, the quarrel between his mother and her sister.
Happy belated holiday and new year, I congratulate you. I wish you renewal of your good intentions and strength to fulfill them.
I’m sending you 15 rubles for small items. You promised to push yourself this year. Good deed. But everything is necessary in moderation.
A wedding is being held in Malinovo. Do you know the groom?.. Is he good? May the Lord give them the best. God bless you!” 321
Okay, you came up with the idea to take a ride home. May the Lord help you in the matter of your sister’s arrangement.
The Reverend, I think, will not refuse to help you. God bless you and your household. –
I’m sending 15 rubles for the journey.” 322.
Your mother Anna Stepanovna wrote that you are not in good health. May the Lord strengthen you! But take care of it yourself... Having learned to bear fruit... You must have decent strength to follow the plow and sow." 323
Many letters are devoted to Andreev’s employment after graduating from the Academy.
“... I would very much like to see you as a sub-inspector, and after reading your letter, I rushed to write about this to your rector, but changed my mind, because maybe everything on this matter is already over with you, and my writing would not be at the right time. However, if the matter is not over yet, then go to the O. Rector and make sure that I will accept it as a great favor to myself if he gets you a job as a sub-inspector. – As for monasticism, you rightly look at this matter, saying: when it suits you. In addition, it is better not to be a monk as a sub-inspector, because there may be matters that are not convenient for a monk to handle.
I wish and pray that the Lord will place you in this place” 324.
Subsequently, Ivan Dmitrievich Andreev (June 21, 1867, Malinovo village, Livensky district, Oryol province - June 28, 1927, Leningrad, from sunstroke) became a famous historian, theologian, and from 1907 - professor at St. Petersburg University (department of theology and church history). In 1919 – 1924 – Professor at Petrograd University in the Department of History and the Department of Social Sciences at the same time.
In 1917 – 1918 I.D. Andreev took part in the All-Russian Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church from Petrograd University.
In our message we touched upon the care of St. Theophan for some nephews from the Govorov family. In addition to the numerous nephews not mentioned here, there were also many nieces, and the saint cared for all of them touchingly and selflessly.
Dimitry Pimkin, priest, rector of the church in honor of St. Theophan the Recluse in the city of Tambov, student at the Moscow Theological Academy. Opening of church rural schools and deanery libraries under St. Theophan in the Tambov diocese
During the reforms of 1804–1814. in the Russian Empire, a coherent education system was created, starting from lower schools to higher ones, which existed with minor changes until the revolution of 1917. These reforms provided for the creation of a network of parochial schools, which “were intended for the primary education of children and other classes, primarily tax-paying classes” 325. Few schools were opened in the first half of the century, a process that accelerated in the 1850s. Saint Theophan, having become the Tambov Eminence, paid special attention to the opening of such schools. In 1860, he issued a special circular calling on clergy to open schools for the people in their parishes. In 1862, rules were developed for parochial schools, where the main supervision of schools was entrusted to the rector of the seminary.
The saint hoped that the clergy would react to this matter with enthusiasm, which is why the rules suggested entering into correspondence with the rectors on all school issues, and this correspondence “should be free from any restrictions; for this purpose, allow the clergy to openly express all their needs, considerations, observations, with complete trust and conviction that their frankness will be guarded with caution, and that no one will be subject to anyone’s claims or responsibility for it” 326. The same rules also determined the means of maintaining schools: “Invite parishioners to donate for the purchase of teaching aids for local schools. It’s even better to persuade the parishioners to elect from among themselves a reliable trustee of the school, who will be responsible for satisfying all the material needs of the school with the help of the parishioners” 327. And the saint himself “at every opportunity, invited people to donate to the great and God-pleasing cause of public education” 328 .
The Tambov clergy as a whole responded to the call of their archpastor. According to the data published in the Tambov Diocesan Gazette, during this period a total of 343 schools were opened, with 7,154 boys and 449 girls studying. From the table below it can be seen that schools were opened in all districts of the Tambov province, and the leader among them was Kozlovsky district.
Rural schools of the Tambov diocese in the period from 1861 to 1863
Number of students (m/d)
And the smallest number of schools was opened in Elatom district. These schools were, as a rule, small, with an average of 20 people (the largest, in the village of Losina, Elatomsky district, 98 people, and the smallest, 6 people in the village of Ivanovka, Lipetsk district).
From the data in the following table it can be seen that for education, children most often gathered in the houses of the clergy, but peasant communities also showed a certain interest, allocating separate public houses for schools, as well as landowners and simple peasants. The problem with premises was one of the main ones when opening schools, for example, in the village. Bolshiye Alabukhi, Borisoglebsk district, the priest was able to receive 27 children in his home, but “up to 100 people came who wanted to study, but there are no premises for such a number of students yet” 329. The entire burden of work in opening and maintaining schools fell to the priests, as well as teaching in them, which was carried out free of charge.
This can be seen from the following table. But other members of the clergy, as well as the wives, daughters and sisters of the clergy, also made a contribution. Among the teachers were literate peasants.
Sometimes the clergy showed special zeal in their care of schools. Priest s. Vlasovka of Borisoglebsk district bought tables, chairs and primers 330 for the school at his own expense, and the priest of the village. Pichkeryaevsky Maidan of Spassky district built an outbuilding at his own expense and donated it to school 331.
They taught elementary literacy and the basics of the Orthodox faith in church schools. Here are the subjects studied at the school at the Fedorovsky suburban church in Morshansk: “For those who can read and explain St. history and the catechism, the Sunday Gospels, the rite of the Divine Liturgy and other church services and holidays, teach them fluent reading from the church seal, and, for those who are capable, church singing, as well as the four rules of arithmetic and bookkeeping. Thus, the students are divided into two classes: in the first, those starting to learn to read and write, in the second, listening to the lessons of St. history and other subjects" 332.
The cause of public education developed difficultly, largely due to the fact that the peasants themselves did not always understand the need to educate their children. The Usman dean John Spiridonov wrote on this occasion in his report: “To spread literacy and religious and moral education, parish schools have been established by priests at all the churches of my department. But this great sacrifice on the part of the priests for the common good did not evoke the necessary sympathy on the part of their parishioners. They accepted this statement as more private and untenable” 333. Schools suffered from a need for everything “for tables, benches, heating, servants, and no less for trustees from the parishioners themselves, for educational books, paper, ink, large and small boards” 334.
Another idea that was implemented during the reign of St. Theophan is related to the opening of dean libraries. The bishop defines the need for these libraries this way: “Spiritual literature is expanding year by year. A priest needs to be familiar with it both in order to improve his knowledge himself and to more conveniently teach his flock the truths of God. Meanwhile, there are very few educational books in the church libraries of the Tambov diocese, as can be seen from the information, and not every church is able to have all the books that may deserve attention. In order to provide priests with the opportunity to read everything that will be considered useful for him, then for this it is necessary to establish deanery libraries...” 335. Libraries began to open in 1860. In connection with the opening of libraries, administrative reform is also being carried out. When the deans began to check out books for libraries, at the post office they also demanded from them, in addition to insurance money, so-called weights, which were taken from private individuals, not officials.
In order to give deanery official status in the eyes of officials, the saint ordered: “That the deanery of each district be divided into parts, and the dean of each part should establish a seal for official papers following the example of the Kyiv diocese” 336, thus the beginning of full-fledged deanery districts was laid.
The opening of libraries was one of the measures by which Saint Theophan wanted to increase the spiritual and educational level of the clergy so that they would engage in spiritual and educational work among their parishioners. Back in October 1859, the saint ordered the spiritual consistory that the priests “bring their parishioners to the knowledge of the Creed, the Commandments of the Lord and the Lord’s Prayer with other necessary daily prayers, and to take care of the delivery of teachings in the church, especially with the explanation of the patristic writings, in Russian translation, for which it is time to teach trustworthy persons to compile a catalog of books.” 337. The bishop suggested that the clergy themselves undergo tests that the deans would conduct in their knowledge of “subjects related to their positions and, after conducting examinations of all the clergymen of their departments by name, immediately after this, present me with the lists - with a note as to who knows their rules” 338 .
To summarize, it should be noted that St. Theophan’s desire to engage in the spiritual education of his Tambov flock resulted in the creation of a network of church schools and the opening of dean’s libraries. But it should be noted that the opening of church schools did not always find support among the peasants; schools were most often located in the houses of clergy and suffered from a lack of everything necessary for study. The reason for this state of the schools was that initially the sources of funding for the schools were not identified, but they relied more on the initiative of the abbots of the churches and the sacrifices of the peasants for the school work.
Andrey Kretov, priest, cleric of the Church of St. vlmch. Panteleimon, Krasnodar, teacher at Ekaterinodar Theological Seminary. Sacraments and salvation in the ascetic system of Theophan the Recluse
“In order to successfully and usefully carry out all these works (the sanctification of people), (the pastor) must know and become more and more aware of the sacraments of faith and Christian life and learn to lead souls into them, and this throughout life and with all tirelessness,” 339 wrote Saint Theophan.
When approaching the question of the work of salvation, voluntarily or involuntarily, we ask ourselves which path we should take. One of the greatest exponents of this path was St. Theophan. For our study, the text “The Outline of Christian Moral Teaching” was taken. As the saint writes about his work: “He who seeks salvation, enlightened by faith, must have thorough knowledge of what faith requires of him, how he should live and act as a Christian. Such knowledge can be acquired through reading and listening to the Word of God, the writings of the Fathers, conversations and teachings offered from the church pulpit, and from each other in mutual relationships with Christians. But the surest way to achieve this is to depict Christian life in a general overview, where the various rules of Christian life would be set out in order, in mutual subordination of one to the other and in possible completeness” 340.
Let us note that, despite the fact that the saint himself did not use the term asceticism, it is the ascetic system that he expounds in his works. The Holy Fathers of the Church understood asceticism as various ways of acquiring righteousness and piety. And one of these ways is human participation in the Sacraments of the Church.
Let's consider the concept of Sacrament. As already noted, the saint uses it to designate two phenomena of one process:
1. The mystery of the economy of human salvation (“And by itself it can only concern a small part of the most obvious, what is the existence of God and his properties. As for the laws of the Divine world government, the moral and religious order of the spiritual world and especially the sacrament of salvation of the human race, this is either not at all in thought, or appears in the form of the most dreamy assumptions” 341).
2. A person’s grace-filled participation in salvation (“As a result of repentance, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Divine grace descends into a person in the sacraments, which, reviving him, unites him with the Lord Jesus Christ, and through Him and in Him - with God” 342).
Let us consider the second aspect of this concept, which “sets out the very life of a Christian, as it should be, or proposes rules for the life of a Christian as a Christian and as a person who is sometimes in different states and positions” 343. Based on the first commandment given to Moses, the saint believes there are two Christian duties of a person - faith and piety. Here we also pay attention to the second part, about which it is written: “What does a Christian godly life mean? Life in union with God in the Lord Jesus Christ" 344. “From here it is obvious that a Christian, pious life is actively expressed in ascent to God through Jesus Christ, in remaining in Him through Him, and, moreover, in no other way than in the house built for our salvation, or the Church” 345. Next we go to the third class of duties of piety, which “determine the feelings and dispositions arising from communication with the house of salvation, the Church” 346. The Church is the only source of satisfying our needs, which the saint defines as enlightenment, strengthening, intercession.
It is the second needs (strengthening human strength) that occurs in the Sacraments through the teaching of grace. Thus, we can define the Sacraments as grace-filled actions of strengthening human strength, occurring in the Church through direct participation in them, as required by Christian life for salvation.
Remembering the existence of these grace-filled actions in the Church, we should give thanks to God, revere them and take part in them more often. To participate in these Sacraments, Saint Theophan obliges us to:
1. proceed to them as expected;
2. guard with fear the grace received through them.
The Bishop gives examples of our obligations to participate in the Sacraments: “often, and at least four times a year (see Right. Spanish), to partake of the Holy Mysteries with due preparation and cleansing of conscience and to preserve the peace of the Lord received in this sacrament” 347, “when you are exposed to illness, do not forget to perform the sacrament of consecration of oil on yourself with faith and hope, not limiting yourself to medicines alone, for faith is not disgraces" 348.
Of course, this does not exhaust the aspects of the participation of the Sacraments in the matter of salvation. First of all, the saint considers the Sacraments as the confirmation and protection of the Church, performed according to the will of the Father by the Son with the Holy Spirit, together with commandments, dogmas, canons, sacred actions and guidance.
As the norm of Christian life after repentance, participation in the Sacraments becomes the source of man’s unity with God after rebirth, which in fact is salvation. The first Sacrament for a Christian is baptism: “We must, however, know that just as such a gift (justification) by faith is bestowed in the sacrament of baptism itself, where, as Chrysostom says, during the immersion of the body in water, both truth and adoption are given to us, so here the last feeling of faith is also imprinted, that is, a real feeling of salvation and justification in the Lord, for one cannot feel what is not there. Consequently, in baptism, already received with faith, faith itself is completed” 349.
After baptism, human life, according to the saint, proceeds as follows: “with humble submission and desire he accepts the grace-filled sanctifying means - the Word of God and the sacraments, and grace at this time produces in him various actions of enlightenment and strengthening” 350. Baptism allows a person to be a participant in all the blessings of the Church, which we feed on through the Sacraments and sacred actions, which is a property of virtue
The second Baptism is Repentance, about which we read: “Everything that is acquired here by Holy Baptism acts in the sacrament of repentance on those who come to the Lord from sins after baptism” 351.
Through the Sacraments, a person is inclined to the obligatory work of salvation, through the remembrance of the gift of the Holy Spirit in them and the fear of offending Him with uncleanness. But through the Sacraments they restore and educate the human Spirit.
In relation to parents, there is an obligation to sanctify children in the Sacraments as a gift of God, and then to guard them as a shrine: “do not offend the Spirit of grace and the Guardian Angel surrounding the cradle with your unbelief, intemperance, and unpeacefulness” 352.
For shepherds and their flock, a mutual relationship is determined through the Sacraments: for the former, to sanctify with the Sacraments, for the latter, to ask for sanctification, but for shepherds there is a need to learn the Sacraments more and more.
Thus, we can note the following features of the teaching of St. Theophan: the doctrine of the Sacraments is part of his theological heritage, which is of key importance for understanding the ascetic system. The doctrine of the Sacraments, being a little-studied area of the theological heritage of the saint, is a promising area of study in the field of domestic patrolology.
Peter (Aleksenko), hierodeacon, candidate of theology, resident of the Klimovsky Intercession Monastery of the Klintsov and Trubchevsk diocese of the Bryansk Metropolis. The anthropological significance of the sacrament of Baptism in the exegesis of St. Theophan the Recluse of the Epistles of St. apostle paul
Interpreting the epistles of the Holy Apostle Paul, Saint Theophan the Recluse builds an extensive, universal and consistent anthropological system, based on the Holy Scriptures and comprehensively taking into account the tradition of the Holy Fathers. St. Theophan turns out, on the one hand, to be faithful to the anthropological teaching of St. ap. Paul, and on the other hand, is his bright and original interpreter. In Russian theology, the anthropological synthesis of the Holy Recluse is, of course, the most extensive and comprehensive anthropological system in terms of topics.
The conceptual core of the anthropology of St. Theophas is a synergistic interpretation of the anthropological term St. apostle spirit (πλεῦκα) as the unity of the human spirit and the Spirit of God. Through changes in the way of joint activity of the spirit of man and the Spirit of God, St. The recluse represents four anthropological states. Thus, the obvious combination of the Spirit of God and the spirit of man with the task of spiritualizing the soul and body is the state of the nature of primordial man. The separation of the Spirit of God and the spirit of man, which led to the “exacerbation” of 353 soul and body, is the state of fallen man. The mysterious combination of the Spirit of God and the spirit of man with the task of spiritualizing the “sharpened” soul and body is the state of a person blessed with grace. Finally, the obvious combination of the Spirit of God with the spirit and spiritualized soul and body of man is the state of nature after the resurrection. In this article we will consider the Russian exegete’s understanding of St. The apostle of the key change in man, elevating him from a fallen state to a state of grace, namely the anthropological exegesis of the sacrament of Baptism.
About the Christian Baptism of St. Theophan the Recluse speaks of an essential change in human nature. The sacrament of Baptism receives anthropological exegesis in the interpretations of Rom. 2, 29, 6, 1–10, 14, 7, 6; 8, 2, 9–10, 22; 2 Cor. 1, 12; 3, 17; 4, 16; 5, 17; 9, 13; Gal. 3, 21, 27; 5, 16, 2 4; 6, 15; Eph. 1, 18; 3, 16–19; 4, 22–24; 5, 14; Phil. 3, 3; Col. 1, 13; 2, 11–13, 20; 3, 2, 10 ; 1 Thess. 5, 19, 23; 2 Tim. 1, 7. The Holy Apostle Paul proclaims to the Galatian Christians: for as many as have been baptized into Christ (ἐβαπτιοθητε), have put on Christ (ἐνεδυσσσθε) (Gal. 3:27). This is the baptismal endowment of St. Christ. Theophan explains how “the organization of our internal system in the image of Christ the Lord”: “What does it mean to put on Christ? Let's compare two expressions: the one who is baptized receives new life; and: the baptized person puts on Christ. It will turn out that new life is putting on Christ or, what is the same, new life is receiving the life of Christ, organizing our internal structure in the image of Christ the Lord. From all this it is obvious that in baptism, which gives sonship to God or putting on Christ, a significant change takes place in the entire internal moral structure of a person.
He becomes Christlike; and that is why then a Christ-like life begins” 354. Let us note the natural-moral duality of the categories of the saint: the change in man occurs “essentially” and “internally,” which means at the level of nature, but in the “moral structure” of man 355. The new life of Christ, which consists in changing the “internal moral structure” of a person, consists in the fact that the spirit comes to life in a person. Putting on Christ is understood by St. A recluse also as likeness (“Christ-like”), which the exegete reveals in the categories of nature: through perceived similarity to Christ, a person becomes “one with Christ, he is essentially united with God” 356. “A significant change in the moral system,” or likeness to Christ, in Baptism introduces a person into “essential” and “internal,” that is, natural, unity with God - endowment and sonship.
Ancient interpreters also emphasize the achievement of a person’s filial closeness to God through “likening” Christ in Baptism. At St. Chrysostom we read: “In fact, if Christ is the Son of God and you have put on Him, have the Son in yourself and have become like (ἀφομοιωθεις) to Him, then through this you are brought into one relationship with Him and into one image” 357. Kinship to God, like St. Theophan, is achieved by uniformity with Christ. An important clarification is made by the blzh. Theophylact that our likeness to God is accomplished not by nature, but by grace: “Determining how we are sons of God, he says that through baptism. And if we have put on Christ, the Son of God, and become like Him (ἐφωμοιωθημεν), it means that we have been brought into one kinship, into one image, having become by grace what He is by nature” 358 . So, we have become like Christ by sonship with God by grace. This is the patristic theology of “likeness” to Christ in the Baptism of St. Theophanes expresses it in terms of nature, interpreting “similarity” as a “significant change in the moral system” of a person. The duality of the categories of the Russian interpreter of St. ap.
Paul, in our opinion, is due to the desire to combine two anthropological exegeses - the moral St. fathers and their own natural. Combine them St. It is the concept of spirit as a part of human nature that manifests itself morally in pleasing God that allows Theophanes.
The natural and moral change within a person in Baptism consists of two moments - the mortification of sin and the revival of the spirit. To this “double effect of Baptism” St. Theophan clearly points out in the exegesis of Col 2:13 And you, who were dead in transgressions and in uncircumcision and your flesh, made you live with Him, giving us all your sins: “When you were immersed in the font, you were immersed in the death of Christ, you died to sin with Him; and as you ascended from the font, you put on the risen Lord and were resurrected with Him to live according to God. God has made you alive with Him. This death and revival is not only assigned to you by name, but is a quality in you by deed; you feel them and manifest them by deed. <...> One act accomplishes two things: it removes sins and gives new life” 359. The saint everywhere emphasizes the essential (“in fact”), and not the metaphorical change in a person brought about by Baptism. This double impact of Baptism on human nature is revealed in detail by the Apostle and his Russian exegete in the letter to the Romans (Rom. 6:1-10).
The theme of the death of sin by St. Theophanes touches upon Rome in his exegesis. 2, 29; 6, 2, 4, 6–7, 14; 7, 6; 2 Cor. 3, 17; Gal. 5, 24; Phil. 3, 3; Col. 1, 13; 2, 11–13; 3, 9. In the interpretation of the words of St. ap. Paul to Rome. 6, 2: Whoever died by sin (ἀπεθανομεν τη αμαρτια), how will we live again in it (how much longer will we live in it)? St. Theophan reveals the essence of mortification to sin. It is significant that the exegete fundamentally describes the death of sin in fallen man not in essential, but in moral categories - as his hatred: “Death, of course, is not physical, but moral, consisting in the rejection of all sin and the hatred of it. For how do they come to the Lord? Repenting and being baptized, as Saint Peter pointed out on the day of Pentecost to those who asked: what shall we do? Repent, and let everyone of you be baptized, he answered (see: Acts 2:37–38). What does it mean to repent? Say in your heart: I have sinned, I will not. This I will not do is death to sin. What does baptism give? This decision of the will is strengthened by grace and gives strength to persevere in this decision. The baptized person, in a feeling of strength in the Lord, treats every type of sin with mortal hatred.
This is the essence of moral death to sin. As soon as someone begins to admit sympathy for something sinful, then to what extent he allows this, the extent to which sin comes to life in him or he is a sinner. Suppressing such sympathies is remaining in mortification to sin” 360. Mortification of sin therefore requires from us its constant suppression, which is carried out in a moral order. The Holy Recluse pays special attention to the fact that “Baptism does not free us from self-protection from sin; on the contrary, it obliges us to it. Why do people sin after baptism? Because, having placed everything on the power of baptism, they themselves do not want to move a finger in resistance to sin and self-willingly lean towards it, first with thoughts, then with sympathies, then with desires, and finally with falls. Through this, sin comes to life and begins to live again, having been so effectively killed in baptism” 361. Thus, mortification to sin requires the participation of not only God, but also man; it is accomplished “gracefully, mysteriously and freely and willingly” 362. The death of sin is described by St.
Feofan in moral categories because it is not part of human nature that dies.
St. John Chrysostom also pays special attention to the role of our will in the mortification of sin in Baptism: “What does it mean to become dead to sin? Do not obey him in anything anymore. Although baptism accomplished this once, that is, it killed us for sin, then we ourselves must constantly and with all our diligence improve ourselves, so as not to obey sin, no matter what it commands us, and remain motionless, like a dead man. Although in other places (the apostle) says that sin itself died, but there he says this, wanting to show the ease of achieving virtue; here, in order to quickly arouse the listener, death is attributed to him himself” 363. So, to be precise, in Baptism it was not “sin itself” that died as a certain essence, but a person’s obedience to it died.
Expressing the same truth in various ways, St. ap. Paul also describes the death of sin in Baptism as the crucifixion of the old man. To Rome. 6:6 we read: This is knowing, for our old man will be crucified with Him, so that the body of sin may be abolished, for we will not have to deal with sin. And in this Apostolic exhortation of St. Theophan also emphasizes that the crucifixion of the “evil disposition” is accomplished by the synergy of man and God: “The evil disposition, swept away before baptism self-willingly, by free will and decision of the will, and replaced by a good disposition, by the grace of baptism is completely weakened and gives way to its dominance to a new good disposition. This is the direct meaning of the crucifixion in the baptism of the old man" 364. The crucifixion consists of the “sweeping away” of sin by man and the “weakening” of it by grace.
Since the old man, according to the interpretation of St. Theophan, is the spiritual attitude of fallen man towards self-indulgence, then the gracious-moral death to sin or the crucifixion of the old man is nothing more than the death of self-indulgence. It is self-indulgence, according to the Russian exegete, that the Apostle crucifies under the name of flesh in Gal. 5, 24: And those who are like Christ are, the flesh has been crucified (ἐζηαύξσζαλ) with passions and lusts: “The flesh, here of course, as above, is the sin that lives in us, or self-love and self-indulgence, from which are all passions and lusts. And whoever approaches the Lord, his first step is determined as follows: let him deny himself and take up his cross (cf. Matt. 16:24). Denial of oneself is the trampling of the self, or the crucifixion of the flesh. This kind of action, as a covenant, is concluded with the Lord in baptism, when the baptized person denies Satan and all his works and is united with the Lord. This moral act is then sealed by grace in baptism, and the one baptized for its sake is given the strength to no longer work against sin, but to reject, hate and persecute it.
This means that the baptized person dies to sin and comes to life for a new, grace-filled life in the Lord. Otherwise, the Apostle calls the same thing the crucifixion of the old man” 365. Thus, in Baptism, the self is crucified, that is, “thrown out from the consciousness and freedom” of a person.
What St. ap. Paul calls death, burial, baptism and crucifixion, then in Col. 2:11-12 also refers to as the circumcision of Christ: About Him and being circumcised quickly with a circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of sinful flesh, in the circumcision of Christ (περιτομη του Χριοτου): having been buried with Him by baptism. According to St. Theophan, the circumcision of Christ consists in deliverance from that very “master” of sin: “in the putting off of the body of sins of the flesh, as an expression explaining the circumcision of the heart, one must see the putting off of the very lust of sin, or the sin that lives in us, which is sometimes called simply the flesh. Others read only: in putting off the body of the flesh, which more closely expresses the desired meaning: for such an expression directly indicates the putting off of the flesh, or carnal wisdom and lust. Below (see: 3, 9) the Apostle called the same thing the putting off of the old man with his deeds, that is, not only the mass of sins, but also the very producer of them” 366.
The circumcision of Christ, according to St. Theophan, undergoes the “heart” of a person: Jewish “circumcision is circumcision of the flesh, and what you have accepted is circumcision of the heart; that is made with hands, and yours is not made with hands; This is done with the knife, but yours is done with the Spirit in Christ Jesus” (see also Rom 2:29) 367. Here St. Theophanes turns to the ambiguous term heart, because in the categories of his anthropological system it cannot be said that the circumcision of sin is endured by the human spirit. The Spirit cannot and has not been the seat of sin. However, this circumcision is of a spiritual quality. So, below on Col. 2, 13, the Russian exegete calls circumcision of the heart “spiritual circumcision”: “He said: you have no need for circumcision of the flesh, because you already have the circumcision of the heart by the Spirit, of which fleshly circumcision serves only as a sign. This spiritual circumcision took place in the baptismal font, where you died to sin and came to life to live according to God." 368 So, the analysis of the exegesis of St. Theophanes shows that in the baptismal font sin dies as a special spiritual attitude toward self-indulgence (“spiritual circumcision”).
His understanding of circumcision as the death of self-indulgence with the passions of St. Theophan expresses this directly in his commentary on Phil. 3, 3 For we are the circumcision (περιτομη), who serve God in the spirit, and we glory in Christ Jesus, and do not hope in the flesh: “This spiritual circumcision consists in cutting off the passions from the heart and in giving a person the strength to resist them and always, in spite of them, remain faithful to the commandments of God. Having established himself in the heart before the face of the Lord by the grace of the Holy Spirit, a Christian does not allow himself to do anything out of self-indulgence and lust, but directs everything, both internal and external, according to the will of God, for His glory. This is both circumcision and serving God in spirit. They are inseparable, or constitute one and the same spiritual state” 369. Let us emphasize in these words St. Theophan the idea that circumcision of sin and serving God in spirit are “one and the same” spiritual state.
In Paul's theology of the circumcision of Christ, St. The recluse also develops the motive of liberation from the tyranny of sin. In the commentary on Col. 2, 11–12, the exegete, in particular, defines: “this is Christian circumcision, the circumcision of the heart by the Spirit through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, in which a person throws off the tyranny of sin” 370. In Baptism, the Holy Spirit circumcises “that which holds us in its power” sin: “The blood of the Lord, which poured over you through the water of baptism, washed away all the uncleanness of sin from you and opened the entrance into your nature of the grace of the Holy Spirit, who, having come, cut off that which sin held you in its power, and the body of sin fell from you. That is the power of baptism!” 371 Otherwise, in Baptism the “bonds” of sin are cut off, as the saint puts it in Rom. 6, 7 The one who died was freed from sin: “Be free, δεδικαιωται,” he was justified, released by the judicial system. To the acquitted, the judge says: you are free, nothing binds you.
So, before baptism, we are kept in bonds of sin, like slaves; after baptism we are free from these bonds, because we come out of the font with a hatred of sin and a love of righteousness. And such an arrangement means that sin no longer has anything binding, coercing, or enslaving for us: we have become free from its power over us” 372. The baptismal circumcision of sin for the first time after the fall makes a person free 373.
The ancient exegetes understand sin in general by the bonds that hold us (Rom. 7:6). In the interpretation of St. Theophanes, which is distinguished by its particular depth precisely in its representation of the inner life of man, contains a description of the tyranny of sin as the sweetness of sin. Consequently, in Baptism the Holy Spirit circumcises or suppresses in us nothing other than susceptibility to sinful indulgence. In the circumcision of sinful pleasures, revealed by St. Feofan on Col. 2, 11–12, the following sequence emerges: The Holy Spirit “first of all” makes one feel the sweetness of God, i.e. the sweetness of “the highest spiritual blessings, such a sweetness with which no sinful sweetness can be compared” (on Rom. 7:6) 375. After which a person feels the bitterness of sin and is finally filled with hatred of it: “The grace that saves the fallen first of all has this suppression and does this by allowing the fallen to feel all the bitterness of sin and taste the inexplicable sweetness of life according to God.
When this is accomplished in the heart of the fallen, after that sin no matter how much it reminds of its sweetness, it is not his lust that is aroused in the heart, but the memory of his bitterness and the sweetness of life according to God, with corresponding feelings. As a result of this, the will naturally rejects sin and strives for its opposite. It's like that every time. The tyrant power of sin has obviously been stopped, and it has been stopped because the leash by which it always pulled the fallen one towards his deeds has been cut off. This is the real meaning of circumcision of the heart by the Spirit.”376 Without knowledge of the sweetness of God, according to the saint, the will of man has nothing to rely on in order to choose good. It is the knowledge of the sweetness of goodness through grace that is the defining “mood” of the baptized, according to the Russian exegete.
As St. edifies ap. Paul to Rome. 6:14, sin no longer possesses a person under grace (ου κυριευσει). St. Theophan explains this by saying that after Baptism the power of sweetness passed to grace: “Before baptism, sin lives in the heart, and grace acts from the outside, calling for good; and after baptism, grace begins to dwell in the heart, and sin acts from the outside, tempting. See Diadochos in the Philokalia (chapter 80 onwards). Just as the one who sits in a fortress owns a city, so after baptism the sovereign power over us belongs to grace with the love of Philokalia, and not to sin: the latter no longer possesses it, but is only trying to take possession again.”377 Through its indwelling and communication of the sweetness of God, grace overshadows the sweetness of sin, thereby snatching a person from the power of the devil. The Holy Apostle certifies in Col. 1, 13: And deliver us from the power of darkness. St. Theophan reveals this deliverance from the devil precisely as the “cutting” of sin by grace: “On what does the devil’s power over us rest? On sin.
The Lord, by His death, atoned for all our sins, and everyone who believes in Him receives remission of their sins. But the power of sin remains inside, which, like a law, leads to sins. The believer is given the grace of the Spirit, which cuts off this power of sin. Thus, according to the economy of our salvation, the reins of dark power are torn out of the hands of the devil; there is nothing for him to take us by, there is no weapon for violence” 378. Note that the in-depth description of St. Theophan of changes in human nature through Baptism turns out to be more adequate the theology of the ascetic holy fathers, while the exegesis of the ancient interpreters of the Apostle in this case remains too general and approximate.
So, the mortification of sin paves the way or at the same time is the revival of the spirit in man. This change of spirit in the nature of fallen man St. Theophanes characterizes Rome. 6, 4, 10; 7, 6; 8, 2, 9–10, 22; 2 Cor. 1, 12; 4.16; 5, 17; Gal. 3, 21; 5, 16; 6, 15; Eph. 1. 18; 3, 16; 4, 22–24; 5, 14; Col. 2, 20; 3, 2, 10 ; 1 Thess. 5, 19, 23. The Apostle himself preaches about the revival of man in Romans 6:4: We were therefore buried by Him through baptism into death: that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may begin to walk in newness of life. St. Theophan sees in the words of the Apostle an obvious indication of the “second half of the action” of Baptism, “for in it we not only die, but also come to life, or are resurrected. We die to sin, but are resurrected for righteousness and holiness" 379. The second half of the action of Baptism, according to St. The recluse consists in reviving the spirit, living in truth and holiness, i.e. according to God.
The double effect of Baptism is described in this fragment by all the ancient exegetes of St. ap. Pavel. St. John Chrysostom, however, understands the renewal of life not as the resurrection of the spiritual part of human nature, but as the revival of “righteousness” in man. According to him, the Apostle “in anticipation of the future resurrection, demands from us a different resurrection, namely a new life, consisting in a change in the morals of our present life. In what sense is this resurrection? In such a way that sin is put to death, and righteousness is resurrected, the old life is abolished, and a new and gospel life is begun” 380. “Resurrection” thereby St. Chrysostom describes in a moral order, but not in the categories of nature. Blzh. Theophylact also teaches about “the death of vice and the resurrection and revival of virtue in man” 381. Ecumenius is similar: “sin dies, but a virtuous life is resurrected” 382. In anthropological categories, St. Feofan, the spirit is resurrected in man - the highest part of human nature.
If the saint described the death of the spirit as sleep and blindness, then the resurrection represents it as awakening and insight in Eph. 5, 14: For this reason he says: Arise from sleep, and rise from the dead, and Christ will illuminate you: “When a ray of grace passes through the anointed word of Christians or their bright life to the spirit, it immediately opens its eyes and begins to reveal its characteristic movements - the fear of God, anxiety of conscience, condemnation of the entire previous life and the demand for its change. Then the sinner hears within himself: wake up and sleep!” 383. How St. interprets the “opening of spiritual eyes” through Baptism. The recluse is also Eph. 1:18 The eyes of your heart are enlightened: “From the moment of the first action of grace on the spirit, its eyes begin to open, and after receiving grace in the sacraments, they become completely open. See how a newly baptized person or one who has just repented has a vivid relationship with God; how sensitive his conscience is, how correctly he evaluates everything present and, bypassing it, sees with aspiration only the invisible future.
The spirit began to see the spiritual, the Divine, just as someone whose eyelids have been separated by surgery and whose eyes are open begins to see the surroundings” 384. For the human spirit, baptism is equated by the saint to a surgical operation to restore vision. The exegete describes the opening of the eyes of the spirit in dynamic categories: spiritual vision has its own degrees. “But physical vision has degrees, much less spiritual. Exercise of vision makes it possible to see more and more; view wider and wider, further and further. So in the spirit, the first outline of the spiritual, adopted in the catechumen, in the general outline, becomes more and more clear, details are seen, objects in the first glance are noticed that were hidden by others. Someday he will reach the point where he can see everything and walk in this vision as in paradise?!” 385 After acquiring spiritual vision in Baptism, a person is called to exercise it in order to finally view everything with the spirit in God.
The revival of the human spirit by Christ and the Spirit, according to St. Theophan the Recluse, represents the restoration of his strength and action, just as the death of the spirit was his weakening and inaction. This thought of St. The recluse expresses, in particular, during the exegesis of 1 Thess. 5, 23: “The spirit of fallen man, by itself, cannot act according to its purpose. He receives the strength for this from God’s grace descending on him, without which his actions are not visible, and it is as if he does not exist <...> grace, having come to us, does not create new forces, but restores those fallen and upset” 386. Under the power of the spirit of St. The recluse understands its “elements”: “Together with the word, grace enters the heart through hearing and awakens the spirit of man. The sermon says: Arise, sleep (Eph. 5:14). When grace affects the spirit, it rises. Together with him, all his elements arise and come to life: the fear of God, the obligation to please God and the aspiration of a better life” (on Gal. 5.16) 387.
In addition to the revival of its natural movements, the spirit is honored with grace-filled movements: “a self-conscious and free spirit, with its functions - the fear of God, conscience and dissatisfaction with anything created. This is how it is in the natural order. Under the influence of grace, he reverently stands before God, contemplating Him with love in serenity, walks unswervingly in the commandments of God, having the law of his God in his heart, and for this he is filled with joy about the Holy Spirit, tastes how much good the Lord is, and loses the taste for everything that is not the Lord. All these manifestations of the spirit under the influence of grace begin from the first minute of birth into a new life” (on 2 Cor. 4:16) 388. The saint also points to the restoration of the strength and power of the spirit when interpreting Eph. 3, 16: according to man’s faith, “the grace of God, which hitherto acted from without, enters inside through the sacraments, and makes man’s weak spirit powerful” 389. The awakened spirit begins to “burn with the fire of jealousy” for God, explains St. Theophan 1 Thess. 5, 19: Do not quench the Spirit (το Πνευμα): “Usually a person lives in carelessness and carelessness about Divine service and salvation.
Grace calling to salvation awakens the sleeping sinner; he, having heeded this call in feelings of repentance, ascends to the determination to devote the rest of his life to deeds pleasing to God and thereby achieve his salvation; this decision is revealed by zeal, which becomes powerful when God’s grace is combined with it through the Divine sacraments. From this moment, a Christian begins to burn in spirit, that is, to be relentlessly zealous for the fulfillment of everything that his conscience points to him as the will of God” 390. The strength of the human spirit, according to the exegete, reveals itself precisely through the fire of zeal for God: “This is how the common Christian spirit of grace is revealed, descending into the soul of everyone for repentance and faith in the sacrament of baptism or returning in the sacrament of repentance. The fire of jealousy constitutes his essence” 391. The spirit of man is holy. The recluse calls him “gracious” because of the combination of God’s grace with him. In addition, in the expression “the descending universal Christian spirit of grace,” the Russian exegete, in our opinion, seems to combine the spirit of man and the Spirit of God. With this expression of St.
Theophanes combines his anthropological interpretation with the pneumatological interpretation of the concept of spirit by the ancient saints. fathers. Among the latter, the spirit in 1 Thessalonians 5:19 is defined exclusively as the grace of God. St. John Chrysostom even claims that the pneumatological meaning of the term spirit is “ordinary” (εθος) for the Apostle: “So, due to the fact that now the night is, so to speak, moonless and we walk in the middle of this night, God gave us a clear lamp, kindling in our souls the grace of the Holy Spirit (του Πνευματοα του αγιου την χαριν). do not quench the spirit, that is, the gift (το χαρισμα), because that is what he usually calls the gift of the Holy Spirit (το χαρισμα τοι Πνευματος)” 392. St. Chrysostom is repeated by the blessed one. Theophylact and Ecumenius. Likewise the blzh. Theodoret of Cyrus means by spirit “prophetic grace” (την προφητικην χαριν) 393. In this fragment it is clearly visible how the apostolic term spirit (Πνευμα) receives from the Russian exegete an original anthropological interpretation, or rather a theoanthropological one.
In addition to restoration in strength and zeal, power over the soul and body is restored to the spirit: “The anticipatory-calling grace of God, approaching a person, acts directly on his spirit and, reviving his elements - the fear of God, conscience and thirst for Communion with God, turns him to the Lord Savior, Who, combining with him grace forever in the sacraments, returns him again to a predominant position in man” 394. In many fragments of St. Theophan mentions the restoration of the power of the spirit in fallen man, but he devotes his interpretation to Eph. 3, 16: May He grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power (κραταιωθηηναι) by His Spirit in the inner man. First of all, St. The recluse draws attention to the fact that among the wishes of the Apostle to the Ephesians in vv. 16–19, prayer for confirmation in the inner man comes first. From here he explains its meaning by the need for Baptism to strengthen the spirit: “The first subject of prayer is about how life really begins in Christ Jesus.
If κραταιωθηναι is established, from κρατος the power, from which the autocrat-autocrat will: take the power into his hands, and, as it is in the inner man, the power over himself, become an autocrat within, become autocratic” 395. The human spirit, according to the Russian exegete, acquires the lost autocracy from the moment of Baptism: “Such autocracy begins from the first minute of an internal revolution and the infusion of grace; but perfection does not appear suddenly” 396. In the struggle with the passions of the soul and body that follows Baptism, the spirit increasingly strengthens its autocracy. Thus, the apostolic concept was confirmed by St. Theophanes interprets it as the reign of the spirit in man over the lower nature. Let us note that St. Chrysostom, blessed Theophylact and Ecumenius understand by strengthening oneself a person’s strength in goodness in the face of temptations: “By His (the Holy Spirit. - Hierodiac. P.) power, he says, strengthening oneself against temptations and deceptions, because there is no other way to establish oneself in goodness than through trials and with the help of the grace of God" 397 .
Thus, the apostolic concept was established, completely neutral for the ancient interpreters, among St. Theophan the Recluse acquires special anthropological significance.
The reigning spirit takes away power from the flesh, edifies St. ap. Paul to Rome. 8, 9: But you are in the flesh, but in spirit, because the Spirit of God lives in you. St. Theophan here interprets the flesh as dominion in the fallen man of the “hot” soul-body: “The Spirit of God, who descended in you in the sacraments, took your spirit out of the bonds of carnality - passionate, soul-bodily self-indulgence - and placed it in its place, at the head, ruling everything, in all manifestations of your life, and, with His power, for the sake of your surrender to Him, holding it in this rite, means that you are no longer in the flesh, but in the Spirit, and, therefore, you always do only spiritual, holy, pleasing to God, and therefore stand on the path of salvation, undoubtedly leading to eternal bliss in God in Christ Jesus the Lord” 398. Power passes to the spirit, which begins to rule the soul and body. The soul and body are not expelled, but are placed within their “natural limits” and directed towards what is pleasing to God, through which they are “spiritualized” 399.
In other words, if self-indulgence, which ruled the soul and body, made them passionate, then the spirit makes the soul and body “spiritual,” as St. Theophan in his interpretation of Rom 8:2: “The grace of the Holy Spirit descends on a person and, reviving his spirit, restores him to his natural rights. From this moment on, a fallen person begins a new life, or the original one is restored, in which the power that determines deeds passes into the hands of the spirit, being taken away from the passionate soul-physicality, and a person’s life takes on the character of a spiritual life, detached from the self-indulgent and voluptuous self. This is a general indication of the change that occurs in a person who becomes a Christian” 400. The correct hierarchy of spirit - soul - body is “new” precisely in relation to fallen man, but it is “original” in relation to primordial man.
So, grace returns a person’s spirit to its “natural” order. This rite, according to the interpretation of St. Theophanes Rome. 8, 10, consists in living for the sake of righteousness (διὰ δικαιοσυνην): “But the Spirit lives for the sake of righteousness. In Greek it is not: lives, but: life: the spirit is life for the sake of truth. The spirit here is understood to be human, whose nature is life in God with attention and will with devotion to Him and diligent pleasing through strict fulfillment of His will or His commandments: which is the truth. Living for the sake of truth is the nature of the spirit; so to say: then the spirit is a life of truth, is the same as saying: then our spirit becomes what it should be by nature - a life of truth, restored to its rank" 401. The human spirit becomes right, as it was created in paradise before the Fall.
St. John Chrysostom in truth from Rom. 8, 10 sees “righteousness” as the “reason and evidence” of the life given by the Spirit 402. Blzh. Theodoret, whom Ecumenius repeats verbatim, implies the creation of righteous deeds: “Here he called the soul spirit, as if it had already become spiritual, and commands it to do the truth, the desired fruit of which is life” 403. Blzh. Theophylact interprets truth as the justification of man by God: “The Spirit is life for righteousness, that is, because we are justified by God and this righteousness or justification is preserved in us” 404. The variety of definitions of truth indicates that the ancients did not attach special meaning to this term of the Apostle. On the contrary, St. Throughout the entire space of his interpretations, Feofan maintains the interpretation of truth as the “nature of the spirit” - first created, and then reborn in it. This is why the truth from Gal. 3:21 Is the law then against the promise of God?
Yes, it will not be: if the law were given to quickly revive, the saint interprets truth from the law as a “grace-filled rebirth” of our spirit: “According to the principles of the holy Apostle, it turns out that the giving of righteousness is the fulfillment of the promise in all its power. The fulfillment of the promise (verse 14) is the reception of the Spirit of grace, quickening and regenerating. Consequently, it is true that the Apostle has a grace-filled rebirth, which gives inner righteousness to the entire structure of a person’s spiritual life, when, having been cleansed from sins and having received strength to resist sin, they serve God with righteousness, in the exact fulfillment of His commandments, and have the boldness to look upon Him in a filial manner, with confidence in His good will and in the hope of eternal bliss in Him, in Christ Jesus the Lord, by the grace of the Spirit Saint" 405. Grace restores the original order of a person’s spiritual life in the truth of serving God.
Based on Rom 6:4 St. The recluse formulates a special spiritual “law”: the soul’s aversion from something turns it to love the opposite. “And in essence, morally spiritual death should be so. When the soul dies to something, it does not die itself: for it is ever-living, but only turns away from that to which it dies, and hates it with mortal hatred. But hatred and disgust are always built in the soul in such a way that, turning away from one thing, it does not turn to emptiness, but to something opposite to what it is disgusted with. According to this law, while hating sin and turning away from it, she at the same time turns to truth and holiness and loves them. This love of truth and holiness is new life. “This renewal of life takes place in the same holy baptism in which sin also dies” 406. Due to the immortality of the human soul, “death” and “life” in it have a moral character (“both our moral and spiritual death and our moral and spiritual resurrection are accomplished in baptism” 407).
“Death” and “life,” spiritual due to this, are defined by the exegete as “aversion” and “love.” Let us note that St. Theophanes here moves away from the trichotomous scheme and speaks simply about the “soul” of man, since he could not say that the spirit of man “turns away from sin” and “turns to holiness and truth,” because the spirit is always turned to holiness and truth, and sin has never been a spirit in man. If necessary, the saint allows the saint to move from natural to moral categories through their synthesis in the concept of spirit.
If in Baptism a person turns away from sin, then by virtue of the “law” of spiritual opposition he loves God. This truth of St. ap. Paul speaks in Rom. 6:10 For even if I die, I die through sin alone: but if I die, I live for God. If the ancient exegetes unanimously attribute these words to the Lord the Savior, then St. Theophan, thinking in accordance with the law of spiritual opposition, “presents as possible” their attribution to us: “In baptism, one thing died in us, another came to life: sin died, or we died to sin; but life came to life for God and according to God, or we came to life for such a life” 408. The anthropological system developed during the exegesis of the Apostle leads St. Theophan to the statement that in Baptism the spirit came to life for life in God, or man came to life with a God-like spirit.
The saint explains the work of God in the renewal of the spirit from Romans 7:6 by the same “law” of loving the opposite. “In material nature, death is the negation of life: the living ceases to live. In spiritual life, dying is not the cessation of life, but the generation of new beginnings of life, sweeping aside the old ones. Self-sacrifice kills selfishness, or self-indulgence; what after that? Nothing? No, not anything. He who has rejected himself, or who has put an end to self-indulgence in himself, does not enter into any emptiness, but at the same time, as he rejects himself, he devotes himself to God, and at the same time, as he kills self-indulgence in himself, he feels revived in himself zeal for pleasing God” 409. The opposite of self-pleasing to which a person dies is self-sacrificing God-pleasing. After the death of sin, a person puts in himself the opposite principles of life: “instead of selfhood he puts self-sacrifice, instead of self-pleasing, God-pleasing, instead of sweetness, readiness for all sorrows, and even death, in the hope of eternal rest” (on Rom. 8:2) 410. Thus, dying “in spiritual life” provides new beginnings in it. St.
Theophanes speaks of the revival of the human spirit to please God.
It is significant that the ancient exegetes in Rome. 7:6, on the contrary, is understood by the spirit of the Spirit of God. St. John Chrysostom explains: “When Adam sinned, says (the apostle), his body became mortal and passionate, many natural shortcomings were revealed in it, it became a stubborn and unbridled horse; but Christ, having come, through baptism made the body lighter for us, lifting it with the wing of the Spirit” 411. Blzh. Theophylact complements his thought: “In ancient times, virtue was difficult, because Adam received many natural shortcomings in his mortal body; and now, through the grace of Christ in baptism, our nature received help from the Spirit, who made us new and youthful and freed us from the decay and weakness of the letter” 412. As we see, the holy fathers in the Spirit point to the Divine producer of our work to God. At St. Theophan's spirit acts as a human organ of work for God. After all, only if there is a spirit in a person does the law of the opposite formulated by the Russian exegete make sense.
The Holy Spirit cannot be “opposite” to human self-indulgence, for these are realities of a different ontological order. The opposite of sin in us is our own God-like spirit.
How the spirit of man is also interpreted by St. Theophan the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus in Rom. 8, 2. With liberation from the law of sin (Rom. 7, 23, 25), the spirit rises in a person: “We can define the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus as follows: self-sacrificing life in the spirit in God, which begins to quality in a person who is clinging to Christ the Lord by faith and grace, and - giving an authoritative direction to his mental and physical activity, turning it all to pleasing God, trampling and despising the former selfish self-indulgence in a passionate soul-physicality - which is what liberation from the law of sin consists of” 413 . Here the exegete clearly formulated the change in man that occurs in Baptism, which consists in the revitalization of the spirit as the selfless life of man in God. However, the ancient interpreters here also mean the Holy Spirit by spirit, as St. himself reports. Theophan: “Our interpreters all by the law of the spirit of life mean the Holy Spirit with His grace, sanctifying us” 414.
The Russian exegete again reconciles both interpretations by referring to the inseparable unity of human freedom and the grace of God, i.e. spirit and spirit.
As can already be noted, the revival of man in the Baptism of St. ap. Paul characterizes it as “renewal” (see above: in the renewal of life let us begin to walk - Rom. 6:4, the work of God in the renewal of the spirit - Rom 7:6). Ephesians (4, 22–24) St. ap. Paul also calls upon you, according to the first life, to put aside the old man, which is decaying in the lusts of deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put on the new man, created by God in righteousness and in the excellence of the truth. In this fragment the Apostle even speaks twice about the newness of man. St. Theophanes believes that in both cases St. ap. Paul refers to the restoration of the spirit in man. In the first expression, “under the renewal of the mind by the spirit, he (Apostle - Hierodeacon. P.) indicates the restoration of our spirit in its rights by creation, liberating it from the yoke of passions and returning to it power over all the powers of human nature, under the condition that he himself is now reunited with God in the Lord Jesus Christ” 415. Also, under the created new man, St.
Theophan understands the restoration of the human spirit in God through Baptism: “Thus, he who approaches the Lord is reconciled with God and devotes himself to serving Him, feeling that he has received strength, even to life and piety. This is how a new life begins, which is life according to God, in truth and in the honor of truth. The new man lives in spirit in God" 416. Actually, the new man, in the interpretation of the Russian exegete, is a god-pleasing spirit: “By new and old man we mean the moral and religious character of a person, and not what kind of person is special from a person. There is only one person, but sometimes he lives in self-indulgence and passions, sometimes he devotes himself to God and is jealous of pleasing God to everyone. In the first case he is an old man, in the second he is a new man” 417. This interpretation of the new man is expressed even more clearly by St. Theophan in his interpretation of Col. 3:10. And having put on the new [man], renewed in the mind, in the image of Him who created him: “This is the second action, inseparable from the first: one is rejected, the other is accepted.
The self-indulgent self with all the passions that arise from them is discarded, and the determination to live selflessly for the sole purpose of pleasing God is accepted. This determination, which embraces the entire being of one who approaches the Lord with faith and is baptized, is the new man” 418. Thus, in the interpretation of St. Theophan the Recluse, the new man is a spirit revived to please God.
All the ancient exegetes have the old and the new man from Eph. 4, 22–24 receive a moral interpretation as vice and virtue, respectively. And on Col. 3, 10 St. John Chrysostom establishes that freedom, and not nature, is what man actually is 419. That is why the Apostle, in his opinion, called the vicious and virtuous will man. Blzh. Theophylact defines the content of this new will of man in “God”: “The new man is the will of God” 420. This thought of the late Byzantine exegete acquires a special semantic development through the god-pleasing spirit in the exegesis of St. Feofan.
Finally, St. ap. Paul testifies of man in Christ as a new creation in Gal. 6, 15: In Christ Jesus, neither circumcision is able, nor uncircumcision, but is a new creation (καινη κτισις). St. Feofan here also explains the appearance of a new creature by the revival of the spirit in man. “In Christ Jesus, in the new grace, in the gracious dispensation of salvation, it does not count whether anyone is circumcised or uncircumcised, but this is one thing, that everyone should become a new creation. We fell and lost our real life. The Lord came to give us this life again, and arranged everything for this. He who approaches the Lord with faith, in holy baptism dies to a sinful life and comes to life to a spiritual life—becomes completely new.”421 To come alive in spirit for the Russian exegete means to become “completely new.”
The new, or spiritual, life, not for oneself, but for God, begins only with the baptismal font, emphasizes St. Theophanes on 2 Cor. 5, 17: Moreover, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation (καινη κτισις): the ancient mimoidosha, behold, everything was new: “Everyone, he says, is destined not to live for themselves, but for the Lord, everyone should live a spiritual life; but in reality only those who are in Christ are such, that is, they believed in Him and, united with Him in the baptismal font, began to live a new life, warmed in them by the grace of the Holy Spirit” 422. Under this verse, the recluse shows that the renewal of all orders of a person’s life is achieved by the initial renewal of his spirit in Baptism: “A new way of looking at everything that exists and happens is taught, new orders of life are introduced in all its manifestations; the basis of everything is a significant renewal of life in its very origins, hidden in the spirit and heart; a person is born, hidden in the heart, who begins to rule everything in the soul, in the body, and in external relationships.
Look - it’s like the same person, the same powers of spirit, soul and body, but life is no longer the same. This planting is not earthly, it does not breathe earthly air, it does not feed on earthly elements. Why is it that the one above is wise, and not the one on earth, and his life is hidden with Christ in God” 423. The novelty of the manifestations of the life of the baptized lies in their spiritual quality. For one who is revived in spirit, everything becomes spiritual.
It is curious that the ancient interpreters understood all new things primarily as New Testament institutions instead of Jewish ones. At St. Chrysostom and the Blessed. Theophylact, although there is a cursory mention of the new body and the new soul of man, it is precisely the novelty of the New Testament institutions that is revealed: “For ancient sin is over and we have a new soul and a new body, and instead of everything Jewish we have everything new: instead of the law - the Gospel, instead of Jerusalem - heaven, instead of the church - the inner behind the veil (Heb. 6:19), where the Trinity, instead of circumcision - baptism, instead of manna - The Body of God, instead of water, the Blood of the Lord, instead of the rod of Moses or Aaron, the Cross, instead of a lamb, the Son of God and all the rest of it” 424. The peculiarity of St.’s interpretation is self-evident. Theophan the Recluse, who sees the newness of Christ first and foremost within man.
This spiritual newness of the life of a Christian is described by the Russian exegete in contrast to the material. Interpreting Col. 2:20: Even if you have died with Christ from the elements of the world, why do you contend with those who live in the world?, the holy Recluse explains: “Life in the Lord Jesus is a transmigration in thought, feeling, and desires from the material to the spiritual, from the earthly to the heavenly, from the corruptible to the incorruptible, from the temporal to the eternal, from the created to God. Mortification in Christ Jesus is direct mortification to sin; but with this death all ties with the material are cut off. The one who died in Christ, in the very act of mortification, throws off all these bonds from himself, like a garment that restricts him, and freely enters or soars into the spiritual world to immaterial blessings, which he immediately tastes and cleaves to them. This is what St. Paul means by: dying from the elements of the world. And therefore, the elements of the world for him mean everything material, earthly, perishable, to which every true Christian dies in Christ Jesus” 425.
The spiritual itself, which is the opposite of the material, in the understanding of the interpreter is filled with God: “Your interior must be clear of all material clouds, so that one sun, God, can clearly mature in it” 426. In Baptism, therefore, “all ties are cut off” with the material, earthly, corruptible, temporary, created.
Spiritual newness cuts off from earthly things not in themselves, but from sinful attachment to them. This is clear from the interpretation of St. Theophan "heavenly" and "earthly" on Col. 3, 2: Think above, not earthly: “If by the above we begin to understand the same thing that we have determined to mean by the highest - that is, living communion with God through walking in the commandments with the rejection of self-indulgence, sensuality and love of creatures, then these are the objects of constant and caring Christian thoughts: the Christian thinks, how not to fall again into self-indulgence and sensuality and not to cleave to what creatures more than the Creator - how to more accurately fulfill the will of God in the entire course and in all contacts of one’s life - and especially about how to continually remain with the Lord in thought and heart and work out one’s salvation with fear and trembling before Him. These are objects worthy of the philosophizing of a Christian! Earthly things are not worthy of being occupied. It goes with him as a third-party thing - an addition, and not a matter” 427. The earthly one is “self-indulgence, sensuality and love of animals,” and the celestial one is selfless God-pleasing.
A spiritually healthy attitude towards the earthly as a creature is an attitude towards it as “an accessory, not a thing”, or the deabsolutization of the creature for the sake of the Creator. In exegesis Rom. 8, 22: We know that all creation (with us) groans and suffers even to this day. Saint Theophan defines our addiction to creation as addiction to the visible: “It must be noted that when we become addicted to a creature, we become addicted to its appearance, for the reason of which it sighs. It turns out that the unreasonable creature sighs for what we, the rational ones, are foolishly clinging to” 428. Thus, the “ties with the material” broken by the new spiritual life do not mean a person’s exit from this world, but the spiritual transcendence of the latter. On the one hand, the spiritual transcendence of the earthly is its absolute negation in favor of God, and on the other hand, it is the spiritual that becomes the “justification” of the earthly, that is, the removal of sinful partiality from it.
Finally, the new spiritual life of St. Theophan calls life “gracious.” Interpreting 2 Cor. 1, 12: by the grace of God we live in the world, St. The recluse indicates the true leader of the spirit of Christians in the grace of God. “But by the grace of God we lived in the world, that is, we lived as God’s grace inspired us, as it guided us and as it acted in us. Life in grace, εν χαριτι, is the opposite of the previous life according to carnal wisdom” 429. The exegete describes the life of grace as the opposite of selfishness: “In it nothing is done for oneself, but everything is for the glory of God and the good of others; nothing is also done according to one’s own thoughts, but everything is done according to the inspiration of grace, and whatever is done is done not by one’s own strength, but by grace, which takes a person’s own strengths only as instruments for the manifestation of its actions. Those who have it live with their consciousness and heart in the one God, who, living in them, acts through them and outside of them” 430. Thus, the whole work of the human spirit is to, by abolishing selfishness, give place to the action of God’s grace in man.
Spiritual life thereby places man above his nature. That is why all the exegetes speak here about the signs, wonders, exploits and wisdom of the Apostle Paul. St. Theophan, drawing on the teachings of the ascetic fathers, also calls the spiritual, or grace-filled life “supernatural,” but extends it not to one Apostle, but to all true Christians: “The Holy Fathers distinguish three degrees, or classes, of life in which the same person can rotate from time to time. One is carnal life, as indicated before: it is called lower life - natural, and even unnatural; the other is a virtuous life, according to the demands of conscience, possible even outside of grace: it is called natural; the third is a life of grace, beginning, maturing and manifesting itself in various ways through the action of God’s grace alone: it is called supernatural and is possible only in true Christianity, constituting its distinctive feature” 431 . Only one renewed in Christ becomes a bearer of God’s grace.
So, in Christ Jesus we are filled with “all the spiritual blessings that God was pleased to combine in Him for us,” namely: “The most necessary good for us is deliverance from sins and the renewal of our corrupt nature” 432. The renewal of our nature, as St. Recluse on Col. 2, 11–12, this is “the basis of all other benefits, sonship, grace-filled Divine Descent, future glorification. Without it, it would be impossible to receive anything else, even if God Himself wanted to give something: for there would be nothing to accept it with and nothing to apply it to” 433 . The renewed nature in Christ, i.e. the human spirit revived in Baptism becomes “the basis of the grace-filled Universe of God.” Without Baptism, “there would be nothing with which to receive” the grace of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation.
YES. Chudinov, chief curator of the collections of the Department of Manuscripts of the Russian State Library. Saint Theophan in the letters of Athonite monks (based on materials from the Manuscripts Department of the Russian State Library)
Much has already been said and written about the relationship that connected St. Theophan, the Recluse of Vyshensky, and the inhabitants of the Russian Panteleimon Monastery on Holy Mount Athos (also known as Russik). Their contacts were very close and fruitful. As is known, the saint preferred to publish his works through the Panteleimon Monastery, largely thanks to which this monastery became one of the largest centers of spiritual book publishing. The Athos people published a significant part of the spiritual works and translations of St. Theophan: “The Path to Salvation”, “Thoughts for Every Day of the Year from Church Readings from the Word of God”, “Characters of Active Piety”, “The Psalter or Theological Reflections of St. Ephraim the Syrian”, “The Works of Hesychius, Presbyter of Jerusalem”, five volumes of “Philokalia”, “The Invisible Warfare of Nicodemus the Holy Mountain”, “Words of Simeon the New Theologian”, etc.
Thanks to the long-term collaboration of the Vyshensky recluse with the Panteleimon Monastery, after the death of the saint, his extensive archive ended up in the monastery library, which is still stored there and only recently became accessible to the scientific community.
Saint Theophan conducted extensive correspondence with the monks of Russik. Its correspondents were the abbots of the monastery, Archimandrite Macarius (Sushkin) (1820–1889) and Schema-Archimandrite Andrei (Verevkin) (1834–1903), as well as other monks: Hieromonk Arseny (Minin) (1823–1879), Hieroschemamonk Vladimir (Kolesnikov) (1851–1918), Hieromonk Vladislav (Popov) (1849–1918), Hieromonk Denasy (Yushkov) (1859–1928). It so happened that almost all of the correspondence of St. Theophan with the Athonite people has now ended up in the library of the Panteleimon Monastery. However, in archives in Russia, letters from Athonite inhabitants to various persons are preserved, in which the Vyshensk recluse is mentioned. One of these archives is the Manuscripts Department of the Russian State Library (OR RSL).
Letters from Athos are stored in various collections of the Manuscripts Department. A significant number of them are available in the archives of Archbishop Nikon (Rozh destvensky) of Vologda and Totem (1851–1919) (F. 765). Eminence Nikon not only maintained an active correspondence with the Athonite inhabitants, but also knew Saint Theophan well, with whom he corresponded, consulted on various issues, sent him his works for review, and, as we will see, participated in the publication of the works of the saint himself. His Grace Nikon corresponded with the same inhabitants of Russik as Saint Theophan, for example, with Archimandrite Macarius (Sushkin).
Archimandrite Macarius was a truly legendary figure for Russian Athos. Being the first Russian-born abbot of the Panteleimon Monastery, he finally strengthened the position of Russian monasticism on the Holy Mountain, increased the number of brethren, built churches, and established many monasteries and farmsteads of his monastery in Russia and other countries.
Under Archimandrite Macarius and his successors, the Panteleimon monastery conducted active publishing activities. The monastery printing house printed more than a hundred titles of brochures and printed sheets, as well as a large number of books. Therefore, it is not surprising that the main topic of letters stored in the OR RSL is book publishing activities. Most of the letters are devoted to the publication of the Philokalia (Philokalia), a collection of patristic works of the 4th-15th centuries, compiled by Metropolitan Macarius of Corinth and Nicodemus the Svyatogorets, a unique five-volume work translated by St. Theophan.
For the first time, the Philokalia was translated from Greek into Slavic by the Monk Paisius (Velichkovsky); the translation was published in 1793 in St. Petersburg. Subsequently, Saint Theophan translated the “Philokalia” into Russian. In order to make the works of the Holy Fathers of the Church accessible to anyone wishing to familiarize themselves with them, the saint consciously moved away from the tradition practiced by His Grace Ignatius (Brianchaninov) of reproducing patristic texts as accurately as possible. The Russian translation of St. Theophan actually became not an exact translation, but a free retelling of the translated texts. He shortened some texts, but included other texts by authors that were not in either the Greek or Slavic versions of the Philokalia. In this form, the work became more accessible not only to readers of the second half of the 19th century, but also to all future generations. The Athos Panteleimon Monastery was engaged in the publishing and distribution of this wonderful work. The first volume of the Philokalia was published in 1877, the second in 1884, the third in 1888, and the fourth in 1889.
and the fifth - in 1899, after the death of St. Theophan. The circulation of each volume was 3,000 copies.
The first of the letters under consideration from Archimandrite Macarius (Sushkin) to Nikon (Rozhdestvensky) was written on June 22, 1884: “Most beloved in the Lord, most reverend Father Nikon! Christ is among us! The other day we returned to Moscow the second volume of the Philokalia, sent here in manuscript and already censored. We looked at him with consolation and, knowing that he was corresponding under your experienced supervision, we did not stop him to read it. Glory and thanks be to the Lord that this long-awaited volume will finally appear soon. We sincerely thank you from the bottom of our hearts, dear Fr. Nikon, for the work you have undertaken to monitor this matter. We fully hope that its printing will go smoothly and not like the first volume. God forbid! May the Lord help you in all your many useful deeds and may your health be strengthened. I remain the humble prayer-maker Archimandrite Macarius, who sincerely respects you. June 22, 1884 St. Athos, Russian Panteleimon Monastery" 434.
The following letter from Archimandrite Macarius to His Eminence Nikon, dated May 6, 1889, is also devoted to the publication of the works of St. Theophan: “...Please write about the book of the late Fr. Archpriest Kashmensky: A systematic set of teachings of the Holy Fathers of the Church about the human soul. Indeed, this book is precious, but it cannot be said that it is not special, like the Philokalia. We think that it is not accessible to everyone, but only to educated and serious people. Of course, it would be nice to accept it among our publications, but now it is very difficult for us, because necessity forced us to take all the works of the Most Reverend. Feofan from his nephew, many of whom demand a repetition of the publication, and now we barely have time to cope with this matter, for which the costs are very significant. As a result, we think that we will not make a mistake if we refuse the proposed book. Archimandrite Macarius with his brethren. St. Athos, May 6, 1889" 435.
Here it should be clarified that the main publisher of St. Theophan’s books was not only the Athos Panteleimon Monastery, but also the saint’s beloved nephew, Alexey Gavrilovich Govorov (+1895), who held the position of Moscow bailiff. In 1878, Saint Theophan transferred to his nephew the rights to publish his creations. Alexey Gavrilovich published about 15 scientific and literary works of his uncle, but on his advice in 1888 he transferred the right to sell and publish to the Panteleimon Monastery, while remaining the owner of the manuscripts of the Right Reverend Theophan. As Alexey Gavrilovich himself wrote about this: “The Reverend wanted to make it easier for me to publish books. He found it possible for me, for the agreed amount of money paid to me, to transfer the publication and sale of his works to the Russian Athos Panteleimon Monastery, with which I made a special written agreement on this subject on August 25, 1888” 436. Saint Theophan himself wrote in one of his letters: “The books are now finally assigned to Athos.
They can publish it until the end of time, only with payment each time to the nephew, and then to his descendants” 437.
The author of the next series of letters is the successor of Archimandrite Macarius (Sushkin) as rector of the Panteleimon Monastery, Schema-Archimandrite Andrei (Verevkin). He came to monastic life as a medical assistant, and, possessing a meek and pious character, was elected abbot of the Panteleimon Monastery not only at the request of Elder Macarius, but also by lot, from eight candidates. Father Andrey managed Russik for 14 years. Under him, the monastery’s book publishing business, begun by Elder Macarius, not only continued, but also grew more and more. When Saint Theophan learned about this, he gave his blessing after his death to transfer his entire literary heritage to the Panteleimon Monastery. It is known that it was during the abbess of Archimandrite Andrei that the Panteleimon monastery was honored with a visit from the Mother of God.
The first of the letters in question from Archimandrite Andrei, dated June 4, 1890, is stored in the archives of Optina Monastery (F. 213) and is addressed to its rector, Archimandrite Isaac (Antimonov) (1810–1894), one of the correspondents of St. Theophan. Archimandrite Andrey wrote: “Your Reverence, Most Honorable Archimandrite Father Isaac! Christ is among us! Please accept from us the book we are sending you: “Ascetic instructions to monks from our Holy Father Theodore the Studite.” This book constitutes the 4th volume of the “Philokalia” published by our monastery in Russian; in it, as you will see, 335 teachings translated from Greek by Bishop Theophan with slight abbreviations. <…> To the Ever-memorable Elders of Optina Hermitage belongs the honor of the initial translation and publication of the Announcements of St. Theodore the Studite from the famous Collection in Modern Greek. Therefore, it is especially desirable for us, through Your Reverence, to make the now published teachings of St. Theodore the Studite more widely known, so that they may serve many monks for great benefit and salvation.
<…> Archimandrite Andrei of the Russian Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos with all his brethren in Christ. June 4th day, 1890 St. Mount Athos. Rusik. The book is sent to you from Moscow, from our chapel” 438.
It should be said that the works of St. Theodore the Studite, a Byzantine monk, ascetic and spiritual writer, were included in the fourth volume of the Philokalia translated by St. Theophan. The saint began to look for manuscripts of the saint’s works for translation in 1884. Subsequently, he wrote in his letters: “I am making a selection of instructions to the monks from the teachings of St. Theodore the Studite. I am translating his Catechisms large and small, in which there are up to 400 teachings... This will be the only instruction for monks, mainly about monastic life” 439. The Moscow chapel mentioned in the letter is the chapel of St. Panteleimon that belonged to the monastery, first located on Nikolskaya Street, then moved to the Vladimir Gate of Kitay-Gorod.
The following two letters from Athos to His Eminence Nikon are united by one theme - the unrealized intention of Saint Theophan to revise his translation of the Philokalia. In one of them, without end, signature and date, an unknown Athonite correspondent wrote: “... In Tserkovn Vedom we had the pleasure of reading an excellent review of the V and previous volumes of the Philokalia, signed with the letters G.I. Of course, these are your works, father. Thank you very much. God bless you! The Index to the Philokalia was also taken up here; volumes 4 were even completed, but it seems unsatisfactory. They wanted to entrust it to outsiders, but the Holy Master finally declared that b.m. He will do this himself, because he will need to look through all the volumes. May God grant him health and vision to continue his work. It's nice that he was honored with the degree of Doctor of Divinity. It seems worth it. And this is now the third dotor of all the bishops” 440.
The second letter, from Archimandrite Andrei, was written on April 7, 1894, after the death of Saint Theophan. From its contents it is clear how the Athonite inhabitants mourned the death of the Vyshensky recluse: “... So the Right Reverend Theophan, the prolific spiritual writer, the main author of our publications, has passed away from this world. Eternal memory to the saint of God! Such a loss is very sensitive for us. We regret that his revision of some of his works has not yet been completed. He wanted to do something with the Philokalia. Fr. has already written to you. Vladislav, it’s as if we are entrusting Stepan Ivanovich Ponomarev with the correction of the Philokalia. But he was prematurely worried. We just wanted to see what kind of corrections and notes Stepan Ivanovich made when reading his own copy of the Philokalia, which he wrote to us about long ago. Interesting to know. And so we asked him to send us these amendments, and we are waiting for them.
Meanwhile, Stepan Ivanovich advised us to get our own copy of the Vladyka, in the hope that he had made corrections, but hardly, for the late Vladyka only recently promised to begin revising the “Philokalia” of the Russian Abbot of the Panteleimon Monastery on Athos, Archimandrite Andrey with all his brethren in Christ. St. Athos, April 7, 1894" 441.
In this letter the name of the father of Vladislav-Athos schemamonk Vladislav (Popov), who headed the publishing business of the monastery in Moscow for more than 30 years, was mentioned. Father Vladislav compiled and edited a huge number of books, communicated with all the authors, editors, publishers and financiers. Based on the thousands of letters he wrote, it is possible to reconstruct the history of the publishing business of the Russian Panteleimon Monastery. In addition, the letter mentions Stepan Ivanovich Ponomarev (1828–1913), a famous Russian writer-bibliographer, author of works on the bibliography of Russian church historical literature. Stepan Ivanovich compiled lists of the works of St. Philaret (Drozdov), Archbishop Philaret (Gumilevsky), Metropolitan Evgeniy (Bolkhovitinov), an index to the “Four Menaions” of St. Demetrius of Rostov. In 1873–1874 Ponomarev visited Athos and the Holy Land, compiled catalogs of the library of the Russian Panteleimon Monastery. For his merits, his contemporaries nicknamed Stepan Ivanovich “the singer of the Holy Land.”
After the death of Saint Theophan Panteleimon in 1894, the monastery carried out the publication of his correspondence. This was reflected in a letter from Archimandrite Andrei to His Eminence Nikon (Rozhdestvensky) dated December 12, 1898: “... O. Vladislav probably sometimes has a meeting with you. I believe that under his supervision the printing of St. Theophan’s letters will continue correctly. Issues 1 and 2 appear to be properly printed, with a contents index. On leaving Moscow Fr. Does Archpriest Khitrov have Fr. Vladislav, we don’t know such a leader. I hope that in case of need you will not leave him with your advice and instructions, which I earnestly ask you to do. Archimandrite Andrei, Abbot of the Russian Monastery on Athos, with all his brethren in Christ. St. Athos, December 12, 1898.” 442. Mentioned in the letter, Father Vladislav and Father Archpriest Khitrov are the already mentioned Athonite schemamonk Vladislav (Popov) and Mikhail Ivanovich Khitrov, spiritual writer, priest of the Catherine Church at the Moscow Orphanage.
Father Michael was the compiler of the first biography of St. Theophan, as well as the first guardian of the early orphaned children of Alexei Gavrilovich. Largely thanks to his efforts, the archive of St. Theophan ended up in the Russik library. One of the letters from Athos addressed to His Grace Nikon (Rozhdestvensky) was written on February 23, 1894 by Hieroschemamonk Vladimir (Kolesnikov), a disciple of the great Athonite elder Arseny (Minin). Father Vladimir’s obedience was to organize the publishing business of the Panteleimon Monastery. He was the organizer of the publication of a number of books, the editor-compiler of the “Soulful Interlocutor” series, in which, in addition, he led the “Athos Chronicle” section. In addition to organizing the publishing business, Father Vladimir was also involved in distributing books published by the monastery throughout Russia. Some of his letters, stored in the Department of Manuscripts of the Russian State Library, were written from Moscow, where the Athos Panteleimon Monastery had a courtyard located on Bolshaya Polyanka Street, as well as the already mentioned chapel of St. Panteleimon. Father Vladimir wrote: “...
So the Reverend passed away. Feofan, famous ascetic and writer. The unexpected news of this was somehow very amazing. A lot has already been written about him in magazines, but, unfortunately, not only details, but almost nothing else has been said about his death and burial. Some of us wrote from Moscow that he was found already deceased, his left hand on his chest, and his right hand blessing. Is it true? There is no doubt that the deceased saint received mercy from the Lord, and b. m. and boldness, through his prayers may the Lord have mercy on us. Hieromonk Vladimir. St. Athos, February 23, 1894." 443. The last letter we are considering stands out from the general series. In terms of the time of writing, it is the earliest (dated October 30, 1859) and indicates that among the Athonite correspondents of St. Theophan there were inhabitants not only of Russik, but also of other monasteries. The letter was written by Archimandrite Joseph (Lashevsky), abbot of the Pantokrator monastery, known since the 14th century, and addressed to Pyotr Ivanovich Sevastyanov (1811–1867), a famous Russian archaeologist and collector of Christian antiquities.
It contains the following lines: “... I humbly ask you to send the enclosed letter addressed to the most worthy Bishop, His Eminence Theophan, as a great favor to me! Your Excellency, most zealous Bogomolets Archimandrite Joseph. 1859 October 30 days. M. Pantocrator" 444. Unfortunately, to date, Archimandrite Joseph’s letter addressed to St. Theophan has not been found in the collections of the Manuscripts Department of the Russian State Library. Apparently, it finally reached the addressee...
The letters discovered in the Department of Manuscripts of the Russian State Library and presented, although not written directly by the Right Reverend Theophan, and not addressed to him, are still a source of interesting and often valuable information about the life and works of the saint, since both the authors and the recipients were people who knew the saint well and helped him in his works. These letters are worthy of the information they contain being included in the “Chronicle of the Life of St. Theophan, the Recluse of Vyshensky.”
S.G. Kholopov, head of the library, teacher at the Ryazan Theological Seminary. Teaching about the soul of St. Theophan, the Recluse of Vyshensky
Church Tradition has not yet developed a generally accepted theological definition of the concept of the human soul. In Orthodox theology, several points of view on the nature of the soul are quite acceptable: three-component (spirit, soul and body) and two-component (soul and body). The main thing is to understand that the soul has a completely different created nature than the visible and material world. Only its manifestations are accessible to humans. There is no doubt that the human soul has its own special nature, but what is it in essence and what is it?
There is a misconception that the soul has a divine nature and that it is consubstantial with God. This opinion arises in connection with the invisibility of the soul and the presence of god-like properties in it (mind, immortality). The patristic tradition unequivocally rejects this idea, for the Holy Scripture directly testifies to the natural difference between the creature and the Creator and the impossibility of their confusion. The Monk Macarius of Egypt writes about it this way: “The soul is not from God’s nature and not from the nature of evil darkness, but is an intelligent creature full of beauty, great and wonderful, a beautiful likeness and image of God” 445.
In the history of the Church, a doctrine gradually emerged that caused controversy among various theologians - this is the idea of \u200b\u200bthe corporeality of the soul. In the 19th century, a well-known theological disagreement arose between Saints Ignatius (Brianchaninov) and Theophan the Recluse on this topic 446 .
Saint Ignatius in his essay “The Word on Death” substantiates the idea of the special materiality of the nature of angels and human souls. His thought is this: “The soul is an ethereal, very subtle flying body that has the whole appearance of our gross body, all its members, even its hair, the character of its face - in a word, complete resemblance to it” 447.
Saint Theophan the Recluse thought differently on this issue. It should be noted that in general he had a positive attitude towards the work of St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov), but believed that such judgments were too materialistic. He sets out his views in detail in the book “The Soul and the Angel – Not the Body, but the Spirit.” Here he writes that human souls and angels, having a spiritual, immaterial nature, may also be clothed in some kind of ethereal shell-body, but it is wrong to think that all souls are reduced to a subtle substance - ether.
The saint draws attention to the fact that such properties of the soul as: consciousness, freedom, morality cannot be the fruit of the activity of any substance, even a very refined one; Consequently, the most important thing in the soul resides beyond the boundaries of matter, and therefore the soul is not only the ethereal body: “It goes without saying that a person who is conscious of himself, freely acting, thinking, desiring and feeling cannot in any way be the body-soul itself (ethereal soul), but there must be something residing inside this body, so that the body-soul will be for it only an organ and a dwelling” 448. Saint Theophan, revealing the Orthodox teaching about the spiritual immaterial principle in man, describes the concept of the human personality, which determines the way of existence of its nature, but is not nature. He most often calls this beginning in a person the word “spirit,” but to reveal the meaning he uses the words “person,” “subject,” “someone,” that is, personal categories 449.
The human soul, being simple and indivisible, manifests itself through its own three forces. The saint calls them thinking, desiring and feeling. Some holy fathers refer to these forces as: rational, irritable and desirable 450.
The mental or rational power of the soul acts through thought or, as the holy fathers say, through the inner word 451.
Saint Theophan writes that desires and feelings are troubled under the influence of thought 452. Thoughts are born directly from the soul, but they are immediately clothed in an image. So the thinking side of the soul is entirely figurative 453. On the other hand, imagination and memory do not think in themselves, they are only auxiliary forces.
The ability of the soul, from which such questions emanate and from which thoughts are generated in response to them, Theophan the Recluse calls reason. The business of reason is to reason, think and find the required solutions.
In his mental area, a person often sees a continuous movement of images and ideas without any definite purpose or order, but this is not reasoning, but wandering and scattering of thoughts 454. Saint Theophan writes that a person often spends most of his time in idle thinking and wandering thoughts 455. However, the thought does not always have a negative meaning. There are good divine thoughts, that is, put into the heart by God or a guardian angel. The Apostle Paul instructs to turn away from carnal thoughts and strive for spiritual ones (Rom. 8:6-7).
After the Fall, man lost power over himself. Self-will began to be reflected, first of all, on the lower abilities of the soul, and until he comes out of the state of fall, he will remain a slave to his, often untrue or false, imagination. “The task of transforming the lower part of a person’s soul is difficult and lengthy, but necessary for success in spiritual life. Work and time eventually subdue the imagination, and peace and silence are established in the inner world” 456.
Desirable power helps to realize a person’s intentions, desires, and aspirations. This is active energy, which includes the volitional qualities of the soul. The saint writes about this as follows: “The force operating here is the will, which wills and desires to acquire, use or do what it finds useful for itself, or necessary, or pleasant, and does not will or desire anything contrary to that. The volitions of the will require a corresponding action, therefore the will is more directly an active force, the essential need of which is to live and act. She keeps under her control all the forces of the soul and body and all the available methods, which she puts into action when necessary” 457.
Thus, the desired force, thanks to the will, ensures the activity of a person and organizes the satisfaction of his needs and desires. “Her business is to determine the image, method and measure of satisfaction of desires generated by needs” 458.
Positive manifestations of desired strength are expressed in the formation of skills and rules of life, in following norms, traditions, in the development of character, morals, and prudence. “The sources of desires should be natural needs in the established family and social life” 459.
Negative manifestations of desirable power manifest themselves in such passions as: inconstancy, disorder, self-will in desires and deeds, the implementation of sinful intentions, suppression of conscience, lust, immoderation, greed, lust for power, pride 460.
Will is the most important quality of any rational nature. Human will is a special spiritual instrument of the individual, allowing it to carry out purposeful activities.
The engine of active life, according to the teachings of St. Theophan, is prudence, which is the same reason, only in the service of the will. Prudence determines how what should be done so that what is legally desired is achieved. “The natural lawful activity of the will... is the mistress of all our powers and all life” 461.
Sensitive or irritable force refers to the sensory-emotional sphere of human nature. This energy provides the perception of impressions, experiences and the primary emotional response to them, forms tastes and preferences. Sensual strength determines the internal state of the entire mental and physical composition of a person and gives strength for all life processes 462. “Those who know how to control themselves, encountering a necessary task, which, however, the heart does not like, rush to find a pleasant side in it and with that, having reconciled the heart with it, they maintain in themselves the energy required for the task” 463.
What is a feeling? Feeling is an organ of the soul designed to perceive the influences of the surrounding world. Since we are talking about the soul, it is necessary to distinguish between the five bodily senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch) and the sense of the soul. According to patristic teaching, the human soul has subtle sensitivity or a single spiritual feeling, which is realized in the external world through the sense organs known to us 464. Here is what Saint Theophan writes about this: “Everything that is produced by its mental and active side is deposited in the heart; Through the heart is the passage through everything that is revealed by the soul outside. That’s why it’s called the center of life” 465.
External senses themselves are not sufficient for knowledge of the external world. Positive manifestations of irritable power: zeal for God, courage, boldness, hatred of evil and sin, sincere love for God and neighbors. The saint calls jealousy the driving force of the will, which comes from the heart 466.
Negative manifestations: unfair anger, hot temper, envy, enmity, slander, tendency to quarrel, vindictiveness, pride, arrogance. Saint Theophan writes that passions tyrannize the heart most of all: “How anger burns the heart! How his hatred torments him! How evil envy sharpens... Yes, if we take a closer look, we will find that all our anxieties and heartaches are from passions” 467. Sensitive or irritable power is rooted in the human heart and is realized through it 468.
Thus, the teaching about the soul of St. Theophan the Recluse, on the one hand, is distinguished by originality of thought and simplicity of presentation, on the other hand, by its compliance with the ancient patristic ascetic tradition and Church Tradition.
Alexey Chernikov, 2nd year master's student at SPbDA. Mutual responsibilities of spouses (based on the book of St. Theophan the Recluse “The Outline of Christian Moral Teaching”)
Your Eminence, dear fathers, brothers and sisters! The topic of my report: “Mutual responsibilities of spouses.” Probably, such a topic may sound strange, since one might think that a bishop who was not married could know about the intricacies of family life? But Saint Theophan had an extensive correspondence, and among his spiritual children were family people. In addition, he lived during the traditional Russian way of life and family hierarchy. Therefore, the saint’s thoughts about family life, and in particular about the responsibilities of spouses, may be of interest to us. Let us turn to his work “The Outline of Christian Moral Teaching.”
Let us first consider the responsibilities of a husband. Saint Theophan writes that “the husband is the head of the wife” 469. According to the teachings of the Church, spouses are equal before God, but in the family they have different functions and responsibilities based on gender. The family has its own system of hierarchy and subordination. The head of the family is Christ, the husband is the head of the wife, the wife is her husband’s helper, and the children are in obedience to their parents. The psychological characteristics of a man and a woman precisely determine that it is natural for a man to be the head, and for a woman to be his assistant. These relations of dominance and submission are built on mutual free consent and love 470. The headship of the husband should be distinguished from despotism: power in the Christian understanding is service. The husband must exercise power following the example of Christ, Who “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant” (Phil. 2:7) and went to the Cross for the Church. The criterion for whether a husband exercises his power correctly is concern for the true welfare of all family members 471. According to St. To Theophan, “this power should not be despotic, but loving.
Have a wife as a friend and with strong love force her to be submissive to you” 472.
Saint Theophan continues: “The head of the family... must take full and comprehensive care of the entire house (meaning not only the household, but primarily all other family members),... and have vigilant care for it, recognizing himself as responsible both before God and before people for his good and bad; for in his face he represents everything, for him he receives shame and approval, he hurts and has fun” 473.
The family must have a head, but, unfortunately, often not only the wife, but also the husband, who is called to be the head, opposes this. A modern man is often raised without a father, by women, and he has no one to follow as an example. And in a real humanistic model of society, all people are equal to each other. Note that the head of the family takes full responsibility, not partial, and does not distribute it. No matter what his wife or children do, he replies. It is difficult for a man to accept this, and fearing the burden of responsibility, he shifts it to his wife. Most families, including Orthodox ones, live under the explicit or hidden leadership of the wife 474.
Let's see what responsibilities the head has? Firstly, according to St. Theophan, the husband’s care should be directed to “a prudent, stable and complete economy, so that everyone can have feasible contentment in everything, a painless and comfortable life. In this, everyday wisdom is honest, blessed by God... In this respect, he is the manager and ruler of affairs.” Financial support for the family is an important responsibility of the husband, but, unfortunately, he often takes on this one responsibility and gives everything else to his wife. What to do, since nowadays the husband really has to work a lot to feed his family? Let it be so, but he should, at least to a lesser extent, not miss the other duties of the head 475.
The saint names the second duty of the husband: “While paying attention to the progress of material affairs, spiritual affairs are also on him. The main thing here is faith and piety. The family is the church. He is the head of this church. Let him keep it clean. The method and hours of home prayer on it - determine them and support them. Ways to educate a family in the faith on it; the religious life of everyone on it - understand, strengthen, settle” 476. The husband also “must look after her (his wife), take care of her mental and moral perfection, condescendingly and patiently cutting off the bad and planting the good, while enduring what is incorrigible in body or character complacently and piously” 477.
The head is responsible for the spiritual life of the family: how pious are his wife and children, what is happening in their spiritual world, what feeds their soul: what is the children’s social circle, what do they read, how do they spend their leisure time, etc.? It is the husband who is responsible before God for raising children, and the wife helps him in this. However, often this responsibility of the head is taken on by the spouse: she prays with the children, and is in charge of religious and cultural education. How should it be? If a wife wants to help her husband, then, on the one hand, she does not need to take on the role of head, not to be the driving force, but, on the other hand, she should not just sit and wait for her husband to think, for example, about the religious education of children. She needs to study the issue and offer her ideas to her husband for a solution.
The man feels like the head of the family. If he does not realize himself as a head, he begins to resist this: he can make a scandal, asserting his dominance, escape from the traumatic reality through various addictions, or even leave the family.
Thirdly, “having arranged everything inside with one hand, he must act outside with the other; look inward with one eye and outward with the other. The family is behind him. He appears in society, and society takes on him directly for the whole family. Therefore, all necessary communications and public affairs are on him.” All or the overwhelming majority of responsibilities outside the family are the responsibility of the husband. For example, enrolling a child in school, attending a parent-teacher meeting, making repairs, calling a plumber, etc. The husband is the representative of the family in society, its face.
And lastly, “he has the responsibility to preserve the general family customs and his own private ones, and in the latter case, especially to keep the spirit and morals of his ancestors in the family and pass on the memory of them from generation to generation” 478. The husband must take care of compiling a pedigree of his family, know his ancestors, and pray for them; preserve the traditions and customs of the family.
A husband can delegate some of his responsibilities to his wife, but not abandon them. That is, his wife helps him in some ways, but consults with him and gives him a report. For example, a husband delegates the kitchen to his wife. She doesn’t call him every time to ask what kind of soup to make. But if guests come and the food is not ready yet or is too salty, then who is to blame? - Husband, he didn’t finish watching.
So, the husband should be interested in all the affairs of the family. Now let's move on to the responsibilities of a wife.
One of the most important duties of a wife, according to St. Theophan, is that she consciously works to ensure that the head of the family is her husband; the wife must “have a head, not be left without her, and not allow there to be two or more of them” 479. (The latter may happen if parents interfere in family affairs). By doing this, she will help her husband become the head.
In various family matters, the wife should consult with her husband. For example, you need to send your child to a section. The wife collects information about different sections, prays - all this is her creativity and work, and goes to her husband for a blessing. He will listen, think and pray so that the will of God will be revealed. Saint Theophan writes in one of his letters: “God appointed the husband to be the guardian of his wife. And often he, without realizing it, gives permissions or prohibitions to his wife such as God inspires him...” 480
Secondly, the wife “must obey her husband in everything, incline her disposition in every possible way to his disposition and be completely devoted to him, so that neither deed nor thought even plans anything without his will. To faithfully carry out all his orders, advice, commands, and not to allow the thought of ever putting it on one’s own, and not to desire or show dominance in anything at all. In case of disagreement, be compliant and patiently endure everything that seems not to your liking, otherwise you will not preserve your dear peace” 481. That is, a wife should obey her husband in everything that does not contradict the commandments of God and the Christian conscience. Even if he is wrong, for the sake of preserving family peace, she better accept it. If the husband makes the wrong decision, and the wife, having expressed her opinion, gives in, then when the consequences come, he will understand his mistake, and in the future he will listen and trust her more. The wife's obedience gives rise to the husband's reciprocal desire to listen to her advice.
Thirdly, the wife’s obedience “does not deprive her of the obligation to take care of her husband’s good behavior. With her wisdom and influence she can change his character if he is faulty; at least, she should not leave him neglected, but, as much as she has intelligence and strength, act on him and consume him as if from fire... For this purpose, decorate herself... with virtues” 482. One of the purposes of family life is to assist in mutual salvation. If a husband sees a virtuous wife next to him, he himself will try to grow up to her.
The wife’s duties include “taking care of household chores, although only in an executive capacity.”
In conclusion, Saint Theophan writes that “when going outside, one should not take out dirty linen. Let the outsiders know only the outside. What happens inside should be a sacred secret for the whole house. We must defend the honor of our home in word and deed” 483. Spouses should not tell anyone about family troubles except their confessor, who will pray for them and help them overcome difficulties. In addition, Saint Theophan highlights the general duties of spouses, such as: “love, not passionate, but pure and sober, evidenced internally by mutual affection and lively participation, as well as quick and moving sympathy, and externally, mutually, by assistance, according to which the eye and hand of one are in the same place as the other. From here flows uninterrupted peace and unbreakable harmony,... trust, by which one can undoubtedly rely on the other in everything,... marital fidelity,... - to belong only to each other in soul and body,... not to be jealous..." 484.
Indeed, the goal of human life is deification, for which a person needs to become like God in love, so that love becomes the main content of his heart. In the family, excellent conditions are created for a person to work on this virtue, since it is easy to love from a distance, to be friendly with people you see from time to time. And the closer a person is, the more difficult it is to do this, since we see the shortcomings of our loved ones. Therefore, in a family, love must overcome the greatest challenges 485. The basis of love is sacrifice. In a family, a person just learns to sacrifice his interests for the sake of his spouse and children. In marriage, a person voluntarily limits his freedom; he no longer has his own life, his own interests, his own sadness or joy. Everything becomes common. And when children appear in the family, the degree of selflessness increases - there is no longer one’s own life, but there is the life of the spouse and children 486. The family is truly a school of growth in love.
Pyotr Gorin, 1st year undergraduate student at Ekaterinodar Theological Seminary. Saint Theophan the Recluse against the heresy of Leo Tolstoy
Saint Theophan the Recluse can be called one of the most influential spiritual writers of the 19th century, the author of more than 60 spiritual works, which for many faithful became their own figurative spiritual tuning fork, a guideline on the path of salvation. Most of his works were written during his 28-year retreat in the Vyshenskaya monastery.
In his writings, Saint Theophan truly appeared as “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14), shining during the darkness of false faith and heresies. Being a zealous shepherd, the teacher of piety tried in every possible way to protect his sheep from various kinds of errors. The saint wrote many letters in which he denounced the heresies of Catholicism, the German Stunda, the Molokans, etc. He could not remain indifferent to the teachings of Count Leo Tolstoy that were spreading at that time.
Saint Theophan the Recluse, without denying the artistic talents of Lev Nikolaevich, wrote about the destructive influence that his religious and philosophical teaching had on the minds and souls of his contemporaries. At times these were very harsh assessments. Unfortunately, not many thoughts on this topic have reached us. In a letter to L.N. Saint Theophan wrote to Shishkov that he had a desire to write an apologetic work, but, citing his weakness and the lack of an assistant, he presented this as an unrealizable idea: “I am not strong against Tolstoy, because he is too crafty or stupid, in his speeches there is terrible confusion everywhere, now he says one thing, then another. Demons teach him wickedness” 487.
In the spirit of righteous anger, the saint of God criticizes the manuscripts of Leo Tolstoy, which, in turn, were given to him by a Ryazan landowner. “The other day, a Ryazan landowner, known only by letter, sent me the manuscript of Leo Tolstoy, the enemy of God and the servant of the devil” 488.
In the same year, 1885, the Bishop of God wrote about the danger of all the works of Leo Tolstoy. In his opinion, they carry the idea of destroying church and state orders. It is necessary to take into account the important fact of approval and admiration for the person of Lev Nikolaevich abroad. Parisian magazine "La nouvelle Revue" in 1883. published his summary of the Gospel. The article came with a commentary where Leo Tolstoy was compared with the “great” Luther and Calvin 489.
Back in 1884, by order of the Main Directorate for Press Affairs in Russia, the religious and philosophical teachings of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy were prohibited from publication and distribution 490.
A little later, Saint Theophan receives from Mr. A.D. Ushinsky's list of the "Gospel" by Lev Nikolaevich. Tolstoy interpreted many passages of Holy Scripture independently. The saint wrote that for writing his false gospel, containing blasphemy against the Holy Trinity and the Church, the count was subject to anathema 491.
N.V. Elagin, the saint asks to immediately go to the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod in order to report on the current situation and, if possible, stop the spread of heresy: “Evil is spreading secretly. Go on purpose to the chief prosecutor and report on this” 492.
In his letters, Saint Theophan writes about the “Study of Dogmatic Theology” by L.N. Tolstoy. For a long time he was unable to acquire the malicious manuscript. In a letter dated March 30, 1886, the saint noted: “I was finally delivered a criticism of the dogmatics of the Reverend. Macarius is a product of Tolstoy. Rubbish is rubbish" 493 .
Saint Theophan considered such writings to be dangerous nonsense that had spread throughout our Fatherland. He saw a particular danger in the fact that these teachings are spreading among young people who are not rooted in the Orthodox faith: “As our youth do not know their faith, they are easily carried away by these nonsense” 494 .
One of the last mentions of Leo Tolstoy by the saint dates back to 1892. It can be described as an appeal to the people of God. The leprosy of Leo Tolstoy’s teachings has spread throughout the body of “Holy Russia; the people have become stupid and do not see all the danger and treachery of the “Roaring Lion” 495.
Saint Theophan forbids his spiritual children to read Tolstoy, so as not to desecrate the soul: “He is a most dishonest forger, a liar, a deceiver. If any of his nonsense reaches you, reject it with disgust..." 496
Not only Saint Theophan was concerned about preserving the purity of the Orthodox faith. The Lord provided many lamps to illuminate the thorny path of salvation, reviews of which about the writer were collected in the book “The Spiritual Tragedy of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy” 497. This book also contains documents and materials regarding the Definition of the Holy Synod regarding the religious views of L.N. Tolstoy. The collection includes works by Orthodox authors, such as St. Theophan, Righteous John of Kronstadt, Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky), Hieromartyr Mark Novoselov and others. Unfortunately, this book includes only one letter from St. Theophan, previously published in the Tambov Diocesan Gazette (No. 32 of August 12, 1985).
In view of the numerous unrest among the common people and the rise of the voices of the pastors of Orthodoxy, the Church could not remain indifferent and unresponsive to the current situation around the personality of Lev Nikolaevich.
In February 1901, the Holy Synod issued a definition, which, in particular, states: “A well-known writer to the whole world, Russian by birth, Orthodox by baptism and upbringing, Count Tolstoy, in the seduction of his proud mind, boldly rebelled against the Lord and against His Christ and His holy property, clearly before everyone renouncing the Mother who fed and raised him, the Orthodox Church, and dedicated his literary activity and the gift given to him God has a talent for spreading among the people teachings that are contrary to Christ and the Church” 498. The document of the Synod especially emphasized that Tolstoy “preaches, with the zeal of a fanatic, the overthrow of all the dogmas of the Orthodox Church and the very essence of the Christian faith” 499 and, “swearing at the most sacred objects of faith of the Orthodox people, did not shudder to mock the greatest of the Sacraments, the Holy Eucharist.” The essence of the definition is expressed in these words: “The Church does not consider him a member and cannot count him until he repents and restores his communion with her” 500.
The Orthodox Church was waiting for the repentance of Lev Nikolaevich, according to the word of Scripture, “not even though the sinner should die, but rather turn to him and live to be him” (Ezek. 33:11). Alas, this never happened.
L.N. Tolstoy came to Optina Pustyn before his death. Tolstoy did not dare to enter the monastery, and Elder Barsanuphius followed him to the Astapovo station to give the writer the opportunity to reconcile with the Church. But he was not allowed to see the writer, just as some of his closest relatives from among the Orthodox believers were not allowed to see him. Tolstoy died without ever reconciling with the Church, being under anathema. This happened on November 7 (20), 1910 at 6 hours 5 minutes after a week of severe and painful illness in the house of the station chief I.I. Ozolina.
Books, as we know, outlive the author. Unfortunately, not only good books. That is why even today the assessments given to the works of Leo Tolstoy by St. Theophan are important and in demand by everyone who wants to understand the meaning and reason for the excommunication of one of the greatest Russian writers from the Church.
Porfiry (Uspensky), bishop. The book of my existence. Diaries and autobiographical notes of Bishop Porfiry Uspensky. St. Petersburg, 1894–1902. Parts I–VIII.
Letter from Archimandrite Feofan (Govorov) to A.N. Muravyov from April 9, 1851 // NIOR RSL. F. 188. K. 10. Unit. hr. 7. L. 1–2v.
Letter from Hieromonk Theophan to Hieromonk Antonin (Kapustin) in Athens dated June 20, 1851. // ARDM. F. 4. Op. 4. L. 1–2v.
Petition from the Bachelor of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy of the Cathedral Hieromonk Theophan for permission from the Holy Synod to leave with the missionary Archimandrite Porfiry to Jerusalem // RGIA. F. 815. Op. 16. D. 1246. L. 1 – 1v.
Note from Archimandrite Porfiry to the Director of the Office of the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, K. S. Serbinovich, dated June 6, 1847 // RGIA. F. 797. Op. 11. Storage unit 28809-b. L. 45
Letter from Bishop Eusebius (Orlinsky) of Vinnitsa to Professor of the Moscow Theological Academy A.V. Gorsky // NIOR RSL. F. 78. K. 25. Unit. hr. 46. L. 19ob.
Presentation to the Holy Synod from Anthony, Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg // RGIA. F. 815. Op. 16. D. 1246. L. 2–2v.; Presentation to the Holy Synod from Anthony, Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg // RGIA. F. 797. Op. 11. Unit hr. 28809-b.L. 24
Resolution of the Holy Governing Synod on the appointment of Hieromonk Feofan (Govorov), together with two students of the St. Petersburg Theological Seminary, to accompany Archimandrite Porfiry (Uspensky) dated August 20, 1847. // RGIA. F. 796. Op. 128. Unit hr. 326. L. 28–28v.; A copy of the most loyal report of K.V. Neselrode with a report on the instructions and staff content of the Mission and on the appointment of Hieromonk Feofan (Govorov) and two students as companions to Archimandrite Porfiry (Uspensky) (the report was approved by the highest on August 28, 1847) // Ibid. pp. 35–38; Letter to K.V. Neselrode from the office of the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Governing Synod of August 21, 1847 // AVPRI. F. 161. II-9. Op. 46. 1847 D. 19. Part 1. L. 40–40v.; Draft letter from Count K.V. Nesselrode on the departure of the Spiritual Mission to Jerusalem on August 28, 1847 // Ibid. pp. 42–45.
Estimates of permanent and one-time expenses of the Russian Spiritual Mission to Jerusalem dated August 28, 1847. // AVPRI. F. 180. Op. 517. D. 3605. Part 1. L. 89, 97.
Resolution of the Holy Synod on awarding Hieromonk Feofan (Govorov) an additional annual salary of a bachelor's salary dated October 29, 1847 // RGIA. F. 796. Op. 128. Units hr. 1746. L. 1–3v.
Letter from Hieromonk Feofan (Govorov) to S. O. Burachk dated August 6, 1847 // CIAM. F. 2355. Op. 1. D. 262. L. 65ob., 65.
A copy of the instructions to Archimandrite Porfiry (Uspensky), sent to Jerusalem // AVPRI. F. 208. Op. 819. D. 9. L. 97.
Letter from Metropolitan Anthony (Rafalsky) to Patriarch Kirill II of Jerusalem // AVPRI. F. 161. II-9. Op. 46. 1847 D. 19. Part 1. L. 56v.
Letter from Archimandrite Porfiry (Uspensky) to an unidentified person dated October 29, 1847 // RGIA. F. 796. Op. 128. Units Chr. 326. L. 70–70 rev.
Letter from Hieromonk Feofan (Govorov) to S. O. Burachk dated November 19, 1847. // CIAM. F. 2355. Op. 1. D. 262. L. 10 vol.
Translation by Hieromonk Feofan (Govorov) of the message of Patriarch Chrysanthus // SPBF ARAN. F. 118. Op. 1. Unit hr. 114. L. 20.
Porfiry (Uspensky), bishop. The Book of My Being. Diaries and autobiographical notes of Bishop Porfiry Uspensky. Part III. pp.194–195.
Copy of a letter from Archimandrite Porfiry (Uspensky) dated February 21, 1848. About his arrival in Jerusalem // RGIA. F. 796. Op. 128. Units hr. 326. L. 80–81.
Letter from the Russian envoy in Constantinople V.P. Titov to the Consul General of Russia in Syria and Palestine K.M. Basil dated January 22, 1847 // AVPRI. F. 208. Op. 819. D. 9. L. 96–103 vol.
A copy of a letter from Archimandrite Porfiry (Uspensky) dated February 21, 1848 about his arrival in Jerusalem.
Report of the Mission on the installation in the Archangel Monastery in Jerusalem // AVPRI. F. 180. Op. 517. Part 1. D. 3606. L. 9–10v.; Report of Archimandrite Porfiry (Uspensky) dated September 4, 1848 // RGIA. F. 796. Op. 128. Storage unit. 326. L. 121–123 vol.; Plan of the Archangel Monastery in Jerusalem, where the Mission was located // RGIA. F. 796. Op. 128. Units hr. 326. L. 553 vol. 554.
Porfiry (Uspensky), bishop. The book of my existence. Diaries and autobiographical notes of Bishop Porfiry Uspensky. Part III. pp. 338–339.
Report on the scientific studies of the Russian spiritual mission in Jerusalem for 1849, compiled by Archimandrite Porfiry (Uspensky) // RGIA. F. 796. Op. 128. Units hr. 326. L. 244 vol. 245.
Letter from Hieromonk Theophan to Hieromonk Antonin (Kapustin) in Athens // ARDM. F. 4. Op. 4. L. 2 –2v.
Porfiry (Uspensky), bishop. The book of my existence. Diaries and autobiographical notes of Bishop Porfiry Uspensky. Part II. C. 223.
Muravyov A.N. Letters from the East in 1849–50. Part II. P.93
Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: Collection of letters. Ed. Holy Dormition-Pskov-Pechersky Monastery and publishing house "Pilgrim", 1994. Vol. I. S. 5–8; Vol. III. pp. 165–166.
Muravyov A.N. Letters from the East in 1849–50. pp. 95, 194.
Παπαδνπνπινο Κεξακεπο Α. Ιεξνζνιπκηηηθη Βηβιηνζεθε... Bruxelles, 1963. Σ. 2. P. 136–138.
Autograph of the Russian translation of the preface and the first 12 Words under the title “Pandect of the Monk Antiochus”. // BRPMA. F. St. Feofan (Govorova). Op. 24. D. 21. Doc. No. 33136. L. 45–66.
Report on the scientific studies of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem for the first half of 1848 // AVPRI, F. 180. Op. 517. Part I. Unit. hr. 3606. L. 5–5 volumes; The same // RGIA. F. 797. Op. 11. Unit hr. 28809-b. L. 136, 137–137 vol.
Right there. L. 6; Same. L. 1
Chronicle of the life and works of St. Theophan, the Recluse of Vyshensky. M., 2016. T. 1: 1815–1859. P. 306.
Stashevsky E. Porfiry (Uspensky), as a traveler to the Orthodox East. Course essay. KDA. 1904 // IR NBU. F. 160. D. 1830. L. 69.
Report on scientific studies //AVPRI... L. 7ob.; The same // RGIA... L. 139.
Letter from Hieromonk Theophan to Hieromonk Antonin (Kapustin) in Athens // ARDM. F. 4. Op. 4. L. 1 rev.
Letter from Hieromonk Feofan (Govorov) to A.N. Muravyov // NIOR RSL. F. 188. K. 10. Unit. hr. 7. L. 1.
Porfiry (Uspensky), bishop. The book of my existence. Diaries and autobiographical notes of Bishop Porfiry Uspensky. Part III. P. 357.
Porfiry (Uspensky), bishop. The book of my existence. Diaries and autobiographical notes of Bishop Porfiry Uspensky. Part III. P. 358.
Report on the scientific studies of the Russian spiritual mission in Jerusalem for 1849 // RGIA. F. 796. Op. 128. Units hr. 326. L. 244ob. 245, 340; Bezobrazov P.V. Materials for biography
Ep. Porfiry (Uspensky). T. Ι.SPb., 1910. P. 481–488.
Extract from the attitude of the Russian envoy in Constantinople V.P. Titov, sent to State Chancellor K.V. Nesselrode., dated February 6, 1850 // AVPRI. F. 161. II-9. Op. 46. D. 26. L. 1.
The case of awarding Hieromonk Theophan with a golden pectoral cross // AVPRI. F. 161. II-9. Op. 46. D. 26. 2–10.
Draft letter from the Russian envoy in Constantinople V.P. Titov to Archimandrite Porfiry (Uspensky) about sending a golden pectoral cross for Hieromonk Feofan (Govorov) // AVPRI. F. 180. Op. 517. Part 1. D. 3609. L. 26–26 vol.
Copy of the report of the Consul General in Syria and Palestine K.M. They contacted the Russian envoy in Constantinople, V.P. Titov, about the activities of the Russian spiritual mission in Jerusalem // AVPRI. F. 161. II–9. Op. 46. D. 20. Part 2. L. 9v.–10; Report of the Consul General in Syria and Palestine K.M. They sent to the Russian envoy in Constantinople V.P.
Titov about the activities of the Russian spiritual mission in Jerusalem // AVPRI. F. 180. Op. 517. Part 1. D. 742. L. 99 vol.; Report of the Consul General in Syria and Palestine K.M. Basili to the Russian envoy in Constantinople V.P. Titov about the activities of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem // RGIA. F. 796. Op. 128. Units hr. 326. L. 197 vol.
Letter from Archimandrite Porfiry from Constantinople to State Chancellor K.V.
Nesselrode dated October 29, 1849 // AVPRI. F. 180. Op. 517. Part 1. D. 3607. L. 12 vol.; Letter from Archimandrite Porfiry from Constantinople to State Chancellor K.V. Nesselrode dated October 29, 1849 // RGIA. F. 796. Op. 128. Units hr. 326. L. 234 vol.
Report on the scientific studies of the Russian spiritual mission in Jerusalem for 1849 // RGIA. F. 796. Op. 128. Units hr. 326. L. 244ob. – 245, 340; Bezobrazov P.V. Materials for the biography of Bishop. Porfiry (Uspensky). St. Petersburg, 1910. T. Ι. P. 487.
Report on the scientific and artistic activities of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem for 1853 // AVPRI. F. 161. II-9. Op. 46. 1847 D. 19. Part 2. L. 30–30 vol.
Porfiry (Uspensky), bishop. The book of my existence. Diaries and autobiographical notes of Bishop Porfiry Uspensky. St. Petersburg, 1896. Part IV. P. 14.
Report on the scientific studies of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem for 1850 // RGIA. F. 796. Op. 128. Units hr. 326. L. 582.; Bezobrazov P.V. Materials for the biography of Bishop. Porphyria
(Uspensky). T. Ι. pp. 488–489.
Porfiry (Uspensky), bishop. The book of my existence. Diaries and autobiographical notes of Bishop Porfiry Uspensky. Part IV. P. 34.
Porfiry (Uspensky), bishop. The book of my existence. Diaries and autobiographical notes of Bishop Porfiry Uspensky. Part IV.. P. 43.
Exhortation [of the Holy Fathers]: trans. from Greek // NIOR RSL. F.172. K. 532. Unit. hr. 9. L. 1.
Chronicle of the life and works of St. Theophan, the Recluse of Vyshensky. M., 2016. T. 1: 1815–1859. P. 362.
Letter from Archimandrite Feofan (Govorov) to A.N. Muravyov dated April 9, 1851 // NIOR RSL. F. 188. K. 10. Unit. hr. 7. L. 1v.
Draft letter from the Russian envoy in Constantinople V.P. Titov from Buyukdere to Archimandrite Porfiry, September 1, 1851 // AVPRI. F. 180. Op. 517. Part 1. D. 3609. L. 19–19 vol.
Letter from Hieromonk Feofan (Govorov) from Jerusalem to Kyiv to Archimandrite Porfiry (Uspensky) dated October 24, 1851. // SPbF ARAN. F. 118. Op. 1. Unit hr. 41. L. 130–131; Letter from Hieromonk Feofan (Govorov) from Jerusalem to Kyiv to Archimandrite Porfiry (Uspensky) dated December 18, 1851 // Ibid. pp. 134–135; Letter from Hieromonk Feofan (Govorov) from Jerusalem to Kyiv to Archimandrite Porfiry (Uspensky) dated January 9, 1852. // Ibid. pp. 140–141; Letter from Hieromonk Theophan (Govorov) to the Russian envoy in Constantinople V.P. Titov dated January 9, 1852 // AVPRI. F.161. II-9. Op. 46. D. 26. L. II, 17–18 vol.; Letter from Hieromonk Feofan (Govorov) from Jerusalem to Kyiv to Archimandrite Porfiry (Uspensky) dated January 9, 1852. // AVPRI. F. 180. Op. 517. Part 1. D. 3610. L. 34; Letter from Hieromonk Theophan (Govorov) to the Russian envoy in Constantinople V.P. Titov dated January 9, 1852 // AVPRI. F. 180. Op. 517. Part 1. D. 3610. L. 5–6 vol.
Porfiry (Uspensky), bishop. The book of my existence. Diaries and autobiographical notes of Bishop Porfiry Uspensky. Part V. pp. 2–13, 44.
Porfiry (Uspensky), bishop. The book of my existence. Diaries and autobiographical notes of Bishop Porfiry Uspensky. Part V. P. 51.
Letter from the Russian Embassy in Constantinople to the Russian Vice-Consul in Jaffa N.S. Marabuti dated June 17, 1848 // AVPRI. F. 208. Op. 819. D. 320. T. 7. L. 14–15v. etc.
Letter from the Consul General of Russia in Syria and Palestine K.M. They were sent to the acting envoy in Constantinople P.N. Pisani dated July 9, 1853 // AVPRI. F. 180. Op. 517. Part 1. D. 746. L. 125, 127–127 vol.
Request from Archimandrite Porfiry Uspensky to the Director of the Office of the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod K.S. Serbinovich about the actions of the Russian spiritual mission in connection with the beginning of the Russian-Turkish War on October 24, 1853 // RGIA. F. 797. Op. 11. Unit hr. 28809b. L. 385–386 vol.
Letter from State Chancellor K.V. Nesselrode to the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod N.A. Protasov dated December 7, 1853 // RGIA. F. 796. Op. 128. Units hr. 326.L. 634 –635.
Collection of letters of St. Theophan: in 8 volumes. Ed. Athos Russian Panteleimon Monastery. M., 1898–1901. Reprint: Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Ed. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery and the Pilgrim Publishing House, 1994. Vol. I–VIII.
ARPMA. Op. 24. D. 41. Doc. 4327.
Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: Vol. VII. pp. 182–183. Letter No. 1167 to N.V. Elagin dated January 10, 1885
ARPMA. Op. 24. D. 41. Doc. 4327. pp. 573–575.
Unfortunately, finding academic articles by St. Feofana is not possible.
Here St. Feofana is wrong. St. Nicodemus had in front of him the Greek translation of “Spiritual Warfare” by Lorenzo Scupoli, this translation was made by a Greek scribe of the 18th century. Emmanuel Romanitis.
Letter No. 1168 to N.V. Elagin dated March 11, 1885 // Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: Vol. VII. pp. 183–185.
Obviously, we are talking about the second part of the “Invisible War,” which St. Feofan rewrote it again.
ARPMA. Op. 24. D. 41. Doc. 4327. pp. 579–582.
Letter No. 441 to V.A. Kolobova dated November 4, 1885 // Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: Vol. III. P. 83.
Soulful reading. 1885. Part III. September. pp. 101–123.
Soulful reading. 1885. Part III. October. pp. 226–248.
Soulful reading. 1885. Part III. November. pp. 312 – 336.
Soulful reading. 1885. Part III. December. pp. 437–456.
Letter No. 1173 to N.V. Elagin dated December 30, 1885. // Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: Vol. VII. P. 192.
Letter No. 442 dated December 22, 1885 to an unknown addressee // Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: Vol. III. P. 84.
Skopos - theory. URL: http://biling v.ru/index.php?option=com_content&task= view&id=29&Itemid=38.
Chernyakhovskaya L.A. Translation and semantic structure. URL: http://samlib.ru/w/wagapow_a_s/chernyakhovskaya.shtml
URL: http://predanie.ru/bez-avtora/book/216270-dobrotolyubie-tom-i/
This rule has many exceptions, both historically and today. For example, Iran, where the power of spiritual leaders is great.
Quote by: Tikhon (Maslov), schiarchim. Symphony based on the works of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk. M., 2003. P. 797 798.
Outline of Christian moral teaching. M., 1895. P. 34.
Letter No. 988 // Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Vol. I–VIII. Ed. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery and the Pilgrim Publishing House, 1994. Vol. VI. P. 121.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Apostle Paul's letter to the Ephesians. M.: Rule of Faith, 2004. pp. 372 – 377.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Apostle Paul's letter to the Ephesians. P. 359.
Orthodox teaching on the church hierarchy: Anthology of patristic texts / comp. prot. A. Zadornov. M.: Publishing House of the Moscow Patriarchate, 2012. P. 10.
Sergius Bulgakov, archpriest. Hierarchy and sacraments // Path. 1935. No. 49. P. 29.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the letter of the Apostle Paul to Titus, Timothy (pastoral epistles). M.: Rule of Faith, 2005. P. 372.
Glory to the Tambov flock of Theophan, Bishop of Tambov and Shatsky, in 1859 and 1860. St. Petersburg, 1861. P. 6.
Words to the Vladimir flock of His Grace Theophan. Vladimir, 1869. P. 11.
Letter to Ms. NN dated November 28 and 1, 1893). Letter No. 113 // Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse. P. 111.
Letter to Ms. NN dated November 28 and 1, 1893). Letter No. 113 // Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse. pp. 111 – 112.
Seraphim, priest. Women's monastic regulations. Smolensk: Samara Iversky Convent, 2002. P. 88.
Under the banner of Russia: a collection of archival documents. M.: Russian book, 1992. P. 217.
RGIA. F. 796. Op. 128. Units hr. 326. L. 28.
AVP RI. F. 180. Op. 517. Part 1. D. 3605. L. 89.
RGIA. F. 796. Op. 128. Units hr. 326. L. 72 vol.
The book of my existence. Diaries and autobiographical notes of Bishop Porfiry Uspensky. St. Petersburg, 1896. T. III. pp. 168 – 169.
Materials for the biography of Bishop Porfiry Uspensky / ed. P.V. Bezobrazov. St. Petersburg, 1910. T. 2. P. 226.
The book of my existence. Diaries and autobiographical notes of Bishop Porfiry Uspensky. T. III. pp. 213 – 214.
Muravyov A.N. Letters from the East in 1849–1850. M., 2005. pp. 136–137.
Kherson Diocesan Gazette. 1864. No. 10. Add. P. 519.
Basili K.M. Syria and Palestine under the Turkish government in historical and political relations. M., 2007. P. 2.
Basili K.M. Syria and Palestine under the Turkish government... P. 7.
AVP RI. F. 180. Op. 517. Part 1. D. 3606. L. 10.
The book of my existence. Diaries and autobiographical notes of Bishop Porfiry Uspensky. T.I.S.III.
Materials for the biography of Bishop Porfiry Uspensky. T. 2. P. 482.
OR RSL. F. 188. K. 10. Unit. hr. 7. L. 1.
SPbF ARAN. F. 118. Op. 1. Unit hr. 41. L. 128.
Materials for the biography of Bishop Porfiry Uspensky. T. 2. P. 546.
RGIA. F. 834. Op. 4. Unit hr. 1123. L. 18 vol.
From the letters of Theophan the Recluse // Wanderer. 1895. T. I. pp. 435 – 436. – Letter No. 91 dated October 10, 1874 is reprinted here. – See: Tambov Diocesan Gazette. 1895. No. 4. January 28. pp. 72–73. This same letter: Letter No. 249 // Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Ed. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery and the Pilgrim Publishing House, 1994. Vol. II. P. 77.
Letters in Bose from the late Bishop Theophan the recluse... P. 627 - 628.
Letters in Bose from the late Bishop Theophan the recluse of the Vyshensk Hermitage // Tambov Diocesan Gazette. Neof. 1895. No. 3. January 21. Letter No. 89; No. 4. January 28. Letters No. 90 – 93. P. 71 – 75; No. 5. February 4. Letters No. 94 – 96. P. 101 – 104; No. 6. February 11. Letters No. 97 – 98. P. 133 – 143; No. 7. February 18th. Letters No. 99 – 101. P. 170 – 175; No. 8. February 25. Letters No. 102 – 104. P. 206 – 211; No. 9. March 4, 1895. Letters No. 105 – 106. P. 245 – 249; No. 10. March 11, 1895. Letters No. 107 – 108. P. 272 – 279; No. 11. March 18, 1895. Letters No. 109 – 113. P. 310 – 315; No. 12 – 13. March 25 and April 1, 1895. Letters No. 114 – 120. P. 365 – 372; No. 14 and 15. April 8 and 15, 1895. Letters No. 121 – 127. P. 400 – 406; No. 16. April 22, 1895. Letters No. 128 – 130. P. 437 – 440; No. 17. April 29, 1895. Letters No. 131 – 132. P. 462 – 465; No. 18. May 6, 1895. Letters No. 133 – 135. P. 486 – 491; No. 19. May 13, 1895. Letters No. 136 – 140. P. 504 – 510; No. 20. May 20, 1895. Letters No. 141 – 144. P. 535 – 540; No. 21. May 27, 1835. Letters No. 145 – 146. P. 560 – 563; No. 22. June 3, 1895. Letters No. 147 – 150. P. 586 – 591.
Letter to Mrs. NN dated November 28 and 1, 1893 // Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: Collected. letters. Vol. I–II. Ed. Holy Dormition Pskovo-Pechersky Monastery and the Pilgrim Publishing House, 1994. P. 1 14. (Letter to Mrs. NN dated November 28 and 1, 1893)
Letter No. 491 dated December 15, 1893 // Ibid. Vol. III. S. 3.
Letter No. 586 dated December 29, 1893 // Ibid. Vol. IV.S. 65.
Letter No. 19 dated November 24, 1879 // Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Ed. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery and the Pilgrim Publishing House, 1994. Vol. I–II. P. 27; Letter No. 34 dated October 18, 1879 // Ibid. P. 36.
Soulful reading. 1894. Part II. May-June. P. 296.
Soulful reading. 1894. Part III. December. P. 674.
Soulful reading. 1895. Part I. January. Letters from the Right Reverend Theophan the Recluse to Mrs. M.D. No. 1 – 3. P. 99 – 104; Part II. May – June. Letters from the Right Reverend Theophan the Recluse to Mrs. M.D. No. 4 – 11. P. 134 – 152; August. Letters of the Right Reverend Theophan the Recluse to M.D. No. 12–18. pp. 451–462; Part III. September. Letters of the Right Reverend Theophan the Recluse to M.D. No. 19 – 20. pp. 91–98; December. Letters of the Right Reverend Theophan the Recluse to M.D. No. 21–28. pp. 629 – 638; 1896. Part I. January. Letters of the Right Reverend Theophan the Recluse to M.D. No. 29 – 37.S. 170 – 179; February. Letters of the Right Reverend Theophan the Recluse to M.D. No. 38–39. pp. 350–352; Part II. May. Letters from the Right Reverend Theophan the Recluse to M.D. No. 40–42. pp. 95 – 99; Part III. November. The opinion of the Right Reverend Theophan the Recluse on the need for a new correction of church liturgical books. (Letters to M.D.). pp. 462–464; 1897. Part I. April. Active and contemplative life. Letter from the Right Reverend Theophan the Recluse to M.D. No. 45. pp. 753–756; Part II. May. Letters of the Right Reverend Theophan the Recluse to M.D. No. 46–52. P. 168–176; August. Letters from the Right Reverend Theophan the Recluse to M.D. No. 53–57. pp. 616–622; Part III. October. Excessive "philosophizing". (Letter from the Right Reverend Theophan the Recluse to M.D.). No. 58. pp. 265–266; 1898. Part III.
September. Letters of the Right Reverend Theophan the Recluse to M.D. No. 59 – 61. 167–170; 1899. Part I. January. Letters of the Right Reverend Theophan the Recluse to M.D. No. 62 – 63. P. 116 – 120.
Shishkova A. Several additions to articles about Father Ambrose // Soulful Reading. 1893. Issue. II. No. 5. pp. 24 – 32.
Shishkova A.A. Several additions to articles about Father Ambrose. M.: Univ. typ., 1893. – 9 p.
Letter No. 306 // Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Ed. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery and the Pilgrim Publishing House, 1994. Vol. II. P. 166.
For more details see: Kashirina V.V. The spiritual mood of Russian society at the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th century: Publications about St. Ambrose Optinsky in the magazine “Soulful Reading” // Traditions and Modernity. 2011. No. 11. P. 26 – 50.
Kashirina V.V. Notes from St. Theophan in the margins of the manuscript “The Key to the Eastern Question” // Theophan’s Readings: collection. scientific Art. / ed. Dr. Philol. Sciences V.V. Kashirina; Ryaz. state University named after S.A. Yesenina. Ryazan, 2016. Issue. IX. pp. 71 – 78.
Shishkov N. Memories of Prince Smolensky M.I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov // Russian Archive. 1866. Issue. 3. pp. 460 – 474.
Shishkov N. Memories of Prince Smolensky M.I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov // Russian Archive. 1866. Issue. 3. pp. 460 – 474.
Shishkov N.P. Instructions for cultivating beets and extracting sugar from them. M., 1829; Description of an improved method for soaking beets. M., 1842; Experience in accounting for work in beet sugar production. M., 1842; Review of beet sugar production. M., 1842, etc. With his assistance, the annual “Notes of the Lebedyansky Society of Agriculture” were published. 22 volumes of “Notes...” contain extensive material on agricultural issues. Here we can point out the continuity of his works and recall the works of his grandfather A.T. Bolotov, publisher of the Economic Store magazine.
The lucars on the dome, the southwestern and northwestern windows of the church, the central windows of the second light and the apse windows on the southern and northern facades were laid. At the same time, sandriks above the window and door openings were probably hewn down, later partially restored with stucco decoration. Despite all the traditional construction, the Znamensky Church has an unusual bell tower. Its peculiarity is a low hipped roof with rumors, lancet bell frames, molded flutes along the narrow diagonal edges of the octagon, a strongly protruding portal, a round false window of the portal with cast-iron icons of the Mother of God mounted in it on both sides (from the facade and in the interior of the narthex) and a window in the first tier on the northern facade with parallel, but not slopes perpendicular to the facade. In addition, the bell tower contains elements of white stone decor in the form of Maltese crosses above the western entrance and on the diagonal edges of the octagon under the upper cornice of the bell tower. The northern and southern cornices of the portal rest on white stone imposts - volutes.
In the vestibule under the bell tower, above the entrance to the refectory, the choirs are arranged in a very unusual way. After reconstruction, very unusual paintings in the grisaille style were made in the church. They are best preserved on the southern wall. Above the southern entrance, until 2010, a composition made in the grisaille style was visible with images of ribbons, a bowl, a cup, ears of corn, and a frame in the form of a parallelogram depicted obliquely. It contains a sheet with an image of a glass, and below it is a circle, brushes, a scroll, branches with flowers and egg-shaped leaves. On the sides of the composition, 50 centimeters away, columns of the Corinthian order are depicted. The same columns are painted on the sides of the northern entrance and the entrance from the church to the refectory. To the right of the southern door, in place of a blocked window opening, there is an image of the saint and to the left of it is a tent-roofed bell tower. A similar composition probably existed on the northern side” // See: Klokov A.Yu., Naidenov A.A. Churches and monasteries of the Lipetsk and Yeletsk diocese. Dankovsky district. Lipetsk: Lipetsk Regional Society of Local Lore, 2011. pp. 334 – 335.
Vasily Mikhailovich Skvortsov (01/12/1859 – 05/02/1932), a Privy Councilor, publicist, public figure, publisher of the newspaper “Kolokol” and “Missionary Review” was born into the family of Father Mikhail. Widely participated in the controversy regarding the later views of L.N. Tolstoy, published a large number of materials related to this controversy on the pages of the Missionary Review. In 1895, with the rank of collegiate adviser, he was appointed to the position of official on special assignments under the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, K.P. Pobedonostsev. In 1915 he retired with the rank of Privy Councilor. He also took an active part in the St. Petersburg Religious and Philosophical Meetings of 1901 – 1903, and was one of their founding members. According to V.M. Skvortsova, Religious and philosophical meetings were supposed to be a means for missionary activity among the intelligentsia who had left the Church but were seeking God.
Quote by: Klokov A.Yu., Naidenov A.A. Churches and monasteries of the Lipetsk and Yeletsk diocese. Dankovsky district. P. 337.
Words to the Tambov flock of Bishop Tambov and Shatsky in 1859 and 1860. St. Petersburg, 1861. P. 196.
Letter No. 301 // Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Ed. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery and the Pilgrim Publishing House, 1994. Vol. II. P. 160.
Letter No. 1188 // Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Ed. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery and the Pilgrim Publishing House, 1994. Vol. VII. P. 213.
An air heating system consists of a furnace (furnace) located outside the heated room and a system of pipes conducting heated air into the room itself. Heated air circulated in the channels of the floor and walls of the room, while the heated air and flue gases did not mix.
Popov B.A., Klokov A.Yu., Chunikhina E.I. Speshnevo-Podlesnoye. Shishkov estate // Russian provincial estates of the 18th – early 20th centuries. Voronezh, 2011. pp. 401 – 402.
On the chemical composition of milk [Art. 1]. 1878. – 9 p.; [Art. 2]. 1880. – 7 p.; Report by Professor L.N. Shishkov, made by him at a meeting of the Council [of the Russian Technical Society] on December 8, 1885 [SPb., 1886]. 4 s. Ott. from Notes of Rus. tech. islands 1886. No. 2.
Letter No. 256 dated January 17, 1877 // Creations like those among the saints ... P. 94
Letter No. 255 dated December 31, 1876 // Creations like those among the saints... pp. 84 – 86.
Letter No. 256 dated January 17, 1877 // Ibid... P. 87 – 88.
Letter No. 3 08. // Creations like those among the saints... P. 169.
Letter No. 297 of 1891 // Creations like the saints... P. 155.
Letter No. 254 dated December 29, 1876 // Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Ed. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery and the Pilgrim Publishing House, 1994. Vol. II. P. 83.
Letter No. 251 dated October 17, 1875 // Ibid. P. 80.
Letter No. 269. // Creations like the saints... P. 120 – 121.
Letter No. 256 dated January 17, 1877 // Ibid. P. 89.
Letter No. 250 dated October 10, 1874 // Ibid. pp. 78 – 79.
Letter No. 249 dated October 10, 1874 // Creations like those among the saints... P. 77.
Letter No. 275. // Ibid. P. 128.
Letter No. 287. // Creations like those among the saints... P. 139 – 140.
Letter No. 279. // Ibid. P. 132.
Letter No. 283. // Ibid. pp. 135 – 136.
Letter No. 293 // Creations like the saints... P. 150 – 151.
Note from member of the Technical Committee L.N. Shishkova on testing the purity of alcohol using sulfuric acid. [SPb., 1888]. [7] p. Handwritten. lithographic; Extract from the report of an official of special assignments under the Minister of Finance, actual state councilor L.N. Shishkova about distillation in the Baltic provinces / Moscow. Revelsk department. machine-building plant F. Wigand, main. in 1859 [M.,]: qualification. 1889. [4] p.; Agricultural distillation in St. Petersburg: typ. t-va "Society" Benefit", 1891. 38 pp.; Instructions for the use of hydrofluoric acid and its salts according to the Efront method when distilling. SPb.: type. V. Kirshbaum, 1892. 15 p.
Letter No. 250 dated October 10, 1874 // Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Ed. Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery and the Pilgrim Publishing House, 1994. Vol. II. P. 78.
Letter No. 251 dated October 17, 1875 // Ibid. P. 79.
Letter No. 275 // Creations like the saints... P. 129.
Letter No. 278. // Ibid. P. 131.
Letter No. 299. // Ibid. P. 158.
Letter No. 301. // Ibid. pp. 159–160.
Letter No. 307. // Ibid. P. 167
Letter No. 263 of 1880 // Ibid. P. 106.
Letter No. 256 dated January 17, 1877 // Ibid. P. 94.
Letter No. 294. // Ibid. P. 152.
Letter No. 257 dated July 9, 1877 // Ibid. pp. 97 – 98.
Letter No. 274. // Ibid. P. 127
Letter No. 284. // Ibid. P. 136
Letter No. 286. // Ibid. P. 138.
Letter No. 298. // Ibid. P. 156.
Letter No. 302. // Ibid. P. 162.
Letter No. 255 dated December 31, 1876 // Ibid. pp. 86 – 87.
Letter No. 276. // Ibid. P. 129.
Saint Theophan the Recluse. Orthodoxy and Science: A Guidebook of Sayings and Teachings / comp. Hegumen Feofan (Kryukov). M.: Danilovsky Blagovestnik, 2005. 680 p.
Letter No. 260 dated March 25, 1878 // // Creations like those among the saints... P. 101.
Letter No. 264. // Ibid. pp. 109 – 110.
Letter No. 266. // Ibid. P. 117.
Bowing with a squat as a sign of greeting or gratitude on the part of female persons.
Letter No. 266 // Creations like the saints... P. 112.
Letter No. 270. // Ibid. pp. 121 – 123.
Letter No. 277. // Ibid. P. 130.
Letter No. 272. // Ibid. P. 124.
Theodore Ludogovsky, priest, Maxim Plyakin, priest. Akathist genre in the 21st century // Popov A.V. Orthodox Russian akathists. M.: Publishing House of the Moscow Patriarchate, 2013. P. 632.
Collection of opinions and reviews of Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, on educational and church-state issues / ed. Savva, arch and bishop. Tverskoy. SPb. , 1885. T. 3. P. 403.
Anthony Khrapovitsky. Complete set of works. Kazan, 1900. T. 1. pp. 250–251.
Popov A.V. Orthodox Russian akathists. M.: Publishing House of the Moscow Patriarchate, 2013. P. 522.
Letter No. 287 // Creations like those in the saints... Vol. I–II. pp. 13 9
Letter No. 288. // Ibid. pp. 141 – 142.
Letter No. 306. // Ibid. P. 166.
“On November 30, 1883, the actual state councilor Andrei Nikolaevich Shishkov (in the city of Vladimir) addressed the Holy Synod with a petition with the following content: “In the Tambov province of Lebedyansky district in the village of Troekurov, in the church of St. Demetrius there is an icon of St. the unmercenary Cosmas and Damian, locally revered for being miraculous. Since the twenties of the present century, a certain elder Larionius settled at this church, gathering several squirrels around him, of which, after the death of the elder, a women's monastery was formed, visited by zealous pilgrims and admirers of the memory of Father Larionty. Since ancient times, during the service, in front of the icon of the unmercenaries, an akathist, already printed with the permission of the Holy Synod, is read. At the present time, presenting the above-mentioned printed akathist and handwritten service to those without silver, I have the honor to ask permission: firstly, to print the akathist with the accompanying drawings and, secondly, to print the service for saints for use during worship"": Popov A.V. Orthodox Russian akathists. pp. 259 – 260.
The authorship of the akathist was established by: Ponomarev S.I. Akathists: Bibliographic note // Russian books / ed. S.A. Vengerova. St. Petersburg, 1896. Issue. 3. P. 104.
Popov A.V. Orthodox Russian akathists. pp. 317 – 318. Censor prot. Bogolyubsky noted that the akathist “in its content represents a complete presentation of the blessings revealed to Russia through the icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir, the akathist is written in the correct Church Slavonic language; rich in thoughts and feelings corresponding to the various benefits of the Mother of God revealed through Her miraculous icon” // Ibid. P. 317.
Popov A.V. Orthodox Russian akathists. pp. 321 – 322.
Letter No. 292. // Creations like those in the saints... P. 149; Popov A.V. Orthodox Russian akathists. P. 336.
Letter No. 299. // Creations like the saints... S. 157 – 158; Letter No. 300 // Ibid. P. 159; Letter No. 302 // Ibid. P. 161.; Popov A.V. Orthodox Russian akathists. pp. 349–351.
Letter No. 304. // Ibid. pp. 164 – 165; Letter No. 307. // Ibid. P. 168.
Letter No. 292. // Ibid. P. 149.
Popov A.V. Orthodox Russian akathists. P. 531.
Popov A.V. Orthodox Russian akathists. pp. 336, 532.
Shishkova A. Several additions to articles about Father Ambrose // Soulful reading. 1893. Issue. II. No. 5. P. 29.
Letter No. 299. // Creations like the saints... P. 157 – 158.
Letter No. 302. // Ibid. P. 161
Letter No. 302. // Ibid. P. 161.
Popov A.V. Orthodox Russian akathists. pp. 349–351, 533.
Letter No. 267. // Ibid. pp. 118–119.
Letter No. 269. // Ibid. P. 120.
Letter No. 304. // Ibid. P. 164.
Right there. Letter No. 305. P. 166.
Right there. Letter No. 307. P. 168.
Kravetsky A.G., Pletneva A.A. History of the Church Slavonic language in Russia (late XIX-XX centuries). M.: Languages of Russian Culture, 2001. P. 22.
Sove B.I. The problem of correcting liturgical books in Russia in the 19th-20th centuries // Theological works. 1970. Sat. V. P. 30.
Lisova N.N. Two eras - two “Philokalia”: St. Paisius (Velichkovsky) and St. Theophan the Recluse // Theophan’s Readings: collection. scientific article/Ed. V.V. Kashirina. Ryazan, 2013. Issue. VI. P. 60.
Dionysius (Shlenov), ig. Saint Theophan the Recluse as a translator of the Russian “Philokalia”: using the example of chapters 10–13, 41, 51–54 from the first centenary of St. Simeon the New Theologian // Theophan’s Readings: collection. scientific art./ed. V.V. Kashirina. Ryazan, 2015. Issue. VIII. P. 415.
Kashirina V.V. St. Theophan's polemic on the issue of translating the Holy Scriptures into Russian // Christian Reading. 2014. No. 6. pp. 251–277.
Letter No. 1188 // Creations like those in the saints... Vol. VII. pp. 212 – 213.
Letter dated July 20, 1891//ARPMA. F. St. Feofan (Govorova). Op. 24. D. 39. Unit. hr. 4009. L. 200–201.
Knorre B.K., Pletneva A.A. Augustine (Gulyanitsky) // Orthodox Encyclopedia. M., 2000. T. I. P. 111.
Letter No. 289. // Creations like the saints... P. 143–144.
Letter No. 290. // Creations like those in the saints ... P. 145. (The names of the cities were restored based on the publication of letters in the magazine “Soulful Reading”. 1896. Part III. November. P. 464).
Balashov N., archpriest. Towards a liturgical revival. M., 2001. P. 23 –120.
Local Council 1917 – 1918 and the case of church liturgical language // Liturgical language of the Russian Church. Story. Attempts at reformation. M., 1999. pp. 137–146.
A more detailed analysis of the opinions of St. Theophan on the religious and philosophical teachings of L.N. For Tolstoy, see the article: Kashirina V.V. Saint Theophan on the “destructive properties” of the religious and philosophical writings of L.N. Tolstoy // Feofanovskie readings: collection. scientific Art. Ryazan, 2015. Issue. VIII. pp. 429–434
Letter No. 224 dated June 1, 1885. // Creations like those among the saints ... pp. 27–28.
Letter No. 280. // Creations like those in the saints... P. 133.
Gusev N.N. Chronicle of the life and work of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy. 1828–1890. M., 1958. P. 515.
Letter No. 281. // Creations like those in the saints... Vol. II. pp. 133–134.
Letter No. 282. // Ibid. P. 134.
Letter No. 285. // Ibid. P. 137.
Letter No. 284. // Ibid. pp. 136–137.
Ostroumov M.A. Count Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy: [Critical analysis of “Confession” by L.N. Tolstoy]. Kharkov, 1887. 296 p.
Letter No. 285. // Ibid. pp. 137–138.
Letter No. 264. // Ibid. P. 107.
Letter No. 265. // Ibid. P. 111.
Letter No. 266. // Ibid. P. 111.
Letter No. 220 dated August 24, 1881. // Ibid. P. 22.
Soulful reading. 1880. Part I. March; . A letter to a person in St. Petersburg regarding the appearance of a new teacher of faith there. pp. 295–331; Part II. July. . Second letter to St. Petersburg on the occasion of the appearance of a new teacher of faith there. pp. 315–340; . The third letter to St. Petersburg on the occasion of the appearance of a new teacher of faith there. pp. 341–369; August. . The fourth letter to St. Petersburg on the occasion of the appearance of a new teacher of faith there. pp. 397–430; 1881. Part I. January. . Fifth letter to St. Petersburg regarding the appearance of a new teaching of faith there. pp. 22–39; February. . Sixth letter to St. Petersburg regarding the appearance of a new teaching of faith there. pp. 192–207; . The seventh letter to St. Petersburg regarding the new teaching of faith that appeared there. pp. 208 – 222.
A letter to a person in St. Petersburg regarding the appearance of a new teacher of faith there. M.: Univ. typ., 1880. 37 pp.; A letter to a person in St. Petersburg regarding the appearance of a new teacher of faith there. [SPb.]: Type. F.G. Eleonsky and K., qualification. 1880. 32 p.
Letters to a person in St. Petersburg regarding the appearance of a new teacher of faith there. St. Petersburg, 1881. 148 p.
Letter No. 268. // Ibid. pp. 119–120.
Letters to a person in St. Petersburg regarding the appearance of a new teacher of faith there. St. Petersburg, 1881, pp. 82–108.
Letter No. 264. // Ibid. P. 110.
Letter No. 283. // Ibid. P. 135.
The dogmatic significance of the Seventh Ecumenical Council: A scientific and historical study of the importance and necessity of icon veneration, regarding the delusion of Pashkov and his associates. Gr. Ostroumova. 1884. 206 pp.; Voices from Russia against Pashkov’s false teaching regarding a recent unfortunate incident / Ed. Bogdanovich. E.V. Free popular publication. 1891. 50 pp.; Extra-liturgical conversation about the veneration of St. icons Answer to Pashkov's followers. Archpriest Konstantin Vetvenitsky. Published by the Society for the Propagation of Religious and Moral Education in the Spirit of the Orthodox Church. St. Petersburg: Printing house of the Artillery Journal, 1891. 20 p.; Pashkovites in the Tver diocese. With the addition of a brief outline of the origin, history and teachings of the Pashkov sect. Comp. Master of Theology Dmitry Skvortsov. Tver, 1893. 82 p.; A conversation between an Orthodox Christian and the Pashkovites about the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and about the worship of icons, as well as about the veneration of the highest authority / the chanter of the Peterhof Church of the Exaltation of the Cross Alexei Timofeevich Zazulin. St. Petersburg, 1905.
8 pp.; A conversation between an Orthodox Christian and a Pashkovite about the Holy Scriptures and church traditions. St. Petersburg: 2nd ed. “Society for the Propagation of Religious and Moral Education in the Spirit of the Orthodox Church” in favor of the publishing capital named after. The late Rev. M. I. Sokolova", 1902. 32 p.; A Christian's response to the invocation sermon of the Pashkovites and Stundo-Baptists. Ed. 2. M.: Typolytography Efimov, 1909. 16 p. etc.
The dogmatic significance of the Seventh Ecumenical Council: A scientific and historical study of the importance and necessity of icon veneration, regarding the delusion of Pashkov and his associates. Gr. Ostroumova. 1884. –206 pp.; Terletsky G. Sect of Pashkovites. St. Petersburg, 1891. –139 p. etc.
Smirnov P. A. The life and teaching of St. Theophan the Recluse. M., 2008. P. 170.
Khitrov M., prot. Eminence Theophan, Recluse of Vyshensky. M.: PSTBI, without a year. Repr.: M., 1905. Ed. 2nd. P. 100.
See, for example: Ornatsky F.N., prot. The Pashkov sect and the answer to the “Pashkov questions.” 2nd ed. "Society for the dissemination of religious and moral education in the spirit of the Orthodox Church." St. Petersburg, 1903. P. 3; Another open letter to Mr. Pashkov from the headman of St. Isaac's Cathedral. St. Petersburg, 1883. P. 22 – 35, etc.
Publ. From: Soulful reading. 1893. No. 5. pp. 24–32.
Troekurovsky Dmitrievsky Ilarionovsky Monastery in the village of Troekurovo, Tambov diocese, was founded in 1854 by landowner A.N. Goldobina with the blessing of Elder Hilarion, who labored in the village since 1824. In 1857, the community was officially established by decision of the Holy Synod. In 1871 the community was renamed Troekurovsky Dimitrievsky Hilarionovsky Convent, July 27, 1871. Archimandrite of the Vyshenskaya Hermitage Arkady (Chestonov) performed the grand opening of the monastery.
The Klyucharyovs are nobles of the Tula province. Klyucharyov Feodor Zakharovich (1810–1872) - court councilor, Tula district marshal of the nobility. With the blessing of Rev. Macarius of Optina and the Klyucharyovs entered monasteries. January 19, 1860 F.Z. Klyucharyov entered the monastery of Optina Pustyn. On January 29, he was tonsured into the ryassophore, into the mantle in January 1871, due to pain, he was tonsured in private, into the schema on March 14, 1872. His wife Alexandra Nikolaevna Klyuchareva entered the Belevsky Holy Cross Monastery, where around 1870 she was tonsured into the mantle with the name Ambrose. Subsequently she became the spiritual daughter of St. Ambrose of Optinsky, lived in a separate building of the Gostiny Dvor of Optina Hermitage. In 1875, with the blessing of Rev. Ambrosia acquired the Kalygino estate near the village of Shamordino, in which she settled her twin granddaughters Vera and Lyubov, goddaughters of the Rev. Ambrose. Having lost their mother at birth, the girls were distinguished by rare piety, strove for a monastic life and did not say that they would live no more than 12 years.
At the insistence of the perspicacious elder, Ambrosia made a reservation in her will that in the event of the death of the girls, a women's community would be founded on the estate. A kind of monastic community arose on the estate: some of the former serfs of the Klyucharyovs and their relatives settled with their granddaughters as novices. On August 23, 1881, nun Ambrosia died and was buried in the Optina Hermitage. Ambrosia's granddaughters, with the blessing of Rev. Ambrose was placed in the Oryol boarding school. On May 31, 1883, having arrived in Optina Pustyn, they fell ill with diphtheria and died a few days later at the age of 12. In 1884, the Shamordino St. Ambrose Convent was founded in Kalygino.
Before his death, Rev. Elder Hilarion Troekurovsky blessed Fedor and Zakharovich Klyucharyov: “I ask you, do not leave my monastery, and if I find boldness before the Lord, I will strive to intercede for you the Kingdom of God in the abodes of Heaven. I’m already tired of living, but you go to Optina Pustyn, there are good elders there - Macarius and others; So ask them for advice - they will teach you what to do for your spiritual life” (Quoted from: Klokov A.Yu., Naydenov A.A. Biography of the recluse Hilarion and the history of the Troekurov monastery. Lipetsk, 2008. P. 63).
The book “The Royal Way of the Cross of the Lord, Leading into Eternal Life” translated into Russian by Hierom. Clement (Zederholm) was published by the Kozelskaya Vvedenskaya Optina Pustyn publishing house in 1878. This is an allegorical interpretation of the words of Jesus Christ “if anyone wants to walk after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and come after Me.” The translation from Latin into semi-Slavic - Little Russian was made by Archbishop of Chernigov John (Maximovich) and published in Chernigov in 1712. The book has three parts: “Entering the path of the cross,” “On how to walk the path of the cross,” “On the fruits of bearing the cross.”
Subsequently, A. A. Shishkova, with the blessing of St. Theophan the Recluse and thanks to his active advice, compiled an akathist to the Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer, which was published in 1893. For more information about this, see the article by V.V. Kashirina “The Shishkovs as addressees of St. Theophan.”
Dewey D. Psychology and pedagogy of thinking. M.: Perfection, 1997. P. 28.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Outline of Christian moral teaching. M.: Rule of Faith, 2005. P. 324.
Theophan the Recluse, St. What is spiritual life and how to tune in to it. M.: Father's House, 2005. P. 20.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Outline of Christian moral teaching. P. 306.
Theophan the Recluse, St. What is spiritual life... P. 22.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Outline of Christian moral teaching. P. 315.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Outline of Christian moral teaching. P. 320.
Theophan the Recluse, St. What is spiritual life... P. 33.
Theophan the Recluse, St. An outline of Christian moral teaching. P. 289.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Word on the accession to the throne of His Majesty the Emperor Alexander Nikolaevich (1858) // Words on the Lord's, Mother of God and solemn days. M.: Father's House, 2010. P. 105
Theophan the Recluse, St. Outline of Christian moral teaching. P. 325.
Theophan the Recluse, St. The path to salvation. M.: Publishing department of the Moscow Patriarchate, 1991. P. 233.
Theophan the Recluse, St. The path to salvation. P. 235.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Contemplation and reflection. M.: Rule of Faith, 2003. P. 249.
IR NBU 160 No. 1968. Letters from Rev. Feofan. Copy. L. 1 – 1 vol. 103
GATO. F. 107. Op. 2. D. 326. A formal list of the service of the former teacher of the law of the Tambov Provincial Gymnasium, Archpriest Ioann Pereverzev, compiled for 1884.
IR NBU 160 No. 1968. Letters from Rev. Feofan's relatives and others. Copy. L. 27 rev. – 30.
Tankov A.A. Memories from the past of our seminary // Kursk Diocesan Gazette. 1914. No. 5. P. 110–116; No. 12. P. 255–260; No. 21. P. 450–454; No. 42. pp. 854–855.
IR NBU 160 No. 1968. Letters from Rev. Feofan. Copy. L. 3.
Georgy (Tertyshnikov), priest. PhD thesis. Supplement to the candidate's essay. Part I. (MDA). Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Zagorsk, 1972 – 1973. L. 5–6. Letter No. 6.
Right there. L. 6. Letter No. 7.
Georgy (Tertyshnikov), priest. PhD thesis. Supplement to the candidate's essay. Part I. (MDA). Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Zagorsk, 1972–1973. L. 6. Letter No. 6.
Right there. L. 11. Letter No. 10.
Right there. L. 8. Letter No. 9.
Georgy (Tertyshnikov), priest. PhD thesis. Supplement to the candidate's essay. Part I. (MDA). L. 13. Letter No. 14.
Right there. L. 18. Letter No. 18.
Right there. L. 21. Letter No. 21.
Fedorov V.A. Russian Orthodox Church and state. Synodal period (1700 – 1917). M., 2003. P. 120
Rules regarding rural parish and church schools // Tambov Diocesan Gazette. 1862. No. 4. P. 52–53.
Klyucharyov A. His Eminence Theophan the Recluse and his pastoral activity (1815 - 1894). Kazan, 1904. P. 63
Tambov diocesan bulletin. 1862. No. 43. P. 117.
Tambov diocesan bulletin. 1862. No. 36. P. 75.
Tambov diocesan bulletin. 1861. No. 27. P. 6
About schools in Morshansk // Tambov Diocesan Gazette. 1863. No. 3. P.34.
Description of the state of parish schools // Tambov Diocesan Gazette. 1863. No. 4. P. 96.
Svirin A.N. On the establishment of dean's libraries during the reign of St. Feofan at the Tambov Department // Feofan readings. 2012. Issue. VI. P. 230.
GATO. F. 181. Op. 1. D. 1751. L. 158.
GATO. F. 181. Op. 1. D. 1672. L. 70.
GATO. F. 181. Op. 1. D. 1673. L. 47, 51.
Theophan (Govorov), St. Outline of Christian moral teaching. M.: Direct-Media, 2014. P. 674.
Theophan (Govorov), St. Outline of Christian moral teaching. S. 2.
Theophan (Govorov), St. Outline of Christian moral teaching. P. 42.
Author's term St. Theophan the Recluse, by which he understands the damage to the soul and body of a person by sinful passions (see exegesis of Rom. 8, 2 [Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Romans (chapters 1–8). M.: Rule of Faith, 2006. pp. 595–596]).
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Galatians. M.: Rule of Faith, 2004. P. 373.
See also the sermon “In the week before Baptism” (1864): “<...> the power of baptism consists not only in the grace-filled renewal of the natural powers of the spirit, but also in a moral change of character, both together. According to God’s dispensation, first moral changes take place in a person’s spirit, and then grace, infusing a person through the sacrament, imprints them in him and thereby renews his very nature” [Theophan the Recluse, St. Edifying with love. Words and sermons. M.: Rule of Faith, 2008. P. 37].
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Galatians. M.: Rule of Faith, 2004. P. 372.
John Chrysostom, St. Interpretation of the Epistle to the Galatians//Works of our holy father John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, in Russian translation. T. 1–12. SPb.: St. Petersburg Theological Academy, 1895–1906. T. 10. P. 785; ΣΟΤ ΔΝ ΑΓΙΟΙ ΠΑΣΡΟ ΗΜΩΝ ΙΩΑΝΝ ΟΤ ΣΟΤ ΥΡΤΟΣΟΜΟΤ ? ΣΟΤ ΑΓΙΟΤ ΑΠΟΣΟΛΟΤ ΠΑΤΛΟΤ // Migne J.-P. Patrologiæ Cursus Completus. Series Græcæ. Vol. 1 – 162. Paris, 1857 – 1866. Vol. 60–63. (Hereafter PG). Vol. 61, col. 656.
Theophylact of Bulgaria, bl. Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians // Sam. Interpretation of the Acts and Epistles of the Holy Apostles: in 3 volumes. M.: Siberian Blagozvonnitsa, 2009. T. 2. P. 602. ΒΟΤΛΓΑΡΙΑ ΣА ΣΟΤ ΑΓΙΟΤ ΠΑΤΛΟΤ ΔΠΙΣΟΛΑ ΔΞΗΓΗΙ // PG 124:996.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to Colossae // He. Interpretations of the Epistles of the Apostle Paul to the Colossians and Philippians. M.: Rule of Faith, 2004. P. 165, 167.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Romans (chapters 1–8). M.: Rule of Faith, 2006. pp. 438 – 439.
John Chrysostom, St. Conversations on the Epistle to the Romans // Decree. op. T. 9. pp. 599–600. PG 60:479.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Romans (chapters 1–8). M.: Rule of Faith, 2006. P. 451.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Galatians. M.: Rule of Faith, 2004. P. 542.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretations of the Epistles of the Apostle Paul to the Colossians and Philippians. M.: Rule of Faith, 2004. pp. 158 – 159.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Philippians // He. Interpretations of the Epistles of the Apostle Paul to the Colossians ... P. 517.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Epistles of the Apostle Paul to the Colossians... P.160.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Epistles of the Apostle Paul to the Colossians ... P. 161.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Romans (chapters 1–8). P. 455.
Freedom from 2 Cor. 3:17: The Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, that freedom is also understood by St. Theophan as circumcision by the Spirit in the sacraments. Human freedom begins with the introduction to the “spiritual realm,” that is, with the revival of a dead spirit.
St. Chrysostom: “With this he seemed to say: the bonds that held us have decayed and broken, so that the one who holds us, i.e. sin, there was nothing left to hold on" [John Chrysostom, St. Conversations on the Epistle to the Romans // Decree. op. T. 9. P. 624. PG 60:498]. Blzh. Theophylact: “And this leash is a sin, for we were held on to it as if by a chain” [Theophylact of Bulgaria, blessed. Interpretation of the Epistle to the Romans // Decree. op. T. 2. P. 79. PG 124:421]. Also St. Theophan, who defines sin in the categories of his anthropological system as self-indulgence: “What were we holding on to? Selfishness, or self-indulgence, which, combined with the sweetness inherent in the sinful passions generated from it, kept us in its bonds, not allowing higher aspirations to arise, and suppressing those that arose” [Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Romans (chapters 1–8). P. 520].
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Romans (chapters 1–8). P. 521
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretations of the Epistles of the Apostle Paul to the Colossians and Philippians. pp. 159–160.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Romans (chapters 1–8). P. 478.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretations of the Epistles of the Apostle Paul to the Colossians and Philippians. P. 58.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Romans (chapters 1–8). pp. 442–443.
John Chrysostom, St. Discourses on the Epistle to the Romans. T.9. P.600. PG 60:480.
Theophylact of Bulgaria, bl. Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. T.2. P.69. PG 124:409.
Νεκρουται μεν η αμαρτια δὲ βίνο ἐλάρετος [ΟΙΚΟΥΜΕΝΙΟΣ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΣ ΤΡΙΚΚΗ. ΠΑΥΛΟΥ ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ ΠΡΟΣ ΡΩΜΑΙΟΥΣ//PG 118:4 32].
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians. M.: Rule of Faith, 2004. P. 516.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians. P. 140.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Epistle of Paul the First to Thessalonians; It's him. Interpretations of the Epistles of the Apostle Paul to Thessalonians, Philemon and Hebrews. M.: Rule of Faith, 2005. P. 298.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Galatians. pp. 518–519. See also the sermon “In the week before Epiphany” (1864): “The Fall upset the internal order of spiritual life. <...> Why could his restoration be accomplished no other way than through the restoration of his original spiritual powers and their elevation into a predetermined mutual relationship. This is what the sacrament of baptism performs after preliminary preparation for this by a number of internal changes. <...> Do you notice how here, in the new, grace-filled dispensation, all the former elements and forces of spiritual life, weakened and disintegrated in the fall, are raised again to their meaning and union! The feeling of dependence on God is resurrected in repentance, conscience is enlightened by the word of God, freedom is strengthened by grace, communication with God is mediated through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the only Intercessor of God and men. So all the elements - each with its own special and life-giving healing - come to life. All that remains is to merge them together, to collect them, like rays, into one focus.
This is done in the baptismal font, which in this regard is like a gracious crucible, where from the previously restored elements of spiritual life, through all-effective grace, a new creation is created in Christ Jesus, the hidden man of the heart is formed” [Theophan the Recluse, St. Edifying with love: Words and sermons. M.: Rule of Faith, 2008. pp. 34–36].
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Second Corinthians. M.: Rule of Faith, 2006. P. 204.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians. pp. 302–303.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the First Epistle of the Apostle Paul to Thessalonians. M.: Rule of Faith, 2005. pp. 278–279.
John Chrysostom, St. Commentary on the First Epistle to the Thessalonians. T. 11. P. 564. PG 62:461.
Theodoret of Cyrus, bl. Interpretation of the First Epistle to the Thessalonians // Works of Blessed Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrrhus / general. ed. prof. A.I. Sidorova. M.: Pilgrim, 2003. P. 489. ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΩΝ ΤΟΥ ΑΟΟΥ ΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΟΥ ΠΑΥΛΟΥ // PG 82:656.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the First Epistle of the Apostle Paul to Thessalonians. P. 296.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians. P. 300.
John Chrysostom, St. Discourses on the Epistle to the Ephesians. T. 11. P. 60. PG 62:51.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Romans (chapters 1–8). pp. 626–627.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Romans (chapters 1–8). pp. 633–634. See also Rom. 6, 4 [Theophan the Recluse, St. Right there. P. 445].
John Chrysostom, St. Discourses on the Epistle to the Romans. T.9. P.651. PG 60:519.
Theodoret of Cyrus, bl. Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. pp. 149–150. PG 82:132.
Theophylact of Bulgaria, bl. Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. T. 2. P. 95. PG 124:440.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Galatians. pp. 358–359.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Romans (chapters 1–8). P. 443.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Romans (chapters 1–8). P. 597. See also 2 Cor. 9, 13 [Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Second Corinthians. pp. 404–405].
John Chrysostom, St. Discourses on the Epistle to the Romans. T. 9. P. 624. PG 60:4 98–499.
Theophylact of Bulgaria, bl. Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. T. 2. P. 79. PG 124:421.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Romans (chapters 1–8). P. 599.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians. pp. 430–431.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretations of the Epistles of the Apostle Paul to the Colossians and Philippians. M.: Rule of Faith, 2004. pp. 246–247.
John Chrysostom, St. Commentary on the Epistle to the Colossians. 11, 421, PG 62:352–353.
Theophylact of Bulgaria, bl. Commentary on the Epistle to the Colossians. T. 3. P. 207. PG 124:1257.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Galatians. P. 596.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Second Corinthians. P. 252.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Second Corinthians. pp. 252–253.
Theophylact of Bulgaria, bl. Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians. T. 2. P. 473. PG 124:856.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretations of the Epistles of the Apostle Paul to the Colossians and Philippians. pp. 199–200. See also 2 Tim. 1, 7 [Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to Timothy the Second // He. Interpretations of the Epistles of the Apostle Paul to Titus, to Timothy (Pastoral Epistles). P. 635].
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretations of the Epistles of the Apostle Paul to the Colossians and Philippians. pp. 199–201.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Romans (chapters 1–8). P. 675.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Second Corinthians. P. 52.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretations of the Epistles of the Apostle Paul to the Colossians and Philippians. P. 156.
OR RSL. F. 765. K. 9. Unit. hr. 75. L. 30–30 vol.
Govorov A.G. Memories of the Right Reverend Theophan the Recluse of a close relative A.G. Govorova // Soulful reading. 1894. No. 5–6. P. 65.
Letter No. 1029 dated August 23, 1888 // Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Ed. Holy Dormition - Pskov-Pechersky Monastery and the publishing house "Pilgrim" 1994. Vol. VI. P. 183.
OR RSL. F. 213. K. 66. Unit. hr. 19. L. 2–3.
Letter No. 1013 dated August 18, 1887 // Creations like the saints, p. 158.
OR RSL. F. 765. K. 12. Units hr. 76. L. 27 – 28 vol.
OR RSL. F. 765. K. 6. Unit. hr. 55. L. 13 vol. 14.
OR RSL. F. 765. K. 16. Unit. hr. 16. L. 7 vol. 8
OR RSL. F. 765. K. 7. Unit. hr. 78. L. 14 14 vol.
OR RSL. F. 269/I. K. 14. Unit. hr. 66. L. 13 vol.
Macarius (the Great), St. Spiritual conversations. STSL, 1994. P. 9.
Quote by: Georgy Markov, prot. The works of St. Theophan the Recluse as the basis of Russian anthropology: diploma. Job. Ryazan, 2014. P. 45.
Ignatius (Brianchaninov), St. A Word about Death // collection. cit.: in 8 volumes. M., 2002. T. 3. P. 73.
Theophan the Recluse, St. The soul and the angel are not the body, but the spirit. M., 2000. P. 199 – 200.
Vadim (Leonov), prot. Fundamentals of Orthodox anthropology. M., 2013. P. 52.
Feofan (Kryukov), abbot. Orthodoxy and science. M., 2009. P. 363.
Theophan the Recluse, St. What is spiritual life and how to tune in to it. M.: Father's House, 2005. pp. 19–20.
Quote by: Georgy Markov, prot. The works of St. Theophan the Recluse as the basis of Russian anthropology. P. 46.
Feofan (Kryukov), abbot. Orthodoxy and science. M., 2009. P. 364.
Georgy (Tertyshnikov), archimandrite. Saint Theophan the Recluse and his teaching on salvation. M., 1999. P.214.
Vadim (Leonov), prot. Fundamentals of Orthodox anthropology. M., 2013. P. 60.
Theophan the Recluse, St. What is spiritual life and how to tune in to it. P. 26.
Vadim (Leonov), prot. Fundamentals of Orthodox anthropology. P. 60.
Feofan (Kryukov), abbot. Orthodoxy and science. M., 2009. P. 366.
Quote by: Georgy Markov, prot. The works of St. Theophan the Recluse as the basis of Russian anthropology. P. 49.
Theophan the Recluse, St. What is spiritual life... P. 29.
Vadim (Leonov), prot. Fundamentals of Orthodox anthropology. P. 63.
Feofan (Kryukov), abbot. Orthodoxy and science. P. 367.
Theophan the Recluse, St. What is spiritual life and how to tune in to it. P. 30.
Theophan the Recluse, St. Outline of Christian moral teaching. M.: Father's House, 2010. P. 588.
Moral foundations of family life. 11th grade / Moiseev D, priest, Nina (Krygina), nun. Ekaterinburg: INFOFOND, 2010. P. 103 105.
Pulikovsky Ya. It's worth being a father. The main role of the man. Minsk: About Christo, 2002. pp. 74,75, 98.
Theophan the Recluse, St. How to maintain piety in family life // Orthodox Electronic Library. URL: http://lib.pravmir.ru/library/readbook/2011# part_25575 (date of access: 01/20/2017).
Theophan the Recluse, from Tue. Outline of Christian moral teaching. P. 584.
Antipenko G., prot. Responsibilities of husband and wife: lecture at the Educational Center of St. Innocent of Moscow at the Church of the Sovereign Icon of the Mother of God, November 26, 2014. St. Petersburg, 2014. 1 electron. optical disk (CD-ROM).
Theophan the Recluse, St. Outline of Christian moral teaching. P. 585.
Theophan the Recluse, St. How to maintain piety in family life URL: http://lib.pravmir.ru/library/readbook/2011#part_25575 (access date: 01/20/2017).
Theophan the Recluse, St. Outline of Christian moral teaching. M.: Father's House, 2010. P. 589.
See: Gagarin I., prot. To love, not to seek love. Klin: Christian Life, 2008. pp. 7–9,15,16.
Pestov N.E. The essence and purposes of marriage. URL: http://www.synergia.itn.ru/kerigma/brak/pestov/hr-brak/p1.htm (date of access: 01/20/2017).
Letter No. 284 // Works like the saints of our father Theophan the Recluse: collection. letters. Ed. Holy Dormition-Pskov-Pechersky Monastery and publishing house "Pilgrim" 1994. Vol. II. P. 136..
Letter No. 1169 dated May 14, 1885 // Ibid. Vol. VII. P. 185.
For more details see: Kashirina V.V. Saint Theophan on the “destructive properties” of the religious and philosophical writings of L.N. Tolstoy // Feofanovskie readings: collection. at school Art. Ryazan, 2015. Issue. VIII. pp. 429–434.
For more details, see: Georgy Orekhanov, Archpriest. Russian Orthodox Church and L.N. Tolstoy: Conflict through the eyes of contemporaries: monograph. M.: Publishing house. PSTGU., 2010. 696 p.
Letter No. 228 // Creations like those in the saints... Vol. II. P. 42.
Letter No. 1169 dated May 14, 1885 // Ibid. Vol. VII. P. 186.
Letter No. 1175 dated March 30-April 3, 1886 // Ibid. P. 194.
Letter No. 1359 dated March 20, 1886 // Ibid. Vol. VIII. P. 111.
Repeatedly in his letters, Saint Theophan calls L.N. Tolstoy. See, for example, Letter No. 1172 of December 8, 1885 // Ibid. Vol. VII. P. 190.
Letter No. 367. // Ibid. Vol. II. P. 238.
The spiritual tragedy of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy / ed. A.N. Strizhev. M.: Father's House, 1995. 315 p.
Text of the definition of the Holy Synod of February 22, 1901 URL: http://ref.zeyn.ru/author.php?auth=4&proizvedenie=651&razdel=1
Text of the definition of the Holy Synod of February 22, 1901