Saint Theophan the Recluse and Ascetic of the Vyshensk Hermitage

I fought the good fight, I died, I kept the faith. Otherwise the crown of righteousness will be kept for me, which the Lord will reward me in the day, he, the righteous judge: not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing (2 Tim. 4:7-8). On January 6, 1894, the venerable elder, Saint Theophan, the former bishop of Vladimir, died, who lived, as they said, “in retirement” in the Vyshenskaya Hermitage (Tamb. Diocese) from 1866 until the end of his life and all the time labored in the labors and deeds of hermitage. He was one of the remarkable and great hierarchs of the Russian Church, a pillar of Orthodoxy among modern unbelief and other thoughts, a constant mentor and teacher of all the sons of Orthodox Russia and a leader of many people of all ranks, conditions and positions on the path to the kingdom of heaven. During his many years of life, the saint, in his letters and published multi-volume books, left so many great lessons and instructions of Christian faith and piety that you can’t help but be amazed how it is possible for one person, although he has lived a lot, to write and rewrite so many sheets and notebooks! But amazement gives way to reverence at the thought that the deceased was a chosen vessel of grace, and the power of the Lord is made perfect in weakness. Let us provide information about the life and works of St. Theophan for our teaching and instruction. We carefully followed everything that appeared in the press about St. Theophan; but in our present article we will report about him mainly what we personally found out on the basis of conversations with his close relatives and what is firmly preserved, like a cherished shrine, in our own memories from personal meetings and conversations with the deceased saint himself. The Most Reverend Theophan was born shortly after the memorable and instructive era of 1812, when the Russians, realizing their mistakes and heeding the lessons of this era, began to correct their shortcomings, when great attention was paid to spiritual enlightenment, as the source of this healing, when a new charter of theological schools was developed, when Philaret, Metropolitan. Moskovsky, Innokenty Penza and the following teachers were preparing to work: Innokenty Odessa and Dimitry Muretov and others. In a word: I was born at a time when it was possible to receive a thorough theological education, the need and necessity of which everyone was aware of. Homeland of Rev. Feofan was the village of Chernavsk, Yeletsk district, Oryol province, located near the Sosna and Chernavka rivers. It was a large village with 3 churches and located on the highway from Orel to Voronezh, along which, before the opening of railways, many people and pilgrims passed through holy places. According to documents stored in one of the designated churches, this was once a city founded by Boris Feod. Godunov for protection from the Tatar raid and destroyed by Catherine the 2nd. In this city there was a men's monastery - Vladimir, later ranked as Zadonsky, Voronezh province, on the site of which there is currently a beautiful parish church in the name of the Vladimir Mother of God, and in it since the beginning of this century the father of the Most Rev. Feofana, Vasily Timofeich Govorov; his mother was Tatyana Ivanovna. Parents Rev. Theophan, although they occupied a modest position, were venerable people who enjoyed the respect of their parishioners and everyone who came into contact with them. Father Vasily, son of the reader of the village of Fashni, Maloarkhangelsk district of Orel. gub., completed his course as a student at the Sevsk Theological Seminary and was a senior there for two years - this is something like the current guards. Despite his education, which at that time was very significant, he did not look for a city place, but entered where Providence indicated, having married Tatyana Ivanovna. Tatyana Ivanovna, daughter of the priest of the village of Panikovtsa Yeletsk. Orel County gub., Ivan Ivanovich Popov, was a very kind and compassionate woman; From the means available to her, she tried to help everyone in need, and none of the poor, beggars and sick left without feasible help. The diocesan authorities could not help but pay attention to such a priest as Fr. Vasily, and made him dean, in which position he held for 30 years, distinguished by his love for his subordinates, reconciling quarrels between members of the clergy in a domestic manner and almost never reporting misconduct to his superiors, which earned him special respect from all his subordinates. As dean, Fr. Vasily was known throughout the district, the city archpriests of the mountains. Yelets, members of the consistory and Bishop Nikodim himself, who, when traveling to Yelets, visited the house of Fr. Vasily and knew his sons, and knew Yegor Vasilyevich. It was from such venerable parents that in January (10) 1815 a son was born, who was named George at baptism on the 11th, later St. Theophan. His godfather, as it appears in the metric books, was the priest of the village of Panikovtsa, John Popov (mother’s father), the godmother was the maiden Anna, the daughter of the priest Fr. Avraamiya (brother of Tatyana Ivanovna) Popov of the village of Chernavsk, Intercession Church. George was not the first son: Fr. Vasily had a large family: 4 sons and 3 daughters. George was the fifth child by birth, but in age he was not far behind his older brothers, so he began home education and upbringing almost together with them. All relatives of Rev. Feofana - brothers and sisters, by the grace of God, grew up and were well established. The elder sister, Lyubov Vasilievna, was for the priest. villages of Kozakov, Yeletsk. district, Vladimir Nikitich Makrinov. When I was an 8 or 10 year old child, I rocked baby Yegorushka. The second sister Avdotya Vasilievna was married to Fr. Gabriel Nikiforovich Pereverzev, priest. village of Novosilskogo Liven. county; subsequently he moved, at the request of the bishop, to the village of Chernavsk to the place of the deceased Fr. Vasily. The younger sister Anna Vasilievna was for Fr. Alexander Zakharyevich Krutikov, who after the death of Fr. Gabriel, was transferred to Chernavsk from the village of Semenovskoye, Yelets, district. Elder brother Rev. Ivan Vasilyevich Govorov, upon completion of the seminary course, was appointed priest. in the village Olshanoye, Liv. county The middle brother Semyon Vasilyevich died in adolescence. Younger brother Gabriel Vasilievich, upon completion of the course in the Kyiv spirit. seminary, entered the place of his deceased brother Fr. John to the village of Olshanoye. These are blood relatives; Relatives from his mother’s side also mattered in his life: Fr. John Popov, priest. Panikovtsa village, Yeletsk. district, godfather of the saint - he often visited him, especially when he had to go to Zadonsk to worship St. Tikhon, for Panikovets was on the way to Zadonsk from Chernavsk. O. Abrahamy Popov, son of Fr. John, St. Chernav. Church of the Intercession, his daughter Anna, as we said, was the godmother to the Right Reverend, with his children Andrei and Peter, who later became village deacons. Georgy grew up together, went to Liv together. spirit. school. There were also many more relatives who had influence on him; of them pointed to Aunt Marfa Nikiforovna, who cared for and nursed the baby Yegorushka (that was the name of the saint in the family). All of these were persons of clergy rank, to which the saint was attached. – This is the environment in which Saint Theophan was born and raised, and which, undoubtedly, had a huge influence on the formation of his moral character. In terms of mental make-up he was like Fr. Vasily, in moral and religious terms and in facial outline, was similar to his mother Tatyana Ivanovna. Simple and uncomplicated was the initial home education in the 1st quarter of the 19th century; Then they did not know the current various new methods of teaching with the goal of developing mainly the mind, but simply taught to read and write in the civil and at the same time church press - they taught in the letter-subjunctive method, starting from counting letters, syllables, words and finally moving on to reading the book of hours and the Psalter. The method of teaching was simple and unartificial: the boy had in front of him an alphabet book or a book of hours, in his hands he often had a pointer, with which he indicated the letters or syllables or whole words he was pronouncing. The teacher only monitored the correct pronunciation, corrected mistakes, and the more attentive of the teachers often read the lesson himself in advance. Writing was also taught simply: the teacher would line a notebook, sharpen a quill pen, which was the only way to write back then, and write out a line or two of sticks, hooks, letters, folds, or entire words and numbers; The student copies in the remaining lines, trying to copy accurately. When the writing ends, the lesson is considered over, and the boy receives freedom. This is how home schooling and upbringing went on day after day. They taught prayers and sacred history, and in rare cases, the basic rules of grammar and the first operations of arithmetic; but this latter did not constitute the necessary subjects, without the knowledge of which it is impossible to enter a theological school; it was possible to limit oneself only to reading and writing, as was the case in most cases with children of the clergy. True, such home education was mechanical and did not develop the mind very much, but it was churchly and very good in direction: on the other hand, it did not unnecessarily force the mental abilities, did not stimulate them to early activity, which is often noticed nowadays. Finally, this method made it possible for parents and close relatives to begin education, and this is an irreplaceable benefit. When a father or mother teaches, the child’s abilities are more correctly and gradually revealed: first memory develops, then reason, and then the heart opens and often, under the guidance of a pious mother or a good relative, is wounded by love for the mother Church. This happiness fell to the lot of Yegor Vasilyevich. In his seventh year, George was taught to read and write. Father Vasily, in the presence of his relatives, served a prayer service to the prophet Nahum and gave instructions on how to study, seated the boy at the table with other brothers already studying, gave him the alphabet in his hands and himself read several letters in advance, forcing the boy to repeat after him. However, Fr. Vasily himself only supervised the training and listened to the assigned lessons: due to his position and household chores, he often had to be absent; and the children were taught by the mother herself, and by Aunt Marfa Nikiforovna, who reverend all these details of childhood. Feofana told the writer these lines. Yegorushka's studies were successful: endowed by nature with brilliant mental gifts and a great desire to learn, Yegorushka soon learned his lessons and spent the rest of the time running or playing with the neighboring boys; By the time the lessons were heard, Fr. Vasily was always pleased, so he set him up as a model for his brothers, who spent all their time studying and still did not always answer well. 1 O. Vasily, although he was unfamiliar with the latest pedagogical techniques, was probably guided by his common sense, did not embarrass the playful and naturally lively boy, demanding only one thing, that the lesson be prepared and the boy not get too naughty. One cannot help but see in this a reasonable view of the natural needs of a child’s nature, a view that is not always noticed among modern parents, who, often unnecessarily and to the detriment of the correctness and natural development of the boy’s strengths and abilities, constrain the child’s nature. However o. Vasily allowed the boy to frolic because this playfulness was of an innocent nature, and he always stopped it when it was necessary. Yegorushka loved to play and spend time with his childhood peers, which the Chernavsky old-timers later remembered with love, presenting themselves as participants in these innocent entertainments. Isn’t this where the beginning of the acquaintance of Rev. Feofan with the simple souls of people, with their figurative colloquial speech, which in his conversations and writings received a highly original and understandable form, making his thoughts alive and heartfelt? But he also loved spending time with his family, especially when they were doing something important. It used to be that the bell would ring for Vespers, and the boy would connect with Fr. Vasily and will go to church. There he will stand on the choir with the sextons, listen to their singing, and encourage him; will visit the altar, serving in some way; climbs down the bell tower with the church watchman and rings the bell. On one of these visits to the church, Yegorushka quietly sneaked alone into the bell tower and hesitated. Everyone left the church, which was locked by the church watchman, so the boy had to cry from the bell tower for help or wait until the morning when the church opened for matins. A lively, playful child, being in a critical situation, descended from the bell tower, which was not particularly high, using a rope, one end tied to the bell and the other descending to the ground, as is often the case in villages. Of course, one could be injured or even pay with one’s life, but the Lord apparently protected his chosen one: Yegorushka escaped with only a slight drainage of the leg veins, which soon passed without a trace. The parents, having learned this, were greatly horrified. They say oh. At this Vasily said the following significant words: “Well, Yegorushka, you will either be a bell ringer or a bishop!” This circumstance forced the parents to watch the playful boy more closely, moderate his playfulness and guide him to a good end. Having reached the age of 10, the boy Georgy Govorov was well prepared at home for entering school. The time had finally come to send him to the Livensky Theological School. On the day of departure, a prayer service was served to the Queen of Heaven in front of the local revered icon of the Vladimir Mother of God - all the relatives fervently prayed that the young boy would study diligently and behave well. Mother Tatyana Ivanovna, having provided her beloved son with food supplies and given several hryvnias wrapped in a white piece for gifts, began to baptize her son, wishing him health and success, and the tears of her and her close relatives were visible, sending the child to a foreign land - to school. The father himself was apparently alarmed by these last minutes of separation. The scene was touching: it often left a deep impression on his entire school life and served as an incentive to study well, especially if the boy saw the tear-stained eyes of his parents. O. Vasily, having brought his son to the city. Livny took special care to arrange it, partly because the eldest sons were difficult to study, partly fearing that the playfulness of the boy George might turn into something bad. Whatever it is, only oh. Vasily did not place Yegorushka in an apartment with other boys, but placed him with the teacher of the theological school, Ivan Vasilyevich Petin. In this act Fr. Vasily had a lot of common sense. The apartment life of students of theological schools of that time was far from attractive and often spoiled the boys: 10 or 15 students lived in one small room, adults often offended the little ones or set bad examples of rudeness, laziness and disobedience. Father Vasily, who himself went through this school, could not help but know and fear these bad examples, especially since Yegorushka was a playful boy, and therefore he assigned him to a teacher, not paying attention to the unnecessary material expenses on this subject, and was not mistaken in his considerations. Iv. IN. Petin, later a school inspector, apparently had a great beneficial influence on the boy Georgy Govorov. It is difficult to determine with precision what this influence was expressed in; but one can plausibly believe that the natural agility of the young student of the theological school was aimed at studying lessons, obedience to teachers, respect for elders and generally good behavior. Probably also Ivan Vasilyevich, as a friend and acquaintance of Fr. Vasily, and rehearsed whenever possible and provided the student with sound information. Be that as it may, only this influence is undeniable: subsequently Rev. Feofan remembered Ivan Vasilyevich as his benefactor, and had correspondence with him when Iv. Vas., leaving school service, took holy orders and was the archpriest of the Liven Trinity Cathedral. The writer of these lines, who himself studied at the Livensky Theological School, remembers this important and serious archpriest, adorned with gray hair and orders. Yes, the old school, no matter how they reproach it, had its inherent merits. She strengthened character, instilled fear and respect for elders - which is very important in children's moral development - and taught them to work independently and assiduously; this influence was especially noticeable on gifted students. Rev. Feofan belonged to precisely such people and experienced all the influence of the school from the indicated side, being under the guidance of such a mentor as Iv. V. At that time there was also a Greek language teacher, Ivan Pavlovich Tezavrovsky. A remarkable personality: having served the Livensky School for 42 years, I.P. had as his students people who subsequently reached high positions, among whom, by the way, was the late Archpriest I.V. Vasilyev, chairman of the spiritual and educational committee at the Holy Synod, who followed one or two courses after the Right Reverend Theophan. It is known that Fr. I.V., already the archpriest of the Orthodox Russian Church in Paris, during one of his travels to his homeland through Livny, visited Ivan Pav., who was still in office at that time, and thanked his teacher for the diligence and care he had for him. True, during the training of St. Feofan at the Livensky Theological School, Iv. Pavlovich Tezavrovsky just accepted the position of teacher, but his influence is good, undoubtedly, if we take into account the constant diligence of I.P., who knew no bounds, who worked with diligent students even during extracurricular hours, inviting them to his apartment. The caretaker of the Livny Theological School at that time was Archpriest of the St. George Church Vasily Scriabin, and one can also point to the teacher Alexei Vysotsky, who was later a priest of the Kazan Church in Livny. Kindest soul! The school itself was located in an old house. Thanks to such teachers, the care of his parents, and his talents with which the Lord bestowed upon the boy, a student of the Livensky Theological School, Georgy Govorov, quickly completed his school course and, among the best students, entered the Oryol Theological Seminary in 1829. Although the seminaries of that time could not provide extensive knowledge on all subjects of the seminary course - some subjects were read in a very short volume and were considered secondary - but on the main subjects - dogmatic theology, philosophy and rhetoric, satisfactory knowledge was imparted, perhaps more thorough than now. Most importantly, great attention was paid to the development of mental abilities and interest was aroused in questions about God, the world, the human soul and mutual relationships - such an interest that remained in the young men for the rest of their lives. Subjects: dogma. theology, philosophy and rhetoric were read by more gifted persons, masters, and therefore studied diligently. “You cannot be a scientist by hearsay,” said the statute of the seminaries of that time. It is impossible not to see the pedagogical wisdom of the charter of that time, compiled mainly by Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow. Indeed, as long-term experience has shown, gifted young men of that time left the seminary with a thorough fundamental knowledge of the sciences of theology and philosophy and with ardent love to engage in resolving important issues of life, existence and the salvation of the soul - after leaving the institution. Georgy Vasilyevich Govorov was one of these young men. The Oryol Seminary, when he entered it, was in a flourishing state: its rector was the ever-memorable Isidore, later the Most Reverend Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Novgorod. Being in the full development of his spiritual powers, Isidore raised the Oryol Seminary to its proper height, so that the attention of the Kiev academic authorities, under whose jurisdiction it was, was drawn to it, especially since Innokenty, the famous leader and scientist, who was at that time the rector of the Kyiv Theological Academy, also came from this seminary. The seminary teachers in the main subjects were gifted people who diligently went about their work under the personal supervision of rector Isidore. It was under the guidance of such teachers that Georgy Govorov entered the Livensky Theological School. At first, of course, he could not discover his talents, since for the most part they are revealed gradually - over time, with various studies and exercises in written works or essays, as they liked to call them then. The teacher of literature at the Oryol Seminary was then a priest. Plato, later Metropolitan of Kyiv and Galicia. On the advice of rector Isidore, one day he gave his students a teaching to write, E.V. Govorov wrote it very well and was praised; as a result of which, in his own words, he was at the height of happiness. In the philosophy class, Georgy Govorov's abilities began to quickly reveal themselves, and he attracted the attention of Prof. Efimy Andreevich Ostromyslensky, one of the first 1st year students of the Kyiv Theological Academy, comrade Innocent. Teaching philosophical sciences - metaphysics, history of philosophy, logic and psychology Eph. Andreevich was the beauty of the seminary. The students listened to his lectures, especially since they were presented in a language that was understandable and engaging. Moreover, from the coherent speech of Eph. Andr. often switched to conversational language: he would call a student and start a conversation with him about some important subject. This last Socratic technique especially pleased the listeners and aroused their attention and initiative. It’s a pity that now it is rarely practiced in religious educational institutions! G.V. Govorov listened with attention to the lectures of Eph. Andr., often talked with him on issues of psychology and was distinguished by him as one of the best and most gifted students. Even more than that, Yegor Vasilyevich had access to E.’s apartment. Andr., often visited him, and one could often hear their conversation about philosophical issues, sometimes lasting several hours. In a word, a close moral connection was established between the teacher and the student, and this connection was so strong that Georgy Govorov, despite the fact that he was one of the very good achievers, wanted to stay for a repeat course in the philosophy class for the sake of E. Andr., wanting to also listen to the full course of his lessons on the philosophical sciences. But what was his disappointment!? Eph. Andr. As soon as he began to read the next course, he was appointed teacher of the law of the Oryol Cadet Corps with the adoption of the priesthood, and Grigory Afanasyevich Zhdanov, master of Moscow, spiritual, entered the Oryol Seminary in his place. academy. Based on the news, Zhdanov could not report anything particularly interesting contrary to what Eph. Andr., and therefore, during the repeat course, Georgy Govorov studied more on his own. When moving to the theological class, another change occurred: rector Isidore was transferred to the position of rector of Moscow. spirit. seminary, from which position a year later he was appointed vicar of the Moscow diocese; in his place, Zephaniah entered the Oryol seminary from the inspectors of the Nizhny Novgorod seminary, later the Archbishop of Turkestan. Zephaniah was far inferior to his famous predecessor both in management and in the conduct of educational affairs, although he tried to strictly fulfill the letter of the seminary law. Being a formalist, he judged by the first impression made by the first fact, and therefore very often made mistakes in judgments about the dignity of teachers and students. As a teacher of Dogmatic Theology, he was not distinguished by his talent and could not interest his students, as Isidore did. His system, compiled mainly from the systems of Irenaeus of Falkovsky, Silivester of Kulyabka, of course, with the addition of excerpts from John of Damascus and other saints. fathers, in essence, represented a dry selection that Zephaniah demanded to literally learn by heart. It is clear that this could not interest young minds, inquisitive, demanding living food, so it is not surprising that many ex offices studied his system in order to answer. Georgy Govorov was one of them. He studied the lessons, but not literally, which he really didn’t like. the rector, who, considering him a good student, did not, however, nominate him from among the others, through which, as we will see below, he almost deprived him of sending him to the academy. Georgy Vasilyevich Govorov, for all that, was one of the best students of his course, occupying 4th place on the list. Not having a strong desire to study Dogma. Theology, which was then considered the main subject, Georgy Govorov loved to deal with moral issues, explaining the passages of St. The Scriptures and knew the Greek language so well that, in the absence of a teacher, he was sent to the lower department of the seminary as a lecturer, which was possible under the previous Rule, because individual mentors were not sent to the seminary for ancient languages. He was especially distinguished by his knowledge of St. Scriptures, which even once drew the attention of the local bishop present during the exam. Nicodemus, who knows St. Scripture and highly values ​​those who study it. This had a huge impact on the future fate of Georgy Govorov. When the time came to appoint the best students to the Kyiv Academy, the rector, Archimandrite Zephaniah, for the reasons stated above, bypassed Georgy Govorov, and he was not included in the list presented to Bishop Nikodim. The Bishop, who knows how to foreknow people, drew the attention of Fr. rector, saying that student Georgy Govorov should be sent along with others, that he would fully justify the trust of his superiors. The bishop’s desire was tantamount to an order, for he was distinguished by his persistence and could not tolerate contradictions; therefore Georgy Govorov was immediately included in the list of those sent to the Kyiv spirit. academy. Thus, the Providence of God apparently led Georgy Govorov to the highest appointment as a shepherd of the Church and a teacher of faith and piety, for which he is now glorified throughout Russia. Georgy Govorov himself did not think at all about his high purpose: those who lived with him claimed that he was distinguished by humility, simplicity and was alien to any kind of pride and exaltation. He loved to help the students of the Oryol Theological School, who were in the same apartment with him, explained their lessons to them, kept them from pranks and wanted, after completing the seminary course, to occupy only a small degree in the sacred hierarchy - deacon, fearing priestly responsibility, at least according to the legend of someone who lived in the same apartment with him, he sometimes spoke out like that. They say he even had in mind his bride, the daughter of the deacon of the village of Chernavsk, Anna L. Timofeeva. Yegor Vasilyevich looked highly upon the duties and life of the parish clergy and would undoubtedly have been somewhere in the parish if Providence had not shown him another higher path. In general, no one thought that Yegor Vasilyevich would be such a strict ascetic - he was distinguished by his cheerfulness, sociability and took part in innocent comradely entertainment. While at home on vacation, Eg. Vasilyevich loved to visit his relatives, he especially often visited the village of Kazakakh, 25 versts from his native village, where his older sister Lyubov Vasilievna was married to a priest. “Well, Yermil, harness the horse,” Fr. ordered the worker. Vasily, “Egorushka goes to the Cossacks.” He loved the peasants of his native village, who often invited him to be the godfather of their newborn children, which, perhaps, indicated that Georgy Govorov, having become a bishop and recluse, would be the spiritual father of many thousands of sons of the Russian Orthodox Church. Fr. himself Vasily was very simple, but did not tolerate idleness during working hours. Vladyka Feofan, who was already retired in the Vyshenskaya Hermitage, told me in 1871: “It used to be that when we arrived on vacation with our brothers, we would go out to the threshing floor and watch how the workers threshed. Father, seeing us standing idly, usually said: “Well, professors, why are you standing like that? Thresh!" And we used to thresh; however, this was done for pleasure and not for long: the priest himself worked little and did not force us, for he was a man, although burdened with a family, but sufficient and served as a priest in a very good parish.” Hospitality and simplicity were developed in the family of Fr. Vasily, every guest was received with cordiality. E. Vasilyevich was very affectionate with everyone, knew how to get into everyone’s position, and this is not a stretch, but natural simplicity and kindness, inherited from nature and subsequently developed to Christian love for every person, no matter what his rank and condition. But along with this sociability, they say, glimpses of religious contemplation were noticed in judgments and deeds: he loved to be alone at times, he was seen immersed in some kind of thoughts, he was seen praying earnestly at midnight and standing for a long time in prayer. These could be impulses of youthful curiosity or the pure soul of a young man striving for God - his Primary Source, which from time to time can be noticed in all young men who have not yet been spoiled or conquered by any passion. But Geor. Vasilyevich was not the same, although his comrades did not attach any importance to this, and he himself, perhaps, could not determine what was happening to him. In essence, these were the highest aspirations for monasticism, deeply rooted in the soul of the young pupil, which were subsequently so brilliantly realized in the Vyshenskaya Hermitage, which began in Kyiv, when he was still a student at the Kyiv Theological Academy. In 1837, Georgy Vasilyevich Govorov entered the Kyiv Spiritual Academy, which in the forties was in its most flourishing state. And it is not surprising: it was then ruled by Innocent, a doctor of theology, a scientist and historian of the Western region of Russia, an eloquent speaker and a famous church preacher. With such a rector, the professors were wonderful, such as: Iv. Mikhailovich Skvortsov, Dimitry Muretov, Yakov Kozmich Amphiteatrov, Jeremiah (Soloviev) and others – Let us dwell a little on the characteristics of these wonderful teachers in order to see what Georgy V. Govorov, their student, could and actually received in mental and religious-moral terms. Rector Innocent, in 1836 vicar of the Kyiv diocese, did not read any subject separately, as before before his episcopacy, and had only one or two lectures a week on the encyclopedia of theological sciences. In his readings, the rector-bishop spoke about religion, its origin and essence, about the incarnation of the Son of God, where he talked more about the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ and their fruits, about the final fate of the world and man. True, Yegor Vasilyevich was under the command of the Reverend for only one year. Innocent, but he was also a listener of his lessons; for all the students flocked to listen to his lectures, and no one, except for good reasons, missed these readings: not to listen to Fr. rector means to lose the best moments of mental pleasure. All the students were always delighted with Innocent's lectures: each lecture seemed like an event, aroused a lot of talk among the students and inspired them to think a lot. Innocent's lectures had a strong intellectual influence even after, when he was already Bishop of Vologda, for they went to. manuscripts and using them, students prepared for exams on basic theology. They say that the introduction to the circle of theological sciences by the Reverend. Macarius was compiled under the influence of the lectures Innocent gave in the last years of his rectorship in Kyiv. Behind Innocent in the power of thought and beauty of presentation of the Theological Sciences was Dimitri (Muretov), ​​at that time an inspector of the academy and a reader of dogmatic Theology. Archimandrite Dimitri (Muretov), ​​although he had just begun to read this subject, soon discovered his high talents and showed that he was a worthy successor to his teacher Innocent. Innocent freed dogmatics from the shackles of scholasticism and placed it on historical soil or path; Dimitri Muretov, under the influence of his mentor, led her along this path, and therefore his lectures were listened to with great attention and benefit by all students. The educational influence that Dimitri Muretov had on students is shown by the dogmatic Theology of the Reverend. Macarius, in the composition of which the author was undoubtedly influenced by his beloved mentor; Of course, the lectures of Innokenty and Dimitry Muretov also influenced Georgy Vasilyevich Govorov. Despite the fact that in the 11th year there were many outstanding students, led by Mikhail (Monastyrev) from the Oryol Seminary and Makariy (Bulgakov) from the Kursk Seminary, Yegor Vasilyevich Govorov was considered one of the best students of his course. In the professorial records he was certified as a student with very good abilities, distinguished by constant diligence and making excellent and very good progress in theological sciences. In the inspection reports, he was noted as “a very modest person, of honest behavior, distinguished by good morals, correctness in relation to his duties, love of worship, setting an example for others.” Yes, at that time there were wonderful mentors and educators at the Kyiv Academy. They raised young men in the discipline and teaching of the Lord, communicated the highest truths of the Christian faith and piety in the holy spirit of the apostolic and patristic Church in a convincing and understandable form. The students diligently listened to the sound words of the teachers of Christ's Church, placed them as the basis of their convictions and were guided by them in their subsequent lives. Such were Innocent and Demetrius, later famous archpastors of the Russian Church, such was Jeremiah, who was later bishop. Nizhny Novgorod, a great expert on patristic works. Archpriest Iv was his active assistant in the matter of upbringing and education. Mikhailovich Skvortsov and Yakov Kozmich Amphitheaters and friend. Iv. Mikhailovich read philosophy, that is, metaphysics and the history of philosophy. In his lessons, he tried to imprint the following thought in young minds: the research of ancient and modern sages and philosophers shows that the human mind itself provides only incomplete knowledge about God, the world and man and their mutual relationships, sometimes even confusing and false, that only Christian revelation represents true and saving information on these issues and true philosophy must be based on it. As a professor, Iv. Mich. was considered exemplary; Having extensive knowledge of philosophy, he read to students the most important and essential things and cared about clarity, simplicity and logic. He explained philosophical terms containing deep concepts so clearly and simply that they became very clear to the listeners. Each of his lectures for the most part had a strict system and was presented in the form of a syllogism. Having expressed the general position, Ivan Mikhailovich tried to reveal it through analysis, at the end of the lecture he drew conclusions and, moreover, in such detail that they necessarily followed from previous reasoning. When reading student semester essays, Iv. Mich. He also had peculiar manners, indicating that he was a wonderful teacher. First of all, he asked students to write directly on the subject and not to make digressions without good reason - to write simply, briefly, and not to use unclear or incomprehensible expressions. Regarding thoughts, every author should take care of the clarity of their presentation; if any thought seems incomprehensible, (at all) not use it at all. Yves strictly followed all this. Mich. When reading student essays, he crossed out unclear expressions and incomprehensible thoughts, carefully corrected the entire essay from the point of view of thought, arrangement and presentation, and strictly evaluated it in reviews, indicating the advantages and disadvantages of this or that essay. The students tried to carefully think through and present their essays; while being scientific, they acquired the skill of strictly logical thinking and clear and accurate presentation. Of course, other professors did this, but Yves. Mich. this was an outstanding feature, which was described by one of the best students of the Kyiv Academy during the time of E.V. Govorov. It is not surprising that the writings of that time were strictly thought out; the authors themselves had good logical skill both in speech and in writing. It is quite possible to be convinced of this, one has only to read any work of that time. This strong influence undoubtedly affected both the thinking and the presentation in the works of E.V. Govorov (later Bishop Feofan), published after leaving the academy: take any of his numerous works and you will be completely convinced of the validity of what was said. In general, at this time, students had some kind of special love for writing essays and were not at all burdened by this work even later, after leaving school, when they were in positions. The reason for this is that back then they created more themselves than compiled them. True, they used books, but mostly primary sources; possessing knowledge of languages, especially ancient ones, if they turned to scientists, then as advisers, quoting and pointing out borrowed passages to support their own research. This creativity and flair was especially developed by Innocent himself with his incomparable works, which professors and students tried to imitate even after, when the famous Vita was in an independent episcopal department. As we have seen, the archpriest of the Kiev St. Sophia Cathedral, Iv. Mikhailovich Skvortsov, professor of philosophy, and professor of eloquence Yakov Kozmich Amphitheatrov contributed a lot to this. He is the first in the Kyiv Acad. I began to read literature with the theory of the church. eloquence in the Russian language and in the form in which it is now read in our spirits and academies, freeing it from scholasticism and artificial and pompous forms of expression. But Yakov Kozmich was remarkable not only as a theorist, but also as a practitioner: his oral conversations with students had a very important educational impact on his listeners. Each of the students had free access to him and at all times, his simplicity, sincerity and cordiality attracted many to his apartment. Georgy V. Govorov visited him especially often, whom the famous professor treated with cordiality, as a fellow countryman. Not a month passed without him visiting him; often in the summer, he would walk with him through the luxurious groves and gardens of the Kyiv outskirts, discussing the phenomena in nature of traces of the Almighty and All-Good God. Some flower or tree gave rise to reflection on lofty subjects: the conversation was free and extremely nourishing and instructive for the mind and heart of the listeners, of whom there were sometimes quite a few during such walks. As a spiritual speaker and preacher of the Word of God, Yakov Kozmich had a strong influence on students: at the Bratsk Monastery, with the blessing of His Eminence Philaret, he delivered the Metropolitan. Kievsky, his wonderful conversations about the attitude of the Church towards Christians. His words, thoughtful and coming from the depths of his heart, had a strong effect on the listeners, especially the students, who all came to listen to the teacher’s animated and eloquent speech. Of course, Innocent himself was at the head of the preaching. He also taught students to speak extemporaneously. For this purpose, on every Sunday or holiday, when he himself was not speaking, he invited another student and gave him a topic from the Gospel or Apostolic reading. The student, standing in the altar, had to think about and prepare a teaching, which, after delivery, was discussed in detail in the audience by the students and by Innocent himself, and praise or censure served as a reward or reprimand (Words of Macarius, M. M., comrade of the Most Rev. Theophan, 17 pp. op. Macarius Metropolitan. Moscow, and Kolom. Moscow, ed. 1882 g.). Almost every sermon of his (Innocent preached many sermons in Kyiv) was a significant phenomenon, it was talked about in different places, it was sent in manuscripts to seminaries, and before it appeared in print, it was already known throughout all parts of Russia. It is easy after this to understand what a strong influence Innocent’s preaching had on the student listeners. He and Yakov Kozmich were living ideals for them to follow: the students treated the composition of sermons with special attention and love and were quite experienced in this great matter. Among these competitors was Georgy Govorov, who was a listener and eyewitness of these famous preachers. Moreover, Georgy Govorov especially loved to study psychology and moral theology, not so much from the theoretical side as from the practical side, in which Jeremiah (Soloviev) helped him a lot, who himself was of an ascetic direction and who loved him like a father to a son. These are the great people under the influence of Georgy Vasilyevich Govorov, undergoing education in the Kyiv spirit. academy! We deliberately dwelled on this in order to show what Georgy Vasilyevich could and did take away from the Kyiv Theological Academy, and this is all the more necessary to know, because he undoubtedly brought what he learned into his educational and scientific activities, and it was reflected in one form or another. Indeed, the influence of the academy of that time was so strong that students received from it what they could not find anywhere. They received thorough theoretical knowledge of all theological sciences, a love for the study of Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition, good philosophical development and an inclination to independently work on developing questions of theology that are important for life and thought. Regarding the direction, there was more tendency towards the East than towards the West; True, they also used the research of Western scientists, but as secondary aids. As a result, theological science was engaged in developing issues more from the positive side than from the negative. Standing under such influence, young gifted people received such a love for the sciences that did not leave them throughout their lives, they received a love for the clergy, for St. Church and to spiritual orbit in the form of preaching; some, in order to engage in spiritual self-improvement more freely and unhindered, left the world and accepted monasticism. Among such persons is the 10th year of the Kyiv Spirit. Georgy V. Govorov also belongs to the academy, which has fully taken advantage of all the benefits of academic education. Even in the seminary, one noticed a desire in him for solitude, prayer, contemplation of God and, in general, for the pursuit of monastic life, but this was, as we have seen, an unconscious desire and manifested itself from time to time and very rarely. At the Kyiv Academy, this holy desire began to manifest itself more often, especially under the influence of such great monks as Innocent, Dimitri Muretov, Jeremiah, Anthony, later Archbishop of Kazan, and the venerable elder Filaret (Amphiteatrov) Metropolitan himself. Kyiv. The Kiev-Pechersk Lavra was also of no small importance in this case; her St. fathers and founders of Russian monastic life Anthony and Theodosius and other saints. ascetics, their relics for glorifying the glory of God and maintaining our weak faith hitherto fragrant with incorruption, modern, still living pious elders and hermits involuntarily attracted to themselves for worship, advice and reverent reflection. Jeremiah, who was first the rector of the Kyiv spirit, had a particularly beneficial influence. seminary, and later the rector of the Kyiv Academy, a fellow countryman and relative of G.V. Govorov in spirit: he often visited him, often had soul-saving conversations with him and involuntarily sympathized with him in his way of life. In a word, the academic and Lavra environment favored George V. Govorov to accept monasticism, which at the same time corresponded to his spiritual mood. Therefore, when the student. At the Kyiv Academy, Georgy V. Govorov was at home on vacation, upon moving to his senior year, he seemed solitary, concentrated, apparently deciding to take some important step in his life, although he did not directly express this to his family. Previously sociable, cheerful, loving to talk with peers - about life, even to take part in entertainment of an innocent, but still worldly nature, now he retired to the field, walked in secluded places and almost did not joke. This is how his sister Anna Vasilyevna spoke about his behavior, from whom the writer of these lines heard it. External circumstances seem to have decisively influenced the decision to fulfill this secret pious desire: the imminent death of her father and mother at this time, and the desire of the latter, before whom her beloved son was in awe, to see in him a constant and diligent prayer book for the repose of her soul and relatives in the villages of the righteous. This is a sample of the will of a pious mother, worthy of imitation! From pious parents who are sincerely devoted to the spiritual calling, pious children are born. Yes, it seems that back then they loved their high spiritual rank more, despite their little material support; then there was more cordiality, sincerity and noble ideal desires than now, when material interests dominate and control everything. Arriving at the academy after his vacation, Georgy Vasilyevich Govorov submitted a petition to become a monk, and he was not the only one: three more did the same, of whom Monastyrev and M. Bulgakov were considered the very first students. It was a wonderful time! Scientific monasticism flourished, because it received the best powers in terms of mental and moral gifts. The pastors and teachers of the Church looked at this desire with love, as they saw in them active helpers and their closest successors. It is impossible not to admit that the structure and direction of education at that time, in addition to other circumstances, was one of the strong reasons for this gratifying phenomenon. Then there was a theoretical ideal direction, and monasticism is a person’s desire to realize in his life and activity the highest ideal aspirations of truth, goodness and beauty and through this to become like their living Primary Source, God the Father, according to the word of the Savior: be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48). With love, the academic authorities accepted these petitions and gave them legal action, so that they were soon tonsured into the angelic rank: Monastyrev with the name of Mikhail, Bulgakov - Macarius, and Govorov - Feofan. Thus, the long-standing desire hidden in the depths of the soul was fulfilled - to devote oneself entirely to God and to the service of His saints. Church and neighbors in the matter of their salvation! The monks were placed together in one room; now they devoted themselves even more fervently to theological science, at the same time becoming accustomed to the feats of prayer, fasting, abstinence and mortification of the flesh. Not a single monk escapes great warfare, especially at the beginning, and young monks no doubt experienced the same thing. But their spiritual fathers were experienced, wisely guided their steps and, in necessary cases, the wise gave them advice. After the tonsure, as Bishop Theophan himself later reported, we went to the Lavra to the pious elder Hieroschemamonk Parthenius, the confessor of the Metropolitan and the Lavra, and an intelligent man of prayer. “Here you are, learned monks,” the elder told us, having set up rules for himself, remember that one thing is most necessary: ​​to pray and pray unceasingly with your mind in your heart to God, that’s what you strive for, and from my young days I sought this and asked that no one interfere with me being constantly with God.” There is no doubt that the young monks accepted this advice of Elder Parthenius as their rule and each tried, to the best of their strength and gifts of grace, to carry it out throughout their lives. But they practiced especially diligently in studying the Word of God and Theology in general, preparing for the high service of the Church, knowing that without this they would not properly fulfill their calling and would appear guilty before God. Theophanes's relatives, who visited him at that time, just before leaving the academy, reported that the monks were studying hard, constantly holding notebooks in their hands and even while drinking tea. This is understandable: it was the time of exams, the time of the final assessment of four years of learning and education. And indeed, with the help of intense work, excellent talents, and most importantly with the help of God, they all brilliantly completed the course: Hieromonk Mikhail (Monastyrev) was the first student and was left at the academy at the department of St. Scriptures. Great hopes were placed on him: he was a tireless worker in studying and teaching his subject and in the library - he was an academic librarian. They say that he knew very well the contents of many important books in the academic library. It was a walking library; students found him an experienced leader. But Michael did not serve theological science and the Church for long: in the rank of archimandrite and in the position of inspector of the academy, this young scientist, who showed great promise, died. Macarius, appointed bachelor at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy in the Department of History of the Russian Church, brilliantly began his service and brilliantly completed it in the rank of Metropolitan of Moscow. There is no need to express his merits for the Church and theological science: they are always before our eyes, and we and our children have used and will use his famous textbooks and manuals on Dogmatic Theology and the History of our Russian Church. This is in truth a teacher and theologian of the entire Orthodox and Russian Church, almost on a par with Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow. The third of the named monks, Hieromonk Theophan, was destined to have an even broader influence on the masses of the entire Orthodox people. Apparently, Hieromonk Theophan took a modest position, having been appointed rector of the Kiev Sophia schools, 2 in comparison with his comrades - Mikhail (Monastyrev) and Makariy (Bulgakov), - but even in this position he showed himself to be a man who promised a lot, especially since he was under the leadership of the Reverend. Jeremiah, and the Kyiv Metropolitan paid special attention to this new school. Filaret, as can be seen from his letter from St. Petersburg. to Jeremiah, his vicar: “An order has probably already been received regarding the rector of the Sophia School (Theophanes). I humbly ask you to pay special attention to this new school and to let me know your thoughts about all its needs.” And Rev. Jeremiah, who knew and loved Fr. Feofan, since the academy, did not leave him with his fatherly guidance in the first experience of his independent activity and in the field of teaching, administration, and economics. His advice is undoubtedly very important, for Jeremiah, before entering the Kyiv Academy, served for some time in Liv. spirit. school teacher and had practical experience in this matter. - Jerome. Feofan, as the rector of the school, was constantly in it and very often visited classes, directing the education of children towards mental development, and paid more attention to understanding than to the acquisition of knowledge by memory alone. On the other hand, he recommended that teachers resort more often, as far as possible, to clarity, in which the first himself showed an example; he taught the Latin language in an exemplary manner, which, it should be noted, he knew perfectly. Living in retirement, Rev. Feofan said that on the road he always took a small-format Latin Bible for reference. There is nothing to say about knowledge of the Greek language, and then Hieromonk Theophan had extensive knowledge. It is positively known that Feofan understood mathematics well and studied the natural sciences, therefore he thoroughly knew arithmetic and geography and could freely draw geographical maps. Thus, the new boss was a good leader of educational affairs at the school and thereby brought great benefit to both teachers and students. This is very important, because at that time there were no good manuals and manuals, no methodological instructions, but everything depended on the mental talents, diligence and work of teachers, especially the head of the institution. But this is one side of influence. The new rector cared about the decency and good behavior of the students and made every effort to make them obedient, quiet and hardworking children. He considered good behavior to be no lower than learning, if not higher. Of all the educational measures, Feofan liked to resort to reminders of his parents, saying: their good behavior and success in science will bring joy and joy to the parents, and bad behavior and laziness will bring sorrow and tears to the father and mother. - Probably, in this case, he was experiencing his childhood and remembered with what joy he came home from school, with what joy he met the joyful and dear faces of his father and mother, which served as a reward for his excellent success in science and good behavior, and he was afraid to sadden their loving faces. Hieromonk Theophan especially tried to ensure the religious education of children: he gave children books of religious and moral content to read, mainly the lives of saints, explained the holiday and Sunday Gospel and Apostolic readings before the liturgy and took care to develop in children a love for prayer and the house of God, he himself reverently performed church services, forcing the children themselves to sing and read in church. Theophan set the basis of his educational activities on the principle that is still recognized by many, but is put into practice by very few - Christian love. “Love the children, and they will love you,” the new boss usually said to teachers, which he later advised mentors to do when in such cases they turned to him for advice as an experienced Christian teacher. This, by the way, is one of the main reasons for success in education and raising children! Only those who truly love children can arouse the love of children, have an educational influence on their young hearts and harmoniously develop all the powers of soul and body. But in order to accomplish this and achieve good results in this case, you must first of all be a true Christian, with a tender and loving heart. This was Feofan; Being himself comprehensively developed, he saw well that when developing the mind, one must strive just as much, if not more, for the Christian development of the heart, otherwise ugliness will result. At least, this is what he advised his close relative who had children, with whom he was in constant correspondence, to do, pointing to a caricature seen in one magazine depicting a small, skinny boy with thin and small legs, but with a huge head, and Feofan made the following conclusion: “this is the modern education of the mind without the heart.” Nowadays, the success of education is expected from teaching methods and disciplinary rules alone, without proper love for children. True, techniques mean a lot in teaching, discipline accustoms students to order, but without Christian love the former often turn into pedantry, the latter into formalism, which is often noticed in our time, famous for didactic and pedagogical discoveries. Feofan in the forties, of course, was little familiar with the methodological methods of teaching, but his thoughts on the Christian upbringing of children are so significant and important for parents and educators that we consider it necessary to present them. The main goal of education is so that the child, having come of age and recognizing himself as a rationally free being, should primarily gravitate towards pleasing God, or the salvation of the soul. Education should begin from infancy “The baby lives, therefore, you can influence his life. Here we apply St. secrets, behind them all the churchliness; and with them the faith and piety of the parents.” “All this together will create a saving atmosphere around the baby. To all this, the grace-filled life conceived in the baby is mysteriously received.” "Frequent Communion of St. The Mysteries of Christ lively and effectively unite His new member with the Lord, through His most pure body and blood it sanctifies it, pacifies it within itself and makes it impregnable to dark forces. Those who do this notice that on the day when the child receives communion, he is immersed in deep peace, without strong movements of all natural needs, even those that act more strongly in children. Sometimes it is filled with joy and playfulness of the spirit; often St. Communion is also accompanied by miracles. St. Andrew of Crete did not speak for a long time as a child. When the contrite parents turned to prayer and grace-filled means, then during communion the Lord, by His grace, loosed the bonds of the tongue, after which he filled the Church with streams of sweet speech and wisdom. One doctor, based on his observations, testified that in most cases of childhood illnesses, children should be taken to Holy Communion, and very rarely had the need to use medical benefits afterwards.” “Frequently wearing it to church and holding it to St. has a great influence on children. cross, gospel, icons, covering with air; also at home - frequent offerings under icons, frequent making of the sign of the cross, sprinkling of St. water, blessing of the priest and prayers; in general, everything church miraculously warms and nourishes the grace-filled life of a child and is always the safest and most impenetrable fence from the attack of invisible dark forces that are ready to infect her with their breath.” “Under this visible protection there is something invisible: the Guardian Angel, assigned by the Lord to the baby from the very minute of baptism. He watches over him, invisibly influences him with his presence and, in necessary cases, inspires parents with what needs to be done with their child in extreme distress.” “But all these such strong fences, these strong and real inspirations can be ruined and deprived of the fruit by unbelief, negligence, wickedness and the unkind life of parents... On the contrary, the spirit of faith and piety of parents should be considered the most powerful means for preserving, nurturing and strengthening a grace-filled life in children. The point of contact between one soul and another is the gaze.” “Let the children of the soul of the mother and father come through this hole to the soul with the holy feelings of faith, love and hope. They cannot help but anoint her with this holy oil.” “When this churchliness acts on the soul of a child, then a spiritual atmosphere akin to it will be formed around the beginning life, which will pour its own character into it, just as blood, the beginning of animal life, depends a lot in its properties on the surrounding air. Here is an impenetrable barrier to the influence of the spirits of evil.” “Having started such a structure from the cradle, it must continue later and throughout the entire period of upbringing: in childhood, and in adolescence, and in youth.” “When a child’s strength begins to awaken, then, along with the attraction to God, the sin that lives in them also awakens. The inevitable consequence of this is internal warfare, which, due to the inability of children, is carried out by parents, but through their strength, inclining towards good and distracting from sin. The main motivators that lead to sin are self-indulgence (or inquisitiveness) in the mind, self-will in the will, self-indulgence in feeling, and carnality in the body. The tasks of Christian education are to prevail over them, weaken them and bring them to harmlessness.” First of all, the needs of the body awaken, and then constantly consist in living activity until death. The main functions of the body are nutrition, movement and sensitivity or nerve activity. The job of parents, satisfying natural needs, is to accustom children to moderation and abstinence in nutrition, in movements - to work with liveliness and sedateness, in the ability to accept external impressions - to painlessly endure changes in temperature, dampness, heat, cold, wounds, pain, etc. “Whoever has acquired such a skill is the happiest person in the world. The soul in such a person is the mistress of the body, on the other hand, the entrance to it is blocked by an indecent potion of sensual pleasures of self-will, body love or self-pity. And this is very important in a Christian life, by its very essence, detached from sensuality and all pleasures of the flesh. So, the development of the child’s body should not be left to chance, but it must be kept under strict discipline from the very beginning, so that it can then be transferred into the hands of the person being brought up, already adapted to Christian life, and not hostile to it. Christian parents who truly love children should not spare anything, not even their parental heart, in order to deliver this benefit to their children; for otherwise all subsequent deeds of their love and care will be either unfruitful or even fruitless. The body is the seat of passions, and for the most part the most ferocious ones, such as lust and anger. It is also the organ through which demons penetrate the soul. It goes without saying that in this case one should not lose sight of churchliness, for this will sanctify the body and pacify greedy animality.” “Along with the discovery of bodily needs, lower abilities do not slow down in the soul. These are the first beginnings of the use of feelings, which are immediately followed by the awakening of the imagination and memory. These abilities stand at the transition from bodily to mental activity and act together, so that what one does is immediately transferred to the other. Judging by the importance they currently have in our lives, how good and saving it is to consecrate their first beginnings with objects from the realm of faith. First impressions remain deeply memorable. It is necessary to remember that the soul appears into the world by naked force, grows, becomes richer in inner content, and diversifies in its activities only afterward. It goes without saying what nature the objects of feeling and imagination must be in order to contribute to the emerging Christian life. For it is known that just as the first food has a significant influence on the temperament of the body, so the first objects with which the soul is occupied have a strong influence on the character of the soul or the tone of its life. Let the senses receive the first impressions of sacred objects: an icon and the light of a lamp for the eyes, sacred songs for the ears, etc. Behind the senses, the first exercises of the imagination will be sacred: it will be easier for him to imagine these objects than others: these are his first folds, and for all subsequent time the same order must be maintained. It is known how strongly corrupted images influence the soul, no matter in what form they touch it. How unhappy is a child who, having closed his eyes, or being left alone and deepened in himself, is suppressed by a multitude of indecent images, vain, seductive, breathing passions. This is also for the soul as it is for the head. Contemporary with the abilities of feelings and imagination, the main task of which is to experience external impressions for knowledge, and not in inquisitiveness, that is, the tendency to dream and randomly entertain images, not giving the soul peace, but muddying it with the ebb and flow of dissolute visions, passions arise in the child and begin to disturb him from an early time. The child does not yet speak, does not walk, he has just learned to sit and take toys: but he is already angry, envious, appropriating for himself, being special, etc., in general, demonstrating the action of passions. This evil, which takes hold of animal life, is pernicious; therefore it must be opposed from its first manifestations. How to do this is difficult to determine. The whole matter depends on the prudence of the parents. However, the following can be decided: 1) to prevent their occurrence in every possible way; 2) then, if any passion has manifested itself, one must hasten to extinguish it by invented and tested means, thereby preventing their rooting, or predisposition to them. Passion, which is revealed more often than others, must be treated with special attention, because it can be the dominant manager of life. The most reliable way of healing passions is the use of grace-filled means; one must turn to them with faith. You should use them in every possible way at the beginning and then pursue them throughout your upbringing, so that the child can skillfully and get used to mastering them; for their outrageous raids will not cease until the end of life.” “If we strictly observe the prescribed order of action on the body and lower abilities of children, then their soul will receive from this an excellent preparation for a truly good mood 3 . Starting to present the further view of Jer. Feofan on the education of higher spiritual forces in children, we must say that he expressed this view when he was a bachelor of the St. Petersburg Academy. But then he supplemented, developed, and gave it a scientific form. The very thoughts about Christian upbringing of children, undoubtedly, were born when he raised children in Kyiv in the Christian faith and piety, for they testify to direct observation of the souls of children. But let’s let the teacher himself speak. “The truest good mood of children must be created by a positive effect on all the powers of their soul: mind, will and heart.” On the mind. The main thing that should be kept in mind is sound concepts and judgments based on Christian principles about everything that occurs or is subject to the attention of children. What is good and evil, what is good and bad. This is very easy to do through conversations and questions. The parents themselves talk to each other: the children listen and almost always internalize not only their thoughts, but even their turns of speech and mannerisms. Let parents, when speaking, call things by their proper names. For example: what real life means, how it will end, from whom everything comes, what are pleasures, what dignity do certain customs have, etc. In a short time, this simple means can convey sound principles for judgments about things, which will not be erased for a long time, if not for a lifetime. Thus, worldly wisdom and evil, insatiable inquisitiveness will be suppressed at the very root. The truth is accessible to everyone. Experience has shown that a small Christian child is wiser than philosophers. It still repeats itself, but before it was everywhere. For example, during martyrdom, small children reasoned rationally about the Lord the Savior, about the madness of idolatry, about the future life; this is because their mother or father explained this to them in a simple conversation.” To freedom. A child has many desires: everything occupies him, everything attracts him and gives rise to desires. A child left to his own devices becomes indomitably willful; Therefore, parents should strictly observe this branch of mental activity. The simplest means of keeping it within proper limits is to instruct children not to do anything without permission. The natural consequence of such a mood will be complete obedience and submission in everything to the will of the parents, in defiance of one’s own, the disposition to deny oneself in many ways and the skill to do this; and most importantly, the experienced conviction that one should not listen to oneself in everything. When weaning oneself from one’s will, one must teach the child to do good. To do this, let the parents themselves present an example of a good life, for children are inquisitive; then you need to call the children themselves to do good deeds, and first order them to do them, and then instruct them to do them themselves. The most common deeds in this case are: almsgiving, compassion, mercy, compliance and patience. From here will come the will with the mood for various good deeds and, in general, with an inclination towards goodness. And good deeds must be taught, like everything else.” On the heart. Under such action of the mind, will and lower forces, the heart will naturally tune in to have healthy, true feelings, acquire the skill of enjoying what truly delights, and not at all sympathize with what, under the guise of sweetness, pours poison into the soul and body. The heart is the ability to taste and feel full. “The most effective means for cultivating true taste in the heart is churchliness, in which raised children must always be kept. Church, spiritual singing, icons are the first most elegant objects in terms of content and power. We must remember that the future eternal (life) abode will be assigned according to the taste of the heart, and the taste of the heart there will be the same as it is formed here.” “A soul pacified and organized in this way will not, due to its inherent integrity, hinder the development of the spirit. The spirit develops more easily than the soul, and before it reveals its strength and activity. This includes: fear of God (in accordance with reason), conscience (in accordance with will) and prayer (in accordance with feeling). The fear of God gives rise to prayer and refreshes the conscience. There is no need that all this refers to another, invisible world. Children have a predisposition to this, and they soon internalize these feelings. Especially prayer is instilled very easily and works not with the tongue, but with the heart.” “That is why they willingly and tirelessly participate in home prayers and church services and are happy about it; Therefore, we should not deprive them of this part of education, but little by little introduce them into this sanctuary of our being. The sooner the fear of God is imprinted and prayer is aroused, the stronger piety will be in all subsequent times.” – “Conscience requires immediate guidance. Sound concepts, with the good example of parents and other ways of teaching good, and prayer will sanctify it and imprint sufficient grounds for subsequent good activity. But most importantly, they should develop a mood of conscientiousness and awareness. The will of parents for small children is the law of conscience and God; Departure from it should dispose children to (repentance) repentance. It would be good if a child came without fear, but with trust and tears, and said: “I did this and that badly.” Here the foundation will be laid for the future permanent true religious character - to immediately rise after a fall, the ability to quickly repent and purify oneself or be renewed through tears is formed.” “Here is the order: let the child grow in him, and the spirit of piety will develop in him. But here it is not the child himself who acts, but the parents who direct his actions, because he has not come to self-awareness. It is impossible to determine when a person comes to the consciousness of being a Christian and the independent determination to live as a Christian. In fact, this happens at different times: at 10, 15 years and later. Perhaps before this the time for learning will come, as is most often the case. In this case, the indispensable rule is to preserve the entire previous order without change and for the entire duration of training: for it essentially follows from the nature of our strengths and the requirements of Christian life. The order of training should not be in any way opposite to the mood shown, otherwise everything that has been created there will be ruined; that is, it should protect children - students, like infants, with the piety of everyone around them, churchliness, the sacraments, and should also act on their body, soul and spirit. At the same time, in relation to training, one should only add: let the training be arranged in such a way that it is clear what is important and what is subordinate. The idea of ​​this is most easily conveyed by the distribution of subjects of study and time. Let the study of faith be considered the main thing, let the best time be assigned to works of piety, let not only success in the sciences be valued, but also faith and good morals 4 This is the beginning and nature of Christian upbringing of children from birth to 15 years of age in the family and school! Parents begin, teachers and educators continue and conduct this holy work together, often consulting with each other, mutually helping and not abandoning each other in difficult circumstances, and most importantly, raising a Christian person and remembering well that the very study of science should be directed towards this great goal. Happy are those children who are raised this way: they will meet safely and spend their ardent youth with benefit. On the contrary, unhappy children are those whose parents did not give them a solid Christian foundation during their upbringing, or whose upbringing was based on wrong principles: the school is almost unable to destroy this evil and in rare cases can achieve good results. The initial parental education is so important: “it is the root, as the ever-memorable Theophanes asserts, and the foundation for everything that follows. A well-educated and directed person at home will not be so easily led astray by erroneous school upbringing.” Here's a lesson for parents from a Russian Christian teacher! But doubly happy are the children who, at the hands of their parents, enter a school whose leaders and teachers are true Christians, who are aware that the children entrusted to them must be made the same Christians, and who not only understand, but also care in word and deed to fulfill this great task. They are second fathers and make up for what was lacking in home education; They are those wonderful gardeners who in every possible way protect young trees from all harmful influences, so that they grow straight and true, so that they are so rooted and strengthened that they could eventually withstand all storms and bad weather. This is what the true relationship between home and school education should be! They are possible only with Christian upbringing of children, when family and school, parents and teachers pursue one goal - to educate them into true Christians, when the study of sciences and arts not only does not hinder, but contributes to the fulfillment of this main task of human existence here on earth. “Fathers (and teachers), do not provoke your children to anger (that is, do not develop wrong inclinations and wrong goals), but bring them up in the discipline and teaching of the Lord” (Eph. 6:5). We have written down Theophan’s thoughts on the Christian upbringing and teaching of children, showing some of the conclusions that follow from them, in order to see what was the nature of his activity as the head and teacher of Kiev-Sof. schools. This character was sublime: Theophan cared not only about temporary well-being, but also about their eternal happiness: trying to make true Christians out of children, he especially tried to develop their love for prayer and church services, to preserve in the youths childish purity, conscientiousness, obedience, humility and complete trust in elders - those praiseworthy qualities of the soul and heart, with which in mind the Savior told His to the disciples and people: unless you are like children, you will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Yes, Feofan was a wonderful teacher; Guided by the above stated principles of education, in the performance of his duties, he achieved great results. Along with fulfilling his official duties, (although not difficult, but) responsible to the Church and society, Hieromonk Theophanes paid attention to himself, to his spiritual self-education in accordance with his rank. Nothing is more conducive to self-deepening and moral self-government than monasticism. The educated monk Theophan, as soon as he accepted monasticism, zealously took up his spiritual self-development, which, by the way, the place and environment were conducive to. Kyiv, how joyful and holy this name is for everyone who is zealous for faith, piety and cleansing of his soul from passions and sins!.. Russians of all ranks and statuses strive to visit Kyiv and pray in the Lavra before the relics of many saints. saints, here resting in the fragrance; therefore, nowhere is there such an abundant flow of pilgrims as in Kyiv. On the other hand, nowhere is the soul so open to prayer, acts of grace and soul-saving reflections; nowhere are there so many confessors, elders, hermits who are able and willing to give advice, guidance and consolation to those asking, as in this cradle of the Russian Church. All this has always been experienced by pilgrims, all this has been experienced and is still being experienced by those living in Kyiv who, out of conviction, have accepted monasticism. This rare happiness befell Feofan: here he was brought up at a higher theological school, here he was born second, having accepted the rank of equal angels, here he was under the direct influence and care of his spiritual parents and educators. Yes, Theophan was glad that, after accepting monasticism, he had to stay in Kyiv, so he passionately devoted himself to the feats of self-mortification, fasting and prayer. He entered into close communication with the elders, often talked with them about vigils and fasting, in general - about the science or great art of monastic life, which is acquired not so much by theory as by practice. It often happens that monks who studied little in schools turned out to be very wise and skillful in monastic endeavors. Hieromonk Theophan knew this and therefore, with attention, like an obedient student, he listened to their advice and stories about the difficulties of a pious life and the networks of the enemy, which he places for those who are zealous for pleasing God; listening to them, he pondered them and applied them to his own monastic life, as far as possible. He wrote a whole study about this under the title: “What does one who has repented and entered on the good path of salvation need,” in which he pointed out that every person and layman in the matter of salvation certainly needs to have an experienced leader and spiritual father, and that without this, the best undertakings may not bear fruit. Guided by this principle, the young hieromonk Theophan was in close relations with his former teachers and educators, especially those with monastic rank - Jeremiah, Demetrius (Muretov) and with the Lavra monks, especially with the elder Parthenius, whom he revered as a father, and from them he received advice and instructions on how to conduct the difficult work of salvation. This time probably also dates back to the beginning of his study of the patristic ascetic writings, which he subsequently learned so thoroughly and with which, after St. Scriptures and St. Traditions, used in his extensive educational and literary activities. It must be assumed that the young monk’s own attraction to this holy work was inspired by the elders and learned spiritual leaders and showed him the way to become acquainted with them. Since then, the study of these great creations, imbued with the experience of his life, became the work of his whole life - he studied them both practically and scientifically, and was so imbued with their spirit that his speech, no matter what it was about, bore obvious traces of ascetic creations. It is difficult to identify his equal in this regard among modern spiritual teachers and writers. By the way, this study turned out to be, as we will see, necessary for his further service and activities for the benefit of St. Churches. It was not long before Hieromonk Theophan was the rector of the Kiev-Sophia Theological School, and it was not long before he had to use the advice and lessons of the monks of the holy city of Kyiv: in 1842, Hieromonk Theophan was appointed to the Novgorod Seminary as an inspector and professor of psychology and logic, a position that was more difficult and more responsible, but also higher. Theophanes resignedly obeyed this appointment, but it was painful for him to part with the Kyiv elders and his spiritual leaders, with whom he had become acquainted, who loved him like a son, and whom he himself loved and respected very much. I had to say goodbye to Kyiv, and this time forever. Arriving in Novgorod, full of historical memories and glorified by the exploits of St. saints, Feofan with ardor and great zeal took on the difficult and complex position of inspector and educator of young men. True, this is not a new activity for him - he was engaged in it in Kyiv under the guidance of such great teachers and educators as Dimitri (Muretov) and Jeremiah (Soloviev), but in Novgorod a lot of new work, effort and patience lay ahead, for he had to educate not children, but youths entering adolescence. Anyone who was brought up under the old regulations of 1815 knows very well that mental and moral self-awareness soon appears in seminary students, especially when they move to the philosophical class. At this time, from the age of 17 or 18, adolescents become young men, begin to think and act independently, i.e. according to their own consciousness and conviction, they enter into communication with the world and other people, they treat everyone and everything with trust and are cheerful and lively and with an abundance of physical and spiritual strength, but not yet established and undecided towards one or another type of life and activity. A wonderful, but dangerous age in a person’s life, for a young man is inexperienced, ignorant, and due to his gullibility and responsiveness to all influences and impressions, he can easily stray from the straight path and follow the wrong path of a vicious life. The guidance of an experienced teacher and loving father with true Christian convictions is very necessary and necessary here. The new inspector of the Novgorod Seminary was aware of all this and therefore used all his efforts and labors to direct the young men studying various sciences (and arts) in life and subsequent activities to please God and save the soul. And on this path, Feofan achieved no small results, suitable for us and future generations to learn and imitate. First of all, we have an excellent moral and psychological analysis of youth made by Feofan, an analysis that must be taken into account as a guiding principle by every father and educator of youth. It is great for the young men themselves to read this essay from time to time in order to be familiar with their age and know what is required to pass this age without stumbling and enter into life with good moral habits and Christian convictions. This is how Theophanes portrays youth from the moral and educational side in one of his best works on moral theology: “The river of our life is cut short by the wavy strip of youth. This is the time of effervescence of bodily and spiritual life. The child and the youth live quietly, the husband has few quick impulses, the venerable gray hairs are inclined towards peace; Youth alone is full of life. You need to have very solid support to resist the pressure of the waves at this time. The very disorder and impetuosity of movements is dangerous. The first of his own movements begin - the beginnings of the awakening of his powers, and have all the charm for him: by the power of their influence they displace everything that was previously placed on the mind and heart. The former will become a dream and a prejudice for him. Only real feelings are true, only they have reality and meaning. What can we say about someone who not only did not love Christian life and truth and had never even heard of them? “In this case, he is a house without a fence, given over to plunder, or dry brushwood, given up to burn in a fire. When the self-will of a youth’s thought casts a shadow of doubt on everything, when the excitement of passions greatly disturbs him, when the whole soul is filled with tempting thoughts and movements, the youth is on fire. Who will give him a drop of dew or coolness, or give him a helping hand, if a voice for truth, for goodness and purity does not come out of his heart? But he will not come out if love for them is not established first. Even advice will not help in this case. Then there is nothing to graft them onto. Advice is powerful if, going through the ear into the heart, it awakens there feelings that exist and have value for us, but are only currently removed by others, and we ourselves cannot figure out how to release them and give them their inherent strength. In this case, advice is a precious gift to the young man from the adviser. But if there are no beginnings of pure life in the heart, it is useless.” These beginnings are laid in home and primary school education, and therefore “how we emerge from our youth years depends very much on how we enter them. So it is saving before the years of youth not only to get a good mood, but also to seal oneself with a vow - to be a true Christian. Let him who is determined fear youth itself like fire, and therefore avoid all cases in which youth easily unravels and becomes indomitable.” “But youth becomes more dangerous if inclinations are added, from which youthful excitement flares up more strongly and acquires greater strength and danger. These are: a) a thirst for impressions and b) a tendency to communicate. The thirst for impressions imparts a certain speed, continuity and variety to the actions of the young man. He wants to experience everything himself, see everything, hear everything, go everywhere. Look for it where there is sparkle for the eyes, harmony for the ears, room for movement. He wants to be under a continuous stream of impressions, always new and therefore varied. He cannot sit at home, does not stand in one place, does not pay attention to one subject. His element is entertainment. Dreams, light reading, entertainment, all this is almost the same in spirit - children are thirsty for impressions, thirst for something new and varied. And the harm from them is the same. There is nothing better to kill the good seeds previously planted in the heart of a young man than with them.” “The second, equally dangerous, tendency of a young man is the tendency to communicate. It is found in the need for companionship, friendship and love. The need is noble, but it can also be dangerous! To whom you entrust your feelings, you give in some way power over yourself. How careful you must be in choosing a loved one! You will meet someone who can lead you far, far away from the straight path. It goes without saying that a good person strives for what is good and deviates from what is bad. The heart has some taste for this, but a heart in which the good principles laid down are not obscured.” “The very height of the dangers for a young man from being treated by the other sex. While in the first temptations the young man only strays from the straight path, here he also loses himself. In its first awakening, this matter is mixed with the need for beauty, which, from the time of its awakening, forces the young man to seek satisfaction for himself. Meanwhile, the beautiful little by little begins to take on an image in his soul, and usually a human one, because we do not find anything more beautiful than it... The created image is carried in the head of the young man. From that time on, he seems to be looking for the beautiful, that is, the ideal, not earthly, and yet he meets a human daughter and is wounded by her. This is the kind of injury that a young man should most of all avoid, because it is a disease, and the disease is all the more dangerous because the patient wants to be sick to the point of madness.” “How to ward off this ulcer? Do not follow the path that leads to injury. This path is depicted as follows: first, some kind of sad feeling awakens in the young man, it is unknown about what and from what. This feeling of loneliness. From this feeling another is immediately reflected - some pity, tenderness and attention to oneself; examining himself, the young man begins to feel his beauty, the pleasantness of the shape of his body, or to like himself. This ends the first movement of temptation towards oneself. From now on, the young man turns to the outside world.” “This entry into the outer world is animated by the confidence that it must please others; As a result, the young man makes it a law for himself to be neat, clean, smart to the point of being smart; begins to wander or look for acquaintances, as if without a specific goal, however, according to the secret attraction of a heart seeking something, and at the same time tries to shine with intelligence, pleasantness in behavior and attentive attention. At the same time, he gives full rein to the primary organ of soul communication – the eye.” “In this mood, he is like gunpowder exposed to sparks, and soon meets his illness. With a particularly pleasant look in his eyes or a particularly pleasant voice, as if struck by an arrow or shot down, he initially stands somewhat in a frenzy and stunned state, from which, having come to his senses and come to his senses, he finds that his attention and heart are drawn to one object and are drawn to it with an irresistible force. From that time on, the heart begins to be consumed by melancholy; the young man is sad, self-absorbed, and whatever he does, he does it for one person, and as if in his presence. He seems lost, ordinary affairs are forgotten, nothing is dear to him. He is sick with a severe disease that pinches his heart, constricts his breathing, and dries up the very sources of life. Here is the gradual progression of insults! Don’t go, young man, along this road and drive away the harbingers - vague sadness and a feeling of loneliness. Do something contrary to them: if you feel sad, don’t dream, but start doing something serious with attention and it will pass. Avoid pomp, desire to please others, and desire for visits. What a reliable fence in this case - strict discipline in everything, physical labor and even more mental work. Strengthen your studies, stay at home, don't have fun. You need to go out - save your feelings, run the other sex, and most importantly - pray.” “In addition to these dangers arising from the properties of adolescence, there are two more: firstly, the mood in which rational knowledge, or personal comprehension, rises to the skies. The young man considers it an advantage to cast a shadow of doubt on everything and to put aside everything that does not coincide with the standard of his understanding. With this alone he cuts off from his heart the entire mood of faith and the Church, therefore, he falls away from it and remains alone. Looking for a replacement for what was left behind, he rushes to theories constructed without consideration of revealed truth, entangles himself in them and expels all the truths of faith from his mind. There will be even more trouble if the reason for this is given by the teaching of science in schools and if such a spirit becomes predominant there. They think they have the truth, but they accumulate vague ideas, empty, for the most part even contrary to common sense, which, however, captivate the inexperienced and become an idol for the inquisitive young man. Secondly, secularism. Even though it may represent something useful, its predominance in a young man is detrimental: secular people hate inner life, true Christians for them are mystics, confused in concepts, or hypocrites, etc. Secularity introduces one into the world, and the world, with all its corrupt concepts and customs, is forced into the receptive soul of a young man, and he becomes its child. And this childishness is contrary to the childishness of God in Christ Jesus.” “These are the dangers for young men from youth! And how hard it is to resist. But for a well-educated person who has decided to devote himself to God before his youth, it is not so dangerous: endure a little, and then the purest and most blissful peace will come. Keep, young man, only the vow of Christian life, and for this, as much as you have strength and prudence, refrain from entertainment, indiscriminate reading of seductive books and dreams. How good it is to subject yourself in this case to strict and strict discipline and to be under guidance throughout your youth. Those young men who are not allowed to control their own behavior until adulthood can be considered happy. And every young man should rejoice if he is placed in such circumstances. The young man himself obviously can hardly achieve this; but he will show a lot of intelligence if he believes the advice to be more at home doing business, not to dream and not to read empty things. Let him reject entertainment with hard work, daydreaming with serious studies under guidance, to which reading should especially be subordinated, both in the choice of books and in the manner of reading. However, no matter how anyone does it, just let him do it. Passions, doubts, hobbies flare up precisely in this, so to speak, shaky fermentation of the young man’s mind. And who examines all the movements and deviations of his heart? It's the same as exploring the path of a bird in the air or the flight of a ship! Like the fermentation of a fermenting liquid, like the movement of the elements in their varied mixture, this is the heart of a young man. All the needs of so-called nature are in living excitement, each one gives voice, seeks satisfaction. Just as our nature is characterized by disorder, so the totality of these voices is also like the chaotic cries of a noisy crowd. What will happen to a young man if he is not accustomed in advance to put his movements into a certain order and has not imposed on himself the obligation to keep them in strict subordination to certain higher requirements. If these principles are deeply imprinted in the heart in the initial upbringing and then consciously accepted as a rule, then all the disturbances will occur as if on the surface, transitionally, without shifting the foundation, without shaking the soul” 5 . Adolescence is dangerous, as Feofan portrayed. The initial Christian education received in childhood by young men can protect them from falls and infatuation; but this will happen if the young men in their teacher meet a wise father who takes care of them as if they were his own children. Inspector Novg saw this clearly. semin. Theophan therefore used all the powers of his mind and moral experience to protect the young men entrusted to his leadership, on the one hand, from the dangers and hobbies of their age, and, on the other, to instill in them good habits and make them useful members of the Orthodox Church and the Fatherland. First of all, he tried to keep Novgor students. seminary in St. Church and under the influence of its grace-filled sacraments and other sanctifying means, knowing from my own experience that this is precisely what preserves and develops the sprout of St. Christian life. Morning and evening prayers were performed decorously and reverently by the students themselves, at which Inspector Feofan himself was constantly present, praying earnestly with the young men and thereby setting an example of how one should pray, advising them to constantly pray, especially before every task and in difficult circumstances of their lives. Often on Sundays and holidays he performed divine services and the sacraments of the Holy Eucharist, instilling in his young pupils that nowhere is the soul of a Christian so nourished by the grace of the All-Holy Spirit as in St. church, when they are present in it with due reverence and send fervent prayers to God and His saints, when, having confessed their sins, they approach the sacrament of St. with fear and trembling. Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, for the remission of sins and into eternal life. Moreover, Hieromonk Theophan often had soul-saving conversations with young men about how to live and relate to bodily needs so that they did not exceed the measure of natural functions. But he especially tried to instill in them concern for the soul, namely, so that it would always be with God, with fear of Him, and so that conscience would constantly oversee their thoughts, desires and deeds, thereby disposing them towards good and distracting them from evil. All orders, all discipline and atmosphere of seminary life were directed towards this, forming in them the habit of good behavior. The young inspector paid a lot of attention to extracurricular book reading: he advised young men to read more books of religious and moral content, especially St. Scripture and the writings of St. Fathers and legends about their instructive lives, exploits and works. It is possible to read books with human wisdom, but books of a good direction and not contradicting the words of the Divine. And so that the young men did not have fun, he was more concerned that they should be less idle, for this Feofan encouraged children to paint, carpentry and bookbinding, sometimes he took walks through the fields and groves, talking with them, like a father with children. This is how Hieromonk Theophan raised the students of the Novgorod Theological Seminary! He put the same principles into teaching logic and psychology: in psychology lessons, he tried to reveal and introduce the following important truth - internal self-awareness of mental phenomena and states: every person needs to see his human dignity and his moral shortcomings, but such internal self-awareness is achieved only by a Christian in a blessed state. He sees that his soul is by nature destined to fulfill the will of God and to move away from sinful and sensual lusts; he does not only see, but in fact strives to avoid sin and strive in virtues, if in life and activity he follows the commandments of God and the inspirations of the Holy Spirit living in him. Theophan reported quite extensive information about the very phenomena and powers of the soul, guided on the one hand by the information of philosophers and other scientific data, on the other by the word of God, the writings of the Holy Fathers and his own introspection. But at the same time, he tried to establish in young souls the correct view of the relationship of science to religion or knowledge to faith and piety and to determine the meaning of human wisdom. It is necessary to position the spirit of the students in such a way that their conviction does not fade that our main task is to please God, and scientificity is an additional quality, an accident, suitable only for the time of real life. And therefore it should not be placed so highly and in such a brilliant form that it takes up all the attention and absorbs all the care. There is nothing more poisonous and destructive for the spirit of Christian life than this scientific approach and exclusive concern for it. It directly plunges one into cooling, and then can keep him there forever... It must be established as an immutable law that every science taught to a Christian should be imbued with Christian principles, and, moreover, Orthodox ones. Our most dangerous misconception is that science is taught without any attention to true faith, allowing oneself liberties or lies, on the assumption that faith and science are two areas that are decisively separated. We have one spirit, it accepts science and is imbued with their principles, just as it accepts faith and is imbued with it. How is it possible that they do not come into favorable or unfavorable contact here? If education is conducted in such an order that faith and life in the spirit of faith rise above everything in the attention of the students, both in the manner of study and in the spirit of teaching, then there is no doubt that the principles established in childhood will not only be preserved, but will also rise, strengthen and come to a commensurate maturity. How beneficial this is! 6 Without a doubt, Theophanes conducted the training and education of the spiritual youth of the Novgorod Theological Seminary in this order. Hieromonk Theophan was in Novgorod for three years, and in that short time he managed to establish himself as a loving educator and an excellent teacher of the science of the human soul. He did not only care about the external integrity and good behavior of his students, but tried, by planting the seeds of faith and piety in young hearts, to make them capable, upon leaving the seminary, to serve the Church and the Fatherland, to save themselves and save others. In this case, Theophan followed the commandment of our Lord I. Christ, the example of the apostles and the teaching of St. Fathers, pastors and teachers of the Russian Church. Jesus Christ, pointing to children and young men and drawing the attention of parents and educators to their upbringing, said: Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones: for I say to you: for their angels in heaven always see the face of my heavenly Father (Matthew 18:10), that is, take care of their leadership in the kingdom of heaven, for they are in the special care of the heavenly father and the Holy One. angels assigned to them for safekeeping. A striking example of the fulfillment of this commandment is St. John the Theologian, friend and confidant of Christ: having entrusted one handsome young man to the bishop, he asked that special care be taken for his Christian upbringing. As you know, the apostle’s commandment was not fulfilled, the young man became corrupted, perished and would certainly have perished if his true father and educator had not found out about this at the time. Sorrow of St. The apostle was so strong that he forgot his senile years, and with the ardor of a young man rushed to the place where the young man was dying; having overtaken him as he fled, he fell on his knees before him and, with tears kissing the young man’s hand, asked him to spare the dying old man and to save himself from death. The voice of his loving father had a strong effect on the young man: he burst into tears and became an obedient disciple of St. John, by whose instructions and guidance he was saved from destruction and sent back to the kingdom of heaven. The Holy Fathers and teachers of the Church diligently cared about the upbringing of the children and young men entrusted to their care and tried, for the guidance of parents and educators in this great and very difficult matter, to find out the beginning, purpose, necessity and very method of the Christian upbringing of children and young men; St. worked especially hard. John Chrysostom. In his wonderful words about the Christian upbringing of children and youth, he teaches that the true education of youth is that they, having acquired the scientific knowledge necessary for life, learn to live like a Christian, and not in being noble, rich and occupying only prominent places, that parents should pay special attention to youth during their upbringing, because their age is dangerous, and for this, in order to turn them away from destruction, teachers and educators in childhood must raise them in a Christian way, otherwise they will answer before God at the Last Judgment. The pastors and teachers of the Russian Church of all centuries were deeply aware of these truths, and they deserve the credit for clarifying the principles of Christian education of children and introducing them into Russian society and into all Russian educational institutions. Among such saints and teachers, some of whom have died in God, others are still asceticizing in this life, Saint Theophan, in revealing the course of the Christian education of children and youth from the moral and psychological side, occupies a prominent place. But among other things, he developed these thoughts about education that he expressed when he was educating the young men of the Novgorod Theological Seminary Christianly. One of the living hierarchs, who was then under the educational supervision of Inspector Feofan, remembering with gratitude his pedagogical activity, said: “yes, Feofan was a wonderful teacher and a great man!” The highest spiritual authorities fully appreciated the mental and moral merits of Hieromonk Theophan and therefore at the beginning of 1845 they called him to the St. Petersburg Theological Academy for the position of bachelor of moral and pastoral theology. Its rector at that time was Afanasy (Drozdov) with the rank of bishop. Vinitsky, He is a learned man, but strict and close to the chief proc. St. Synod to Protasov. However, he was not rector for long; he was replaced by Eusebius (Orlinsky), a kind man with a strictly monastic orientation, to whom Theophanes, as an ascetic, was to his liking. Among the bachelors at this time was Fr. John, the famous canonist, (later bishop of Smolensk). Not without timidity and embarrassment, he accepted the new appointment as a bachelor of the St. Petersburg spirit. Academy, the modest hieromonk Feofan, who loves a quieter and more secluded life than the noisy and official one that it seemed like in St. Petersburg. One thing consoled and reassured him: one of his best comrades and friends from the Kyiv Academy was in service there, with whom Feofan became a monk at the same time and then lived together in the same room until the end of the course. This is Macarius, later Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, who compiled the remarkable work “Dogmatic Theology”, from which several generations received theological education. Macarius, who directly entered the service of the St. Petersburg spirit. Academy, has already become accustomed to St. Petersburg, the center of the highest authorities and spiritual enlightenment of the Russian Orthodox Church, excellently and learnedly lectured on the history of the Russian Church and the history of the Russian Old Believers; he was reputed to be the best professor and was in full view of the highest spiritual authorities. Macarius really received his comrade with open arms, introduced him to the procedures, persons and academic authorities. However, this was only necessary at the beginning: Hieromonk Theophan soon got used to the new situation, soon everyone liked him and eagerly took up the task entrusted to him of teaching moral Orthodox Christian Theology, a subject that he liked and with which he was significantly familiar - both in theory and in practice. Despite this acquaintance, however, there was a lot to do for the young bachelor, for he took teaching in a new way and, one might say, independently. Leaving the philosophical speculative soil, the young professor turned to ascetic and psychological experience, which is why fatherlandists and psychologists after St. Scriptures and works of St. Fathers, were the main sources of his lectures; his observations of the phenomena of his own true monastic life and the lives of many pious elders, with whom he often talked and corresponded, were a strong aid to him, using, of course, scientific and philosophical data on this very important subject. We will not characterize his readings on moral theology, since his Letters on Christian life, the Path to salvation and Letters on spiritual life sufficiently define and indicate their nature. Let's just say that in his readings Feofan tried to avoid abstract scholastic and other artificial school techniques. Without going into historical studies of the development of morality, he took care to teach the students of the academy, future pastors and teachers of youth, Orthodox Christian moral teaching, commanded to us by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, His Holy Spirit. apostles and teachers of St. Orthodox. Church and carried out in practice by holy people and ascetics of faith and piety. He seemed to be saying this to his educated listeners: “Here I am teaching you the teaching of faith and piety that our Savior Lord Jesus Christ brought to earth - the teaching that he taught to the apostles and disciples, whom He Himself taught how to live and act according to His law, and the apostles - their successors - St. Fathers and teachers of the Church, and these latter, taught by the Holy Spirit, passed on to us, to future generations. All people, sons of the Orthodox Church, following these instructions in life, were saved and thereby showed the right path, just as others can be saved; (at the same time, he described in detail, based on the experiences of ascetics and observations of the moral phenomena of the human soul, the very path of salvation). So, follow this path - you yourself will be saved and you will save others.” But Theophanes did not rely on his own strength; To make the lectures more effective, he showed their outline in advance to Archimandrite Ignatius Brianchaninov (later bishop), a well-known expert on ascetic works at that time, who read and approved it. Therefore, Theophan’s lectures on moral theology had the significance not so much of school lessons, but of life and activity lessons. They greatly influenced the listeners, especially since Hieromonk Theophan taught orally, imitating Macarius; at least one of the listeners, Konstantin Dobronravin, later Bishop Hermogenes, stated in print that Theophan, as a professor of moral theology, in his time belonged to outstanding figures. We can say that he revived this science, which had hitherto been considered secondary in the circle of theological sciences, showing that moral teaching is also a doctrine, only realized in life and activity, and that Christians should constantly strive for this as the main goal of their lives. In addition to teaching moral theology, Hieromonk Theophan was entrusted with other positions: academic librarian, at one time he served as inspector of the academy; In addition, he held the position of assistant inspector and was a member of the committee for reviewing notes taught in the seminary of educational subjects. Thus, his life in St. Petersburg became more and more complicated and became useful and fruitful for the Church. But suddenly Theophan’s pedagogical activity was interrupted: Hieromonk Theophan in 1847 was appointed to be one of the members of the Holy Sepulchre Brotherhood going to Jerusalem, under the command of Archimandrite Porfiry, a famous learned archaeologist. The main goal of the brotherhood was missionary, but it was also supposed to serve the pilgrims arriving in the Holy City. Many pilgrims from Russia visit Jerusalem every year, and all of them demand satisfaction of one or another religious needs. Some are looking for advice and guidance, others want to attend services in Russian. Many educated people of various ranks and statuses come to Jerusalem and must be led; members of the Orthodox brotherhood must meet these requirements. On the other hand, there are many people of other faiths with whom Orthodox representatives of the Russian Church have to deal and sometimes give answers to those who question them. Of course, all this can be done with great success by persons who have received a higher theological education, and among others, the choice fell on Bachelor Theophan, who was given as an assistant to Archimandrite Porfiry. It seems that Hieromonk Theophan himself desired and sought this appointment. In one letter to Jeremiah (Soloviev), he wrote, among other things: “Working at my position is boring to the point of nausea and distracts me from the church. It’s heaven there: I came to church, but I would never leave.” Prayer and monastic deeds attracted him and took precedence over all his activities. And so, when the Holy Sepulchre Brotherhood was formed, Feofan expressed a desire to be a member of it. His soul sought to visit those holy places where the light of Christianity initially shone, where our Savior Lord Jesus Christ, His disciples and apostles, their successors, holy fathers, devotees of faith and piety lived, acted and walked, therefore he willingly obeyed the orders of his superiors, in which he saw the instructions of God’s providence. The spiritual authorities knew who they were sending, for Hieromonk Theophan was already known at that time as an outstanding monk and ascetic. Rector of the St. Petersburg Academy, Archimandrite. Eusebius wrote to A.V. Gorsky, professor of the Moscow spirit. academy: “The Holy Sepulcher Brotherhood is leaving for its destination, among its members is the bachelor of our academy, Hierom. Feofan, a very good monk and ascetic! Maybe they will visit your blessed Lavra.” Having said goodbye to his St. Petersburg colleagues, Fr. Feofan, together with members of the Holy Sepulcher brotherhood, set off on a long journey to the Holy Land. Among the brotherhood were Archimandrite Porfiry, head of the mission, a famous expert on the East, Solovyov and Krylov, students of the St. Petersburg Seminary; it was supposed to be in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, as rector Eusebius wrote to Professor A.V. Gorsky, but it is not known whether they were there. In general, many were interested in the goals and objectives of this first Jerusalem mission, others even wanted to go there - to the Holy Land. A.V. Gorsky also wanted to go this way, but, as can be seen from his biography, he was distracted from this by his parents. On their way to the East, the members visited the bishops, and in Mogilev they talked with the famous Bishop Anatoly Martynovsky. Feofan was in admiration of his intelligence, experience and vigorous activity, and expressed this impression in a letter to Burachk, the editor of Mayak. In the same letter he expresses his complaints about the sad situation of Orthodoxy on the outskirts of Russia. Undoubtedly, they were in Kyiv; from here, encouraged by the good wishes of the Kyiv elders, they headed through Odessa to the Holy Land. In January 1848 they arrived in Constantinople, and in February of the same year in Jerusalem. Arriving in the holy city, the members of the brotherhood initially introduced themselves to the people of the Jerusalem Patrarchate and the Patriarch himself, humbly asking for his blessing for their upcoming exploits and labors. A synod was assembled on how to interpret the persons of the Russian mission, especially Archimandrite Porfiry in the mitre. This mission was mainly of a worshipful nature, therefore they visited all the places marked by the feet and deeds of our Lord Jesus Christ, St. His apostles and the Mother of God, they contemplated them with love, kissed all the monuments of St. with reverence. Christian faith, were often present in the Church of the Resurrection, worshiping the Holy Sepulcher, and often had to participate in general cathedral services together with the shepherds and bishops of Jerusalem. Often I had to lead and teach Russian pilgrims, visit them in hospices for the purpose of spiritual guidance and be their spiritual fathers. Undoubtedly, Hieromonk Theophan in this case provided great assistance to Archimandrite Porfiry. By this they showed the height and purity of Orthodoxy; They especially elevated it in the eyes of heterodoxy with their magnificent worship, which they had to perform alone without the Greeks. Getting acquainted with the East, members of the brotherhood traveled to all the holy places; were on the Jordan and where Bethlehem, Nazareth and other evangelical cities stood, were in Syria, Egypt, saw the ruins of Thebes and other historical monuments of ancient history. G. Solovyov painted various views and took photographs from icons, portraits, etc., while others copied interesting articles from Greek manuscripts, and I, as Fr. Archimandrite Porfiry, in his travels around Egypt, worked diligently with his pen along with Theophan. During the journey, we saw the Patriarchs of Alexandria and Coptic, saw and talked with many elders of ancient monasteries, saw the cave where Paul of Thebes labored; were in Sinai and saw a manuscript, which, as the oldest manuscript dating back to the 4th century, became interested in the learned archaeologist Fr. Porfiry and which, on behalf of the Russian government, was published by Tischendorf. This was a purely official activity that was carried out by all members of the brotherhood, in accordance with the instructions given to them in St. Petersburg upon departure to Jerusalem. Along with this activity, Jer. Theophan also did what his heart was drawn to: so, he became acquainted with the ascetic life on Athos, in Egypt and in the Lavra of Sava the Sanctified and he himself tried to imitate them, he studied the writings of the ancient ascetics, for which he rummaged through the libraries of the East, trying to find for himself the necessary, useful manuscripts. At the same time, one thing put him in a sad mood: the poor maintenance of libraries, the indiscriminate loss of some sheets in valuable books and manuscripts. As for using them, in this case, with acquaintance with the heads of the libraries, extensive knowledge of ancient languages ​​and monastic rank, there were no obstacles. Hieromonk Theophan made more use of Fatherland books, collections of the writings of St. ascetics; The collection of manuscripts and printed publications dates back to this time, which he later published in translation from Greek or Modern Greek into Russian. At the same time, Theophan was translating the works of St. in parts. Fathers, the Greek Philokalia, and, through acquaintance and constant communication with many educated Greeks, he became so familiar with the Greek and Modern Greek languages ​​that he freely understood their spoken language and could communicate with them in this dialect. Moreover, Theophanes in Jerusalem acquired some knowledge in the Hebrew and Arabic languages, having one or another everyday relationship with the Jews and Arabs, who make up a significant part of the population of Jerusalem and its environs. Necessity forced me to learn French, because it was the language of all official and written international relations. Finally, there - in Jerusalem, priest. Feofan became acquainted with Lutheranism, Catholicism, Armenian-Gregorianism and other Christian heterodox faiths from living examples. It should be noted that all these faiths have their own learned representatives, their own altars and schools, where their followers find satisfaction for their religious needs. Feofan had to have frequent conversations and official business relations with the clergy of these faiths. In Jerusalem, as if in focus, all confessions of the Christian religion converge, so that there, in this cradle of Christianity, they can draw strength and find justification for their beliefs. This is one of the places where one can become better acquainted with the teaching, worship and moral activities of members of various denominations of Christianity. Theophan acquired significant knowledge here and experience in dealing with people of other faiths, - in fact, he learned what the strength of their propaganda and weakness was, and therefore he himself could successfully counteract the aspirations of Catholicism and Protestantism that are harmful to Orthodoxy, and give reliable advice to others, as he really did give to those who turned to those who turned in this case for advice and instructions. - So Theophan’s ministry to the Orthodox Church in Jerusalem continued for 7 years. There is no doubt that the members of the brotherhood, if not completely, then largely fulfilled the instructions given to them in St. Petersburg - to elevate Orthodoxy in the Holy Land, for soon after a permanent mission was established in Jerusalem, which fully satisfied the religious needs of Russian pilgrims and, before heterodoxy, showed the height of our Orthodox Church. Now she stands strong, has her own church, her own hospices and her own schools. As for Theophan himself personally, his stay in Jerusalem was of great importance for him: here he became acquainted with the ancient asceticism of the holy eastern monasteries, especially Savva the Sanctified and St. Mount Athos, entered into a close spiritual connection with the Athonite elders, who influenced his ascetic exploits and published his works; here he finally developed his religious and moral worldview, which he later outlined in his essay “The Path to Salvation.” Here he acquired many ancient manuscripts and generally became acquainted with the ascetic writings of the ancient ascetics, the fruit of which were the publications: “Meterikon, Fatherly Instructions”, attached to Volume 2 of Letters on Christian Life, the writings of Abba Isaiah “Philokalia” in 5 volumes and ancient monastic regulations. The Lord was pleased to place his future ascetic and pillar of Orthodoxy at the center of Orthodoxy and other Christian confessions, so that he would perfect himself in asceticism and serve as a model of faith and piety for others. The Orthodox Christian Church here was not in a flourishing state: everything was under the rule of the Mohammedan Turks. The very Church of the Resurrection, where the burial place of our Lord Jesus Christ is located, is guarded by Turkish guards, who accompany all the entrances and exits of the Jerusalem Patriarch, and in the solemn exits, in front of a huge crowd of pilgrims, the Patriarch, as Feofan reported, is carried by the Turkish police. The natives praying: Greeks, Arabs and Armenians, during the service, stand in fezzes; such silence and reverence is not observed as we have in St. churches They are not peaceful either, they are constantly armed, they often quarrel among themselves, sometimes entire villages engage in armed clashes with each other, not paying attention to the Turkish governor sitting in Jerusalem. Therefore, traveling to holy places without armed guides is impossible. The city of Jerusalem itself, although not small, is disorderly, its streets are so narrow that the women mistresses of opposite houses talk freely to each other without leaving their rooms. At all times, such a deplorable state of Jerusalem was recognized, and there were attempts to raise it to its proper height, but the Lord wanted it to be trampled underfoot by tongues until the times of tongues ended. By the way, one of the reasons for this position of Jerusalem in religious and political terms was and is the discord and unpeace of Christians of different faiths: Catholics and Protestants are constantly trying to show everyone that they alone profess the pure truth of Christianity, and one way or another, although fruitlessly, they are trying to humiliate Orthodoxy. This is what their propaganda is mainly based on. Theophan saw this sad situation of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem and, together with other members of the Russian mission, tried with his life, with his aspirations for the heavenly Jerusalem to show the height and purity of Orthodox Christian doctrine and moral teaching. This was primarily the work of the missionary activity of Hieromonk Theophan, and here he remained faithful to his main principle - to show everyone the right path to the kingdom of heaven. These works and the spiritual experience of Hieromonk Theophan did not hide, and so in 1853 he was called to Russia to be appointed to a higher service to the Church and the Fatherland. In the most difficult time, Hierom. Feofan, along with other members of the brotherhood, had to return from Jerusalem to Russia: it was the Crimean War; therefore, he did not go the direct route through the Black Sea, but through Western Europe, because the path there was not clear. The saint himself, in a letter dated November 18, 1855 to Archimandrite Peter, at that time inspector of the Kyiv seminary, describes his return from Jerusalem as follows: “Your desire to know some details about our vacillation (of course, the main return from Jerusalem) is not able to satisfy. I almost forgot everything. I didn’t notice the pencil there, because we had a book with us... Fr. Porphyria. - Just a little something. For the first time Venice. Must be seen. It's impossible to describe. A city on or in the water. “Instead of chariots there are gondolas.” – Next, Fr. Feofan introduces the sights of the Church of St. Mark: “In the sacristy of the church there are things taken from Constantinople from the St. Sophia Church: an icon of the Mother of God and many other things... I don’t remember. Gold candlesticks – large, prefigurative. – In another sacristy there are three crosses with a life-giving tree – Constantine, Helena, Irina; a spoke from a crown of thorns, one of the nails with which the Savior was nailed to the cross, and vessels with particles of various relics. To the left in the church there is a miraculous icon painted by the Evangelist Luke, which is opened only on Saturday. I don’t remember anything else about the church. The church is huge and awe-inspiring. Of the mosaic paintings (only the upper part is covered with them), there are also new ones - elegant ones. The old ones are poor in appearance. They depict the sacred history of the Old and New Testaments in parts - and there are desert dwellers... and even more so Eastern ones. – We examined many churches. There are pictures that are a sight to behold... and the cleaning of churches is a marvel... One monastery church is a marvel. Curtains are made of multi-colored marble in places, so pull them... In one church, the relics of St. Savva - only the chest with the head and legs from the knees. There is nothing else, which is why it seems small. In the other - St. Athanasius - whole - and St. John the Merciful in the 3rd church... are also intact. All of them are in the side chapels above the altars in a niche and behind glass. But we were allowed to kneel on the throne and look closer and even kiss the glass. The appearance of the relics is gloomy. The heads and parts of the legs are open. – The Doge’s Palace is magnificent and huge. I don’t remember what was there... Yes... they showed a dungeon near it, in which criminals were hidden during the times of the republic, and a place where a machine cut off a head in the blink of an eye... - What else? I completely forgot everything... The Grand Canal winds through the city. We walked in the evenings. All the former noble houses are there, but they are empty and decaying without support. There is Greek there. church (i.e. in Venice)... the Greek state and Metropolitan Benedict - a 90-year-old old man... We dined with him. He was the head of the Dalmatian Orthodox Christians: but for sin's sake... he wanted to convert to Catholicism - they barely removed him. Receives a pension from the Austrian government. Now he is Orthodox. Well now everything is exhausted! Is that enough? Undoubtedly on his way to Russia, Fr. Feofan had to visit many other significant cities of Catholicism and Protestantism, see their churches, libraries and scientific museums, and had to talk with many learned persons - secular and clergy. In Florence, Theophanes visited art galleries, contemplated the wonderful works of Raphael and other famous artists, and acquired complete and beautifully executed photographs in the form of atlases. It should be noted that Theophan was a lover of spiritual painting, understood it and himself practiced a little, which art he acquired in Jerusalem, as entertainment from his official duties and academic studies. I saw the icon of the Savior in the Crown of Thorns, painted by Theophan: it was painted in a strictly Byzantine style and amazes with the height and holiness of its expression, and I also saw photographs from art galleries depicting works of Italian artists. Bishop Theophan himself showed me, who was honored to be with him in 1870. In German cities, Hieromonk Theophan visited various scientists and educational institutions, with the goal of seeing how science in general and theology in particular stands there. In short, this journey complemented the extensive knowledge that he had previously acquired through books. Having arrived in St. Petersburg, Hieromonk Theophan was affectionately received by the highest spiritual authorities and his former colleagues at the academy, especially Archimandrite Macarius, who was already the rector of the St. Petersburg Academy. There were three places to choose from in the spiritual and educational department: two at the Kyiv Academy, one at the St. Petersburg Academy. Macarius recommended to the Kyiv Academy - to the department of church history, but Fr. Feofan allowed the authorities to appoint him, and he was appointed to teach canon law at the St. Petersburg Academy, instead of Hieromonk John, the famous canonist, who was transferred to Kazan. At the same time, Nikanor (Brovkovich), later Archbishop of Odessa, entered service at the academy. It is impossible to determine what the nature of his teaching of church laws was, for there were no lectures left; but it is certain that Theophan tried to reveal the immutable truth that the power to govern the children and issue laws for moral and religious deanery belongs to the Church, that this power was received by the saints, the apostles from Jesus Christ Himself, and now all shepherds and teachers receive through the Holy Spirit, by reception from the apostles in the sacrament of the priesthood. Therefore, we, as obedient children, must obey church authority in order to be saved; disobedience in this case leads to a falling away from St. Church and, consequently, to destruction. “The commandment of the Church: if the Church disobeys, be like a pagan and a tax collector.” The following words of the Savior: “If you bind on earth, they will be bound in heaven; and if you loose on earth, they will be loose in heaven” show that the power of the Church to govern and lead Christians in religious and moral life was given by the Lord to the apostles and shepherds of the Church (Matthew 18:17–18). These thoughts, scientifically revealed to the students of the St. Petersburg Academy, are clarified by Feofan in many places in his numerous works. Their main idea is this: we are saved in St. The Church, under the leadership of its legitimate shepherds, the very church rule is also a moral teaching, only in practical application to life and activity. By this time, Hieromonk Theophan became acquainted with some high society figures of St. Petersburg, whose circle expanded more and more over time. The mere fact that he lived in Jerusalem for quite some time elevated him and brought many admirers to him; but Feofan also possessed excellent qualities of mind and heart, which attracted many people from the highest secular circle to him. This is an understanding of the religious and moral needs of the interlocutors and penetration into the inner depths of their souls and a selfless and sincere desire to help them in the matter of salvation. This is the ability to speak, to arouse interest in sublime religious truths, the ability to encourage, with the awareness of one’s shortcomings, and to encourage correction and repentance. Moreover, Theophanes was not rigoristic, applied himself to the position and rank of persons, was amiable, sociable, but without compromising the truth, and knew how to conduct a conversation with high society persons in French. Therefore, many of them turned to him for advice and guidance in faith and piety, some even became his spiritual children. Among such persons, by the way, was Princess Pelageya Sergeevna Lukomskaya, the wife of the court architect and a close relative of the famous dignitary Ya. I. Rastovtsev. Princess Lukomskaya was a very intelligent, extremely attractive and well-behaved person; Having experienced a lot of grief, anxiety and unrest in her life, she sought consolation in the Christian religion. Theophan appeared as her spiritual leader in faith and piety. What was the nature of spiritual leadership is shown by the letters about Christian life written to her. Meanwhile, the spiritual authorities did not ignore the merits of Hieromonk Theophan in Jerusalem: soon after his arrival from the Holy Land, he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite and in September 1855 he was appointed to the highest position of rector of the Olonets Theological Seminary, and in May 1856 - head of the mission in Constantinople. We do not dwell on Feofan’s activities as rector of the Olonets Theological Seminary, because it was short-lived. This is how Feofan describes his stay in Petrozavodsk in a letter to Archimandrite Peter. “It was with great effort that your letter reached God-saved Petrozavodsk,” and I struggled with pen and paper to answer you. Thank you very much for your love and well wishes. Here (in Petrozavodsk) the people are submissive, but not very talented, although sometimes they jump out. We don’t have a seminary yet – that is. housings. By right of the strong, we live in a house bought for the school, and it is in an apartment. Bursa seminary is also in the apartment - which is very, very inconvenient. But what to do? A definition may soon be issued - to build. But as soon as it is Russian, I cherish the sweet hope that this matter will not fall on me. And God forbid! You can’t even imagine what inconvenience there is in everything!.. I haven’t seen anything good. In general, the city is not selfish. What about the split? Uh! God forbid! - God forbid! Then we established a schismatic class, where these things are taught on a par with Theology. And a lot of things need to be established, both in terms of content, and in terms of management, and in terms of life, and in terms of books... The slower you go, the further you will go! - My room is not what it is. But it’s not a sin to wish for better. - Either way, if you endure it, you will fall in love... - The iconography here is from Suzdal. I have a drawing and iconography class at the seminary, and through this I think I can improve matters. And here the schismatics draw. And your icons will be used as samples... What was the official activity of rector Feofan? In all likelihood, she was distinguished by the same type of relationship with the young men that marked his activities in Novgorod as a seminary inspector. It must be assumed that Archimandrite Theophan would have brought great benefits to the position of rector: he had a lot of pedagogical experience, scientific knowledge, and, moreover, he was in full bloom of mental and physical strength. Maybe he had already managed to get used to his new colleagues, maybe the young men already loved him like a father; in any case, good relations were established, and Feofan wished to leave behind the memory of his stay in Petrozavodsk: he donated many books and manuscripts from his own library to the seminary library, for which he received a blessing from the Holy Synod. In Constantinople, Archimandrite Theophan was the head of the mission for only one year. He was fully prepared for this position: being in Jerusalem under the command of such an experienced and learned man as Archimandrite Porfiry, Theophanes had considerable experience in conducting missionary affairs. He was fluent in Greek and French and could communicate freely with Greeks and Turks and with representatives of Christian faiths, which was absolutely necessary given the then church situation in Constantinople. Constantinople The Orthodox Church, as is known, was going through difficult times at this time: a quarrel between the Greeks and the Bulgarians began. The Bulgarians defended their religious independence and demanded worship in a natural language and shepherds from their people. They were supported in these legal demands by the Turkish government and many representatives from the Western powers. The Patriarchate of Constantinople, as you know, warmly took this to heart and did not agree to any concessions. As a result, the church situation in the East was very serious. Our spiritual superiors were aware of this, and this explains the hasty appointment of Archimandrite Theophan as head of the mission in Constantinople, despite the fact that he had just been appointed to the post of rector of the Olonets Theological Seminary. The Holy Synod placed great hopes on him as an expert on the East and a peace-loving man, capable of helping to end feuds peacefully; this was also the wish of the Sovereign Emperor Alexander II, who was embarrassed by the enmity of two peoples of the same faith. This peaceful desire was shared by many of the highest representatives of our government and the highest hierarchs of our Church; Among them was Innocent, Archbishop of Kherson. When Archimandrite Theophan passed through Odessa to the place of his new assignment, Innocent, during a meeting with him, asked him, his former student, to collect and deliver accurate information about the situation in which the Greek-Bulgarian question was, and in general about the state of the Orthodox Church in the East. The answer to this request is a letter from Archimandrite Theophan to Archbishop Innocent dated March 9, 1857. 7 It represents a very thorough and detailed report, divided into two halves. In the first half, Archimandrite Theophan talks about the movement that was then taking place among the Bulgarians, and about the relations between the Bulgarians and the Greeks, and in the second, about the state of the Eastern Orthodox Church, mainly the Patriarchate of Constantinople. We point to this letter from Theophanes because it characterizes his activities in Constantinople; but we will not set out its contents in detail, for this feud ended long ago in favor of the Bulgarians and is now part of history. Let’s just say that Archimandrite Theophan was the first to inform our spiritual superiors of the correct information about her, and had his letter at hand among the documents. Macarius, at that time Archbishop of Lithuania, who was entrusted by the Holy Synod with giving a judgment on the Bulgarian schism. It is known that Macarius, like Theophanes and A.V. Rachinsky, spoke out for the justice and legality of the Bulgarians’ demands: this was the response of the Russian Church of Constantinople. Thus, Theophanes, living in Constantinople and directly observing the emerging conflict between the Bulgarians and the Greeks, was sympathetic to the former, but by doing this he only paid a debt to the truth. He himself was at peace with everyone, with the Greeks and the Bulgarians and with the members of the embassy - envoy A.I. Butenev and secretary Novikov, and with his colleagues. He especially loved Hierodeacon Ananias, who studied at the St. Petersburg Academy: being the rector of the academy, he helped him obtain a candidate’s degree, for he graduated from the course as a full student. For his peacefulness and friendliness, they fell in love with Archimandrite Theophan and secular people living and visiting Constantinople, with whom they had to talk about objects of faith. At this time Fr. Feofan became known to Count A.I. Tolstoy, who was a passionate lover of the Greeks and the Greek Church. This acquaintance, as we will see, had a great influence on his subsequent service to the Church, when the count became chief prosecutor of the Holy Synod. At the same time, his famous correspondence with Princess Lukomskaya began, the fruit of which was Letters on Christian Life. However, Theophanes did not have to stay in Constantinople for long: a new, more prominent field of service to the Church and the Fatherland opened up for him. On May 1, 1857, the rector of the St. Petersburg Academy, Bishop Macarius of Vinnitsa, was moved to an independent department in Tambov. Two candidates were in mind for the position of rector in St. Petersburg: the rector of the Moscow Theological Academy, Archimandrite Eugene, and the rector of the embassy church in Constantinople, Archimandrite Theophan. Metropolitan Philaret and others stood for Eugene, but the Lord wanted Theophan to be the rector. Probably, this decision was influenced by the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, Count A.P. Tolstoy, who knew Feofan well, for St. Petersburg Metropolitan Gregory hesitated between the indicated candidates. Therefore, by decree of the Holy Synod of June 13, 1857, Feofan was appointed to the post of rector of the St. Petersburg Academy. There has been an almost continuous series of articles about Saint Theophan in Soulful Reading since the day of the death of the Saint. Now let's talk about his activities as rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. Having become the rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy on June 17, 1857, Archimandrite Theophan tried to imitate his famous predecessor Macarius, who was reputed to be the best rector and professor of Dogmatic Theology. At first, Theophan took on all the duties of the rector, but with the rector’s position there were many other complex responsibilities, especially in translating the books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament into Russian, in publishing Byzantine historians and in editing the Christian Reading. Therefore, Archimandrite Theophan left the actual readings and paid attention to the students from the side from which his influence was especially desirable. Every day he invited students on duty from both courses to his place, inquired about the readings of the professors, tested how the students perceived the readings, and if he met any confusion on their part, he tried to explain, pointed out patristic sources on one or another department of science, inspired them to independently think and work, especially when writing so-called course essays. For these classes, many students had free access to it and found the necessary manuals and guidance, but mainly Fr. the rector cared about planting a good, true Christian trend in young minds and pointed out the destructiveness of the trend that was dominant in the West - both in science and in life, and at that time making its way to us in all possible ways. Being an excellent psychologist and observer of religious and moral life, Archimandrite Theophan loved to talk with students on Christian Psychology, and these conversations about the soul and its highest aspirations, with instructions on how to realize them in earthly life, were very popular with smart young listeners, so that one of these listeners, evaluating Op. Feofan “The Outline of Christian Moral Teaching” and occupying a prominent position in life and science in our time, recalled these conversations of Feofan as the best moments of his academic life 8 . So they were lively, convincing and deeply edifying, for they were like conversations between a father and his children. Going to lectures by professors and being present at exams, O Rector Feofan monitored the entire progress of educational affairs at the academy, making sure how the students perceived the lessons of the mentors and his own home conversations and how they affected the mental and moral makeup of the students. However, the rector followed mainly the good direction, and did not constrain either students or professors in their work, giving them complete freedom in this case, well understanding that, with a Christian direction, everyone can work according to their strength and mental makeup. Among the students' written works, Rector Feofan paid great attention to sermons. He advised them to engage in this first task of shepherding with attention and love, pointing out that they, who were preparing to be shepherds, would need preaching - he advised them to read the works of the Holy Fathers and the sermons of the best modern preachers - in order to imitate them. And in this case he himself served as an example and model: during the entire period of his rectorship, which lasted two years, he delivered more than 20 sermons. These sermons were delivered in St. Isaac's Cathedral, Alexander Nevsky Lavra and other churches in St. Petersburg, on major holidays and royal days, with huge crowds of people and often in the presence of Royal Persons and high dignitaries, when the solemn service was performed by Metropolitan Gregory himself with other bishops. The sermons themselves, if you pay attention to their content, disclosure and presentation, are written with great care and inspiration. It is not surprising that the listeners liked them and gained him fame as the best preacher and very intelligent theologian at that time, since they responded to the demands of the time and satisfied the religious needs of society. That time (the time of the 50s and 60s) was a time of new mental fermentation: religious mysticism and philosophical idealism were abandoned, and from the West, through literature and science, thoughts of unbelief in all kinds of forms and rationalism, which the inexperienced worshiped, came to us - many people were especially carried away by the ideas of progress, that is, movement forward, on which they placed great hopes, thinking that salvation lay in them and the happiness of mankind, one has only to accept them and apply them to life and religion, modifying both according to the needs of the time. These thoughts, which, in relation to religion and moral teaching, were essentially the same thoughts of unbelief, were all the more carried away by young heads because the natural sciences, which were especially flourishing at that time, were, as it seemed to them, on their side and confirmed their views. And it took a lot of intelligence, labor and skill to shake confidence in these current ideas. Theophan took up this matter, together with others - the true sons of Christ's Church. Protecting students from such thoughts, Rector. Feofan, in private conversations, pointed out their harmfulness, forbade them to walk unnecessarily along Nevsky Prospect and make acquaintances with unknown young people, to visit public libraries, together with professors he strictly assessed their thoughts and direction in their writings; At that time, remarkable articles appeared in Christian Reading about the progress of Professor Shalfeev, written, perhaps, on the advice of the rector. Once even the bishop himself, Metropolitan Gregory, came to the academy and, having gathered all the students, convinced them to be faithful sons of the Orthodox Church and not to get carried away by the spirit of the times. Archimandrite Theophan and all the children of the Orthodox Church protected from harmful thoughts of unbelief and free-thinking, especially since many, embarrassed by their appearance, turned to him, as a spiritual father, for advice and consolation at the time when he was the rector of the academy 9 “Do not be embarrassed, so he consoled his spiritual children that the path of the wicked will be sung. The sons of truth and light are led to glory through tribulations, and the Lord sees his chosen ones. Do not argue with the sons of this age if you cannot, leaving the battlefield to others, but express the truth simply and with the power of warm conviction. After this, descend with your attention into your heart, and abide there with the sweetest name of the Lord. You will feel right at home; blasphemous thoughts will be like the crackling of a weather vane over a house, the sounds of which do not reach the landlord sitting calmly inside the house.” Regarding progress in his St. Petersburg sermons, Feofan admits that we are indeed improving, moving forward, inventing and adopting many new things. May God bless every good improvement, and bless the efforts of those who devote themselves to it. But the true measure of the beneficence of improvements should be their conformity with the spirit of the Christian faith; everything that cools one’s faith and alienates one from the Church should not be considered a sign and fruit of true improvement and prosperity (progress), but a return back (regression), decline and destruction. In a word, in this case we must follow the great behest of the unforgettable Sovereign Emperor Alexander II, the father of the fatherland: “let the light of saving faith, illuminating minds, strengthening hearts, preserve and improve more and more public morality - this surest guarantee of order and happiness.” And here it is not a word that is needed, but a deed. Otherwise, we will be exposed to the same dangers that some countries of the West have been exposed to, where the enemy of the human race, under the deceptive pretext of civilization, humanity, and common humanity, managed to sow many heresies, superstitions, free-thinking and produce many forms of life that distract from the Holy Spirit. faith and making people sons of this age 10. Especially strikingly, Archimandrite Theophan in the same sermons depicts the spirit of the world or unbelief in its practical application to life. The spirit of the world is the spirit of enmity against God, it is the spirit of mutual cooling between people. Such people, having forgotten God and their purpose for eternal life, care only about satisfying the lusts of the flesh and worldly pleasures. And here we have parks, spectacles, theaters, musical evenings, home performances, live paintings, concerts, balls, fireworks, pleasure gardens open everywhere, where everyone is invited without distinction of gender and age, without distinction of Sundays, holidays and fasts. Hundreds of hands are busy describing and pictorially depicting all this in hundreds of sheets, newspapers and magazines, where they vie to present it in the most attractive and seductive colors. You see, the spirit cries out, how the spirit of the world overcomes us and, stripping us of the chaste robe of Christian life, clothes us in the shameful rags of lustful deeds and customs. All this is considered the law of naturalness and the tone of an educated person. No one dares to rebel; the enemy persecutes, and many are afraid to reveal holy faith in their deeds. But let us not fear the enemy and let us escape from the temptations of the world, not only in body, but also in soul. Let us contrast this spirit of God-forgetfulness and unbelief by walking in the purifying fear of God, living faith and living by faith, keeping our minds from hesitation and doubt and our hearts from passionate hobbies, praying for the enlightenment of those who already have the misfortune of being entangled in the seductive and illusory networks of a God-fighting and unbelieving world. Let us contrast the spirit of worldly mutual coolness and division with brotherly love for each other, all-round carnal lust - sobriety, abstinence in everything and self-mortification proper for Christians, believing that our paradise is not on earth, but in heaven, where the Lord and our Savior will sit at the right hand of God and wait for all who labor to preserve life according to His spirit. Let us drive away this cowardly timidity and timidity to walk openly in matters of faith and piety with unshakable confidence in our rightness. But our good works should not consist of personal withdrawal from the spirit of the world and resistance to Him alone: ​​parents and educators, who are entrusted with the sacred task of education, must raise children in faith and piety. Most of all, let us shed tears of prayer to the Lord God, the conqueror of the world, that He may raise up among us good workers, zealots of faith and piety, and may He lead them in their work, so that with living words and writings and deeds they will enlighten our minds, improve our lives and drive away the charming intoxication brought upon us by the flattering spirit. 11 The influence of Archimandrite Theophan's sermons on St. Petersburg society is undeniable. Moreover, Feofan, having a great acquaintance with secular people in St. Petersburg, often visited their homes and in his oral conversations warned against new wrong thoughts, trying to prove that all our happiness lies in Orthodoxy and in adherence to St. Churches. What thoughts Feofan’s St. Petersburg interlocutors held, his letters about Christian life show. These are the thoughts of Catholicism, Protestantism, Calvinism, superstition, (unbelief) rationalism, false progress and practical unbelief. They were so widespread that Archimandrite Theophan was extremely distressed and even expressed the following gloomy assumption: If this continues, then Orthodoxy will dry up in two generations 12. His very letters about Christian life, written at this time, the first volume of which was published in 1859, are, in our opinion, the best apology for Christianity against all such free-thinking, like the writings of St. Tikhon on true Christianity, written against the freethinkers of the 18th century. The very form of the letters shows that they were written, among other things, for people of secular society. Contrary to false ideas about the salvation and happiness of man, Archimandrite Theophan proved in them that true salvation is in the Orthodox Christian Church, and outlined the image of Orthodox Christianity, and proved that man is a sinner, following this indicated image, turning from a sinful life and fighting passions, with the help of grace, is cleansed from sins, sanctified by the planting of virtues and, uniting with God, becomes a son of heaven and heir to bliss. At the same time, sermons spoken in St. Petersburg when he was rector of the academy were published. Thus, the literary and apologetic activity of the rector of the academy, Theophan, as a guardian of the Orthodox Christian faith and piety, was extensive; there was also a lot of work in managing the academy in the capital city, where the rector had to receive many important scientists and noble visitors, give answers to their questions, while being able to maintain the significance and dignity of the highest hotbed of spiritual enlightenment. But especially a lot of work and trouble had to be experienced during the celebration of the anniversary of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, which happened during the rectorship of Feofan (1859). This was the first fifty-year anniversary in the life of our theological academies, since their transformation according to the charter of 1808. The ever-memorable Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow, who drew up this charter, himself introduced it, holding at that time the position of rector of the St. Petersburg Academy; His assistants in this matter were many learned clergy, among other things, Innocent, later Bishop of Penza, the famous compiler of Church History. Filaret, drawing up a plan for teaching theology. sciences, and compiled programs for these sciences, which at the beginning he taught almost all of them himself until he found worthy performers. There were also quite a few famous rectors and professors who followed the path indicated by the great saint, such as: Athanasius, Eusebius, Macarius, and among the professors - Karpov, Golubev, Cheltsov, Lovyagin. Koyalovich, Chistovich, Parvov and Shalfeev - many of them lived to see the anniversary. The academy was established on solid and solid foundations, it followed the right path and therefore, from the first times of its existence, it rose to its proper height. During this fiftieth anniversary, many people have come forward who have occupied and continue to occupy prominent places in the Church and society. On the other hand, the Academy of St. Petersburg, as the capital, did a lot from St. Synod of scientific and church orders, which she fulfilled with dignity, supporting the banner of Orthodoxy as apostolic truth. Many Western scholars of heterodox confessions, visiting St. Petersburg, discussed the truths of faith with rectors and professors and received answers from them in which the correctness of the Greek-Russian Church was defended with clarity and thoroughness. In a word, the St. Petersburg Academy was not only an educator of youth, but also a representative of Orthodoxy. It is necessary to present all this from the life of the academy during this time in the overall picture and indicate its merits for the Church and the fatherland; this difficult task fell to the lot of rector Feofan. True, it was not he who compiled the historical note for the anniversary, but prof. Chistovich, but the labor of editing it fell on Feofan. Moreover, there was a lot of care and trouble to prepare for the reception of many noble persons who were going to be at the holiday; for this it was necessary to give a festive look to the academy building itself. All these works fell almost exclusively on one rector, and therefore they began in a few months. But the expected day of the anniversary has arrived. Many noble dignitaries and persons of clergy came together; many, unable to attend due to the remoteness of their place of residence, sent congratulatory addresses and telegrams, among other things, a congratulatory letter with the icon of the teacher. Sergius was also from the parent of the academy, elder Metropolitan. Philareta; all academies sent their deputies. The divine service - the liturgy was performed by the Most Reverend Metropolitan Gregory of St. Petersburg himself, with many bishops, archimandrites and archpriests, and the sermon was delivered by the rector of the academy, Archimandrite Theophan. In this sermon, remarkable in thought and in strong expressions, Vitiia defines the tasks of present and future shepherds, in accordance with the needs of the time, and also defines the goal of the future activities of the academy, as a nursery for preparing shepherds and mentors for shepherds. Thus, the triumph of the academy, which adheres unquestioningly to the one and only truth of God and protects it from papism and the free-thinking of the West, is the triumph of shepherding. Let this triumph not be in visible splendor without power, but in the inner power of their words over the souls of their flock. This is all the more necessary because some sheep, infected with free-thinking, publicly began to rebel against the shepherds. This is a call to increased activity to preach and defend the word of God. “So, concludes the zealous shepherd, let us preach, brethren, the word of God in churches and homes, in general meetings and private conversations, orally, in writing and in print. Let us be trumpets, constantly sounding, but distinct, let us form a fraternal union, concentrate our forces, let us direct them all towards one. The unbridled freedom of science is the captivity of truth; let us conduct science this way, so that the only truth of God may remain free forever. The truth stands for itself; let us make it known to everyone, and it itself will attract those whom our heavenly Father foretold 13 . A.V. Gorsky, who attended the anniversary as a deputy from M. spirit. ak., this is what Metropolitan wrote about this sermon. Philaret: at the liturgy Fr. The rector of the academy (Archim. Theophan) spoke a word filled, like his other words, with a spirit of zeal for Orthodoxy, although some seem to think that it would be more decent in the church word to avoid some harsh expressions about Protestants, especially since the Prince of Oldenburg was at the liturgy. 14 At the end of the liturgy, a thanksgiving service together with Met. The following persons came out as Gregory: Archbishop Kazan. Athanasius and Kharkov Philaret, bishop. Tverskoy Philofey, protopresbyters B.B. Bazhanov and B.I. Kutnevich, archpriests: G.P. Pavsky, I.B. Rozhdestvensky. I. M. Naumov and M. I. Bogoslovsky. After many years to the sovereign Patron of spirits. enlightenment, to the Sovereign Emperor Alexander Nikolaevich and the entire August House, eternal memory was proclaimed in Bose to the late Sovereigns Alexander I and Nicholas I, under whose patronage the academy began and completed most of its fiftieth anniversary. Then the many years of sainthood were proclaimed. Synod and Metropolitan Gregory, and the deceased Metropolitan. Eternal memory to Ambrose, Mikhail, Seraphim, Anthony, Nikanor and all the deceased leaders, mentors and students of the academy. Finally, the many years of St. Petersburg were proclaimed. Academy and its living former and present mentors and students. – At the end of the liturgy, all those present went into the meeting hall. When the academy students gathered here in advance sang the troparion: Today the grace of the Holy Spirit has gathered us together, Secretary of the Conference, Ord. prof. E.I. Lovyagin read the decree of the Holy Synod addressed to Metropolitan. Gregory on the highest awards to employees of the academy on the occasion of the anniversary. After reading the decree and after the students chanted the troparion: Save, O Lord, Thy people, the conference secretary read a letter from Philaret Mosk, addressed to Metropolitan. Gregory with greetings on the occasion of the anniversary. This letter was brought by the academy inspector Archimandrite. Epiphany Izbitsky, who went to invite Metropolitan. Philareta. After that prof. I. A. Chistovich read the preview of the rector. acad. archim. Feofan and Metropolitan Gregory a historical note about the academy over the past fifty years, and prof. V. N. Karpov - speech about the direction and purpose of spiritual education and about the participation that the St. Petersburg Academy takes in it. The celebration of the anniversary was honored with the participation of many high-ranking officials, led by His Highness Prince Peter Georgievich of Oldenburg. After the act, all visitors to the ceremonial meeting were invited to breakfast, which was prepared in the residential student rooms. Here, at breakfast and after it, senior students, starting with the 1st year, joined in a friendly conversation with students of the 22 subsequent years, remembering their time at the academy, former bosses and mentors, teaching and classes, former joys and sorrows 15 This celebration of the Academy's fiftieth anniversary passed modestly and sincerely, after which it again began to live its former life. Rector Feofan received the Order of St. for his labors and zealous service for the benefit of the Church and the spiritual enlightenment of youth. Vladimir 3rd degree. But this event did not pass without influence for the rector: either because he had to experience a lot of excitement and anxiety and work during this time, or because he caught a cold, rector Feofan soon after the anniversary fell ill with a dangerous illness - typhoid fever with complications: the disease took on a serious and threatening movement, all the more dangerous because the patient was of weak constitution and was not particularly distinguished by his flourishing state of health. There were several consultations at which some of the doctors expressed fears for the successful outcome of the disease, but the Lord was pleased to raise the patient from his sickbed - the crisis was safely over, and the sick man began to recover, albeit slowly. Feofan himself said that for a long time afterwards he felt weakness in his chest, which made his voice very weak, so that, during reports to Metropolitan Gregory about the state of the academy, Vladyka had to come close to hear the speaker. Not long after this, Theophan had to become rector. All-good providence was pleased to elevate him to the rank of bishop, so that he would be a burning and shining lamp for all who seek salvation. On May 9, 1859, Archimandrite Theophan was commanded to be bishop. Tambovsky and Shatsky. When he was named bishop, after the solemn pronouncement of the confession of faith, in the presence of all members of the Holy Synod, when the archpastoral staff was presented, Theophan delivered a speech beginning with the words: “I thank, I accept, and not at all contrary to the verb.” Comparing his wandering life and varied activities with a ball, rolling back and forth without a crack or noise, in the direction of the blows communicated to him, Theophanes expressed his submission to the will of God, his humility and unworthiness. Then, placing his trust in the Lord, who had so generously favored him, who was unworthy, with his mercies, he thanked everyone who took part in his fate, and asked a host of bishops and metropolitans for prayers for him, who was weak. On June 1, the consecration took place, and soon Bishop Theophan left for Tambov to the place of his pastoral ministry. The Tambov diocese, where Feofan arrived shortly after his ordination to the rank of bishop, is one of the largest and most populous provinces. It is also remarkable for its deserts and monasteries, in which workers rest, who during their lifetime were famous for their faith, piety and exploits of monastic life, such as, for example, Pitirim, the first bishop of the Tambov diocese, Seraphim of Sarov, Hilarion and others. It is also remarkable for its glorious saints and teachers. So in the 30s of the current century, the diocese was ruled by Arseny, later Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia; at this time in the Tambov spirit. he was educated in the seminary and then became a teacher of the spirit. school, such an ascetic as Ambrose, the famous elder of the Optina Hermitage and mentor of the entire Orthodox Church. Russia; Nikolai, former rector of the St. Petersburg Academy, famous for his learned sermons; Macarius, honorary member of all spirits. academies, Russian universities and the Imperial Academy of Sciences, Doctor of History and Theology, later Metropolitan. Moscow. In place of Macarius, who was moved to Kharkov, the Lord was pleased to install bishop as a saint and teacher. Feofan. Having received the rod of the Tambov Church, Bishop Theophan at first felt weak after a recent illness, as Khark wrote about this to his predecessor. bishop Macarius, therefore at first he could not fully demonstrate his educational activities. But Macarius’s prediction came true; when the Tambovites, seeing him off, said: We, Vladyka, will never forget you, this last one said; no, you will soon forget me if Feofan becomes your bishop. And, indeed, ep. Theophanes completely replaced the glorious Macarius; Having recovered from his illness, Saint Theophan paid special attention to teaching from the church pulpit, for which the former bishop was very famous, and during the entire 4-year ministry he delivered more than 80 sermons. Of these words, 5 teachings about the path to salvation are especially remarkable. Due to the power of persuasiveness, these words, representing the entire economy of our salvation, can be placed along with the well-known famous work of the same name by Innocent Metropolitan. Moscow. Along with the indicated words, sermons can be included in preparatory texts for St. Lent of the week. In them, the pastor convincingly encourages people to repent, pointing out that otherwise it is impossible to correct themselves and begin the first task of a Christian - the salvation of the soul. They contain many examples from the lives of elders and ascetics who considered constant repentance and tears for sins necessary for salvation. These words breathe an ascetic and patristic spirit, which is why those who read with faith and love can find in them a reliable means of inciting repentance, which, in fact, is where a truly Christian life begins. This is how Saint Theophan taught the Tambovites, whether they were in joyful circumstances of life, as on great holidays, or in an unhappy situation, as during public disasters, and a word of edification and consolation was always ready. A terrible fire occurred in Tambov - the largest and best part of the city was destroyed by fire, the fire stopped several times and restarted several times within a few days. It was evident that the wrath of God was visiting to admonish sinful people and turn them to the right path. Many, having lost their homes, went outside the city and pitched tents there, like exiles and homeless wanderers. The situation was indeed sad; the residents apparently required consolation. A zealous shepherd appeared with this spiritual healing, - before nine teachings, Bishop Theophan, finally, went out of the city to the evicted residents and there he said the last wonderful teaching. Comparing their situation with the position of the long-suffering Job on the rot, the preacher pointed to patience as the main virtue in such circumstances, lightly touching on the cause of their misfortune, the archpastor appeared and with a balm of consolation, promised to pray for them before the throne of the Merciful King of Heaven for the removal of the visitation of the wrath of God from them. He delivered many sermons in district towns, villages and holy monasteries, during the review of the diocese. But, remarkably, for some reason the Bishop himself did not attach special importance to the words to the Tambov flock, saying that they were the fruit of a short time, and were composed for the most part on the eve of the speaking. Inspired by zeal for the salvation of his flock, Bishop Theophan encouraged the parish priests to preach the word of God, but especially tried to win over the future shepherds of the Church to this. Often visiting the seminary, Vladyka instilled in his students to study the word of God and the works of St. with love and diligence. fathers, in Tambov Bishops. Vedomosti published his research on how to compose a sermon, in which he with particular care revealed the question of the sources of preaching, among which the first place should be occupied by the word of God, the writings of St. husbands and liturgical books. As for the education of seminary youths, His Grace Theophan was of the opinion that Christian education should occupy the most prominent place, for which the students of the seminary and schools should be given a monastic environment and even wear cassocks. Although in practical application there are difficulties and inconveniences, the bishop sincerely adhered to this view, at least his nephew, who studied school subjects in his house, wore a cassock and a skufia. In general, Feofan put great care into the development of religiosity and churchliness in religious institutions, which the spiritual authorities care a lot about in our days. But the educational activities of the pastor of the Tambov Church were not limited to this. Bishop Theophan at the same time, following the proposal of the Holy Synod to publish a local organ in the dioceses of the Russian Church, began to publish Tamb. Eparch. Vedomosti himself compiled the program and gave it the appearance of a more literary than official magazine. In addition, he took an active part in Vedomosti and at first composed most of the articles himself, and also encouraged the priests under his supervision to take part in amateur activities, why, along with articles by teachers of the seminary where the Eparch was published. In fact, there are many articles and priests of city and rural churches. Thus, everyone worked, starting with the bishop and ending with the priests located in villages remote from Tambov. This is how it should be according to the very idea of ​​a local body, and one cannot help but see in this the wisdom and prudence of a leader like Bishop Theophan. To fully determine the shepherd’s merits from this side, let’s look at the contents of the Tamb. Eparch. Vedomosti, for we had the opportunity to read them throughout the entire period of Feofan’s bishopric in Tambov. Their general appearance is as follows. After a short list of official news, the appendix contains articles with the following content: first, the sayings of the ascetic elders and moralizing incidents from their lives, conducive to faith and piety, are placed, then in one number the word or teaching of St. our father John Chrysostom, and in another number of statements the word of St. Tikhon, the Wonderworker of Zadonsk, adapted to the times, so that rural shepherds could pronounce them from the church pulpit, which, in all likelihood, was what was meant. Next came the word spoken by Bishop Theophan when he performed divine services on one or another holiday. All these articles were proposed by the bishop himself. After these articles there were historical descriptions of great holidays, local miraculous icons, there were words, teachings and conversations of priests, instructive stories and incidents from the life of modern Christians, clearly pointing to the path of God's Providence in human life, the intercession of St. saints and punishment for violation of faith and piety, articles from seminar mentors of scientific content were offered, but more in a brief form, poems of spiritual and religious content, and an excellent church-statistical description of the history of the Tambov diocese by Master Priest Khitrov was included. Of course, we are taking here the contents of more than one or two Tamb issues. Eparch. Vedomosti, but for three whole years to see their character, spirit and direction that Bishop Theophan gave them. The method of disseminating the patristic writings deserves special praise, a method worthy of imitation for modern records of all dioceses. But we would be unfair if we did not mention a number of articles by Bishop Theophan published in Tam. Ep. Vedomosti. This is: a description of the life of our father Tikhon of Zadonsk and the wonderworker of all Russia, according to the notes of Chebatorev, one of the cell attendants of St. Tikhon. In this description, Rev. Theophan, following the indicated source, presented the instructive life of the saint, his simplicity, his closeness to the people, his zeal and concern for the lesser brethren, and thus wanted to draw for rural priests a model worthy of imitation, so that they, as far as possible, would love their children, would become close to them and take care of their spiritual enlightenment and the salvation of souls. Yes, Theophan especially revered St. Tikhon studied his creations deeply, tried to imbue them himself and imbue others with them. It is remarkable that he tried to model his entire life on the example of the life of St. Tikhon, especially after, completely unexpectedly for him, the Lord led him to be at the opening of the relics of this saint. With what spiritual joy and reverence the bishop entered. Theophan to the church where the remains of the great saint of God rested! He prayed earnestly to him, thanked him and glorified God, who had given him such mercy. August 12, 1861 bishop. Theophan celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the main cathedral, where the honorable remains of St. Tikhon, in front of a huge crowd of people who came from all over Orthodox Russia to see the glory of the newly-minted saint and ask his prayers for help in the difficult circumstances of life and for intercession before the throne of the King of Heaven. Of course, Theophan’s spiritual mood was special; in all likelihood, the bishop sent out warm prayers for the fact that the Lord honored him, a humble shepherd, to take part in the opening of the relics of the Newly Revealed Saint and Wonderworker of St. Tikhon. Their very discovery took place in the presence of a large gathering of Christians. Ep. Theophan saw the honorable relics, kissed them along with the other arriving archpastors, with tears of joy and tenderness, seeing in this the great visible glorification of the Orthodox Russian Church and her faithful sons, seeing the shame of unbelief, superstition and ignorant stubbornness, seeing that the Lord does not leave his ascetics without reward, which gave everyone a clear instruction: work and live like a Christian and You will be rewarded with great bliss in the future life. The bishop also heard the famous word spoken by the ever-memorable Saint Isidore on the text Shine and Burn, beginning with the words: “And here the lamp of God burned and its rays reached the last borders of Russia.” Yes, His Eminence Theophan saw something that rarely even among the hierarchs gets to see and experience!.. Returning to Tambov, the bishop set about his deeds of piety with new zeal. As for external administrative management, Bishop. Theophan did not stand out in any way from the number of other archpastors. As an outstanding undertaking, one can point to the establishment of a women's diocesan school, which was started by his predecessor, Bishop. Macarius, the opening of parochial schools and the improvement of churches and St. monasteries. Caring for peace in the mutual relations of parishioners with their clergy, Feofan himself lived with everyone in love and harmony, was accessible to everyone, especially the poor and mourning, whom he helped whenever possible, and took some orphan boys into his care and education. The life of Saint Theophan flowed peacefully and quietly: one circumstance disturbed him - the unrest in the Diveyevo convent, located one mile from the Sarov Hermitage and belonging to the Nizhny Novgorod diocese. The then bishop For some reason Nektarios could not arrange the matter, St. The Synod entrusted the management of this monastery to Bishop. Theophan, who, indeed, put everything in order, but entered into an involuntary clash with Nektarios, who later had a strong influence on church affairs. It was the fourth summer of Theophan's bishopric in the Tambov diocese, when the decree of St. Synod on his transfer, as he had acquired experience in management, to the Vladimir See, which administratively stood higher than the Tambov See. But Feofan with sadness and not without embarrassment accepted this order from the higher authorities, for he lived with the Tambovites, like a father with his children, as St. Synod of A.P. Akhmatov, the ever-memorable Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow, when the issue of moving the bishop was being decided. Feofan from Tambov to Vladimir. All Tambov residents strongly regretted it and expressed this at parting with various souvenir gifts... Having said goodbye to their spiritual children, Bishop. Feofan, accompanied by their love and well-wishes, left Tambov in September 1863 and arrived in the God-saved city of Vladimir. In church-historical terms, the Vladimir diocese is one of the most remarkable. In ancient times, great princes and metropolitans of the Russian Church lived here in Vladimir. There are many ancient churches here, there are miraculous icons, and there are also the relics of some ancient ascetics from the princely and boyar families, who, despising the honor and glory of this world, abandoned the splendor and greatness and settled in monasteries, saving their souls. Not only Vladimir, but also the district towns were and are famous for the monasteries and piety of their ancestors. This consoled and pleased the bishop. Feofan, who in 1863 took over the management of the Vladimir flock. But at the same time, Vladimir. lips was also the nest of schism after Moscow; hiding from Moscow from government persecution, schismatics found refuge here and many followers. The history of the Vladimir schism is the most ancient, almost contemporary with its appearance in Moscow, and its followers have always been distinguished by their tenacity and hostility to rights. Churches. And today the schism here is strong in the number and nobility of its followers, to whom many rich merchants, merchants and artisans belong, there is its own hierarchy, headed by bishops who have constant communication and intercourse with Moscow and with all other centers of the schism. The Reverend could not have known this. Theophan, therefore, not without embarrassment entered the Vladimir region, especially since here he encountered disbelief, superstition and freethinking; but, relying in everything on the will of God, the new bishop from the very first days of his ministry appeared as a zealous shepherd and teacher of faith and piety. During his three-year ministry in the Vladimir flock, Rev. Feofan spoke 138 words 16. Since his activity in the Vladimir diocese mainly consisted of teaching and preaching the word of God, we will try to show from this side what kind of shepherd Bishop was. Feofan. “Behold, the all-ruling right hand of God shows me a pastoral ministry among you, and gives in me a shepherd, and in you a flock for me, let us bless the Lord, who has so favored us,” with these words the new archpastor addressed himself in his first word to the Vladimir people. Praising their faith and long standing in piety and recalling their proven love for pastors, Bishop. Feofan invites them to forever preserve the spirit of love and peace. “Peace and love of all of you among each other and with me may be established in your hearts, evidenced not only by goodwill towards each other and sympathy, but also by assistance and all kinds of mutual assistance. Maintain Christianity as it is and is preserved in the Church of Christ and stand firmly in it, without attempting (as some strive to do this) to change or abolish anything in it, but constantly improve yourself in its image. On the other hand, do not include even that in the area of ​​the unchangeable (as others err regarding what it means to remain motionless in Christianity). what came into the pious life of Christians, due to the needs of changing times, due to unintentional mistakes, or intentional abuse, not noticed and not prevented at the time. So, without deviating either on the face or on the face, follow the royal path indicated by St. Orthodox The Church, which is the pillar and foundation of the truth.” Having outlined the program of his teaching in this opening speech, Rev. Feofan remained faithful to her throughout his service to the Vladimir flock. He denounced and admonished the schismatics, entered into conversations with them and tried to show the wrongness of their teaching and the disastrousness of the path they followed. “I have been looking for an opportunity for a long time,” Feofan addressed those present at the service in the village of Mstera Vyaznikov. district - talk to people who are alien to St. The Church - our only savior - in order to see how they think about what, and use this to admonish them. Yesterday we talked for a long time. Their darkened unbelief and dark reluctance to see the power of salvation where the Lord has concluded it is worthy of pity. Listen, have pity on them and pray, so that those who are blind in mind will come to understanding and those who are stubborn in heart will be softened.” Having revealed the error, the shepherd concludes: The schismatics have lost the true church, and they are wandering, and yet the Orthodox Church is before their eyes, in which everything is there - there is sound teaching and the commandments of the Lord, there are the sacraments and the priesthood. The blind will find it by groping, but they do not see; the enemy has blinded their eyes. Look, the saints became famous in it - Tikhon, Mitrofan, Innocent and Demetrius of Rostov. And St. Demetrius still argued and denounced their schismatics. Glorifying his relics with incorruption, God seems to be saying to everyone: look, he denounced you, and I glorify him with the incorruption of his relics, precisely so that you could even see with your eyes that he was telling the truth. All this is Orthodox, and bring it to your memory more often and thereby affirm your faith, and denounce schismatics 17. Apparently the pastor’s admonitions did not have a particularly strong effect: our schismatics are reluctant to enter into conversations with pastors and do not listen to their fair denunciations, therefore Bishop. Theophan, in other words, analyzing the stubbornness of the schismatics, does not so much act directly on the schismatics as warn the Orthodox against them and against other false teachers. “See that you do not trust these meek men, who with flattery will entice your souls to destruction, not bringing you sound teaching, but always speaking pervertedly, in order to tear people away from the unity of faith and follow themselves” 18. Protecting the children of the Orthodox Church from heresies and schism, false teaching and unbelief, the zealous shepherd convinces them to preserve Orthodoxy, autocracy and nationality - this is our tricolor banner leading to happiness and prosperity. “We often praise ourselves: Holy Rus', Orthodox Rus'. Oh, if only we could forever remain (such) saints and Orthodox, - at least, loving holiness and Orthodoxy! What a sure guarantee of indestructibility we would have in these titles! Orthodoxy is expressed by the unity of God-given truth; autocracy - by the unity of God-given power, nationality - by the unity of aspirations, indicated by the Tsar and sanctified by God. – Orthodoxy accepts the truth from God through the church and humbly submits to it; the autocracy receives the Tsar from God through the reception of clans and obeys him wholeheartedly, the people accept the consciousness of God's chosenness, for the special purposes of Providence, measuring them by the known will of God, and especially presenting themselves as its executive instrument. A people devoted to God and the King and unanimously striving to fulfill the goals they indicate - what an indestructible force! what a promise of prosperity and haste in everything! There is something - and there is a reason to protect them! Take care, Russian people, of these treasures. Don't waste or spoil them 19. Being himself a wonderful Russian Orthodox patriot, Bishop. Theophanes pointed out how we can use these principles for salvation and prosperity; nevertheless, everything that was aimed at deviating from these fundamental elements of the Russian folk spirit, he denounced and pointed out as evil leading to destruction. The saint did not leave the non-Christian celebration of great holidays without reproof. Thus, he calls the New Year's celebration (1865) with glasses and dancing a service to Bacchus, and an appeal to the clairvoyant, to whom many Vladimir residents reached out this year, in the hope of finding out from her all the secrets and destinies of their lives, Bishop. Theophanes calls the pagan service of ancient Libya, which was an instrument of demons. - Having heard that many did not like this reproof, and others interpreted: what can be said against what has become a custom - nothing can be done, no matter how much you reproach - on the Sunday following the Epiphany (1865), the saint utters a word where he proves that Christians should not follow secular customs that are contrary to the Spirit of Christ, even if they were accepted by public opinion. “Who does not know that public opinion in this case is a tyrant: it decisively persecutes everything that is truly Christian. But there is another opinion, the opinion of God’s servants, which leads to heaven, indicated by the Lord himself, and follow it in such cases 20 . Loving his flock like children, the shepherd always, when the need was urgent, uttered accusatory words. On the Week of Orthodoxy (1864), he reproaches those who say that they themselves have reached conclusions that are dissimilar to Christianity. But this is self-delusion: having grasped the ghost, they think that they have the truth. All heresies and false teachings arose from a violation of the basic rule of truth, namely, they judge according to their own understanding, and not as our Lord Jesus Christ betrayed to the church. Following this word, a noise was heard in the church; On the very next Sunday, the bishop said a word about reverent standing in the church. – Others condemned the rite of Orthodoxy, saying that anathemas are inhumane and embarrassing; - the pastor of the Vladimir Church defends the legality and right of the Church to do this, just as every society acts legally, protecting its unity and integrity from violators. “Look, what false teachings and what false teachers are being excommunicated? Those who reject the existence of God, the immortality of the soul, Divine Providence, those who do not confess Pr. Trinity - Father and Son and Holy. Spirit - the One God, who do not recognize the Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ and the redemption of us by His death on the Cross, who reject the grace of the Holy Spirit and the Divines. Sacraments that give it, etc. Do you see what objects are touched? Such, according to which St. The Church is the Church on which it is established and without which it cannot be what it is” 21. Yes, Saint Theophan stood firmly for the steadfastness and immutability of the foundations of Christian faith and piety and strongly rebelled against innovations and changes. What is noteworthy in this case is the word he said in the Seminary Church during the consecration of the building for state-funded people - a word in which he indicates the high mission of persons of clergy rank, as teachers and guardians of Divine truth. The shepherd, by the way, says: “Let everything around you move and change, do not get carried away by it, because in all this there is much that goes against Christ’s truth and Christian conviction. Pay attention. “The forms of the human word are constantly changing and being renewed, and let it be. But if you rarely encounter him in all his verbose works, or do not encounter at all what expresses the essence of Christianity, then know that it has taken a false direction and do not imitate him.” “Science is moving forward quickly, so be it. But if they allow conclusions that are contrary to revealed truths, then know that they have strayed into the path of lies, and do not follow them.” “The conveniences of life are multiplying everywhere. - and so be it. But know in advance that this cannot in any way change the truth that the narrow gate and narrow path lead into the stomach, and whoever would preach the contrary would preach a lie. Don't listen to him." “The forms of mutual relations (humanity, civilization) are becoming more refined - and so be it. But let them not deceive you with flattery, as if, for the sake of this, truth can give the hand of lies, the spirit to the flesh, Christ to Belial. Who would begin to assert this, there is no truth in it. Have no part with him." “Everything is being invented to strengthen prosperity on earth, and so be it. But it is certain that this will never reach the point where there is no longer a need for new heavens and new earths according to the promise. And whoever would insist on this would be going against the truth. Avoid this." 22 However, Rev. Theophan, in his words to the Vladimir flock, is not so much a strict moralist, i.e., an exposer of shortcomings of faith and piety, as a moral teacher, i.e., a pointer on how to lead a true Christian life in order to receive the Kingdom of Heaven. A true Christian life consists of three parts: repentance with the determination to leave a sinful life, struggle with passions and vices, and concern for the purity of the soul, which is achieved by constant exercise in virtue. When a person achieves success in this, then he becomes a true Christian - then love for God and neighbor appears, as the fulfillment of Christ’s law. How is this achieved? Prayer, almsgiving, fasting, constant repentance with the communion of the Holy Life-Giving Body and Blood of Christ, the fight against sinful habits throughout life and the fulfillment of the law of God and the orders of family and civil life based on this law. Our entire path to salvation is in this state. But not we ourselves, but our Lord Jesus Christ, by the good will of God the Father, by the grace of the All-Holy Spirit, having redeemed us by death and resurrection, as the Savior and constant Intercessor for us before God, leads along this path and often through temptations and sorrows; On our part, humility, patience, and obedience in all things to the will of God and the Holy Spirit are required. right Churches, good deeds and constant zeal for salvation, which is a combination of grace and freedom. We must constantly take care of it: where it exists, Christian life began, but where it does not exist, it has not yet begun. The saint not only indicates what is needed to please God and save the soul, but also shows how to achieve this, entering, on the basis of patristic instructions and his own experiences, into detailed analyzes of spiritual life. His teachings breathe the spirit of asceticism and asceticism; Even some said that they were very strict, but the saint called other teachings indulgence and delusion. The path of salvation is one for everyone; it was brought to earth by the Lord Jesus Christ, explained by Him in teaching and practiced in life. Anostoli and holy ascetics followed this path and were saved, and we all must follow it without change, no matter what living conditions were placed by God 23 . It is more convenient for monks to do this, but lay people should not think that they are allowed to make concessions 24. This is what Shepherd Vladim taught. Churches. Turning to his activities in managing the Vladimir diocese, we must say that bishop. Feofan established and opened a women's diocesan school and a dormitory at the theological seminary; Then he intended to publish the journal Spiritual Messenger, having started his own printing house, but due to lack of funds he limited himself to publishing Vladim. Eparch. Vedom., in which he placed his own sermons. Most of all, the saint tried to meet the needs of the time. It was a time of transformations and improvements in civil and spiritual departments. Theophan treated state reforms as a true shepherd of the Orthodox Russian Church: welcoming them as the mercy of God and the paternal care of the Sovereign, the Father of the Fatherland, he indicated how we should accept them in order to be Orthodox Christians and faithful sons of the fatherland. At this time, many reforms were planned in the spiritual and spiritual education department, some of which were introduced, others were introduced. The Bishop carefully carried out all the instructions and orders of the highest authorities, but he himself was strictly conservative in church affairs and did not expect from some reforms what was expected of them. Of diocesan affairs, in his own words, he was not so burdened by anything as the analysis of court cases, for in them he saw a manifestation of pride, envy, pride, greed, anger and intemperance; I saw how the enemy of the human race tried to destroy mutual respect, love and trust between clergy and parishioners. The Good Shepherd pacified everyone and served as an example of meekness and humility to everyone. Lately, he hasn’t even given reprimands himself, but rather entrusted them to the keymaster of the cathedral. The bishop cared a lot about widows and orphans and, if possible, alleviated their bitter fate. But some changes took place in his personal character: the saint was not so communicative, often secluded himself for prayer, contemplation of God and soul-saving reflections, and almost never let go of books. I saw the relatives who lived with him on Sundays and holidays; he loved to take walks outside the city, sometimes even going as far as the Bogolyubov Monastery, located 7 miles from Vladimir. As always, he now had a special love for monks - he often served in monasteries, always delivered sermons there, praising and glorifying the monastic life, sometimes he spoke of solitude and silence in seclusion. The soul of the saint longed for the desert, for some of the holy monasteries, away from the noisy city life, full of anxiety and unrest. One circumstance accelerated the fulfillment of this heartfelt desire, namely: - some deeds went back to St. Synod. The Synod decided them differently from the Bishop and gave instructions on how to act in the future. In this, the pastor of the Vladimir Church saw an indication of God’s Providence - to leave the diocese and retire to a monastery for monastic exploits for the salvation of his soul, for the labors of studying the word of God and asceticism. scriptures for the benefit of the Orthodox Church and the Christ-loving Fatherland. This thought completely took possession of him, and Bishop. Feofan in April 1866 filed to St. The Synod petitioned, asking, due to his poor state of health, to remove him from the administration of the diocese and allow him to settle as a monk in the Vyshenskaya hermitage of the Tambov diocese. The Vladimir flock soon learned this, and the thought of retiring their shepherd occupied the attention of many. Many regretted the kind and loving ruler, others condemned him, taking into account his relatively old age and rich spiritual gifts. This opinion was initially held by Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow. But when he heard that the shepherd of the Vladimir Church was going to heroic deeds and labors, the saint calmed down, for he knew his ability to study the word of God and patristic ascetic writings, his penchant for ideal constructions and his ability to convey sublime contemplation in a simple form. Others connected the filing of the petition with recently received instructions from St. Synod, how to govern, others explained by the fact that the bishop did not like the conservatism and that he stood with Nektarios, Archbishop of Nizhny Novgorod, who was then sitting in St. Synod, on not entirely friendly terms. And in this case, the usual rumors, trials and gossip, judgments and condemnations began, often incorrect and not based on anything. The bishop himself heard all these judgments, but did not answer them, did not talk to anyone about his decision, and did not consult with any of his close confidants when he submitted his request for retirement 25. The Synod fully fulfilled the saint's request, with the difference that it appointed him not a monk, but the rector of the Vyshensk Hermitage. The highest permission followed, and in mid-June 1866 the decree of St. Synod on the removal of bishop. Feofan to retire to the Vyshenskaya hermitage of the Tambov diocese. The bishop quickly collected his belongings, which mainly consisted of books, and sent them to Vysha. June 24, St. John the Baptist Bishop Theophan performed the last liturgy in conjunction with many of the local clergy and delivered a farewell speech. This word is remarkable in that it indicates the real reason for its retirement. “Don’t blame me, for the Lord’s sake, for leaving you; I am not leaving so that I would be forced to leave you: your kindness would not allow me to change you to another flock. But as a follower, I am led to stay free from worries, looking for the best tea - as is akin to our nature. How this could have happened, I cannot explain. One thing I will say is that in addition to the external flow of events that determine actions, there are internal changes in dispositions that lead to certain decisions; there is, in addition to external necessity, an internal necessity, which the conscience heeds and which the heart does not strongly contradict. Finding yourself in this position, I ask your love for one thing - leaving judgment and condemnation of the step I have already taken, deepen your prayer, so that the Lord will not deny my hopes and may He grant me, even if not without difficulty, to find what I seek.” Having thanked his beloved children for their disposition towards him, for their attention to his pastoral word, for their reverent standing in church, for the splendor and decoration of God’s holy churches, the saint, asking for their prayers for himself, himself promised to pray for their well-being, for the aversion of all misfortune, and especially for salvation - he asked to beware of corrupting teachings that undermine the foundations of the faith, upsetting family happiness and destroying the welfare of the state. “For the sake of the Lord, beware of these teachings. Let St. be your testing stone. a doctrine preached in the Church from ancient times. Reject everything that disagrees with this teaching as evil, no matter how plausible it may be covered with a title. You just observe this, and everything else will be added to you by itself. Purity of faith will be followed by the overshadowing of grace. Grace with faith will make your hearts holy and blameless. Those who are pure in heart of God begin to ripen even here - they will undoubtedly see Him there and will forever ripen and bliss in this vision! - Then, bowing in all directions, the saint finally uttered the following touching words: “Forgive me, forgive me if I have offended, offended, unjustified, or tempted anyone in any way. May the Lord, by His grace, forgive and have mercy on all of you! And I also ask you not to forget me in your prayers.” He wrote farewell letters to some people, among other things, to Yegor Vasilyevich Amfitheatrov, a professor at the Moscow Theological Academy, his friend at the Oryol Seminary, and A. Vas. Gorsky, the rector of the academy, from whom he asked for prayers: “I’m leaving, pray for me.” Farewell to the Vladimir clergy and departure followed on June 28: after listening to the early liturgy in the bishop's church of the cross and serving a prayer service with the assembled clergy, the saint touchingly said goodbye to his colleagues, receiving from them as a souvenir an icon of the Vladimir Mother of God in a silver-gilded robe. Having prayed before the local icons and bowed to everyone, the bishop, without entering the bishop’s chambers, got into the provided carriage and set off along the Vyaznikovskaya road straight to Vysha. Arriving there, the bishop soon abandoned his abbotship and remained a simple monk. Vyshenskaya Hermitage 26, in which up to 100 monks work, is one of the beautiful and secluded areas in the Tambov diocese. While still living in the diocese in Tambov, Saint Theophan said: there is nothing more beautiful than the Vysha; That’s why he chose her for his place of residence when the Lord brought his cherished desire to be fulfilled - to settle in the desert for monastic deeds, work and prayer. It is impossible not to see that Bishop Theophan in his decisive step - to leave the department and retire to a secluded monastery - imitated St. to our father Tikhon, the Wonderworker of Zadonsk. Like St. Tikhon, after 3 years of ruling the Voronezh diocese, settled in Zadonsk for the thought of God and monastic labors, and Saint Theophan, fleeing the glory of man and drawn to the mental and spiritual-contemplative life, abandoning the Vladimir see, settled in the desert, the tea of ​​God who saves from cowardice and storms. At the beginning of his monastic life, St. Tikhon, as his biographers note, felt melancholy and despondency; but with the efforts of fasting and prayer this quickly passed. Perhaps the Vyshensky monk-priest experienced the same thing. They say that at the beginning of his life in the Vyshenskaya Hermitage, after a year or two, he went to Tambov, where he stayed for a week - he served there, and they saw tears. Some, seeing his blooming appearance, explained this with repentance and regret about leaving the department early. Of course, similar feelings could arise in Saint Theophan until he got used to the new order of his life. But there is no doubt that these were easy struggles that passed very quickly, especially since the Bishop undertook such work as the compilation and publication of his works, which took a lot of time and which brought, are and will bring great benefit to the Church and the Fatherland. At least in 1870, when I had to see him, Vladyka had become so accustomed to his life in Vyshi that it was as if he had settled there since childhood. I consider it necessary to dwell on this meeting, which lasted a whole week, to describe the life of the Saint in retirement before his retreat. It should be noted that until 1872, Bishop Theophan freely received visitors - relatives and admirers who sought his spiritual advice, admonitions and instructions, and even sometimes called some people on a date. He had a sister, a priest’s wife, in the place of his homeland. The Bishop, having learned about her incurable illness, himself wished to see her; I had to accompany her along this path. Having arrived in Shatsk, we soon set off on horseback to the Vyshenskaya hermitage, which was 25 versts from the district town. I remember that on the way we came across one large village, Konabeevo, the birthplace of the famous theologian and historian Filaret, Archbishop of Chernigov; the road was mostly smooth, then we entered a beautiful pine grove of a monastery, which was not visible because of the large trees and only appeared when we had almost arrived at it. The monastery is quite large. The buildings are made of stone, the churches are majestic, of which the five-domed Kazan Cathedral, standing in the middle of the monastery, was especially towering. Among the monastery buildings, a large two-story house with a long terrace, overlooking the beautiful surroundings of the monastery, stood especially tall. We headed to this house, because Bishop Theophan settled in the upper wooden floor. When we entered the bishop’s chambers, he was not slow in coming out to us. “I heard a bell, I think it was the Chernavskys? That’s right, I’m very glad to see you!” – Bishop Feofan greeted us with these words. Having given his archpastoral blessing, the Right Reverend sat his sister on the sofa and began asking her about her homeland and relatives, about her former peers from the villages, about the church and the graves of her parents and relatives buried behind the church fence, and constantly looked into her eyes. The sister answered the proposed questions with modesty and respect, which was revealed in her facial expression and voice intonation. It was necessary to see this conversation between two persons, related in flesh and spirit, and therefore deeply respecting each other. The interlocutor, Anna Vasilievna, is the same one to whom, a few weeks before his death, the Bishop addressed the famous letter of consolation and parting words, printed in August. book Soul. Thurs. for 1894, there was a high woman in moral terms; the mother of many children (there were 18 of them) looked after them well and resignedly. She was truly a servant of God: she loved to visit holy places and monasteries, she loved to give alms, she loved to read akathists and sing choruses, her appearance was highly attractive and comely, reflecting high moral and mental qualities. The Bishop apparently honored her, and this was expressed in the conversation described. In the evening some other visitors appeared - elderly noblewomen who had come to pray and fast in the holy monastery, for it was Philip's fast. The Bishop received them cordially and respectfully introduced his sister to them, tea was served, and the conversation took on an extensive and varied character. We talked about the difficulties of raising children nowadays. Vladyka noticed that now they pay more attention to appearance, talk about material difficulties and pay little or no attention to the fact that children and young people need to be raised in the discipline and teaching of the Lord. It's all about pedagogy! We further talked about the definition of daughters in marriage. The Bishop said that one should marry someone who pleases, but for daughters of the clergy it is best to marry clergy, for they are brought up to this from an early age, but it is not the person himself, but the Lord who arranges the life and destiny of a person and one should rely on Him alone in everything. Until now, Reverend. He spoke calmly, with some pleasantness, gaiety and a smile, but as soon as for some reason they touched upon the question of the temptations of the world, about sins and passions, the archpastor’s voice changed. He said that passions are our cruel mental and physical illnesses, especially since they are imperceptibly instilled, penetrate deep into the heart and take root there so much that a person himself cannot do anything without the help of grace. The trouble increases even more because a person becomes insensitive and careless, and the enemy of the human race so entangles our soul with his nets that the sinner himself does not see all the ugliness of sin, and in other cases considers it a legitimate manifestation of nature. Ah, if a person always saw all the ugliness of sin that it produces in the soul and body, he would probably recoil as if from some monster! Vladyka spoke alone, we listened. I looked at the face of the great teacher of faith and piety, pleasant and sympathetic, as it had always seemed in ordinary conversations, now it became stern and concentrated, his eyes were somewhat lowered - despite anyone, he spoke quite loudly and impressively. It seemed that Saint Theophan saw before him the whole gloomy picture of sin, or the very soul disfigured by sin. “But we are not helpless,” he concluded his speech: the Lord stands at the heart and constantly calls to Himself. His Church is ready with its spiritual healing means, as soon as the voice of repentance is heard from a contrite and humble heart.” The bishop talked about this for about 10 minutes, but he apparently got tired, from time to time he closed his eyes and said two or three times: “Our God, have mercy on us!” The interlocutors who arrived soon went to the monastery hotel, we also went to the appointed room, the bishop went to his half. It was about 10 o'clock in the evening, but Vladyka, as his cell attendant told us, from. Evdokim (later Evlampius) does not go to bed soon - he prays for a long time, performing his cell rule. Left alone, I plunged into my thoughts, which involuntarily arose on the occasion of what I had seen and heard. The image of the great and famous Orthodox Christian teacher stood before my eyes. The Lord is short in stature, but slenderly built; the hair was small and dark brown, lay smoothly and neatly, slightly drooping eyebrows framed the eyes, which looked kindly, affably and extremely trustingly; the beard is appropriate for his age. The bishop was dressed simply, but very neatly: the first cassock, the same cassock, but of a Greek cut, not long and with short, not wide sleeves. On the neck is a horned panagia depicting the Lady Theotokos with the Eternal Child. His speech is quick and rather quiet, but figurative and inspired - you need attention and hearing to catch the words and not let something slip. The gait is fast and straight, so you need to speed up your steps to keep up with him. In general, the appearance of the saint, who was then 56 years old, was handsome and attractive, but he became even more attractive when the bishop began to speak - he spoke simply, vividly, not bookishly, sometimes jokingly, and often made gestures with his hands. I remembered the evening conversation, and I liked it: I liked this love for relatives and homeland, I liked this filial respect for parents and their ashes when he remembered their graves, I liked this desire to visit his homeland and holy places - Zadonsk and Voronezh, in the form of a simple monk-pagan, unrecognized by anyone, as he had been there during his childhood and youth. In his judgments on important issues in life, the bishop seemed to be a great and convincing teacher of Christian faith and piety. The next day, when we saw the bishop, he seemed cheerful and cheerful. Vladyka said that in the summer and spring he always goes to the monastery church and listens to matins and the early liturgy, but not always in the fall and winter, when there is bad weather. Then, turning to me, as I was then a student at the Moscow Theological Academy, he started talking about the academy, namely - at first he expressed regret that such a serious spiritual journal - “Creations of St. Fathers", has ceased to be published, because we are in dire need of publishing the Holy Fathers. works in Russian, and this mission has recently been mainly fulfilled by the above-mentioned magazine. When I said that they were thinking of publishing a Theological Dictionary, the Bishop remarked: “It’s easy to say – a Theological Dictionary! and how much effort, labor and patience is required? Moreover, a unifying person is needed, almost the same as the ever-memorable Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow. Then the bishop spoke about a new arrangement of educational affairs in the academies, dividing them into three departments. This division is forced, therefore it will not bring the fruits that are expected from it; Theological sciences cannot be divided - they all need to be studied, and for this it would be necessary to increase the academic course by one year and leave all the previous procedures: they were not bad, the students turned out no worse, if not better. Vladyka began to remember his service at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy and said that he liked it, and that now, if only it were convenient and possible, he would go to read moral theology at the academy. – We started talking about topics given for writing essays, I said: I recently submitted an essay entitled “physiology and psychology,” indicating how much physiology contributes to the understanding of mental phenomena? The topic is modern, the bishop said, but it’s a pity that natural scientists already attach a lot of importance to the body, forgetting that the soul in a normal state is the mistress of the body. Then, on this occasion, he spoke in an ironic tone about various modern theories, and settled on the theory of spontaneous generation or evolution. This is a funny idea! Suddenly, out of the blue, under the influence of heat, some kind of embryo or cell appears, from which the lowest animal hatches, from this a higher one, and so on - up to man. Experience does not represent anything like this, and the mind directly denies this and recognizes the Creator - God, but the blind do not see anything and continue to tell their fables in different ways. Don't follow them! In general, the Germans have caused us a lot of grief and trouble with these theories, and the trouble is that some people slavishly follow them, write them off and pass them off as their own. We need to work more independently, based on the primary sources of St. Scriptures and works of St. Fathers can even then take German scientists as advisers, and then only with caution. After talking about something else, the bishop began to show his rooms 27 . This is my office, he told us, entering the room next to the living room. Looking around this room, I saw a bookcase on which the saint probably wrote his interpretations of the epistles of St. while standing. ap. Paul and translated from Greek into Russian the ascetic fathers who compiled the Philokalia, but not far away there was a chair with a huge table on which lay many books and bound notebooks. Huge piles of written and tied sheets lay on the other side tables of this room. In general, this entire room, quite spacious, was filled with books, and mostly with copied notebooks, which perhaps constituted sketches of great and edifying works, which he later processed and published. Vladyka showed me a luxurious edition of the Sinai manuscript, made by Tischendorf and sent to all diocesan bishops. It turned out that the manuscript was written in large letters alone, without division into verses, chapters, and the words themselves stood together; Vladyka himself read freely, noting that each copy of this publication costs 50 rubles. Then he began to show various atlases, photographs from art galleries, acquired by him in Italy while traveling through it from Jerusalem to Russia. The pictures are really very good; Rev. Feofan spoke quite a lot about them, for he was an expert in painting. There was a telescope here. “I would show you how to look at the heavenly bodies,” said the bishop, if it were summer and clear weather. I love looking at the sky, our real fatherland.” The next large room was the library. The structure was purely library-like: along all the walls from top to bottom there were shelves lined with bound and unbound books, a lot of them lay on the floor, and quite a few on the tables, of which there were several. There was a sliding ladder with which you can reach any book from above. Vladyka himself quite freely took out books and gave some for viewing, others as gifts. He gave me all his works that were published at that time. The library of the Right Reverend Theophan is described in detail by the librarian Mosk. Spirit. Academy by N. A. Kolosov. (See Soulful Reading for 1895, April). Currently, all of it is in Moscow: from the heirs of the Right Reverend Theophan, it was acquired by hereditary citizens the Losev brothers and donated to the parish Trusteeship at the Church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi. The library for a private person is very extensive, and with its help, indeed, even in the “Shutter” it was possible to write the works that the blessed saint wrote; it consisted of German, French and partly English books, there were many books in Greek and Latin, but mostly in Russian. The departments on the interpretation of Holy Scripture were especially good; there were patechniks in the originals, and quite a few manuals on psychology and philosophy. There were also spiritual magazines: Soulful Reading for all the years, for some years - Christian Reading, The Wanderer and Creations of the Holy Fathers. With the exception of a few, the bishop did not subscribe to other newspapers and magazines: he was sent secular newspapers and magazines from schools in the city of Shatsk. In my presence, Vladyka recalled this with gratitude, saying that the bosses sent me periodicals without reading them themselves; His Eminence Theophan quickly looked through it and sent it back two or three days later; I read bookstore catalogs and announcements about the publication of certain works, with the following remark: “I would have ordered this one, but I couldn’t afford it, but I can afford this one,” pointing to some inexpensive publication. Many books were sent to him as gifts, but most of them he subscribed to when he was in the diocese. At this time, on the table lay Lange’s just sent work in German “Biblical Theology”, which was given by Fr. Evdokimov for cutting. It was obvious that Vladyka worked a lot on his compositions, but visitors then still took up a lot of valuable time, which Vladyka was burdened by, as his cell attendant told us, which endeared him to the “Recluse.” Here we consider it timely to more precisely define and clarify what exactly the Right Reverend Theophan meant by “rest” and “seclusion.” There was much perplexity when Saint Theophan decided to leave his Vladimir flock. Some put this in connection with the investigation entrusted to him by the Holy Synod regarding the temporary disorder in the Diveyevo monastery... There is no doubt that for the archpastor, who found it difficult to reprimand anyone and, in case of urgent need, entrusted this to the clergyman of the cathedral, the investigation of the perpetrators of the Diveyevo monastery was a great burden. Nevertheless, the investigation was carried out in such a way that the Holy Synod approved all the orders of the Right Reverend Theophan, as can be seen from the original letters attached to him from Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow and Isidore, Metropolitan of St. Petersburg: Your Eminence Vladyka, Worshipful Brother in the Lord! Now I have received and read your letter: and first of all, I mutually extend to you the kiss of fellowship and joy in the name of the Lord, the Only Begotten Son of God, who came in the flesh into the world for our salvation. May His grace and peace be with your spirit. It would be better for you to contact the leading member of the Synod or the Synodal Chief Prosecutor about the Diveyevo cases: since I officially participated in these cases until I carried out the decree of the S. Synod, which ordered me to observe the investigation and present it with an opinion. The investigation has been completed; my opinion is represented; and the assignment given to me ended. However, if you wished to show me fraternal trust by communicating information and demanding my opinion on certain issues, then with fraternal frankness I will say what I mean: The deanery of the Diveyevo Monastery really needed to be changed. She took intensive measures to compile a list of sisters in favor of the new head of Glyceria, and included in it both the insane and the absent. The treasurer, according to investigators, previously behaved impartially in relation to parties; and after being elected to this position, she began to strongly support G. as a boss. Perhaps she could be reasoned with, but when you have already allowed her to change, going back would be harmful. The old woman exiled to Ardatov deserves attention. She confessed her guilt and said to the Right Reverend Nektarios: Joasaph persecuted us, and you are persecuting us; God will punish you. This was finally said after useless, humble begging for Elizabeth. The Reverend could have looked with indifference at the old woman’s brutal frankness. Was it necessary to punish her? A six-month exile is enough; and you can return it. I presented this opinion to the S. Synod. That the boss’s idea of ​​not announcing where the absent sisters are is very unkind. In all likelihood they were sent out for intrigue. The collectors in St. Petersburg are also likely to benefit their pockets and harm the world of the monastery. They are unlikely to listen to the abbess. It would not be superfluous for you to request them to the monastery through communication with Mr. Ober, the prosecutor. In the name of philanthropy, I thank you for instructing the Sarov builder not to deprive the Diveyevo Monastery of help. I heard that he, frightened of slander, wanted to refuse everything and stop all communication. By the way, I’ll tell you what has been proven by the investigation: - G.’s election is not correct, I. is harmful to Diveev in spiritual and economic terms; the boss Elisaveta Diveevskaya and the builder Sarovsky are respectable people and have been slandered unkindly. From 40 to 50 sisters belong to the party of G. and I. Of these, about 20 were previously unapproved on the books for two or three years. It is inconvenient to leave them all in the monastery; but it’s also inconvenient to send everyone away. Is it not possible to limit ourselves to the removal of a few who more clearly violate the order and have a harmful influence on others? The abbess can divert those from the craze of the crowd. To admonish these latter, would it be objectionable for you to use the priest Sadovsky, who has served as the confessor of the monastery for many years and enjoys well-deserved respect. The Eminences Jeremiah and Anthony treated him with special confidence and sometimes gave him instructions directly. Having told you what I understand, and submitting it to your considerations, I remain with true reverence and love for the Lord In Moscow. January 1st 1862. Judging by what is in the investigation, here are those who could have been sentenced Dean P., G. S., L. V. 28 Your letter about the Diveyevo Monastery was reported yesterday to the Holy Synod, which, having approved all your orders regarding this monastery, granted you, in the future, to do everything that you, at your closest discretion, recognize as useful and necessary for the pacification and provision of the monastery, with permission from the Sarov Hermitage, to help it with things and money, which over time can be returned to it. The expulsion of non-peaceful sisters from the monastery is necessary. The head of the monastery must demand that the collectors immediately return to the monastery. If she does not know where the collectors are, let her write to the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod to expel them. I wrote to you about the Illarionovsky Monastery. Afterwards they told me that this is a community. Consequently, it is useless to present it to the Holy Synod, because the amount that I had in mind was bequeathed to 8 poor monasteries, and, according to the power of the will, it cannot be used for communities. Committing myself to your prayers, I arrive with true reverence and brotherly love for Christ Isidor M. Novgorod and St. Petersburg. It is obvious that the investigation regarding the Diveyevo disorder in itself was not the reason for the retirement of the Right Reverend Theophan, and it related to the Tambov period of the ministry of the Right Reverend Theophan, and not to the Vladimir period. Therefore, some, including His Eminence Isidore, Metropolitan of St. Petersburg, believed that the true reason for his removal from diocesan affairs was in the very desire of His Eminence Theophan for undisturbed silence, for peace. Here is how Metropolitan Isidore wrote about this to His Eminence Theophan himself, in response to his request for retirement: It is in vain to bother yourself with the thought that they want to send you to rest in the Kyiv Lavra. The Holy Synod has not yet seen your petition, and does not know what is written in it; and therefore there was no reason to talk about the place of your rest. Moreover, the Right Reverends who ask for retirement are always asked in advance where they want to live, and only to those the Synod assigns a place who themselves ask to indicate it, at their discretion. If we believe the rumor that you are asking for retirement, only for peace: then I doubt that the Holy Synod will grant the request. Who among us would not wish for peace, especially in these busy and difficult times! But someone must work for others, even with sorrow and sighing. The Holy Synod, as I know from previous examples, is extremely embarrassed even by the fact that it does not have any amount for pensions for those being dismissed. The treasury does not allocate a special amount for the maintenance of bishops who live in retirement; and there are currently 15 of them. The rumor about your intention to leave the Diocese even reached Vyatka, and the Bishop there writes that it is desirable for him to receive a Diocese near Moscow. He doesn't know what he's asking for! Another, even if they were sent to their homeland, would refuse. May the Lord arrange everything according to His will! Asking for your prayers, I abide with perfect reverence and brotherly love for Christ It was in response to this letter from the leading member of the Holy Synod that Bishop Theophan revealed the real reason for his removal to Vysha. This is a most remarkable letter: Your Eminence Bishop Most Gracious Archpastor! I was just about to respond to Your Eminence and thank you for your warm participation in my case, when rumors spread that it had already been decided and according to my desire. I stopped in the confidence that I would soon receive what I was looking for, so that together I could express my gratitude to you. The rumors changed, and there was no point in believing them. Meanwhile, not long before this, your word reached me that you expect an answer from me and, moreover, a different content than what I thought. I hasten to satisfy this expectation by thinking everything over again. I elect you as a judge, and I ask you to judge my court and agree with myself. In my petition I expressed my desire in the word: compulsion. This is what it is. Like some kind of burden behind your shoulders, you always feel this compulsion: quit, go... quit, go. - So think about it: what is this? - Enemy? “But the enemy wants one thing—to destroy your soul, and he can do this anywhere.” He is more comfortable in his current position. It can destroy not just one of mine, but a dozen or so of strangers. Another thing is that! When someone has all the pictures drawn in his head, and he feels a constant urge to draw everything, takes a coal and draws and draws, everyone will tell him: go to drawing school. This - go - isn't it coming to me? If I were in any other position, no matter who I told about my burden, everyone would say: go - there is a place for you! I thought and thought and decided to propose my wish to the decision of the Holy Synod. I did not ask anyone for advice, neither you, as before, nor the Reverend Jeremiah, nor Fr. Ar. Lawrence. I know in advance that no one will say yes. And I myself would not say that to anyone else. It's a difficult matter! Why did he take everything upon himself? You sought it yourself, and answer for it yourself – to yourself and to everyone. It seems that this will be no small support for silent patience, if we do not meet the desired peace. . There was and is nothing alarming about this action. My circumstances are going better. I just consecrated the church - almost two years of my work and my joy. I have just freed a farmstead from the hands of a careless tenant, which will now yield many times more than before. And there is a great calm in business. I wish I could live happily ever after. But from the beginning of the fast my burden became heavier, and it became heavier and heavier. This is what made me discuss it. My stay in retirement is rosy according to my desire, but I discussed not this rosy, but most of all - all the troubles and difficulties that could meet me. I express readiness for everything - I raised everything. And having surrendered to the will of God, he declared his desire for a decision. It was March 12 in memory of Theophan of Sigrian, after the Divine Liturgy. Since that time, I have not ceased to pray that the Lord would express His saving will for me in the definition of the Holy Synod. After that, I wrote to Your Eminence and His Excellency, the Chief Prosecutor, with one thing in mind - to confirm the sincerity of my desire, so that they would not think that this desire was light, superficial. Nobody knew about the filing. A certain rumor came to us two or three days after I received your letter. And they started attacking me from all sides. Here, the more cordial the participation, the more my intention wavered from it. But the fruit of all these attacks, let me put it this way, is that I have become closer to the middle or the point of indifference in relation to the decision of the Holy Synod and, it seems, is equally ready to accept both the satisfaction of the petition and the refusal. I don’t see any difficulty in business, I just don’t have a heart for it. In my free time, I don’t sit idly by – no minute passes in vain. I do what I love. But the incessant interruptions do not allow me to do anything I would like to do. The fulfillment of this is expected from the monastery, and everything necessary for this has been prepared in large quantities. There is no subject for which I would not have sources at hand to review. I am looking for peace, so that I can more calmly indulge in the pursuits I desire, but not for the sake of amateurism, but with the indispensable intention that there will be a fruit of labor that is not useless and not unnecessary for the Church of God. I have in mind to serve the Church of God, but to serve in a different way. Grant, Lord, that this intention may not be frustrated if I am awarded peace! I am stating all this to Your Eminence, so that you can see it, and you have not external, but internal data to resolve the matter. As you and the Holy Synod decide, so be it! Asking for your prayers, I abide with sincere respect and brotherly love for Christ. Your Eminence my most humble servant Feofan, bishop. Vladimirsky. This is how Rev. understood it. Feofan his “peace” and on Vysha he found it, as can be seen from his letter from Vysha to Vysoko Ave. Isidora: Your Eminence Vladyka I apologize for not informing you of your safe arrival at the monastery 29. I wanted to get an idea of ​​the state of affairs here. Thank the Lord! The desert promises peace. The monastic order here is excellent, the brethren are good. The service is a bit long, but you can get used to it 30. Matins at 3 o'clock. An early one follows immediately. Late in the 8th. Vespers at 4. At 7, they are still going to pray before bed. There are strong workers who stand during all services and will not sit down; they even get angry if someone asks you to sit down. Desert in the forest. For every Sunday and holiday, a fair amount of people, both black and white, gather. They are accommodated in hotels and fed from the monastery. Not a single day has passed since I arrived that there were no communicants. In all respects, Vysha is a comforting and blessed abode! I am so calm in spirit here that I couldn’t wish for anything better! 31. We saw that upon arrival at Vysha, Rev. Theophanes wrote: “In all respects, Vysha is a comforting and blessed monastery! I’m so calm in spirit here that I couldn’t wish for anything better.” But at first he was still bothered by visitors, which prompted him to go into seclusion. Previously, he set up a house church in his large room 32. The iconostasis is small, the icons are well written; they depicted the Savior, the Mother of God, the Epiphany, Alexander Nevsky, St. Tikhon, Saints Reverend Simeon new. Theologian and Theophan of Sigrian; There were candlesticks in front of the icons. Utensils: crosses, chalice, paten, Gospel and vestments of good dignity, there were lecterns and tables with a full circle of liturgical books. Probably many of these church things were donated by admirers of the Saint. While we were there, the church had not yet been consecrated, for for some reason the Holy Synod was slow to grant permission, which the Saint lamented no little, why he even began to send something from his church to his homeland to the Vladimir Chernavsky Church, such as: a cross, a Gospel, a chalice and part of the St. relics of St. Tikhon in the cross. But St. The Synod in 1872 allowed it. In this church, even before the consecration, the bishop prayed and held all-night vigils when he was preparing to celebrate the liturgy in the monastery church, and I, a great sinner, had to pray with him. Having learned from his sister that she had never seen a bishop serve, the bishop decided to serve on the very next Sunday. The day before, an all-night vigil was celebrated in the church by an old hieromonk, and several singers sang. The Bishop himself stood in the middle of the church with a missal in his hands, we stood somewhat to the side, but in such a way that the face of the praying Saint was visible. His gaze was directed at the icons, but it was noticeable that he was contemplating something higher, spiritual; the color that appears during spiritual enlightenment appeared on his face. It is clear from everything that the Saint performed a mental-heartfelt prayer, sometimes accompanied by bows. He stood like that throughout the service, without sitting down, although there was a chair next to where he put the missal. At the end of the all-night vigil, the bishop treated the servants to tea, during which he talked with pleasure and eagerness with the elder hieromonk. The elder spoke freely, talking about the orders and customs in the different monasteries he visited. The Right Reverend listened with eagerness and pleasure to the elder’s stories, and from time to time he himself made certain comments about some of the holy monasteries. An outside listener could not help but see that he passionately loved the holy monastery and the monks. When the servants left, the saint said: I love talking with simple elders; They pray a lot, although they do not always understand the essence of prayer, but for the simplicity of faith and purity of heart, the Lord hears their prayers. That evening we did not sit for long and soon went to the dining room for dinner. Vladyka never ate dinner; he ate once at lunch, which consisted of three courses of monastic food. I ate tea twice, two glasses each, with Greek breadcrumbs; They also served jam, perhaps for the guests, since the Reverend himself did not take it in front of us. The next day, at exactly 9 o’clock, the gospel was preached in the monastery cathedral. Vladyka was led by the arm of his cell attendant, Fr. Evdokim along the path leading from the chambers to the church, we followed him. The bishop's service proceeded very decorously: the saint reverently performed the Divine Liturgy in a voice that was not particularly strong (tenor), but even, neither raising nor lowering it. Again I noticed the broken color in his face and the inspired contemplation in his eyes that caught my eye. There were many praying; found simple people from neighboring villages and from Vysha, which is located one mile from the monastery. At the end of the service, the saint with a staff in his hands left the altar, the worshipers approached for blessing, like children to their shepherd. The bishop’s sister was completely moved: the bishop’s solemn service made a strong impression on her religious soul. All the servants with the bishop came to his chambers, and the rector, Father Archimandrite Arkady, also came; We were introduced to him, he seemed to me to be a serious husband, kind in his manners, talkative and well-read. For some reason they touched upon the issue of the sacral clergy in ancient Rus', the abbot showed familiarity with this subject. At dinner everyone chatted casually; the bishop kindly treated everyone, kept up the conversation, and in general it was noticeable that they talked freely with him, like children with their father. After the guests left, when I expressed praise to the Abbot and the brethren, the bishop said that he was on very good terms with them, “however, I do not interfere in their affairs: managing a monastery is not an easy matter.” Here the bishop said that Fr. The rector was about to be reprimanded by His Eminence Palladius. Saint Palladius, former Bishop. Tambovsky, when visiting the Vyshenskaya Hermitage, stopped at Ave. Feofan, who, upon his first arrival, met him 7 miles away and came with him to his chambers. When the Most Reverend Palladius, seeing the bare walls, wanted to reproach the Rector for the lack of finishing, “but I, the Bishop noticed, tried to assure that this was my desire, for the air is cleaner and better for health.” On this day, Vladyka was cheerful, calm, and was especially kind to his sister Anna Vasilievna, giving her some drops from his homeopathic box. He knew about the state of her poor health, apparently regretted it and persuaded her to endure her illnesses patiently, trusting in God. “I myself often suffer from low back pain, but it’s from sitting.” In the evening of the same day, the saint talked about improving the life of the clergy; he asserted that the goal was good - to raise the financial situation of the clergy, but the means used were inappropriate. Our people love the churches where their fathers and grandfathers prayed, they love the cemeteries where their ashes are buried, they love their spiritual ones and reluctantly agree to the addition of churches. Each village needs its own church, its own clergy; they should not be reduced, but increased according to religious needs. The saint did not approve of students alienating themselves from their rank and fleeing to secular educational institutions. “We need strength and talents for the Church.” He touched upon some persons of science and administration in the spiritual department of that time, among other things he mentioned Theodore (Bukharev), as a victim of his wrong convictions, with strong persistence and inflexibility of his character, about V.I. Askochensky, as an energetic and active, but unrestrained man in his words, about the Most Reverend Nektarios, as a man of remarkable administrative abilities, who was the right hand of the Chief Prosecutor Count D. A. Tolstoy. The Bishop showed large portraits (oleographs) of the ruling figures of the ecclesiastical department. - Your Eminence Metropolitan Isidore and Protopresbyter Bazhanov. When we expressed our desire to go, the bishop kept us for two more days, saying: I am preparing you an icon of my letter. The next day, the bishop actually began to finish the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands in his work room, where he invited us too. The room was not small: there was a stand on which the saint painted the icon; brushes, a palette and some paints lay on a long table; on the opposite side there was a carpenter’s bench, on which were carpentry tools and small files; in the corners were blocks and boards for sawing, cutting and turning. Cell attendant Fr. Evdokim said that the Reverend and I collected these churaks in the summer, during a walk through the grove. I also saw the washroom where the bishop washed his kind and handsome face, and where there was a white iron bath; I also saw the bedchamber, this is the middle room between the library and the study. The bed is iron, the bedding is quite clean, but simple, there is a small rug near the bed, and next to it I noticed shoes. Near the bed there was a rather large table, on which lay many envelopes from letters sent, the letters themselves were put into bags hanging there. In the corner of this room, on a small table, lay a hood and bishop's order insignia, covered with a dark silk cloth. The furnishings in general were decent, there was enough furniture in the living room, there were also carpets, but in other rooms the viewer’s eyes were struck by books and large piles of covered volumes. I had the inquisitiveness to look, but I was unable to do so, because they were carefully bandaged and the ruler rarely left us alone in the rooms where they lay. As a feature of the situation, one can point out the abundance of icons and icons in all the rooms, hanging in the corners and above the doors; I saw the image of Elder Seraphim, the Sarov ascetic, who retired to the forest thickets for feats of fasting and prayer, to whom even wild animals obeyed. This elder, according to the saint, was a simpleton, but gave very wise advice; he died in a position of prayer, kneeling. Finally, the farewell evening arrived, for the next day at 5 o’clock we were supposed to leave. There were no visitors that evening, and we sat alone; Vladyka talked more with his sister about family matters, and also touched upon other relatives. He gave wise advice, and a sad note was heard in the tone of his speech when he spoke about her health. It was clear from everything that he was saying goodbye to her forever, and I thought that he foresaw her imminent death. His love for her was great: he secured a place for her, shared with her the sorrows and joys of life, personally sent her books with his own signature in Chernavsk; in general he treated her with deep respect; for he knew her enthusiastic religiosity and piety. After the conversation, the bishop led her to the chest of drawers and began to give her tablecloths, napkins, silver spoons - tea and table spoons, cassocks, gave her a Persian carpet and a nice warm cassock. Giving all these things away, the saint said: “Take it, I don’t need it now.” I looked at the saint’s face: it expressed complete selflessness and even pleasure that he was selling things that were unnecessary for himself. Probably, before the time of retreat, the bishop also distributed other things - the remnants of the former hierarchal furnishings - leaving for himself only what was necessary. He didn’t forget me either, giving me a silver purse as a souvenir. All the things donated by the cell attendant were soon packed, wrapped in linen and tied with twine. “I would give you all the spiritual journals in Chernavsk,” said the saint, “but it’s not easy to collect them now.” The next day, at exactly 5 o’clock, we entered the reception room, Vladyka was already there; After sitting for a while, we said goodbye to the saint and received the last parting blessing; Vladyka thanked his sister for coming, wished her all the best from the Lord, and sent greetings to all his relatives. We headed towards the exit, Vladyka stood in the reception room, before leaving it we turned, Vladyka sent the last blessing and went to his chambers; They rang the bell at the monastery for the early liturgy, the cell attendant accompanying us said: now the bishop and I will go to church. We got into the monastery cart and drove off, soon the horses carried us out of the monastery grove, soon we arrived in Shatsk, from there along the Gryaze-Orlovskaya railway to Yelets, and from here we safely returned to Chernavsk. It’s as if I now see the image of the saint, cheerful, sociable, still full of strength, and it was in no way possible to assume that the bishop would soon change his surroundings, his way of life and seclude himself from people for feats of vigil, fasting and prayer and spiritual contemplative activity for the glorification of God and for the benefit of the Church and the fatherland. But this happened in 1872. Having distributed his property to the poor and needy, the saint since 1872, after the day of Holy Easter, locked himself in his cell, turning all personal relations with people, with the exception of his confessor, the rector of the desert, Fr. Archimandrite Arkady, Abbot Tikhon and cell attendant Fr. Evlampia, but they also appeared when called and for a short time. With all others who longed for his spiritual guidance, he communicated only by letters. Once only due to an eye illness, the saint went to Moscow for several days, but even here he hid from people. Living in seclusion, the saint did not receive anyone. Nobles and nobles wanted to see him, but he could not break his vow. Relatives and friends sent letters, asking permission to see each other, the ascetic answered: he cannot violate his order of life for anyone. One of his close relatives came to him from afar and asked for a meeting through his cell attendant, but the bishop did not come to him either, blessing him in absentia. Thus the saint maintained the strictest seclusion until the end of his life. This period of his life (22 years) is the most important, but it is difficult to describe, however, on the basis of the letters and works of the saint himself and the precious information communicated to us by the monks of the Vyshenskaya hermitage after the death of the recluse, it is possible to convey something from his reclusive life for the teaching and instruction of his disciples. The main occupation of the ascetic Theophan was prayer, as a manifestation of special love for God and direct communication with Him. Saint Theophan got up very early; Having completed the cell rule, he went to his home church, probably by the monastery ringing, and there he performed all the morning services according to the church rules - Matins and Liturgy, fervently praying to the merciful God. His prayer was a prayer of faith, thanksgiving and glorification of the Lord as Father, Creator, Savior and Provider, but it was also a petition for the granting of blessings and forgiveness of sins. The ascetic prayed not only for himself, but also for all living and dead Christians, asking the Savior to confirm the former in faith and piety, and to have mercy on the latter for their sins and rest them in the villages of the righteous. In a purse hanging near the altar, after the death of the saint, many notes were found about the health and repose of slaves and slaves, whose names the priest commemorated at the church service. He especially loved to commemorate the newly deceased and his parents with relatives at the proskomedia and litanies of the Divine Liturgy. The celebration of the liturgy, which the saint served first on Sundays and holidays, then every day, constituted the most important part of the service. Even the day before, the cell attendant was preparing everything needed for this service. The Bishop performed the service alone, mostly reading and sometimes singing. None of the Vyshensky monks were present when the bishop performed the Divine Service: one of them, who enjoyed the special favor of the saint (the ill abbot Tikhon), asked permission to receive Holy Communion from him. Life-giving Mysteries, the saint said: have spare Gifts if, due to weakness, you cannot be in the monastery church. After the church service was completed, the ascetic from the church returned to his room and here indulged in thoughts of God and intelligent heartfelt prayer offerings. Even before the retreat, standing in the monastery church, he was so immersed in thought and prayerful contemplation that the one who brought the antidoron sometimes had to stand for a while when the bishop noticed him. The same thing happened in retreat: the tenderness received in church did not suddenly pass and force us to plunge into the mysteries of salvation and divine looking after us. After the divine meditation, the saint, having fortified himself with morning tea, wrote his divinely wise creations, which he spent all his time doing until lunch. It couldn't be otherwise; for the Philokalia in 5 extensive volumes, supplemented in Russian translation, which speaks of the struggle with the flesh and sin, the mental standing of the spirit before God in prayer, sobriety and the fear of God, the Gospel history and interpretations of the epistles of St. Apostle Paul in 9 books, in which, according to the mind of the Church and in the spirit of the holy fathers, Christian faith, hope and love with their saving fruits are set forth, as well as his own reflections on spiritual life, compiled on the basis of the word of God, the works of the ascetic fathers and the experiences of his spiritual life, were written in the reclusive life of St. Theophan. And one must marvel at the energy, constancy and labor with which this great work was accomplished, especially since the interpretations, according to the saint’s own consciousness, were given with difficulty at first, but the power of God is manifested in weakness. Vladyka considered the writing of his works and translations a vocation for the benefit of St. The Orthodox Church and the Fatherland, just as Elder Ambrose, the Optina ascetic, made oral instructions (eldership) his duty. And here the Right Reverend Theophan imitated our God-bearing father Tikhon, the Wonderworker of Zadonsk, who, as is known, not long before his death, having carefully reviewed his creations, rewrote them and bequeathed upon his death to send them to St. Synod for the dissemination and teaching of the sons of the Orthodox Church. Theophan also worked unselfishly and took care of disseminating his creations to all ends of the Orthodox Christian world - not only in Russia, but also in the East, and in nothing else did he show so much love for his neighbors as in this matter. The saint took from publishers for his benefit several hundred copies of his printed books and distributed them free of charge to relatives, acquaintances, spiritual children seeking salvation, schools, brotherhoods and some saints. monasteries. Some admirers wanted to pay, but he considered this unsuitable for himself. One Mrs. Kurdyumova, upon her death, bequeathed 15 or 20 thousand rubles to the saint for the publication of his works, but he returned the money to his relatives. “Reverend Theophan was in the full sense a selfless teacher of faith and piety,” he taught not only in printed works, but also in letters, which are now published in considerable quantities in Soulful Reading. But this is only part: there were much more. Vladyka conducted extensive correspondence with relatives and non-relatives, with persons personally known to him, and with persons whom he had never seen and about whom he learned only because they turned to him with a request or for advice and instructions. And he did not leave anyone, no matter what level of social status he was at, without help, he immediately formed a close relationship and gave everything he could give: whether material assistance, advice or intercession. Saint Theophan especially loved to lead in spiritual and moral life: the letters published in the above-mentioned spiritual journal show this. In them he expressed the same things as in his writings, but in a simpler form and in application to the moral and social status of his interlocutors. But they are also important because they outline Feofan’s personality as a teacher in relation to people and he himself expresses some important data for his biography. It is difficult to determine when the ascetic saint wrote his letters, perhaps in the remaining time before lunch, after writing his creations. At lunch, which was at 2 o'clock, the bishop ate as much as he needed to strengthen his strength: on ordinary non-fast days he consumed 2 eggs, in recent years - one and a glass of milk with bread. During all fasts I ate food according to the rules, but there were days on St. Lent, when the ascetic ate ​​nothing. After lunch, having somewhat strengthened his strength by sitting on a chair, according to the custom of the ancient Eastern elders, the saint was engaged in needlework - painting icons, turning and carving various small things from wood and binding books, which he sent to Moscow to his friends, and noticed that his binding was not suitable for Moscow - he was sewing books into canvas, which he sent as gifts. All the bundles of books that I often received from the saint were carefully and clearly inscribed with the address by him. He probably repaired his own clothes and even sewed a schema. The bishop’s manual work was useful during a sedentary life: for it polished stagnant blood and distracted it from the head and lower back, which he often complained about back in the 70s, saying: “old age is approaching.” Therefore, he prescribed handicrafts to all spiritual children, so as not to be distracted by thoughts; he advised one to even weave bast shoes if he could do nothing else. The saint celebrated Vespers in his church and prepared to celebrate the Liturgy the next day. I didn’t have dinner, but drank two glasses of tea before evening at 4 o’clock in the afternoon. He spent his free evening time reading books, newspapers and magazines, thinking about what to write in his works and letters, and most of all, thinking about the final fate of man: here the ascetic went through the events of his life and summed up the results of his activities, and perhaps, thinking and delving into his inner world, he more than once cried out from the depths of his soul: Our God, have mercy on us! or: God, be merciful to me, a sinner! Mental-heart prayer, often renewed during the day, was often resumed in the evening with a feeling of repentance and was accompanied by sighs. Having completed the usual cell rule before going to bed, the ascetic rested until the next early morning. We have described the order of the saint’s reclusive life, which was repeated day after day. He points out about it in his writings and in ancient monastic rules; in his letters he advises everyone who is zealous for salvation to observe it if possible. Of course, this way of life sometimes diversified according to the spiritual states of the ascetic and the manifestations of religious and moral life in the Christian world, to which the saint did not remain indifferent until the end of his life. There were days and nights when the saint devoted almost all his time to prayer, when, standing in prayer, he forgot everything around him and the necessary needs of his existence - sleep and food. There were minutes and hours when the saint shed tears over the poverty of the human soul and unfortunate events in the Christian world, in the form of the appearance of false teachings and some other social disasters. “What are you crying about, father?” - the disciples asked a certain old man. “I cry for the destruction of a rational soul from my sins,” the elder answered them. St. also cried often. Tikhon, sitting at the table and praying. Saint Theophan also wept, seeing the weakness of his soul and human sins, and poured out his sorrow in letters. Thus, in 1891, the saint wrote to Kyiv regarding the Stundists: “I never cease to cry, seeing how Christian souls are perishing, struck by false teaching.” But more often he cried about his sins and weaknesses, and this crying was not easy, but produced fear, fear - humility, humility - complacency, complacency - love, and love makes the soul healthy and dispassionate. Lamenting the corruption and destruction of many people, the saint rebelled with particular force against false teachings, seeing in them the main cause of human ailments. Living in retirement, he vigilantly followed the direction of thought and life of modern society, and not a single deviation from Christian truth was left without reproof and correction. This is how the doctrine of a certain plumpness or materiality of the human soul and even angels appears; Bishop Theophan writes an extensive study under the title: “the soul and angel are not the body, but the spirit.” It contains in detail, on the basis of the Word of God, the writings of St. fathers and scientific discoveries proves the spirituality of the soul. The anti-Orthodox rationalistic teaching of Pashkov and the Stundists appears, the saint writes his wonderful letters to a friend in St. Petersburg, placing them in Soulful Reading. Already the first letter made a great impression on society. Some, like F. Turner, who did not understand their power and the signs of the times, began to condemn the polemics of the letters, finding fault with words and expressions. Protopresbyter Yanyshev, who had the same thoughts about spiritual life with the Saint, wanted to answer Turner, but the bishop himself answered all objections very satisfactorily with further letters. These letters subsequently became the main stronghold of Orthodoxy against the Stundists, Pashkov, Tolstoy and other freethinkers; Based on them, many works appeared in spiritual literature that refuted these false teachings. The saint even raised his voice there, where there was no particular need for it; welcoming the appearance of a translation of the Bible into Russian from the Hebrew text and giving it only scientific and domestic use, he began to defend the church use of the Slavic Bible from the translation of 70, pointing to its integrity and historical prescription. In general, Saint Theophan was a pillar of Orthodoxy, whose defense against heterodoxy and unbelief he considered the common cause of all pastors. A few weeks before his death, he wrote to St. Petersburg: “What are they doing in St. Petersburg to counter the Pashkovites, Irvingians, Tolstoyans? These plagues destroy many. It would be necessary to oppose them with spiritual warfare. Indeed, in St. Petersburg there are many excellent priests among the clergy, both in education and in character. Make them trumpeters, and the walls of Jericho would fall to the consolation of the faithful sons of Israel and to the glory of God.” Defending and glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ, His teaching and the Church with his creations, the saint no less glorified them with his ascetic life, so that he became a model of faith and piety. In the last years of his life, he became so famous that many people turned to him for advice and guidance - both noble and not noble, educated and uneducated, laymen and monks, although he himself ran away from human glory. The archpastors even listened to the voice of the recluse; O. John, the famous and pious shepherd of the Kronstadt Church, wrote letters to the bishop, calling himself his disciple. All theological academies made the saint their honorary member, and the St. Petersburg academies recognized him as a doctor of theology for his many useful theological works, to which extent he was approved by the Holy Synod. But this no longer attracted or occupied the ascetic, as he himself wrote to me when I had to congratulate him on some honor. Because of his love for God and his neighbors, the saint forgot all earthly greatness and, pleasing God with vigils and fasting, was content with the bare necessities, distributing his entire pension to the poor and needy. Yes, in our days in the Vyshenskaya Hermitage a lamp burned with a bright flame, and its rays spread to all ends of the Orthodox Christian world. It could not have been otherwise: in recent years the saint had improved so much in his virtuous life that the grace of God apparently dwelt in him, and everything he did, he did according to the instructions of the Spirit of God dwelling in his soul. The Lord became childishly innocent. Sometimes the monks who had access to him noticed special joy, peace and love in him. It is not without reason that the saint tried to perpetuate certain images: the Savior not made by hands, the Queen of Heaven, St. Tikhon and Seraphim, the Elder of Sarov. Theophan, indeed, stood at the highest degree of spiritual perfection and was already preparing to accept the schema (he sewed the schematic clothes for himself), but the days of his earthly life were coming to an end. In the last year (1893) the saint felt weak: he had headaches, as a result of which he felt incapable of writing, which he wrote about in one of his letters to me; He had severe convulsive pain in his legs, so that he was forced to go to bed. It seems that the bishop had a presentiment of his death a year before: giving a blessing to the rector of the desert, who in 1893 was leaving for Tambov on business, he asked for it in the village of Three Hollows, located 25 miles from the provincial town and famous for the Miraculous Icon of St. Panteleimon, to serve a memorial service for the late Right Reverend Vitaly, and then after his death - for him. When did the rector Fr. Arkady, also a very old man, said about himself: “I will die before you, sir.” Theophan said affirmatively: “This will not happen, I will die soon” and asked him to fulfill his request. Indeed, exactly one year after the above incident, in 1894. On January 6, on the day of Epiphany, the church feast of his church, after performing the festive services of Matins and the Divine Liturgy, Saint Theophan died, invisible to no one. His death was peaceful, like all those who have been well pleased, for a smile was reflected on his face, and the fingers of his right hand were folded for blessing. The body lay in the coffin of the deceased for six days: 3 days in its church and 3 days in the monastery, and no decay was noticed. The burial was performed by the Rev. Jerome, in concelebration with many archpriests, priest monks and with the rector of the Tambov Seminary P.I. Sokolov, who said a deeply felt word on the text: “For I have Christ to live, and to die there is gain (Phil. 1, 21), in which he vividly outlined the highly moral qualities of the deceased, touching on his personal relationship with the saint, when he was the caretaker of Shatsky’s spirit. schools. At the funeral service itself, the priest spoke an animated speech. S. I. Nikolsky, student. Academy, who arrived for the funeral as a deputy from Moscow. spirit. academy. Taking the words of the Gospel: “I went out into the desert to see” (Matthew 11:7), the preacher introduced the listeners to the great merits of the Saint for the Church, as an ascetic and spiritual writer. A lot of Bogomolets flocked to the funeral: even 200 miles away, despite the winter road, they came to pay their last respects to their departed spiritual father. The body was buried in the Kazan Cathedral, where the saint often sent prayers to the Lord together with the monks before his seclusion, and where over his grave, with the care of Fr. Archimandrite Arkady, a marble tomb with decent inscriptions and images has now been erected. – Eternal memory to you, departed father and teacher of Christian life! Help us, mentors of the laity and monks, to gain wisdom for salvation and not forget the great lessons and instructions! Do not forget us poor ones to the end, but remember your children in your prayers before the throne of the Lord, so that He, the Merciful Master, will save us in this life and after death He will have mercy and will not deprive us of His heavenly kingdom! We have outlined the life of Saint Theophan from the day of his birth to the day of his blessed death. He showed great Christian qualities in her: he was meek, humble, prudent, loving in heart and firm in his decisions, which he always tried to fulfill when it came to improving the soul in a moral sense. His external qualities matched his internal ones. Despite his small stature, the saint, with his handsome personality, made a very favorable impression, and with his likeability and ability to conduct a simple conversation, he so endeared himself to his interlocutors that they freely and naturally opened their souls, asking him for instructions and healing of their shortcomings. In the last years of his life he looked like a splendid old man and ascetic. Saint Theophan was always close to the desire for divine service and asceticism in monastic rites and seclusion, awakening others from the sleep of sin and leading them along the path of salvation. These qualities began to manifest themselves early, were noticeably revealed when he accepted monasticism, and were revealed in all their strength and greatness when the saint settled in the Vyshenskaya hermitage and secluded himself in it. Having revealed these spiritual and spiritual gifts with the help of grace, education and monastic-ascetic life, Theophan became an excellent man and a great ascetic of the Christian faith and piety, caring only about the salvation of himself and others and the glory and purity of Orthodoxy. But nowhere are the features of his religious and moral character revealed so clearly as in his numerous writings, especially in the work “The Path to Salvation.” We will present the content of this wonderful creation, for it expresses its fundamental principles about salvation - this is the main theme of all his works - on the other hand, in it the image of St. Theophan, as an ascetic and leader in religious and moral life, with his cherished goals and aspirations, rises before us in all its splendor and grandeur. We are saved by the grace of God the Father by our Savior Lord Jesus Christ in His holy Church by the grace of the All-Holy Spirit, under the guidance of the shepherds appointed by Him, by fulfilling the divine commandments and fighting the passions and lusts of the soul and body. Constantly remaining obedient children of the Church, preserving and warming, under its sanctifying actions, the spirit of faith and piety, we, through deeds of good deeds and self-purification from vices or sins, subordinate our soul and body to the spirit, we become spiritualized, i.e. We become pure and enter into communion with God, which happens here initially, but ultimately in the future life. This is the order of a godly life or salvation! Salvation begins in infancy; As soon as a person is born, like our child-loving mother St. The Church lays the seed of a grace-filled life: in the sacrament of baptism it regenerates into a pure life of grace, in the sacrament of confirmation it imparts the gifts of the Holy Spirit to strengthen and confirm this life, in the sacrament of communion of the body and blood of Christ, uniting with Jesus Christ and God, it gives a taste of the Divine blessed life, which becomes the constant property of only those who strive in faith and piety and who please God until the end of their lives. But before the period of self-awareness, the baby does not act himself, but his parents, teachers and spiritual shepherds. Religious and moral education here is everything, and Saint Theophan builds all home and school education on it, showing how in children under 16 or 18 years of age it can and should increase and strengthen the established holy. By the Church in infants the true Christian life 33. But the ascetic sadly admits that few of the youths and young men retain the grace of baptism. Some of them enter real life with corrupted and not good beginnings, in others, perhaps, good beginnings are laid by their upbringing, but in the years of their youth, either by their own attraction, or by temptation from others, they forget them, begin to get used to the bad and really get used to it. The word of God depicts such people as immersed in a deep spiritual sleep. They are completely indifferent to their salvation and do not feel the danger of their situation, therefore they do not care about a good life and lead a cold life towards faith, although from the outside it is sometimes serviceable and impeccable. With aversion from God, the sinner places nothing higher than himself; over-concern about earthly things is a distinctive feature of a sinful life, with carelessness about salvation. The sinner is constantly in worries and vanities: in his mind he is consumed by inquisitiveness, in his will he strives for abundance, in his heart he strives for pleasure and is in a constant rotation. This circulation increases and intensifies a thousand times due to the fact that a person submits to the vain world, whose activities, customs, rules, connections, language, amusements, entertainment, concepts - everything from small to large is imbued with the spirit of multi-care, which constitutes the joyless circulation of peace lovers. Being in a living union with this world, the sinner becomes entangled in thousands of its nets, gets entangled in them deeply and moves in the rut in which the world goes. A heavy burden lies on the face of the sinner. To an even greater misfortune for the peace-lover, this world has its own prince, the only one in guile and malice. Through flesh and materiality, with which the soul was mixed after the fall, he has free access to it and, approaching in various ways, kindles fierce passions, in which he holds it hopelessly. This prince has a whole horde of servants. They rush around all the borders of the inhabited world, seducing some, entangling others deeper in the net of sin, so that no one would think of breaking away from their bonds and going free. The organ with which they express their will and power is a set of worldly customs, saturated with sinful elements, always stupefying and distracting from God. This is what a sinful dream consists of! People would have perished irrevocably if not for divine grace. According to the infinite mercy of God, she is ready for everyone, she goes around everyone and clearly calls to everyone: rise from sleep and rise from the dead, and Christ will sanctify you (Eph. 5:14). She takes some straight from the crossroads of sin; shaking them with extraordinary events in their lives, awakening them from their sinful sleep and putting them on the path of virtue. Those who did not observe the first grace-filled excitement are left with only the thought of the need for salvation, which they themselves must, as it were, translate into a feeling and attraction to correction. Compulsion here constitutes the law of Christian life! Seek and you will find, seek and it will be opened to you (Luke 11:9). Prayer, contemplation of God, fasting, abstinence, reading the word of God, constant going to church and standing under its sanctifying actions, and in general the careful fulfillment of all Christian duties constitute a necessary condition for grace to have an exciting effect on a person. In this case, it only tests a person’s ability to perceive it. Months, years, tens of years pass before grace awakens the tested person from the sleep of sin. When the Lord sees his ability to perceive grace-filled excitement, then grace, like lightning, illuminates everything internal in a person and, shaking the spirit, excites him. Here man’s dependence on God and all the ugliness of sin are revealed; here there is fear, languor and annoyance that he has offended God the Father, Creator, Savior and Sanctifier. Through the action of God’s grace, the order of a new blessed Christian life is revealed to him. At the same time, grace allows the heart to feel another better life in God with eternal bliss, which is noticeable in some life-giving burning and spiritual sweetness. But this is only an awakening of the heart. It is necessary to bend the will and arouse its determination to do good with aversion from evil. This is where the general battle with sin takes place, which the saint so figuratively and picturesquely describes. At first sin is silent, as if the matter does not concern it; but as soon as a person bows to the side of good and is ready to walk in deeds pleasing God, the entire abyss of evil, hitherto hidden in the heart, is thrown up like dust and strives to again cover the entire soul - everything good in a person hangs on, as it were, by a thread. One thing saves him - that spiritual sweetness that he was privileged to taste at the moment of excitement of his heart, and that strength that he felt when he said: “So, I’ll begin now.” Those actions that arouse the heart also arouse the will to this decisive act, namely: prayer, contemplation of God, fasting, doing good, withdrawing from the world into solitude, constantly imagining these four - death, judgment, hell and eternal bliss, conversation with spiritual shepherds and elders, repentance of sins, removing from oneself all indulgence and delay. But grace drives enemies out of the heart. With its help, he actually undergoes a change of will, or aversion from evil and an attraction to goodness, a vow is made to be faithful to the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, until the end of his life, and there is a contrition of heart about his sinfulness and indecency. All this is captured by the sacraments of St. Church - repentance and communion of St. life-giving Mysteries 34. This is what turning from sin to the path of salvation consists of! But this is only the seed of a life of grace: consciousness and will are on the side of good; sin has been expelled from the depths of the spirit and is not a controller, but an external tempter; the fear of God, expressed in the actions of conscience, and zeal for good deeds have appeared. The soul and body are still on the side of sin and there is no skill for good yet. This matures and improves through the interaction of freedom and grace. Struggling with passions and exercising all his strength in good deeds, with the planting of good dispositions or virtues in the soul, a Christian leads the sweaty labor of an ascetic. The grace of God, guiding and directing this activity, at first, however, hides its face. It is as if a person does everything himself, but does it not easily, with self-coercion and self-resistance. The struggle is with oneself, with the world, with the enemy-devil, it is strong; but the ascetic, strong with the help of God’s grace, succeeds in doing good and conquers the dominant passions. The struggle then subsides and is reduced to a struggle with thoughts, and finally, a skill for good is obtained. Good Christian moods, obtained in the act of conversion, with the help of the above acts - self-resistance and self-coercion, with the assistance of attention of the mind, vigor of the will and sobriety of the heart, are revealed and turn into self-deepening or turning inward, vision of the spiritual Christian world, constant stay in feelings that arouse zeal for pleasing God, vital activity and spiritual consciousness. All this together makes up the inner man in truth and Christian truth, who is finally perfected from the outside - through sorrows and hardships, and from the inside - by constant tears of repentance and condolences; St. Isaac the Syrian calls this baptism of fire. This is asceticism! The saint, describing it in detail, indicating the importance of the mental heartfelt Jesus Prayer in the matter of salvation, presents it in the general scheme! Having gathered within yourself and having a constant zeal for pleasing God, raise your spiritual consciousness and vital activity and in this mood, walk along the outlined external activities under the guidance or Providence, but at the same time, with strictly intense attention, notice and follow everything that arises inside. As soon as a passionate uprising is born, drive it out and defeat it both mentally and actively, not forgetting to kindle within yourself a contrite and painful spirit over sins 35 . When a Christian succeeds in asceticism in this way, then the grace of God again makes him feel the sweetness and bliss of spiritual Christian life: he is strengthened by the unceasing memory of God, he does everything for the glory of God; finally, abandoning care for earthly things, he completely surrenders to the will of God. After which, grace sanctifies a person’s entire being, arouses fiery love for God, and then the Lord, worshiped in the Trinity, dwells in him, living real communion with God begins and the promise is fulfilled: we will come to him and make an abode (John 14:23). Those who have reached this state become like intelligent powers: they will not be satisfied forever and ever, praising and glorifying the Creator, Savior and Sanctifier. Those who have reached this state are the mysteries of God, and their state is the same as the state of the apostles, because they also know the will of God in everything, hearing, as it were, a certain voice, and they, uniting their feelings with God, secretly learn from Him His words, and are sometimes rewarded with prophecies and miracles. Those who have reached this state are often brought out of their silence to serve those seeking salvation and serve them, enlightening, guiding and working miracles. And Anthony the Great, like John in the desert, had a voice in his silence, leading him to the work of leading others on the path of salvation, and everyone knows the fruits of his labors. The same happened with many others. We do not know anything higher than this apostolic state. Here is the end of the review of the order of a godly life 36. The entire work of salvation is composed of three acts: conversion, purification and sanctification by the grace of the Holy Spirit. The saint outlined all this in detail with those internal changes that occur in all the powers and abilities of the spirit, soul and body and in the external environment during the transition from sin to the path of salvation, while further following this path to the highest degrees of Christian perfection. For almost 50 years, the bishop worked to create his religious and moral ideals and to bring them into the consciousness of people who were zealous for faith and piety. The saint brought everything for the benefit of this great work entrusted to him by Providence: and deep knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, the writings of St. fathers and ascetic devotees, and multifaceted scientific knowledge, and long-term spiritual experience. To save himself in the monastic-ascetic life and others, no matter what rank and position they were in, was his cherished goal of life and activity. For this he accepted monasticism, for this he retired to Jerusalem, Athos and other places in the Orthodox East; For this purpose, as if having some higher calling, leaving honor and glory, he left the pulpit and settled in the desert in a seclusion. This easily explains the unexpected and unusual changes in his life, which so surprised outside spectators; This explains the appearance of extensive works and enormous correspondence, published for several years now in Soulful Reading, a magazine that the saint especially loved and revered. His creations and correspondence in this case are either the revelation or application of his ideals in life. Therefore, the Path to Salvation explains his way of thinking, his life, his activities and completely clarifies the characteristic features of the religious and moral image of the saint. The saint himself attached great importance to this creation: he advised one pious soul to read it several times and memorize it. To me, who wants to understand the beginning of Christian life, he sent me the Path to Salvation with the words: read carefully; half the book treats this. - On the Path to Salvation, Bishop. Theophanes showed the path to salvation, not only indicated, but also showed how to walk along it, not only showed, but also walked along it. After St. Tikhon, Feofan was a remarkable religious and moral figure. Being the pointer of the path to the kingdom of heaven and the leader of people in the matter of salvation, Saint Theophan, in his extensive and numerous writings, is a remarkable exegete, moralist and generally theologian of the Russian Orthodox Church. – As an interpreter of the word of God of the New Testament, he continued the works of Rev. Michael (Bishop of Kursk) and began where this saint left off, namely, with the epistles of St. ap. Pavel. Having completed this extensive work (9 volumes), Rev. Theophan interpreted Psalms 33 and 118, intended to interpret the entire Psalter, the Prophets, the words and deeds of our Lord Jesus Christ, but due to lack of time he could not complete this wonderful undertaking. The Gospel history (System of the Four Gospels) should also be included among the works of interpretation. Thus, his interpretative works are extensive, on the implementation of which he worked for over 20 years, but the intention and plan for this work appeared to him much earlier, when he became acquainted with exegetical literature, collected the best interpretations, with which the saint had already arrived at Vysha. He probably conferred on this matter with experts in Holy Scripture, for example, with M. A. Golubev (Professor of the St. Petersburg Spiritual Academician), with whom he served when he was rector of the academy. At least to Philaret, Metropolitan. Moscow, his intentions and plan of interpretative works were known, and he approved. The interpretation of Saint Theophan is as follows: after the usual introduction to the holy book, which speaks about the person of the writer, the place and time of writing, the content and division into sections, indicating the table of contents of these, the Reverend. interprets text-by-text; Having explained the literal meaning, often philologically, he then presents in this place a set of opinions of the best patristic interpreters - St. John Chrysostom, Theodoret, Basil the Great, etc., is a collection that clarifies the meaning of the text from all sides. Avoiding any polemics with Western interpreters of a negative direction, the saint offers only the complete dogma and moral teaching of the epistles of St. Paul on the positive side, explains the text according to the mind of St. Orthodox Church, pays great attention to the edification of readers, arousing in them feelings of faith, hope and love, which differs from other modern exegetes and from Rev. Michael, which, of course, meant edification and teaching, but mainly revealed the meaning of the word of God. Therefore, the interpretations of St. Theophan are purely patristic, so it is not always easy to notice in him a transition from his own considerations to the writings of St. fathers, who do not present simple statements, but are maintained in a certain system and according to a certain plan. All this is appreciated in the Church Bulletin and Church Gazette oo. Archpriest V. Rozhdestvensky and P. Lebedev. For our part, let’s talk about some features of the interpretations of St. Theophan, which catch your eye when reading them. And here, just as in “The Path to Salvation,” the ruler holds out his basic views on salvation, successfully uses the three-part composition of human nature to clarify its religious and moral states, in order to clarify, sometimes turns to the visible nature and soul of man, gives many moral considerations and generalizations, refers to the ascetic fathers, and sometimes exposes his personal spiritual experience, this is especially noticeable during the interpretation Psalms 38 and 118 - as a result of which its interpretations are distinguished by their moralizing character with a touch of ascetic-contemplative direction. They not only enlighten the mind, but also excite the heart and attract the will to the Holy Spirit. a godly life, which is why they are an excellent tool for schools and for pastors and all those who are zealous for faith and piety. They have been and are successfully used by all learned compilers of dissertations and interpretations of the epistles of St. Paul (interpretation of Archpriest. Kherasnov was compiled on the basis of the interpretation of St. Theophan), especially in the part where it is necessary to use patristic interpretations. – As a characteristic feature of Saint Theophan’s interpretations, we point out his view of the relationship of the Old Testament to the New Testament. The Old Testament proves the inspiration of the New: the Old Testament church points to the appearance of the New Testament Christian church; Adam clearly points to the appearance of Jesus Christ the Redeemer. All this was predetermined from time immemorial and was clearly seen in the first promise of redemption to fallen humanity. This continuity of revelation of God or the eternity of divine wisdom, which is comprehended not so much by the mind as by the heart and will, and which, corresponding and satisfying the highest aspirations and aspirations of the human spirit, lies at the basis of the exegetical works of St. Theophan, and is the best refutation of all the incorrect interpretations of the word of God of Western negative criticism, with which the Reverend. Theophan was familiar, and which he considered unsuitable for Orthodox Christians. He, without a doubt, used the best interpreters of the so-called orthodox school, but in the case when they did not disagree with the holy fathers. The same amount, if not more, Rev. Feofan rendered merit in the presentation and disclosure of Orthodox Christian moral teaching. On this subject he wrote the following works: 1) What is needed for a Christian who has entered the path of salvation (1847). 2) Letters on Christian life in 4 volumes with a conclusion: the path to salvation (essay on asceticism in 3 issues) or what too: a systematic presentation of Orthodox Christian moral teaching. 3) What spiritual life is and how to tune in to it - presents the same thing as in letters about Christian life, only in a brief and simpler form. 4) Invisible Warfare, translation, from modern Greek, of the manuscript of Elder Nicodemus with extensive explanations and additions from the translator himself. 5) Philokalia in 5 volumes, translation from Greek - supplemented. Invisible warfare and the Philokalia after the word of God served as the main aids in the presentation of Christian moral teaching. 6) Letters about spiritual life. 7) Words of Simeon the New Theologian. 8) About prayer and sobriety. The last book, together with letters about spiritual life, is the key to understanding the Philokalia, about the main conclusion of which the saint himself in one of his letters 37 expressed it this way: “every breath must be devoted to pure prayer and vigilantly look at where the enemy is directing his arrows and act accordingly.” How to pray, be sober, fight passions and act towards the creation of the inner spiritual man - this is the content of the entire Philokalia, which is therefore necessary for anyone who is zealous about faith and piety to read. 9) Letters to different people about different subjects of faith and piety show everyone how to apply general instructions to themselves about the path to salvation. Without a doubt, the best works expressing the characteristics of the Right Reverend Theophan as a moral teacher are: Letters on Christian Life and the Path to Salvation. – The first answers the question: what should a Christian do in order to be saved, or explains the duties of faith and piety. The struggle against sin, correction of the heart, the grace of the Holy Spirit, moral Christian psychology, the spirit of faith and piety, the earthly and heavenly church and the relationship of believers to it, and, finally, the beginning of Christian life are especially well presented. All this is stated on the basis of the word of God, the writings of St. ascetic fathers, scientific research and personal observations of the ascetic himself over the human soul and its moral and religious states, and is presented simply, clearly and even picturesquely. The sad state of a sinner who is out of communion with the Church of Christ vividly rises before us, but it is not despair and despondency that inhabit these pictures, but aversion from sin and an appeal to salvation, for the ascetic follows this by depicting the blissful state of a Christian in communion with God. But how can a person turn away from sin and turn to the path of salvation? This question is answered by the work of the Right Reverend Theophan, “The Path to Salvation,” as mentioned above. The letters also state the same thing: “What is spiritual life?” only in a simple and understandable form for everyone, indicating that the desire for Communion with God lies at the basis of the human spirit, that salvation from a moral and mental point of view is spirituality, that is, the subordination of soul and body to the highest aspirations of the spirit, the fear of God, remembrance of God and death, self-sacrifice and surrender of oneself into the hands of God, complete dispassion for earthly things and love for God as the Father and for neighbors, like brothers. Thus, Bishop Theophan is a remarkable figure in the history of the revelation of moral teaching in our Orthodox Church: he expounded it, deeply comprehending the spirit of St. scriptures and writings of St. fathers, created asceticism, i.e. the science of the creation of the inner spirit of man, in a system that we had never had before in Rus', he thoroughly resolved the question of the relationship of grace to freedom, clarified the participation of the Persons of the Holy Trinity in the matter of salvation, and from the same point revealed the doctrine of the Church, pastors and spiritual leaders. Without going into polemics with the currently dominant incorrect opinions of eudaimonism, utilitarianism and evolutionism, Saint Theophan argued that the path of salvation is one for everyone, indicated by the Lord Jesus and His Holy One. The Apostles, that one must first of all become good oneself in order to benefit others, that so-called public morality is unthinkable without personal improvement, that, on the other hand, one cannot stop only at the fulfillment of external morality and decency, but must take care of the creation of the inner spiritual person in Christian righteousness and truth through internal work, i.e. about cleansing the heart. Pointing to family and civil life, he recognizes the holiness of family and civil laws, for they express the will of God. Persons bound by these bonds must carefully fulfill their duties, remembering, however, that earthly interests must be subordinated to heavenly, divine ones. He advised those who were not bound by these duties and had a desire for solitude to go to a monastery. To put it briefly: the saint showed everyone the path of salvation and found out how to walk along it. But this does not exhaust all his merits as a moral teacher: the Right Reverend introduced us to the ascetic fathers - with their life, activities and writings, explained their terms that are difficult for us to understand: adjournment, captivity, darkness, sobriety, attention, wakefulness, internal activity, etc. - terms that every person walking the path of salvation needs to know, for they express important moral states. Further, I introduced them to their methods in the matter of salvation, to the spirit of the scriptures themselves in a complete Russian translation, which is very important, since they, after the word of God and St. The Church, with its sanctifying institutions and sacraments, is our first teacher and guide in the difficult task of salvation. Finally, the merits of the saint are increased by the fact that he, like other ascetics, followed the indicated path until the end of his life and died in faith, piety and the hope of the promise of eternal blessings prepared by God for those who love Him. It is not surprising that his writings, despite the lack of ordinary rational evidence, are extremely convincing and edifying. The Bishop recognized that the truths of faith and piety are not known only by the mind - the mind only prepares a person to perceive them through reading, listening, reflection - they are actually perceived by the heart with the assistance of grace, when a person remains in prayer, the Church and love with God and people, they are assimilated through the cultivation of strength in goodness and leading a virtuous life. After this, rational research has meaning and power, but not in itself. We have in the depths of our spirit an inner feeling called conscience, which directly or indirectly receives the truths of faith and piety and the influence of the Spirit of God on the human spirit. This method is biblical, the holy fathers and ascetics. Saint Theophan followed him, without denying the rational, but not in the matter of excitement and conviction, but in the matter of revealing an already excited feeling of faith and attraction to piety. In this way, the Right Reverend Theophan developed and structured his works, because they are soul-saving: they are enlightening for the mind, stimulating for the heart and will, and those who study them can be drawn to a holy and God-pleasing life. Yes, Saint Theophan was a wonderful theologian and shepherd of the Russian Orthodox Church, who in his works left us with an indication of the path to the kingdom of heaven with detailed instructions (in his letters) on how to follow it, and in all his life and work, the very image of the procession to the kingdom of heaven. Let us honor his memory by studying his creations and imitating him in life, fulfilling the commandment of St. Apostle Paul: remember your teachers, who spoke the word of God to you, and as they look to the end of their lives, imitate their faith (Heb. 13:7). See a detailed story about this in the article: “Senya and Yegorushka” (Dushepol. Reading, 1894, No. P). The head of the theological school, who had the clergy and a Master's degree in Theology, was called the rector of Onago until 1867. Path to the village Ep. Feof. Part 1, pp. 29–43. The path to salvation. Part 1, pp. 44–50 The path to salvation. Part 1, pp. 56–69 The path to salvation. Part 1, pp. 51–52 "Proceedings of the Kiev Theological Academy." 1895. No. 5 O. Archpriest in St. Petersburg P. Lebedev. A warning against getting carried away by the spirit of the present time. Published 1858 About progress. Word on the day of accession to the throne of the most pious sovereign, Emperor Alexander Nikolaevich. Rector Archimandrite Feofan. Word on the day of the transfer of the relics of St. Alexander Nevsky and the namesake of His Imperial Majesty the Reverend. state imperial Alexander Nikolaevich. 48 letter 2 volumes of letters about Christ. life, rector arch. Feofan. Word on the day of the 50th anniversary of the St. Petersburg spirit. Academy rector Archimandrite Feofan. Theologian V. for 1896 May p. 260. Biogr. essay by Rev. Feofan I. N. Korsunsky pp. 54 and 55. Words to Vladimir. bishop's flock Feofan published in 1869. 80th word to Vladim. flock. 62nd word to Vladimir. flock Words 22 and 83 to Vlad. flock 103 and 104 Words to Vladim. flock. Words 45, 46 and 131 to Vladimir. flock 14 Word to Vladim. flock. 28 Word to Vladim. flock. 77 Word to Vladim. flock. Note from the editor. Bishop Theophan did not reveal his intentions to private individuals. But when the leading member of St. The Synod Metropolitan Isidore, in a private letter to the Right Reverend Theophan, expressed his bewilderment at his request, then Saint Theophan explained to him in detail his intentions and how exactly he understood his “peace.” The original letter of the Eminence Isidore and the explanation of the Eminence Theophan were reported to the editors of the Soulful Reading by the Fellow Chairman of the School Council, Archpriest M. I. Khitrov, are stored in the “Parish Library-Reading Room named after Luke and Matvey Vasilyevich Losev” and will be published below. The higher deserts are described in Soul. Readings for 1894 Cell after death holy Feofan. Shower. Read Apr. 1895 In the original, all names are named in full, but we left only the initial letters. Ed. The Right Reverend arrived at the monastery at Vyshe on August 3, 1866 During the first years before his complete seclusion, Saint Theophan went to all services. The originals of the above letters are highly Isidore and Philaret and Rev. Feofan, are stored in the “parish Library named after Luke and Matvey Vasilyevich Losev”, in Tolmachi. Red Description of the church of St. Feofan was done in detail by one of the monks of the Vyshenskaya Hermitage in Dushep. Readings for 1876, month of May. The path to salvation bishop. Feofana (pp. 21–114). The path to salvation bishop. Feofana, pp. 114–232. The path to salvation bishop. Feofana, pp. 267–373. The path to salvation bishop. Feofana, pp. 375–392. Soulful Reading August 1896, p. 639.