Through constant labor and obedience, under the watchful guidance of the elder, Father Gabriel succeeded in his inner spiritual life. Listening to himself, he clearly learned to see that man himself is nothing, and in the struggle with himself, his sinful passions and vices, he is a winner only to the extent that he humbles himself and calls on the Lord for help. Illuminated by the grace of God, his spirit rushes towards union with the Sweetest Jesus. In the ascetic life of Father Gabriel, he constantly encountered sorrows and temptations, but he endured everything with humility and patience, raising his mind to grief and firmly believing in the help of God and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin. “A monk is an abyss of humility into which he has cast down and in which he has drowned every evil spirit,” teaches St. John Climacus. Gabriel overcame the tricks and intrigues of demons through humility, obedience, prayer and fasting. He became more and more convinced of the salvation of monasticism and loved it with all his heart.
In the spring of 1876, Father Gabriel was appointed as a steward on a sailing ship belonging to the monastery, which departs annually to Russia to deliver everything necessary for life in the Ilyinsky monastery. Monastic brig “St. Prophet Elijah" made flights between Athos, Constantinople, Odessa and Mariupol, where it was loaded with grain, flour, Volga fish and other foodstuffs. The captain of the ship was a hieromonk, and the crew consisted of monks and novices - natives of Kherson, Kursk and other provinces. The watch on the ship alternated with the statutory service in the deck church. During the Russian-Turkish War, the economy hieromonk Gabriel with his ship was in Taganrog and Rostov-on-Don, and in 1878, after the conclusion of peace with Turkey, he returned to Athos.
At the monastery, Father Gabriel was entrusted with the important duties of treasurer, housekeeper, and also rector of the Ilyinsky metochion in Constantinople. There were so many things to do around the house that it was just time to get to the cells, give at least a little rest and peace to my tired body, and then go to worship and again take up my chores for the monastery. While carrying out obediences to improve the monastery, Father Gabriel did not stop living an intense spiritual life. Unceasing prayer, spiritual wisdom, fatherly treatment of the brethren, cordial friendliness with strangers, economic practicality - all these qualities were amazingly combined in him.
After the abbot of the monastery, Hieroschemamonk Tovia, moved to the Akhtyrsky Monastery in 1887, God was pleased to entrust Father Gabriel with the management of the St. Elias monastery. In 1891, Hieromonk Gabriel was elevated to the rank of archimandrite by Patriarch Joachim III of Constantinople. The new abbot, having high spiritual gifts from God, skillfully managed the life of the monastery. He taught the brethren the need for strict adherence to the monastic rules and internal improvement. Under the influence of his fatherly instructions, some monks, in addition to fulfilling the three ordinary monastic vows - non-covetousness, chastity and obedience, took upon themselves additional vows aimed at strengthening the spiritual will and elevating the Christian spirit. One could quite say about Father Gabriel and his brethren in the words of Chrysostom: “Monks are the faces of angels in human flesh; Their life is difficult and unbearable, but sweeter and more desirable than the worldly, their lips are filled with fragrance, there is silence and silence in their abodes.
They observe strict fasting and get up before dawn, laboring in thanksgiving to God, prayer and psalmody. Being, as it were, in a pier, they lead a life protected from any excitement. They sing before the birds. passions are overcome more easily by the laity. Monastic life needs to be more pleasing than royal life. A prayer for a monk is like a sword for a trapper, death for a monk is carefree, a monk heals the suffering of others, his feat is great. Although the monks are in poverty, they are the owners of spiritual treasures throughout the universe, the monks are holy in life and faith ... "
Archimandrite Gabriel worked hard for the improvement and prosperity of the monastery, both internal and external. Since the foundation of the new church in the monastery by Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna, monastic schema-nun Anastasia, who sent the first stone with an inscription to the foundation of the cathedral, there has been a strong confrontation between the Greeks against the Russian monks on Athos in general, and against the Ilinsky monastery in particular. The Monk Gabriel, as a true peacemaker who acquired the blessed peace of God, managed to peacefully end the conflict in favor of the Elias monastery.
The construction of a new cathedral lay ahead, but there were not enough funds. At the request of the rector of the skete, Archimandrite Gabriel, with the highest permission and with the blessing of the Holy Synod, the Russian skete of the Holy Prophet Elijah was allowed to collect alms throughout the Russian Empire. At the end of 1893, Archimandrite Gabriel, accompanied by the brethren, arrived in Russia with the shrines of the Elias monastery: the miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Mammal,” part of the tree of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord and the left foot of the relics of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called. With the blessing of Metropolitans Palladius of St. Petersburg and Sergius of Moscow, archbishops and bishops of various provinces of Russia, these shrines were placed in the churches of the capitals and other cities for the worship of pious Christians and the collection of feasible donations.
With the haste of God, good people responded to the holy work and with their offerings made it possible to begin new buildings in the monastery. The holiness of Father Gabriel's life and his spiritual strength attracted monks and lay people to him. The material resources necessary for the monastery appeared.
Having care for the brethren, caring for the splendor of the Athos Elias monastery, the monk did not forget to take care of the Russian pilgrims setting off from their fatherland to the Holy Land and Athos. For this purpose, in 1894-1896. in the city of Odessa, he built a magnificent three-altar church in the Byzantine style at the Ilyinsky courtyard. On December 22, 1896, Archbishop Justin of Kherson and Odessa consecrated the main chapel in the name of the Mother of God “Mammal.” On December 23, the right chapel was consecrated in the name of the holy prophet of God Elijah, and on December 28, the left chapel was consecrated in the name of the Archangel Gabriel. Premises with all amenities for pilgrims were also built.
In 1894, Archimandrite Gabriel laid the foundation for a new dormitory building in the Elias Skete on Mount Athos, the construction of which was completed in 1898. The following year he began construction of a new cathedral. He managed to complete the construction of the foundation and basement of the church. His worries called him on the road, and in 1901, despite poor health, Archimandrite Gabriel was forced to go to Russia to the monastery metochions in Odessa, Taganrog and Novonikolaevsk to manage the household and edify the brethren.
Years passed after years, and the hard-working old man was approaching the end of his earthly career. The lamp of life began to apparently fade within him. Before leaving Athos, Elder Gabriel, sensing his imminent death, addressed the brethren with farewell words: “My peace I leave you, my peace I give you... If we live in the spirit of true monks, if we bear each other’s burdens, if we have among ourselves the peace that Jesus Christ commanded us, then our compassionate benefactors are true children of the holy Orthodox Church, prayerfully the unforgettable sons of our beloved fatherland, holy Russia, cannot leave us with their generous assistance, which is why our monastery exists, by the grace of the Queen of Heaven.”
Having visited metochions in Constantinople, Odessa and Taganrog along the way, Archimandrite Gabriel arrived in Novonikolaevsk in October. On October 14, after the Divine Liturgy, he felt unwell. The next day my health worsened. On October 18, he received communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, and on October 19, he departed into eternal life, where all his thoughts and wishes were always directed.