Essay on the life of Rev. Nil Sorsky

Paragraph I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX The second half of the 15th century was a time in the life of Russian society when its mental and moral state fell to a very low level. Only the external was put forward and achieved, everything internal and sublime was completely forgotten. And at this time of general decline - far from the world with its bustle, a bright ray was lit, cutting through the deep darkness of Russian life. This was a famous figure of the Russian church, “the founder of skete life in Russia,” Rev. Nil Sorsky. From the silence of desert solitude, he brought new ideas to his contemporaries, calling them to truth, to righteousness, to mercy, to life according to the dictates of conscience. The society of that time, although it did not accept the call addressed to him, still could not help but surround the exalted personality of the ascetic with reverent respect. And this respect was so great that for Rev. Nil Sorsky is the only one in history who has been given the title of “great old man.” Despite all this, almost no information has reached us about the life of the “great old man.” True, the further time passed, the more the picture of Russian life changed and became more reasonable, the more and more the bright personality of the Nile stood out from the darkness of the past - but still its outlines were vague, the facts from the life of the hermit are controversial and not established. And now a whole number of famous Russian scientists are devoting their efforts to collecting at least fragmentary, but firmly established information about the great ascetic. However, Russian literature still does not have such a work in which all the available biographical information about Nil Sorsky, collected together, would be presented in the form of a complete work of art. The proposed essay is an attempt to fill this gap. Outlining the ideal personality of the “great old man,” detached from the world, and simultaneously sketching a picture of the cultural and religious state of the era in which the famous ascetic lived and acted, the author of this essay tried to be strictly guided by the following scientific works and works related to the personality of the “great old man.” Prof. A.S. Arkhangelsky: “Rev. Nil Sorsky and Vassian Patrikeev, their literary works and ideas in ancient Rus'.” Historical and literary essay. Part I (about the Nile). St. Petersburg 1882. – The most detailed and thorough work, which was mainly guided by the author. Prof. V.P. Shevyrev: “A trip to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery.” M. 1850. Metropolitan Macarius: “History of the Russian Church”, vol. VI. St. Petersburg 1874. V. Zhmakin: “Metropolitan Daniel and his works.” M. 1881. The first two chapters in the book are about the history of the movements of Joseph Volotsky and Nil Sorsky. Prof. N.I. Kostomarov: “Russian history in the biographies of its main figures,” ch. XVI. Prof. A.S. Pavlov: “Historical sketch of the secularization of church lands.” Archbishop Filaret: “Review of Russian Spiritual Literature” and “Lives of Saints.” A.V. Gorsky: “Relations of the monks of the Kirillo-Belozersky and Joseph-Volokolamsky monasteries in the 16th century” (in “Addition to the works of the Holy Fathers”, published at the Moscow Theological Academy, vol. X, 1851). A. Pravdin: “Rev. Nil of Sorsky and the rules of his monastic life" (in Christian Reading, January 1877). Druzhinin V. and Dyakonov M.: “Conversation of Sergius and Herman, Valaam miracle workers.” St. Petersburg 1889. Ikonnikov: “Russian public figures of the 16th century” (in “Kiev. University. Izvestia”, 1866, No. 1–2). Ikonnikov: “The experience of studying the cultural significance of Byzantium.” Kiev, 1869. Prof. CM. Soloviev: “History of Russia”, vol. V. Panov: “Relations of the monks of the Kirill and Joseph monasteries” (in “Addition to the works of the Holy Fathers”, part X, 506. Rozanov: “The dispute between the Josephites and the Belozersk elders” (in “The Wanderer” for 1877, vol. II, May). Archim. Justin (later Bishop of Ryazan): “Our venerable and God-bearing father Nil, the ascetic of Sorsky, and his charter about monastic life.” M. 1886. “Reverend Nil Sorsk, the first founder of the skete life in Russia, spiritual instructions about the skete hermit life.” M. 1889, ed. Morozova. F. Uspensky, academician, director of the Constantinople Archaeological Institute: “Essays on the history of Byzantine education in the 14th century.” Radchenko: “Church and religious movement in Bulgaria before the Turkish invasion” (in “Kiev. Univ. Izvestia”). – The last two books are very important for understanding the mood of Nil Sorsky. There was a feeling in the air that morning was approaching. Over the countless large and small lakes and rivers scattered around the area, fog rose and stretched out in a slender strip. In the whitish twilight of the northern night, the bright stripes of dawn became sharply visible. There reigned that complete, undisturbed silence that occurs in nature only before dawn. This silence was broken only by the quick, hurried steps of a traveler walking alone along a dusty road. In appearance, the traveler could not have been more than seventeen or eighteen years old. He was a slender young man of average height. On his extremely emaciated, half-childish body hung a caftan, such as at that time clerks in Moscow and other minor clerks usually wore. He had bast shoes on his feet and a skinny knapsack over his shoulders. Despite the pre-dawn freshness in the air, sweat streamed from the young man’s emaciated, pale face from his fast walking. However, in the eyes, burning with some extraordinary fire, not a shadow of fatigue was noticeable... Behind the young man, the rumble of a cart was heard along the road. But he didn't turn around. And only when the cart caught up with him, the young man took off his hat and bowed deeply to those who had left. It was apparently a husband and wife, both clean and dressed up. -Where are you going, servant of God? - asked the peasant, stopping his horse, - isn’t it to Kirill’s monastery? “Yes, to the monastery,” the young man answered quietly, “can you tell me, good man, how many miles are left?” - For another ten... Just sit down, I’ll give you a ride. I'm going there with my wife. So you won’t take our place, but you’ll be just in time for God’s service... Tea, do you know that their holiday is now the most important in the monastery: Kirill’s own memory? “I know it, I know it, good man.” And thanks for your help; I’ll get there somehow... - What, did you make a vow? Well, God help you. But just don’t go astray. This is how you get around these lakes and rivers, and then you will immediately be in trouble. It's called Maura. With her the monastery is in full view. Well, you'll see there... The talkative peasant started his horse, and the young traveler again quickly and hurriedly walked along the dusty road. The sun had already risen, and the warmer air was filled with the chirping of grasshoppers, the singing of birds and the strong smell of flowers that grew picturesquely in abundance along the shores of lakes and along continuous hillocks, between which the rough road wound. The closer to the monastery, the more and more the road became busier. Small hills and hillocks with huts and windmills rose. Like mirror glass, closed in beautiful frames, small lakes lay on both sides of the road, connected by countless rivers. And along their banks, as if crowding towards the water, grew a variety of trees and plants. The traveler, with an indescribable smile of quiet joy, looked at the nature surrounding him, as if he saw in it something close, akin to his peaceful, pure, quiet soul and the thoughts that filled it in these moments. The end of the young man’s journey was not far off. And he walked towards him not for a day, not two, but for whole long days; he strove for his whole life. And now, when his cherished goal was close, when those walls that were to cut him off from the whole world forever were not far away, the young man once again looked back at his short, but rich in experience, life. He remembered the village near Moscow, where he was born and grew up in his early years, he remembered his pious mother, the whole strictly pious life at home, the unquenchable lamp in the corner... The child, barely able to babble, was taught prayers by his mother in this corner, and the quiet light of the lamp every evening and every morning illuminated the mother and her little son, bowing prayerfully before the icon. The neighbors soon began to notice the child’s unusual religiosity. It used to be that they would drive the cattle out into the field and assign the boys to it. The kids will tangle the horses, let them graze, and they themselves will gather in a crowd and start either telling each other fairy tales they heard from their grandmothers, or playing some kind of game, or starting to fry potatoes - but Maria Maykova’s son is never seen with them. Little Nile goes to where slender aspen trees grow on the slopes of the hill, and there, climbing into the thicket of trees, he stands for a long time in prayer... What did he pray for, what did his pure childish soul ask of God? Nobody knew anything about this, but anyone who saw a child after such moments noticed on his face and in his eyes the imprint of some otherworldly, unearthly, some sad thought: was the child’s soul praying to Heaven to keep her from the world?.. In the evenings, when the stars began to light up in the sky with tenderly sad lights, little Neil peered into them with intense attention. What mystery did his fragile, inexperienced mind want to solve? Didn’t the stars seem to him like the gleams of some other, supermundane world, where, perhaps, his soul was yearning from the sinful earth desecrated by man?.. Nobody knew this... Neil began to grow up, and it became clear to his mother that he was not a worker for her household. No matter how much she wanted to always have her son with her, she did not want to go against his inclinations. In Moscow, she had a distant relative in one of her orders; he served as a clerk. Maria headed towards him. Old Nifont was a kind-hearted man. He willingly and affectionately took the boy into his care. He soon sat him down with an ABC book, taught him to read and write, and taught him to write. Neil quickly learned the simple wisdom of the then Russian literacy; His handwriting turned out to be good. Then Niphon gave the boy a small coupon to copy, and here Nile’s success exceeded the old man’s expectations. After this, Nile was soon placed in the order to help his uncle and began to give him more and more complex and honorable assignments: either to rewrite the decree of the sovereigns in ligature, then the order of the rulers, or a court decision on some important matter. The boy wrote everything with extreme diligence and love, and the manuscripts from his pen came out beautiful and clear. But with special diligence, Neil rewrote the sacred books. This work was given from outside, from monasteries. True, they had their own “cursive writers,” but few could cope with the half-child from the order, Maykov. Letter by letter, Nile copied the sacred sayings with extreme love. At the same time, he thought about every word, every thought. What he didn’t understand or what seemed unclear to him, he wrote down for himself. And so, when the work was over, he solemnly carried it to the monastery and here, from the elders wise by the experience of life, he asked for clarification of the incomprehensible. They were amazed, listening to the boy’s smart, deep remarks beyond his years, and when they could, they gave an answer. And it happened that there was no answer... Apart from the order and his uncle's house, Neil knew no other place to stay than the church. Apart from the road to the monastery, to their churches, other roads were unknown to the boy. He often stood on his knees for hours at a time in the corner of the church. His bows were frequent, his prayer was fervent. He came out of a corner covered in semi-darkness after everyone else in the church. At first, the uncle was worried about where his nephew was going for so long. But then, having found out, he calmed down. “You are no good in the world, Nil,” Nifont often used to say. - You should go to a monastery. “Uncle, that’s all I want.” - So why? When you grow up, I’ll talk to my father, Archimandrite Chudovsky. He probably knows you and will gladly accept you. You will be their cursive writer... - No, uncle, I don’t want to go to Moscow. And Nile will begin to talk about how they do not live like monks in Moscow monasteries: they renounce the world, but bow to the world, curry favor with the world, own land, own riches, and because of this, litigate with each other and with the worldly authorities... - Is this monastic? – Neil said enthusiastically. - Monks are called that way because they are different to the world, strangers to it. “The world lies in evil,” and they must flee from it forever, completely, into the desert, into the impenetrable wilds... There, among the silence,” Nile’s eyes were directed somewhere far, far away, “the monks see another earth, another sky... And so you, uncle, saw it yourself in the order, and it tormented my heart... Niphon smiled good-naturedly. - You're in pain, Neil. And all because he is young. When you grow up, if you become a monk, you yourself will be ordered to litigate. “No, uncle,” the boy exclaimed passionately with tears in his eyes, “God will not allow this!” The kind old man was finally touched by his nephew’s incomprehensible sadness and his quest. He tried to give whatever advice he could. - And you, Neil, look. Maybe there are true monks and abodes pleasing to God in the world. These words expressed the deepest essence of the boy's hidden desires and dreams. Whether he stood in the church, whether he pondered the meaning of those sacred words that his hand traced, the thought of a monastery in which one could find the true embodiment of monastic vows did not leave him for a moment. Finally, Neil's burning wish came true. Hieromonk Pachomius of Svyatogorsk arrived in Moscow. He was a well-read man in the Holy Scriptures and patristic works, and most importantly, capable of compiling the lives of saints, which was then especially highly valued in Moscow: among Muscovites there was not a single person suitable for this occupation. Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich and Metropolitan Theodosius took advantage of the arrival of Pachomius for their own purpose. At this time, Moscow was extremely interested in the life of the famous Belozersk ascetic Kirill, who had died recently before, in 1427. And so Pachomius was instructed to go to Beloozero to the monastery of Cyril, collect information there about his exploits and compile a biography. Pachomius returned after some time with the assignment completed. But since he himself was far from strong in beautiful cursive writing, and he needed to rewrite the life as beautifully as possible, he began to look for someone who could do this work. Several lists had to be made: for the king, for the patriarch and for some other eminent persons. And so Pachomius, on the advice of the Chudov Archimandrite, commissioned the young “cursive writer” Maykov to make one of the lists. Who can imagine the joy of the Nile! Days and nights he sat over the work entrusted to him, and the more he read into Cyril’s life, the clearer and clearer the idea became to him that this was exactly what he was so passionately looking for... And now, almost at the gates of Cyril’s monastery, Neil once again remembers, down to the smallest detail, the life of the famous ascetic, so high, so beautiful, so beckoning to follow it. In 1337, in Moscow, a boy was born into one pious family, who was named Kuzma. God-fearing parents raised their child in the fear of God, taught him knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and the lives of Christian ascetics. The parents' instructions fell on good soil: Kuzma's behavior and his extensive knowledge of the divine scriptures delighted both his parents and everyone around him. Everyone loved the gifted and modest boy. Soon, Kuzma’s parents died, and the boy was taken into the care of his relative Timofey, who was a surrogate of the Grand Duke Dimitri and, among other nobles of that time, was famous for his nobility and wealth. Timofey fell in love with Kuzma for his good qualities, but did not at all want the boy’s religiosity to cross a certain limit and lead him to the monastery. Meanwhile, Kuzma soon matured and filled his entire soul with one desire: to go to a monastery. Feeling this desire, the youth turned to the abbots of some nearby monasteries with a request to accept him for obedience. But the abbots knew Timofey’s tough temper and did not dare to fulfill the boy’s request. Kuzma did not despair and, while waiting for the opportunity to fulfill his desire, he also led a monastic life in the world: he zealously devoted himself to fasting and prayer, gave alms abundantly, was diligent in visiting the Church of God, and maintained the purity of his body. Timofey, from whom Kuzma carefully concealed his intention, made him the treasurer of all his wealth, and over time hoped to leave them at his complete disposal. But it turned out differently. At that time, Stefan, abbot of the Makhrishchi, arrived in Moscow. Kuzma had been expecting his arrival for a long time and now rushed to him with an ardent request to help him fulfill his cherished desire. Stefan, who soon became aware of Timothy's attitude to this matter, decided to act directly. Calling Kuzma, he put a monastic robe on him and named the youth Kirill. “This dedication is incomplete,” he added to the youth, “but God is merciful, and soon you will become a real monk.” Then Stefan went to Timothy, in whose house the pious abbot was especially respected by the okolnik’s wife, Irina. When Timothy was informed about Stephen's arrival, he went out to him and approached him for a blessing. Stefan said: – Your pilgrim Kirill blesses. The somewhat surprised okolnichy asked: – Who is this Kirill? “And this,” answered the abbot, “Kuzma, your former relative, and now a monk, a worker for the Lord and a prayer for you... When Timofey learned in detail about everything that had happened, he, despite all his respect for the pious abbot, spoke insolence to him and pushed him out of his house. Stephen humbly left with the words of Christ on his lips: “If the elders do not accept you below, they will listen to you, coming from there, shake off the dust that is under your feet, as a testimony to them.” When Irina found out how her husband treated the newcomer and what Stefan said when leaving, she could not calm down from grief. “How could you insult such a holy and great man like that,” she said reproachfully to her husband, “from now on, the grace of God will be taken away from our home... If Kuzma is already a monk, it means that this is according to the will of God... Timofey himself recognized his guilt. His conscience did not leave him with its reproaches and remorse. Finally, he went to Stefan to ask for forgiveness and declared that let Kuzma, named Kirill, do what his soul tells him. When the newly christened monk heard about this, he was extremely happy, immediately distributed all his property to the poor and asked Stefan to take him to the monastery as soon as possible. Stefan took him to Simonov, where he placed him in the care of Archimandrite Theodore. Soon the boy was tonsured in the real way. The name given to him by the Makhrishchi abbot remained with him. At that time, in the Simonov Monastery, the monk Mikhail, later the Bishop of Smolensk, was famous for his ascetic life. It was to this monk that Cyril was given obedience. Soon the elder could not praise his disciple enough. The youth considered fasting a pleasure; in the winter cold he walked without warm clothes; at night, when the elder read the psalter or stood at the usual rule, Cyril himself prayed fervently; He was the first to arrive at the church even before the bell rang. To test the youth, the archimandrite transferred him from the elder’s cell to the bakery. Here, too, Cyril spent his nights awake in prayer, eating only enough so as not to be hungry, sometimes only so that the brethren would not find out about his abstinence. At this time, the famous ascetic of the Russian land, Sergius of Radonezh, often came to the Simonov monastery. And the brethren began to notice that the Monk Sergius first of all went into the bakery and there, alone with Cyril, spent long hours in conversation. The archimandrite and the brethren came to the monk, thinking that he would begin to talk with them. But the monk blessed them and immediately broke away from them to talk with Cyril. Everyone marveled at why the modest, inconspicuous Kirill was awarded such fame. The archimandrite also believed that he would become proud, and transferred him to a more difficult obedience, to the cook. But Kirill’s humility was limitless. He not only accepted the order of the abbot with humility, and even gratitude, but, in order to further humiliate himself in the eyes of the brethren, he took upon himself the feat of foolishness. The abbot, who did not know the true reason for this behavior of Kirill, subjected him to severe punishments. But Kirill served them out and again took upon himself new feats of foolishness. Finally, the abbot understood the deep humility of the imaginary holy fool. After some time, Cyril received holy orders, but did not leave the cook: having sent off his week, he returned again to baking bread for the brethren. Such humility endeared everyone’s hearts to him so much that when Archimandrite Fedor was transferred to the Rostov archbishopric, Kirill was put in his place. And in his new rank, Kirill was quite accessible to everyone. Many princes and nobles began to come to the new abbot for a conversation. However, he liked the complete silence of the cell more. Therefore, Cyril soon completely left the abbotship and retired to his cell. However, attracted by the fame of the new ascetic, noble people from many cities continued to come to Cyril for advice. This aroused envy in the new rector, Archimandrite Sergius. Then, running away from the possibility of temptation, Kirill went to the ancient monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, which is on the old Simonov. Here, observing strict solitude, he spent time in prayer and singing akathists to the Mother of God. He prayed that the Most Pure One would show him the path and place for his exploits. And then one night, Kirill, as usual, stood before the image of the Most Pure One and sang an akathist to Her. When he reached the words in the ikos: “Having seen a strange Christmas, let us withdraw from the world and put our minds in heaven,” suddenly he clearly heard a voice saying: “Kirill! Go from here to Beloozero. There I have prepared a place for you in which you can be saved.” Kirill opened the window of his cell and saw an extraordinary light shining towards the Beloozersk region. The ascetic spent the entire night in extraordinary joy. A short time later, Ferapont came from Beloozero to Simonov, tonsured together with Cyril. Kirill, without giving away his secret, began to ask him: is there a place in the Beloozersk region where a monk could observe complete silence? Ferapont answered in the affirmative and spoke with admiration about the beauty of nature in Beloozerye. Soon, namely in 1397, both monks left for Beloozero. Arriving there after a long journey, they went to many places. Kirill didn’t like any of them: he kept looking for a place where his heart would tell him that this was the very place that was revealed in the vision. And then one day Cyril and Ferapont climbed Mount Maura. When Kirill, looking around at the wonderful opening distance, looked down at the thicket of the forest, surrounded on all sides by water, like walls, his heart told him that here he was destined to spend the rest of his life. “Behold my peace forever and ever,” he exclaimed in prayerful ecstasy, “I will dwell here: this is what the Most Pure One has willed.” Blessed now and forever is the Lord God, who heard my prayer. Descending from the mountain, Cyril planted a cross in a chosen place and only then told Ferapont his secret. The monks dug a cave and at first lived together, but then Ferapont understood the secret dream of his brother and went to another place. Kirill was left alone to start a new life at the age of sixty, full of struggle and hardship. The place where the ascetic settled was a small but extremely dense thicket, surrounded on all sides by lakes. There was almost no human habitation around; There lived only a certain farmer named Isaiah. This Isaiah later told the monk that long before the arrival of the ascetic, from the place where the monastery was subsequently built, bells were ringing and wonderful singing was heard. And not only Isaiah himself heard this, but also many of the surrounding residents. Amazed, they looked around and explored the place, but found nothing. Cyril's exploits began in an underground cell. A dense forest, mysteriously rustling with its leaves, fierce waves violently beating against the impregnable shore, wild animals and distant stars were silent witnesses to the prayerful exploits of the hermit. But then the surrounding residents heard about him, and two of them, Auxentius Voron and Matthew Kukos, helped Cyril build a wooden hut. Soon, word of Cyril’s whereabouts reached the Simonov Monastery, and two of his monks, like-minded people and friends of the ascetic, Zebedee and Dionysius, came to him, asking to be allowed to live with him. Kirill was incredibly happy with them. But their arrival was only the beginning of an influx of ascetics to a new place. Nathanael came, followed by another and another. And a little later a considerable number of monks gathered around Cyril. Soon, for the common needs of the brethren, the Church of the Assumption was erected - and thus the beginning of the monastery was laid. And at the same time, the fame of its founder began to spread everywhere. His name was pronounced by everyone as something sacred. His virtues were numerous, and in each of them he was more successful than everyone around him. Talking about these virtues, Pachomius said that some praised the blessed one for his humility, others for his abstinence, others for the benefit of his words, and others for his simplicity... But Neil recalls that in the great image of the famous ascetic and in the rules established by him for the monastery, what most attracted him, most admired him and made his heart tremble joyfully was strict non-covetousness. In the monastery and in the cells, no one was allowed to have anything of their own or call it their own, but to have everything in common; silver and gold were not even named among the brethren, but were only in the monastery treasury. From there the brethren received everything that everyone needed. If anyone felt thirsty, they had to go to the meal to quench it: water was allowed to be kept in the cell only for washing their hands. Anyone who happened to enter the cell could not see anything from the monk except an icon or a book. Handicrafts were done exclusively for the monastery treasury, and no one dared to do anything for themselves. The brethren received clothes, shoes, and everything they needed from the monastery treasury. Kirill himself wore torn clothes, mended more than once by his own hands. It happened that the monastery experienced severe financial difficulties. Then the brethren asked Kirill to turn to the rich “Christ lovers”, pious patrons of the monastery. But Kirill never agreed to such requests from the brethren and forbade them to ask for alms from anyone. The pious Princess Agrafena, the wife of Prince Andrei of Mozhaisk, once wanted to treat the whole brethren to fish, but Cyril did not allow... So great was the non-covetousness of Cyril himself, and so strict was he in this regard towards his students!.. This, in fact, attracted and primarily drew Nile to the memory of the great ascetic. The young man’s pure heart felt that here was precisely the main feature that should be inherent in monasticism. And so Neil undertook a long journey in order to see with his own eyes that place, that monastery where the greatest of the vows of monasticism was fulfilled. This is what mainly prompted Neil to leave Moscow and go on an unknown and difficult path to Beloozer. Neil remembers how difficult it was for him to leave Belokamennaya. Uncle had recently begun to keep a watchful eye on his nephew, kept asking why he was sad, thoughtful, and was no longer satisfied with Neil’s usual answers. And then Maria came from her native village and, falling to her son’s chest, asked and begged him not to forget her, the old woman, and to quickly return to the village and close her eyes. “I will die,” Mary said to her son, “you are free to go wherever God and your conscience command.” Until then, stay with me... But the soul told young Neil something else, and one May morning he secretly left Moscow and headed his way to where all his thoughts, thoughts, and hopes had been rushing lately. It was difficult to make the long journey: the road was unknown, and at that time it went through impenetrable wilds, through swampy swamps. But the young man’s jealousy overcame everything. He found out the way from passersby, fed from kind people who did not refuse the young man shelter, although sometimes they looked with some suspicion at his Moscow clerk's attire. There were those who started asking questions: who, where, where and why? But Nile was silent and did not reveal his secret to anyone... So he reached almost the monastery itself, and just on the day of Cyril’s death, June 9, when the monastery solemnly commemorated the memory of its founder every year... Suddenly Neal's memories were interrupted by the sounds of bells coming from somewhere close, but as if from behind some obstacle. - The morning service was announced. “The Lord would bring us to be in time for the divine service,” the young man said to himself, fervently crossing himself and raising his bowed head. Some kind of mountain towered in front of him. “Maura,” Neil realized, and his heart was filled with joy: before him was the place where Cyril’s vision took place with his own eyes, and from where he first saw the area assigned to him by the Mother of God for the monastery. Neil began to quickly climb to the top of the mountain. A rather narrow path led to it. On both sides of it grew frequent and dense bushes. When Neil climbed to the very top of the mountain, such a charming spectacle of nature was revealed to his eyes that he had never seen before. All around in all directions, for several tens of miles, endless space opened up. A beautiful river flowed along it, meandering between numerous lakes. About five versts from the base of the mountain a lake stretched out in its entire five-verst length, on the northern shore of which, half hidden in the thicket of the forest, a monastery could be seen, the monastery to which the Nile so irresistibly strove. The monastery did not strike the eye with its external grandeur, it did not even have a stone church, but at the same time the appearance of the holy monastery, half-hidden in the forest thicket and surrounded by waters everywhere, gave the entire area an even more enchanting appearance. In the distance, directly behind the lake, numerous lakes could be seen to the right and left of it. They were like blue mirrors, framed by a wonderful frame of centuries-old thickets crowded along their shores. Large and numerous small rivers meandered like ribbons among the lakes. And in the gaps among the lakes and rivers one could see the land, which in most places was green with forests, but in some places it also turned yellow with ears of rye or turned brown with sandy banks and hills. Neil stood spellbound. He peered into the space, all flooded with the golden light of the summer sun, listened to the calling sounds of the monastery bell, and quiet, bright and joyful thoughts ripened and soared in his soul. He knew that he was standing in a place that Kirill himself had sanctified with his presence. Here, after long wanderings through the lands of Belozersky, the famous ascetic stopped; from here, for the first time, his gaze reached the place that he was looking for for the monastery and in which, finally, his holy vision was personified; here, tired and ecstatic, he fell to the ground with tears of gratitude to the Most Pure One. Standing on this sacred place, from which a charming spectacle of nature opened up, the Nile, it seemed to him, was becoming closer to the famous ascetic, as if penetrating into the innermost recesses of his sublime soul. “Cyril did not reject the beauties of God’s world,” Neil reflected, “he loved these beauties as creations of the goodness and wisdom of God; faith did not drive out in him the feeling of the greatness of nature, but, on the contrary, sanctified him with the highest overshadowing.” And whether it was because Nile himself loved nature to the point of oblivion, or for some other reason, but in his heart here, in this place, the long-standing thought became even stronger that a monk cannot and should not reject the wonderful beauty of God’s world, but in them, as in the reflection of Divine beauty, seek reinforcement for his exploits... Along with this thought, many other thoughts about monasticism arose one after another in Nile’s soul and came before his consciousness. Many of them, and even most of them, were not entirely clear to Neil himself. But even in their vague outlines they were so unlike the thoughts of the monks of that time! All these thoughts of the Nile were destined to ripen and appear to the world within the walls of that monastery, which now, in enchanting, wondrous sounds, called him to enter its gates, in order to find a strong refuge from the world behind them - for the benefit of the world! The young ascetic felt this in his soul, and, overwhelmed by the consciousness of all the greatness of what was to come, he exclaimed: And with this word he began to descend from the mountain towards the monastery. Entering the gates of the monastery, Neil saw in front of him on both sides a huge courtyard or field surrounded by walls. It was occupied by a church, a bell tower, monastery buildings, gardens, vegetable gardens, hayfields, and rye planted. A river flowed through this entire space, running out of the monastery gates into the adjacent lake, which, as Neil later learned, was called Siverskoye. The river was Siyaga or, according to the monastery name, Sviryaga. When Neil entered the church and looked at the standing brethren, he immediately felt that the severity of Cyril’s instructions was breathing here. In the church, no one talked to each other, and no one left the church, but everyone stood without touching the wall or anything else. The brethren came to worship the gospel and icons according to their seniority. Kirill himself set an example of this during his lifetime. When standing in church, he never leaned against the wall or sat down at the wrong time. His legs were “like pillars.” And the famous ascetic showed such strict zeal for church deanery not only when he was awake. When the dying illness began to weaken his body, he still cheerfully and uprightly stood through the long monastic services. And, looking at such zeal of their great abbot for the service of God, the monastic brethren were embarrassed and did not dare to deviate from his commands. Just before his death, Cyril wrote to his spiritual son, Prince Andrei Mozhaisky, the following significant words about standing in the church: “Stand in the church, thinking within yourself with fear and trembling, as if standing in heaven: above, sir, the church will be called the earthly heaven, and in it the sacraments of Christ are performed. Be careful, too, sir, that it is dangerous for yourself: in church, sir, while standing, do not have conversations or say, sir, any word that is useless; and if you see anyone, from your nobles or from ordinary people, talking in church, and you, sir, rebuke them: if you don’t, sir, then everything will anger God.” The harmonious singing of the monks and the measured, chanting reading of sacred prayers immediately brought Neil into a high prayerful mood. He immediately found the place in the church where Cyril’s body was buried. Above the coffin was placed the same icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria, which in 1397 accompanied the famous ascetic from Moscow to the place of his exploits. And so, standing at the tomb of Cyril, fixing his deeply believing gaze on the icon, Neil prayed fervently and sincerely. He thanked the Lord for the fact that his long-time dream had come true and the journey undertaken for the glory of God had been completed. At the same time, the young man, realizing that the end of one path is only the beginning of another, infinitely difficult, immeasurably more difficult than the first, prayed to God to grant him the strength to embark on this path and go through it to the end, just as this great saint of God went through it, who was like a seed, which, having died, gave such abundant and rich fruit. Suddenly someone from behind put a hand on Neil’s shoulder. Lost in prayer, the young man did not even notice how the service had passed. Now, feeling the touch, he shuddered and turned around. A tall, stern-looking monk stood in front of him. “The service of God is over,” he said to Neil, “now, together with the brethren, go to the refectory and there refresh yourself with what God sent... I see that you are on a long journey.” But who are you, where are you from and why did you come to this monastery from the world, later you will say... The brethren went to the meal according to seniority. This is what the founder of the monastery bequeathed, and the will was strictly observed. Neil was seated next to a peasant whom he met at dawn on the way to the monastery. Recognizing the young man as an acquaintance, the peasant tried to start a conversation with him. But Neil was silent, saying prayers to himself; the talkative peasant was immediately stopped by a monk sitting next to him. In Cyril’s monastery, according to his behest, during the meal only the voice of the reader was heard amid general silence. The peasant, however, managed to whisper to Nile that Cassian, the abbot of the monastery, was in first place. This was the stern monk who approached Neil in the church. Food, despite the great day, was scanty. There was no drink except water. Cyril forbade honey and any intoxicating drink from being brought into the walls of the monastery, and this rule was observed by the brethren even after his death. When the meal was over, everyone also silently began to disperse towards their cells. This was also provided for by Cyril’s charter: without special necessity, no one dared to enter another’s cell. Neil left the refectory with the talkative peasant. He was about to start a conversation about the subjects that interested him, but at that time the abbot approached Neil. “Follow me,” he said to the young man. When they were left alone, Cassian, fixing a stern, searching gaze on the young man’s face, asked in a quiet, soulful voice: “From a sinful world,” was the answer, and these words were spoken in the same quiet and soulful voice. Then the abbot looked into the very depths of Nile’s eyes, and this look of his was no longer stern, not strict, but kind, affectionate. - Then tell me, if your soul allows it: who are you, what is your name, nickname and what did you do in the world? - I am a villager, my name is Neil, nicknamed Maykov, and I was a shorthand writer in the world. At the last word, Cassian's face lit up with a joyful smile. The fact is that Kirill himself loved to copy sacred books and bequeathed the same to his students. Some of them took the behest of their great teacher very close to their hearts, and among them was Abbot Cassian. During his time in the monastery, many of the monks worked on copying the sacred books. - Why did you come to our monastery? – Cassian asked a question. “I am looking, father, for the right image of monasticism,” the young man answered, and in these words there was such a sincere feeling, such a deep, exciting desire to really find what the soul is drawn to, that Cassian no longer began to ask Nile about anything. - Live and see; “Maybe the Lord will lead us and stay forever,” he told him, then ordered the novice to call Father Martinian. After a while, a short monk entered the cell. This was Martinian, a very close student of Cyril and Ferapont. From a very young age he lived with Kirill and knew his whole life in detail; after his death, he extremely diligently carried out all his commands and instructions, especially regarding the copying of sacred books. “Take, Martinian, this youth,” said the abbot, “acquaint him with the shrines of our monastery, with the life of our ever-memorable father and teacher, and take him under your command for cursive writing.” Martinian bowed from the waist as a sign of obedience, and they went out into the courtyard with Nile. The young man, having told his companion everything that he had revealed to Cassian, began asking him about the details of Cyril’s life. At the same time, Neil told how he became acquainted with the biography of the great ascetic in Moscow. “Oh, I remember, I remember the Greek Pachomius Logothetes,” Martinian remarked. “I told him everything.” But apparently he didn’t write everything down. And Martinian, showing various sights of the monastery, began to add details to what Nile already knew in general terms. - Look, there’s a wooden cross on a small island. This, too, was planted by the great teacher. This island is so high that it is never flooded with water, and when the lake breaks its ice, the ice does not rise on it. Our great teacher loved to go here when his soul called him to solitude. “And here,” Martinian showed after a while, “is the cave where Fathers Cyril and Ferapont lived immediately upon arriving on this island.” The first inhabitants of this holy monastery also came here. Next to the cave indicated by Martinian stood Cyril’s wooden cell, covered with tree bark. A cross was erected above the small hacked door; on the right, somewhat lower than the lintel, there is a tiny window through which Cyril gave brief orders and instructions to the brethren without leaving his cell. “Now let’s go, brother, to our wretched sacristy.” There I will show you the most precious memory of the monastery about our mentor. They entered the small timber church, and here, in a small chapel reserved for the sacristy, Martinian showed Nile an icon-portrait of Cyril, painted during the life of the ascetic Dionysius Glushitsky, who died shortly before the described time in one of the monasteries of the Vologda region. Neil looked with sacred awe in his soul at the majestic, calm and deeply intelligent features of Kirill’s gray-bearded face. Now he understood, to a large extent, the involuntary reverence with which everyone who had seen him at least once in their life treated the famous ascetic. “But here is the phelonion and sacristan of the great father,” Martinian continued to show, “look at the squalor in them.” Our father Kirill, of blessed memory, did not like luxury. “Squalor most of all befits a monk,” he always instructed us, “let the sinful world drown in luxury.” Just look at this wooden red vessel, with the image of the Savior, the Mother of God and John the Baptist. Over this vessel he performed the divine liturgy. Where should splendor be if not here, but Kirill rejected it here too. “God doesn’t need splendor,” he used to say, “if only the soul were pure before Him.” So, learn, my son... But here are two copper bowls. You see, there is no gold or silver here either... But right there is kept the spiritual will of our father, in which he entrusts our holy monastery to our great benefactor, Prince Andrei of Mozhaisk... He wrote it, feeling his death was already close... - And how, father, were the last days and hours of the saint of God? - So, listen. Our great father was already ninety years old. Seeing his exhaustion, frequent illnesses and sensing his imminent death, he thought of writing this spiritual testament, where, as you yourself will see, the holy father grieves most of all that the common life he has established will be preserved in our monastery. A few days before his death, Cyril called all the brethren, and all of us who worked with him for God were then fifty-three people. In front of all of us, he handed over the monastery to Innocent, his disciple, and our brother. “Do not grieve, brothers and children, on the day of my rest,” he said, “it is already an hour for me to worship the Lord; I commend you to God and His Most Pure Mother. May He protect you from all temptations, and may my son Innocent be your abbot in my place; honor him as you honor me; he will correct your shortcomings”... We all wept, grieved for our father, and grieved that our monastery would become impoverished without him. He consoled us: “Do not grieve: if I pleased God, then the place will not become scarce, but will spread even more; just have love for each other." Our father followed his cell rule to the end. He himself could not go to church, so we took him and he performed the liturgy himself. He performed it for the last time on the day of the Holy Spirit, in memory of St. Cyril of Alexandria. After the service, his body began to completely weaken. We approached him, sobbing, kissed him, said goodbye, asked for his blessing. He, like a loving father, kissed us all, caressed us all, left the last blessing for everyone and asked forgiveness from everyone... His last concern was that the common life would not be ruined... At these words from Martinian, a shadow ran across Neil’s face: either bewilderment or some kind of inner pain. “Once again the father took communion of the most pure Mysteries,” Martinian continued, “and peacefully and quietly, without ceasing to pray, he gave his holy soul to God. And on the ninth day of June - exactly thirteen years ago today - we buried him with great honor and funeral singing. I still remember this day. It was unusually quiet all around. It seemed that the forest fell silent, feeling that the one who was the first to break its age-old silence was no longer there. Light clouds were wandering in the sky. And in the midst of this silence, in the calmly clear summer air, only the sad ringing of bells and the soul-wrenching sobs of the brethren could be heard. If you have ever heard bells crying, announcing the death of a monk, if you have seen those who have renounced the world groaning and sobbing uncontrollably, you will understand what happened then... Martinian fell silent: tears came to his eyes and squeezed his chest. He, blinking frequently, looked into the distant azure sky... Nile was also silent... - And how could we not cry: we all felt that with our father the true image of monasticism was leaving us - this immutable vow of non-covetousness and humility... Having divined the monk’s hidden sorrow with his soul, Neil asked him quietly: – How did Prince Andrey benefit the monastery? “He gave great houses and lakes and lands,” answered Martinian, and there was sorrow in his voice. – And did the brethren accept it? – Neil asked, and again some shadow flashed across his face: either bewilderment or inner pain. “I accepted,” Martinian answered, and his voice sounded even more sorrowful. The monk was about to say something else, but at that time a bell sounded very close, and a monk who was monitoring the cleanliness of the church entered the church. “It’s time to pray,” Martinian said, crossing himself. “After all, my son, I wanted to show you the books copied by our great father and by us sinners.” And Prince Andrei gave some gifts... So another time... And your obedience, my son, will consist in helping us sinners to increase, by writing off, sacred wisdom... Now let’s stand in prayer. And the elderly monk and young Neil left the wretched sacristy to the brethren who had already gathered in the church. Neil spent several days getting acquainted with the monastery and the life of the monks. Much in this life delighted him, touched him to the depths of his soul: the sincere, deep religiosity of the monks, their tireless labors, the constant remembrance of God and Christian duties. Whether someone came to the monastery from nearby places or from afar, the monks would greet everyone lovingly, warm them, feed them, and teach them the instructions that were appropriate for the occasion. And everyone will come together to pray - quiet prayer sounds will fill the poor church, and you can feel that in the words spoken by the reader, the soul of each of the praying brothers lives and trembles... And sometimes Neil tried to convince himself that here, in Cyril’s monastery, he had found that right monasticism, that true image of him, to which his soul was so reverently, tirelessly drawn. But no matter how much the young man tried to convince himself of this, it was impossible: somewhere in the very depths of his soul, in some secret place of it, something unsatisfied, unfilled remained. And often, walking through a dense, rustling forest or peering into the mirror-like, frozen surface of a lake, Nile tried to catch, catch, understand what was bothering him. But the unclear continued to remain unclear and insoluble. And only with some kind of pain in the soul did I remember Martinian’s words about the gift of Prince Andrey and with some vague bewilderment - Cyril’s testament to the brethren about the indestructibility of common life... The young, pure soul, tirelessly striving for the truth, felt some new, different, not yet discovered, not yet discovered path of right monasticism, felt and did not find!.. One of the next days, Martinian showed Nile the book treasures that the monastery possessed. To do this, he led him first of all to the sacristy. “Here you, my son, will see both our humble labors and the labors of our ever-memorable father... With what love he burned for sacred writing! How he prayed on his deathbed for us not to forget this holy occupation... How I remember his unforgettable words now. “You, Innocent,” he said, “and you, Christopher, Cassian, Martinian and everyone to whom the Lord gave the gift of cursive writing, do not forget to multiply the sacred writing. This will be of great benefit to all Russian people and your souls.” We have taken these sacred words to heart, and each of us, according to our own strength and understanding, fulfills the behest of our teacher. Innocent worked on the decommissioning during his five-month abbotship, followed by Christopher, who served as abbot after Innocent; Cassian is working, great people are working on this holy work, and after him we, many sinners... Look at this holy Gospel. This is of the late memory of Blessed Christopher. Neil picked up the parchment Gospel, in a small sheet, written in the statutory handwriting. On the first sheet was written with titular abbreviations: “Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the beginningless Father, the rivers of the most pure oust, as without me you cannot do anything, my Lord, my Lord, by faith in both my souls and hearts spoken by You, I fall down to Your goodness: help me a sinner, this desire I began for You and to complete. About Christ, the beginning of this diligence by us in the summer ŕckd (6924/1416) Fevruaria kd on cheese Mondays.” At the end there was this afterword: “We have reached the edge, we are thinking about the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Holy Gospel, this divine book contains rough and unfertilized alphabets. In the summer of Stsk (6925/1417) jounia in memory of the venerable father Anoufry.” With what reverence Christopher apparently took up his holy work! “And our father Christopher wrote many more books with his own hand in the monastery of the Most Pure Mother of God, in Her church,” Martinian noted, “there is also a Gospel, but the deceased did not put his name under it... The husband was of great modesty. So it is in his life. When he was abbot, the Lord sent civil wars to our region. Father Christopher fearlessly redeemed the prisoners taken by the warring princes and returned them to their homeland. The Zvenigorod prince Georgy Dmitrievich was already furious with him for this. I started calling him to my place, for inspiration, that is. Three times he called him, but his father did not go and with such actions forced the prince to release all the prisoners he had taken during the war... - What is this? – Neil asked, picking up the already dusty parchment sheets. The title page read: “Maximus the Confessor’s Word of Fasting on Questions and Answers was translated from the Greek language into Russian in the holy mountain of Athos in the summer of Htslg (6933/1425) by Jacob the good-writer to the godless Eusebius, the indecent Ephraim Rusin.” “This manuscript,” explained Martinian, “was brought to our monastery by the monk Arkady two years before the death of Father Kirill. That year, the monks of Mount Athos translated the works of St. fathers from Greek into Slavic-Russian. Their work was very useful for us. And Father Kirill himself made extracts from the holy Eastern fathers, and other brethren. And Prince Andrei sent such electors. And all these high instructions are for monks. They say that in the east and on Mount Athos there is monasticism in all its truth. And it’s miraculous there, not our way: they don’t live in common life, but one or two in a cell. They also pray not in a general place, but especially in cells. And their abbot is not their boss, but an equal to them... They said that they call this skete life... While Martinian uttered these words, Neil’s face had an expression of lively interest, and some kind of joyful light shone in his eyes. “Isn’t that the true life that my soul is looking for?” – so if I didn’t think, then Neil felt it. - And this was translated into our language by God-loving monks? – I haven’t seen anything specifically about this anywhere. And our ever-memorable father and other brethren translated various rules about monastic life. And those rules are all very useful for the soul. Our father Kirill did not know how to tire and copied everything from the cathedral rules and from the rules of the holy fathers that most related to the church charter and deserted monastic life. Yes, here are these books, written by the hand of Cyril. And Martinian handed Nile books in twelfth shares, written on very hard cotton paper. “St. Basil on Communion. Question: if it is not worthy for a priest to receive communion with his hand. Answer: this question does not require an answer, since it was revealed according to ancient custom and one is convinced by the deed itself. All the monks who unite in the deserts, even though there is no priest, keeping Holy Communion in their cells with them, receive communion themselves. In Alexandria and Egypt, everyone receives Communion from ordinary people in large numbers in their homes and, whenever anyone wants, he receives Communion himself. For one sacrifice was made by the priest and was given to everyone, and he received one from the priest and received communion, just as one receives communion from the priest himself. And this is how it should be eaten, since in the church the priest gives a part of the body of Christ and those who receive it hold it in their hands with all power and thus take it to their lips with their hand. So there is power: either a single portion of reception from the priest, or a lot and a lot to have for many times and receive communion... Saint Luke of Styria asked the Metropolitan of Vorenfinsk, saying: Holy Master, I am in need of the Imam, for I partake of the Divine Mysteries according to the tradition of the Holy Church, and there is a great distance from the Church, and I pray to you: forgive me, and holy Imam, that I may partake of them. And answering: there is good when it is not good; ask the local high priest or confessor for Holy Communion and receive it with fear and trembling and with all shame and observance. And whenever you want to receive communion, decorate a clean cloth and place it in front of the holy icons and place a gift cloth on top of it and place the saint with artophore and Slavida, since the Holy Lamb is united with the life-giving blood from the priest at the holy meal. For this holy sake they say. And having finished the canon, bows, and the prayer of Holy Communion, light the candle and, having bowed, kiss the holy icons and say forgiveness and chants: “I believe in one God the Father” and “Thy secret Supper this day” and then bow down, accept with your hand and partake of the Divine Mysteries and say: “Lord, Amen, amen, amen." And take a cup of wine or water, eat it... and let that cup be there for your protection. So is the foretold girl. And having completed this akolythia, say: “It is worthy to eat” and “The most honorable cherub” and thus create verse and forgiveness... But this is given to all those who sit in the deserts, but only to those who are unflattering and testified and worthy, and those who have love with everyone and patience and humility...” – Father, these were the rules of the hermits of the original church? They lived alone, and were they allowed to receive Holy Communion in their cells without a priest? - And in ancient times, father, in Egypt, as it is written here, everyone lived separately? “No, my son,” and Martinian began to tell Nile that he himself knew about the life of the ancient eastern ascetics, about how great their prayerful feats were, how they, avoiding temptation, sometimes lived together in large numbers. - And how, father, is it better for a monk to live: alone or with others, in a common life? “In general life,” the old monk answered with conviction: “this is how the brethren help one another, warn one another.” And without this, without a common life, how can there not be temptation? And another will become proud, and deviate from the rules, and who knows what sin will come... Neil didn’t say anything, but in his eyes there shone a sadness that had not left him for a long time: it was still unclear to him what was missing in his soul, and the melancholy from this did not go away from his half-childish, inquisitive soul, but only grew more and more. “But in this book of our father,” Martinian said meanwhile, taking in his hands the holy copy of Cyril, “instructions about popular superstitions are written out.” Velmi took care that the people were enlightened and that they did not have any wrong ideas about the face of God. Here is about lightning and thunder from the doctor Galen. Read it here. And Neil, picking up the book, began to read: "Galinovo on Ipocrates." Thunder and lightning come to us: let us multiply with the wind grief, and to another it travels on its own, and to another it travels on its own, otherwise the wind carries one cloud or another; and as soon as they fight and fight with each other, they let out a roar with fire; and in the same way, flint, having fought with iron, emit a roar with fire, and thunder and clouds, fighting each other, emit a roar and fire: the roar is thunder, and fire is lightning. For this reason, it is not for others that there are thunder and lightning, but precisely when there are clouds, then there are thunder. There are thunder first, and lightning second; we see lightning first and hear thunder last. And so it is, human vision quickly exists and abiy strictly sees; He who wants to see, will not be touched, for this reason, lightning will soon see. Hearing is an inert feeling, and it becomes indifferent to hearing a loud roar, and then lightning hears it. Behold, look and see the severing trees: if there is a slashing one far away from us, we see the slashing tree, but we don’t even hear the roar, but after a few hours have passed, then we hear the roar.” – You see how reasonable and clear it is. Our father knew many of the writings of the ancients about the laws of nature, and he used them, as you can see, to enlighten the people. Read on. It will be very clear there about the stars falling from the sky. "About the Lucifers." Visible and falling stars. People say that stars are falling. Others say that the ordeal is evil. But below the stars are, below ordeal, but the sediments are the fire of heavenly fire and fall to the bottom. And as soon as they descend to the bottom, the packs melt and merge in the air. For this reason, below on earth, when someone has fallen from them, they always merge and scatter in the air and say denitsa; the stars never fall, except at the second occurrence of Christ, then the heavens will be clouded and the stars will fall; Just like the ordeal, the souls will then go into eternal fire. But, like rekhom, from the heavenly circle the essence of refraction is fiery, and this is true. “Learn from this, my son,” Martinian remarked instructively. – You will see many more write-offs of Father Kirill and other brothers. Work diligently and copy them yourself. This will be of great benefit to others, and especially to your soul. For starters, at least start copying the Holy Gospel. Yes, think about every word, for in every word, in every letter of Holy Scripture there are great abysses of wisdom. May the Lord God bless you for this holy and soul-helping work!.. Neil reverently accepted the elder’s blessing. From that day on, Neil’s life flowed smoothly and measuredly. Around three o'clock in the morning the cellar walked around the cells and, knocking on the doors, read a prayer: - Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us! The celliarch’s knock never found Nile asleep, and for the first time, without making him wait, he answered: At exactly three o'clock the bell rang and the brethren gathered for the Midnight Office. Neal loved this time of prayer, as well as the evening. The lights of the candles flickered in the twilight of the church, and in this flickering there seemed to be something mysterious, the presence of something incomprehensible and at the same time a call to a distant world, to a world full of enchanting, sublime secrets. At five o'clock the midnight service ended, and the brethren dispersed to their cells. The hour was reserved for rest, for reading “divine scriptures” in his cell, for God-fearing reflections. At six, everyone, with the exception of the next hieromonk and hierodeacon, left for work. Each monk had his own obedience. Neil at this time went to a special cell called the “book depository.” All the books sent by Prince Andrei, as well as those copied by the brethren, were stored here. On the tables lay parchment sheets and quills; at the tables sat “cursive writers”, old monks and young, new monks, who were clerks or cursive writers in the world. Next to Nile sat Herman, who had entered the monastery before him, the son of noble parents who lived in Novgorod. In the world, he, like Neil, learned to write cursively. – What did Father Martinian give you the blessing to copy? – he asked Maykov when they sat down at the table for the first time. - The Holy Gospel for me. What about you? – Neil, in turn, asked, who liked Herman from the first time, with moving, but at the same time kind and dreamy eyes. - And I have an instruction from the Reverend Father Kirill to Prince Andrei. -Who is this Prince Andrei? I already heard about him from Father Martinian... Why does he patronize the monastery? - And this is the son of Dimitri Donskoy, who won Mamaia on the Kulikovo field. Have you heard about this battle?.. So Dimitri gave Andrey Mozhaisk and, moreover, blessed his grandfather’s purchase, White Lake. Andrei often visited the Belozersk estate under the monk. Elder Kirill fell in love with him very much. He didn't want to do anything without his blessing. The monk sent him instructions, and when he died, he bequeathed the monastery to the prince’s care. And the monk wrote this message in response to the prince’s joyful announcement that the Mother of God had delivered Moscow from Khan Edigei in 1408. The monk in this letter greatly rejoices at the miracle, and then writes instructions on how he is worthy to rule the principality. Read it, I really liked it... “And you, sir, Prince Andrew,” Nile began to read the message, “seeing the philanthropy and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, that He averted His anger from us, and showed His mercy to the peasant people, through the prayers of the Most Pure Lady Theotokos, His Mother, and you, sir, look at this: you are the ruler of the fatherland, people were appointed by God, sir, keep yourselves away from the evil custom. The court, sir, would be judged righteously, as right before God; there would be no slander, sir; there would be no sweeps, sir; The judges, sir, would not have any promises, they would be satisfied with their lessons, because the Lord says: “Do not justify the wicked for the sake of bribes; neither strong, nor rich, but ashamed in court, nor for a brother’s sake, nor for a friend’s love, nor for a poverty’s sake; If you commit unrighteousness in court, for the court is true, cursed is everyone who judges unjustly.” The prophet said: “The wrath of the Lord against them will remain incurable forever, and the wicked will burn with fire, for the sake of bribes from those who take unrighteousness.” And by judging righteously, without compensation, they will be saved and inherit the kingdom of heaven. And you, sir, take care that there is no tavern on your estate; If not, sir, the destruction of souls is great: the peasants, sir, drink away, and souls perish. Likewise, sir, you would not have had any tolls, if, sir, the unrighteous kuna had been too much for you; and where, sir, is the transportation, here, sir, is it better to give labor for the sake of it. Likewise, sir, there would be no robbery or thievery in your estate. And if they do not put away their evil deeds, you ordered them to punish them with your punishment, which they will deserve. Likewise, sir, stop people under you from bad words and barking, since everything angers God; and if, sir, you do not try to rule all this, all this will be exacted from you: since you are the ruler of your people, you have been appointed by God. And to the peasants, sir, do not be lazy to give justice yourself: then, sir, God will impute to you both prayer and fasting. And you would naturally get tired of drunkenness, and you would naturally give alms according to your strength: as long as you can, sir, you cannot fast, and you are lazy when praying; Otherwise, sir, alms will make up for your lack."... - Well, what do you think? – German interrogated. Neil didn't answer right away. Some disturbing shadow, which had appeared so often on his face lately, now passed over him again. After a while the young man spoke: - The great, ever-memorable elder Kirill gave the prince true instructions on how to live in the world... I lived in a court order, so I know how anyone who can do this offends people: without promises, without extortion, things will never get better. And the lord needs a princely watchdog for this; and also for the people to be teetotalers for the glory of God... But I just don’t understand whether it’s possible to be saved in the world if you do everything good?.. Herman's eyes flashed with a joyful light. - Brother, my soul also ached about this... But you’re talking about something else... “About something else, about something else, Herman... And just as this message from the saint has a beneficial effect on you, so it does on me... About something else, my soul hurts, it hurts so much, it hurts so much!” And she has no answer... “We’ll talk, brother, when we finish the job.” I will tell you a lot about my spiritual thoughts... And both young men set to work... At exactly ten o'clock the bell rang. Everyone left their work and went to the refectory. First, they sang the prayers prescribed by the rules, then they sat down in order and, at the sound of reading the “divine scriptures,” began to eat. They ate sparingly, not to the point of satiety. Young novices served food in wooden bowls. “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us,” they cried and, hearing “Amen” from the elders, they placed bowls in front of them. After the meal, they again read and sang the prescribed prayers and then went to their cells. As already mentioned, they did not visit each other, according to Cyril’s regulations. Until twelve o'clock, everyone could dispose of their time as they pleased: they could indulge in sleep and thereby make up for the small number of hours allotted for night rest; could read the teachings deliberately placed in everyone’s cell; could sing sacred chants. At twelve o'clock everyone again took up their obedience and worked until eight o'clock in the evening. There was a break of half an hour between three and four o'clock. At eight, everyone gathered at the bell in the refectory, where they were offered food even more meager than during the day. Then everyone went to church and listened to the “rule”, during the reading of which everyone had to make a certain number of bows. At about ten o’clock the “rule” ended, and then they went to bed to sleep, so that at three o’clock in the morning they could begin the work day again. However, not everyone went to bed right away. Some went into the thicket of the forest or to the shore of a sparkling lake and there they tried to enjoy the wonderful spectacle of nature. Neil and German did not immediately go to rest. One day - this was almost a year after Neil arrived at the monastery - they left the church together after the “rule” and headed to the shore of Lake Siverskoye. A wonderful sight opened before them. The water surface of the lake stretched motionlessly over a distant space. Only light waves ran onto the shore and, as if embarrassed by having disturbed the surface of the water, went back with a barely noticeable noise. The moonlight trembled, fragmented in the water swell, and the trees growing along the shore made a mysterious, enigmatic noise... For a long time both friends were silent, unable to tear themselves away from the enchanting picture. Finally, Herman spoke. He spoke about his childhood, about the impulses that excited his soul from childhood and brought him here, to the harsh island, to the strict monastery. “I was born,” German began, “in Novgorod.” My parents, who still live there, are rich, noble people. The whole city, from the mayor to the last scum, knows and respects them. For a long time the Lord did not give them children. But then, almost in my old age, I was born. Can you, brother, imagine their joy, especially their mother’s? Feeling my soul filled with joy, my parents wanted to make my life happy, and when I grew up, they sent me to the mayor, to his management. They thought: when I grow up, I will become a knowledgeable and noble person, I will not disgrace their ancient boyar family. But the more I grew up and peered into the life that went around me, the more and more my soul turned away from the world. In the world, I saw, people beat, crushed, cut each other, but did not think about the soul at all. And for them it became black and weedy... Otherwise they were chasing happiness... And no one really knew where it was, this happiness. And in pursuit of this happiness they forgot all the commandments of God... And the world became hateful to me. I used to come home and tell my mother about it. She’s so pious and compassionate to me. “Don’t judge the world,” she will tell me in response, “everyone lives on his own; You should look at yourself, take care of your soul, so as not to cause grief to your parents, given to you by God.” And he will cry. I hurt her, that means I did her. I strengthened myself, I strengthened myself, and then I couldn’t bear it anymore, and I decided to leave the world forever. I told my father and mother about this. The father screams, stamps his feet, and the mother bursts into tears: “To whom are you leaving us unfortunates? We are alone, alone; There will be no one to take care of us in our old age, there will be no one to close our eyes.”... But I still stand my ground. It dragged on for a long time, and then the Lord brought us to His holy monastery. My parents let me come here, so that, after all, I was not far from them, and they themselves knew the monk, and they came running to him more than once for tea. And when I arrived, I decided to become a cursive writer. This activity makes me happy, it makes me very happy. You sit there, copying, but all your thoughts are in the scrolls, holy and pious. Sometimes, in response to them, their own people will become enchanted, so miraculous, incomprehensible, and sometimes absurd. Then I say a prayer that the Lord will drive away temptation from me. Yes, you, tea, saw it all yourself... Herman paused. A living swell swept across the lake, and the tops of the pine trees growing along the island swayed and made a quiet noise... “I don’t know how long I’ll stay here,” German finished his speech. - Why so? – Neal asked abruptly, who all this time was peering with some intense attention into the bottomless sky, dotted with countless brightly twinkling stars. “Yes,” his young interlocutor said slowly, as if in thought. “I don’t know: whether it’s the Novgorodian, vechean, freedom-loving nature in me that speaks, or maybe it’s the voice of the soul, it just pulls me to new places, pulls me, but I don’t know where.” Every hour I pray to the Lord God and His Most Pure Mother to free me from sinful dreams, but these dreams do not leave my soul. Maybe the Lord God wants it that way. Only He knows... Herman fell silent. Neil was also silent. He did not take his eyes off the stars twinkling far in the sky, and some mysterious and at the same time mournful thought shone in his eyes. It was quiet all around; bathed in moonlight, everything seemed to be lurking in anticipation of something great and at the same time unknown... “I listened to you,” Neil finally spoke, “I listened, and my childhood came into my memory, those thoughts and feelings that then filled my mind, my soul.” They were unclear to me then, and they are not entirely clear now. But their voice is so strong in my soul that I can’t help but share them with you... And it’s not just memories that fill my soul: here, in this holy monastery, many thoughts were born and grew up, to which I myself do not have and in vain I seek the answer from others. I do not think that they are sinful, for they were put into my soul by the will of God Himself: without Him not a single hair will fall from our head. And I want to tell you about them, about these unsolved thoughts: maybe they are similar to those that you have... So I’ll start from a long time ago, from the time when I first looked at the world rationally, when consciousness first awakened in me... I was born in a village behind which there were hills and hills, and on these hills and hills grew birch trees, thin, pale, sad birches. The birch grove was my favorite abode, and I went to it whenever my soul yearned for God. I used to go to church. I stand, pray, completely forget where I am, forget people, forget everything in the world and feel God very close; Here He is in my soul, here He takes possession of all my thoughts, feelings... And suddenly the clerk comes up and touches my shoulders: the service, they say, has passed, it’s time to leave the church. Why leave, who can separate me from God? But people didn’t ask that, people didn’t look into the soul, people thought that God needed to pray only when they indicated the time. It would become hard for me, it would be so sad. I felt that someone wanted to come between God and my soul. Then for the first time I felt that there was some kind of untruth here, some chains that the world wanted to put on a soul striving for God... And so, at such moments, when melancholy took possession of my childish soul, I went into the thicket of sad birch trees. There, kneeling down, I devoted myself to prayer with all the fervor of which my young heart was capable. And it’s strange, Herman: when I was left alone with my soul like this, I clearly felt that the world was preventing me from seeing and feeling God and that I needed to leave the world in order to see God in myself. And the more silence settled around me, the deeper I looked into my soul, the more clearly I saw, knew, and felt the presence of God. It was quiet, light and at the same time sad and eerie all around. And in the silence of the sad birch trees I felt some kind of special sorrow, something special, unearthly... It was unearthly... Then I vaguely began to understand what now, it seems, I understand more clearly: that the earth is the lot of sin, heavy, dark and dirty vices and rough contentment, and that the farther from the earth, from its worries, from self-satisfied people, the closer to the present, to the true, to the spiritual life... It was there, in the birch grove,” Neil said, after thinking a little, “that I felt the greatness of spiritual life, pure, bright and at the same time a little sad, sorrowful. And when the bright sun stopped shining gently, the sky became covered with clouds and the birch trees began to cry, dropping large, frequent tears from their leaves to the ground - I cried with them. What was I crying about? I don’t know, but it seems to me that even then, in these tears, the thought was shining through that the world was an unbearable suffering and that in the world, on earth, there could be no joy, but only sorrow... And on gray, especially autumn, dreary days, I felt the easiest: on these days, more firmly than on others, I felt the futility of the world, the vanity of its joys and what was destined for me by the Greatest Lord of the sky love him, this is heaven, and leave the earth for him... Neil, worried, fell silent. His eyes, full of tears, were fixed on the distant sky, on the countless stars twinkling sadly on it. “I also loved,” he continued, “to look at the sky in the evenings, dotted, as now, with a great many stars.” Looking at them, I completely forgot the earth and also felt the closeness of some other world, not like ours, purer, clearer... Have you noticed, Herman, that the stars always blink sadly? Then, as a child, I did not think about it, but only felt it. Now I often think about this, and it seems to me that this is God’s thought in the stars, sad, mourning... - How so? - German asked in bewilderment, - this is the first time I’ve heard this. - Wait, Herman. Our language is imperfect. And many more centuries, and even millennia, will pass until people learn to speak clearly about what is in their souls. For the soul of man is a sea in which everything is inexpressibly complex and deep... But in the stars, in my crude words, God’s sorrowful thought shines. You know that creation “sorrows and groans for man” in his fall, in the fact that he has moved inexpressibly far from God, from fulfilling His commandments. So this grief is from God for the creatures, and for the stars also from God. That is why, it seems to me, they faded, sad, when the Son of God was killed on earth... So, Herman, back at home I learned not to love the world and to leave people, in the silence of the soul to talk through it with God, to see Him revealed in it. While still at home, I saw and felt that it is impossible to be saved in the world, but only outside the world, and that salvation itself must occur through consideration of the soul. To contemplate the soul, to pray with it, to create “smart” prayer, that is, prayer without words, but only with feeling, in the soul - that’s all that remains for a person on this sinful earth... Not that I clearly understood and was aware of all this: I was small, not smart. And this became clear later, in Moscow, and, perhaps, even after, here, in the monastery... I left home for Moscow; I was assigned to the order. Tell me, could the Lord show me the world more closely in all its ugliness and uncleanness? Continuous litigiousness, bribery, lies, dislike for each other, defilement of the soul to the last degree, to the point of loss of all humanity - this is what I saw in Moscow, serving in the order. Maybe in another place, in another city, life was not so dirty, but the fact that God’s creation, man, could at least once sink to such a degree of decline - this alone frightened me and convinced me that the world, worldly life, was evil. And I began to think, to peer; Why did what I saw happen, what most of all pushed people onto the path of evil and mutual insults? And I saw, having examined, one reason for this: people invented that they live for the earth, for the body, they forgot that they must live for God, for the soul, in order to educate a spiritual person in themselves, in order to perfect the soul in themselves in the image of God's perfection. And so, when people forgot about heaven, about their great calling, then they began to love the earth, their body and everything that delights it. Then they fell in love with wealth and many other things that tied them to the earth. And when they became attached to the earth, they became dirty and unclean and died for true life... Having made a solemn oath in my soul not to live in the world, I turned my searching gaze to those who had renounced the world, but “the latter was more bitter than the first.” If the world is mired in evil without renouncing it, then the monasticism that I saw then perished in what it swore to renounce. Monks, like other people, sued, slandered each other, and took away various earthly goods from each other. But it would seem, why do monks need earthly goods when they are monks, different, therefore, for the world with its passions and delusions? And I saw that those monks whom I saw in Moscow on orders were not monks at all, but only those who called themselves such, deceiving God and people. And they are not monks because they make the same mistake that the entire sinful world makes: they think that they can please God and lead a true life by clinging to the earth, which is full of error and darkness! No, only that monk whom God completely removed from the world... Neil was silent for a while, apparently deep in his memories. Then his hot, young, youthfully pure speech poured out again: “It was at this time that the Lord God brought us to read the life of our great father Kirill. In this life, many things captivated me, and especially the fact that the great father commanded complete non-covetousness... And so I came here. Here you already know how my life flows and has flowed, but you still do not know what was happening and is sometimes happening in my soul. It started when I first heard about Prince Andrei’s gift to our monastery. The gift, of course, is not great, and it does not bind the chains of our godly elders, but still it is not a monastic thing to accept gifts from the world. This is how my first rebellious thought flashed and was born. And I see that this matter is not dangerous for our current brothers: the covenants of the great teacher and God-wise father of ours are still very, very strong and effective in our monasticism. It’s not about the present time that I’m sad and sick; the sprout at the root is small, small, barely noticeable, but, emerging from the ground, it rises, grows, and finally grows into a great tree that covers the ground. So I fear for the coming generations of monks: as wealth grows, temptation increases, and the monks will become not monks. This is the grief in anticipation of which I tremble, and in the consciousness of which my soul defiantly murmurs against the worldly gifts of our monastery. This was the first doubt that visited my soul here... Neal fell silent again. Apparently, it was not easy for him to express what was painful in his soul. “You have a sinful thought, brother Neil,” Herman said quietly, “even though, I confess, it sometimes visits me too.” But I’m just driving her away: it’s not for us to judge, we’re still young. Submission, obedience, non-judgment - this is what a monk needs. - Sinful? You yourself say that it visits your soul... This is our great grief, that we listen little to the soul, we don’t believe in it, although we always say that it was created in the image and likeness of God. If she is the image and likeness of God, then we need all the strength of our mind and heart, all our efforts to look deeper into her, understand her, find God in her and enjoy His sight... But are we really doing that? We all just keep an eye on the outside, so that in appearance everything is orderly, splendid, in good order, pleasing to God. But we forget that God only desires what comes from our soul... This is where my second rebellious thought, my second doubt, lies. I thought I would come to the monastery and find there complete freedom for my impulses towards God. The soul, I thought, would live according to its will. It doesn't turn out that way... - How can it be wrong? - Herman interrupted, - in the monastery they only care about providing food and life for the soul, and what are you saying? It's a shame to say that, Neil. “Listen to me, brother, don’t burden my yearning soul even more.” - So listen. If we come to the monastery to escape from the world and begin to live according to our liking, then why is it indicated here for everyone in the same way: when, what and how to do. Souls, after all, are different, so everyone would like to serve God in different ways. Otherwise they will lay down one rule for everyone and will not notice how little by little fetters are imposed on a person’s soul and conscience: then one cannot stand for prayer, but must work. And at other times it calls you to think, to reflect on your soul - that’s also impossible: there are people all around; although they are brothers in spirit and in Christ, they are still not one person... - How would you like it, without rules, or what? – Herman asked in bewilderment. - That’s no good. Human flesh is sinful, and if it is not told what and when to do, then great sin can occur. He will become lazy, lazy, and then completely lose his obedience... - No, Herman, that’s not it. You all don't understand me. I only want people not to create coves for their free soul out of external things. Here I will first tell you one of my thoughts. You see, I am now copying the Holy Gospel. I read it at home. But then, in early childhood, I did not understand him. Now I feel, clearly, to the point of tangible clarity, that the verbs of eternal life are contained here and that a person only needs to do in life what is written in the Gospel. The Gospel calls to spiritual life, so that a person cares about the soul, and not about the external. And so, I am a sinful man, it seems to me that it is difficult for people to understand the Gospel in all its truth and to follow it in its entirety, and so they chose the easier way in following Christ and began to serve Him outwardly. The further time went, the more and more people attached importance to external... – According to my sinful understanding, people should lead only a spiritual life, and the external to the extent that it does not interfere with, but promotes the internal. Souls should not be constrained by anything. Do as she commands. – What if it’s difficult to understand her voice? – Herman asked thoughtfully. – I often experience this: the soul speaks, calls you somewhere; but what he says, where he is calling, is unknown... - This is where the greatest guidance is given to us from above - the “divine scriptures.” First of all, look at the Holy Gospel. All the verbs of eternal life are contained there. If you don’t understand something, turn to the Apostolic Epistles. There, everything is explained and indicated with great clarity, especially by the Apostle Paul. Well, if the Apostolic Epistles are not intelligible, turn your mental gaze to the Holy Fathers, whom, by the way, you also copied at the behest of Father Martinian... – I copied it, and not more than a month ago. - Here you go. But I’ll just tell you here: there are many scriptures, but not all are divine. - What are you doing wrong here, Neil? - I speak as my soul dictates. Judge for yourself. You wrote down your thought. Those who knew you explained it sensibly. A third was born, and he explained that it was not so; and then it’s still not like that. This is the first. And secondly: you’re copying, but do you really have to copy everything as it’s written? Sometimes it’s not like that: in one word or another, I was wrong. Didn't this happen in ancient times? It happened, and I think a lot. This means that you need to read everything carefully and carefully. Read, but don’t forget: maybe in another list it’s not put that way, but it’s put more correctly. It means that you need to try to find the right, true list... You judge all this. Consider also how great is the merit of the monks who labor to copy down holy words and how they need, with God’s help, to seek the right, truly divine scriptures... Neal fell silent. Then, as if waiting to see if Herman would say something, he continued: - Finally, I’ll tell you about our monastic life. I already told you that it confuses the soul and weighs it down. I heard that the Monk Cyril stood very strongly for a common life, and a wonder took me: you cannot live according to your soul in a common life; a lot of things here confuse her. And it seems to me that the true image of monasticism is different. And I don’t know what it is, where it is, and there is no one who would tell where one can look for such an image... Father Martinian said about the far Orthodox East, that there monks live in such a way that each, according to the will of his soul, serves God. But Father Martinian himself doesn’t know this for certain... Who will show me that true path?.. Neil spoke his last words with particular melancholy and sadness in his voice. Then he fell silent and raised his eyes to heaven; the lips of the young monk whispered a prayer. Herman was also silent, and on his face, usually clear and active, one could now see deep, concentrated thought. “You, Neil, touched a lot in my soul,” he spoke a little later. “And even though your thoughts seem sinful and impudent to me, there is something in them that I’m drawn to with all my soul... Neil was about to say something, but at that moment the young men heard a knock on the beater. “It’s the midnight hour,” said Herman, “perhaps it’s time for us to retire.” Otherwise you won’t be able to cope with sleep in the morning. Both friends headed towards the cinema... A few days later, Herman, beaming with joy, turned to Neil. – You know, brother, Father Martinian gave me several scrolls to copy. I’ve already read them, and I can’t praise them enough, how good it is for the soul. This is the same thing you said about villages and monastery estates... If you want, we can read together... Neil happily agreed, and the young friends began first of all to write two unwritten words. One of them talked about whether God wants villages to be given to monasteries, and the other - that alms should be given directly, and not through intercessors. “I once sat with the holy father with his disciples,” the young men read, “and talked about things that were beneficial to the soul, and behold, he brought the life of a certain Christ-lover who died in the month of 2010, as if he had done great alms and died: for Slout would give his village to the monastery of St. John. Hearing this, the holy father was saddened and sighed and said: alas for me! for such a man would destroy his soul. And his disciples said to him: What is it, father? Wouldn’t it be better if he had mercy on such a gift? The father said: I say to you, children: if anyone gives to our brethren the bad to divide, then it will be for the salvation of the soul; If a village gives monasteries, it will give its souls to destruction. I saw last night about our brother, about whom you speak, how his soul stands before God in judgment, condemned to the torment of the village for the sake of it. Praying to the Mother of God with the Forerunner, the Lord said: when the village is released from the monastery, then release that soul from torment. Having heard this, the brothers told the abbot and released the village from the monastery, and when the father saw that soul released from torment, he said to them: if anyone gives the village to the monastery, it will be for the destruction of his soul; If it is to be divided, then eat your souls for salvation.” “So if someone gives alms as an intercessor, then such a person does not give alms, but his pride is filthy, and he does not accept bribes: for Abraham and David and many other holy men did not want to give alms as intercessors. John Chrysostom testifies to this: Abraham had a household 318 and not a single messenger to the herd of bulls, but he himself flowed and prepared the Lord’s dinner. Likewise, Sarah, who only owned slaves, did not say a single word: “Knead the dough, but she made it herself.” The Lord did not promise them great grace as intercessors: He said to Abraham: Let your seed be like the sand of the sea: how can there be so much of that seed? This seems to me to be the father of all the tongues of those who believe in Christ. This is what was said, because because of you all nations will be blessed. And Sarah’s son was not an intercessor, but he himself said: there will be a son, who in Isats was called by name as a hedgehog, he is a peasant, and he himself was born from a worthless tribe according to the flesh. The Lord himself was crucified for human salvation, and not an intercessor ambassador to be crucified.” “You see how it is sinful for monasteries to use villages, that is, earthly lands and people donated by princes,” Nil said joyfully when they finished reading, “and the second word is very useful for everyone: both for monks and for laymen... And what else did Father Martinian give you?” – And here are two collections from the holy fathers. Here everything concerns monastic and hermit life. And especially important and, I think, important here are two teachings of Hilarion, Bishop of Meglen, to those who have renounced the world for Christ’s sake. Both of them appear at the beginning of the collections. Let's read them... And the young men began to read again: “Let us strive, brethren, above all to work without the word of God: for now he will make you innocent before God. Cling to the desert, as a child is more beloved than his mother: for his mother will drink milk with his child, but the desert will water your soul with the mind of God and make God a friend of your prayers and appropriate you to love God with all your heart and will abolish you from the world and from all its sorrows. But from the very beginning you have troubles and misfortunes and fear from demons and from the devil himself, and so you feel cold, as if you think there is no salvation, but either go into the world, or die evil. But stand on the rock of faith and endure all the troubles that come your way bravely and conquer, like a warrior of Christ, dressed like armor, humility, a shield with frequent prayers and a spear with constant fasting, a helmet with the help of God and a sword with the word of God. Those who love an earthly king will love and die in love: is it not more appropriate for us to receive for the sake of the heavenly king for the sake of the heavenly kingdom? For I do not tell you to shed blood. This is without time, according to the Apostle, as he says: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood,” and so on, but endure with praise in the desert, and do not become lazy and go into the city. If you do not endure, how do you speak with the divine David: “Have you endured, O Lord, and listen to me and hear my prayer, bringing me out from the pit of passions.” Even if help does not come soon from above, everything will come anyway, and if the cutting in battle continues, then greater is the victory and glory. So here, too, the love of the king grows from the war, victory and love for God; help comes from Him, but your love gives you peace. Even if you endured in the desert, even if you happen to die of hunger, you will not come out: for you did not go out to satisfy the world, but to seek eternal blessings. But God will not leave you to die: He who feeds many people in the desert will not feed you even one. Bo writes: “Cast your sorrow upon the Lord, and He will saturate you.” A certain slave in the desert was silent in his cell and grieving deeply from despondency, having left his cell, and saying to himself: O soul, do not sit in the cold in your cell; Understand, the colic of evil has delivered you, for the sake of silence and silent prayer, do not idle talk, do not hear, useless, below vain. There is only one battle against despondency—God is strong and able to exterminate this. This and other things that gave him much consolation to the humble-minded man for his unceasing prayer.” Having finished reading this teaching, which at all costs forbids hermits to abandon the places of their exploits, the young men moved on to another teaching by Hilarion of Meglen, in which he denounces the monks’ deviations from the high rules of their lives. “It is truly red and worthy of much praise to see a man in the world who denies the world and who is red and light in the world and all the possessions and being a monk. The blasphemous knife and the cursed hedgehog see the mnikha rank in the world accepting and worldly building and taking wealth. For with the hope of eternal life he sweeps away this life and becomes a child of light and days. This unbelief about eternal life will sweep away impoverishment, who for the sake of Christ was promised and is a friend of this light, but an enemy of God, according to the verb of the Lord's brother Jacob. For this reason, laughter can be nasty, and the faith of Christ is blasphemed for our sake from them. They say: how can you, my lord, tell you eternal life and resurrection to the dead, for which sake you are tonsured, and now we see you, both old and young, as each of you seeking power from the king and from the nobles, from the boyars of the estate, from the poor honor and worship. No matter how much you exchange eternal life, you will take no less of this life and glory and honor and property. It seems to us that you are lying to each other about eternal life: because you love this light, you know that you do not really want this life; give us your wealth and gold, and give you eternal life. This, brethren, I heard with my ears from some kind of filth and was greatly surprised, as even the filth told of our disorder and reproached us. We, brethren, wear the image of such a garment, and we are intertwined with earthly things, just as we are with the world: we enlarge the fields, we fill the threshing floor, we decorate churches, we surprise houses, we bring our name to all people, as if it is wonderful; But we don’t want to remember that even in our thoughts: we are worse than the worldly. We hold fast to the world: if we see what is wondrous among the worldly, we strive with all our might so that it may be the same with us, and not remember what we have in the renunciation and tonsure of ours and the whole world, and who are in the world. If this is a lie, let us be tested, if it is not so. Don’t we have villages like the world? Aren't the Chernechesky fields and lakes and pastures, livestock and houses, firmly fenced and bright churches? Do we not have arks that are firmly guarded with their property, like the world and the household? Do we not flaunt ourselves with golden glitter, and rejoice in bright vestments and magnify ourselves? Are we not full of worldly holidays? Are we not the ones who call upon the rich people of the world and sit them down at our dinner, wanting more boldness to have them at home? Are we not presiding over their bratsehs? Is it not our hand, above all the elders, who raises the cups and crosses them? Is it not our eye that surveys all that sits? Isn’t it our throat, which rattles among the people at the feast, and gives us many reproaches? The lovers of Christ, doing the commandment of Savior, call us to their homes: for the sake of prayer, and for the sake of doing alms. We, who do not keep our rank, will sit down and then raise our eyebrows and throats, and we will sing until we laugh and become children, whose drunkenness and worldliness are preserved by many, for they are an abomination: so too, there is an insane hope in us. Troy brings guilt to those who love him: a) physical illness, c) reproach and laughter from a person, d) fall of the soul and derangement of the mind. So why are worldly ones better? Nothing. Do we not love praise but not tolerate reproach? Do we not paint ourselves with a bright robe and jewels, but do we not want to see them torn in our cell? Is not the one who brought it more acceptable with love than the one who came in vain? Why do we secure the doors of our cells with firm locks? Yave, as if there were many for the sake of the property lying in them. And just like a certain priest died, many bolyars take their place in his place, riches for the sake of that dignity and glory and honor from everyone - so in us poor people the likeness of the world happens: if I die for some abbot or icon, many will rise from us and try to take his place, and hiding from one another, but everyone knows what exists, for bribes, but not having caresses, as if the serpent’s poison wants to pour out on the sincere. What is it? Yave, for the sake of the estate. Our life is worthy of laughter! There is not a single one in us, the venerable father, who is jealous of their good deeds: prayers and vigils, fasting, lack of name, self-willed poverty and other such things. But I died in us to a certain rich monk and for that sake I lost my soul, leaving my property behind, but we, jealous of his destruction, will jump into his place and sweetly create in his destruction and we will get bogged down, but one of the holy fathers in life and deed, following the image of miracles, we do not want to be jealous of their life and their deeds.” When they read this instruction from Hilarion, silence reigned. And only after some time Neil asked his friend: - Well, Herman, can one still doubt after this how harmful it is for the soul of a monk to own worldly treasures? “I, Neil, thought this myself in the depths of my soul, and you and this holy scripture strengthen me even more in this pious thought.” “That’s just sad,” Neil said thoughtfully after a while: “we say this here, we think, and our soul confirms the same to us.” But there is no such old man who would explain this voice of the soul to us and direct our thoughts and aspirations in the right direction, along the right path. - It’s a sin, brother, to say: we have Father Cassian, Father Martinian... Herman said this, but in the tone of his words there seemed to be some distrust of what he himself was saying. – Are you saying it’s a sin? – Neil objected. “But God knows what he does when he puts holy dissatisfaction into our souls.” Father Cassian and Father Martinian are men of high holiness, but knowledge of the highest truths of wisdom was not given to them. They spent their time testing and perfecting the great testaments of the great father and teacher; each soul has its own special tortures, and there are tortures for which there is no answer in our monastery, and, perhaps, so far in all of Rus'. There is little light in Rus', Herman, light, knowledge, which, combined with purity of heart, would lift people above the world, pointing out the true path to those who want to completely escape the world, but do not know how to prove and refute its sinful thoughts, passions and attractions... “Only I believe,” Neil added, after thinking a little, “I believe, I feel in my soul that such a person should come and will come to our monastery who will explain to us everything that is puzzling.” He will come because among those who have left the world there are those who have comprehended all the wisdom of the soul and this world, but our monastery, like an unquenchable lamp, shines in dark Russia and brings to itself all those who seek true monastic life... This time the conversation between the young monks ended and was not resumed for a long time. Each of them went into his own thoughts, into his own soul. When they started the conversation again, it again boiled down to the fact that they were waiting for the time when they would find and understand the true way of monastic life... Soon all the brethren learned about the aspirations of the young men and, after some attempts to calm and persuade them, they prayed to God only that He would enlighten them. So a little over two years passed, and on the third, the one who was destined to resolve the perplexities that tormented Nile’s soul and raise in him a great ascetic of the Russian land arrived at the Cyril monastery. This was Elder Paisiy Yaroslavov, famous in the history of Russian asceticism. Elder Paisiy Yaroslavov was tonsured at the Spasskaya monastery, “what is on the stone,” otherwise, the Spasokamenny monastery. A man of noble origin, even in childhood he could become acquainted with everything that Russian education of that time provided. As a child, he acquired a deep love for book studies and all knowledge. Growing up, Paisius, in the world of Peter, felt an attraction to the contemplative monastic life, which also gave him complete opportunity to devote himself entirely to book studies. This is what Paisius did. He took vows, as we have already said, at the Spasokamenny Monastery. The Spasokamenny Monastery of that time was distinguished by a special charter, brought in by one of its abbots from the east and which gave all aspects of the life of the monks a deeper, more sublime and more contemplative character. Paisiy, with all the strength of a young heart eager for exploits, devoted himself to the exploits that he accomplished under the guidance of men tested in spiritual life. But there is nothing so lofty and holy in the world that people would not humiliate and trample under their feet. That's what happened here too. The further time passed, the more and more the spiritual level of the Spasov monks decreased. Then, saving for his soul the reverence for the great behests of the creators of the monastery, Paisius decided to leave the Spasokamenny Monastery. Upon leaving the monastery, the question naturally should have arisen about where to go, where to find a place for a soul seeking joyful peace and true monastic life. But the elder had a ready answer to this question long ago. In those days, in the north of Russia, the St. Cyril Monastery was famous for the strictness of its rules and the life of its monks. This is where the famous ascetic decided to direct his steps. What happened was what Neil had already pointed out in his conversation with Herman. Paisius’s meeting with the one who was to become his most faithful and most zealous student and friend took place on the third day after the elder’s arrival at the monastery. Neil caught a glimpse of Paisius on the first and the next day after his arrival, but during these days he was not able to meet him closer, talk to him in order to reveal his whole soul. Meanwhile, the desire to do this was strong in Neil’s soul. Some time before Paisius’s arrival, there was a lot of talk about him here. The elders, some of whom knew the ascetic personally, others had heard a lot about him, rejoiced that a man of great wisdom, great knowledge, combined with great virtue, would live among them. “Ask Paisiy,” they said to Nile, “Paisiy knows everything that is accessible to man in the world.” He will also tell you about what we, humble ones, do not know... And Neil firmly decided to ask the arriving elder for guidance and guidance. It was a clear autumn day. The Sunday service, and after it the meal, were over, and now each of the monks could indulge in rest. Nile saw Paisius, leaving the refectory, heading through the thicket of trees to the shore of the lake. The young man followed the old man. There was an imperturbable silence in the air. The lake seemed to be sleeping, basking under the slanting rays of the sun. All around, along the shore of the lake, one could already feel the approach of autumn. The air was somehow especially transparent, autumn-like, and in this clear, cold air, coniferous trees could be seen with particular clarity, the slender tops of which were clearly and clearly cut out on the pale pink sky. The old man walked along the shore of the lake, occasionally unwrapping the pebbles thrown onto the shore with the stick on which he leaned. He looked like he couldn't have been many years old. His hair was still dark, his black, stern and intelligent eyes looked clear and penetrating. “Bless me, father,” Neil approached. “God bless,” answered the elder, making the sign of the cross at the young man and placing his hand on his head. - What is your name? “So I already know about you, I’ve heard a lot,” Paisiy said in a joyfully trembling voice. Then, taking Neil's head in both hands, he looked into his eyes. “I heard, I heard,” he added, kissing Neil on the forehead, “are you still protesting?” Are you disturbing the peace of your soul and disturbing others? “Father,” answered the delighted Neil, “I don’t want to embarrass anyone... “My soul ached in the search for the true path,” he added in a trembling voice, and whether because the elder treated him so kindly right away, or because his heart ached too much, he just couldn’t resist and began to sob. “No need, no need, calm down, my brother,” said the elder, affectionately stroking Nile’s head, “it’s better to tell clearly and in detail everything that worries your soul.” And then Nile revealed in detail, without any concealment, his anxious, searching, worried soul to the elder. He, as he once did to Herman, told Paisius about his childhood, about his youth, about coming to the monastery, about the feelings and doubts that had already visited and were visiting him here. The elder, sitting on a high stone that stood near the shore, listened to the young monk with special, strict attention. At times his eyebrows came together closely, and a deep wrinkle lay on his clean, high brow, while his eyes had some incomprehensible, mysterious expression: either joy, or some kind of unearthly sorrow shone in them. And when Nile finished, then Paisius began to speak. He spoke in a quiet, soulful voice, and his words were clear, firm, and convincing. Paisiy told the young monk about what had happened in Rus' before that time, how people thought, believed, looked at their faith and what it obliges them to do. At first, listening to the words of Paisius, the young monk did not understand whether the elder was answering his words, his painful questions, or simply speaking for edification. But the further the smooth, calm speech of the intelligent, well-read old man went on, the more and more Neil understood that this speech meant him. Before Nile, from the words of the elder, the picture of the mental life of Russia in previous periods began to emerge clearer and clearer, and he suddenly saw that what worries him, his requests, aspirations, perplexities - all this is dictated by the entire past mental life of the Russian people, follows from itself and not today or tomorrow can cover entire masses of people... Let us also stop to take a quick look at the fate of the enlightenment of Russian society in those days. Then the future life of the one whom posterity rightly called “the great old man” will be clearer and more understandable to us. The first steps of Russian enlightenment go back to the time when the faith of Christ was brought to Rus' from distant Byzantium. Along with the Christian faith, the Russians received from the Greeks the first beginnings of enlightenment. It is natural, of course, that it came to us in the form and with the direction that was characteristic of it in its homeland. Meanwhile, it was precisely at this time that Greek enlightenment became isolated within a strictly religious framework and was exclusively religious in nature. Thus, from the very first time Russian education was destined to become religious. Here we also need to add that the Greek monks, that is, the clergy, brought it to Rus'. The clergy thus introduced enlightenment for the first time; it remained in his own hands. The first schools that were established in Rus', in Kyiv and Novgorod, were established at monasteries; their teachers were also “people of spiritual rank.” They, of course, tried to direct the attention of their students exclusively to the religious and moral area; other areas of life were obscured and seemed to not exist at all. Moreover, the books from which the training took place were exclusively ecclesiastical in nature. They were taken, of course, from Greece, where at that time all literature had a religious overtones. Thus, from the very first days, education and enlightenment in Rus' acquired a strictly religious, and even moreover, strictly ecclesiastical character. Of course, there could be nothing inconvenient in this if the Russian people at the time of the adoption of Christianity were more or less developed, had their own national literature, their own view of things, a reasonable ability to distinguish the essential from the unimportant, the indisputable from the controversial. In fact, this was far from the case. The Russian people at that time were mental infants and accepted everything in a literal, crude form, grasping everything from a purely external perspective, without trying to penetrate into the depths, without even suspecting it. This is how he treated enlightenment. Everything that was brought from the Orthodox East was considered the indisputable truth. In accordance with this, the tasks of the enlightenment brought from there were understood. The goal of life should be the salvation of the soul, the path to this is religious and moral improvement. And this religious and moral improvement, in the opinion of ancient Russian Christians, is possible only by teaching those truths that have already become the property of the Orthodox East. These truths are contained and written down in those books that were brought from there. Therefore, the highest wisdom of a Christian should be to be able to read these books and know them as much as possible; and since there are very few books, an enlightened Christian must learn to copy and rewrite sacred books. These were the tasks that modern conscious people set for ancient Russian enlightenment. Education was thus reduced to simple book studies: the ability to read and copy, and even mainly to the latter. Naturally, when such narrow goals were set for enlightenment, an end was put to all mental development, to the possibility of all living thought. Indeed, what is there to find out when everything is known in the east? What right has any doubt or any thought when the books brought from the east contain the whole truth, and moreover in the purest, indisputable form? In general, for the ancient Russian scribe, the letter of what was written was the measure of truth, and any thought that did not find confirmation in the letter was sinful. It was possible to believe only in what and how was written in the books, but checking this very thing, even checking it with what was written in another book, was considered dangerous for the purity of faith. And little by little, the letter and the book began to acquire some special, highly religious, sacred, all-decisive meaning in the eyes of the Russian people. All truths, all “opinions,” no matter how fair they seemed to reason, had to bow before the letter. Could such views on the tasks of education, on those features in which it certainly had to be different, be considered useful for the Russian society of that time? Of course not. Old Russian society, acquiring information by reading, memorizing and copying books, could not use this information, since, first of all, they did not have any internal unity. Then there was no predetermined reading plan; everything that came to hand was read. But you could come across two books nearby that have nothing in common with each other. And so, the heterogeneous information obtained at different times, without any system, lay, so to speak, on the surface of the Russian soul, without penetrating into the very soul, without making it tremble, to live, without turning into the life-giving juices necessary for spiritual life. Then, slavish worship of the letter deadened ancient Russian writing for a long time, sending it along the fruitless path of copying books that few people understood in their true essence. Since all books were considered indiscriminately “divine,” the work of the ancient Russian author was to collect as many extracts as possible from many different others in his own book. The more someone managed to collect, the more respect he enjoyed in the eyes of his contemporaries. Thus, those “conciliarities”, or simply collections, appeared that characterize our literature even until the 17th century. The collections were all cut according to the same plan. The copying author, rummaging through various works of the holy fathers or some other church writers, chose from them what seemed to him important or edifying in some respect. Thus, it was impossible to expect internal unity, any single connecting thought in the extracts that were part of the same collection. Of course, such collections could not be of particular benefit to the ordinary reader, since he himself had to determine in each individual case the importance of this or that extract or even just its meaning. Blind, slavish admiration for the letter, for the authority of any book, also had this very disastrous consequence that, along with church and religious works that really deserved attention, that were really useful in some respect, very often one came across books of apocryphal content, that is, obviously legendary, without the value of truth. Such books at the time of the transfer of Christianity to us were distributed in Byzantium, and from there they came to us along with other “divine writings.” Moreover, along with apocryphal works in ancient Russian writing, there were works that were downright fraudulent. The fact is that ancient Russian scribes sometimes still decided to trust their minds and wrote on their own, but they lacked the determination to pass off their work as their own. And so, in order to hide their authorial boldness, they made false inscriptions on such collections that the extracts were made “from the holy fathers” or “selected and collected from the divine scriptures,” or they represent “the words of the soul-helping holy fathers were chosen from many and few.” Meanwhile, Russian pious readers equally believed both apocryphal writings and the fabrications of their ignorant compatriots as an indisputable truth - and all this because before them there was a “book”, in the infallibility of which everyone had to believe. Moreover, apocryphal and forged works found even greater distribution among readers compared to genuine religious writings. This was explained by the simple fact that the apocryphal books were written in a lively, fabulous, interesting language, and the forged works were presented simpler, clearer, and more accessible to the understanding of the simple Russian reader... Who will determine the full extent of the harm from this for the then Russian society, which silently, blindly believed in the indisputable truth of everything written, and at the same time who will deny that for the salvation of society a fresh stream of living thought was needed and should have appeared, which would separate the true from the untrue, the debatable from the indisputable and would indicate that the scriptures “are not all divine”! But the slavish worship of the letter of writing, the incorrect understanding of the tasks of enlightenment and the decisive suppression of any hint of living, conscious thought was especially destructive in that this way a one-sided understanding of the Christian religion was supported and strengthened among the people. It should be noted that the sublime religion of spirit and love was not understood by the Russian people from the very beginning. The reasons for this are varied. First of all, in Byzantium itself at this time, as a consequence of political and moral decrepitude and decay, a formal understanding of the Christian faith reigned. Indifferent to any religion at that time, the Greeks preferred form to content, ritual to the true spirit of religion. And no matter how highly disposed the Greek clergy who brought us their faith was, they could not help but absorb the then features of their nationality. Moreover, the Russians could not understand their first shepherds, the Greeks, so that even if they began to explain the sublime inner essence of Christianity, they would not be understood. In addition, the Russians themselves were extremely undeveloped, both mentally and spiritually, and were more capable of understanding the outer side of religion. And as a result of the confluence of all such unfavorable circumstances, it was that the common people internalized in their souls the outer side, the outer shell of the Christian religion, which was more accessible to them. For him, Christianity from the very first moment became simply a collection of rituals. The further life of the Russian people, both internal and political, did not provide favorable conditions for the inner essence of Christ's faith and its spirit to become more accessible to their understanding. During the appanage period, there were endless unrest and discord, which prevented the Russians from dwelling on matters higher than the scores of pride. Then came the terrible Mongol yoke. Perhaps the suffering that this yoke brought with it could have directed attention to the inner side of Christ’s teaching, which proclaimed love, but in Rus' itself there was no means for this to happen. What was needed were schools, enlightened pastors-teachers, and generally a correct organization of education and enlightenment, but this was precisely what was not there. This is where the main harm of blind admiration for the letter of the book manifests itself. Enlightenment itself, understood in the study of the letter, did not give the people anything of its own in order to lead to a living, active faith in God; at the same time, it was strictly forbidden to listen to anything outside; any private opinion that did not find confirmation in the letter of the books was considered prohibited and sinful. All this moved away from the true, inner essence of the religion of Christ, in any case did not bring us closer to it and completely supported the people’s view of religion as a set of rituals. And indeed, by the 15th century, such a view had developed so much in Russian society that Russians began to look at differences in rituals as errors in the most essential dogmas. To change or add even one small iota in the rituals seemed to them the greatest sin. Anyone who deviated at least a little from others in performing the ritual was considered a heretic. And it wasn’t just the common people who thought so; Priests, bishops, metropolitans, boyars, princes thought so - in a word, everyone who organized and directed people’s life. Perhaps the recognition of one external side in Christianity could not have been considered harmful for that time if it had not influenced moral life. Meanwhile, unfortunately, this is what was noticed. Anyone who looks at the gospel only from the outside will consider it quite sufficient for a Christian to fulfill only external instructions. This is, indeed, how it was in ancient Rus': people visited churches, lit frequent candles, listened to divine services, but almost no one thought about fulfilling the moral covenants of Christ, His commandment about love and endless improvement, and did not think about it because they did not even suspect the existence of such a side in Christianity. From all that has been said, it is clear in what mental and moral squalor ancient Rus' was: deprived of all light, it could not receive it, since it was not allowed to leave the boundaries of the letter, which fettered everything and deadened everything. For a living soul, striving for God, for direct union with Him in spirit and love, it was as if a prison had been created: between the soul and God, the many-wise scribes stood guard, who branded the slightest manifestation of a living thought, a living feeling with the name of sin. Naturally, in this state of affairs, life had to freeze, become decrepit and begin to decay. This phenomenon is observed wherever form, the external side, begins to predominate in life. The same thing should have happened and actually happened in ancient Russian life. But could a living soul allow itself to be completely enslaved? Of course not. Even if, consciously or unconsciously, fetters were forged for her, barriers were placed between her and the Living God, sooner or later she had to feel their unbearable burden and, if those called to be teachers of life could not lead her, then she would want to come to Christ herself. And the purer and more sublime the soul was, the stronger such a desire should have spoken in it. One of those who thirsted for direct knowledge of the Living God was the soul of the Nile. Paisius explained all this to Nil, sitting on a stone by the dormant lake. And then everything became clear to the young monk in his impulses and quests, and at the same time the high duty that life imposed on him also became clear. “Do not abandon, brother, your quest for the Living God,” said Paisius, “do not extinguish it within yourself.” This soul, separated from God by our darkness, spoke in you. And if you want to see the image of God in yourself, if you want to come to God, follow the path that your soul shows you... But know, my brother, that this is not necessary for you alone. That groan that sounded in your soul, I believe, is heard in hundreds, in thousands of other souls who are also seeking God. Rus', crushed by ignorance, does not meet them halfway, but, on the contrary, crushes them itself. Well, what if living souls cannot endure oppression, what if the sons of the church do not find in it the solution to their quests, will they not dare to directly leave their mother church and, at their own peril, in the desert of self-will, seek the true God and the true faith, the true way of worshiping Him... I am afraid of this, and not only am I afraid, but I am also beginning to see the light, and I even know that this will be so and already is... You will find out for yourself later, and now accept my brotherly advice to you: trust the voice of your soul more than people, seek the Living God, believe the scriptures, they contain the words of eternal life, but know that not all of them are divine; explore them, separate in them right from wrong, true from untrue... And when you feel firm in your opinions, tell them about both, call them to life, to light, to knowledge, remove them from darkness, for where there is darkness, where there is stagnation, there is death for the soul seeking the Living God... “And now,” added Paisius, “may the Lord bless you; It’s time for me to go to my cell: fortunately, they will soon announce the good news. Come see me. I will tell Father Cassian, and he will allow you to visit me, a sinner... At this point the conversation between the young man and the old man was interrupted. Neil still had some unanswered questions, but what was revealed to him from the conversation with Paisius was a great revelation for him. Often a person harbors a whole swarm of feelings and thoughts in his soul for years. They are unclear to him, since he has no words that would express them, no knowledge of life that would explain their origin and meaning. And suddenly there is another person who has both ready-made, suitable words and sufficient knowledge of life. Then one’s feelings and thoughts suddenly become understandable and clear to the person. He feels like a whole new world is suddenly opening up before him, before his spiritual gaze. What joy then fills his soul!.. Neil experienced the same thing after his conversation with the elder. Paisius's words revealed himself to him. As if enchanted, he walked that day along the shore of the majestic calm lake, more often, listening to the mysterious noise of the treetops, to the measured, intermittent knocking of woodpeckers. And when evening came and the “rule” went away, he could not help but share his joy with Herman. Herman listened to his friend in silence, with deep attention, and then said enthusiastically: – God does not forget the monastery of our venerable father Kirill. It was He, the Great One, who sent us this wise man... Did you, Nil, ask Elder Paisius about whether it is possible for monasteries to own villages and fields and what is the true image of monasticism? “I spoke, Herman, to Elder Paisius about everything that was in my soul. But the old man didn’t have time to answer all my perplexed questions... - Talk to me, and then you’ll tell me. - I'll talk, brother. Father Cassian will give me his abbot's permission, and I will visit the elder as often as possible... My soul feels that this is a man of great holiness and wisdom and I can learn a lot from him... The next day, Cassian called Neil to his place. Having said a prayer, he sat down and made his subordinate brother sit down. “Our new brother Elder Paisius told me,” the abbot began his speech, “that he wants to take you under his obedience and leadership.” Neil did not know how to rejoice at this news: he had spent almost the entire night the night before without sleep; kneeling in front of the icon, he prayed that the guiding hand of Elder Paisius would not leave him and lead him along the path to which the soul of the young monk was irresistibly drawn. “The elder also told me,” Cassian continued, “that he would like to talk with you more often in his cell, to instruct you privately in the truths of faith and reason... So I did not contradict Paisius...” - Save you, Lord, father... “Although it slightly violates the covenant of our great father and teacher,” Cassian continued meanwhile, “however, out of great need, for the sake of spiritual instruction, you can... I also told the elder about your work in copying books... I spoke, like Father Martinian, and everyone praises you for your diligence and diligence... - For the glory of God, my son. Just don't get proud... “And in my thoughts, father, I do not dare,” Neil humbly answered, “your praise of me is not entirely due to my merits...” On the same day, Neil, taking advantage of half an hour free from work, went into the cell of Father Paisius. – Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us! - he said, stopping at the door on which a cross was inscribed. - Amen! - came the answer, - come in, brother. Is that you, Neil? “I, father,” answered the monk in a trembling voice, reverently stepping over the threshold of the elder’s cell. Paisia's cell amazed me with its wretchedness and at the same time its neatness and cleanliness. Neil already knew this cell. Father Dosifey Nevedomitsyn, a zealous defender of the covenants of St. Cyril, used to live there. There was a magnificent icon case in the corner; in front of him is a lectern with an epitrachelium, a cross and a Gospel placed on it. Against one wall stood a wretched bed, neatly covered with an oblong piece of row cloth. At the head of the bed lay a pillow covered in a clean pillowcase. Against the other wall stood a simple table, cut down by Dosifei himself, and next to it two simple stools for sitting. There were books of varying thicknesses on the table and on one of the stools. This was the extremely simple and uncomplicated decoration of the elder’s cell. But from its windows there was a wonderful view. The cell was located somewhat on a hill, and therefore behind the thicket, from behind the coniferous trees strictly stretched to the sky, the blue surface of the lake was visible, and behind it, like a giant guarding over the entire surrounding area, Mount Maura, densely covered with bushes of plants, could be seen. Neil, whose tender soul was irresistibly drawn to everything beautiful, could not help but turn his admiring gaze to the windows. Paisiy noticed this immediately. “What, brother Neil,” he said, blessing him, “are you admiring the beauty of the world created by God?” - Yes, father. Very wonderful nature in our God-protected places. “And she’s like that everywhere,” Paisiy said thoughtfully, and a sad tint immediately became noticeable in his voice, “she’s like that everywhere; only people clouded by passions do not see, do not notice, or, rather, do not want to notice this. Meanwhile, what incalculable harm they bring to their soul. The all-wise God created the world and all of nature, as well as man, as a reflection of His great glory, His great splendor. And through nature, through consideration of its beauties, its laws, a person can learn quite a lot... At night, when sinful human life subsides, doesn’t nature begin to speak to the soul of everyone who listens to it? And she speaks painfully clearly, speaks about God, about His great covenants and laws. And with its wordless conversation it disposes a person’s soul to talk with itself, to inner prayer... And isn’t it a great sign that the ascetics who lived until now in Rus' chose places for their exploits where gifts were given to nature by the generous hand of God!.. Isn’t it a great sign that our God-saved monastery was established by our reverend father in a land where the beauties of nature are innumerable!.. “Don’t forget, Nil, to love nature,” Paisiy finished his speech, “always look at it as your teacher.” Listen to her voice, and this voice, believe in my humble experience, will tell you a lot: where people make a mistake and, due to their sinful delusion, recommend some untruth, there nature will correct this untruth, if its wordless language is not alien and incomprehensible to your soul... Neil, listening to the elder, immediately remembered the birch trees in his native village, those unusual thoughts that arose in his soul then, in the moments of being in the thicket. He told the elder about this. “This is a great sign,” Paisius answered, “and confirmation with your own eyes of what I just told you about.” In those moments, a different world opened up to your soul. This world has always been in you, with you, in your soul. This world, which was revealed to you then, is the only eternal one, and it could only be revealed to you among the silence of nature. Only great and silent nature helps us recognize ourselves. Therefore, monks need to have fellowship with her... “Father,” Neil asked at the elder’s last words, “and the goal of monastic life is self-knowledge?” “You are asking a great and difficult question, brother,” answered Paisius, “and it is not the time to begin it now, when you need to get down to work.” Come tomorrow, let's talk about monasticism. The next day, Neil, as soon as his free hour arrived, came to the elder and, having received his blessing, immediately recalled his yesterday’s question and conveyed once again everything that he himself had thought about it in his soul. The elder calmly and attentively listened to Nile and then spoke. This time his words breathed with special thoughtfulness and depth of thought. “Life,” he began, “lasts for centuries, millennia.” People die, new ones are born in their place, but they all suffer from the same sin, are subject to the same delusion. This misconception is that every person looks at the life of the whole world as something that should serve for his happiness, pleasure, should serve him. Man, the smallest speck of dust in the world, wants the whole world to live for him, for those sinful inclinations and needs that are inherent in him as a limited being. And now people no longer want to recognize anything other than themselves, except their pleasures, and consider life simple and understandable. Meanwhile, people were not created for this at all: each of them was created to fulfill the will of the Heavenly Father who sent us. We walk through the world in thousands, in myriads, and He, the Greatest, manifests itself, lives in each of us, speaks, calls us to Himself. And the purpose of our life is to serve Him, to listen to our soul, to know Him in it... Do you understand this?.. “It’s vague, father,” answered Neil, who, at the elder’s words, actually felt in himself some kind of insight into the depths of life, but this insight itself was vague and unclear. “This thing is difficult to explain,” Paisius agreed, “I spent a lot of effort and attention trying to explain to myself its innermost meaning.” Our human words get in the way here. They are invented for our ordinary earthly life and cannot explain the other world... - And you, father, explain to me with an example. Maybe this is what I thought about monasticism. “Then listen, my brother.” Imagine a large, multi-part, multi-component economy. The owner decided to organize it according to some plan, for some purpose, and one by one he sends workers to this farm so that they carry out his intentions. The work on the farm is endless, and the owner sends a lot of workers. What should they do? First of all, admit that they are not here for themselves, but to fulfill the will of their master. Therefore, first of all, they need to stop, reflect and find out exactly how their master wants to organize his economy; then, having learned, try to fulfill your purpose in the most zealous manner. But the workers completely forgot their purpose, forgot about the existence of the owner, about his intentions, about the fact that they themselves are only accidental executors of these intentions. Instead, they decided that they did not need to do any common work, that everything was for them, and that therefore they needed to take care only of themselves... - So people now? - Neil exclaimed, to whom the old man’s thought became clear. - Yes, my brother, people are like that, but not only now, but always. They do not want to admit that on this sinful earth, thickened with tears and blood, they must live only for God, for fulfillment. His will and that first of all we need to think about this will, which is inscribed in our souls, as reflections of God. No one wants to admit that there is a great dream of spiritualizing everything and that you need to give up serving yourself, your body, but you need to start living in the spirit so that the voice of the soul is clearer, more direct, more understandable... “And so, brother Neil,” the elder spoke again, after thinking a little, “always, and especially in those times when self-pleasure, and therefore the filth of life, reached the extreme limit, there were people who saw the true purpose of life.” And so, abandoning a bright, lush, carnal life, they went into the desert, into solitude, so that in silence, left alone with themselves, they could peer into their souls, where the will of God is inscribed. Such people are different for the world from which they leave, such people are monks... Their dream, the dream that warms their hearts, is a high, unattainable dream: to spiritualize the whole world, to make it arranged according to the plan, according to the commandments of the all-perfect, all-merciful, most merciful God... Paisius, having finished his speech with inspiration, fell silent. Neil remained silent, and so some time passed. Only the forest below the window was rustling with its sharp-headed tops, and the lake behind the forest was barely audibly splashing with its quiet waves... “If the life of a monk is so high,” Neil asked, breaking the silence, “then what is required of him, what is harmful, disastrous for his soul, what should he avoid?” - First of all, addictions to that world, from which he himself renounced and the temptations of which, mainly, destroy human life. This is the first and most important task of a monk. For a monk who is addicted to the world wants to take a step forward, but in fact he only takes a step back... And how is it possible and permissible to love that which is precisely why the soul is sick? This is both ungodly and unreasonable. - So, father, monasteries cannot own villages? “It’s impossible, my brother, it’s impossible, it’s absolutely impossible.” This is a great and terrible sin for monasticism. They want to serve God, who exalted man as similar to Himself, they want to withdraw from the world, but they themselves own slaves, land, are drawn to the world, are litigious. Sometimes I heard that the monk needed this, that he needed food, that without this there would be no time for prayer - but all this was just empty talk. And he who does not know monasticism in his soul says this. If you need to feed, then work, and eat from the fruits of your hands. Otherwise they want to eat without working. As for prayer, here we are alone in rudeness. People still think that God needs everything external, ostentatious, they forget that God wants mercy, not sacrifice, that He does not need words, but a contrite and humble heart; they forget that one can pray internally, during all work, and that such intelligent work is very pleasing and pleasing to God... People do not understand the spirit of monasticism, and they even say and justify their inappropriate actions. A monk is one who has left the world without looking at anything: whether he is full or hungry. And whoever is committed to the world is not a monk, even though he calls himself one, even though he knows how to justify himself before people. He will be justified before people, but before the all-seeing God there will be no justification for him... “I read, father, the instructions of Hilarion of Meglen,” said Neil, “the sinfulness of this for monks is also indicated there.” - I know, brother, I know these instructions; “They are very useful: there is clarity and strength in them,” Paisiy answered, thinking about something at that time. “And then they say,” he added vividly, obviously remembering what he wanted, “to decorate the churches of God, the monasteries need to accept offerings from worldly people.” They forget that they commit more sin than serve God. “God does not live in churches made by hands and does not require the service of human hands.” It is not He who needs altars shining with gold and precious ornaments. If all this is needed, it is only for us, to strengthen our sublime, prayerful feelings and moods. Well, if this is combined with admiration for the world, with commitment to it, then all this is displeasing to God... Nile listened to Paisius, and a joyful feeling grew in his soul: everything that his soul was drawn to now found confirmation and approval in the views and words of the old man, an intelligent old man, experienced in monastic life. Neil still had one unspoken, or rather, unspoken question from the time of his first meeting with Paisius, and now he addressed it to the elder: “Father, I often thought, and I already told you: doesn’t the fact that many monks gather together interfere with the perfection of monastic life, and is there another image, a true image of monastic life?.. They said that there is such an image in the east. It’s called a miracle, a monastery... Father Martinian and others said... – Truly, brother, the Lord has rewarded you with a bright mind and a sensitive soul. Truly, if many monks gather together and even begin to raise farms, what kind of monastery is there? There are many temptations in the common life, and here other goals are set: a person should take care of the soul, meditate on the soul, read the divine scriptures, and at that hour, at that minute when the soul calls for it, but here everything is distributed to you according to the general principle: you will reach this far and will not pass... Not here, not in such a monastic life is his true image. You said correctly, according to Father Martinian, that in the east there is a different image. This image is familiar to me, dear. - How, father, were you in the east? - No, brother, I haven’t been to the east, but only the Spasokamennaya monastery, in which I have lived until now, although not completely, it also has such a charter. The first abbot of the Spasov Monastery was a certain elder from Constantinople, named Dionysius. He came to us from the Holy Mountain and took monastic vows there. And when he became our abbot, he betrayed the charter of the Holy Mountain to our monastery... I, a sinner, am thinking of telling the world about this in a story... - And what, father, is the charter on the Holy Mountain? - And this one. The brethren do not live there all together, but one at a time in cells; They even gather in twos, if it is good for the soul. They don’t have rules for what to do when, when and in what way to pray. Everyone is free to do whatever his soul tells him to do. They also have an elder, if there are several cells not far from each other, but the eldest of the brothers is not the boss over them, but only a leader, an adviser, if a brother has doubts about anything. They don’t have any trace of gold, silver, or jewelry, and they don’t decorate icons with them. Everyone works for himself, and it is strictly, strictly forbidden to take alms, unless for a special need... – What, father, do Eastern monks do? What are their main concerns? . - They contemplate their souls... I told you, brother, the other day that a monk needs to get away from people, think deeply into his soul, recognize the will of God in it, and then preach it throughout the world... This is a great task, immeasurably great in human strength. Thus, the eastern monks, leaving the will of God to direct the lives of people, gave themselves entirely to the contemplation of their godlike soul. They recognize the world that is in our souls, they try to see God with spiritual eyes... And they see, my brother, they contemplate, for the great zeal of their souls for true monasticism... “Yes, it is truly a great country for a Christian,” Paisius added enthusiastically, “and what treasures of book wisdom there are, one cannot even imagine... And the elder, as an example, named the names of the great fathers and teachers of the church: Ephraim the Syrian, Nile of Sinai, John Climacus, Barsanuphius, Isaac the Syrian, Maximus the Confessor, Dorotheus, Simeon the New Theologian, Gregory of Sinai, Philotheus - whose works were the most widespread in Greek monasteries, not to mention the works of Basil the Great and John Chrysostom. “This is where, Neil, you would receive great instruction for your soul; this is where you could draw from a rich storehouse of true wisdom... And what is most useful for you, writing is now thriving there. On Mount Athos there is now a whole society of monks, whose main occupation is translating the works of the holy fathers into our language. Likewise, in the monasteries of Constantinople, monks from among our fellow tribesmen copy books, make translations, compare the Slavic text of the Holy Scriptures with the Greek original, translate books needed for worship, compile collections... And everyone is looking for the right copies... There you would, Nile: you would do great benefit to your soul, and you would return to Russia with true knowledge of how to copy books... “Father,” Neil exclaimed, and his voice rang with indescribable joy, “I listened to your words about the eastern countries, about monastic life there, and my soul said to me: this is the land where you will find indications of the true paths to God!” There is the true image of monasticism, there life is built according to the dictates of the soul, there is rich book wisdom that is sorely needed for us, there they know how to separate truth from untruth in the scriptures that guide us... Father, my soul will invariably strive there from now on. Help me see those countries!.. From that time on, the thought of the east, as the land of fulfilled dreams, did not leave Neil, and he was only waiting for an opportunity to fulfill his intention. At that time, relations were maintained between the Constantinople and Russian churches, although relatively infrequently. Paisius promised his student to help through persons known to him in Moscow, and Nile began to patiently wait for the time when an embassy would come to Moscow from the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Several years have passed. Nile became more and more attached to Paisius. Paisiy himself sincerely fell in love with the monk who tirelessly sought the truth, and after some time, a very short one, he ceased to consider him inferior to himself. He saw that Neil had grown spiritually and, according to his spiritual experience, no longer needed fatherly guidance, but brotherly assistance. The change in the Nile was also noticed by other brethren, led by the abbot. They no longer shunned him as a newcomer in their meetings on the general affairs of the monastery, but, on the contrary, listened to his voice at these meetings with special attention. The opinion of Nile, always confirmed by references to Holy Scripture, was respected on a par with the opinion of his great teacher, Elder Paisius. The importance of the Nile in the monastery became so great that when the rich boyar Ivan Okhlebinin arrived from distant Moscow to the Cyril Monastery for tonsure, he was tonsured with the name of Innocent and placed under the leadership of the Nile. Neil soon became very close friends with Okhlebinin. Just as a mother loves her first-born with especially deep affection, so Neil fell in love with Innocent. And what attracted him to Okhlebinin was that the latter’s quests were distinguished by the same character and direction as the quests of the Nile himself. Innocent repaid his teacher with deep affection and, when he learned of his firm intention to go to the east, he begged him to take him with him. Neil agreed, and they began to wait together for the long-desired day. Finally, this day has come. The Constantinople embassy, ​​which visited Beloozero, was in a hurry to go home, and it was impossible to delay their departure. And both monks did not want this... Can I describe the touching scene of the farewell of the Kirillov monks to their dear brother! The bitterness of separation was softened only by the great purpose of this pilgrimage and the fact that Neil promised, upon returning to Russia, not to go to another monastery, but to settle again in Kirillov. But Nile’s farewell to Paisius was especially touching. Pressing his student to his chest, Paisius said in a trembling and at the same time solemn voice: - Go, brother, where your soul takes you. Go, and when you know the light of truth, return to your homeland. Russia, I feel, will soon, very soon, really need people like you... His words later turned out to be prophetic. Neil and Okhlebinin went east in 1465, and in 1469 Elder Paisiy Yaroslavov also left the Cyril Monastery. This happened completely unexpectedly and against the wishes of the elder himself; It was not for this reason that he left the Spasokamennaya monastery in order to move from monastery to monastery: he was looking for something else in life - a place where he could really indulge in an ascetic life; a quiet place, like a pier that saves you from storms. And when the elder arrived at the Cyril monastery, he thought: “Here is the place I have long desired, here, where everything is imbued with the remembrance of the great and strict ascetic, I will end my days in unceasing prayers, in the study of the word of God, in the remembrance of my last hour.”... Indeed, as we already know, at first, and even for a very long time, the elder’s life flowed quietly and peacefully. Surrounded by universal attention and respect from the Kirillov monks, he could quite freely serve his great work of contemplation. The Lord gave him great consolation in the face of the Nile. After meeting with Maykov, Paisiy felt that what had been created, thought out in the silence of his cell, would not disappear without a trace, would not remain unrecognized: on the contrary, all this would be transferred to this tirelessly seeking truth monk and in his person would find its true embodiment and exponent... And Paisiy, with special attention and zeal, instructed and taught Nil... When he left to see with his own eyes the embodiment of what the soul and the elder told him about, Paisius, again left alone, indulged in self-absorption and book studies. At times, Germanus, orphaned after the departure of the Nile, and other monks, and occasionally venerable elders, resorted to Paisius for advice and instruction in the Holy Scriptures. And the elder did not refuse anyone and, helping, felt the highest satisfaction for himself in this. The abbot of the monastery, Elder Cassian, was imbued with great respect for Paisius; he always entrusted him with the duties of the confessor of the monastery, supervising the newcomers, and in difficult cases always consulted with him first. “Father Paisius,” he said, “is a man of great intelligence and advice.” It’s not for nothing that the Grand Duke favors him so much and diligently adheres to his word of advice... Indeed, Paisius was also known in Moscow. Grand Duke John Vasilyevich III, who knew him from Spasokamennaya, sometimes turned to him for advice. And the same embassy with which Neil left brought Paisius a letter from the Grand Duke, in which John complained about the disorders in the Novgorod diocese and asked the elder for advice. Paisiy gave an immediate answer... The elder’s life flowed so quietly and peacefully in the monastery that sheltered him. But he was not destined to end his days there: in 1469 he left the Kirillov Monastery to move to Spasokamenny, and from there to distant Sergiev. It happened completely unexpectedly, in this way. The Kirillov Monastery, like the Spasokamenny Monastery, was in the region and under the jurisdiction of the Rostov archbishop. In the indicated year, an archbishop's letter was received in Kirillov, which first described the disturbances that were occurring at that time in the Spasov Monastery, and then said that “for the benefit and organization of the right monastic life at the Savior on the Stone,” Elder Cassian must leave his monastery for the Spasokamennaya monastery in order to take control of it into his own hands. The brethren grieved a lot when they parted with Cassian, who ruled them continuously for twenty-two years. The brethren were especially sad about whether the new abbot would guard the traditions of St. Cyril as strictly as Cassian. The latter was inexorably strict and consistent in this regard. That is why the elders, many of whom lived under Cyril himself, loved their abbot and obediently obeyed him in everything. The elders' fears regarding the new abbot became especially clear from the moment it was announced that one of the hieromonks of the Moscow Chudov Monastery was being transferred to them as abbot. Everyone knew well that the monks of this monastery were close to the everyday, hectic life of Moscow, that they were no strangers to the intrigues of the Moscow court and that they even often took part in them, albeit indirectly... Will a person from such a monastery observe Cyril’s harsh rules in all severity? Wouldn't he want to turn the monastery given to him to manage onto the path of caring about external goods and acquisitions, onto the path of groveling and currying favor with the powers that be? Doesn't the former quiet, God-fearing monastic life collapse with his arrival? These were the questions that confused the brethren, and they were all the more confusing because there had already been a similar example in the history of their monastery, and many still remembered those difficult, unbearable for a monk, things that were going on in the monastery then... This happened after the abbess of Cyril’s disciples: Innocent and Christopher. An abbot was appointed to the monastery from another monastery, whose charter was alien to the strictness of the monastic rules of Cyril. And this newly appointed abbot began to show complete negligence in fulfilling the traditions of the monk. Meanwhile, among the elders of the monastery these legends were still very much alive. One of the elders, named Dositheus Nevedomitsyn, the same one whose cell Paisius occupied, decided to point out to the abbot the indecency of his behavior. At first the abbot did not pay any attention to Dosifei’s words and tried with his abbot’s authority to forbid him to contradict his elder. But Dosifei was supported by other elders. Such support strengthened the spirit of Dosifei, and one day during a meal, when the abbot ordered to stop reading the refectory prayers, the elder approached him and directly and decisively declared: “Do not corrupt, father, the traditions of our reverend and God-bearing father: they are dear to us, and our soul cannot see their violation.” In response to this, the abbot, who was quite physically strong, grabbed the frail old man and hit him as hard as he could on the floor. Everyone thought that Dositheus had been killed; The elder, indeed, received serious injuries, but, barely coming to his senses, he said to the dumbfounded and already come to his senses abbot: “If you really want to put me to death, I still will not stop telling you about the truth...” So now, having heard about his appointment of the Chudov hieromonk as abbot, the Kirillov monks were afraid: would he look like that memorable one?.. As soon as the new abbot entered the monastery, the monks saw that their fears for themselves had many grounds. The Chudovsky monk was well-fed, red-faced, happy and cheerful. “What, fathers and brothers,” he began almost from the first word, “has Prince Andrey deeded a lot of his lands to our monastery?” “I wrote something down, father, but we just don’t care about it: we came to the monastery to save our sinful souls according to the behest of our reverend father.” “The soul is a soul,” the abbot declared directly and openly, laughing, “and we must not forget the sinful body: even the soul cannot live without it... - We are not taught this, father. We think more about our sins... - And you are studying. Now is not the time to yawn: if you don’t take it, others will. If the prince is merciful and does not forget the holy monastery and us poor ones, why not take it? I heard that Prince Mikhail Andreevich, following the example of his God-fearing parent, does not forget our monastery and offers us land. Is that so, fathers and brothers?.. And if this is so, then we will not lose heart... And let us think about the Lord of Rostov. It’s painful, I heard, he freely disposes of the income of our monastery... “That’s why he’s a father, our boss and a sad man.” - That’s how it is, but still, why give yourself offense?.. After such a conversation, it was difficult for the monks to expect that the new abbot would lead them along the path of fulfilling the great behests of the monk. And indeed, the further time passed, the more and more the Miracle monk deviated from Cyril’s charter. Then the elders decided to save the monastery from spiritual destruction. They turned to the abbot and pointed out the obscenity of his lusts and actions. The abbot became furious, called the elders impudent disobedients and drove them away from him. “You are watching me,” he said, shaking his heavy abbot’s staff. But the elders, including Paisius, were not embarrassed by this and after a while they again appeared to the abbot. -What do you want, fathers? - was the question. - Yes, it's all about the same thing. We lived according to God, as our reverend father commanded, and you, father, having come from distant Moscow, began to violate our orders. It’s not good to do this... We can’t do it... So they came... – Oh, that’s how it is... You again?! The abbot's face turned crimson-red, and suddenly, raising his staff, he hit Paisius standing in front with it... Who can imagine the general horror! The assembled elders, overwhelmed by the enormity and inexpressible horror of what had happened, silently, without saying a word, went to their cells. Without uttering a word, Paisiy, having somehow controlled himself, came out. The abbot immediately came to his senses. Despite all his attachment to earthly goods, he himself, more than anyone else, felt great respect for the intelligent and strictly pious ascetic Paisius, and therefore what happened plunged him into deep sadness. He immediately went to the elder’s cell to ask for his forgiveness. - Forgive me, father, I myself don’t understand how this could happen... “God forgive you, I don’t have any grudge against you,” Paisiy humbly answered, “but it’s just not right for me to stay in this monastery after this... “Why, father,” the abbot exclaimed in fear, “is it really possible: without you, our monastery will become impoverished, and its glory will pass away... “Her glory will not pass away,” Paisius simply stated, “for she owes this glory not to me, a sinner, but to her great creator and his holy prayers.” But I need to leave, because here my soul will no longer be calm. So let me go, father!.. And Paisius bowed down to the abbot. He began to persuade him in every possible way, calling on other respected inhabitants of the monastery for this, but the elder was adamant and soon, accompanied by his mourning brothers in the monastery, he left for the Savior Monastery, where Cassian, who had been informed about everything, was already waiting for him. It was hard for Paisius to part with Cyril’s monastery. With deep sadness, on the last day he walked around all those places where the monk labored and where Paisius himself had to experience moments of high spiritual states. And when, while descending from one hill, the walls of the monastery and the forest surrounding it completely ceased to be visible, Paisius had tears in his eyes. He couldn't hold them back, and they poured out of his eyes. The elder, leaving the monastery that sheltered him, cried like a small child. Cassian welcomed Paisius with open arms. Knowing how difficult it was for the elder to part with the Cyril Monastery, Cassian did not bother him with memories and tried to make him completely forget about the difficult event. Time passed, life in the monastery of the Savior flowed smoothly and measuredly. The charter, brought, as we have already mentioned, from Athos, was strictly observed. And all this little by little calmed Paisius, who devoted himself to book studies with even greater force. So a year passed. And so, on one of the bright autumn days, when some kind of unearthly sorrow was felt in the air along with the breath of the coming winter, a messenger from Moscow arrived at the Savior’s monastery, from the Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich himself. A little frightened, Cassian accepted the Grand Duke's letter from the hands of the messenger and, after reading it, ordered the novice to call Father Paisius. Paisius was in the grove at that time. Sitting on one of the stones, which were visible everywhere among the firs and larches and seemed to grow from the soil, the elder said a prayer loudly. Apparently, the noise of the trees and the booming breaking of the waves put Paisius in a state of prayer. “Father, Father Abbot is calling you to come to him,” the novice bowed. - Father abbot? Now, now... And the elder walked with a cheerful gait to Cassian’s cell. He greeted him with alarm and at the same time somehow joyfully. “Father, the Grand Duke honors you with his great mercy.” Having heard that you have left Kirillov and are staying in our monastery, he wants to console you and bring great benefit to the church: he calls you to be the abbess of St. Sergius... At these words, Paisius’s face expressed deep sorrow. “I’m not fit to insist, and I’ve already become far from the world.” And there, I know, they are very attached to the world. - How can you go against the will of the prince? – Cassian objected. - The prince calls you kindness and affection. Here, take it and read the letter. Paisiy took the prince's letter and, indeed, saw that the prince, appointing him abbot of the famous Sergius Monastery, cared first of all about himself, about his well-being. “Father, I’ll wait a while to give the prince an answer,” Paisiy said, after thinking a little, “hold back the messenger; and whatever God puts on my soul the next day, let His holy will be done. - OK. God help you... And the messenger was ordered to wait until the next day. He had to obey, although in Moscow he was ordered to return as quickly as possible. Paisius stood all night in prayer. The excitement of his soul little by little calmed down, and by morning, when the monastery announced the morning service, a living and firm decision ripened in the elder’s soul. He knew that the Trinity monks at that time, more than any others, had left the true life in everything, and so he decided to accept the abbess in order to really turn the famous monastery onto the true path. - Well, father, what have you decided? Cassian asked as they left the church together. - I will fulfill the will of the prince... And I intend to do this immediately: I will go with a messenger. - Why are you in such a hurry? Are you afraid of angering the prince? “That’s not it, father: it’s not right for a shepherd to remain without a flock.” - Well, God bless you. Let us pray and see you off with all the brethren... And then, what happens to you,” added Cassian, “do not forget, father, our monastery: it is the place of your tonsure, it will receive you with great joy... - God save you, father, with a kind word. But I pray to God that such need will pass me, that He will help me accomplish the work I have planned for His glory. The next day after the prayer service, the brethren escorted the beloved elder to distant Moscow, and then the life of Spasov’s monks again returned to normal. So two years passed, and only one difficult event darkened the peaceful life of the monastery: they escorted Father Cassian - not to Moscow, not to some other distant land, but to his grave. The monastery bells rang sadly, and they echoed with mournful melancholy in the hearts of the orphaned monks. When the first thrown clod of earth hit the coffin lid, an uncontrollable sob was heard over the grave. All the monks cried. Disobedient tears ran down their stern faces: their grief was so heavy... And over the lake and forest, as if echoing the sobs of the monks, a mournful autumn wind rushed. He either drove dark waves to the shore, or went deep into the forest, and from there his song, full of sorrow, was heard. Soon a new abbot was chosen, and life little by little returned to normal. Winter came and went, and once again there was warmth and joy of life in the air. The usual annual feathered guests began to fly to the monastery from the far south, pilgrims and merchants began to come and come. It happened that people came from distant Moscow. And so, one spring day, the one whom hardly anyone expected - Paisiy Yaroslavov - arrived at the Spasov monastery. He did not say anything to any of the brethren about why and how he left the monastery of St. Sergius, and only asked the new abbot for permission to settle again in the monastery of tonsure. “I could live here forever,” he said. “Well, settle in, father,” answered the abbot, “the brethren and I are very glad to see you.” And Elder Paisiy Yaroslavov began to live again as a simple monk, devoting all his strength and free time to book studies. So no one heard from him about the reasons for leaving the Sergius Monastery, and only after some time did the monks learn everything from Moscow merchants who occasionally visited Spasov. It turned out that the Sergius monks, outraged by the severity of the rules brought by Paisius, even wanted to kill him. Then the elder, avoiding temptation, left the abbess. It was early summer of 1478. Thirteen years have passed since Neil left Kirillov to the east. During this time, much has changed in Kirill’s monastery. The elder disciples of the monk himself almost all passed away into eternity or were already very decrepit and interfered little in the affairs of the monastery. Their places were taken by their students and the students of these students. It was the latter, the new ones, still very young monks, who ran everything in the monastery. They were neither wiser nor spiritually superior to the older monks. But they had a boldness that stopped at nothing. When they entered the monastery, everyone immediately felt that some kind of force had entered, alien to the peaceful monasticism removed from the bustle of earth. The decrepit disciples of the monk, saving in themselves the memory of the wondrous image of their teacher, completely retired from work, but their successors still tried to defend the strict spirit of the monastery’s rules from the newcomers. But they had little success with this. The young people, like the abbot from whom Paisius suffered, said that prayers are prayers, but they also need to take care of property and land for the monastery. “Then how can we pray,” they said, “if the very existence of our brethren is not ensured as it should be?” And what kind of reverence will worldly people have for monks who are poorer than them and cannot treat or appease them?.. It was in vain that they pointed out to such people the great vow of non-covetousness that is given by monks upon entering monasticism: they did not pay attention to this and tried to cite the texts of the Holy Scriptures that they falsely interpreted in their defense. It was hard for the true zealots of Cyril’s covenants. Several years ago, after Paisius left the monastery, they managed to insist on the removal of the abbot they disliked from the Chudov monks. But this did little to help the grief. In place of one carnivore, dozens appeared, and most importantly, soon the violators of the monastic vow of non-covetousness in the monastery again had a strong support - in the person of the abbot himself. The fact is that after the removal of the Chudov monk, one of his students ruled the monastery of Cyril for some time. The time of his administration was fertile for the strict zealots of the charter. At this time, the famous Joseph of Volokolamsk, whom we will meet later, visited the monastery. As he put it, Cyril’s monastery was then like a lamp standing on a raised platform. But such a time, unfortunately for adherents of a strict life, did not last long. When the abbot-disciple of the monk died, the desire of all the inhabitants of the monastery was to see as abbot a person tonsured from the Cyril monastery. And so, partly under pressure from Moscow, they chose a certain Nifont. Nifont was a monk of the Kirillov Monastery; He entered the monastery almost at the same time as Nile, but then spent a lot of time in other monasteries. The elders of the Cyril monastery, despite this, believed that in Nifont respect for the precepts of the monk was alive and active, and therefore, even in his abbess, he would strictly follow these precepts. However, in thinking so, the elders were very mistaken. Nifont, as soon as he took over the management of the monastery, began to suggest that the generous benefactors of the monastery should not be forgotten. -What are you talking about, father? - the elders were perplexed. - Well, first of all, about our prince, Mikhail Andreevich. After all, his father, Prince Andrei, was such a generous giver! Well, my son, I heard, is not averse to benefiting our monastery, but we just need to please him first: inquire about his health more often, say that in the prayers of our sinners we never forget him, and then, by the way, mention our great needs... In response to this, the elders only shook their heads. But the younger brethren were incredibly happy when they saw their protector and patron in Nifont. The new monks offered their abbot energetic support, and soon the monastery began to be enriched with new and abundant gifts from Prince Mikhail Andreevich of Verei. But things didn't stop there. The energetic abbot, feeling solid ground under him, thanks to the prince’s favorable attention, decided to completely free himself and his monastery from the authority of the then Rostov Archbishop Vassian and come under the direct authority of Mikhail Andreevich. This was at the very beginning of 1478. Gerontius, a man of firm and decisive character, was then sitting on the metropolitan throne in Moscow. Prince Mikhail turned to Gerontius with a request to issue him a special charter for the monastery. The Metropolitan fulfilled his request. But as soon as Prince Michael left Gerontius, the offended Rostov Archbishop appeared to the Metropolitan. “Why, Vladyka, did he offend me so much and take away Kirill’s monastery from me?” – Vassian tearfully declared, entering the metropolitan’s chambers. “Everyone must be given what belongs to him,” Gerontius answered firmly, “Reverend Cyril bequeathed his monastery to Prince Andrei, and now his son is the heir of everything through his father... - And that’s not true, sir. Although the monk bequeathed the monastery to the prince, it was for the sake of its protection, and not for the sake of the profits of the brethren. And the monk himself remained in strict obedience to the Rostov saint, as befits a true monk. But now it’s not the same. The obscene monks, who, like wolves, penetrated the fence of the Holy Cyril monastery, want to break their vows of non-covetousness and therefore cleave to Prince Michael. And you shouldn't indulge them... “I am not a philanderer, but a guardian of the truth,” the stern Gerontius flushed, “and to you, lord, I say: as it should be, so it will remain... With bitterness in his soul, the Rostov Bishop left the Metropolitan, but he decided not to abandon his work, of the rightness of which he was deeply convinced, and therefore went straight to the Grand Duke. Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich loved the ruler of Rostov for the severity of his life and at the same time did not like Gerontius, with whom they often had arguments. “What can I say, Vladyka, our Gerontius is a tough character,” said Ivan Vasilyevich in response to Vassian’s complaint, “I myself have disagreements with him and some super stupid things... But okay, I’ll talk to him...” But the Metropolitan did not listen to the Grand Duke. “If, sir, you and I are going to violate the truth,” he said to John, “then what will others say and do?” - Yes, Vladyka, look at this, that the monks only look at their own treasury, that’s why they obtained the charter through their prince. “I, sir, will order the monks to observe Cyril’s precepts to the fullest extent, and I will not renounce the letter given to Prince Mikhail.” “Okay, I’ll force you,” the Grand Duke thought to himself, angrily dismissing the Metropolitan. Not later than the next day, Ivan Vasilyevich sent to Prince Mikhail of Vereisky a demand to return back the letter given to him by the Metropolitan. At the same time, an invitation was sent to all cities and monasteries to bishops and archimandrites to come to Moscow to give trial to the Rostov archbishop and the metropolitan. Extensive research began. Every now and then the Grand Duke's messengers arrived in Kirillov to find out the whole matter in detail. They found out with detectives, without ceremony; They even threatened us with racks and dungeons. The quiet life of the monastery was thus disrupted. This not only plunged the old monks into deep sadness, but also alarmed and excited the new ones, who advocated an appeal to Prince Michael. The general confusion reached such a degree that the monks were divided into parties, into sections, each holding a special kind of thoughts on this issue. For a while they even forgot about the order of the working day and often devoted to disputes and bickering those hours that were separated for fulfilling the obedience due to everyone. Soon, however, two directions clearly emerged: the old monks stood against the abbot and against any property acquisitions of the monastery; The young people, being also dissatisfied with Nifont, reproached him, however, only for his inability to settle the matter and were entirely in favor of not giving back the wealth they had received and not going back to the Rostov ruler. The old, although the truth was on their side, often yielded to the young in disputes: they did not have the same erudition as the latter and the ability to argue. “Eh,” the elders would sometimes say, “Elder Paisius and Nil Maykov are not with you.” Those from the divine scriptures would clearly and conclusively show that it is not right for monks to reach out to the world... And more than once the thoughts of the Kirillov elders turned to the wise Paisius and his disciple, who had gone to the east to seek the truth of God and the true image of monastic life... And so, on one of the early summer days, when the brethren gathered in church for late mass, an old man of medium height entered the church. His very gray hair fell to his shoulders. His back was very stooped. The look of blue eyes, looking from a clean, emaciated face, amazed with its stern insight and at the same time some kind of deep, hidden thoughtfulness. When they looked at the old man who entered, the elders shuddered. Or, perhaps, they imagined it?.. Was this hunched, stern old man really the same young, blossoming youth?.. But when the one who entered, approaching the saint’s tomb, turned to the monks and bowed to them three times like a monk, an involuntary whisper swept through the church: - Nil, Nil has arrived, Nil Maikov has returned from the east... How our brother has aged... And after the service, everyone came up to the newcomer and joyfully kissed him, the old in the old days, and the new ones, remembering the stories of the elders, full of deep interest, about their brother Maykov, who came from distant Moscow. - Well, father, how was your trip, what did you see? – the Kirillov monks asked Nile. “Didn’t you regret leaving our monastery?” What kind of monasteries are there? How do monks live and do they have strict rules?.. But Neil answered all questions in monosyllables. The elders realized that verbosity was not to the liking of their arriving brother. Therefore, they soon stopped their questions, but could not help but share with Nile what was worrying the entire monastery at that time. “You, father, have devoted your entire life to testing the divine scriptures. That’s why he took a journey to the East... So teach us whether it’s good for monasteries to own villages and reach out to worldly people for protection... And the elders, step by step, conveyed to their one tonsure what had happened recently. Nile listened strictly and attentively to everything that the Kirillov elders told him, and the wrinkles that furrowed his forehead came even closer, and the expression of his blue melancholy eyes became even firmer, even deeper, even more mysterious. “It’s not all this in a monastic way, brothers,” he firmly stated, “we shouldn’t leave the world so that we can later reach out to it; and if we stretch, it means we don’t leave it, but we only deceive others and ourselves. “Truly, father, truly, so refuse the Father Superior,” the elders confirmed, delighted that their thoughts had found such a simple and clear expression. “Whether we turn to the Holy Scriptures or to the writings of the saints,” father continued, “we will not find confirmation anywhere that those who renounce the world can still use something from it, but everywhere on the contrary... And Neil began to cite one saying after another in favor of a strictly ascetic view of earthly goods. The elders listened, and each of them in his soul was indescribably surprised at Nile’s erudition and intelligence. “You, father, have all the divine scriptures on the edge of your tongue,” one of the listeners innocently remarked and with these words quite accurately expressed the thought of each of the elders present. Niphon received Neil with open arms when he came to him. “We haven’t seen each other for a long time, father.” How was it going and working? Have you all experienced the divine scriptures?.. “That happened too,” the elder answered humbly and at the same time somewhat reluctantly. “But in my opinion,” Nifont said, carelessly waving his hand, “all this is pride and the audacity of the human mind to experience what was written by God-inspired people.” You still can't add anything... “Perhaps there is no need to add,” Neil answered quietly, “but it doesn’t hurt to subtract what has been attributed with idle hands... Lists, father, are not always right...” “Here you are,” the abbot walked away almost in horror, “why did you come to our monastery?” We now have plenty of heretical thoughts. Tea, did you hear? I think our elders have already complained to you... And without that, we have troubles and troubles going on... “That’s why things are going wrong because you don’t test the scriptures and don’t live by them,” Neil remarked firmly and sternly. “Don’t meddle in someone else’s monastery with your own rules,” cried Nifont, “if you are like that, there is no place for you in our monastery...” Neil didn’t say a word to this, he just made a deep bow to the ground and humbly left the abbot’s chambers. And by evening, the monastery brethren learned that Elder Nil would not settle with them in the monastery, in the monastery’s fence, but would choose as his residence a dilapidated hut outside the walls of the monastery, preserved from the time of the saint’s life... This went on for about a week. The elders of the monastery and part of the brethren continually visited Nil and had long conversations with him, mainly about monastic life and about recent monastic events. The monks of Kirill were especially interested in learning from the learned elder about those passages in the “divine scriptures” that speak against the right of monasteries to own villages and all worldly goods. The elder, as on the first day of the meeting, taught them what he himself knew. He knew a lot and thoroughly... “So, father, in your opinion, all the evil happens to us because we don’t test the scriptures, don’t listen to souls, and live together?” - the monks asked Nile, trying to understand more clearly, to reduce to unity everything that he said. “Yes, so, fathers and brothers,” Neil answered softly, and in his eyes one could see the inner joy of being understood. “The common life, as I have told you more than once, is unsuitable for a true monk. Man needs monasticism for his soul. After all, in monasticism a person only then leaves the world in order to begin to live as his soul dictates. The voice of the soul awakens in a person, the soul calls him to start thinking about his life, about God, about His great truth, in general, to start doing with the mind, doing smart work. The world gets in the way of all this. A person wants to think about his soul, but in the world he is told to do this and do that. Well, a person leaves the world in order to emerge from a stuffy prison. But just tell me, what kind of will is this for the soul if everything is divided and determined in advance: do this then, and do that then!.. The same world. And then sometimes, maybe a person should not see others at all, or talk about himself with them. In general life, how can we do without this? And speak, and reveal your soul to everyone. The greatest evil, especially in modern times, is that in general life there are many temptations from the world. The household must be managed, the church must be beautifully decorated for general prayer, the pilgrims must be received, and the poor must be provided for. But they forget that all this entails vanity and temptation. For the poor and the pilgrims, tables, food, and money are needed; for the church, silver and gold, and for the household, to accept alms from Christ-lovers, and to honor and worship the Christ-lovers themselves. And so, the monks bow, humiliate themselves, earn money and do not notice how, wanting to leave the world, they live in the same world, and even a hundred times worse. No, if you are a monk, what do you need gilded churches for farming, and even beggars? “How, Father, did the Lord command the poor to look after...” the monks were surprised and perplexed. - Look forward to watching, if for this you do not need to reach out to the world. But if you can’t, it’s better to refuse the beggar. The world will take care of them. And this is to say: so that a person does not die of hunger and soul, every monk who does not live a common life will always have both bread and a kind word. There's no need for more than that. Otherwise they came up with the idea: they need to give money to the poor and please them in every possible way, to feed them enough. Goodness does not lie in satisfying all the desires of your neighbor, but in saving both him and your soul. And this is quite accessible to a monk even without a common life... – Father, what is the purpose of monastic life? - It is to peer into your God-like soul, to discern, to study the will of God in it, to recognize in it and through it the God inscribed in it. This is a conversation between a person and his soul, otherwise smart doing. That's all a person needs. Of course, it is difficult for a person to do this alone. This is where the divine scriptures are given to us for guidance. The whole will of God is written in them. Here a person must compare the desires of his soul with the scriptures. If there is something in them towards which the soul is moving, then do it, and if not, then it is not necessary... Only in this case you need to be very careful. Not all scriptures are divine. Many of them were written or distorted by people of little understanding. And so, a monk, testing the scriptures, must very carefully and carefully consider where the right scripture is and where the wrong one is. I, a sinner, have also come across many incorrect lists... - And which, father, scriptures are more beneficial than others for the soul of a monk? - First of all, the holy Gospels, then the apostolic writings, and then the teachings of the holy fathers. “Father,” said one monk, who listened especially attentively to the words of the Nile, “I listened to you, and it seems to me that a true monk needs to seek complete solitude... “This is not useful for everyone, brother, but for very few, already tempted by long experience and, one can say frankly, people with an angelic soul.” Simple sinners need to escape complete solitude. It in itself does not make a person righteous, but often inflames all sorts of passions in a person even more. The asp is a poisonous and fierce beast, having taken refuge in a cave, it still remains fierce and harmful. He does not harm anyone, because there is no one for him to bite; but he does not become good-natured because in a deserted and deserted place they do not allow him to do evil: as soon as the time comes, he will immediately pour out his hidden poison and show his malice... So, someone who lives without proper spiritual experience in complete solitude does not get angry at people when they are not there, but pours out his malice over soulless things: over a cane, why is it thick or thin, on a blunt instrument, on a flint, slow to give a spark... Solitude, brothers, generally requires an angelic life, but kills the unskilled... -Then how should monks live? Life in common is not useful, in solitude there is a great temptation... - those who came were perplexed with one voice. “The true image of monastic life,” answered Neil, “is skete life.” This is how monks live in the east... I saw this, I was touched and could not be amazed: how wise and beneficial it was for the soul... - Here's how. The monks settle there, two or three, eating and clothing from the labor of their own hands, each according to his own earnings. They support each other in the internal struggle against bad thoughts and doing smart things. A monastery sometimes consists of several cells. Then they choose an abbot from among the monks, but this is not the boss, not the steward of the entire monastic life, but only a friendly adviser and spiritual leader to whom they voluntarily turn... Alms are allowed to be accepted only in cases of extreme need and illness... There is nothing in common, so there can be no real estate and capital in the monastery. The church in the monastery does not have any riches or decorations. Silver and gold are strictly expelled from churches there, for this is not what God pleases, but the souls of monks, if they are pure and immaculate... “This is new, father, we have never heard of this before,” the elders and other monks were surprised. “This didn’t happen in Rus',” said Neil, “that’s true.” But this is because our country is deaf and does not listen to what is great and good in other countries. We sit in our holes and do not see that all sorts of evils arise from darkness. And the reason for everything is that we love only ourselves and our body. That’s why our monks are so drawn to peace... “Like Father Niphon and his brothers,” one of the listeners declared with a bitter smile. “But he doesn’t love you, father,” remarked another, turning to Neil, “he keeps bothering us that we come to you... “Soon I’ll give him peace, I’ll rid him of myself,” Neil noted. - What, do you want to leave us? - the monks asked anxiously. - No, not that, but I’m just looking for a place for myself somewhere nearby. I cannot go far from the walls of the one whose image attracted me here and supported my spirit in my youth. I just want to save Father Abbot from temptations. - Well, God help you. Just don’t leave us then with your advice and prayers... Neil, indeed, from the very first day of his arrival began to look for a suitable place for his exploits. He took long walks in different directions from the monastery and kept looking closely at the area. During his previous stay at the monastery, he rarely went beyond its walls, and therefore the surroundings of the Kirillov Monastery were little known to him. With particular pleasure, he now observed the beauties of nature, which were revealed one after another during his walks... Three weeks have passed since Neil's arrival. It was a quiet cloudy day. The sky had become cloudy since the night, and it was raining quietly. Neil had loved this weather since childhood. At such hours, his soul, longing for heaven and yearning on earth amid the mud of life, felt with particular strength some kind of inexpressible, special sorrow. This grief was not heavy on the soul. On the contrary, it elevated the soul and made it especially sensitive to everything good and beautiful. Neil left his hut, walked through the grove that surrounded the monastery, and found himself on a path that, as far as the eye could see, wound far among the hills and lakes. Neil headed down this path. At first the road ran open, past lakes enclosed in green frames, over the surface of which the rain was now falling in slender lines; then there were hills and hills covered with rich vegetation. The lakes were no longer visible all around. The old man, lost in thought, kept walking and walking forward, climbing hills and descending them. The beauty of the area, the monotonous sound of the rain somehow calmed him down, lulled him to sleep, and he, as if left alone with his soul, walked, thinking more and more about the horror in which people find themselves thanks to their love for the world. “With what terrible chains,” the old man thought, “the world has chained the soul of man to itself. The daughter of a distant, enchanting sky, concealing within herself innumerable treasures of consolation and happiness, from the earliest times, from very early childhood, she is hidden from a person by a difficult-to-penetrate veil. And this veil is created by a world that is somehow unconsciously afraid to allow a person to open his eyes to his life. So it happens that a person walks around all his life, not knowing what treasure he hides within himself. Oh, how people need to escape from the world. The world is destruction, inevitable death for the soul." Suddenly, an increased noise reached the elder’s ears. He immediately guessed that there must be a lake nearby. Indeed, among the parted thicket a free and picturesque lake appeared. Its edges were bordered by wild, dense semi-coniferous, semi-deciduous forest. In one place of the lake a small river flowed into it. The ground was level, but swampy. The whole place gave the impression of something wild, gloomy and at the same time majestic. At the first glance at the area, Neil involuntarily stopped. His heart somehow trembled, and at that same moment he felt rather than understood that somewhere here was the place that Heaven was showing him for life and exploits. Having mastered himself, the old man walked along the edge of the lake to the mouth of the river and went deeper into the forest along its bank. And the further he walked, the more and more savage and gloomy the area around him became. Finally, in one place he stopped. The river here did not meander, but stretched, and was more like a stagnant swamp than flowing water. Giant trees crowded over it and, forming a slender round wall, seemed to be preparing to repel any attempt to enter this wild and at the same time inexpressibly majestic corner... Among the beauties of the nature surrounding the monastery, it was difficult to find a more sad, secluded and suitable refuge for a monk leaving the world. Neil knelt down and, looking at the sky with tear-filled, deeply believing and grateful eyes, began to pray. His lips did not move, and the silence of the wild gloomy forest was not disturbed by human speech: the old man prayed with his soul. “Great and strong God,” he said in his soul, “I prayed to You that You would show me a place where I could end my days.” Now You have heeded my prayer, and this is the place where I will see my earthly end. Bless me, Almighty, for the difficult feats ahead, grant me the strength to endure them and overcome within myself all those temptations with which the world tempts me, a sinner. May this place, indicated to me by You, be the eternal grave of my sinful carnal desires and lusts!.. Only in the evening of this day did Neil return to his hut. Meanwhile, Kirillov monks had already visited here more than once during the day; they will come in, look in and leave, but after a while again and again. Neil had barely crossed the threshold of his temporary home when one of his frequent visitors of late entered. - Father, we are looking for you everywhere... - Yes, father, a messenger arrived at our monastery from Moscow from the Grand Duke himself. Metropolitan Gerontius was afraid of the trial with our lord Vassian and began to ask the prince to reconcile them. Things didn’t go well for a long time, but then it worked out. The prince agreed to be a mediator. The document that the Metropolitan gave to Prince Mikhail for our monastery was destroyed, and the Rostov Bishop was ordered to take charge of our monastery again in the old way... So, father... - So, brother, everything is as before? - No, father, I didn’t finish... Our abbot, Father Nifont, because he quarreled Bishop Vassian with the metropolitan and caused all the chaos, and is painfully attached to earthly goods, was ordered to leave the abbess and go to severe penitential obedience to Simonov... And now, the brethren are waiting for you, father, to their monastery... - Why? It’s not right for me to be there, to violate the abbot’s order. Although Nifont is no longer the abbot, he still did not lift the ban from me... “I don’t know, father,” the monk answered evasively, “but as for Father Nifont’s permission, I’m running away now... And, leaving Neil alone, the monk walked quickly away to the monastery. After a short time, a huge crowd appeared from the gates of the monastery: all the inhabitants of the monastery were coming. Approaching Neil, who was standing on the threshold and perplexed, they all, as one, fell to the ground. Then Neil understood everything. Somehow immediately turning pale, he rushed to raise the gray-haired elders who were in front and wanted to say something, but then a mixed roar of old and young voices was heard. – Father, do not leave us orphans, be our leader to God! “Fathers and brothers,” Neil answered excitedly, “my soul is full of great gratitude to you for looking upon me, poor and feeble-minded. I bow to you for this... Neil bowed to everyone. “But I cannot accept your election,” he continued. May the Lord and you forgive me for this... Therefore, I cannot accept that my soul is calling me to another and turning me away from the world with all its charms and temptations. And while he is the abbess over you, how can you protect yourself from the temptations of the world, how can you save your soul, how can you arrange your life according to the scriptures? Not here, where the line from the world crosses, should all monks and I, a sinner, dwell. I have already told you about this... And if you need to maintain a common life and have an abbot over you, then may the all-wise Lord help you to choose a wise man, diligent in the true monastic life and knowledgeable in the scriptures... Rising from the ground, the Kirillov monks stood sadly in front of the Nile. Finally, a gray-haired old man, the most ancient inhabitant of the monastery, stepped forward. “Father,” he said, turning to Neil, “I knew you even when you came to our monastery as a young man.” From that very moment until now, you have been tirelessly seeking the truth of God. Coming here to you, we thought that you would take us all under your hand and lead us to the heavenly kingdom from the sinful world. God did not destined that this desire of ours would come true. So be it. Do as your soul tells you, but do not leave us orphans. So we will choose an abbot, and you, father, instruct him, if he comes to you for advice, teach him how to manage the monastery so as not to lead it to what our brother Niphon led to... “Truly so, truly so,” all the monks confirmed, “do not forget us, father, with your prayers and instructions... After a while, the monks, having said a heartfelt goodbye to Nile, left. Neil returned to his hut and, kneeling before the face of the Savior, prayed for a long time. At the monastery bell, the gatekeeper had already struck the midnight hour, and the prayerfully bowed figure of the elder continued to remain motionless... The early spring sun rose over the forests, hills, and waters of Belozersk. It touched the tops of pines, firs, spruces, larches with gold, filled the air with the singing of birds, dispersed the thick fog that stretched out in a slender veil over numerous lakes and rivers... A bright ray of sunshine looked into a wild, gloomy forest place, over which giant trees were crowded, guarding it, - it looked and illuminated a small wooden chapel, next to it a wretched cell and on the threshold of it an old man with a book open on his knees. He read the words written on paper by the charter with special attention, and his face either lit up with a joyful smile, or became mournful and sad. Then he would shake his head and, moving the book very close to his eyes, intently peer at the letters... It was Elder Nil Maikov. It has been two years since he completely left the Cyril monastery here, to the place he had chosen, which was fifteen miles away from the monastic places. From the brethren he immediately learned the names of the lake and river he had chosen. “The river is called Sorka, father,” the brethren answered the elder’s question, “from the river the lake is also called Sorsky... It will be difficult for you, father, you have chosen a heavy cross for yourself: the place is swampy, damp, there is never an end to mosquitoes and midges, and it is difficult to build anything - not in a swamp?.. But the elder did not listen to such speeches, but boldly and decisively set to work. With the permission of the newly elected abbot Guriy Tushin, he dismantled the hut that stood near the walls of the monastery in which he lived and moved it himself to a new place, then, with the help of an ax, by the fall he cut down the chapel, where he placed a full-length image of the Savior and some other icons. He filled his hut with “divine scriptures.” Book studies became the main thing in the elder’s working day. With inexpressible diligence, he examined the scrolls and books, “trying to find the right list,” trying to clearly, accurately understand what was written, to distinguish what was originally written in a certain place and what was later added by the copyist. And looking for the true sacred expressions and the true meaning of these expressions, Neil checked the content of the “divine scriptures” revealed to him every thought, every spiritual movement. Whether his thought stopped on something, or his heart inclined towards some action, the elder immediately tried to find in Holy Scripture a place that would relate to a new thought or a new feeling. If he found it, he checked it and then acted as the Scripture taught; if he did not find it, then he did not undertake the intended task, waiting until he found a solution to the question tormenting his soul in scrolls or books. Neil did not doubt for one moment that Holy Scripture contains answers to all the needs of the human soul. He only tried to distinguish the true from the untrue in Scripture in order to accept for guidance that which truly expressed the will of God. Neil devoted the time free from prayer and “testing” of the “divine scriptures” to physical labor. He worked a lot, diligently, not sparing his weak strength. By late autumn last year, a well was already ready near the cell, and now the elder was working on the pond. He wanted to dig it up not far from his cell, and for many days now the sound of a shovel and the quiet sounds of prayer songs have filled the dense, darkly brooding forest... Neil did not try to adhere to strict solitude, in which he saw a lot of temptation for the soul, and sometimes elder monks appeared in a forest clearing near the banks of the Sorka River. They appeared rarely, but when they came, they talked with the hermit for a long time, asking for advice, instructions, and explanations regarding difficult-to-understand passages of Holy Scripture. Sometimes, fearing to disturb Nile’s solitude, they sent him a “writing,” asking him to “write it down on the basis of the divine scriptures and the holy fathers.” The elder was especially pleased with the visits and conversations between Herman and the Kirillov abbot Gury, nicknamed Tushina. When Nile returned from the east, he no longer found the friend of his youth, Herman, in the monastery. Herman left the indisputable strife in one of the many Belozersk deserts and labored there. Having heard about the arrival of the Nile and his installation on Sorka, he began to occasionally come to him for a spiritual conversation, in which he revealed his sorrowful soul to the friend of his youth. And Herman grieved because of what he saw around her. And this grief intensified even more because Herman, out of the kindness of his soul and out of deep faith in people, did not want to admit their obvious shortcomings. From the very first time they met, Neil began to point out to his friend the irregularities in the lives of the monks and, as the reason for such irregularities, the fact that modern monks do not at all want to “test the divine scriptures” and organize their lives according to them. Herman agreed that the life of the monks of his day was bleak, that no one checked their deeds with the instructions of the will of God, but did not dare to blame the monks themselves for this; and since he himself could not think of any other reason than evil will, he suffered from it. It became especially difficult for him during his last meeting with the Sorsky elder. Nile, pointing out the unseemly behavior of the monks, spoke harshly about them. Herman, deeply sorrowful, left his friend and after a while sent him a “written note” in which he reported that the grief of his soul had not yet subsided, asked for an answer and once again detailed instructions for life... The new Abbot of Kirill, Gury, did not forget the hermit of Sorsk. Even when Nil, having renounced the abbess, lived at the walls of the monastery, Gury immediately upon his election turned to the elder for spiritual instructions; then he helped him as best he could in setting up the chapel and cell, and often came here, to the hermitage, for advice and clarification of perplexities. Recently, while at a conversation with the elder, he asked him a number of spiritual and moral questions, and then sent a “written note” about this to Nile, urgently asking him to prepare an answer for which the novice would come. The questions proposed to Elder Gury were the following: how to deal with unclean thoughts? How to drive away blasphemous thoughts from yourself? What is true renunciation of the world? What should serve a person, and especially a monk, as a guide to salvation? All these questions were raised more than once in Nile’s conversations with Gury and for the latter they were extremely important. Now he was waiting for an answer to them, fixed on paper, as a constant edification not only to himself, but also to all the brethren. The novice was supposed to arrive in the hermitage by the evening of the day we are describing, and so Neil had already been sitting since early morning, immersed in the “divine scriptures,” by testing which he wanted to test his thoughts on the issues raised. By the time the novice arrived, he wanted to prepare a response to Herman’s message... Having turned a few more pages and read those notes on the side of the page that were made in his own hand, Neil stood up and headed deeper into the hut to the table on which everything was already prepared for writing. Having crossed himself and said a short prayer, the elder began to write line by line, first of all, a response to Guria. “What your holiness, most honorable sir father, talked to me mouth to mouth,” Neil wrote, “he sent me a “writing” about the same thing, demanding from my thinness that I write you something useful about this. You ask me first of all about prodigal thoughts, how to resist them... The struggle here is difficult, since it has to be waged both in the soul and in the body, and this passion is the strongest in nature. That is why we must try especially diligently to keep our heart sober and calm from these thoughts and, having the fear of God before our eyes, constantly remembering our monastic vows, to remain in chastity and purity. Chastity and purity consist not only in the fact that the outer life is pure, but also, mainly, in the fact that a person in the innermost corners of his heart is clean from bad thoughts. Therefore, we must carefully cut off these thoughts in every possible way and suppress vicious thoughts and worries within ourselves. And you will achieve this when you protect your heart from everything unclean and remove from yourself everything that can cause unclean thoughts and desires in your mind. Therefore, take care of yourself from seeing such persons and listening to such conversations that awaken passions and give rise to unclean thoughts. Then God will save you from lustful thoughts... If passions indescribably begin to overwhelm a person’s heart, one must pray unceasingly, and prayer will drive out everything bad from the heart. You need to pray to the Lord - and He will not leave a person... Your second question, father, is about blasphemous thoughts. And this thought is terrible and fierce. In order to get rid of it, you must resort to the Lord with tireless prayer and especially try to eradicate pride from your heart: it is the mother of this vice... If, after prayer, blasphemous thoughts do not leave you, try in every possible way to turn your thoughts to some other thing, divine or human, even something completely foreign... As for your question about how to retreat from the world, then your zeal is good. Just make sure that the following happens in you. You will renounce the world when you renounce what you are attached to with all your thoughts. And therefore, renounce all your inclinations, inclinations, desires - everything that connects your soul with the world. And when you do this, watch over your soul so that it becomes more and more like God. Don’t look at others and don’t try to notice their sins. Move away from their feasts and meetings, for presence at them deprives a person’s soul of all that is good, makes him notice the shortcomings of others and forget his own... Try also not to have as friends those who philosophize about worldly things and try to increase the monastic wealth, acquire estates and, not knowing the divine scriptures or obscured by their passions, think that they are doing good and leading a virtuous life. You, a man of God, do not communicate with such people; it is also not appropriate to address them with reasoning, blaspheme or reproach them - it is better to leave them to God: God alone is able to correct such... And you are also looking for an answer from me on how not to get lost from the true path. And about this I give you good advice: bind yourself to the instructions of the divine scriptures and follow them - only the true, truly divine scriptures. For there are many scriptures, but not all of them are divine. You, having understood the truth in them, adhere to this; In this case, listen also to the conversations of intelligent and spiritual men: although not all people, but intelligent ones understand the divine scriptures. And without the testimony of the scriptures, do nothing. I'll tell you about myself. I do nothing without the testimony of the divine scriptures, but only try to follow them as best I can. If I need to do something, I first try the divine scriptures, and if I don’t find something that agrees with my reason to begin the task, I put it off until I find it. And when I find it, I create it boldly, like what is already known. So you, if you want, act according to the holy scriptures, and after them, make the commandments of God and the traditions of the holy fathers a guide for your reason. Follow also in everything jealously those whom you hear about and whom you know, that their life and wisdom are from the Scriptures: such ways are true... And try,” Nil ended his message to Gury, “so that your heart, having accepted the seed of the word of God, does not turn out to be a stone or thorns, but good soil, yielding repeated fruit for the salvation of your soul. So that I, thanking God, may rejoice, seeing you hear the word of God and keep it.” Having finished his letter to Gury, Nil left the hut, looked at the sun and decided, without resting, to immediately write a response to Herman. “I’ll write to him about myself, about my life. Maybe then the great benefits of the divine scriptures will become clearer to him, and his grieving soul will calm down.” And the elder began to write the message, repeating in it some of what he had written to Guria. “In your little letter, Mr. Father, which you wrote to me,” Neil began his message, “you ask me for an answer that will benefit you. You say that grief befell you because of the speeches that we had with you when you were here with me. I advised you, as my close, beloved, that it is not easy or how we need to do any business, but in accordance with the divine scriptures and the traditions of the saints, father... And so that this is clear to you, I will tell you about myself again. At the end of my wandering, I came to the monastery and outside the monastery, near it, having built a cell for myself, I lived as long as I could. But wasn’t my removal from the monastery for the sake of spiritual benefit? For her, for her, for her sake. I saw that they live there not according to God’s law and paternal tradition, but according to their own will and human reasoning. There are also many who, in doing this, incorrectly dream that they are living a virtuous life. This happens because we do not know the holy scriptures, which we do not try to test with the fear of God and humility. We neglect this, but care about human things... And so, now I have moved away from the monastery, and by the grace of God I have found a place in my thoughts that is not very accessible to worldly people, as you yourself have seen. Living alone, I am engaged in testing spiritual scriptures... You know my thinness from the beginning. When we lived together in the monastery, you know, I moved away from worldly entanglements and acted as best I could according to the divine scriptures... And so, even now, first of all, I test the commandments of the Lord and their interpretation and the traditions of the apostles, then the lives and instructions of the saints. I think about all this and, according to my reasoning, I find that is pleasing to God and useful for my soul, I copy it for myself. This is my life and breath... If I happen to undertake something and if I don’t find it in the holy scriptures, I put it aside for a while until I find it. By my own will and according to my own understanding, I do not dare to do anything: I am an ignoramus and a peasant... And if anyone turns to me for advice, I advise him to do the same, especially to you, since from the very beginning we are united with you by spiritual love. That is why I turn to you with advice, advising for your good, as for my soul; What I try to do myself, I advise you too. And you, having listened to my brotherly advice to you, if you wish, follow it if you want to be the son and heir of the holy fathers. Fulfill the commandments of the Lord and the traditions of the saints, father, and advise the same to the brothers living with you. Whether you live as a hermit or in a community, listen to the Holy Scriptures and follow in the footsteps of the holy fathers or obey the one who is known as a spiritual man in word, life and reasoning... Do not act like some who outwardly obey the commandments of the Lord, but in fact arrange their lives according to their carnal will and reckless mind, not knowing what they are doing and what they are based on. But if you act according to the holy scriptures and the lives of the saints, father, you will not sin by the grace of Christ." At that moment, a clear youthful voice was heard at the door of the hut: – Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us! - Amen! – Neal answered, looking up from his writing and turning to the open door. - Oh, is that you, Vavilka? Well, wait, I'll get everything ready soon. The novice took something white out of his pocket and wanted to give it to the elder, but he was already deep in work again. “I also pray to your holiness,” he concluded his message to Herman, “that you do not put into sorrow our entire conversation about the benefits of Holy Scripture. It is harsh only for those who do not want to humble themselves by the fear of God and retreat from earthly thoughts, but want to live according to their passionate will. Others do not want to humbly experience the Holy Scripture, do not even want to hear about how to live, as if the Scripture was not written for us and should not be fulfilled in our time. But to true ascetics, both in ancient times, and in the present, and in all ages, the words of the Lord will always be pure words, like refined silver; The commandments of the Lord are more dear to them than gold and expensive stones, sweeter than honey and honeycomb... So, once and for all, know that we should not act simply and not by chance, but according to the Holy Scriptures and according to the tradition of the saints father... Be well in the Lord, Lord Father, and pray for us sinners, while we zealously beat your shrine with our foreheads.”... The elder once again quickly looked through what was written, folded both messages and called the novice. - Here, Vavilka, you will pass this into the hands of Father Abbot, and this is for Father Gury to give to Father Herman... The novice accepted the message from the elder and handed him a white package. - Father Abbot conveyed and ordered to say that a messenger had arrived from the Spasokamennaya monastery from Elder Paisius, who once, they said, labored in our monastery... - From Father Paisius? – Neal asked joyfully and, quickly unwrapping the package, began to read the message. Since returning to the monastery, Nil has not seen Paisius. I asked others about him, learned about everything that had happened, about his departure to the Monastery of the Savior on the Stone, but did not see him himself. The elder had a desire, a strong desire, to somehow communicate with his teacher, but circumstances were such that it was not possible to fulfill this desire. And so, Elder Paisiy now himself gives the message, he himself turns to his former student. In his short message, Paisius first brotherly and friendly greeted Nile on his return from the east, expressing a desire to see him in order to enjoy the conversation. In conclusion, he humbly asked for advice and guidance on the following question: “If someone unworthy accepts the priesthood, having desecrated himself to the priesthood through carnal passions, or, after entering the priesthood, falls into carnal passions, then how do the divine rules look at such people: do they establish prohibition or excommunication in relation to them?” The tone of the entire letter, especially its conclusion, was friendly and at the same time respectful. Apparently, the teacher believed in the knowledge and wise erudition of his student, brought by the latter from the enlightened east. After reading the message, Neil felt an irresistible need to immediately share at least a few words with Paisius. And despite the fact that it was already late and the sun was setting, the elder detained Vavilka and, having first given Paisius a businesslike answer “from the divine scriptures,” then added several friendly, welcoming and at the same time filial-respectful words about his desire to see the elder and talk with him about various issues “for the benefit of the soul.” It was already dark when Vavilka, with three messages in his hands, returned to Kirill’s monastery, past motionless sleeping lakes and thoughtfully rustling groves. The life of the Sorsky hermit flowed quietly and peacefully. Days passed after days, and each time the sun, rising above the Belozersk forests and waters, saw the elder, either tirelessly working in the open air with prayer or singing, then sitting on the threshold of his cell with a book in his hands, now praying in a wretched chapel, now copying and testing the “divine scriptures,” bending low at the table in the hut. “A city standing on the top of a mountain cannot hide from the gaze of men,” and so his life could not hide from the gaze of Nile’s contemporaries, who towered immeasurably above them. And so, the fame of the Sorsky hermit began to spread more and more “throughout the cities and villages of Holy Russia.” Not everyone approved of his behavior, his view of modern life, the behavior of monks, and the “testing” of the scriptures. “All this,” some said, “is from the pride of the mind; but God opposes the proud. People need more humility, otherwise without humility the world will fall apart, it will be filled with sins and defilements... And God did not order the Holy Scriptures to be tested. And why test if everything is true there? If you test it, it means you don’t believe God and the divinely inspired writers... But there were others who, delving deeper into what they heard about the ascetic, felt that he was the bearer of those very involuntary doubts and questions that were born in their minds and hearts. These were not only from among the Kirill brethren, who knew Nile closely, but also from other monasteries, many also from the laity. The latter, observing the monastic life of that time from the outside, could see more clearly and notice its shortcomings. And all these shortcomings, they clearly saw, did not hide from the keen, searching eyes of the Sorsky hermit. Thus, within and outside the monastery of Kirill, the number of those who agreed in views with the Sorsky hermit increased more and more. And so, the further time passed, the more and more his loneliness was disturbed. The silence of the gloomy, thoughtful forest was disturbed more and more often. Human voices, which had previously only occasionally and timidly awakened his age-old sleep, now rang out powerfully and boldly, generating an echo that rolled far over the surrounding lakes and groves. They came to the elder for the most part for a spiritual conversation, for instructions, for clarification of perplexed questions that the life of that time arose in abundance in every living heart. Nile came to the aid of everyone: he consoled some, supported others with his words, explained to others, and pointed out the true paths of life. So some time passed in conversations with the visiting monks and pilgrims, and the elder found no reason in his soul to complain about the people who disturbed his solitude. But one day, when he, having dismissed almost everyone, approached one short, dense monk, he fell at his feet and said with tears in his voice: “Father, I didn’t come to you for guidance and consolation alone... - What else do you need from me, my son? With God's help, I will do everything in my weak power for you. - Father, I came to you so that you would accept me, a sinner, under your constant guidance, allow me to live near you and use your instructions every day... The speaker, having finished his speech, looked into the old man’s face. It was somehow inexpressibly sad, as if a world full of sorrow had opened up to Neal’s eyes. “God is my judge,” the elder answered a little later in a quiet voice, “but my heart is not inclined to fulfill your request.” And what you consider useful for your soul may not actually be so; maybe you are facing a difficulty that exceeds your strength... Why do you want to be under my leadership? What reasons made you leave your previous monastery? The last words were spoken with searching sternness, and in response to them the monk timidly bowed his head. “I don’t like our monastery,” he finally said, “the abbot still wants to be some kind of boss, he keeps the brethren in fear; work for him tirelessly. And not only the abbot, but also the elder brethren. And I, father, have not liked the bosses since I was a child; That’s why he went to the monastery. I thought that I would at least pray for myself, because what kind of authorities are there in the monastery? But, no... And so, father, I heard about you that you order to live in monasticism, as one’s soul commands, without any superiors or elders, without any supervision. And he came to you. Don't drive me away, my dear. Instruct my soul, and as for work and prayer, leave it to my soul and will: only God is free to do this, as you yourself said... I will live myself, according to my own will... During the monk’s speech, the elder’s face became even more sorrowful. “You heard, my son, about my speeches, it’s obvious; but you didn’t understand their depth. They are similar to what you say, but that’s not exactly what I was thinking when I said them... And Neil began to reveal to his interlocutor his views on monasticism, on its immeasurable difficulties, on the fact that the soul cannot remain without any guidance; that, having abolished external management and external supervision, it is imperative to replace them with internal ones... And Neil’s conversation with the monk continued for a long time. “And in vain you think,” the elder said in conclusion, “that it will be easier for you to live here.” The hermitage that I just told you about requires great sacrifices of the soul, great labors of the body; the charter of the holy fathers, which is at the forefront of it, is heavy and difficult to fulfill; and where you lived, there was a more spacious path to salvation for you. Return to your abbot, and may the Lord bless you for your prayerful labors and exploits, together with the rest of your brethren... The monk left, having misunderstood the elder’s thoughts, but others soon began to follow him, seeking guidance from the Nile and permission to settle near him. All such people were looking for an opportunity to live near the hermit for reasons that were always alien to his main thought, and therefore the elder let them go, pointing out the great difficulties of the hermitage way of life. But the very thought of founding a monastery on the Sorka River had already entered the hermit’s soul; and, pondering it under the sound of the dense forest and the sonorous splash of the lake, Nile rejoiced at the fact that he, with his weak forces, might be able to realize the form of life that delighted his soul during his stay in the east. He only prayed to God that those people with whom he would have to create a monastery for the first time in Rus' would be dear to his soul, his thoughts, aspirations, hopes... Another year has passed, and spring days have arrived again. The sun stayed longer over the old man’s wretched hut; its rays, breaking through the thicket of the forest, sparkled more often on the ice cover that surrounded the pond and lake. And so, soon the quiet-water Sorka began to rustle, began to play, the lake swelled with a ringing, crackling sound, and all life around took on a playful, joyful appearance little by little... On one of the warm, sunny spring days, the Sora hermit sat on the shore of the lake and looked at the gentle ripple of the lake with a feeling of quiet joy: as if someone hidden in the water was squinting under the caressing rays of the sun. “God, what joy is spread throughout all of nature,” thought the elder, “her life flows quietly, peacefully, obeying the laws hidden in its depths. And because these laws are immutable and are necessarily carried out, without being violated even one iota, everything in nature is full of healthy, serene joy... Is this what a person does?”.. “Man,” he continued to think, “uses all his strength, as if on purpose, to move away from the nature of his being, from those laws that are embedded in his god-like soul... And now, torment, torment caused by man himself... And meanwhile, as soon as he begins to obey his soul, to act in everything as it commands, that is, as God, who has written His laws in it, commands, - how his life will immediately become quiet, peaceful, joyful, like the life of all this nature or the swell of this silent lake." “Why don’t people listen to their souls?” – Neil faced a long-standing question. And the elder remembered how Innokenty Okhlebinin often asked him this same question when they were in the east, on the Holy Mountain, washed by a stormy sea. Just like that, he was sitting, Neil recalls, on the seashore. It, menacing, rolled its angry, stormy dark green waves at his feet, and he looked into them and thought about human life. Then Innokenty approached him. Did he understand the thought of his teacher with his mind, did he comprehend it with his soul, only, fixing his eyes on the distance, covered with gray breakers, he quietly and dully asked: “Father, why is human life like this?..” “Father,” was heard clearly behind Neil, “father!” “What did I imagine?” – a thought flashed through the elder’s mind, and he immediately turned around. In front of him, a few steps from the shores of the quiet Sorskoye Lake, stood Innokenty Okhlebinin. A few minutes later, when the elders exchanged their first greetings, Neil told his student and friend what he was now remembering, looking at the quiet waters of Sora. “Yes, father,” noted Innocent, “I remember your answer to me then.” You said then that everything comes from people’s love for themselves... “And not just to himself,” said Neil, again looking thoughtfully at the light swell of the lake, “not to himself, but to his passions and vices.” Man, like everyone else, was created “for good,” but he does not fulfill the laws of his being and loves in himself the wrong thing to love. He needs to love a godlike soul, but he loves the bad habits and passions of the body... “And sometimes it seems wonderful when you look into a person’s life,” the elder added after a few minutes, “some people think that they act in God’s way; They talk about God and perform divine services, but in reality it turns out that they not only do not act in God’s way, but even in a human way, but simply in an animal way... Human life is hard, hard, dirty, unclean. A person needs to work a lot on himself in order to cleanse himself of dirt, of that which obscures the god-like soul... And so, when a person little by little frees himself from dirt, then enlightenment begins, and a person approaches God... The elder fell silent, and Innocent was silent, only the sound of a light breeze running through the tops of the pines could be heard... Several minutes passed. Finally, Okhlebinin spoke. - Father, you didn’t ask me why I came to you... - What great business do you have? Speak, speak. - Great, father, very great. I came to you so as not to leave you at all... I came, Father, to beg you to allow me to settle with you forever... I will serve you, help you in your labors, just like there, remember, in the east... The elder was silent, but no painful emotion was born in his soul, as in those moments when others made such a request. He felt that something had begun that he had been praying to God for a long time. “I was afraid to accept anyone to live with me,” he told Okhlebinin, “I thought that I was not able to control both myself and others. But I know you, and God sends you to me. Let His holy will be done. Come to me from the monastery tomorrow, and we will discuss how to fulfill our intention... The next day, Okhlebinin came not alone, but with another elder. The old man was short, gray-haired, with eyes that looked inquisitively and at the same time mournfully. This was Dionysius from the princes of Zvenigorod, who previously lived in the recently founded monastery of Joseph of Volokolamsk, about whom fame was already beginning to spread as a defender of the patrimonial possessions of the monasteries... When Dionysius lived in the Joseph monastery, he, according to the modern chronicle, “worked for two in a bakery and, moreover, sang 77 psalms and made three thousand bows each every day. But, having fallen in love with solitude, he asked and received the blessing to go to Father Nil, who then shone like a luminary on Beloozero.” “Having left you yesterday, father,” said Innocent, “I met this most honorable old man at the monastery of St. Cyril.” From far away Moscow he came to you so that you would accept him into obedience, as you accepted me, a sinner... Dionysius fell at the feet of the Nile and, telling his former life, begged not to reject him, not to leave him without his guidance. Neil lifted the gray-haired old man from the ground and, hugging him, said touchingly: “Apparently, God wants our life together to begin in this place.” Let us call on His blessing and the three of us will think about how to arrange things for us. First of all, since we gather to serve God, we need to build the church of God. My chapel is small and cannot accommodate three. “So, father, that’s what I thought in myself,” noted Innocent. “But the place here is low, damp, and there will be nothing to strengthen the church on,” said Dionysius, “wouldn’t it be better for us, fathers, to make a small embankment here?” “That’s right, father, you planned it,” Neil agreed, “and it’s all the more necessary for us to do it, since there won’t be anywhere to put our bones when our hour of death comes.” It’s not right to lay our sinful bodies in water or damp earth: hollow water will come and carry them away, and there will be a reproach and mockery of the image of God... “And then we’ll take care of the cells for us,” responded Innocent, “we’ll set up a house of prayer, and then we’ll think about our dwellings; and while our work continues, we will live in the monastery of St. Cyril and come here to you, Father, every day... It’s just starting to get warmer now, so, with God’s help, by late autumn, or even summer, we’ll be completely done... The elders decided on this, and the next morning their joint work began on constructing and strengthening the embankment. Before starting work, Neil took a stone, walked up to the threshold of his hut, crossed himself and, swinging with all his might, threw the stone into one of the sides of the forest and then walked in the direction the stone fell. Dionysius and Innocent followed him, perplexed. And when they had already approached the fallen stone and the elder picked it up, they asked: – That this is the place where our cathedral church should be. Don't be surprised by this, but listen. You know, Innocent, and you, father, may have heard that in the east, where monks settle as we now want, their cells are separated from each other and from the place of their common prayer meeting at a great distance, so that they do not tempt each other and do not interfere with solitude and contemplation of God. So let it be with us. I will stay to live in my cell; so let it be as far from the church of God as my weak hands were able to throw this stone. We will build your cells at the same distance from the church and my hut... The work of the elders moved quickly. In the evening, when Dionysius and Innocent were returning to the Cyril monastery, Abbot Gury offered to send them his monks to help, but the elders did not agree to accept help. “Father Neil did not bless,” they answered. But soon the working hands on the Sorka River increased by themselves. Some of the monks of the surrounding monasteries, having heard that Nile had accepted Dionysius and Innocent, rushed to the hermit of Sor with an urgent request that he accept them into the ranks of the brethren of the nascent community. – Is it reasonable to ask? - the elder said to such people and began to point out, as before to many, the difficulties of the upcoming life, created according to the model of the eastern monasteries. There were, however, those who were frightened by these difficulties, but most agreed to endure them, just to have the opportunity to live under the spiritual guidance of the Sorsky hermit. Neil actually accepted some of them. And so, thanks to the increased number of people who wanted to labor in this place, the work on building the church quickly came to an end. When it was finished and the question arose of how to decorate it, Nile, with all the strength characteristic of his pious zeal, spoke out against gold and silver and all kinds of precious jewelry in general. “It’s better to give to the poor than to decorate churches,” he said, “God doesn’t look at where and among what we pray, but at those feelings and thoughts with which our soul is full at this time.” This is what we will do, fathers and brothers. Let us observe humility and modesty in everything, even in decorating the church of God... When the church was finished, they began to build cells. At the beginning, only seven of them were needed, but when they began to build, their number needed to be increased. There were those who came again and were received by Neil. Among these was the later famous Nil Polev, who came from the princes of Smolensk. Together with the others, he asked the elder to take him under his leadership, and the elder told him to live alone in his cell. By order of the Nile, the cells were placed one stone apart from each other and from the church. The breath of approaching autumn was already felt in the air, the rays of the sun were losing their former life-giving warmth, and flocks of birds with farewell cries flew south over Lake Sorsk, when the fraternal cells were set up and those whose souls he was henceforth to lead could go to the Sorsk hermit. On one of the clear autumn days, when there was a kind of transparent silence in the air, broken only by light splashes of the waves of the lake, Nile gathered all his gray-haired spiritual children to the threshold of his hut and addressed them with a conversation. “Fathers and brothers,” he began, “God has brought my cherished thought to be fulfilled about arranging our life in the image of the eastern monasteries.” When Father Innocent and I were in the eastern countries, in Constantinople and especially on the holy Mount Athos, we saw this way of life there. What it consists of is already known to you: I have spoken to you about it more than once. But now, when we are on the threshold of entering a new life, I once again dare to remind you of the most important thing, what should guide you in your deeds and thoughts. You will live in ones, twos or threes, as has already been agreed upon between you. Whether you settle one at a time or several at a time, all this is only for your benefit, because learning to think and act according to the dictates of your soul is the most important thing that lies ahead of you. Ponder into your soul, open it, read the will of God clearly written in it, and, opening it, pray to God with your soul. Let your prayer not only consist in words, but in constant remembrance and thinking about God. Fill all your thoughts, all your thoughts with God. Let Him not leave your mind and your soul for a single moment. Contemplate Him constantly within yourself, and this contemplation will give you indescribable bliss and will lead you to the path of truth and goodness. Then you will be the salt of the earth, lamps of the world. From this desert you will shine forth to a world far from you. You will not see him, but he will see you, for “a city cannot hide from the top of a mountain.” And so, in constant contemplation of God, in such intelligent deeds, support each other, who lives with whom. Open your souls, your thoughts to each other, try to understand the subtlest movements of the soul in the other and help him understand it himself. Then your thoughts of God, supported by friendly advice and instructions, will bring you great benefit... For this reason, settle with each other... Living in cells, arrange your life according to the dictates of your soul. The soul of one requires certain deeds and labors to arouse the thought of God in itself, and the soul of another requires others. But let it be a sacred rule among you: not to be idle. Idleness is the mother of many vices. Forbid yourself to remain in idleness also because you will live by the labor of your hands. Let everyone eat from themselves and not rely on a common meal and treasury. May you not have a common treasury and common property, for this is the root of the evil of modern monasticism. “He who does not work, let him not eat.” And I forbid you to accept alms not only from those of the world, but also from your own, unless there is great need. While living in cells, reinforce the feat of thinking about God by reading and testing the holy scriptures. I have talked with you many times about the great benefits of this, and I will say again that without testing the scriptures you will not be able to reach God... Thus, you will spend six days a week in contemplation of God, in unceasing labors and testing the sacred scriptures. And do not visit each other these days, so as not to confuse and tempt each other. On Saturday or on the day before the holiday, following the example of the East, we will gather for prayer in the church, and let the whole night of Sunday, Sunday itself, pass in this prayer, in instructions and teachings to each other, and only in the evening of it we will disperse in order to gather again for common consolation before the holiday day... As I described to you, this is how it is done in the eastern monasteries, so let it be with us. From now on, let us keep and observe this rule, and to observe it, may the Lord now send His grace upon us... The brethren silently and with deep attention listened to the elder's instructions and quietly went to their cells, so that, shutting themselves up in them, they could begin the difficult feat of “smart work.” This is how the “skete life” began in Russia. Quietly, day after day, month after month, the life of the Sorsky hermits flowed on. During the week, everyone prayed and worked in their cells and did not go from one cell to another, did not see its inhabitants. When the evening of Saturday or the eve of a holiday arrived, hermitages appeared from all the cells, heading to the church. The cells surrounded the church in a ring, and therefore it was especially touching to see how, separated for a week by a long distance, the monks, as they approached the church, united more and more again, until, finally, in the church itself they merged into an inseparable group of worshipers. The all-night vigil in the skete church lasted all night. For each kathisma, three or four readings from the holy fathers were offered. Neil himself usually read, and immediately explained what he read. Quietly, affectionately, thoughtfully, the lights of the candles flickered, illuminating the stern faces of the saints, uncovered with gold jewelry. As if echoing the thoughtful flickering of the lights, the reader’s voice sounded measuredly and quietly. And in the souls of the monks the same quiet, vague and at the same time even thoughts, holy dreams were born and matured. During the liturgy they sang only the Trisagion, Hallelujah, Cherubim and Worthy. Everything else was read in a drawn-out, sing-song manner. During the liturgy itself, as well as after it, a lesson was offered by Neil or someone else from the brethren. After prayer, in the vestibule of the church they ate a common meal, after which they dispersed to their cells, so that on the eve of the next holiday or the next Saturday they would gather again in the church for common prayer and mutual instructive conversation. There were those who were unable to endure the strict regularity of monastic life and its unique trials. Such people left the monastery, and Nile did not regret their departure, since the purpose of establishing the monastery was, among other things, to gather together those who thought alike. Whoever turned out to be a dissident, thereby brought confusion into the hearts of others, and his departure was only desirable. New ones immediately appeared in place of those who left, and all those who came begged the Nile to accept them into the monastery he had established. At first Nile refused many, but everyone’s requests were so persistent, the desire to serve God in the form of skete asceticism was so sincere that the elder began to accept almost everyone and only demanded that those who settled in the skete obey all his rules and, first of all, live according to the holy scriptures and instructions of the holy fathers. In order to teach those arriving the rules of skete life and remind these rules to the former, Neil more than once held a general conversation about them in the church and finally decided to write them down for general remembrance and instruction. Thus, “A legend from the divine scriptures about the residence of the monastery from the holy father of the fasting and hermit Elder Nile appeared to his like-minded disciple.” “By the all-action of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ and the assistance of His Most Pure Mother,” says Neil in this “Tradition,” “I wrote this as useful for my soul and for my brothers, close to me and like-minded; for that is what I call you, not disciples. There is only one Teacher for us, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, followed by the holy apostles who gave us the Holy Scriptures, then the reverend fathers who taught and are teaching the path leading the human race to salvation. And therefore they teach that before they themselves did all the good. I have not done anything good, but I only point to the Divine Scriptures to those who accept them and seek salvation. And if Holy Scripture says that we are strangers and strangers here (Heb. 11:13), and then after death an eternal, unchanging life will come for us - either blessed, or filled with torment - which the Lord will reward everyone according to his deeds, then we especially need to take care of the future, afterlife. For this purpose, during my lifetime, I compiled this writing of my brethren about the Lord for my own salvation, as well as for the salvation of all those who seek it, rousing conscience for the better, wanting to save from negligence, bad life and responsibility for it those who philosophize according to the flesh and evilly; from evil and vain traditions that come to us from our common enemy and our flatterer and from our laziness. First of all, I offer the teaching of faith. I believe in one God, in the glorified Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, consubstantial and inseparable. I also believe in the incarnation of the Son of God; I acknowledge that He is perfect God and perfect man; and I accept and acknowledge all other confessions of the Orthodox faith with all my heart. Also, with great faith and love, I acknowledge, magnify and glorify my Lady, the Most Pure and Holy Mother of God; I honor all the saints, I accept and glorify them and unite myself with the grace of Christ and with all my soul I resort to the holy, catholic, apostolic church; her teaching, which she accepted from the Lord Himself and the holy apostles, as well as the decrees of the seven holy ecumenical councils and local councils and the teaching of the holy fathers about the Orthodox faith and pious life - I accept and honor all this with great faith and love. I and all those living with me curse heretical teachings and instructions, and may all heretics be alien to us. Many reverent brethren come to me and ask to live with us, but I, considering myself a sinner, feeble-minded, weak in soul and body, refused them for a long time. Despite the refusal, however, they do not leave me alone and do not cease to annoy me, causing me great embarrassment. Therefore, we reasoned this way: if anyone comes to us, he must adhere to the traditions of the holy fathers, preserve the commandments of God and fulfill them, and not create discord and not come up with various excuses for his sins, saying that in the present time it is impossible to live according to the Scriptures and follow the instructions of the holy fathers. Although we are weak, nevertheless, as much as our strength allows us, we must follow and become like those ever-memorable and blessed fathers, if we cannot become equal to them. Whoever does not want to do this, let him stop annoying my wretchedness. I will send them away with nothing. I do not come to them wanting to rule over them; they themselves force me, by coming to me, to do such an act. And if those who live with us do not try to observe all of the above and do not listen to the instructions that I teach them from the Holy Scriptures, I am not to blame for this and do not want to be responsible for their self-will. Also, those who agree to live as we command, we receive with love and willingly, instructing them according to the word of God. Even if I don’t do anything myself, I still hope that by the grace of God and through the prayers of those taught from me, I will be worthy of those about whom the “Divine Ladder” says: “Those mired in the mud and soiled by it informed those passing by about themselves, how they got stuck in that swamp, and warned that they would not fall into the same mud; and because they saved others, the Lord granted them deliverance from defilements.” And it is also said: “Do not want to be strict judges - those who teach with words, considering them as caring little about the matter. It often happens that what is lacking in deeds is made up for by the benefits of words. And vice versa: fearing sin, there is no need to try to convert others only with words, as Saint Maximus said: there are many who speak, but few who do.” So, no one should hide the word of God through his negligence, but, realizing his weakness, he should not hide the truth of God, so as not to be guilty of punishment both for breaking the commandments and for not proclaiming God’s word openly. We diligently study the Divine Scripture and the teachings of the Holy Fathers, of which there are as many as the sand of the sea, and pass on to those who come to us and want to hear our teaching. However, it is not we who teach (for we consider ourselves unworthy of this), but the holy fathers from the Divine Scripture. We also try to ensure that those living with us strictly fulfill everything: this is how we wish and love. If any of the brethren, out of laziness or negligence, violates something assigned to him, he must immediately confess this to the abbot, and he will give decent instructions on how to correct the mistake; Whether this happens in the cell or somewhere outside, the sin is cleared by confessing to the abbot. Great care must be taken to comply with the rules for those who are going somewhere. For many people really do not like the renunciation of their own waves, and everyone now wants to receive his own justification on his own. It is written about them in the “Ladder”: “It is better to expel such people from the monastery than to allow the novice to do everything according to his own will, because the one who expelled him will soon make the expelled one obedient and teach him to renounce his will. And whoever, under the guise of philanthropy, condescends to such people, brings them to the point that during their exodus they curse him terribly.” And the holy fathers carefully conveyed to us that everyone must acquire daily food and everything necessary from their righteous labors, their handicrafts and work. The Apostle Paul said: “If anyone does not work, let him not eat” (2 Thess. 3:10). You need to work primarily in your cell. If, out of necessity, there is work in the air, for example: tending a flock, plowing, or any other work, then in the community they are very commendable, say the holy fathers, but for those living separately they are reproachful. If, due to illness or some other valid reason, we cannot be satisfied with the products of our labors, we can turn to Christ-lovers for alms and accept from them, but only what is necessary, and not what is superfluous. What was acquired through extortion and collected through the labors of others will not serve us in any way. For how can we then keep the Lord’s commandment: “Whoever wants to sue you and take your clothes, give him your shirt too” (Matthew 5:40). We must drive away all this and the like from ourselves, like a deadly poison. In the purchase necessary for us, as well as in the sale of our handicrafts, we must try not to bring our brother into a loss, but rather decide to accept the loss ourselves. Likewise, those of the world who work for us should not be deprived of the wages they have earned, but given with reverence and sent away in peace and blessing. We don't need to have anything extra. The command to give to those who ask from us and not to drive away those who want to borrow from us applies to the evil ones, says Basil the Great. For he who does not have extra should not give, and if he says: I do not have, he will not lie, says Barsanuphius. One can see a monk who may not give alms: with an open face he can boldly say: “Behold, we have left everything and are dead after You” (Matthew 19:27). Non-covetousness is above all alms, writes Saint Isaac. Monastic alms are to help a brother in time of need with advice, to console his sorrow with wise reasoning. But this is the work of those who are capable; for beginners, it will be alms to endure sorrows, insults and reproaches from the brethren. This spiritual alms is as much higher than material alms as the soul is higher than the body, says Saint Dorotheos. And if a stranger comes to us, we need to calm him down as best we can and let him go with reverence. You need to leave our monastery not randomly or without permission, but only when you are told to do so. You don’t even need to leave your cell at the wrong time and without a good reason, says Basil the Great. Let the abbot orderly divide the work among the brethren, also allow everyone the necessary absence, and whoever he sends himself must not refuse obedience and let him not make the obedience given to him the reason for his negligence, but let him fulfill it with diligence and the fear of God, so that it will benefit both himself and those living with him. It is desirable for me that everything that I wrote in this legend be fulfilled exactly both during my life and after death... In cells, only those who we know can give instructions to the brethren and strangers are those who conduct interviews that serve the benefit of souls and correction, and master the art of conveying what is useful. Both bad thoughts and passions should not be hidden, but every day confess them to the abbot and with faith do everything that he advises and that serves to please God and benefit the soul. Nothing is as beneficial for a monk as daily confession, say the holy fathers. Everything that I have written serves to please God and benefit souls, and we will fulfill this... St. John Chrysostom writes about church decoration: “If anyone, wanting to bring silver vessels or any other decoration as a gift for the church, asks for advice, advise him to better give it to the poor. No one has ever been condemned for not decorating the church.” Other saints repeat the same thing. But the Venerable Martyr Eugenia did not accept the silver vessels brought to her on the grounds that monks should not have silver. Therefore, we do not need to have either gold or silver vessels, even sacred ones, or other unnecessary decorations, but only have what is most necessary for the church. Pachomius the Great did not want the church building itself to be decorated. In his monastery, in Mohos, he created a church and made beautiful pillars in it from stone. Then, thinking that it was not good to be amazed at the works of human hands and to be exalted by the beauty of the buildings, he took a rope, tied it around the pillars and ordered the brethren to drag them with all their might until they broke and became unsightly. And he said: I did this so that the mind would not become proud for the praise of art and would not be ensnared by the devil, for his deceits are many. And if such a great saint said and did this, how much more should we do the same in such cases, because we are weak, subject to passions and shaky in mind! Everyone should eat in accordance with the needs of the body, especially the soul, avoiding satiety and lust. We should not drink any drink until we become drunk. And let the healthy and young tire their bodies as much as possible with fasting, thirst and labor. The old and infirm are allowed to rest themselves a little. There should be no expensive, decorated dishes or other similar things in our cells. In the same way, one should not build expensive and decorated cells and other housing accessories. All this should not be valuable or decorated, and from such material that can be found everywhere and conveniently purchased, as St. Basil the Great says. Do not allow women to come to our monastery; Even dumb females do not have any other needs for work or other needs. This is forbidden to us. It is also indecent to have youths for your services; especially avoid beautiful, effeminate faces. So,” Nil finishes his instructions to the monks, “the content of this legend is this: to teach how a monk who wants true salvation in these times should act; how it is necessary, as far as possible, to live in thought, feeling, and deeds according to the teachings of Holy Scripture and the lives of the Holy Fathers. Thus, having fulfilled what we have been commanded, we will receive eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord; to Him belongs honor and glory and worship with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen". It was August 1485. The approach of autumn was already felt in the air, and over the Belozersk forests and waters reigned that sad silence that always happens in nature before dying: then, in the face of death, the living, as it were, hides, and everywhere it becomes quiet, mournful and transparent... Among the worries of managing the monastery, among the “tests” of the “divine scriptures” and other various works, Nile more and more often turned his thoughts to the one who, in his youth, firmly set him on the road truth - to Elder Paisius. Despite the fact that the distance between the Kirillov and Spasokamenny monasteries was not particularly great, the elders still somehow did not have to see each other. Meanwhile, Neil, the further he went, the more and more he felt the urgent need to see the teacher of his youth: the soul of the ascetic was burdened by many unspoken questions and feelings, and especially by the loneliness that had naturally created around the Sorsk hermit. True, he was not alone in the ordinary sense of the word, he was surrounded by more than ten brothers, but still these brothers were only his disciples, who not only did not surpass Nile in their life and spiritual experience, but also stood far below him in this. The human soul is always looking for someone who would not only fully understand it, but also calm it down, free it from doubts, hesitations, perplexities... After a short answer to Paisius, transmitted with Vavilka, Nil wrote two more messages to his teacher: one two years ago, and the other in the spring of the present. In the first of them, recalling the question asked by Paisius to him, Nil spoke of his answer in the following way: “Being myself a sinner and unworthy, how could I appropriate the gift of teaching to myself? However, fearing God's judgment, I was afraid to hide the truth because of the sins of my laziness. And therefore, in response to your strong desire to hear from me, the bad one, a word for your spiritual benefit, I dared to write to you. Of course, in deeds and words I am not as strong as you think, my beloved; and you yourself know both my weakness and my badness. But since you asked not for what will give rest to the flesh, but for what serves to establish peace of mind, that is why I forgot my poverty and foolishness and, remembering your faith and zeal, and zeal for good, I dared to write briefly about what you asked, from the divine rules, and sent it to your love for God... And what are you writing, father, about meeting us, then I am afraid, my lord, that the multitude of my sins will prevent me from enjoying the contemplation of you here or there. If the Lord is pleased here, then let my heart be strengthened by your words... Oh, most honest father! not forgetting your wretched child, be a prayer book to the Lord about my wretchedness, and I beg your reverence to always be one, and do not deny my unworthiness on the path of salvation, Vladyka.”... In his second letter to Paisius, Nil expressed a special desire to see his teacher. “As soon as I see you,” he ended his message, “this will be enough to admonish my evil soul, so that it becomes well-behaved and comes to tenderness. Therefore, with tears I pray to your Christ-like womb, my lord and master, accept the confession of my many-sinful soul and bring it through repentance to Christ the Savior... I cannot, sir, expose the ulcers of my soul to everyone who meets, but I can expose them, holy master, only before you, who healed them before...” But then on one of the clear, quiet sunny days, what Nile so desired happened: Paisius arrived at the monastery. He appeared unexpectedly, around noon. Neil was sitting in his cell reading books when someone knocked. – Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us!.. The sounds of the voice seemed familiar to the Sorsky hermit, but he did not dare to trust the suddenly flashing joyful thought. “Amen, come in, brother,” he said in a trembling voice and turned his gaze to the door, full of expectation. The door opened, and a gray-haired old man stepped over the threshold of the cell, whom Neil immediately recognized as Elder Paisius. True, his hair became much grayer, and he was bent all over, but his eyes looked just as sternly penetrating, and in their depths, behind the expression of severity, extraordinary kindness and gentleness were still visible. And the elders, teacher and student, hugged tightly in friendship after 22 years of separation. After the first greetings, Nil began asking the elder of Spasov how he was here: did he come on purpose, or, perhaps, did chance somehow lead... - From Moscow?! - Neil was surprised, - why did he take such a long journey? “The Grand Duke called and wanted to see me at the metropolis. The Lord forcibly saved me from the great temptation... Neil was even more surprised. He, however, knew about the Grand Duke’s relationship with Paisius; elevation from simple monks directly to metropolitans was also not uncommon for that time, but Nile was so far from the current church and social life that the large and drastic changes that took place there, outside Belozerye, seemed unusually strange to him. “And Gerontius,” he asked Paisius, “did he repose by the will of God?” - No, the Lord was merciful... The point is different... And Paisiy, step by step, began to convey to the Nile what had called him to distant Moscow from Lake Kubenskoye. Back in 1472, Gerontius, who had previously been the bishop of Kolomna, was appointed metropolitan. In the person of the new metropolitan, Moscow acquired a man of strong character, who did not even want to reckon with the Grand Duke in church affairs. True, in the already well-known dispute between the Rostov Archbishop Vassian and the Cyril monks, he should have yielded to the Grand Duke, but he yielded only by submitting to force, and from that time on he harbored in his soul a firm desire to jealously protect the metropolitan power from the princely encroachments. The opportunity for this was not slow to present itself. On August 12 of the same year, 1478, the consecration of the Assumption Cathedral took place in Moscow. And so, some of those who were at the consecration reported to the prince that the metropolitan, walking around the church with a procession of the cross, walked not with the sun, but against it, and thereby committed a great sin. The prince, as a pious man and strictly believed in the inviolability of the once established order, was very angry with the metropolitan and ordered him to tell him that for such deeds the wrath of God comes. At the same time, it was ordered to carry out a strict investigation from the books: how the “divine scriptures” command one to walk when consecrating a church, with salt or against the sun. However, no guidance was found on this issue in the “divine scriptures”. Heated and continuous debates and discussions arose. Everyone, taking the side of this or that opinion, tried to find support for themselves in at least something. The Metropolitan, in proof of the justice of his actions, referred to the fact that when censing the throne, the deacon begins on the right side and, thus, walks against the sun. The majority of the clergy, called upon to judge the metropolitan and the prince in a controversial matter, also took Gerontius’s side. Only Rostov Archbishop Vassian Rylo and Chudov Archimandrite Gennady, feeling and noticing that the prince wanted a different opinion, stood against Gerontius. Having no data at their disposal to defend the justice of their view, they only repeated: “Christ, the righteous Sun, stepped on hell, bound death and freed souls; That’s why they start at Easter, and represent the same thing at Matins.” They did not provide more convincing evidence, and the dispute flared up with new and new force. Some civil affairs of great importance, and especially the invasion of the Tatar Tsar Akhmat, diverted the attention of Grand Duke John Vasilyevich, but three years later, freed from bothersome and urgent worries and affairs, he again raised his old dispute with the Metropolitan. Gerontius, seeing this as pickiness and a desire to annoy him at all costs, left Moscow and went to the Simonov Monastery, taking with him only the sacristy and deliberately leaving the staff in the cathedral. The Metropolitan said to those close to him that he would even leave the metropolis completely if the prince did not humble himself, insist on walking in the sun and did not come to beat Simonov with his forehead. Ivan Vasilyevich knew about all this, but decided for his part not to make concessions. At this time, many new churches were built, but he did not order them to be consecrated until the controversial issue was resolved. Perhaps the prince would have been able to defeat the metropolitan if many had been on his side. But all the priests, monks, laymen, and readers spoke for Gerontius, and for the Grand Duke only the successor of Rostov Archbishop Vassian, Joasaph, and the former Miracle Archimandrite Gennady. John Vasilyevich saw himself abandoned and was forced to make concessions. He first sent his son to the Metropolitan to ask him to return to Moscow. But Gerontius, feeling solid ground beneath him, flatly refused. Then the Grand Duke was forced to go personally to Simonov and there beat the Metropolitan with his forehead. At the same time, John admitted himself guilty of everything and promised to henceforth obey the metropolitan in everything and in no case prevent him from performing religious processions in his own image and discretion. The Metropolitan graciously agreed to the prince's request and returned to Moscow. Now the resentment was hidden in another heart, and the struggle between the prince and the metropolitan did not stop, but only became muted, secretive, ready, of course, to break through at any opportunity. Such an opportunity was not slow to present itself in the person of the aforementioned Gennady, who supported the discord between the two representatives of the highest power and whom Gerontius strongly disliked: he looked deep into the heart of the Miracle archimandrite and there, at the bottom of it, read many things that made him turn away from this clever and cunning man. The evening of the Epiphany of the Lord in 1483 took place on Sunday. Gennady allowed his brothers to drink the Epiphany water after eating. The Metropolitan found out about this and ordered the archimandrite to be seized. He sought patronage and protection from the Grand Duke. But the metropolitan, having appeared in the princely chambers, said to John Vasilyevich: “The Chudovsky archimandrite, disobedient to me, found refuge in your chambers: give him to me: firstly, he acted arbitrarily, without asking me, and secondly, he dishonored the sacred water by ordering him to drink it after eating.” The Grand Duke was forced to give in to the metropolitan this time too, and when he put Gennady in the glacier under his ward, he even asked him to take pity on the culprit. From then on, relations between the Grand Duke and the Metropolitan became especially strained, and soon circumstances tilted in favor of the prince. In the spring of this year, Gerontius became ill and decided to completely leave the metropolis. Taking with him the sacristy and staff, he went to the Simonov Monastery. John Vasilyevich was glad that the bishop, who was unsympathetic to him, himself removed himself from the matter. But Gerontius soon recovered and wanted to return to the metropolis. Then the Grand Duke decided to directly and openly oppose this and called upon Elder Paisius to fulfill his intention. “I arrived in Moscow,” Paisius told Nil, “I’m approaching the princely chambers, and I myself have a persistent thought: why did the sovereign prince call me again? If he wants to send me to the abbess again, his insistence will be unsuccessful... I enter the chambers. The prince speaks so graciously and affectionately. And he gave me an order that was very difficult for my soul: that I go to Simonovo and, in a brotherly way, advise the Metropolitan Father not to return to Moscow. - Well, then, father, did you fulfill this order? “Reluctantly, father, I headed to Simonovo. I tell the metropolitan the sovereign’s words, and he shouts and stomps: “He himself wanted to become a metropolis, he says; That’s why you’re persuading...” Then I was taken aback. He started to deny it, but he still didn’t believe it. “I know,” he says, “this is the Grand Duke’s intention; but only someone who has been appointed by a council of bishops can only be taken away by such a council.”... And he did not listen, he returned to Belokamennaya, and when they took him away from there, he came again, and so on several times... I also returned to the prince and am already waiting for what he will say, and I myself conveyed to him all the words of Gerontius. The Grand Duke did not deny it and told me that he really had and still has a desire to see me at the metropolis instead of Gerontius... Then I directly told him that this would not happen, that I was not able to do such obedience; I’ve had enough of the abbess at the Sergius Monastery... - And what, father, happened to you in Sergiev? I heard something, but everyone is saying something vaguely... - Here's what. I arrived there with the firm intention of directing the monks to God’s path, to prayer, to fasting, to abstinence. But there are not monks there, but the most ardent adherents of this world. I tell them about prayer, and they start singing daring songs in their cells; I’m talking about the fear of God, but they lean towards indecent things and completely forget about God; I constantly tell them about remembering the Holy Scripture, but they laugh at me and don’t even read the rules laid down for them. Well, my soul could not stand it: not with mercy, not with affection—my words began to sound like menacing anger. The brothers did not pay due attention to this either. Moreover, they were going to kill me. I, a great sinner, am not afraid of death for the truth of God; but only from my death there would be nothing for the Sergius monks except sin and heavy punishments. And I left the abbess with Sergius... And when the Grand Duke offered me the metropolis, I pointed him to the abbess: if I couldn’t do anything with the few people there, how could I cope with the entire Russian church, especially now, when people and pastors have completely forgotten their Creator and are only thinking about discord and strife?.. – What about Gerontius? – Neil asked. - Remained at the metropolis. The Sovereign Prince asked me whether it would be better to leave him, and I said, knowing the lord, that this would not cause harm to our fatherland, but only benefit: he is very strong in spirit, and that’s what we need... The elders were silent for a while. “You interrupted me with your question,” Paisius spoke again, “I wanted to finish talking about our discord and strife.” Are they worthy of a Christian, let alone church leaders!.. Meanwhile, look at our whole life: strife and contention alone fill it all. We live far from the world, our lives roll on quietly, peacefully, our souls are warmed by prayers and pious reflections. But as soon as we leave our silent deserts, we immediately enter a place where there is no longer peace joyful for the soul; where even those who should teach people truth and kindness, themselves move away from the truth in everything and become evil... And why, what is the reason for this? It is this question, Father, that now troubles my soul. I have thought and am thinking about it a lot. And it seems to me that the reason is that everything, all life, is directed by people in the wrong direction; and everyone is mistaken in the path of life, in what must be done first of all in life: both princes and rulers... Everyone is drawn to peace and does not believe in Christ, that it is impossible to serve both God and mammon together. People forget this, serve mammon, and hide behind the name of God. That's all, I think. Everything else is sprouts from this root. Our rulers have long since departed from Christ, having loved land possessions, the income from them, honor and power more than God. But there is no need to be instructed by the Holy Scriptures. Then there would be no love for the world, and hearts would soften. Otherwise they talk about evangelical love for each other, but their hearts themselves are full of malice and enmity towards anyone who stands on the road to honor or power or thinks differently than they do... If only Gennady... Paisiy pronounced his last words sternly, with a special reproach in his tone. – What about Gennady, and who is he? Something I haven't heard about him before... “What can I say,” answered Paisius, “he is a man of dignity, reasonable and virtuous, and is pleased with the Divine Scripture, but all this is not for the benefit of Christ’s love... He is very diligent in piety, but does not love people.” But what kind of Christian is there if there is no love for others and no heartfelt disposition in him?.. It is only now that people think that as soon as one is baptized, called a Christian, one is already a Christian. Before God, the all-seeing and all-knowing, this is not so. He knows about a person what is unknown to the person himself. He wants mercy, not sacrifice, and they will understand this, for all people must understand at some point. Only love, one love, one infinite compassion - and a person will be justified before God. And without love for people in the heart, no matter how much a person tries to convince himself and others that he is a Christian and is zealous for Christ, he is still far from the Great Teacher of love and peace... Paisiy was silent. By the expression of his face one could judge the great and difficult struggle that this old man endured in his soul, when a world full of vices and malice opened before his eyes. “It’s hard,” he said again, “so, father, it’s hard that sometimes my eyes rise to grief, and my mind then boldly asks heaven.” “Why are people’s hearts still so drawn to the dirt of the world, why do the wings of their hearts drag along the earth instead of lifting them above the world and carrying them to the mountain, to our real fatherland?”.. The heavens are silent, but the heart does not lose its heaviness... Bowing his head low on his chest, the elder was silent again. Then after a few moments he raised his head; his senile eyes burned with the youthful fire of inspiration, and when he spoke, his voice sounded with conviction and firm hope. – The world must be stopped on its disastrous path. This must happen, because the soul cannot languish for long under the yoke of earth and earthly things. If even the spiritual, even the archpastors have forgotten the heavenly one as our highest purpose, then it means that the time has come to speak fearlessly to all who love the truth of God. To speak in order to save those who have not yet died, who are still looking for the right paths and truth. For if such paths are not shown to them, they will take false ones... And they are already going. I have already heard about this, although others, perhaps, do not see it... Do you remember, father, when you were making your way to the east, I told you that your strength and knowledge would be needed in Rus'. Now this time is coming, and pray to the Almighty that He will grant you the strength to act fully armed with your knowledge and your zeal for the true monastic life... - I don’t know something, father... - Here's what. When I was in Moscow with the Grand Duke, I saw clerk Feodor Kuritsyn there and with him the Archpriest Alexei of the Assumption. They have boldness towards the prince like no other. Conversations are held with him. And in appearance they, and their conversations, are pious. But, Father, through them great misfortune will come, my heart feels. I listened to their speeches, and it seemed to me that there was something Jewish in these speeches... - What are you doing, father? Is Judaism holy in Russia?! - It seemed to me so, it seemed... I was afraid to take a closer look at them: it confused my soul too much... But, Father, my heart feels that some kind of misfortune will come to Russia and that misfortune is from our foolishness and from negligence towards piety... I pray to the Almighty that this cup may pass from us, but may His holy will be done... - And where, father, is this archpriest from? - Neil asked, after thinking a little, - maybe he brought embarrassment from his region... - Well, if from Novgorod, then it will be difficult for the church to come to peace if trouble arises. Novgorodians are freedom-loving people. And if, with their freedom, they were taught the true faith in a Christian way, with great zeal and love, then they would have nothing except diligence in the church. And then they are appointed, even at their insistence, now one or another ruler, but the rulers only want to calm their inquisitive minds with strictness... Who is now on the bishopric in Novgorod? - Well, father, I wanted to tell you, but I forgot. Back on December 12 of last year, the Metropolitan installed Gennady Gonzov there, this is the Chudovsky archimandrite I told you about. Gerontius does not like him. But it just turned out that it was necessary to stop the liberties of the Novgorodians. No matter how hard the Novgorodians tried to install their ruler, they failed... Well, the prince insisted on Gennady, the Metropolitan did not contradict: they think that a strict ruler will be able to calm down the free spirit of the Novgorodians... “It only seems to me,” Paisiy added a little later, “that it is not severity and severity that is needed when people are looking for the truth and do not find it around... The elders talked for a long time about the affairs that were happening in Rus' at that time, and their speeches were sad. The gaze of the great ascetics was fraught with melancholy: their sensitive souls could already see what for their contemporaries was still covered with a soothing fog of ignorance... Let's take a break from the bright personality of the Nile and go back a little. There is hidden the beginning of what was soon to agitate all of holy Rus' and bring to the surface of public life even those who were extremely far from it; – including Nila... On November 8, 1470, Prince Mikhail Olelkovich arrived in Novgorod from Kyiv, which then lay within the borders of the Lithuanian state. As part of his retinue there was a certain Jew named Skaria. This Jew immediately upon his arrival attracted the attention of the best Novgorod people with his erudition and his natural intelligence. According to the modern chronicle, he “was taught every invention of villainy, sorcery and sorcery, astronomy and astrology.” Among those who visited Skhariya, priest Dionysius especially often visited him, and then priest Alexy. Skhariya stopped at these two persons, making them, as it were, his chosen disciples. First to Dionysius, and then to Alexy, he began to convey his teachings. This teaching boiled down to the following: a) the true God is one and has neither the Son nor the Holy Spirit, consubstantial and co-altar with Him, that is, there is no Holy Trinity; b) the true Christ, or the promised Messiah, has not yet come, and when he comes, he will be called the Son of God not by nature, but by grace, like Moses, David and other prophets; c) Christ, in whom Christians believe, is not the Son of God, but a simple man who was crucified by the Jews, died and decayed in the tomb; d) therefore, it must contain the Jewish faith as true, given by God Himself, and reject the Christian faith as false, given by man. Soon two more Jews arrived in Novgorod from Lithuania: Joseph Shmoilo-Skaryavey and Moses Hanush. They joined Sharia and together with him convinced the ministers of the church to join their teachings. Dionysius and Alexy, shaken by the reasoning and arguments that the Jews gave to justify their teaching, joined it, and so much so that they taught their wives and children to be Jews. The jealousy of Dionysius and Alexy extended to the point that they even wanted to be circumcised. But Skhariya and his comrades forbade them to do this. “So you can easily be exposed by your fellow believers,” they told them, “but it’s better to keep Christianity in appearance, but in reality Judaism.” Thus began a new heresy in Novgorod, which was later called the heresy of the Judaizers. People of various ranks and positions quickly began to join her. Alexy taught heresy to his son-in-law Ivan Maximov, his father priest Maxim, as well as many other priests, deacons and commoners. Dionysius did not lag behind his friend in zeal for the new teaching: thus, among other things, he seduced the archpriest from St. Sophia Gabriel. Since people from different classes entered the new heresy, they treated it differently. Uneducated, simple people, having rejected Christ, accepted Judaism itself. The educated did not accept him entirely, but only assimilated all his views on Christianity, therefore rejected all Christian dogmas and institutions, saying that the Mother of Jesus Christ is not the Mother of God; that there is no need to honor either Her or all Christian saints in general; one should not honor their very images, or icons, nor crosses, nor other sacred objects; should not respect Christian scriptures, neither apostolic nor patristic; one must not respect any Christian institutions, such as sacraments, fasts, holidays, monasticism, etc. - in a word, one must reject everything that is actually Christian and contrary to Judaism. Despite the fact that such a teaching was too clearly inclined towards pure Judaism, its followers nevertheless knew how to hide under the guise of Christians and organize their meetings in secret. They settled for the most part in the house of Alexy, whom they renamed Abraham; his wife was named Sarah. Having gathered together, the Judaizers either sought evidence of the truth of Jewish teaching and the falsity of Christian teaching, or performed rituals and institutions of Judaism, or simply mocked Christianity in their speeches and actions. Dispersing from the meetings, the Judaizers swore an oath to each other that they would not give other Novgorodians any reason to suspect themselves of any deviation from their father’s teachings. And indeed, no one could even imagine that the very priest who apparently celebrates the liturgy with reverence had, just the day before, mocked its very establishment!.. So several years passed, and no one knew about the existence of a new heresy in Novgorod except those who belonged to it. In 1480, Grand Duke John Vasilyevich visited Novgorod. Alexy and Dionysius, who talked with the prince, pleased him so much that he transferred them to Moscow. Here Alexy was made archpriest of the Assumption, and Dionysius entered the Archangel Cathedral as a priest. On the eve of their departure from Novgorod, both leaders of the heresy gathered their like-minded people and consulted with them about what course of action to follow in the future. Everyone came to the conclusion that the transfer of Alexy and Dionysius to Moscow was extremely convenient for the purpose of spreading the new teaching and that they only needed to act as carefully as possible. Alexy and Dionysius actually did just that. Arriving in Moscow, they appeared to be holy, meek, abstinent, and secretly spread their teaching, and so successfully that some were even circumcised. Among the others attracted to the heresy, the more significant were: Archimandrite Zosima, the monk Zacharias, the crusade sextons Istoma and Sverchok, but especially the sexton Fyodor Kuritsyn. Kuritsyn was the right hand of the prince, who obeyed him in everything. To make Kuritsyn a follower of the heresy meant to give her access to the princely court and generally gain the favor of the prince. Indeed, soon even the daughter-in-law of the Grand Duke Elena was among the Judaizers, and the leaders of the heresy enjoyed an invariably favorable attitude on the part of the prince: John, and with him everyone at that time, knew nothing about the existence of the new heresy and did nothing to destroy it. Gennady was the first to learn about its existence around 1487. One day, two followers of heresy, being drunk, began to reproach each other for belonging to a secret teaching. They were captured and brought to Gennady. The archbishop, having questioned the detainees, immediately informed the metropolitan and the grand duke that heresy existed in Novgorod. The prince and the metropolitan ordered him not to allow the spread of heresy and immediately made a strict search. The search yielded great results: one of the detainees, priest Naum, confessed everything to the bishop, named the names of all those professing the new teaching and even brought those psalms according to which the Judaizers conducted services. Gennady ordered to take all the Judaizers who were in Novgorod and give them bail. Some of those given bail fled, however, to Moscow. Then the Novgorod ruler sent a detailed report to Moscow about everything that happened. At first, Moscow did not give progress to the matter, and in general there was a clear inattention to the new heresy. But this only fueled Gennady’s zeal. At the end of 1487, he wrote to Bishop Prokhor of Sarya, who lived in Moscow on Krutitsy, a message in which, outlining the circumstances of the case, he asked to somehow speed it up. Then, in January of the following year, he addressed the same to the Suzdal Bishop Nifont and the Perm Philotheus, who had just arrived in Moscow. This time Gennady's efforts were crowned with success. The case was soon examined, and the Grand Duke subjected the perpetrators to commercial execution, universal punishment. The Novgorod ruler was informed about all this, and at the same time was given instructions to zealously continue the investigation of the heretics, and those who repented should be subjected to church penance, and those who did not show repentance should be handed over for trade execution to two boyars, Yakov and Yuri Zakharyevich, specially appointed for this matter. Who can imagine Gennadia's joy. Having received favorable information from Moscow, he decided that there, just like himself, they were passionate about the fight against heretics. And he set to work with renewed zeal. He condemned all the repentant heretics to church penance, and handed over those who did not repent and continued to follow Judaism to the Yuryevichs for trade execution. Thinking that Moscow was awaiting the end of the search with impatient trepidation, he hastily sent the entire case to the Metropolitan and Grand Duke, simultaneously informing the archbishops and bishops who were in Moscow about the same. Meanwhile, Moscow did not respond immediately. Gennady waited, but there was still no answer to his notice about the heretics. The Novgorod ruler began to worry, and his thoughts no longer left the matter of the heretics. Whatever he did, whatever he spoke or wrote about, there was always, as a necessary addition, a mention or thought about heretics. At the same time, Gennady could not calmly listen to any kind words about the Judaizers. In such cases, he lost his temper, started banging his staff and shouting at his interlocutor. Feeling that against the Judaizers, who put forward evidence of reason in defense of their teaching, it was impossible to do without the same weapons, Gennady looked everywhere for people knowledgeable and experienced in spiritual life who would help him in the raised struggle. The same considerations prompted his message to the Rostov Archbishop Joseph of February 25, 1489. “I found here Novgorod heretics Judaizing,” Gennady wrote in this message after the usual greetings, “they are subject to the curse pronounced on the Marcionite and Messalian heretics. Ask - and everyone says: I am an Orthodox Christian, and I have locked myself in a bad business. No, there is not only Judaism in them, but it is mixed with the heresy of the Messalians, which you will find in your rules. This was revealed to me by priest Naum...” Then Gennady, having conveyed all the circumstances of the case, continued: “no matter what the Messalian errors are, they all accept, they only deceive people with the Jewish decalogue, presenting themselves as pious.”... Then Gennady moved on to the true purpose of his message: he asked Joasaph to send to him for a conversation about the heretics the elders Paisius Yaroslavov and Nil Sorsky, who were in their place Both monasteries were subordinated to the Rostov archbishop. In addition, the Novgorod ruler also asked for books useful in the fight against the Judaizers, and mentioned the Easter number of years. The latter was also important at that time. At that time, both in Greece and in Russia, there was a widespread opinion that with the end of the seventh thousand years from the creation of the world, the world should end and the Last Judgment would begin. The end of the seventh thousand fell in 1492, that is, it should have come in three years. Until the same year, 1492, our church Easter celebration was completed and was not continued further. Meanwhile, the fateful year was very close, and the Judaizers had already begun to mock their close Orthodox Christians, saying: “Seven thousand years are ending, and your Easter is passing: why, contrary to your expectations, are there no signs? This means that the writings of both your apostles and your fathers, who proclaimed the glorious coming of Christ after seven thousand years, are false.” The Orthodox were embarrassed. And so, it was necessary to calm them down and generally explain the mistake that was here. This, by the way, was the subject of concern for the Novgorod ruler. Gennady knocked his staff on the floor of his cell and shouted, but elders Paisios and Nil were still calm and looked directly and clearly into the eyes of the angry archpastor. “Forgive me, lord,” said Paisiy, “you told us to tell you everything according to the command of our conscience.” We have carried out your order. - Burn them, hang them! - Gennady shouted without stopping, - and you, honest fathers, should not stand up for heretics! I thought you were defenders, champions of Orthodoxy, but you brought obedience to it from your deserts!.. “That’s not it, sir,” Neal remarked quietly, “not that at all.” You don’t listen to us, you keep getting angry, but you don’t want to think about what we say... - And I’ve already listened enough... “And I have the impudent intention to once again tell you what my soul tells me to say.” From what happened and is happening in Novgorod, every Christian heart will be filled with sorrow, but who, after deep reflection, will decide to blame only those unfortunates who are now, out of their own foolishness, Judaizing? Skhariya came here and won minds, but why did he win? Because no one ever taught them the Christian teaching, no one taught them that it is the truest. The enemy came and sowed tares, because the place for the tares was free and no wheat grew on it. We, appointed by God to lead human souls to Him and enlighten them, are the true culprit of everything... This is what my conscience says, although all this is not to your heart, sir... And then: “Burn and hang” you say. And here my God-given conscience tells me something else. Human life is God's gift, and no one is free to take it away from a person except God Himself. And is punishment, even if not death, the only thing in relation to those who are mistaken? We must not burn or hang, but admonish and lead to repentance... At the last words, Gennady could not stand it and, muttering something with an angry look, quickly walked out of the cell, showing by this that he no longer wanted to talk with the elders... The elders looked at each other with deep sadness and, not understood, left their cells to return to their silent deserts... After meeting with the elders, Gennady could not calm down for a long time, especially since sad news came from Moscow. There, heretics not only enjoyed complete freedom, but at the same time their leaders, who had holy orders, served in churches without restrictions and at the same time openly mocked Orthodoxy. Hearing about such relief for the Judaizers, their like-minded people fled to Moscow from Novgorod. Thus, Moscow, instead of caring about the purity and protection of Orthodoxy, itself became a hotbed of heresy. Gennady also learned why the prince was so merciful to heretics: they had a strong support at court - the right hand of the Grand Duke, clerk Feodor Kuritsyn, who had recently returned from the embassy to Hungary. The Emperor somehow recognized the religious thoughts of his favorite, but was so disposed towards him that he looked condescendingly at his wrong-headedness. Kuritsyn used all measures to prevent Gennady’s successful fight against the heretics. The ruler of Novgorod was not only not informed from Moscow about what measures would be taken against heretics, but they even stopped inviting him to council meetings, despite the fact that in his messages to the prince he never forgot to mention his desire to attend such meetings... In the same year 1489, Metropolitan Gerontius died. Gennady, hearing about his death, rejoiced in spirit. True, he respected the late bishop as a zealous defender of the truth of the faith of Christ, but still knew that Gerontius, not loving him, was reluctant to take up the cause he had raised. And so, Gennady began to firmly hope that with the choice of a new metropolitan, the persecution of heresy would be more successful. At the same time, expecting that this time he would certainly be called to Moscow, he wanted to personally petition the Grand Duke for the merciless extermination of heresy. Imagine his disappointment when the order came from the Grand Duke to stay in Novgorod for the sake of “great deeds”, and to send only his free letter to Moscow for the election of a metropolitan! Reluctantly, Gennady sent his letter of freedom, not suspecting that by doing so he was promoting heresy. Meanwhile, the complete triumph of the heretics in Moscow was being prepared. Anticipating the imminent death of Gerontius, Kuritsyn and his like-minded people decided to appoint their own candidate to the metropolitan see. Archpriest Alexy had died shortly before, but while dying, he advised the Grand Duke to appoint Simon's Archimandrite Zosima as successor to Gerontius. John Vasilyevich obeyed and chose Zosima, not knowing that this man not only led a secret, shameful life, but was also an ardent adherent of Judaism. Through the machinations of Kuritsyn, Gennady was excluded from the elections, and in September 1490, the bishops who had gathered in Moscow elected Zosima as metropolitan, knowing that this was what the “sovereign” wanted, as they called the Grand Duke. As soon as Zosima was installed as metropolitan, he immediately demanded a confession of faith from the Novgorod ruler, as if doubting his Orthodoxy. At the same time, Gennady received a demand from the prince and metropolitan to send a letter of freedom for the election of a new ruler of Kolomna. The demand for confession surprised Gennady beyond words. Greatly perplexed, but still not realizing everything that had happened, he wrote to the Metropolitan that he had presented his confession to Gerontius when he was ordained a bishop, and from that time on he had not changed his beliefs. As for the election of the Kolomna ruler, he does not dare to send a letter of freedom, fearing that the choice might accidentally fall on a person close to the heresy of the Judaizers. At the same time, not suspecting Zosima’s heresy, he begged him to help the success of his cause, appoint a council to examine it and condemn the heresy there. “And, sir, this trouble began,” he wrote, “since Kuritsyn arrived from the Ugric land and heretics fled from here to Moscow; and in the original it is written that Archpriest Alexy, Istoma, Sverchok, and Father Denis came to Kuritsyn, and other heretics; Yes, he is their boss, but he has no concern for the state’s honor.” Next, Gennady tried in every possible way to convince the metropolitan to take up the matter. “It’s true, you know it yourself, our lord father,” he said in apology for his persistence, “but it would be better for us and our brethren, the archbishops and bishops, to remind you of this. Stand firm about this, our father, and we are your children with God and with you. For even without that, the matter dragged on for a long time: three years have passed, the fourth has come... If you, our lord, do not thoroughly search for those heretics and do not order them to be executed and damned, then what kind of rulers will we be, and what will our shepherding be? There are great things to do here, but there’s nothing else to do.”... Knowing that the bishops who installed the metropolitan were still in Moscow, Gennady wrote a letter to them, and in this letter he extremely urgently demanded assistance in convening a council to consider the case of heretics and at the same time openly proposed a cruel punishment: execution, burning, hanging. “Don’t make a mistake,” Gennady added, as if fearing that the hearts of Christian bishops would become accessible to a sense of mercy, “stand strong so that anger does not come to us, lest we become men-pleasers and sell Christ with Judas.” After these persistent demands of the Novgorod ruler to convene a council, the heretics saw that they could not completely save themselves, especially since the Grand Duke, along with the majority of the clergy, began to lean in favor of Gennady’s arguments. And so, Kuritsyn, Zosima, and after them other leaders of the Judaizers, decided not to oppose the convening of the council, but only to somehow remove Gennady from the presence of it. They succeeded in the latter: this time the “sovereign” succumbed to Kuritsyn’s persuasion, but only ordered that Paisiy Yaroslavov and Nil Sorsky, whose names then evoked involuntary respect in everyone, be present at the council. And so, on October 17, 1490, a council against heretics took place. In addition to the sovereign, metropolitan and bishops, there were many monastery abbots, priests and elders. Among the Judaizers there were: the monk Zachariah, the archpriest of Novgorod Gabriel, the priest of Arkhangelsk Dionysius, the priest of Ivanovo Maxim, the priest of Pokrovsky Vasily, the deacon Nikolsky Macarius, the deacon of Borisoglebsk Gridya, the deacon of Nikolsky Samukha, Vasyuk, son-in-law Dionisiev, and some others. A number of accusations were read against the heretics. These accusations were so serious that those present were inflamed with strong indignation, and a word of cruel condemnation, condemnation of what Gennady proposed, was ready to come out of numerous lips, but at that time the quiet, soulful voice of the Sorsky hermit was heard. “Fathers and brothers,” he began, “before your great, decisive word is heard, listen to me, a great sinner... And in a mournful voice he painted a picture of life at that time, when the Living God was hidden from people, kept in the darkness of prejudices and superstitions, and thereby pushed living souls seeking God into the arms of delusions and heresies... The quiet, mournful sounds of the speech of the well-respected Sorsky hermit reigned imperiously in the ensuing general silence. Not a single word of objection interrupted the speech of the great elder. And when he finished, Paisiy stood up and repeated the words of his gray-haired student... Zosima, who at the beginning of the council meeting was greatly frightened by the hostile mood towards heretics that reigned among those gathered - and for some time even feared for himself - now, after the speeches of Nil and Paisius, he felt firmly and confident again. But the Bishop of Rostov and others continued, however, to insist on the most severe execution of heretics - burning alive. The Grand Duke turned to the Metropolitan: – What do you think, holy master? Zosima was just waiting for this. “I think, great sovereign and honorable fathers,” Zosima said in a feignedly humble and mournful voice, “that they are worthy of our curse and exile to Novgorod for custody.” And as for their death, I, a great sinner, think together with the honorable elders of Belozersk: we were appointed by God not to put sinners to death, but to turn them to repentance. The Grand Duke, already disposed to this opinion by the speeches of Nil and Paisius, agreed to the conclusion of Zosima, and the decision of the council took place. The convicted heretics were solemnly cursed, defrocked and decided to partly place them in various monasteries for life imprisonment, and partly to exile them to the Novgorod borders, to be punished by the local archbishop, but not to burn any of them. When Gennady learned about the conciliar decision, he hurled thunder and lightning. He considered Nil and Paisius to be the culprits for such a merciful outcome of the terrible trial. Failure, however, did not break his stubborn decision to eradicate heresy sooner or later, and now, deeply concealing his feelings for the time being, he decided to at least severely punish the heretics placed at his disposal. He ordered all the convicts to be placed forty miles before Novgorod on horseback, facing their tails, to be put on special birch bark caps with combs and to have the inscriptions pasted on them: “Behold, Satan’s army.” Those who met them spat on the heretics and said: “Behold, these are enemies of God and Christian blasphemers.” And so, in this form, the Judaizers were led through the streets of Novgorod to everyone’s ridicule, and then the jester’s caps were burned on their heads. Having exposed the heretics to such public disgrace, Gennady decided to wait further, firmly deciding not to miss a single favorable opportunity to fight heresy. He felt, however, that he was alone in this struggle, and that it exceeded his strength... And so, while Gennady thought that he was helpless in a difficult struggle, fate sent him an energetic assistant in the person of a man whom history has called a rival and even an adversary of Nil Sorsky in his views on the tasks of monasticism and its place in social and state life. This man was Joseph, famous in the history of the time described, the abbot of the Volokolamsk monastery subordinate to Gennady. Let us dwell on this remarkable, albeit extremely peculiar, personality. “Joseph, whose last name was Sanin, was born around 1440. He was the grandson of a Lithuanian immigrant and the son of a patrimonial owner of the village of Yazvische. Having been sent to the Vozdvizhensky Monastery to study literacy in the eighth year of his life, he early felt the desire for monastic life and took monastic vows at the age of twenty at the monastery of Paphnutius Borovsky. For Joseph, his eighteen-year stay in this monastery, which was famous for its improvement and had as abbot the Monk Paphnutius, who was distinguished by his special affection for the Moscow princes, could not but have important educational significance. After the death of Paphnutius in 1477, the abbot of the Borovsk monastery, at the request of Grand Duke John III and the election of the brethren, was offered to Joseph. Having aroused the dissatisfaction of the brethren with his strictness and, for this reason, refusing to be abbess, he traveled for about a year to Russian monasteries in order to find a way of life that would correspond to the ideal he had developed. Unsatisfied, in 1479 he founded a monastery near the city of Volokolamsk, which soon became famous and began to attract numerous donations. Taking care of the possible church splendor and external decoration of the monastery, Joseph tried to introduce strict internal order in it, and he himself drew up the cenobitic monastery charter... According to this charter, the main virtue of a monk should be unconditional obedience to the abbot, who had unlimited power over him; The life of a monk was regulated to the smallest detail, right down to designating a special place in the church for each monk and designating the doors through which he had to enter and exit. The monks were divided into three classes, differing in their occupation, clothing and food. The side of the monk’s internal spiritual development was rather poorly developed in Joseph’s Rule...” What has been said is quite enough to understand what a sharp boundary lay between the directions of Joseph of Volotsky and Nil of Sorsky, and to reliably assume that these directions will sooner or later collide with each other. This is what actually happened later... The Volokolamsk monastery was located in the diocese of Gennady, and the Novgorod ruler often had the opportunity to see closely the activities of the Volokolamsk abbot. And for this activity he sincerely loved and respected Joseph, often communicated with him, and finally subordinated to him all the churches of the Volokolamsk region and the church court in it, as well as the collection of church revenues. He also did not leave him with material help. When failures began to befall Gennady one after another in the fight against the Judaizers, he, knowing Joseph’s mind and his way of thinking on this issue, decided to rely on him as his reliable assistant and nominate him as, so to speak, a skirmisher in this fight. Gennady summoned the Volotsk abbot, explained to him the state of affairs in detail, pointed to the Nile as a particularly serious force in the struggle, and blessed his “lowest novice” for it. This was around 1493. The “lowest novice” brilliantly fulfilled the assignment entrusted to him, which could not have coincided more closely with his secret intentions, and soon in the fight against the Judaizers he was so successful that from a “skirmisher” he turned into the foremost and main fighter. The life of the Sorsky hermit and the brethren who lived under his leadership flowed quietly and peacefully. True, the call to Novgorod, participation in the cathedral and then two or three trips to Moscow on the call of the Grand Duke, who wanted to talk with the hermit of Sor about his household affairs, distracted Neil from that quiet, measured life full of deep pious moods that he loved - but each time, returning to the shores of the quiet Sorka, he soon forgot about the restless external world and retreated back into himself, into his own life. thoughts, into the “test of the divine scriptures.” From morning to evening Neil sat over books that had turned yellow with age and kept searching for their true appearance and true meaning. Often his head began to shake disapprovingly, his eyes peered more intently into the book, and then notes like this would appear in its margins: “It’s wrong from here in the lists” or: “If the most famous of this is found in another translation (original), there let it be read...” Months and years passed one after another on the banks of Sorka, passed quietly, silently, imperceptible in appearance and at the same time deep in the content with which the life of the Sorka hermits was full... The further the years went by, the more Neil felt his approaching old age, and behind it his death. Anticipating it, he wanted to leave to his students a complete presentation of his instructions on spiritual Christian and, in particular, monastic life - and the famous work of Nil Sorsky appeared in the light of God: his extensive “Charter”. This is a work remarkable for its deep understanding of the innermost secrets and thoughts of the human soul. From beginning to end, it is filled with thoughts that are the result of long-term thoughtfulness, rich in the inner experience of life. At the same time, as strong supports for these thoughts, everywhere in the “Charter” we find instructions from the word of God and famous ascetics on this or that occasion. It is enough to give a brief list of the contents of this extensive work to see how much instructive there is in it. Here is the content of the “Charter”: preface, eleven chapters of instructions and an afterword; preface about mental activity, chapter 1 about the difference in mental warfare, 2nd about the fight against thoughts, 3rd about how to strengthen yourself in feats against thoughts, 4th about the content of the entire feat, 5th about eight thoughts (gluttony, fornication, love of money, anger, sadness, despondency, vanity and pride), 6th about the struggle with each of them, the 7th on the importance of remembering death and judgment, the 8th on death for the world, the 9th on preserving oneself, the 1st on the complete cutting off of everyday worries, the 11th on the fact that everything must be done in due time. In all his instructions, Neil, as his main idea, emphasizes that the most important thing is the innermost, spiritual life and in connection with this “smart doing”, “smart (that is, internal) prayer.” “Mental prayer,” says Neil, “is higher than physical prayer; bodily work is a leaf, and internal, mental work is the fruit.” “Smart doing” is, first of all, an internal struggle against bad thoughts, of which the Nile, as we mentioned, numbers eight. Speaking about this struggle with thoughts, Neil reveals a remarkably attentive and subtle acquaintance with the deepest, most elusive states of the soul for the rough eye; he shows extremely clearly and correctly how the thought of a sinless person passes to a more and more sinful state. Every thought, says Neil, enters the soul unnoticed, and he calls this “addiction.” First, a person stops over a bad thought - this is a “combination”; then leans in favor of it - this is “addition”. Next, the thought takes possession of the soul - this state is called “captivity” by the Nile. Finally, a person completely and for a long time indulges in an evil thought - this is already “passion,” that is, a state of complete surrender to sin. In these different states of soul, a monk must wage an internal spiritual struggle with himself, trying to nip the influence of evil plans in their very bud. And monks should be all the more zealous for this, since victories over thoughts lead to the highest, blissful, calm state, in which the soul no longer has either movement or autocracy, but is united with God and instructed by Him. In his “Charter,” Neil often cites the opinions of the church fathers, but more often than others, Gregory the Sinaite and Simeon the New Theologian. About the first, he says in one place: “Behold, this blessed one, the father of all spiritual people, following their order, commands us to diligently take care of prayer.” In the “afterword” to the “Charter”, Neil, as it were, turns to all his extensive work and says: “All this, with the help of God, I, foolish, according to the poverty of my mind, wrote as a keepsake for myself and those like me, who are still among those taught, if they wish to take advantage of it. I did not write on my own, as I said at the beginning of these writings, but I borrowed everything from the inspired writings of the holy fathers, enlightened by reason. Everything that is written here is confirmed by the testimony of the Divine Scriptures. And if there is anything here, due to my foolishness, that is displeasing to God and unprofitable for the soul, I pray that this does not happen, but may God’s will be done in everything, perfect and gracious, and I ask for forgiveness. If anyone knows more and more usefully about all of the above, let him do so, and we will rejoice in this. If anyone gains benefit from this, let him pray for me, a sinner, so that I may receive mercy before God.” When the “Charter” was completed, Neil read it to the brethren, and then the list was solemnly placed in the church for reading and an eternal reminder to the present and future brethren... Once again, the life of the Sor hermits flowed quietly, measuredly and calmly. Rising and setting, the sun constantly illuminated one unchanging holy picture: the monks prayed and worked, worked and prayed... Meanwhile, at this time, in Moscow, far from the shores of Sorsk, life went on as usual, talkative, noisy, restless, full of base human struggle and anger. Joseph, who actively began to fight heresy, wrote sixteen passionate polemical words against the Judaizers, which were later combined into one book under the name of “The Enlightener.” Thanks to these messages, Metropolitan Zosima was suspected of heresy and openly exposed in a dissolute life, who, fearing the possibility of a terrible court verdict, retired on May 17, 1494. However, with his departure the heresy was not yet destroyed; the heretics even gained greater power. This happened because the party of the wife of the heir to the throne, John the Younger, and her son Demetrius, who sympathized with the heresy, gained an advantage at the court. This party was energetically supported by Kuritsyn and his brother, then by the boyars Ryapolovsky, Patrikeev and other adherents of heresy. But in 1499, another party came into favor with the aging Grand Duke - Grand Duchess Sophia and her son Vasily. Elena and her son were imprisoned, and some of her supporters were executed, and some were tonsured against their will. Judaism lost its support, and cruel persecution began against it. The wave of this rapid change of circumstances also reached the Sorskaya desert. In the same 1499, at the insistence of Sophia, one of the most hated boyars, Prince Vasily Patrikeev, was tonsured a monk with the name Vassian and settled in the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. Having been tonsured against his will, he was tormented by the “outgoing thoughts of his former worldly life” and could not find peace within the walls of the monastery. Having become accustomed to free opinion and speech, he could not come to terms with the severity of the cenobitic regulations of the Cyril Monastery. Moreover, he was a resolute opponent of monastic wealth, and therefore his stay in the Cyril monastery, which at that time had already deviated far from the covenant of non-covetousness, became even more painful. And one of the monks once advised him to visit Sorka near the Nile. Vassian went to the hermit - and from then on became his most zealous student. Neil himself sincerely became attached to Patrikeev: he liked his feverish, tireless search for truth and, in particular, his attitude towards the issue of monastic possessions. The Sorsky hermit instilled in his high-ranking student a love for working on the “divine scriptures,” and now the teacher and student sat together for a long time over the sacred books, pausing with love especially over those places that clearly prohibited those who had departed from the world from owning land and slaves. For the ardent Vassian, this conviction soon became the most important among his other convictions, and he himself did not notice how everything he did now boiled down to a protest against the monastic property. The former boyar, yearning for a hot, noisy life, followed its course in Moscow. Three years after his arrival in Kirillov, he conveyed news from Moscow to his teacher: there was a council there, and heresy was cruelly condemned... Once again summer, autumn, winter changed. The year 1503, famous in the life of the Nile, has arrived. One early summer day, Vassian came to the ascetic, unusually excited and determined. - Father, I bring you great news. “The Grand Duke is convening a great council in Moscow and has ordered that you, Father, all our elders, Elder Paisius, be called to it... “I’m getting old,” Neil quietly remarked, “and these councils are not pleasing to God: it would be better if we prayed and thought about our souls, otherwise they will get together, start arguing, offend each other, annoy each other... “Father, I didn’t say why the council was going on.” Maybe you were too hasty in refusing... The Grand Duke is collecting it all for the sake of those same people called heretics in Moscow. He wants to completely shelter our hierarchy from their obedience and ridicule. Do you know, father, why are the supposed Judaizers blaspheming our hierarchy?.. The priests, they say, and indeed they are, were appointed for a reward; the bishops also at other times make great promises to the Metropolitan Bishop. And then the priests and deacons, especially widows, lead a drunken and shameful life, accept offerings from Christians, make exactions, and the monks do not lag behind them, collecting large estates for themselves... And so, the prince wants either to remove the slander from the church, if it is slander, or to consult with the cathedral on how to correct this... Now, I think, it has become clear to you why I am for great joy I appreciate this news.. Nile, looking into the distant, clear sky, was thinking about something, but he heard Vassian’s words and responded to them with a slight nod of his head. “Father,” Vassian exclaimed, without waiting for the elder’s answer, “God Himself commands you to go to the call of the sovereign.” There, in the face of the entire Russian Church, you will point out the serious ulcer of our monasticism, there you will publicly declare that the great evil of our life is not where they think, but in our inclination towards the world... Father, I will certainly go too. I will fall at the feet of the sovereign and, groaning, I will beg to take the villages away from the monasteries... Neil stopped his student with a slight movement of his hand. The old man's eyes glowed with inspiration and some kind of simple childish humility, his voice sounded solemn. “God’s will be done,” he said, “I will fulfill the command of my sovereign... And soon Nil, with Paisius, Vassian and other elders, went to Moscow for a council, which in the memory of posterity glorified the famous ascetic as a decisive and energetic opponent of monastic wealth. The cathedral opened in the grand ducal chambers with a large number of people gathered. In addition to the new Metropolitan Simon, who presided at the council, there were: Grand Duke John Vasilyevich and his son-co-ruler Vasily, Bishop Gennady of Novgorod, six other bishops and many lower clergy, including, in addition to the Belozersk elders, Joseph Volotsky and the rector of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery Serapion. From the very beginning, Joseph began to talk to Nile, obviously trying to get to know the soul and way of thinking of the great old man. Neil answered quietly, thoughtfully, calmly, but directly and truthfully. His speeches, apparently, were not to the heart of the Volotsk abbot: he walked away gloomily from the elder and no longer tried to speak to him... Council meetings dragged on; and, although they began at the beginning of August, their end could not be expected soon. There were few issues that were subject to conciliar consideration, but all these issues were very important for the pacification of the life of that time and at the same time painful, since they affected the interests of many of those present. The first question posed at the council was whether fees should be charged for the installation of sacred degrees, which was then practiced on a very wide scale. Those gathered, guided by the rules of St. apostles (right 29) and St. councils (IV ecumenical, right. 2; VI ecumenical, right. 22), decided: “From now on, we, the saints: me, the metropolitan, and we, archbishops and bishops, and our successors - from the installation of archbishops and bishops, archimandrites and abbots, priests and deacons, and from the entire priestly rank, do not take anything from anyone and do not accept any wakes; also, the printer does not take anything from the seal and the clerks from the signature; and all our tax collectors, my metropolitans and our archbishops and bishops, will not take any taxes; Also, we, saints, do not take anything from archimandrites, abbots, priests and deacons from sacred places and from the church, but supply each one without bribe and without any gift and release him in his place.” The age of those appointed to the sacred degrees was also determined. The decision on these issues took place on August 6th. Then the council had to speak out one way or another about the shameful behavior of widowed priests and the white and then black clergy in general. This question raised a whole storm, and its resolution dragged on for a long time. Finally, only at the end of September a conciliar decision was made, according to which, first of all, widowed priests and deacons were prohibited from serving in the future, which immediately provoked a sharp and quite fair rebuke from one of the widowed Rostov priests, Georgy Skripitsa. Regarding the monastics at the council, many extremely shameful facts were cited, and it was firmly established that many of them led a drunken life, and then in some monasteries, to the general temptation, monks and nuns lived together or, at least, abbots and hieromonks served in women's monasteries and performed the duties of confessors. The council decided: “From now on, monks and monks will not live in the same monastery, and in which monastery monks begin to live, they will serve the abbot there, and monks will not live; If in any monastery the monks begin to live, they will serve the priests of the Balti people, and the monks will not live.” Neil sat thoughtful and sad at all meetings. The sorrow that was always visible in his eyes shone deeper and deeper as more and more unsightly aspects of the monks’ lives were revealed at the council. The impatient Vassian repeatedly approached his teacher. “Father, it’s time to tell the sovereign about our request, to present our case before the holy council... “It will happen, my son,” Nil answered quietly, barely audible, “let the high priests decide what requires urgent permission.” Vassian, apparently upset, walked away with displeasure. But in the evening, after the meeting that decided the issue of widow priests and deacons, he ran to Nile, all alarmed and pale... – What’s wrong with you, my son?.. - Father, you put off all our work, and now what has happened: the fathers, tired of all the cathedral affairs, are blessed by the Metropolitan and leave... So Joseph has already left... And tomorrow the Sovereign ordered there to be a last, farewell meeting... What should we do now?! Vassian's voice was full of horror. “Calm down, my son,” Neal remarked quietly, affectionately, “tomorrow we will announce everything to the sovereign and the entire cathedral.” Notify our elders about this... The next day, indeed, a solemn farewell meeting was scheduled. When everyone sat down, from the grand ducal place where the princes father and son were sitting, John’s firm, sonorous voice was heard: - Most honorable archpastors, fathers and brothers! For the sake of great church and state needs, we have called you to our capital city for a great council. Now we have decided on all the matters we need and therefore, having been blessed by our most honorable father, the Metropolitan, we will give praise to the Lord God for His all-merciful assistance to us and we will each go to our own cities and towns, to monasteries and deserts... At that moment, Nil, Paisius, Vassian and all the Belozersk elders, who were sitting next to each other, all stood up at once, approached the throne, and all, as one, fell to the ground. Amazed John rushed to raise the elders. - What do you, honorable elders, want from me? - he asked extremely affectionately, since of all the clergy he respected the Belozersk elders most of all for their way of life. “Sovereign,” he began, “when we all sat here and listened to what they were doing and how those who called themselves monks lived, our hearts bled. We did not recognize in them those who should be like a burning lamp high in the darkness... But all this comes from one thing - from the monks’ unceasing love for the world, and especially for its material goods, for estates and villages. The monks take a vow of non-covetousness and renounce the world, but their estates again draw them into the world, force them to pray with worldly people, and through this all sorts of sins and temptations occur: the monks are idle and happy with the villages, so sin has something to start with... And so, great sovereign, we, as a father and master, beg you: take away the villages and estates from the monasteries, force the monks to live in the deserts and feed not from estates, but from one’s own labors, one’s handicrafts... This will be of great benefit to all Russian monasticism, for the very root of all evil will be removed... So command, sir... With these words, Nile fell to the ground, followed by all the Belozersk elders. John, who had a half-hidden smile of pleasure playing on his lips during Nile’s speech, rushed to raise the elder and then, turning to the rest of the members of the cathedral, asked: – What do you think, fathers and brothers? Gennady and Serapion rushed to the prince, whose faces showed unconcealed indignation from the very beginning of Nile’s speech. “It’s absolutely impossible, Sovereign,” Gennady said quickly and then, unable to contain his anger, he sharply turned to Nile: “You, father, are still disturbing the Orthodox and committing arbitrary acts: the Judaizers found protection in you, but now you want to destroy the Orthodox monks... You took advantage of the fact that the venerable Father Joseph is not with us... “And you, dog,” he rushed to Vassian, “they saved you from the fire in vain... Meanwhile, Serapion reprimanded Paisius, remembering him and Sergius’s abbess... But John, in a sharp and authoritative voice, demanded an end to the outrage. Then, turning to the cathedral, he said: - Most honorable archpastors, fathers and brothers! I thought that we had finished our business, but it didn’t turn out that way. Well, the question proposed by the venerable Elder Nil is of great importance, and it must be resolved soon... I myself am very tired, so you, Vladyka, - he turned to the Metropolitan, - bless me and my son to leave you, and you yourself would think about this matter and decide it... I think that you cannot do without the venerable Abbot of Volotsk. Send for him and, without delay, get down to business with God... John and Basil left, and the members of the council, immediately sending for Joseph, began a preliminary discussion among themselves about the issue, which was very complicated. “At the very first stages of its existence, the patrimonial element was added to Russian monasticism. Even during the life of Theodosius of Pechersk, his monastery was endowed with territorial property, received villages, which he managed with the help of various tiuns, bailiffs and servants. Since the 12th century, it has become a general custom that monasteries own land with the people living on it. To what extent this corresponded to the basic principles of primitive Eastern monasticism and to what extent in this case Greek monasticism, which served as both a source and a model for ours, should be responsible for Russian monasticism - there is no need for us to talk about this; for us it is enough to note that the patrimonial element, as it developed on soil unusual for it, greatly contributed to the demoralization of monastic life. On the very first pages of our history, the chronicler notes: “Many monasteries were built by tsars and boyars and by wealth, but they were not founded by tears, fasting, prayer, and vigil.” So, at the very beginning, the monks of many monasteries were not able to inspire respect for themselves, they were not able to act beneficially on society. In the following centuries, the monastic wealth grew rapidly; in the 16th century their possessions reached a third of the entire state territory. The possessions of another monastery began to include not only villages and settlements, but cities and entire regions. Along with this, the demoralization of monastic life also developed, reaching terrible proportions by the beginning and half of the 16th century. People who strictly looked at the calling of a monk could not help but be aware of the entire contradiction between the monastic vows of non-covetousness and reality. Already a Rev. Theodosius of Pechersk († 1074) in principle “did not want to create any pretext for the monastery, but rather worshiped God with faith and hope, as if he had no hope in possessions,” although in practice, “having under him a herd of people weaker in faith than himself,” he had to act differently. Metropolitan Cyprian († 1406) directly expresses the ideal aspirations of Theodosius in his letter to one abbot, who asked him whether it was possible to accept into the monastery a village that was donated by some prince: the abbot himself, therefore, doubted the moral correctness of this matter. The Metropolitan answers him: “How can one who has once renounced the world and everything worldly again bind himself to worldly affairs, again build what he himself has destroyed, and thus be a transgressor of his vows?.. The ancient fathers did not acquire for themselves either villages or acquisitions. Only later, when the former severity gradually weakened, did monasteries and monasteries begin to own villages and other property.” Rev. Joseph of Volotsky cites Sergius of Radonezh († 1396) as an example of non-covetousness, noting that “in the monastery of Blessed Sergius, even the books themselves are not written on charters, but on birch bark, but Blessed Sergius himself wears such robes, thinly scroped, as if by multiplicity we did not know from those who came, but I think he is the only one from the petitioner to be.” In a word of praise to Sergius, his disciple Epiphanius notes: “I have not acquired any claim to land, nor possessions from perishable wealth... nor red villages.” “I have so much poverty and lack of possessions” and many other Russian ascetics of his time... The ideals of non-acquisitive monasticism began to be expressed in the 15th-16th centuries and by bookish people - in the lives of some saints... The life of Varlaam of Khutyn († 1192) tells how, before his tonsure, he distributed all his property to the poor and, having settled on the banks of the Volkhov, “they began to make the land with themselves, as if they were nourished from their own sweat, and not from strangers”... Tu We meet the same idea in the lives of Demetrius of Prilutsky († 1392), Dionysius of Glushitsky. The Life of Pavel Obnorsky († 1429), which tells how this ascetic lived for fifteen years in complete remoteness, near the Sergius Monastery, and another three years in the Komel forest, in a hollow tree, already depicts the extreme degree of monastic “namelessness.” The incompatibility of the vows of monasticism, which renounces “the whole world and those in it,” with the enormous financial, territorial and commercial wealth of monasteries in the 14th – 15th centuries. began to be recognized also by the masses, at least by their literate representatives. According to the original Russian view, the wealth of monasteries is “the wealth of the poor”; Meanwhile, in the XV–XVI centuries. the monasteries ceased to serve this religious and social purpose. “Daily experience made it clear to everyone that the monastery’s wealth is used for more than one good purpose”... And so, in the lives of the saints, compiled around this time, there are stories about how the holy saints of God rise from their graves and punish the monastic authorities for neglecting the “poor brethren”... Along with these stories, more daring opinions are declared among the people. When the heresy of the Strigolniks arose, they began to be pointed to as an example for the monks: “They don’t rob, they don’t collect estates.” And the book heretics, who emerged from the same masses of people, directly say: “It’s not worthy... bring offerings for the dead in churches, do not create feasts (monastic “fodder”), or give alms for the soul of the deceased,” thus directing an objection to the main source of monastic wealth. The hostile mood of society against monastic property in general was quite significant: despite the constant and very zealous preaching of representatives of the hierarchy about the complete inviolability of church and monastic property, cases of violation were not uncommon. Examples of the seizure of church lands by princes have been found in our country since the 12th century; in the XIV and XV centuries. Novgorodians and Pskovites, “inserting some vain words and philosophizing carnal, and not spiritual,” several times take away lands and lands from churches and monasteries; monasteries are sometimes openly attacked by crowds of people, saying: “Here are the boyars’ granaries.” Somewhat later, the “blasphemous Novgorod heretics” do not even raise the question of monastic property: they in principle reject monasticism itself, calling the monks “apostates of the prophetic, evangelical and apostolic teachings, who have invented their own way of life and adhere not to divine, but to human traditions.” This was the religious and moral side of the issue, which first of all struck the eye. From this side, the Rev. looked at the matter most of all. Neil Sorsky. But there were other sides too. The people and society were hostile to the monastic property, often due to the very economic setting of the matter. Princes often donated lands to newly emerging monasteries that had previously been in the hands of peasants or other private owners. “It often happened that peasants drove away monks who settled on neighboring empty lands and founded a monastery here - they drove away precisely out of fear, so that the newcomers would not subsequently take possession of their lands and villages” (Prof. A.S. Arkhangelsky). Joseph was caught up halfway to his monastery. When the Volotsk abbot listened to the story of what happened, he, as much as possible, hurried to Moscow. Gennady and the supporters of the Novgorod ruler were already there, eagerly awaiting him. The next day a new meeting of the council took place. First of all, the one who brought up the whole matter, Neil, was asked to speak. The great elder calmly repeated what he had said to John yesterday. Before Neil had time to finish his words, he was interrupted by the impatient Vassian, who certainly wanted to express what was painful in his heart. “In the monastic image,” he said casually, “we build ourselves stone fences and chambers, gilded patterns with multi-colored herbs; we decorate cells like royal palaces; resting ourselves with food and drunkenness; We take advantage of the world’s best and most enviable things, while the best food and the best drink belong to the laity who work for us... “Be quiet, dog,” Gennady shouted, knocking his staff on the floor, “I said it was in vain that we spared the fire for you; Well, you'll still have to wait for him... The Metropolitan left Gennady and allowed Joseph to speak, who directed his speech mainly to the Nile. “You want to take the villages away from the monasteries, father,” he said, “but you didn’t think that without the estates the holy monasteries would completely cease to exist.” After all, the monastery needs churches, and they need to be used for something not only to create, but also to maintain. Where can I get bread, incense, and candles for church services? What should clergy, readers, singers do if they have no food and clothing: if they begin to provide themselves with the necessities of life, then won’t the churches remain empty? That is why our pious bishops and princes from the beginning endowed their monasteries with deposits, lands, villages, thinking that even after their death these monasteries would not fall, would not go bankrupt from lack of means of subsistence... But you can also be saved in patrimonial monasteries: shall we really forget Theodosius, the chief of the general life, Athanasius of Athos, Anthony and Theodosius Pechersky? The monasteries of all of them owned villages. And if there are monks who, through diligence in the villages, neglect their salvation, then through one sinner one should not consider all those who live with him to be sinners... Think about this, father: if strangers, the poor and the sick come to the monastery, where will we get something to please them?.. And even then you have forgotten that our monasteries have been nurseries for the leaders of our church since ancient times, and if the villages are taken away from them, what will happen? How then can an honest and noble man cut his hair? And if there are no honest elders, where will they get a metropolitanate, or an archdiocese, or a bishopric, and for all sorts of honest authorities? And when there are no honest and noble elders, then there will be a wavering of faith... When Joseph finished, Neil spoke, speaking in a quiet, mournful voice. He began with the fact that the Volotsk abbot is mistaken at the very root - in his view of monasticism, which he tries to give some kind of too external character; Meanwhile, the deepest essence and goal of monasticism is not outside, but inside the soul, in the comprehension of God living in it; and that if you only want this, then you will not need either magnificent churches, or a special staff of readers, singers, or everything that Joseph talks about; Then there will be no need to lure the “honest” and “noble” into the monastery, for the monasteries are refuges for those who have left the world, and not breeding grounds for rulers; then, finally, the very view of who is worthy and who is unworthy “of honest power” will change, for it will become clear “that he who knows God within himself is closer to Him and more worthy in the eyes of people than the “noble” and “honest” ... In a quiet, soulful voice, Nile spoke to the cathedral about what he had repeatedly talked about with his students. But the words of the great old man, calling to reconsider at the very root the views on everything, were so new, alien and incomprehensible to the majority of those gathered that they did not want to pay attention to them and enthusiastically welcomed the opinion of the courageous and ardently devoted Joseph to his idea. This opinion triumphed. And Metropolitan Simon, on behalf of supposedly all those gathered, sent an answer to the Grand Duke. This answer did not set out the actual reasoning, but only briefly outlined the historical and legal grounds for the decision to which the council came. Then, at the request of the Grand Duke, in his presence, Joseph and others, in support of the conciliar decision, read various extracts from the lives of saints, from the laws of the Greek kings, from sacred books, from cathedral rules and, in particular, from Russian history. The Grand Duke was forced to agree with the opinion of Joseph and his followers... The Council had one more, final meeting, and after that its decision was approved by John. While all this was happening, the Nile was hastily making its way to the shores of Sora. Misunderstood, alone in his view of the tasks of monasticism and spiritual life in general, he hastily left the world, never to return to it... From then on, Neil no longer took any part in public life. His disciples, under the name of the “Trans-Volga elders,” and among them especially Vassian, raised a heated struggle against Joseph and his followers, but Nile himself no longer interfered in this struggle... The life of the great old man passed quietly and peacefully in the desert monastery created by his efforts... On May 7, 1508, he also quietly and calmly passed away into eternity... After the death of Nile, his disciples, among the many “write-offs” of the great elder, found his following will: “I pray, unworthy Nile, to my masters and brothers who are like-minded to me: after my death, throw my body in the desert to be devoured by animals and birds, for it has sinned greatly against God and is unworthy of an honest burial. If for some reason you do not do this, then dig a hole in the place where we live and throw me into it with dishonor. Beware of the words of Arseny the Great, which he said to his disciples in his will: “I will stand with you at the trial if you give my body to anyone.” For I myself tried, as much as I could, not to receive any glory of this age, either during my life or after my death. I pray to everyone to pray for my sinful soul; I ask forgiveness from everyone, and may there be forgiveness from me. May God forgive us all! To our deepest regret, Neil’s wish to be forgotten after death was fulfilled: lonely, alien to the world during his life, he remained the same for him even after death...