Notes on the life and times of St. Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow

Kolomna is the blessed homeland of Vasily Mikhailovich Drozdov. Once the breadbasket of Moscow, here she is - collecting indestructible grain for food for the inhabitants of the capital: guarding the spiritual seed on her native, the coming shepherd-preacher, the seed of faith, love, purity, wisdom, knowledge, eloquence - to feed the Orthodox flock with spiritual fruits. The spiritual origin of the Drozdovs is traced from afar; but their venerable descendant remembered the names of his forefathers only up to his great-great-grandfather, Ignatius, about whom, however, nothing had reached him from family traditions. He served somewhere as a clerk, and yet, in all likelihood, he was a well-read and intelligent man, because he took care of preparing his sons for presbyteral service - and they achieved presbytery. Of these, Fyodor Ignatievich (father of Mikhail Fedorovich and grandfather of Vasily Mikhailovich) was the archpriest of the Epiphany Church in Kolomna. His other maternal grandfather, Nikita Afanasyevich, was also a priest. The first, not yet old and enjoying good health, handed over his parish to his eldest son, with the good intention of separating himself from the world. He withdrew from all his acquaintances and relatives, led a solitary life, a hermit in fasting and prayer, rarely leaving his house; they saw him only in church. Lacking, due to scarcity, a watch, he determined the time of his cell prayer (3 times a day) by burning a church wax candle. The bishop's mother (daughter of Nikita Afanasyevich) Evdokia Nikitichna, having settled in her old age in close proximity to her son, almost opposite the gates of the Trinity (Sukharevsky) courtyard, also led a life as secluded as possible. She often fasted and always participated in his home church. A touching picture: a decrepit old mother in front of her old son! With what love the son communicates! With what faith the mother joins! What gratitude to God their hearts burn with! How easily their prayer flows to the Redeemer Christ! Often he was seen, due to his mother’s frequent illnesses, hastily walking to her house through the spacious courtyard, in the dead of night and in the winter cold, with the aid of pastoral prayer and filial love. Strong in spirit, he forgot the infirmities of his decrepit flesh. Peacefully submissive to the fate of God, he, not embarrassed by her death, without sobs accepted the last breath of the deceased, without sobs he paid the last debt to the one who had passed from time to eternity. Firmly vigilant during the prayer of remembrance and burial, I found in my soul the strength to meet the coffin in the cemetery, accompany him to the grave, sprinkle dust on the dust, and meekly and forlornly return to his cell to his usual labors and exploits. On the appointed days of remembrance, he annually visited the Pyatnitskoye cemetery, where the earthly clothing of the soul taken from the everyday world was folded. The youth Drozdov received his initial education at the Kolomna Seminary, which was later transferred to Tula following the abolition of the Kolomna diocese. Remembering the last bishops in it, Vladyka especially liked to talk, during condescending conversations with me, about Methodius (Smirnov) as a learned man, well-read and (with a good knowledge of the Hebrew language) an excellent Latin scholar. He also wrote the church history of the first three centuries in Latin. The best thing in this work (said the Metropolitan), in terms of volume and processing, is the introduction. Actually, the history, in its fluency and brevity of presentation, is like the notes of a scientific dissertation. Such a lengthy introduction to a non-lengthy story: “a big head on a small body” - reveals in the writer both perseverance and haste, and extensive information and incomplete considerations. He wrote a little in Russian; and preferably spoke and, one might say, especially flaunted Latin, and also knew Greek. Transferred from diocese to diocese, from Kolomna to Tula, from Tula to Tver, from Tver to Yaroslavl, Methodius performed his holy service in Pskov, to the rank of archbishop and to the rank of synodal member. Since his time, Tver was, due to the stay of V.K. Ekaterina Pavlovna (Duchess of Oldenburg, later Queen of Wirtemberg), like the capital of a small German Court. From here he could easily get to the chair of the first present in the Holy Synod. But Latin and Hebrew are good in universities and academies; and stern scholarship, coupled with the unsociability of a strict and somewhat angular shepherd, had an unpleasant effect on the environment with which he came into contact due to his position. He was, as they say, “set in the cold.” The parents of “Vasily Drozdov” - 27 years later “monk Philaret” - were loved and respected in Kolomna. The parishioners were diligently concerned about their welfare. However, a good disposition towards their parish priest was not soon revealed in them. Mikhail Fedorovich was ordained not at the request of the parishioners, but at the choice of the diocesan superior (before that he was a deacon of the cathedral); they had someone else in mind and spent a long time fussing about his appointment. Things didn't work out the way they wanted. Hence the hostility of the parishioners towards their humble shepherd. In the intention of forcing him to leave, they reduced to the extreme their offerings to him for his daily bread, while fulfilling his spiritual needs. Thus, neither the joyful birth of a baby, nor the reverent farewell of a dying person, nor a wedding, nor a funeral, nor a christening, nor prayers on church and family holidays, even the days dedicated to the Mother of God, even the bright day of the Resurrection, were accompanied by those offerings, according to the strength of each, without which labor and deprivation are aggravated in a helpless family. Mikhail Fedorovich did not complain; his wife Evdokia Nikitishna did not lose heart; they endured need as a test sent to them by God - and truly, according to the Gospel, “they took up their cross every day.” Finally, patience triumphed over hardness of heart. The parishioners and parishioners came to their senses, felt themselves and confessed their injustice to Father Mikhail. They saw that he cared for the splendor and cleanliness of God's house; that he reverently, according to his rites, always diligently performs every service to the Lord; that at all times, day and night, whatever the weather, whatever the distance from his house to those calling for the priest (the parish church entrusted to him in the name of the Holy Trinity was at the end of the city, in the Yamskaya Sloboda), he, interrupting his sleep and putting off his affairs, even food, uncontrollably rushes to them with spiritual assistance and consolation; that his life and that of mother Evdokia Nikitishna pass in fasting and prayer, in labor and hardship. And the persecutors turned to the innocent persecuted. And the evil need was removed from them. Meanwhile, the pious couple received God's blessing: under the roof of their grandfather, when Mikhail Fedorovich was still a cathedral deacon, a son was born to her for joy and support in her old age. The baby's baptism took place in the Church of the Epiphany on January 1, 1783. The successor was the cathedral cleric Peter Vasiliev, and the wife of Priest Nikita Afanasyev Domnik Prokofiev 1 was the successor. On December 26, 1782, Kolomna still did not understand what kind of baby God had given her?... in 1822, forty years later, on May 28, she hurries to meet her archpastor - to pray with him in the house of God, to accept his blessing, to listen to his sermon “about love,” as 40 almost years later on the day of the celebration of the wisdom of God, September 17, 1861, listened to the teaching on prayer. The first word was spoken in the Assumption Cathedral on the Sunday of All Saints; the second was read by the vicar Bishop Leonid in Tikhvin (Sl. and R. part I p. 84 and part III p. 370). Seeing his dear homeland for the first time after so many years, the preacher was filled with peaceful joy, sweet memories of childhood days, of those close to his heart. “According to the inscrutable destinies of God, seeing myself again in the midst of this city, in which I was destined to see the light for the first time, and from which I was so carried away by the course of events that I never expected to see it again - beyond my aspirations, again being among my brothers and loved ones, in whose community I received the first pleasant sensations of life, I would like to completely surrender to the strong attraction of love for the fatherland - a love for which, as it is explained someone from Jerusalem, the children of Jerusalem are pleased with its stones, and their dust will spoil it (Ps. 101:15), that is, the very stones of their native city are dear to them, even the dust of its paths is sweet. My heart is now ready to sing to this city the song that they sang to their Jerusalem..." But then he hears the words of Christ: Whoever loves his father or mother more than Me is worthy of Me! and proclaims in his native church among his neighbors and brothers: “I will conquer love for my neighbors and brothers, I will conquer love for God and Christ; Will I forget my people and my father’s house, and will I strive to remember only the people of the Lord and the house of the Heavenly Father? And so he teaches love for God and Christ: “If there is no love, then faith has no strength and success and does not achieve salvation. Faith without love is an image without life; love, like the breath of the Holy Spirit, animates faith and makes it active and saving. If you want to be saved by faith, love Him in whom you believe." “Love for God turns everything into a means to our salvation and bliss; without it, all means fail to achieve this goal. A lamp will not shine without oil; and prayer will not illuminate the spirit without love. Without fire, incense will not rise, and prayer without love will not rise to God.”... Kolomna prayed and rejoiced for her native teacher. Then a quarter of almost a century passed when a comely, inquisitive and well-behaved young man (after moving the seminary from Kolomna to Kaluga in 1799), in the 17th year of his peaceful existence, left his parental home to take refuge under the roof of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and complete his education there. When he arrived at the Lavra, with several of his Kolomna comrades, it was announced to all of them that they would be demoted to one class. His father demanded an exam for his son. During the test, a Kolomna student was given a problem from philosophy “about innate ideas.” They gave the young man a piece of paper and, surrounded by teachers, in front of the rector and governor, he had to write in Latin on a given topic. The question was soon resolved for them - and the newcomer Kolomna was accepted into the philosophical course. Through prayer to St. Sergius and the prayers of St. Sergius, he gained a deep-thought, fear of God, faith in Christ and love for others, a permeated view of the world, of life, of people. After a short training course, a student at the Lavra Seminary became a teacher there (from November 27, 1803). At first he taught Hebrew and Greek, and then higher eloquence and rhetoric. The rector, Archimandrite Evgraf (Muzalevsky-Platonov), appointed him to the philosophy department; but he avoided such an honor in every possible way, not realizing that he was sufficiently knowledgeable in science in general and in philosophy primarily. This is the first trait of humility in a young man, which developed to the infantile simplicity of humility in an old man. The following legend has been preserved about his adolescent, student, and then teacher and monastic life: he loved music, played chess and enjoyed catching fish: boldly, with a fishing net, ahead of his comrades, in the backwaters, or, as the fishermen say, on a wing, a young man rushed through the deep ponds of Bethany. How opportune is this occupation of fishing, this fellowship with the element dear to the blessed fishermen-apostles in their successor by ordination to the priesthood!.. Later, having left his youthful amusements and eliminating idleness from his head and heart, even during hours of rest from prayers and lessons, he used them either for the puzzling game of chess - this is for exercising the mind, or for extracting harmonious sounds from his grandfather's harp - this is for study souls. Since childhood, the grandson listened to his grandfather play them and learned from him the art of strumming the strings of the king-prophet. It is a pity that in our monasteries and religious schools the psalter and harp of David have been forgotten. I still remember lively guslar players among the people; Nowadays, it’s rare to find this ancient ark of sacred psalmody anywhere. Recalling the happy time of his childhood, he fondly remembers his comrades, bosses, teachers and students. Among them, the rector Evgraf remained friends with him until the end of his life. Only once did they get along; but the coolness between them was soon warmed by mutual feelings of affection and respect for each other. The rector, according to a long-standing custom in the Lavra, arranging a suitable meeting for Metropolitan Plato, on his name day, invited Vasily Mikhailovich to write poetry in honor of him and, with some of his comrades, to speak in front of the guests in a conversation composed on a given topic. Poems in Latin were written by him; and he refused to talk: “This is a theatrical performance! I don't want to be an actor." Hence the short-term cooling between them. The pet’s love for his spiritual mentor, St. Sergius, for the place of his final upbringing and for the consecrated surroundings of the Lavra, for Bethany and for Gethsemane, is felt in so many of his words and speeches. He loves to remember the time of his childhood in his native Kolomna and the time of orphanhood in the monastery, from which, during the vacation season, the pupils moved to rest and walk 3 - 4 miles under the shade of dense forests, where the Gethsemane monastery is now, and 60 years later, at the consecration of the Church of St. Philaret the Merciful there, on September 27, 1860, memories in his soul awakened - and in the 32nd sermon he depicts the past (p. 199, part III). “I have known the place where we are now for sixty years as an eyewitness, and moreover, when I came here in the first year of the current century, I met here clear traces and memories of the past century. Let it not seem like an idle word if I now resume some of these memories. This will not be past the current holiday.” “Here was a house of elegant architecture, which by its design showed that it was not intended for permanent residence, but only for summer pleasure visits. Here was a garden in which plant nature suffered too much from art, which contrived to give it images alien to it. Why did the monastic monastery do this? How did St. Sergius, a lover of simplicity, and not a lover of luxury and sensual pleasures, look at this? How did he allow this to happen in his area, so close to him? “First of all, I think he looked at the case condescendingly because he had in mind the intention that either justified or excused the case. This tract was decorated for royal visits. Whereas the royal height humbled itself before the humility of the saint; while the reverence of the lesser sons of St. Sergius was united with the reverence of the sovereigns in prayer for the salvation of their souls and for the good of their kingdom: loyal love wanted to manifest itself in presenting to the royal gaze certain features of their usual splendor and splendor.” “Secondly, St. Sergius, without rebuke, allowed certain types of worldly splendor to appear in his area, I think, because he looked at them as a passing shadow; and, as the secret place of God’s Providence, allowed itself in the course of time to discover here other species peculiar to its spirit.” “The external circumstances of the Sergius Lavra are changing. Her ancient heritage will be taken from her, and through this many worldly responsibilities and worries will be removed from her. The former splendor becomes unnecessary and impossible. The local royal house and garden become a place of modest rest for the mentors and students of the theological school, which the Lavra founded within its walls, at its own expense, in the days of its abundance. Over time, the pleasure house disappeared: the garden, ceded by art to nature, turned into a forest. Thus npep. Sergius achieved that the worldly things, which had been allowed for a while, were abolished here, and, as if wanting to reward himself for this permission, he deigned that the spiritual would be established here.” A few more lines from the 20th word in Part II, pp. 67 – 68. “Who will show me the small wooden church on which the name of the Holy Trinity was named here for the first time? I would enter it for the all-night vigil, when in it, with a crackle and smoke, a burning torch shines for reading and singing, but the hearts of those praying burn quieter and clearer than a candle, and their flame reaches to heaven, and angels ascend and descend in the flame of their spiritual sacrifice. Open the door of the cramped cell for me so that I can breathe in the air that trembled with the voice of the prayers and sighs of St. Sergius, which was watered by the rain of his tears, in which so many spiritual, prophetic, and miraculous words were impressed. Let me kiss the pavement of her vestibule, which has been worn down by the feet of the saints, and over which the feet of the Queen of Heaven once stepped. Show me other vestibules of another cell, which one day St. Sergius built with his own hands and, as a reward for the work of the day and for the famine of several days, received a circle of rotting bread.” Next. “After all, it’s all here: only closed by time, or enclosed in these majestic buildings, like a high-priced treasure in a magnificent ark. Open the ark for me; show the treasure; it is indestructible and inexhaustible; from it, without damaging it, you can borrow useful things, for example, silence of prayer, simplicity of life, humility of wisdom.” In November 16, 1808, after Vespers, a newly called monk of his ancient monastery prostrated himself at the sacred shrine of the Wonderworker. Vasily Drozdov was named Filaret. On the day of the celebration of St. Nikon, the 17th, for the first time he put on a monastic cassock and joined the ranks of the soldiers of Christ; and five days after his tonsure he was ordained a hierodeacon. He was then 27 years old. The rule not to become a monk before a certain age was not always strictly observed. There were exceptions due to circumstances and types of spiritual superiors. It was the same with him. Metropolitan Platon, as if foreseeing in him one of his successors, jealously guarded him for the Lavra, and when the question of Vasily Drozdov’s years arose in the Synod, he announced that the urgent year was not far away - and the Synod allowed the archimandrite of the Holy Trinity-Sergius Lavra to take tonsure when the urgent time came. So, before this decisive time in the life of Platonov’s favorite, the Kolomna residents twice asked to appoint the student Drozdov as a priest to them, but both times they were refused. About one of the two failures of petitioners M.P. Pogodin brought me the story of I. I. Lazhechnikov. The gifted writer's leaflet contains two anecdotes about M. M. Plato. Neither one nor the other, however, is present in two editions of the book by his biographer I. M. Snegirev: “The Life of M. M. Plato.” According to Lazhechnikov’s tale, the merchant Evstratiy Lakhtin appeared in Bethany with a promise from the parishioners of the “Church of the Resurrection, which is in the fortress.” The Metropolitan told him: “Choose yourself among the students of the Academy.” “If such is your mercy for the Kolomenskaya flock,” said Evstratiy, “then give us Vasily Drozdov as a shepherd”... To this he received in response a prophecy that - (as the Metropolitan allegedly explained to him) - “the same white hood that you see on me will await him (Drozdov) in time.” This legend is doubtful: 1) without delving into antiquity, that before the time of Plato, it was hardly then, as now, anywhere or anyone was allowed to elect a priest or deacon from among spiritual students before their graduation from schools; The diocesan authorities themselves dedicate the best of them to this or that title based on their success and behavior. 2) The Academy did not yet exist in the Lavra. 3) The prediction about the white hood would be premature, because the famous student of the Lavra did not enter, and it was not known then whether he would even enter monasticism. However, the bishop himself resolutely rejected such a prophecy about himself. 4) It is unlikely that the Kolomna merchant spoke to the archpastor so easily: your mercy, give, etc. It was like this: they came, as said above, with a request from Kolomna; did not shy away from entering the priesthood and was invited; but the metropolitan did not let his preacher go home. He always admired his sermons - and having published “The History of the Church”, he gave him one print with the following inscription: “To Mr. Drozdov, an excellent preacher.” – The elder preacher recently (at the end of 1863) recalled this gift and this approving inscription. Of course, the attention of such a person as Plato could not be forgotten. But our loving shepherd kept in his heart the memory of such small people that others would never even think about. He once recalled with a feeling of gratitude his first service in the ancient capital. When he was appointed to the Moscow diocese, he was in St. Petersburg. He needed to wait for his predecessor. Metropolitan Seraphim brought with him two servants, two Utenin brothers, whom he had taken from Chudov. The new shepherd of Moscow kept them with him. Both of them, and everyone I have known to this day, were devoted to their ruler. One of them, after 25 years of the Bishop’s presence in the Moscow flock, waited until the morning service for the moment when he could enter his bedroom in order to be the first to congratulate the dear saint on his anniversary - and the Metropolitan was touched by such zeal for him and he did not forget the simple word of greeting of his longtime servant. “Another, avoiding conscription, enrolled in the merchant class and still did not leave his post and stoically shook on the high heels of the Vladyka’s carriage - and the Vladyka remembered his service and devotion. The monk-teacher and mentor, among his comrades, during various labors and occupations, labored in fasting and prayer, stocking up on spiritual strength to complete the field before him. In 1809 he was summoned to St. Petersburg. On the bright day of Epiphany, at dawn, a matting wagon drives into the outpost; from it, along the way, the young hierodeacon, in the prime of his life, looks with curiosity at the tall, often solid buildings on both sides of long, wide, slender streets, admires the beauty of northern Palmyra, marvels at the small number of churches of God, and in thought reaches the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, where four months after his ordination to the hierodeacon - on March 28, on Easter, he was ordained hieromonk and served two liturgies: one while still a deacon, the other as a bearer of the bloodless sacrifice. The rector of the Lavra Seminary, Evgraf, who knew and appreciated him, was then the rector of St. Petersburg. Theological Academy. Three times he petitioned for the appointment of his student as a bachelor, three times he was unsuccessful. He was appointed (March 1, 1809) to the St. Petersburg Seminary as an inspector “with the rank of academic bachelor” and professor of philosophical sciences, which he so strongly resisted teaching at the Sergius Lavra, where, as they say, his favorite dream was the desire to be honored with time to become a “coffiner” at the shrine of St. Sergius. Finally, in 1810 (February 8), the young inspector of the seminary and rector of the Alexander district school was transferred with a bachelor of theological sciences to the academy, where he taught “dogmatic theology, church history and church antiquities.” - On June 30, 1811, in the humble rank of hieromonk (this was almost the first example), he was most mercifully awarded for his distinction in preaching the word of God with a pectoral cross with precious stones, and a few days after this award he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite (July 8). Before receiving a permanent position, the monk, abandoned by fate to the banks of the Neva, took refuge with his former mentor, the kind, venerable rector Evgraf. Here poverty meets need. Both the owner and the small guest had a means of subsistence. And their premises were so cramped that there was no place to put beds for the guest, who laid his bed on the floor. At the beginning of 1812 (March 11), Archimandrite Philaret was appointed rector of the Theological Academy and at the same time abbot of the Yuryev Monastery. The abbot continued (Read in General I. and Dr. Ros. 1958 book II “Description of the Novgorod Yuriev Monastery” by Father Makaria, p. 108) from the 27th, and according to the service record from March 29, 1812 to March 7, 1816, when he was appointed rector of the Moscow Stavropegial Novospassky Monastery (the number is taken from the article by Father Macarius). He spent five years in the difficult position of rector until 1817, when he was ordained bishop, appointed vicar of S.P.B. Metropolitan, named Bishop of Revel and a member of the main board of the school. Meanwhile, one of Kant’s followers, a certain Fessler, arrived from Germany on the banks of the Neva. Strongly supported by Speransky, he soon became a remarkable person. This is how the speech came to him. In Book II of Readings in General. East. and others Ross. 1859 editor O. M. Bodyansky placed comments on his “summary of philosophical sciences” by Ryazan Archbishop Theophylact. Speaking about the articles published in this book, the Moscow Metropolitan also remembered Fessler, whom he personally knew. The “criticism” of Kant (b. 1724, d. 1804) had a strong influence on the thinkers of his day. His teaching dominated in Germany for a quarter of a century. When the departments of Kantian philosophy were subsequently closed there, many of Kant’s students and followers retired to foreign lands and to our Russia. Among them are university professors: Moscow - Melman (expelled from the university in 1795) and Bule, Dorpat - Parot, Kharkov - Jacob and St. Petersburg Theological Academy - Fessler. Since the summary was in many respects at odds with the teachings of the Orthodox Church, the comments of the Ryazan Archbishop Theophylact (a member of the commission of theological schools) removed Fessler from the department at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, and it is all the easier that in the “scientific statements” of 1810 (Nos. 38, 39, 57 and 58) it is said about him that he allegedly “went through all the degrees of faith, doubt and knowledge and that having lost the first and not being satisfied with the last, he plunged into complete idealism.” And in the opinion of the strict Theophylact, he is both an Illuminati and a pantheist - whatever you want... In essence, Fessler was a pathetic toy of blind fate, which drove him from one place to another, from church to church, and in his life he could most likely be called a fatalist. At first he belonged to the Roman clergy. Not getting along with the brethren of the Capuchin Order, and being forced to leave the monastery where he studied theology and philosophy, he abandoned the Latin religion and became a Lutheran. Seeking a means of subsistence, the poor man wandered from country to country, from city to city and reached such poverty that when he had to change his linen, the unfortunate man continued to wash and dry, i.e. I sat locked in my little room for two hours, wrapped in a blanket. Having moved to Berlin, he was forced, in order not to die of hunger, to write magazine articles and novels, for which he received a moderate salary per sheet. He also tried to become a lawyer. Finally, Count Speransky summoned him to Russia. Then (in 1810) our government cared about the best possible organization of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy and looked for the most learned teachers everywhere. Thus, the ex-Catholic and at that time Lutheran became a teacher at the Orthodox Academy. For the first time, he received the chair of the Jewish language (while presiding over one of the Masonic lodges in St. Petersburg). Then it was supposed to elevate him to the department of philosophy, which, as we have seen, did not happen. The summary was written by him in Latin. As in the commission of theological schools, which was supposed to discuss the destiny of the professor, there were also members who did not understand Latin, it had to be translated into Russian, and this translation was compiled by the bachelor of the theological academy, Philaret. It is remarkable that he (the archimandrite already the rector, then an ardent, enthusiastic young man, now a humbly wise elder high priest) later had the opportunity to translate another notebook of Fessler “on the philosophy of ancient and modern or eastern and western,” in other words, the transition or, so to speak, the overflow of the first into the second. This notebook was found among Speransky’s papers during his disgrace and expulsion from St. Petersburg. After all the failures, Fessler finally ended up in Saratov as a superintendent and willingly preached his opinions to the Sarepta Herrnhuters. He was dedicated in Finland. He died in the same year (1839), as did his patron Speransky. From Revel, Vladyko was transferred to Tver by archbishop and named a member of St. synod in 1819 (March 15). A year and a half later, in September 1820, he was moved to Yaroslavl and the following 1821 to Mother Moscow, the golden-domed one. His pastoral activity first appeared in the Tver diocese. He was not able to visit the Baltic side and within the precincts of St. Demetrius of Rostov. He was not allowed to go to Revel due to his duties as a vicar under the decrepit Ambrose; to Yaroslavl - the affairs of the Synod, in which he was next in line; and meanwhile he was moved under the shadow of the Moscow miracle workers. However, his soul was eager to go to Rostov to venerate St. Demetrius and other St. to the men of “the holy land so long ago.” It was not long before his wish came true. In 1836, he visited the Stavropegic St. Jacob Monastery and on June 14 poured out his humble feelings in front of the long-time ministers of the word: “Should I speak here? Should I spend the seed of the word for the neighboring field, the supply of which in my small pot is too meager to sow the plot of land that was actually indicated to me by the heavenly farmer? Am I not boldly opening my lips here, where, it seems, the spiritual and ornate word of Saint Demetrius has not yet completely fallen silent, where the deeds of him and his only honorable predecessors James, Ignatius, Isaiah, Leontius speak louder than any word, not only the teaching deeds of a holy and hierarchal life, but even more wonderful deeds performed in the midst of the grave's rest? Isn’t it better to look in reverent silence at this holy land, so long ago, at this ancient garden of holiness and reverence, where Abraham flourished early, from where Sergius, abundant in virtues and talents, many-branched with his disciples, was transplanted, from where Job rose to a previously unknown height of patriarchy in the north, where the ancestor of the kings was a priest and was preparing to support the shocked the primatial throne in Russia? And so shut up?” “But didn’t the word of God itself speak the law of the word of man, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks”? “No, do not forbid my weak lips, ministers and creators of the word, mighty of God, but rather, by the grace given to you, heal my weakness, make up for my deficiency, both for the few minutes of the present word, and for the entire remainder of my unworthy service to the word, if any is still preserved for me by the long-suffering and grace of the heavenly shepherd.” The ancient capital rejoiced at the relocation of the Archbishop of Yaroslavl. The Moscow Consistory hastened to convey to him their personal joy, along with the expression of good desires and hopes. He didn’t hesitate to answer his greetings, “through which he also understood some advice for himself.” The venerable Archimandrite Jacob of the Danilov Monastery, having learned that I was keeping real notes and wanting to help me in my efforts to collect all kinds of information about our archpastor, delivered me copies of the Consistory’s response to him and from his response to it in the name of one of its members, Archimandrite Hermogenes of the Spaso-Andronii Monastery (Appendices II and III). On August 14, 1821, the new shepherd, upon taking over the management of the Moscow flock, greeted the church of the capital city with the greeting of the Apostle Paul to the church in Rome: “Grace to you and peace from God, Our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Having humbly stood “in the midst of such a great church,” humbling and reverently before his predecessors, confessing his fear of accepting the lot of ministry that had fallen to him: choose another who is mighty, after him (Exod. 4:13), hinting that he accepted the high ministry in obedience to the will of the Lord: I am who I am, able to rebuke God (Acts 11:17), the new shepherd gave an edifying teaching his new flock, prayed for his fellow shepherds in prayer and concluded his first word in Moscow with a prayer for peace to one and all: “Peace to those who shepherd the flock of God - in the Christian obedience of the flock; peace to the flock - in the paternal and brotherly care of those who shepherd. The peace of superiors lies in the loyalty of their subordinates. Peace to the subordinates lies in the wisdom and meekness of those in authority. Peace to those who judge - in the unfeigned sincerity of those judged; peace to those who are judged - in the insight and impartiality of those who judge. Peace to those who sell and those who buy - in mutual aversion from guile and deceit. Peace to those who do and work - in the blessed success of useful deeds and in the abundant fruit of righteous labor. Peace to everyone! Amen". Received personally from Lord 2 I. In the Archives of the Moscow Theological Consistory according to reference According to the metrics of the Kolomna Church of the Epiphany for 1782, in the 1st part about those born in December on the 19th day, the 26th is written: “The cathedral deacon Mikhail Fedorov gave birth to a son, Vasily. Baptized on January 1st. The successor was the cathedral sacristan Pyotr Vasiliev, the successor of Domnik Prokopiev, the wife of Priest Nikita Afanasyev.” With the original recording it is correct: Acting Secretary of the Consistory II. Letter from the Members of the Moscow Ecclesiastical Consistory to His Grace Archbishop Philaret Your Eminence Vladyka, Most Gracious Father and Archpastor! Admiring the longed-for event that crowned the desires of the flock, the supreme providence entrusted to your management, in her person we dare to open filial feelings to you. Having as your subject the dissemination of living truths, drawn by you from the source of life, you have always been an adornment to the church of true believers. Enlightenment spread by you, both by the example of an edifying life and by the educated works of your mind illuminated from above; The meekness characteristic of your spirit and the wise orders you take to establish order inspire us with the hope of responding to your good undertakings. It is sweet, at least somewhat, to contribute to the intentions of such an Archpastor, who makes it an essential duty for himself to edify and act according to the rules of Christian love. Forgive, Most Gracious Archpastor, the expressions flowing from hearts that always honor with surprise the perfections that adorn you. Deign to accept this simple greeting, accompanied by a fervent prayer to the Chief Shepherd, that he may preserve your life under the roof of His goodness, for the good of the church and all your flock. Your Eminence Most Gracious Father and Archpastor Moscow Spiritual Consistory present. III. Reply to the name of Andronievsky Archimandrite Hermogenes Reverend Father Archimandrite, beloved brother in the Lord! In your person, may I be allowed to respond to you, together with your colleagues in the Consistory, to your general letter. I accepted this letter as the beginning of communication between the Moscow Church and my unworthiness. May the Lord bless this firstfruits and bring us all into true, pure and complete communion. The good opinion and hopes with which you precede without merit, I recognize on your part as the action of a good eye, which seeks the good and does not notice shortcomings; and in relation to me - for instruction and encouragement to what I should strive for. Help me, fathers and brothers, with your prayers and your cooperation - may my service be not condemned before God and be acceptable to the great Church of Moscow. Every day I think about the path to you; but, in addition to other obstacles to this path, I first need the blessing of my venerable predecessor. With hope and love of spirit I am your zealous Philaret, Archbishop of Moscow. St. Petersburg. July 19th. P.S. Is there a time where it is as rainy as it is here? then, I think, prayers are being performed. From “Conversations of the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature”, issue II.