Archimandrite Melchizedek (Artyukhin). Conversations with the priest

“Where it’s simple, there are about a hundred angels...”
In November 1987, Optina Pustyn was returned to the Church. And in June 1988, by the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Monk Ambrose, the first of the Optina elders, was canonized. On the anniversary of the revival of the monastery, by the grace of God, a miracle occurred: at night after the service in the Vvedensky Cathedral, the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, the relics and the icon of St. Ambrose streamed myrrh. Other miracles were performed from the relics of the elder, with which he certifies that he does not abandon us sinners through his intercession before our Lord Jesus Christ. To him be glory forever, Amen.

Conversations with the priest http://orthodox-newspaper.ru/numbers/at53267 ORTHODOX NEWSPAPER

Archimandrite Melchizedek (in the world Pavel Dmitrievich Artyukhin; May 2, 1962, Moscow) - archimandrite of the Russian Orthodox Church, rector of the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Yasenevo and the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Yasenevo.

– Our guest is the rector of the metochion of the Optina Pustyn monastery in Moscow, Archimandrite Melchizedek (Artyukhin). Father Melchizedek, June 6 was 25 years since the glorification of St. Ambrose of Optina (1988), and you, as the rector of the metochion in Moscow, are probably better than anyone else in telling about the spiritual meaning of this event.
– I was lucky enough to be a participant in the Council on June 6, 1988 in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. This was just the anniversary year - the millennium since the Baptism of Rus'. At this Council, the Monk Ambrose was canonized, as were St. Theophan the Recluse, and Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov) - a total of 8 saints of the Russian Orthodox Church.
In the Optina Pustyn Monastery, the first Liturgy was on June 3, on the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, on the day of remembrance of Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine and Helen. After the Liturgy, we immediately returned to the Lavra for the Local Council. Four pairs of hieromonks were chosen who were to bring 8 icons of these glorified saints to the Local Council. I was paired with the now Archimandrite Alypius, he now heads the Publishing Department of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. We got to carry two icons - Theophan the Greek and the Venerable Elder Ambrose of Optina. I handed it to Patriarch Pimen, the Patriarch overshadowed the icons, and at this time the choir under the direction of Archimandrite Matthew sang the troparion, kontakion and glorification of those saints who were canonized. This memorable event took place exactly 25 years ago, in 1988.
We should remember the legacy of the Monk Ambrose, the elder of Optina, who at all times will be the spirit-bearing mentor of all people seeking salvation. The Monk Ambrose said about himself: “Just as I was born in public, so I live in public.”
From his biography it is known that he was born on the day of memory of Alexander Nevsky in 1812 - last year was the 200th anniversary of the birth of St. Ambrose. “As I was born in public, so I live in public” - that day was his father’s birthday, the hut was full of people, and his mother was in labor, she was forced to go to the bathhouse; he was born like this, in public. He saw all layers of pre-revolutionary Rus', and peasants, and bourgeois, and nobles, and seminarians, and bishops. All Orthodox Russia stayed in the cell of the Venerable Elder Ambrose of Optina. By the way, Dostoevsky wrote about him - he visited the elder after the death of his only son Alexei, on the advice of his wife. He undertook this huge journey, at that time there were no Sapsan aircraft or airplanes: Optina Pustyn is 250 kilometers from Moscow and 700 kilometers from St. Petersburg. Dostoevsky drove almost 1000 kilometers to Elder Ambrose and then said: “I went to him alone, and came out another.”
In his brilliant novel The Brothers Karamazov, many writers see in the image of Elder Zosima the image of Elder Ambrose of Optina, although this is not entirely true. For Russia at that time, such a positive attitude towards the Church, towards the elders, towards the monastery was completely incredible. It was completely unfashionable then - liberal movements were in full swing, the struggle for democracy and so on, so on. “Freedom, equality and brotherhood” - these were the slogans that then hovered in the minds of the Russian intelligentsia. Elder Ambrose Optinsky was close to every person - both to such an intellectual and the highest writer as Dostoevsky, and to a simple peasant woman.
In our lives, we must leaf through at least a few books of instructions from St. Ambrose and get acquainted with them. I remember his simple, but succinct, convincing instructions that he gave to people who came to him. Here, for example, is one of them: “Where it’s simple, there are a hundred angels, but where it’s sophisticated, there’s not a single one.”
Here we are all wise in life, that is, we lack either mental or spiritual simplicity, we all have a great opinion of ourselves, we all think that we are seven spans in the forehead. Because of this, we don’t consult with anyone, children don’t consult with their parents, parents don’t consult with the same parents who have the same problem children... I remember one story, it happened in our parish. The girl is 12 years old, her parents are teaching her, and she has a transitional age, a rebellious spirit, this is a responsible period for the family, which must be passed through thoughtfully, together with the child. We must give him all our attention at this moment in order to protect him from the influence of the street. And the girl says: “I’ll grow up and start doing exactly the opposite of what you tell me, but now I humble myself, because I’m 12 years old.” And the father says: “Start now, put two fingers in the socket.” What is this an example of? An example of such a rebellion: I don’t want to listen to anything. The person doesn’t want to listen or consult...
“Where it’s simple, there are a hundred angels, but where it’s sophisticated, there’s not a single one.” At 7 years old a girl says: “Mom knows everything,” at 12 years old a girl says: “Mom knows something,” at 17 years old a girl says: “Mom is completely behind the times,” at 25 years old a girl says: “It would be better if I I listened to my mother." This is how it turns out: smart people learn from strangers, and fools learn from their own mistakes.

A striking impression is made by the rhythmically and rhymically organized sayings and sayings of our holy fathers, beloved by the entire Orthodox world. What’s amazing is that you don’t usually expect any “art” from them.

What's in these verses? Special fun of the verbal mind? The only possible game for a monk?

Let's start with the most famous and, of course, providential example.

In 1839, A.M. turned to Elder Hilarion Troekurovsky for spiritual advice. Grenkov (the future famous elder - St. Ambrose of Optina), then seeking monastic life. Father Hilarion told the young man: “Go to Optina and you will become experienced.” Then he added: “You could go to the Sarov Hermitage, but there are no such wise elders there as there were before, but in the Optina Hermitage the eldership is thriving.” (It should be noted that Elder Hilarion’s conversation with A.M. Grenkov took place 6 years after the blessed death of St. Seraphim of Sarov, and the spiritual situation in the Sarov Monastery in those days really did not change for the better).

Recently in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy?? pronounced this famous saying “about experience” in an expanded and modified version: “If you are harsh, go to Sarov, if you want experience, go to Optina, and if you are stubborn, go to Valaam!”

(My friend Yuri Zaitsev, with whom I had the opportunity to make many trips in my life, and in recent years, was honored to visit Optina Pustyn, Diveevo, Valaam, Pochaev and other holy places with God’s help, added to this: “... if you are sad, go to Pochaev.” I can’t resist my version: “...and if you are desperate, go to Pochaev.” You can also combine both: “...and if you are desperate or sad, go to Pochaev.” many oral sayings.)

Isn’t it because of that phrase from Fr. Hilarion went to the famous rhymes of Fr. Ambrose? For example, the most famous, most often quoted:

Where it's easy
there are angels with O one hundred,
and where is it tricky,
there's not one there.

(When understanding the greatness of this judgment, one cannot help but recognize as congenial to it - semantically and stylistically - the clever maxim of our contemporary: “Even if it is difficult, as long as it is not false.”)

Who gives in
he gains more.

Or this remark from Ambrose, which seems to me both brilliant in the versification sense, and not very easy to understand (in terms of the “bull custom”):

What a river
to an eccentric man
or I will say
doing his own will? -
That's how it is, brother, that's the custom.
we have a bullish
but the mind is like a calf...

Good, excuse me, “literarily”, and this elder’s maxim:

To live is not to grieve,
don't judge anyone
don't annoy anyone
and to everyone - my respect!

Here the compositional surprise of the fourth line even evokes joy and a smile. In fact, in such an easy form a behavioral formula of incredible spiritual height is presented, the implementation of which directly leads to salvation. However, try to fulfill it! It seems that the person who fulfilled this message, communicated to us as if through a smiling mustache, will undoubtedly acquire that grace that we on earth consider holiness.

Continuation of Father's sayings:

You need to live unhypocritically and behave exemplary
then our cause will be right, otherwise it will be bad.

“What do you care what they say about you? - was talking about. Ambrose -

If you listen to other people's speeches,
I'll have to put the donkey on my shoulders."

Then he told a well-known parable about an old man, a boy and a donkey.

He used to say to one nun, probably from Shamordin, warning against arrogance (and here it’s hard for us to hold back a smile):

Look, Melitona, stay in tune:
if you take it high, it won't be easy,
if you take it low, it will be slimy;
and you, Meliton, stick to the middle tone.

These instructions are good: they are not deliberate, they are cheerful, they are remembered right away, they do not drive you crazy. It would be good for us to also learn to be strictly guided by them.

Listen, sister!
Don't be excited, don't be colorful!
And be constant and humble,
And you will be peaceful!

Boredom is a grandson's despondency, and a daughter's laziness.
To drive her away
work hard in business,
don’t be lazy in prayer,
then boredom will pass and diligence will come.
And if you add patience and humility to this,
then you will save yourself from many evils.

Here is the saint’s advice on spiritual life:

Don't be like a bothersome fly that sometimes flies around uselessly,
and sometimes he bites, and gets tired of both;
and be like a wise bee,
who started her business diligently
and by autumn the honeycomb had run out,
which are as good as the notes struck correctly.

To the question of one woman where she should live - in the world or in a monastery, Rev. Ambrose replied:

You can live in peace,
but not to the south,
and live quietly.

And also about monastic life: “To be a nun, you need not a cartload of patience, but a whole convoy.”

And on the same topic:

Moses endured
Elisha endured
Elijah endured
I too will endure.

When they used to tell the priest that they were not giving him peace, he answered:

Then there will be peace for us,
when they sing over us “Rest in peace!”

As if picking up the “piitic” baton, another of the brothers of the Optina monastery (Father F.) instructed those who sought his advice:

Look inside yourself
and it will be with you.

Here, the ancient Greek “Know thyself!” is immediately combined into a rhymed pair of short lines. (with the subtextual continuation “... and you will know the whole world”), and the Lord’s edification that we do not discern the beam in our own eye, but judge the speck in the eye of our neighbor. “It will be from you” - that is, this knowledge is already a lot, in any case, enough for salvation; Do not presumptuously take on any more burdens. Without knowing yourself, how can you judge someone? And the trick is that once you know yourself, you won’t judge anyone.

The following story is tied to the saint of God Hilarion Troekurovsky with a golden spiritual thread.

When a certain monk John arrived at the cell of Hilarion, who had already “earned ascetic laurels,” he, having seen the Holy Spirit, humbly said: “It is not John who must serve me, but I, John...” With these words, Elder Hilarion sent John a glass of tea so that he could drink. (Here we see a certain symbol associated with the structure of monastic life, but more on that below.)

We are talking about monks who labored in the Lebedyansky district of the Tambov province (now Lipetsk region) and who later became locally revered saints - St. Hilarion of Troekurov and St. John of Sezenov.

This area was also the birthplace of the Monk Silouan of Athos, to whom in childhood the Lord revealed testimony about his two famous spiritual predecessors.

He also had a revelation during the prayer struggle: “Keep your mind in hell and do not despair.”

It is not surprising that it was from the Venerable Silouan of Athos already in the middle of the twentieth century that Fr. Sophrony (Sakharov) perceived the following saying:

Stand on the edge of despair
and when I have no strength,
then go away and sit down and drink a cup of tea.

It’s as if the clicking of prayer beads “cha-cha” sounds here in the unusual rhyme of “despair - tea”.
This phrase is also very famous among monastics, since tea plays a special role in monastic life. In general, having been distracted by “tea,” let us remember that B.K. wrote soulfully about tea drinking in the monastery on Valaam. Zaitsev in the famous essay “Valaam”. (However, we also note a striking detail that in some Valaam hermitages tea was not blessed - due to the severity of abstinence. It is especially shocking if you delve into the meaning, essence and significance of tea and tea drinking in monastic life.)

It is impossible to ignore the testimony of M. Janson’s book “The Valaam Elders” (Berlin, 1938) about schema-abbot Theodore (Feodul Poshekhov, from the peasants of the Yaroslavl province), born in 1863 and who died on February 518, 1937, having spent 22 years alone in the hermitage on Porfiryevsky island of the Valaam archipelago and accurately predicted the date of his death.

“...After some time, Fr. Theodore felt worse again, but he still tried to go to the monastery every Monday. These visits stopped in mid-November. Concerned by this circumstance, Fr. Jerome, the monastery doctor, went by boat to Fr. Theodore again on December 17th. The elder greeted us with the liveliest joy, but greatly changed. “It was God Himself who sent you,” he said.

It turned out that that night he woke up lying on the floor of his cell and for a long time was not able to get up and do anything. With great difficulty he managed to put on the samovar and warm himself with hot tea. On the advice of the doctor, the elder decided to immediately go to the monastery. But, with his characteristic love and rare cordiality, he wished to treat us to tea for the last time in his desert.

It was an unforgettable tea party: Fr. Theodore spoke with joy about his imminent death and about the upcoming meeting with his dear fathers and brothers. This farewell conversation lasted for two whole hours, after which, having prayed to the Lord God in the house and in the chapel of St. Seraphim, on his island, we moved to the last one for Fr. Theodora's path, by boat along the monastery bays. We drove in deep, concentrated silence, and it seemed to us that Fr. Theodore says goodbye to all the places he loved so deeply. Arriving at the monastery, he went straight to the hospital, where he settled down awaiting the hour of death...”

Two months later, on February 17, in the presence of Fr. Abbot Khariton, to the words of the abbot spoken to schemamonk Fr. Nicholas, who was near the dying man, that Fr. Theodore may yet recover; the latter firmly and decisively said that he

won't get better
and will leave in a day.

And so it happened.

Father Gennady (Davydov) from the village of Pokrovka, Belgorod region, who died in 1997 as Schema-Archimandrite Gregory, in response to insincere, “automatic” repentance, used to say:

God will forgive
and make you sick!

An entertaining verb was invented by Fr. Gennady! Will it make you sick - does it mean “will give you a twig”? Or will it “add more brushwood” to the fire on which you are burning? Or are we talking about sickness - a disease that is sent from above as punishment for sins?

About one imaginary sick man, the elder prophetically said:

He doesn't have cancer
and a fool.

It is impossible not to notice that in many of the elders’ religious speeches, during a serious conversation about life, death, God, there is a special, lively humor - like a glow of the joy of being.

As we see, smiling “verse words” often contain an edifying, enlightening and parting note.

The Valaam abbot Nazarius (Kondratiev), who began his ascetic journey in the Sarov monastery and who died there on February 23, 8 March 1809 (by the way, one of the spiritual mentors of St. Seraphim of Sarov), admonished the brethren:

Talk about yourself
condemn yourself...

And he continued the phrase “in prose”: “that is, your deeds, words and thoughts, take off your will, like shameful garments.”

He also stated:

Humility is a barrier,
patience is confirmation,
Love -
cover,
and where there is love, there is God...

Since 1830, when the most famous later Valaam abbot, Fr. Damascene had been living in the desert for three years already; Fr. Varlaam. Later, while in the Optina Hermitage, where he was sent, having been demoted from abbot according to the verdict of St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov), Fr. Varlaam, when asked how to escape from demonic insurance, answered:

“You can’t escape demons even in your cell,
if you go the wrong way...

However, the paths of salvation are different: one is saved here, but you, according to the word of Saint Isaac, enter the ascent of the spiritual feast along the common path.”

And here are the words of Fr. Damascene, who served as abbot of the Valaam monastery for 40 years and died in 1881:

love God
run away from the world
you are sitting in your cell.
The cell will teach you everything good,
And sit in it for God's sake,
never gets bored!

The first part of the edification, most likely, goes back to the ancient one, which came to us almost from the ancient deserts: “Love everyone, run from everyone.”

And this was his saying:

Who is addicted to the world,
he will say goodbye to the desert.

About Abbot Damascene, 14 years after his death, one Valaam monk said to the writer I. Shmelev: “He knew how to speak sermons well... as he expressed the holy verse. It starts so melodiously, you’ll hear it... I keep in my mind his poetic words, sweet....”

We don’t dare ignore these simple (and therefore true) key criteria: “like holy verse,” “singing,” “sweet.” These are the signs by which it is determined that - always and exactly- the soul needs it. The “verse words” phrase we borrowed for the subtitle is very good and accurate.

Let's get acquainted with a completely unfolded canvas - from simple, seemingly artless sermons by Fr. Abbot Damascene.

So, brothers, flee in peace,
love God
live with advice,
do not do your own will!
Remove rumors and distractions from yourself,
settle into the desert!
Who loves God and the desert, -
God will love him too...
And who is addicted to the world,
he will say goodbye to the desert,
and then God will withdraw from him!
And man will remain, like a wind town unfenced,
for plunder by birds and beasts;
and you yourself will be a trap for others.
He is always ready to entertain anyone with his idle talk.
and take away prayer to God from us;
He's bored of talking about saving his soul,
He doesn’t like to tax his body with fasting and bowing,
but he doesn’t even want to say a prayer,
and tries in every possible way to waste time;
he finds joy in this,
how to make people laugh more...

Creative verbosity ends in natural self-deprecation, which is beneficial for all of us to learn:

Today, brothers, I, a sinner, have spoken a lot,
and he himself did nothing good before the Lord;
woe to me, a sinner, and I exist,
lacking good deeds,
I speak, but do not do.
Teach a friend, don't teach yourself,
alas, alas! my soul, woe to you!

Here we see a technical versioning flaw: the pair “remove yourself - settle in” is not a successful rhyme even in the style of these works, where they are preceded by precise, full-voiced “love - run - live - create”, and below are followed by “loves - will love”, “occupy” - take away”, “speak - create”. The editor’s corrosive eye will immediately notice that the shortcoming can be easily eliminated, since “remove yourself” is completely interchangeable with the adequate “go away.” It seems that this flaw is associated either with the nature of the composition - improvisational and oral, or the original text was subject to distortion in other people's retellings.

Let us give examples of a slightly different, not oral, but rather written genre, although here you can hear “speaking” motifs, which are also partly reminiscent of raeshnik verse.

We are talking about the 1926 interrogation in Serdobol (Sortavala) of Valaam monks who were subsequently forcibly evicted from the island and did not want to switch to the new calendar. We present the text of Abbot Philemon’s narrative according to the publication of the Pochaev Brotherhood (“Sorrowful anniversary leaflet. 1926−1936”, Vladimirovo, Slovakia, 1937), where it is given in prose, but it clearly has a poetic, specially structured basis that can be reproduced like this:

Monks with tears in their eyes
something new was revealed to them,
and the interrogators sat in fear
before that fatal answer;
from the Apostolic Council Rules
Valaamites read aloud
what the sinful world has now left -
I have become deaf to church discipline!

Further text in the article is given in broken quotations, but the rhythmically organized phrases show signs of versification. “Your father, the abbot, is with us, you know, and the governor is our zealous friend!..” “The abbot will deal with the rest, he will send them everywhere to the monasteries...”

Archpriest Nikolai Alekseevich Guryanov (1909−2002), about whom they said: “The Reverend was wounded by the love of Christ,” who labored on the island of Zalita on Lake Pskov, at the age of 82, spoke, according to the testimony of priest Alexy Likhachev, with the following verses:

My life has passed like yesterday,
How my life flew by,
And the doors of death are terribly heavy,
It's not far from me.

You're sorry, you're sorry,
Family and neighbor.
Remember me, a sinner:
I'm leaving you...

“And then he added, smiling slyly, in response to our thoughts”:

not yet forever.

The style of these texts, of course, reminds us of the poets X? 10th century, sort of “Pushkin style”. As we see, “general secular” influence, feedback from the world, also took place in the “verse words” of the monks. Let us not forget about the answer of Saint Philaret of Moscow to Alexander Pushkin to the famous poem “A gift in vain, a gift fortuitous...” The text of the saint - for obvious reasons - is in the same size as Pushkin’s: “Not in vain, not accidental...”

It is noticeable that the poetic works of the elders were generally written (and more often, rather, spoken) in predominantly free conversational meter (by the way, very consonant with the searches of some wonderful poets, contemporary to us, it seems, almost physiologically feeling the rhythmic and intonation fatigue of Russian verse for the last two hundred years), nimbly following the phrase, as a rule, without strict foot regulations. These works are dominated by repetitions, verbal and single-root rhymes (not excluding occasionally complex ones), which are understood by modern poets as primitive.

But we remember the words of St. Ambrose of Optina (1812−1891): “The Lord rests in simple hearts. Where there is no simplicity, there is only emptiness.”

The same formula was given by the elder in the above form: “Where it’s simple, there are a hundred angels, but where it’s tricky, there’s not a single one.” Note that this saying contains two rhymes: the rather sophisticated “simply - with O one hundred" and the meager "wonderful - not a single one." Both are rooted in folklore tradition. Folklore and primitiveness are a characteristic feature of the poetic tradition of the elders, regardless of their origin and education. Rev. Ambrose, for example, graduated from theological seminary, and Fr. Damascene came from a simple peasant family who did not receive any education.

There is an idiotic phrase: “I am a simple man, and I speak in verse...” There is a feeling that it can be applied to the case we are considering in full, seriously, without any irony or fear of missing the mark.

A frequent feature of monastic poetry is the use of rhymed text as a fragment of a more extensive statement, like quotations in the general volume of thought. Therefore, the impression of quotation is really created, and it is impossible to judge the true authorship. It is clear that with such stylistic emphasis the speaker emphasized the special role of precisely this rhythmically and rhymically organized thought.

Positively, our Holy Fathers gave the molded word a poetic form, imitating the Lord Jesus Christ in this: that prayer, which we know as “Our Father,” in its Aramaic basis was taught by the Savior in verse, which has been established with sufficient reliability.

And it is obvious: the problem of authorship did not matter to the elders. “Self-expression”, that is, the desire to express “oneself” (what does this even mean?), the implementation of a “person of non-general expression” with a kind of “subtlety” - was completely absent in the work of the elders. Witnesses simply conveyed to us the phrases of the ascetics, recording what they heard firsthand.

Giving preference to maxims, aphoristic statements from the “world of wise thoughts,” the elders still composed in a childish way, for joy, without caring about the “quality of rhyme,” without setting decorative, seductive, excuse the expression, “artistic” goals. It is clear that in terms of accuracy of regional agreement, phonetic coincidence, there is, of course, no better (and “uninteresting”) rhyme than a word rhyming with itself. However, usually the task of “secular” rhyming is not only to create meaningfully complete phrases, not to simply sound, but to enter new semantic spaces. Therefore, poets often have aspirations behind the echo of rhyme, and hence their multiple evidence that the author never knows how the poem he begins in his work will end. “The poet takes his speech far…” (M. Tsvetaeva). The elders, as we see, do not have such a problem or task. However, there is an undeniable moment of enchantment, multiplication of sound meaning, like the unwinding of a ball or the cyclic rotation of a well gate.

The wrong one is glorious
whom the world praises,
but the one whom God will glorify.

Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk spoke.

So what “gets you” and “turns you on” about this simplicity? - my 17-year-old son asked me. - Monks were people - entirely illiterate, with rare exceptions. There was nowhere to find any special sophistication in their poems.

What to say to this “young, unfamiliar tribe”, who, out of their youthful stupidity, reverence the mind, the body of some knowledge, “education” above the heart? That I myself thought something like this at his age? (The only difference is that in godless times we didn’t even know the names of our ascetics, and, living, for example, in Belgorod, several tens of kilometers from the village of Pokrovka, we had never heard of Father Gennady. And about Father Joseph (Golovatyuk ), our dear contemporary, who labored and healed in the Ukrainian village of Malaya Ilovitsa and died in 1970. But those who needed it knew, they knew. Today this earthly angel is revered as the Venerable Amphilochius of Pochaev, being healed from his relics preserved in the cave. on Pochaevskaya Mountain.)

What can we say today about secular poetry, which has moved away and fallen away from the spiritual in its time, just as the first humans Adam and Eve fell from grace? What was God's permission? So that we can be convinced of the dead end of our willful choice? Great is the permissive love of the Lord for us, do-it-yourselfers! But sophistication without foundation is the extreme limit to which modern art has come. In a daring attempt h with an essential script to fill the gaping abyss of God's absence, not to say God-forsakenness (Baroque, Empire, Rococo, Art Nouveau, and now a new type of pattern - postmodern - is not the vector of this flight from God, that is, movement to nowhere?), Isn't it obvious that there is a clear increase in spiritual entropy, the effort to replace emptiness with an imitation of presence?

This is increasingly characteristic today not only of poetry, but also of art in general (in whose name the word “art” is inextricably “wired”), and even more so for the entire life of modern civilization, which should be pitied, but difficult to forgive. Reveling in one’s own miasma, when only a wretched ego is placed at the center of the universe - this is the new form of “inspiration” that the “artists” of the 20th and 21st centuries offered us. Let us ask ourselves the question: is not the complication of the language of art a new, repeated proud, and therefore vain, punishable attempt to build a Tower of Babel - within ourselves?

The opposite pole to sophistication, namely a different, loving view of the world, is what the “verse words of the elders” show us, where there is no covering “embellishment”, but the simplicity and height of love are revealed, which fertilize everything and which to us, almost hopelessly soiled with civilizational dirt, and not dreamed about it.
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A new book

The publishing house of our monastery has published a new book - “The Life of the Hieromartyr Veniamin (Kazan), Metropolitan of Petrograd and Gdov, and those like him who suffered the Venerable Martyr Sergius (Shein), the martyrs Yuri Novitsky and John Kovsharov » .

In the new book of the famous Russian hagiographer Archimandrite Damascene (Orlovsky), the reader is offered the life of Metropolitan Veniamin (Kazan) of Petrograd - one of the first holy martyrs who did not sin with their soul or conscience during the persecution that began and gave their life for Christ and His Church .

IN All life is a wondrous secret, known only to God alone. There are no random combinations of events in life - everything is mental. We don't have any knowledge of this or that environment, there are many schools in front of us. lock, but there are no keys. Were there people who discovered this...

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And van Mikhailovich Kontsevich spent his summer holidays in Optina Pustyn during the war in 1915. Daily going to the monastery was always instructive for a young student, but the elders, busy with visiting visitors who came to them with all sorts of sorrows, did not specifically devote time to the young stranger. They gave him “to be raised” by Father Joseph (Polevoy), experienced in spiritual life, who had lived in Optina for decades. In the world - director of a bank, he was a widely educated person. During the two months spent by I.M. in Optina, often, after church services, Fr. Joseph invited I.M. to his cell. In a conversation with him, the spiritual world was revealed to the young student.

From Fr. Joseph I.M. heard an incident from the life of Elder Ambrose that was not included in his biography. One day Elder Ambrose, bent over, leaning on a stick, was walking from somewhere along the road to the monastery. Suddenly he saw a picture: a loaded cart was standing, a dead horse was lying nearby, and a peasant was crying over it. The loss of a nursing horse in peasant life is a real disaster! Approaching the fallen horse, the Elder began to slowly walk around it three times. Then, taking a twig, he lashed the horse, shouting at it: “Get up, lazy one!”, and the horse obediently rose to its feet.

The elder taught the people with folk proverbs and sayings with his characteristic humor. He put his deepest wisdom into well-aimed and witty words for easier assimilation and memorization.

For example, “Where it’s simple, there are a hundred angels, but where it’s sophisticated, there’s not a single one.” “Don’t boast, peas, that you are better than beans: if you get wet, you’ll burst.” “Why is a person bad? “Because he forgets that God is above him.” “Whoever thinks of himself that he has something will lose.” “Speaking well is scattering silver, but prudent silence is gold.”

To one person who was ashamed to admit to sin, he said: “Sidor and Karp live in Kolomna, but who doesn’t experience sin and misfortune?” She burst into tears, threw herself at the Elder’s feet, and confessed her sin. “The Apostle Peter leads the righteous into the kingdom of God, and the Queen of Heaven Herself leads the sinners.”

On All Saints’ Day, Father said: “They were all sinful people, like us, but they repented and, having set about the work of salvation, did not look back, like Lot’s wife.” In response to the remark that we are all looking back, Father explained: “That’s why they push us with rods and a whip, i.e. sorrows and troubles, so as not to look back.”

The Elder said to the one who condemned others: “... they, perhaps, have such a secret good that redeems all the other shortcomings in them, and which you do not see. You have a lot of capacity for sacrifice. But the Lord said: I want mercy, not sacrifice. But you have little mercy... You see your sacrifices and are exalted by them. Humble yourself more in spirit—humility replaces deeds. Endure all adversities and surrender to God.” With these and many other words the elder taught and saved the people who came to him.

From the book by I.M. Kontsevich “Optina Pustyn and its time”

In mid-October, several editorial staff went on a pilgrimage to the Narovchatsky Trinity-Skanov Convent of the Serdobsk and Spasskaya Diocese of the Penza Metropolis. The place is holy, prayed for. And I have long wanted to pray at the miraculous Trubchevsk Icon of the Mother of God. The editorial board of Blagovest has a long-standing friendship with the Trinity-Skanov Monastery. The ever-remembered Abbess Evstolia (Frolova, † January 7, 2010) every time congratulated the editors on Christmas and Easter and cordially received the newspaper employees. Good relations developed after her death with the new abbess, Abbess Tavifa (Bakulina). And the new trip to Skanovo left an unforgettable, blessed impression.

We arrived late: the evening service had already begun. Having left worldly concerns - we still had time to settle down for the night - we went to the high temple outside the monastery gates. And after the service they approached Abbess Tabitha. She gave her blessing to stay in the monastery and added:

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to give an interview - I’m leaving, but I’ll send you an interlocutor...

In monastic silence

There is silence in the Assumption Church of the Trinity-Skanova Convent. That special monastic silence, which is not disturbed by quiet requests at the icon shop: “I want an icon and candles... Write it down to the Indestructible Psalter...”. An elderly woman bowed in silence before the miraculous Trubchev Icon - and could not move away. The bows of nuns and nuns in black robes are silent. And the quiet voice of the woman reading the clock on the choir easily enters this prayerful silence.

In the silence of my heart I leave the priest who has accepted Confession. I stand next to the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. And quietly, without words, I thank the Saint for the easy road given to us yesterday...

And soon the Liturgy will end, soon - Communion, but a very middle-aged priest comes out to the worshipers - Abbot German, the confessor of the monastery. And it’s not just a general Confession - a conversation from soul to soul. Asks:

How many children do you have? One? Do you have two? Should there really be that much in a family? And you, mother, how many times have you been married? Well, you can get married five times and give birth to a child for each husband. You give birth to one and only one as much as God gives! Then you will truly be saved by childbearing. Then you and your husband will raise godly children. If you take them to church, you yourself will set an example of piety...

Father, I call my adult daughter to church, I call her, and she gets angry and hits me! - an elderly woman complains.

How long ago have you started going to church? - asks Father Herman.

For a long time! Five years already...

So you had to go yourself and bring your daughter, still in diapers, to God’s temple! - the priest sighs. - How can you now expect her to pray and take care of you!

And many more simple words were said, but so necessary for the salvation of the soul, many questions were answered wisely...

And - amazing! - when the Liturgy ended, Abbess Tabitha came out onto the solea. It is not often that you hear a sermon from the abbess of a monastery. But that’s what it was - a mother’s word about love. About love for the dearest and closest people - children and parents, because if we are not able to love them, how can we love God?...

“Don’t forget your dear dead,” mother admonished. - Even having lived a righteous life, they can no longer pray for themselves, but you can and should beg the Lord God for their good posthumous fate. We don’t know how much they pleased God with their lives, where their souls now live - in Paradise or in the abysses of hell... You laugh, young people,” she raised her voice, looking towards the door where a flock of young people had gathered, “but not laugh: all this really exists, both Heaven and hell. We have evidence of this both from the holy books and from our unforgettable mother Eustolia. She was honored with a blessed death on the feast of the Nativity of Christ. After her repose, mother dreamed of one of our sisters and said: “Everything we knew about the afterlife is true. I saw it all - Heaven and hell. Pray!...”

“We are grateful to the Queen of Heaven...”

Well, nun Euphemia is temporarily replacing our dean, she will answer all your questions,” said Abbess Tabitha, already dressed for the trip. But I delayed my mother for a minute:

Remember, mother, more than three years ago, in the days of sorrow, you wrote to the editor about the deceased Mother Evstolia: “We will no longer have such an abbess!” But you, then the dean of the monastery, had to lift the cross to the abbess. And here is today’s sermon, your word about Love... You are striving to preserve what was under Abbess Evstolia, aren’t you?

With God’s help,” Mother Tabitha smiled. - I try to imitate Mother Evstolia, I was her student. How is it possible...

And, blessing us, she left the cell-office.

At one time there were about eighty nuns in the monastery,” nun Euphemia began the story. - But about twenty people have already left for eternal abodes. Mostly elderly nuns, including our dear, beloved Mother Abbess Evstolia. In addition, from us, since we have already lived here for more than twenty years, the Hierarchy sends several sisters to lay the “leaven” in the newly opened monasteries. I have to share my sisters. Now there are just over fifty nuns in the monastery.

- In her sermon, the abbess spoke so well about love. And one feels that there is a spirit of love in the monastery.

This comes from our mothers. Mother Evstolia was loving towards both the laity and the sisters. And Mother Tabitha also tries to be like that.

They say that every monastery has its own uniqueness. Somewhere there are more spiritually literate sisters, but we are united by a certain simplicity. Well, where the sisters are simple, and it’s easier to communicate. “Where it’s simple, there are about a hundred angels...” This is what St. Ambrose of Optina taught. I’m not talking about something lofty, about Christian love. Only God can judge this. But mother instructs us in this.

- Are there any old nuns left in the monastery?

Yes, they remained. I arrived only two years after the opening of the monastery. And the first to come to this destroyed monastery, with the blessing of the now deceased, ever-remembered Bishop Seraphim of Penza, was schema-nun Macaria. There were only walls here, even the domes were glowing with holes right through them. Even though she was already elderly then, she was very cheerful, purposeful, and hard-working. She had to work hard to begin the restoration of the monastery. Then several more sisters arrived. Soon the Bishop tonsured the first nuns. These mothers, who came here during the opening of the monastery, were already prepared for monastic life in the world. They had a community led by Mother Eustolia. Our current abbess, Mother Tabitha, was also a tireless helper to Mother Evstolia in the community. Both mothers and several other nuns were tonsured into the monastery. And everything in the world was already monastic. Many of the first sisters of the monastery are still alive, awake and well - venerable nuns, one might say, even elders. Many of them, under the supervision of mother, guide the newcomers. The devil immediately begins to attack those who come to the monastery a hundred times more in order to drive them out from the haven of salvation. Therefore, it is much easier when there is a leader, and everything depends on how much the newcomer trusts her soul to the elder and how much she listens to her advice.

Love is even manifested in the fact that mother often allows the new sister to choose the elder from several experienced nuns.

Trubchevskaya Icon of the Mother of God.

- Do young sisters come to the monastery?

More came in the 90s. Many people in Soviet times, no matter what, kept their faith in God. And when the monasteries began to open, this wave filled the monasteries. Nowadays there are fewer people who want to be saved in monasteries, but they exist - and they will probably exist until the end of time.

If the Lord has chosen someone, then from any society there will come those who want to work for God and who have managed to maintain chastity in the world. There are always people who do not want to live according to the laws of the sinful world. And now there are such people - and they come to the monasteries, thank God.

- Within the walls of monasteries and in the world there are your own temptations, your own cross.

It’s hard for me to judge this, because I haven’t communicated with the world for more than twenty years. Although I communicate with the laity here in the monastery and give excursions. In today's youth, one often feels a spirit that is not ours, not Russian, but Western. It’s very sad, you look at it almost with tears. And how can I explain this to them? But if a person has a clear conscience, even if he sins in some way, but at the same time has the fear of God, then he will understand and correct himself.

Miracles that took place in the monastery in former times are known. Are such miracles happening now?

They happen all the time. Most often, some kind of grief pushes us to prayer. Not only the laity, but us too. Yes, from my life - there were serious situations when I had to kneel before the miraculous Trubchevsky image of the Mother of God. With the help of God, not without the care of our mother Evstolia, the miracle happened.
Mother Evstolia was already deceased at that time. I prayed in front of the miraculous icon, and Mother Tabitha came up to me and said: “Go and pray again at the grave of Mother Evstolia.” I went to the grave and said: “Mother, if you have pleased God, help me.”
And help came immediately. I’m not saying that Mother should be canonized, but I can only testify to what happened to me. I have already had two such cases. One of them is more serious, the other is simpler. I know that our sisters are also out of love for mother
Eustolii is prayed at her grave. Not in vain - mother really helps us. The Lord gives us, the grieving and suffering, such people who help us both in life and after our death have intercession before God.

Mother appeared to one young sister in a dream and said that God exists, and everything, everything, everything that we knew about the afterlife was true. And she said all this both during her earthly life and in such visions out of love for us. To strive for repentance, accumulate more good deeds, so that death does not take you by surprise. If only there was a desire to be saved, the Lord and the Mother of God will not abandon their help.

If we talk about our miraculous icon, of course, numerous help flows from it. Recently, children from a Sunday school came from Mordovia on an excursion. There was a priest with a group of children. And after the excursion, the priest told how a few days ago one woman, on a similar trip to our monastery, shared with him an incident that happened in her life ten years ago. She became seriously ill; her son was 12 years old at the time. She was going to go to the hospital, and her son, school, and classmates were about to make a pilgrimage to our monastery. He went here, and mom went to the hospital. When my son returned home after visiting our monastery, he saw his mother at home. And she began to tell me: “Dear son, at the hospital they did an examination and said that I was completely healthy. No surgery is needed." And he says: “Mom, I prayed for a whole hour in front of the Trubchevskaya Icon of the Mother of God for you, so that you would be healthy.” We are grateful to the Queen of Heaven that we have this miraculous icon in the monastery. There are many of them throughout Rus', different images of the Most Holy Theotokos, and each one pours out help from the Mother of God.

And here's another case I'll tell you. Many sisters know about this. One woman, she is originally from Russia, but lives in America, also ended up in her homeland on a tourist trip and visited our monastery. She was very glad that the monastery was restored, we later learned this from her letter; we did not see this pilgrim in person. She bought a reproduction of our miraculous icon and took it to America as a piece of her native land. After some time, the abbess receives a letter from her: “Mother, your miraculous icon is great! There has been a disaster in our state ( a tsunami, maybe a typhoon, a tornado or something else - I don’t remember exactly right now,” said nun Euphemia). When this terrible disaster began, I got down on my knees and seemed rooted to the floor in front of your icon. And she prayed, she prayed, she prayed. There were disasters and destruction in the area, but for me everything was smooth, nothing was destroyed. Everybody is alive".

Some come here, talk about some of their experiences of God’s mercy, their voice trembles with excitement. People have felt the grace of the Holy Spirit - and are excited by the excess of grace.

Underground monastery

... And again we are late! While we went into the Anthony-Pechersky church of the monastery, while we waited for the acting abbot, Hieromonk Seraphim (Popov) and got blessed by him, the guide left.

All! We will not see the underground cells of the Scanova Cave Monastery...

If you want, after the evening service I myself will take you and tell you about everything,” Father Seraphim unexpectedly suggested. And we, rejoicing at such a fortunate delay, remained in the temple.

And when the long monastic service ended, Father Seraphim climbed the metal stairs with us to the top - and led us deep into the mountain, along underground corridors and passages.

Father walked quickly - we could barely keep up with him. Moreover, they were afraid: if the candle goes out, what should we do then? Of course, Father Seraphim did not let us out of sight, and if someone had fallen behind, he would have found us. But he also told us stories!…

The local boys have set up a good “business”. Wealthy people come and ask some local kid to take them through the caves. For a small fee. He agrees: why not lead them... But he took them somewhere far enough and suddenly realized: “Oh, I need to go home, my mother told me to!” Well, I’m off...” And he picks up the pace. Tourists shout after him: “What are you doing - come back now, we’ll kick your ears!” - “And you catch it!” - the impudent man laughs. At this point, the hair on the tourists’ heads begins to move. There are so many tiers, such labyrinths - it’s difficult to get out on your own! And they humbly begin to beg: “Darling, don’t give up - we’ll pay you more money!” The boy raises the price, and they are happy to give him everything they have in their wallets. One of my friends told me how he was ready to give away both the apartment and all the money. It’s good that the conductor didn’t ask for so much...

Why did you increase your pace? Don't be afraid, I won't run away!…

There was also a case: two boys decided to prepare for Communion - in underground cells. They seem to be pretty good at navigating caves. Let’s pray here, they think, and we’ll be in time for the evening service. But as soon as they entered, closed the doors behind them, walked a little along one or the other... - out of nowhere a draft blew out both candles at once. And the matches were damp. Suddenly they heard a noise somewhere nearby, some steps... Out of fear, they started running and lost each other. They run around, calling out to each other, but cannot meet. We ran like this for two hours, we were exhausted and hoarse. Finally got together. We calmed down a little. And they feel a breath of fresh air. Let's go there - and here it is, the exit!

We went down the mountain and ran to the temple. And there they bring out the Cup: “Approach with the fear of God and faith!...”. It turns out that they were the ones who ran through the labyrinth all night, until the very end of the Liturgy! They say one of them turned gray - I didn’t see it myself, I won’t lie.

Father and I walked through the caves where tourists are taken, and into the underground temple, where few people have ever been. We saw cells where hermits labored, saw stone beds on which, according to the priest, in former times there were coffins with the relics of dead monks. Very similar to what we see to this day in the caves of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra! There is an opinion that the underground monastery was founded by immigrants from the Kiev Pechersk Lavra in the 14th century. And judging by the height and width of these stone ledges, they were clearly not intended for living guests!

These icons were made by a specialist - ... a prosthetist dentist! - we again cannot understand whether Father Seraphim is joking or speaking seriously. Not kidding. - After all, by profession he is supposed to be good at making prosthetics. Only at first he made icons from wax, but the wax turned out to be susceptible to mold, and then we began to make them from paraffin. See how snow-white the faces are here...

Father Seraphim told a lot of interesting things. And about an underground lake, which local residents allegedly saw in the very depths of the caves, and near the shore, an ancient boat allegedly rocked on the waves. And about the prayer monks of these places, about the secrets that still hide these dark depths... Everything you see and hear takes your breath away.

But the excursion in the free air is not over yet. Father Seraphim led us to a lonely grave.

Father Tikhon, one of the last monks of the cave monastery, which was closed in 1917, is buried here. He didn’t go anywhere after closing, he stayed here to pray. One day they came to him with a demand to give him the monastery gold - it’s not just that, they say, he endures cold and hunger here... Father Tikhon replied that all the riches of the monastery had long been plundered, he didn’t even have a penny. He was brutally tortured and, having achieved nothing, was hacked to death with an ax. Of course, no one was looking for the killers... It was in 1928...

We stood at the grave under a sky strewn with unusually large and clear stars. And another star shone welcomingly among the grass. Firefly!... - isn’t it a wonder: after all, it’s autumn, the coolness of the night penetrates through, and he glows with a golden light, like a small spark in the night.

And Father Seraphim told us how a few years ago, just like that at night, one priest came down the stairs from this mountain... - he hesitated a little and very quietly added that now that priest had become a Bishop. - It was dark, and suddenly the whole staircase lit up, as if illuminated from below by many flickering joyful lights: these fireflies shone, illuminating the way for the future Bishop...

We did not have to hope for a repetition of such a miracle, and Father Seraphim led us down the mountain along a gentle path known only to the local residents. There was no need to stumble on the narrow steps of the stairs.

We stood still and talked about life...

“I’ll go,” said the priest. - I also have Vitka there (novice Victor - he alone replaced the entire monastic choir during the service... - approx. auto) unfed, you need to light the stove and cook dinner.

Blessed for the journey. For now, not far - to the pilgrimage hotel of the convent.

And tomorrow, after the festive Liturgy of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, we are going to Mordovia, to Kimlyai, still unknown to us.

To Kimlyai, to Archimandrite Seraphim

... Narovchat was left behind, and then the border of the Penza region. We are in Mordovia. Somewhere very close is the regional center of Kovylkino, and from there it’s a stone’s throw to the village of Kimlyai.

This is on the map.

In reality, everything turned out to be not so simple.

When we saw a sign with the inscription: “Alexander Nevsky Monastery, 3 km,” Evgeniy did not even bother turning onto the bumpy, rutted road. Don't pass!

Archimandrite Seraphim (Novakovsky).

Let's try through Volgalino - there is a village marked on the map, maybe we can get through from there.

In Volgalino, a local resident, when we asked how to get to Kimlyai, pointed to the highway along which we had just arrived. There is no other way.

But you still won't get through! No, now, after the rains, the road there is even worse than this one,” he waved his hand towards a deep and boundless puddle. - If only in the field... And then - unlikely! Don't even try: you'll get stuck!

But we took the risk anyway. Because my companions didn’t let me in alone (as if it was my first time, as a rural native, to walk off-road!): “Either we’ll all go together, or...”

But we passed!

Apparently, the abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Seraphim (Novakovsky), who was awaiting the arrival of the Samara guests, prayed well for us.

And a magnificent, handsome temple opened before our eyes.

And finally, not by telephone, we met the priest.

I have such a big date today! - said Father Seraphim. - Exactly 55 years since I have been entirely and completely in the Church.

Listen, Novakovsky, you’ll probably go to work tomorrow instead of lessons, won’t you?

Of course I'll go. It's a holiday...

Yes, I know... Well, here's what: if you prove to me that God exists, so be it, I will let you go to all holiday services. Let's prove it.

And what could I, a ninth-grader boy, answer him, how could I prove such? - Father Seraphim recalls. - And without thinking, I blurted out: “And tomorrow there will be snow!” And the autumn was warm, like now, I was wearing a short-sleeved shirt. Warm, sunny. What kind of snow is there?! And when I came home, I simply prayed: “Lord, help me! For the sake of admonishing the unbeliever, let’s at least get some precipitation!”

In the morning I got up - everything around was white and white. It snowed.

And I run to school, to the director.

Well, I say, you see, God exists!

But he reared up:

Choose - school or church!

And I chose. Church. Since then, my whole life has been in the Church. Mother and I have five children, thirteen grandchildren, and we are already expecting a fifth great-grandchild... When the children grew up, mother and I accepted monasticism. My mother pesters me from afar with text messages: how is my health, am I sick... The children, thank God, are good. Two became priests, the daughter is married to a priest.

My sons and grandsons, boys, were altar servers in their time. One day my grandson began to put on his surplice and said to me dissatisfied: “Grandfather, why is the surplice so short?” - “So this is Dankin! - I answer. - You are five years old now, but he was only two years old. That’s why there’s a short surplice…” Danya is my youngest son. I remember waiting at the altar for Danka with the censer, I had to start the service, but he was still not there. I leave the altar, and he stands with a censer and cries: “I couldn’t open the door! And it hurts my fingers...” The censer was heavy, the chain cut into my fingers...

He served in his native Pyatigorsk and beyond. When there was an Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, many priests left the Caucasus. I was offered to serve in Baku, I gladly agreed.

And I had already served here in Mordovia for many years, and Archbishop Alexander of Baku and Azerbaijan invited me to serve again in Baku. But I can’t make such a decision myself. Like a soldier: wherever they say, I will go there and serve. We met with Vladyka Alexander in Moscow, he says that my issue was resolved in all instances. “Okay, father, get ready - they’ll transfer you to us.” Good - the monk doesn't have to get ready for long. I got on the train, going to Mordovia to finish all my business here and return to Azerbaijan. And then suddenly I felt so bad, I collapsed. What a Baku!... From the train I sent a telegram to Vladyka Alexander that I was seriously ill and was staying in Kimlyai. And I immediately felt much lighter. He got out of the car with his own feet.

And on December 23 last year, a fire broke out in the monastery. Human laziness and foolishness: they put the wood in the wrong place to dry. I was lying at that time, sick. This cassock was on me, and that was the only thing left. Everything burned! But everything church was saved.

And now, you see, the temple has already been restored in all its glory. Kind people helped. We serve. Our choir is wonderful. And what beautiful icons in the temple, the altar paintings, the forged throne... - I love everything beautiful. Especially in the temple.

... I listen to the priest and think: who is seventy years old - him?! I can’t even believe it... And Father Seraphim calmly shows me a deep tomb in the lower church:

I made it for myself in advance, otherwise they’ll take it away. No, this is where I serve - this is where I should lie...

Our reader Maxim from the city of Krasnoslobodsk , which is in Mordovia, wrote:

... The Alexander Nevsky Flegontovsky Monastery was assigned a courtyard - a small church in honor of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in our little Krasnoslobodsk. And in January 2007, Archimandrite Seraphim (Novakovsky) arrived with his brethren.

Father Seraphim is a man with an immensely broad soul. Cheerful, never discouraged, purposeful. He soon managed to win over his flock, and moreover, more and more even unchurched townspeople came to the temple, who were interested in rumors about the complacent and sympathetic priest.

How many pilgrims came to the priest’s monastery in the summer!... Large buses brought people from Saratov, Samara and somewhere else. Mostly they went to Diveevo, but they certainly stopped overnight in Kimlyai. In this tiny monastery, more like a monastery, they managed to feed and accommodate everyone. For the night, the pilgrims made a bed in the temple. People came both individually and with families. Everyone wanted to talk to Father Seraphim. The spiritual father managed to devote to everyone exactly as much time as the person required.

To my question to a humble elderly nun living at the monastery how she ended up here, she replied: “By the providence of God, I learned through people that there is a priest who can give wise advice in any difficult situation.”

The last time I visited the monastery itself was in the hot summer of 2010. Even then, the construction of the new monastery church was nearing completion.

And last winter they told me that there was a fire in Kimlyai and the entire residential building burned down. By God's grace, none of the inhabitants were harmed!

I remember each of them prayerfully and ask the Lord to grant them strength, fortitude and everything necessary for salvation!

... Father Seraphim said:

I convinced one of my childhood friends to become a priest. He agrees, but his brother is hostile. Then I reminded him:

Do you remember how you ate the priest’s bread? It was hungry, after the war, and Father Mikhail’s mother brought us boys pieces of rye bread. How we ate it! Mother was still offended and said to her husband: “Misha, how can it be that A.’s father takes white bread for himself from the eve, and only leaves us black bread... Our son is so sick, he would like some white bread!” And Father Mikhail will only say: “Lida, Lida, what are you talking about! We have some bread, and there is still enough for the boys - why should we anger God! Thank God for this bread!” And you, my friend, know how much we now need to earn this bread! - I tell my friend. - Hungry old women brought it in the hope that the priest would pray for it for their deceased loved ones and for the living - children and grandchildren, for themselves, for old little legs and worn-out little hands - you see, their health will improve, and life will become easier.

So I have to beg for this priest’s bread all my life...

And the way back from the monastery, with the prayers and blessing of Father Seraphim, turned out to be much easier. The car got lost, bouncing on potholes, and flew onto the highway. On the way back to Samara...

Where it’s simple, there are about a hundred angels.

Proverbs of the Russian people. - M.: Fiction. V. I. Dal. 1989.

See what "Where it is simple, there are a hundred angels." in other dictionaries:

Where it’s simple, there are about a hundred angels; where it is cunning (where it is tricky), there is not a single one. See DIRECTNESS, CLINISHMENT...

He who kisses a lot rarely fails to bite. Caresses in the eyes. A flatterer under words, snakes under flowers. Flattery has no teeth, but will eat you with bones. Flattery seems to eat you with your teeth. Simplicity will lead to a different cunning! Politics is a rotten egg (if you break it carelessly, you’ll be alone... ... IN AND. Dal. Proverbs of the Russian people

Without further ado it is Evil- do something Without complicating the matter; without unnecessary thoughts, unnecessary undertakings. This means that a person, a group of persons (X) imagines the matter to be simple and clear. Spoken with approval. speech standard. ✦ X does what l. without further ado. unism. In the role... Phraseological Dictionary of the Russian Language

Husband. a spiritual being, gifted with reason and will. Angel of the Great Council, Savior. A guardian angel assigned by the Lord to man to protect him. Angel of light, good, kind; angel of darkness, angel, evil spirit. Someone's angel, saint, whose name is someone... Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

Wikipedia has articles about other people with this surname, see Minakov. Stanislav Aleksandrovich Minakov (born August 22, 1959 (19590822), Kharkov, Ukraine) Russian poet, prose writer, essayist, translator, publicist. Father of the poet Anna Minakova.... ... Wikipedia

Stanislav Aleksandrovich Minakov (born August 22, 1959, Kharkov, Ukraine) Russian poet, prose writer, essayist, translator, publicist. Father of the poet Anna Minakova. Contents 1 Biography 2 Participation in organizations 3 Awards ... Wikipedia

Stanislav Aleksandrovich Minakov (born August 22, 1959, Kharkov, Ukraine) Russian poet, prose writer, essayist, translator, publicist. Father of the poet Anna Minakova. Contents 1 Biography 2 Participation in organizations 3 Awards ... Wikipedia

Stanislav Aleksandrovich Minakov (born August 22, 1959, Kharkov, Ukraine) Russian poet, prose writer, essayist, translator, publicist. Father of the poet Anna Minakova. Contents 1 Biography 2 Participation in organizations 3 Awards ... Wikipedia

Cosmology in Judaism in the philosophy and theology of Judaism are reflected various ideological problems associated with cosmology (the science of the properties and evolution of the universe) at various stages of the development of this science. Evolution of views... ... Wikipedia

Books

• Guardians of Sarni Nai. Along the Taynynot Atan path. Book 2, Tymnetagin Georgy. In the remote Ural taiga, in a tract among the mountains, lives an amazing woman, whom the Khanty call...