Pestov’s attitude of the church to his works. Professor Nikolai Evgrafovich Pestov. See what “Pestov, Nikolai Evgrafovich” is in other dictionaries

Few people know that the old, long-closed cemetery in Grebnev, near Moscow, not far from the famous estate, is the last refuge for a talented professor, Doctor of Chemical Sciences, famous historian of the Orthodox Church and outstanding theologian Nikolai Evgrafovich Pestov (1892 - January 14, 1982).

Not everyone knows how to get to his tombstone, crowned with a wonderful openwork canopy with domes: neighboring fences are located right next to each other. Respected local historian colleagues who recently visited our region, it seems, did not succeed (see). On the morning of September 16, 2014, taking advantage of the beautiful sunny weather, we visited the cemetery and, not without obstacles on the way, reached the grave, remembering kindly this worthy man, to whose unusual fate our story today is dedicated...

Providence gifted Nikolai Evgrafovich with a long life that lasted nine decades. The last four decades of his long life are directly connected with Grebnev.

Nikolai Pestov was born on August 4 (17), 1892 in Nizhny Novgorod and was the last, tenth, child in the family. In 1910, having completed a full course at a real school, he entered the chemistry department of the Imperial Moscow Higher Technical School (now Bauman Moscow Higher Technical School), but without completing the course, at the beginning of the First World War (in 1914), as a volunteer, he entered the Alekseevsky Military School. In February 1916, Nikolai Pestov married the daughter of a sworn attorney, Rufina Dyachkova.

In October 1917, Lieutenant Pestov was in Luga at regimental headquarters, but in December he was already in Nizhny Novgorod, where Soviet power had been established shortly before. From February to August 1918 N.E. Pestov worked as a clerk in the Nizhny Novgorod Emergency Committee, then in the City Food Committee. On August 13, 1918, N. Pestov was arrested, spent a month and a half in prison, but was acquitted and released on November 2. Already on November 26, 1918, Nikolai Pestov was sent to work in the bodies of the Nizhny Novgorod Vsevobuch (universal military training), where he worked until the end of January 1919, joining the Communist Party in December 1918.

NOT. Pestov during the Civil War.

In the spring of 1919, N. Pestov was sent to the Northern Group of the Eastern Front, in August he was summoned to Moscow to graduate from the Central Higher Courses of Vsevobuch, while simultaneously working in the Vsevobuch Directorate at the All-Russian Main Headquarters, and, after being awarded the rank of district military commissar, he was appointed to the post of head of the Vsevobuch Directorate Priuralsky Military District. Occupying this high position, in Sverdlovsk (Ekaterinburg) N.E. Pestov repeatedly met with people such as M.V. Frunze, I.I. Vatsetis, M.N. Tukhachevsky, V.I. Shorin, G.D. Guy, S.S. Kamenev and other major military and government figures. Work by N.E. Pestova earned the approval of the chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Soviet Republic, Lev Davidovich Trotsky. On one of the books presented to Pestov, Trotsky wrote: “To my friend and ally N. Pestov as a keepsake. Leon Trotsky". According to N.E. himself Pestova, “Many years later, recalling those years, I come to the conclusion that he was truly a demonic person. And it is all the more bitter to realize that at that time I earned his approval with my actions and deeds.”

A canopy over the tombstones of the Pestovs at the old Grebnevskoye cemetery.

On the night of March 1, 1921, Nikolai Evgrafovich had a dream that radically changed his whole life. Subsequently N.E. Pestov described what he saw like this: “Some kind of semi-dark, vast dungeon with earthen walls and vaults. On the left side I see in the wall the entrance to a corridor leading somewhere down. It’s semi-dark all around... And then a luminous figure of Christ appears at the entrance. walks, or rather, seems to float through the air... Passing by me, He turned around and looked at me. In his gaze there was extraordinary seriousness, depth, penetration and severity: not only all-forgiving Power and Greatness, but the Fire of power, holiness and endlessly condescending love... I fall to my knees and bow to Him to the ground... I woke up instantly... what happened? I am a commissar, and suddenly - Christ? Why? Why? Complete confusion of all feelings... And a fiery thought burning the consciousness: “After all, I am a sinner, an unrepentant sinner, and around me there is dirt, vice and blood... And the look of Christ...” And, in another place: “That night the Lord entered my heart, and since then, no matter what I did or felt, I know that Christ was always next to me, always remains next to me and never left me."...In July 1921, Nikolai Evgrafovich resigned from the ranks of the Red Army, demobilized and went to Moscow to complete his education. That same year, his wife, Rufina, left him. They never met again.

Old sign on a wooden cross.

In the fall of 1921 N.E. Pestov attended a lecture by the outstanding figure of the Russian Student Christian Movement (RSCM) Vladimir Filimonovich Martsinkovsky (1884 - 1971).

V.F. Martsinkovsky. Photo from here.

After some time, Nikolai Evgrafovich met a student of the Moscow Higher Technical University named after. Bauman, and the soul of the Christian student circle Zoya Veniaminovna Bezdetnova (1899 - 1974) and became her assistant in organizing Martsinkovsky’s lectures on spiritual topics at the Moscow Higher Technical School. On May 20, 1923, the wedding of Nikolai Evgrafovich and Zoya Veniaminovna took place in the Church of the Ascension on the Pea Field.

Z.V. Pestova (ur. Bezdetnova). Photo from here.

In the same 1923, after the next arrest of V.F. Martsinkovsky was deported to Germany. The following year, 1924all activities of circles dedicated to preaching the Gospel among students were prohibited, but some of the circle members continued to work illegally, held classes and even congresses of members of the movement in private apartments, in particular, this happened in the apartment of Nikolai Evgrafovich and Zoya Veniaminovna Pestov.
In November 1924, members of the Christian Student Circle were arrested. Nikolai Pestov spent 40 days in Butyrka prison, receiving notification of his release on the day of his angel, St. Nicholas. During the arrests of members of the circle, Zoya Veniaminovna, as a nursing mother, was released from arrest (on February 18, 1924, the first-born, named Nikolai, was born [see. ].

The Pestov family. Pre-war photography. From here.

Returning from prison, N.E. Pestov stopped visiting renovationist churches, became a permanent parishioner of St. Nicholas Church in Klenniki on Maroseyka and the spiritual son of Fr. Sergei (Mechev) (1892 - 1942), canonized as a holy martyr in 2000. On September 8, 1925, a daughter, Natalia, was born into the Pestov family, and on October 8, 1927, a third child was born - a son, Sergei.

Tombstone N.E. Pestova.

Nikolai Evgrafovich worked as an employee of the Scientific Institute for Fertilizers. Subsequently, after graduating from the Moscow Higher Technical University, he worked as an assistant to Academician E.V. Britske, and later taught an assistant professor course on fertilizer technology, he moved to the 2nd Moscow Chemical Technology Institute, and then to the Military Academy of Chemical Defense of the Red Army named after. K. E. Voroshilov, where as head. He worked at the Department of Potassium Salts until October 1933. In the fall of 1933, Nikolai Pestov left the Military Chemical Academy and until the fall of 1937 he taught at the Moscow Chemical Technology Institute. Mendeleev, where he taught a course, supervised graduation design and diploma works in the specialty “Technology of Mineral Fertilizers”. In 1937, N. Pestov refused to speak at a meeting to condemn the arrested head of the department, Professor Yushkevich, under whose direct supervision he worked. For this he was released from work at the Moscow Art Institute. Mendeleev. What remains is work at the Fertilizer Research Institute (NIUIF).

Tombstone Z.V. Pestova.

In the summer of 1939, N. Pestov was elected head of the Department of Chemistry. MIEI technologies. In addition, from December 1942 to October 1943, he was dean of the Faculty of Chemistry. From October 1943 he served as deputy director for scientific and educational work. After defense In January 1941, N.E. defended his doctoral dissertation at the USSR Academy of Sciences. Pestov on the topic "Physico-chemical properties of powdery and granular products of the chemical industry." NOT. Pestov was approved for the degree of Doctor of Chemical Sciences.

The Great Patriotic War began. Due to bronchial asthma N.E. Pestov was exempted from conscription into the army. Son Kolya was 17 years old. In September 1942 he was drafted into the army, and in October 1943 he was killed in action.

Son N.E. Pestova, N.N. Pestov.

During the war years N.E. Pestov conducted intensive scientific and pedagogical activities. On November 4, 1944, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, and in 1946 - the medal “For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War.” During the war, the Pestov family did not leave Moscow for evacuation.

On February 8, 1948, Nikolai Evgrafovich’s daughter, a student at the Stroganov Institute, Natalia Nikolaevna (September 8, 1925 - January 23, 2014) married the psalm-reader of churches near Moscow in the village. Grebnevo, Vladimir Petrovich Sokolov (1920-1995), son of Deacon Pyotr Vasilyevich (1886-1941) who served in this church and died in prison and Elizaveta Semyonovna Nikologorskaya (1883-1959) , - daughter of the priest of the churches of the village of Grebnevo, Semyon Nikologorsky. On February 14 of the same year, Vladimir Sokolov was ordained a deacon in his home parish.
From that time on, Nikolai Evgrafovich, who continued to work at MIEI and part-time at NIUIF, began to visit Grebnev, visiting the family of his daughter and his grandchildren. From approx. In 1960, together with Zoya Veniaminovna, the writer spent his summer vacation here, renting a dacha. According to the memoirs of grandson N.E. Pestova: “My childhood passed in the village of Grebnevo, Moscow region. This is the fifties. Summer pictures are etched in my memory, when my grandfather and grandmother lived not far from us in the country. Grandfather regularly traveled to Moscow (perhaps he was still working then), and we Mom and I went to meet him in a birch grove. From the grove, far beyond the field, the Moscow road with cars going along it was clearly visible. Mom and us sat down on a hill near the “holy well,” and we began to watch, not forgetting to jump and run into birch edge. But on the horizon a bus stopped, and we peered into the distance until our eyes hurt: had grandpa arrived. Finally, someone, first alone, and then everyone saw a small white figure on the horizon, more like a dot. It’s grandpa, in the summer he always wore a white Panama hat and a white jacket, in his hands he had heavy bags with food and gifts for his grandchildren. We raced towards him along a narrow path. I still remember these joyful moments of the meeting. Grandfather is forced to stop, put the bags on the ground, otherwise it’s impossible : alternately one or the other naughty guy hangs around his neck. This is followed by the distribution of sweets. Grandfather always kept a tin box with lollipops or other sweets in the side pocket of his sweatshirt. Grandfather takes it out, taps it with his fingers and solemnly opens it. Having treated us all, he continues on his way, surrounded by people who greet him. We go with grandfather to my mother, who is still waiting for us at the “holy well”. Grandfather often received reproaches from both mother and grandmother for interrupting the children’s appetite with sweets, etc., but, as I remember, he always had a box of sweets in his pocket and was always regularly replenished. Literally all the children whom grandfather met at the dacha, in the forest on a walk, or somewhere else were treated to sweets." [see 3]...

Nikolai Evgrafovich and Zoya Veniaminovna Pestov. Photo from here.

After retiring, Nikolai Evgrafovich concentrated all his energy on working on his main theological work - the multi-volume dissertation “The Path to Perfect Joy,” or, as he also called it: “The Experience of Building a Christian World Outlook.” All works of Pestov the theologian were published posthumously. The most famous of these was the two-volume work “The Modern Practice of Christian Piety.” His works soon began to enjoy great success and reprints of them were distributed throughout many cities and villages of Russia.

NOT. Pestov near the Grebnevsky churches. Photo 1975 from the book N.N. Sokolova "The Church of the village of Grebnevo during the years of persecution."

Old friends, young people, and former members of the Christian student circle flocked to Grebnevo from Moscow. According to the memoirs of his daughter M.E. Pestov, Natalya Nikolaevna Sokolova: “A crowd of children often gathered around Nikolai Evgrafovich, who was relaxing on a bench [near the Grebnev churches], to whom the old man tirelessly talked about the First World War, and about the revolution, and about the saints... He discussed with the audience characters and behavior of the heroes of classical and fiction literature known to everyone from school. Nikolai Evgrafovich was critical, for example, of Lermontov, was indignant at the behavior of Pechorin, calling him a scoundrel. Lermontov found something beautiful in the image of a demon, and Nikolai Evgrafovich argued that in Satan there is nothing attractive, but only lies, vileness and sinful filth... These conversations lasted about two hours and left a deep impression on everyone."

Orthodox youth in Grebnevo. Photo from 1977 From here.

At a time when spiritual literature was not available to believers, many of them asked to read books from his home spiritual library. Many books from the library of N.E. Pestov were often passed from hand to hand and were returned only after many years, or even not returned at all. Soon, the latter circumstance prompted Nikolai Evgrafovich to start copying spiritual literature and independently publishing his works. Over many years, from the huge volume of books, certain, most popular ones stood out publications authors that grandfather was always asked for and even ordered. Typists helped in copying the text. Ready-made blocks N.E. Pestov bound it with his own hands. According to the recollections of relatives, in the year N.E. Pestov published up to 100 copies of books with spiritual content, and this was in those years when such activities were strictly punished by the authorities [see. 3; 5].

Nikolai Evgrafovich Pestov (sitting in the front row), Yuri Kochetkov (standing behind him). Top row from right to left: grandchildren of N.E. Pestova Seraphim and Fedor Sokolov, hereinafter - Alexander Kopirovsky. In front of Fyodor Sokolov, standing a little to the right is Evgenia Kuzminichna Kochetkova. 1970s. Photo from here.

In 1973, shortly after the celebration of the “golden” wedding, his wife Zoya Veniaminovna died. After spending the summer of 1981 in Grebnev, in the fall N.E. Pestov returned to Moscow, where he died on the night of January 14, 1982. On January 16, a funeral service took place in the Church of the Holy Martyrs Adrian and Natalia, after which his ashes were transported to Grebnevo and buried near the grave of Zoya Veniaminovna. Subsequently, at the expense of Nikolai Evgrafovich’s admirers, the current forged canopy, decorated with bunches of grapes, was erected over the burials - a deep Christian symbol - an emblem of salvation and rebirth to eternal life.

On Nikolai Evgrafovich’s tombstone you can read the gospel words: “May my joy be in you and your joy be complete” (John 15:11), the words with which the author’s well-known article “Perfect Joy” began [see. ; 9], and the path to which he dedicated his work “The Path to Perfect Joy” [see. ]. 32 years have passed since the death of Nikolai Evgrafovich, but to this day his theological works find fertile soil in the souls of wide circles of Orthodox readers, and grown-up children, whom the gray-haired old professor once treated with sweets, bring them to his grave in the old cemetery park.. .

Cm .
7. Sokolova N.N. Church in the village of Grebnevo during the years of persecution. M., 2006.
8. “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser” (John 15:1).
9. See: Pestov N.E. Modern practice of Orthodox piety. Book IV. St. Petersburg, 1996.

The fates of Christians who passed through the crucible of Soviet times are different. Some suffered a more difficult fate, others less. The life of Nikolai Evgrafovich Pestov, a famous spiritual writer, professor, doctor of chemical sciences, author of the books “Paths to Perfect Joy” (“The Experience of Building a Christian World Outlook”) and “Modern Practice of Orthodox Piety” is the path of a pious layman, an exemplary family man and completely loyal to citizen power. However, behind the external well-being of his life in his mature years, there is hidden inner depth, intense work on his own soul... Pestov’s youth is also instructive - the years of wandering and falling away from God.

Nikolai Evgrafovich Pestov was born on August 17 (4), 1892 in Nizhny Novgorod and was the last, tenth, child of Evgraf Fedorovich Pestov from his second marriage. The father came from the bourgeoisie, the mother from the merchant class. Nikolai Evgrafovich recalls about his parents that they were very kind people.

The family celebrated church holidays, but the boy was not taught to pray; only the nanny in the family prayed. The father died when the boy was 6 years old. Since the age of 7, Nikolai has been studying Russian language, literature, and arithmetic with his sisters. Once a week, a deacon from the Elias Church comes to him and teaches him the Law of God.

When the boy turned 11 years old, his mother and sisters decided to send him to a real school. There he is interested in astronomy, chemistry, the Esperanto language, and participates in theatrical productions. He even translated one of Chekhov's stories into Esperanto. E. Renan's book "The Life of Jesus" had a negative impact on the young man's life - after reading it, he became an atheist. At the same time, the young man becomes acquainted with Marxist literature.

After graduating from real school, Nikolai entered the chemistry department of the Imperial Moscow Higher Technical School. He lives in Moscow with his godfather, a wealthy merchant, and mostly studies independently in laboratories and libraries, giving lessons to schoolchildren. He attends the theater and leads a normal lifestyle for a young man.

In 1914 he entered a military school and became an ensign. As a chemistry specialist, he goes to the front, where he participates in preparing soldiers for chemical defense. There was a case when Nikolai had to defuse a bomb: in order to get it to its destination and avoid an explosion, he had to take the deadly object in his hands and ride in a truck shaking on a broken road. In 1916, the young man was promoted to second lieutenant, and in the same year he married Rufina Dyachkova, the daughter of a sworn attorney.

After the February Revolution, Nikolai Pestov was elected a member of the regimental committee and the regimental court. The review says about him: “He knows his service well and takes it seriously. A very tactful, disciplined and self-possessed officer. He has excellent abilities and knowledge. A wonderful comrade with a sympathetic and noble heart.” For military distinction he was awarded the Order of St. Stanislav III degree and the Order of St. Anna III degree.

After the October Revolution, he returned to Nizhny Novgorod and went to work at the Nizhny Novgorod City Food Committee. In the conditions of the offensive of the White Guard units, Pestov was arrested as a former officer. He escapes death during the “Red Terror,” when every tenth prisoner was shot, having previously lined everyone up in a row. Tenth in the row was Pestov’s father-in-law, standing next to him.

For “a greater opportunity to serve the Motherland” he joins the Communist Party. Works at Vsevobuch (General Military Education), studies at higher courses. Receives the rank of military commissar. His wife also joins the party. In 1919 he was sent to the Eastern Front, deployed against Kolchak. And here is his wife next to him. In the post of district military commissar N. E. Pestov was appointed head of the Vsevobuch of the Priural Military District. He meets Trotsky, whom he would later call a “demonic personality.” “For every revolutionary killed, we will kill five counter-revolutionaries!” - said Trotsky. Pestov later admitted with bitterness that he had earned Trotsky's favor.

During his last visit to Yekaterinburg, Trotsky presented Nikolai Evgrafovich with his book with a dedicatory inscription: “To my friend and comrade-in-arms N. Pestov as a keepsake. Leon Trotsky."

In 1921, N. E. Pestov’s wife left him, and in the same year he resigned from the Red Army. This step was facilitated by a deep internal fracture. One day in a dream, he sees that he is in a dungeon, the sisters are standing behind him, and Christ passes by him along the corridor, turning a loving and stern look at him. Uncle Pestov follows Christ. Nikolai Evgrafovich wakes up in confusion and immediately realizes that he is an unrepentant sinner, that there is dirt and blood all around... In a dream, he bowed to Christ alone, the sisters stood as if seeing nothing. Nikolai Evgrafovich writes that that night the Lord entered his heart and since then has never left him.

After being discharged from the army, Pestov moved to Moscow and was reinstated at the Moscow Higher Technical School. His relatives do not accept him, calling him a “chekist” behind his back. By chance he comes across a lecture by V. Martsinkovsky, the leader of the Christian circles movement, entitled “Did Christ Live?” “Suddenly, as if a scale had fallen from my eyes, in the simple words of the Gospel that the lecturer read, I heard the answer to the questions that tormented me,” writes Nikolai Evgrafovich. Tears flowed from his eyes, and he cried for the rest of the evening. The young man left the lecture a Christian. He becomes a member of the Christian circle at Moscow Higher Technical School. In the same year, he visited the Volga region, gripped by a terrible famine, and saw all the horrors of the typhus epidemic. In the circle he meets his future wife, Zoya Veniaminovna, and soon, in 1923, they get married. They have a son, Nikolai, a daughter, Natalya, and a son, Sergei.

New convictions do not allow N. E. Pestov to remain in the party, he destroyed his party card, did not pass the next registration and was expelled from the ranks of the RCP (b).

In 1924, he spent 40 days in Butyrki along with other members of the Christian circle. In prison, he meets a man who was a former member of the community of the temple in the name of St. Nicholas on Maroseyka. After leaving prison, he comes under the spiritual guidance of Fr. Sergius (Mecheva), becomes a member of the Maroseya community. This temple becomes his second home. At that time there were all-night services that lasted until the morning. In the temple, Nikolai Evgrafovich becomes something like an elder. Here his formation as a Christian takes place, he gradually accustoms himself to the constant Jesus Prayer, experiencing the full depth of evil into which his soul plunged when he was not a Christian. His “general” confession of all the sins committed in life dates back to this time. He makes a pilgrimage to Diveevo, independently studies theological and philosophical literature, including the Philokalia, books by V. Solovyov and P. Florensky.

According to the daughter’s recollections, “dad always smelled of affection, peace and quiet.” He was reserved and polite with everyone, and everyone loved him. Natalya Nikolaevna writes that her “feelings for her father over the years turned into feelings for God: a feeling of complete trust, a feeling of happiness - to be with her Beloved; a feeling of hope that everything will work out, everything will be fine; a feeling of peace and tranquility of the soul in the strong and mighty hands of the Beloved.” “Dad never punished us strictly, but mom said: “The children are making ropes out of you!” But dad answered: “Where love operates, there is no need for severity.” The father took the children to church; the daughter especially loved these trips; she writes that “being next to my father for several hours was happiness for me.” But in the 30s, all the churches were closed, there was nowhere to go, and at home the icons were hidden in a closet and covered with curtains. The nun Mother Evnikia lived in the family under the guise of Nikolai Evgrafovich’s mother.

When the children grew up, parents began to hire German governesses, and soon the children spoke fluent German. One of the governesses turned out to be a sectarian, and sectarian letters began to arrive at the Pestovs’ address, which led to Zoya Veniaminovna’s arrest. Investigators told her that her husband had been arrested, her children were in an orphanage, and when asked “why?” They answered: “Tell me yourself,” provoking the woman. All this happened to her in Samara; her husband was not around at that moment. Having learned about what happened, Nikolai Evgrafovich went to Samara. Wandering around the city in the evening, he read the troparion to St. Seraphim three times and asked to spend the night in the third house. It turned out that one of the girls who lived there worked in the prison hospital, where Zoya Veniaminovna was lying, and could tell him about her. Fortunately, the wife was soon released.

One day Nikolai Evgrafovich was traveling on a train, thinking about his own things and not participating in the conversation of his fellow travelers. One of them, like many at that time, overcome by the demon of suspicion, declared that the taciturn passenger was an enemy of the people and should be handed over to the relevant authorities. Pestov had a Bible with him; its discovery during a search would have resulted in arrest. Fortunately, one of the company members promised to give the threat to drink before the arrival of the train, and Nikolai Evgrafovich managed to leave the carriage on time.

Sometimes liturgies were served in the Pestov house. Those gathered spoke in whispers and sang quietly - “like mosquitoes buzzing.”

Nikolai Evgrafovich’s professional career is developing successfully, he receives thanks and certificates for his hard work, working as a teacher and researcher at various Moscow institutes and specializing in the field of chemical fertilizer production technology. The matter, however, is not without troubles. Pestov spoke out against the arrest of prof. Yushkevich, the head of one of the departments of the Mendeleev Institute, and he is fired from the institute. The family is waiting for further repressions, but Pestov is not even arrested. In 1941 he defended his doctoral dissertation. In total, Nikolai Evgrafovich wrote about 160 scientific works, monographs and articles during his life. In 1944 he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, in 1953 - the Order of Lenin, which was presented to him by Kalinin at the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

However, work does not prevent him from devoting a lot of time to his children. He spent all his holidays with them - he played tennis, croquet, volleyball with them, taught them to swim, and went boating. In winter, he went to the skating rink with them and skated himself. In general, the atmosphere in the family was ascetic, and if it weren’t for the children, it would have been sad. My father fasted strictly, and scandals constantly arose between him and my mother when she asked him to eat a quick meal. The father strove for holiness, and his ascetic life was beyond the power of his wife. This caused tension in the family, the children prayed for peace between their parents and were very happy when they found them clinging to each other and cheerful.

Having learned about the start of the war, Zoya Veniaminovna trembled and began to repeat: “They will kill Kolya, they will kill...” - which is what subsequently happened. The family did not go to evacuation and remained in Moscow. The children did not run to the shelter during the bombing, but went to bed, having prayed and with the firm faith that without the will of the Almighty “not a hair from their heads would be lost.”

In 1943, the eldest son Nikolai died in battle.

By the end of the war years, Nikolai Evgrafovich stopped hiding his beliefs. He covered all the walls of his office with icons and religious paintings by Vasnetsov and Nesterov. He went to church again and was not afraid to meet his colleagues or students there.

The students loved Professor Pestov. He didn’t force them to memorize formulas, didn’t struggle with cheat sheets, so no one used them. For exams and tests, he allowed students to bring with them and keep open on the table any textbooks, notebooks and notes.

At the end of the 50s, Nikolai Evgrafovich wrote the first works on theology. He combined them into two volumes entitled: “Paths to Perfect Joy, or Experience in Building a Christian Worldview.” In those same years, the first edition of the book about his son who died at the front was written, as well as the first edition of the book “Above the Apocalypse.” At the age of 68, Pestov retired, or rather, he was fired for refusing to conduct atheistic propaganda in his academic work. From then on, he devoted himself to theology, studied the Fathers of the Church, became acquainted with Catholic and Protestant theology, and even said that this made his soul akin to Western Christianity. After becoming familiar with Western religious and philosophical works, he began to perceive the entire Christian Church as a whole, as a single tree with branches.

Nikolai Evgrafovich received many grateful reviews, including from the patriarch: “People really, really need your work. Thank you... May the Lord bless you in all your affairs..." (Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Pimen, May 14, 1977).

Zoya Veniaminovna was also a person of amazing talents. She knew and remembered a lot of historical events, names, and you could listen to her for hours. She captivatingly recited by heart the poems of Pushkin, Lermontov, Nekrasov, Nadson and many other poets. She lived in the spirit of apostleship: she could approach anyone in the church and ask: “Do you understand what they are singing, what they are reading?” And then she was ready not only to explain, but to ignite the soul of her interlocutor with the same faith that she herself had. This happened especially often with young people. They listened to her with pleasure, often after the service somewhere in the park she continued to share with the person what was most dear to her. This happened a few days before her death. She educated young female students for a long time after the service on the street in Sokolniki. It was cold, Zoya Veniaminovna caught a cold, got pneumonia and died. This happened in 1973.

Nikolai Evgrafovich escorted his wife to eternal life with a fervent, tearful prayer. For more than a year, he endlessly read akathists and canons about the repose of his wife’s soul, often sat detached from life, not noticing time, forgetting about everything... But time healed his soul; in 1975 he moved to a new apartment, life around him was in full swing, and he again became alive and joyful.

Over the years, Nikolai Evgrafovich’s life feat did not weaken, but only intensified. The children write that their father set himself up for such a clear and strict regime that sometimes one could only be surprised at his endurance. The elderly man's entire day was clearly planned out - literally minute by minute. He considered it his duty to prepare breakfast for his grandchildren and make sure they were not late for classes.

Most of the time after leaving work was spent receiving visitors. People were drawn to him like moths to a light. These were old friends, former members of the Christian student circle, and “Maroseans”, but there were also many young people among those who came. Nikolai Evgrafovich did not regret and was not afraid to give them the rarest books from the catalog of spiritual literature, always remembering that a book is only useful when it is read. In the last years of his life, he primarily concentrated all his work on the reproduction of spiritual literature that was not published by state publishing houses. Literature was taken far and wide in considerable quantities, which greatly pleased the “publisher” and gave him new strength.

This is how one person close to him writes in his memoirs about Nikolai Evgrafovich: “What I valued most in him was his understanding of the souls of people without long conversations, sometimes without words at all, without even a glance, but simply with his presence...” Seeing off a visitor if he had to travel , he certainly prayed with the departing person about the upcoming journey.

Every week Nikolai Evgrafovich received the Holy Mysteries of Christ at the early Sunday liturgy. All-night vigils, akathists, Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, he usually read the services of Holy Week privately. Slowly, touchingly and with deep concentration, hours of these prayers passed in his room. The grandchildren also took part in these prayers, reading the Trisagion, the Six Psalms and quietly singing along with their grandfather’s familiar irmos.

During his lifetime, his grandchildren served as subdeacons in the Elias Church in Obydenny Lane on Kropotkinskaya, where the patriarch also served. The ordination of his grandson (Monk Sergius) to the deacon was performed by Patriarch Pimen himself.

In the last months before his death, Nikolai Evgrafovich almost did not get up. A severe stomach illness made itself felt. After Christmas 1982, his strength finally left him. He died on the night of January 14, 1982, on the feast of the Circumcision of the Lord and the day of remembrance of St. Basil the Great, whom he greatly revered.

In conclusion, we present concise wording-mottos compiled by Nikolai Evgrafovich Pestov for all occasions.

1. To God - trembling, anticipation of death, the Last Judgment, unceasing prayer.
2. To people - love, friendliness, affection, non-judgment and to be a servant to everyone.
3. Prayer is thorough.
4. Actions are the will of the Lord.
5. Words - great caution.
6. Thoughts include a conversation with the Lord (unceasing prayer) and the memory of death.
7. The body is harsh.
8. Food - moderation.
9. Appearance - cheerfulness, vitality and helpfulness.
10. Soul and memory - crying about sins.
11. Time - frugality.
12. Labor - thoroughness and diligence.
13. Money and material wealth - generosity.
14. Requests - attention and fulfillment.
15. Your personal interests are oblivion.
16. To the offenders and reproaches - thanksgiving.
17. Praise is followed by silence and internal self-deprecation.
18. Temptations - escape.
19. Laughter - abstinence.
20. Memory - an abyss of sins committed.
21. Treat others with patience.
22. To illnesses - patience with thanksgiving. Christians do not have the word “misfortune,” but “the will of God.”

Spiritual writer, Doctor of Chemical Sciences, professor, scientist and teacher. Nikolai Evgrafovich was born in Nizhny Novgorod on August 17, 1892. His father belonged to the bourgeois class, his mother belonged to the merchant class. As a result of the influence of the literature of the Marxists and Renan, he became an atheist, becoming a military commissar in 1919–1921.

About what is written about the period of commissarship in the writer’s diary, only these notes can be found: “Remembering all this evil that I committed in those years is the hardest thing for me... This whole nightmare... All this happened in the absence of my Christian faith.." In 1921, on the first of March, Christ appeared to Nicholas in a dream. That night the Lord entered his heart, and from then on, no matter what Nikolai did, no matter what he felt, he knew that Christ was always with him, and God’s help never left him.

N.E. Pestov was known as a prominent scientist working in the field of mineral fertilizers. He was engaged in teaching at many of the capital's largest universities. January 1941 was the time of defending his doctoral dissertation and the beginning of writing a number of books that have not yet lost their methodological and scientific significance.

He began to engage in activities related to writing theological works during wartime, after Nikolai, his nineteen-year-old son, died in battle in the fall of 1943.

The first book that marked the beginning of the literary and spiritual period of Nikolai Evgrafovich Pestov was a book entitled “To the blessed memory of Kolyusha, or a monument at the grave of his son.” This book was based on Nicholas's letters from the front and various documents. After some time, this story was renamed by the author, receiving the title “Life for Eternity.”

The memory of his son also served to continue his work on moral theology. It was the memories of his son that became the main motives for creating the most interesting two-volume book “The Path to Perfect Joy” for writing the first edition of the book “Above the Apocalypse”.

The mid-fifties became significant for Nikolai Evgrafovich Pestov in that it was then that he began work on his main philosophical and religious work. This is a multi-volume dissertation with the unifying title “Modern practice of Orthodox piety (The experience of building a Christian worldview).” At that time there could be no question of going to the printing industry to print something like that. Therefore, publishing “samizdat” was the only possible option, and the demand for the multi-volume “Modern Practice of Orthodox Piety (The Experience of Building a Christian World Outlook)” was very great. It was copied many times on typewriters, and then in our time this work became a gem of Orthodox literature.

Nikolai Evgrafovich Pestov

The fates of Christians who passed through the crucible of Soviet times are different. Some suffered a more difficult fate, others less. The life of Nikolai Evgrafovich Pestov, a famous spiritual writer, professor, doctor of chemical sciences, author of the books “Paths to Perfect Joy” (“The Experience of Building a Christian World Outlook”) and “Modern Practice of Orthodox Piety” is the path of a pious layman, an exemplary family man and completely loyal to citizen power. However, behind the external well-being of his life in his mature years, there is hidden inner depth, intense work on his own soul... Pestov’s youth is also instructive - the years of wandering and falling away from God.

Nikolai Evgrafovich Pestov was born on August 17 (4), 1892 in Nizhny Novgorod and was the last, tenth, child of Evgraf Fedorovich Pestov from his second marriage. His father came from the bourgeoisie, his mother from the merchant class. Nikolai Evgrafovich recalls about his parents that they were very kind people. The family celebrated church holidays, but the boy was not taught to pray; only the nanny in the family prayed. The father died when the boy was 6 years old. Since the age of 7, Nikolai has been studying Russian language, literature, and arithmetic with his sisters. Once a week, a deacon from the Elias Church comes to him and teaches him the Law of God.

When the boy turned 11 years old, his mother and sisters decided to send him to a real school. There he is interested in astronomy, chemistry, the Esperanto language, and participates in theatrical productions. He even translated one of Chekhov's stories into Esperanto. E. Renan's book “The Life of Jesus” had a negative impact on the young man's life - after reading it, he became an atheist. At the same time, the young man becomes acquainted with Marxist literature.

After graduating from real school, Nikolai entered the chemistry department of the Imperial Moscow Higher Technical School. He lives in Moscow with his godfather, a wealthy merchant, and mostly studies independently in laboratories and libraries, giving lessons to schoolchildren. He attends the theater and leads a normal lifestyle for a young man.

In 1914 he entered a military school and became an ensign. As a chemistry specialist, he goes to the front, where he participates in preparing soldiers for chemical defense. There was a case when Nikolai had to defuse a bomb: in order to get it to its destination and avoid an explosion, he had to take the deadly object in his arms and ride in a truck shaking on a broken road. In 1916, the young man was promoted to second lieutenant, and in the same year he married Rufina Dyachkova, the daughter of a sworn attorney.

After the February Revolution, Nikolai Pestov was elected a member of the regimental committee and the regimental court. The review says about him: “He knows his service well and takes it seriously. A very tactful, disciplined and self-possessed officer. He has excellent abilities and knowledge. A wonderful comrade with a sympathetic and noble heart.” For military distinction he was awarded the Order of St. Stanislav III degree and the Order of St. Anna III degree.

After the October Revolution, he returned to Nizhny Novgorod and went to work at the Nizhny Novgorod City Food Committee. In the conditions of the offensive of the White Guard units, Pestov was arrested as a former officer. He escapes death during the “Red Terror,” when every tenth prisoner was shot, having previously lined everyone up in a row. Tenth in the row was Pestov’s father-in-law, standing next to him.

For “a greater opportunity to serve the Motherland” he joins the Communist Party. Works at Vsevobuch (General Military Education), studies at higher courses. Receives the rank of military commissar. His wife also joins the party. In 1919 he was sent to the Eastern Front, deployed against Kolchak. And here is his wife next to him. In the post of district military commissar N.E. Pestov was appointed head of the Vsevobuch of the Priural Military District. He meets Trotsky, whom he would later call a “demonic personality.” “For every revolutionary killed, we will kill five counter-revolutionaries!” - said Trotsky. Pestov later admitted with bitterness that he had earned Trotsky's favor.

During his last visit to Yekaterinburg, Trotsky presented Nikolai Evgrafovich with his book with a dedicatory inscription: “To my friend and comrade-in-arms N. Pestov as a keepsake. Leon Trotsky."

In 1921 from N.E. Pestov's wife leaves, and in the same year he retires from the Red Army. This step was facilitated by a deep internal fracture. One day in a dream, he sees that he is in a dungeon, the sisters are standing behind him, and Christ passes by him along the corridor, turning a loving and stern look at him. Uncle Pestov follows Christ. Nikolai Evgrafovich wakes up in confusion and immediately realizes that he is an unrepentant sinner, that there is dirt and blood all around... In a dream, he bowed to Christ alone, the sisters stood as if seeing nothing. Nikolai Evgrafovich writes that that night the Lord entered his heart and since then has never left him.

After being discharged from the army, Pestov moved to Moscow and was reinstated at the Moscow Higher Technical School. His relatives do not accept him, calling him a “chekist” behind his back. By chance he comes across a lecture by V. Martsinkovsky, the leader of the Christian circles movement, entitled “Did Christ Live?” “Suddenly, as if a scale had fallen from my eyes, in the simple words of the Gospel that the lecturer read, I heard the answer to the questions that tormented me,” writes Nikolai Evgrafovich. Tears flowed from his eyes, and he cried for the rest of the evening. The young man left the lecture a Christian. He becomes a member of the Christian circle at Moscow Higher Technical School. In the same year, he visited the Volga region, gripped by a terrible famine, and saw all the horrors of the typhus epidemic. In the circle he meets his future wife, Zoya Veniaminovna, and soon, in 1923, they get married. They have a son, Nikolai, a daughter, Natalya, and a son, Sergei.

New beliefs do not allow N.E. Pestov to remain in the party, he destroyed his party card, did not pass the next registration and was expelled from the ranks of the RCP (b).

In 1924, he spent 40 days in Butyrki along with other members of the Christian circle. In prison, he meets a man who was a former member of the community of the temple in the name of St. Nicholas on Maroseyka. After leaving prison, he comes under the spiritual guidance of Fr. Sergius (Mecheva), becomes a member of the Maroseya community. This temple becomes his second home. At that time there were all-night services that lasted until the morning. In the temple, Nikolai Evgrafovich becomes something like an elder. Here his formation as a Christian takes place, he gradually accustoms himself to the constant Jesus Prayer, experiencing the full depth of evil into which his soul plunged when he was not a Christian. His “general” confession of all sins committed in life dates back to this time. He makes a pilgrimage to Diveevo, independently studies theological and philosophical literature, including the Philokalia, books by V. Solovyov and P. Florensky.

According to the daughter’s recollections, “dad always smelled of affection, peace and quiet.” He was reserved and polite with everyone, and everyone loved him. Natalya Nikolaevna writes that her “feelings for her father over the years turned into feelings for God: a feeling of complete trust, a feeling of happiness - to be with her Beloved; a feeling of hope that everything will work out, everything will be fine; a feeling of peace and tranquility of the soul in the strong and mighty hands of the Beloved.” “Dad never punished us strictly, but mom said: “The children are making ropes out of you!” But dad answered: “Where love operates, there is no need for severity.” The father took the children to church; the daughter especially loved these trips; she writes that “being next to my father for several hours was happiness for me.” But in the 30s, all the churches were closed, there was nowhere to go, and at home the icons were hidden in a closet and covered with curtains. The nun Mother Evnikia lived in the family under the guise of Nikolai Evgrafovich’s mother.

When the children grew up, parents began to hire German governesses, and soon the children spoke fluent German. One of the governesses turned out to be a sectarian, and sectarian letters began to arrive at the Pestovs’ address, which led to Zoya Veniaminovna’s arrest. Investigators told her that her husband had been arrested, her children were in an orphanage, and when asked “for what?” They answered: “Tell me yourself,” provoking the woman. All this happened to her in Samara; her husband was not around at that moment. Having learned about what happened, Nikolai Evgrafovich went to Samara. Wandering around the city in the evening, he read the troparion to St. Seraphim three times and asked to spend the night in the third house. It turned out that one of the girls who lived there worked in the prison hospital, where Zoya Veniaminovna was lying, and could tell him about her. Fortunately, the wife was soon released.

One day Nikolai Evgrafovich was traveling on a train, thinking about his own things and not participating in the conversation of his fellow travelers. One of them, like many at that time, overcome by the demon of suspicion, declared that the taciturn passenger was an enemy of the people and should be handed over to the relevant authorities. Pestov had a Bible with him - its discovery during a search would have resulted in arrest. Fortunately, one of the company members promised to give the threat to drink before the arrival of the train, and Nikolai Evgrafovich managed to leave the carriage on time.

Sometimes liturgies were served in the Pestov house. Those gathered spoke in whispers and sang quietly - “like mosquitoes buzzing.”

Nikolai Evgrafovich’s professional career is developing successfully, he receives thanks and certificates for his hard work, working as a teacher and researcher at various Moscow institutes and specializing in the field of chemical fertilizer production technology. The matter, however, is not without troubles. Pestov spoke out against the arrest of prof. Yushkevich, the head of one of the departments of the Mendeleev Institute, and he is fired from the institute. The family is waiting for further repressions, but Pestov is not even arrested. In 1941 he defended his doctoral dissertation. In total, Nikolai Evgrafovich wrote about 160 scientific works, monographs and articles during his life. In 1944 he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, in 1953 - the Order of Lenin, which was presented to him by Kalinin at the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

However, work does not prevent him from devoting a lot of time to his children. He spent all his holidays with them - he played tennis, croquet, volleyball with them, taught them to swim, and went boating. In winter, he went to the skating rink with them and skated himself. In general, the atmosphere in the family was ascetic, and if it weren’t for the children, it would have been sad. My father fasted strictly, and scandals constantly arose between him and my mother when she asked him to eat a quick meal. The father strove for holiness, and his ascetic life was beyond the power of his wife. This caused tension in the family, the children prayed for peace between their parents and were very happy when they found them clinging to each other and cheerful.

Having learned about the beginning of the war, Zoya Veniaminovna trembled and began to repeat: “They will kill Kolya, they will kill...” - which is what subsequently happened. The family did not go to evacuation and remained in Moscow. The children did not run to the shelter during the bombing, but went to bed, having prayed and with the firm faith that without the will of the Almighty “not a hair from their heads would be lost.”

In 1943, the eldest son Nikolai died in battle.

By the end of the war years, Nikolai Evgrafovich stopped hiding his beliefs. He covered all the walls of his office with icons and religious paintings by Vasnetsov and Nesterov. He went to church again and was not afraid to meet his colleagues or students there.

The students loved Professor Pestov. He didn’t force them to memorize formulas, didn’t struggle with cheat sheets, so no one used them. For exams and tests, he allowed students to bring with them and keep open on the table any textbooks, notebooks and notes.

At the end of the 50s, Nikolai Evgrafovich wrote the first works on theology. He combined them into two volumes entitled: “Paths to Perfect Joy, or Experience in Building a Christian Worldview.” In those same years, the first edition of the book about his son who died at the front was written, as well as the first edition of the book “Above the Apocalypse.” At the age of 68, Pestov retired, or rather, he was fired for refusing to conduct atheistic propaganda in his academic work. From then on, he devoted himself to theology, studied the Fathers of the Church, became acquainted with Catholic and Protestant theology, and even said that this made his soul akin to Western Christianity. After becoming familiar with Western religious and philosophical works, he began to perceive the entire Christian Church as a whole, as a single tree with branches.

Nikolai Evgrafovich received many grateful reviews, incl. and from the patriarch: “People really, really need your works. Thank you... May the Lord bless you in all your affairs...” (Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Pimen, May 14, 1977).

Zoya Veniaminovna was also a person of amazing talents. She knew and remembered a lot of historical events, names, and you could listen to her for hours. She captivatingly recited by heart the poems of Pushkin, Lermontov, Nekrasov, Nadson and many other poets. She lived in the spirit of apostleship: she could approach anyone in the church and ask: “Do you understand what they are singing, what they are reading?” And then she was ready not only to explain, but to ignite the soul of her interlocutor with the same faith that she herself had. This happened especially often with young people. They listened to her with pleasure, often after the service somewhere in the park she continued to share with the person what was most dear to her. This happened a few days before her death. She educated young female students for a long time after the service on the street in Sokolniki. It was cold, Zoya Veniaminovna caught a cold, got pneumonia and died. This happened in 1973.

Nikolai Evgrafovich escorted his wife to eternal life with a fervent, tearful prayer. For more than a year, he endlessly read akathists and canons about the repose of his wife’s soul, often sat detached from life, not noticing time, forgetting about everything... But time healed his soul; in 1975 he moved to a new apartment, life around him was in full swing, and he again became alive and joyful.

Over the years, Nikolai Evgrafovich’s life feat did not weaken, but only intensified. The children write that their father set himself up for such a clear and strict regime that sometimes one could only be surprised at his endurance. The elderly man's entire day was clearly scheduled - literally minute by minute. He considered it his duty to prepare breakfast for his grandchildren and make sure they were not late for classes.

Most of the time after leaving work was spent receiving visitors. People were drawn to him like moths to a light. These were old friends, former members of the Christian student circle, and “Maroseans”, but there were also many young people among those who came. Nikolai Evgrafovich did not regret and was not afraid to give them the rarest books from the catalog of spiritual literature, always remembering that a book is only useful when it is read. In the last years of his life, he primarily concentrated all his work on the reproduction of spiritual literature that was not published by state publishing houses. Literature was taken far and wide in considerable quantities, which greatly pleased the “publisher” and gave him new strength.

This is how one person close to him writes in his memoirs about Nikolai Evgrafovich: “What I valued most in him was understanding the souls of people without long conversations, sometimes without words at all, without even a glance, but simply with his presence...” Seeing off the visitor, if that There was a road ahead, he certainly prayed with the departing person about the upcoming journey.

Every week Nikolai Evgrafovich received the Holy Mysteries of Christ at the early Sunday liturgy. All-night vigils, akathists, Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, he usually read the services of Holy Week privately. Slowly, touchingly and with deep concentration, hours of these prayers passed in his room. The grandchildren also took part in these prayers, reading the Trisagion, the Six Psalms and quietly singing along with their grandfather’s familiar irmos.

During his lifetime, his grandchildren served as subdeacons in the Elias Church in Obydenny Lane on Kropotkinskaya, where the patriarch also served. The ordination of his grandson (Monk Sergius) to the deacon was performed by Patriarch Pimen himself.

In the last months before his death, Nikolai Evgrafovich almost did not get up. A severe stomach illness made itself felt. After Christmas 1982, his strength finally left him. He died on the night of January 14, 1982, on the feast of the Circumcision of the Lord and the day of remembrance of St. Basil the Great, whom he greatly revered.

In conclusion, we present concise wording-mottos compiled by Nikolai Evgrafovich Pestov for all occasions.

1. TO GOD - Awe, EXPECTATION OF DEATH, THE DORRY JUDGMENT, CONTINUOUS PRAYER.

2. TO PEOPLE - LOVE, WELCOME, AFTERNESS, NON-JUDGEMENT AND BE A SERVANT TO ALL.

3. PRAYER IS CAREFUL.

4. ACTIONS ARE THE WILL OF THE LORD.

5. GREAT CAUTION IN WORDS.

6. THOUGHTS - CONVERSATION WITH THE LORD (CONTINUOUS PRAYER) AND MEMORY OF DEATH.

7. BODY - SEVERITY.

8. FOOD - MODERATION.

9. APPEARANCE - vigor, vitality and helpfulness.

10. TO THE SOUL AND MEMORY - CRY ABOUT SINS.

11. TIME - THRUGGLE.

12. TO WORK - CARE AND DILIGENCE.

13. FOR MONEY AND MATERIAL GOODS - GENEROSITY.

14. REQUESTS - ATTENTION AND FULFILLMENT.

15. YOUR PERSONAL INTERESTS - OBLIGATION.

16. THANKSGIVING TO THE OFFENDERS AND RECURSERS.

17. PRAISE - SILENCE AND INTERNAL SELF-DEPRESSION.

18. TO TEMPATION - ESCAPE.

19. TO LAUGHTER - ABSTINENCE.

20. MEMORY - THE ABYSS OF SINS COMMITTED.

21. ATTITUDE TOWARDS OTHERS - PATIENCE.

22. FOR DISEASES - PATIENCE WITH THANKS. CHRISTIANS DO NOT HAVE THE WORD “MISTERNITY,” BUT “THE WILL OF GOD.”

THANK GOD FOR EVERYTHING.

“Every human soul is characterized by the desire for joy and happiness, every person seeks the path to them. How to find them? And what do we mean by perfect joy? This is how Nikolai Evgrafovich Pestov began the preface to his two-volume work. And I put the words from the Gospel of John as my epigraph ( 15 , 11): May My joy be in you, and may your joy be complete.

The work is called “Modern Practice of Orthodox Piety.” It was created in the 1950s - 1960s and at the same time, reprinted on hundreds of typewriters, distributed in samizdat. Who is he, its author?

He is a chemist, a specialist in the production of mineral fertilizers, a professor, a teacher at prestigious Soviet universities, the author of many scientific works and inventions, and a holder of the Order of Lenin. Father of three children. However, his children and grandchildren need to be discussed separately. This is what I tried to do to the best of my ability in the magazine “Orthodoxy and Modernity” No. 20 for 2011. I was fortunate then to communicate with Nikolai Evgrafovich’s daughter, Natalya Nikolaevna, the widow of Archpriest Vladimir Sokolov, and with three of her five children. Two - Archpriest Theodore Sokolov and Bishop of Novosibirsk and Berdsk Sergius (Seraphim Sokolov) - were no longer on earth. The essay “Blessed Offspring” is not difficult to find on our diocesan website. And now - about the books of Nikolai Pestov.

The two-volume book “Modern Practice of Orthodox Piety” is, in essence, a textbook of the Orthodox faith. The textbook is extremely sensible, clearly systematized, complete and at the same time concise. However, what distinguishes it from the usual school and university textbooks is its special warmth and love that permeates every line. Love for God, for the Church, for the saints - and for readers. Readers from whose lives all Christian literature was completely excluded, starting with the Holy Scriptures. What a revelation, what a happiness these samizdat books were for them, containing everything necessary for a conscious choice: the foundations of Christian dogma, the Orthodox teaching about man, about the Fall and sin, about repentance and salvation; explanation of such concepts as humility, meekness, obedience, patience, generosity. From Professor Pestov, the then inhabitants of the godless Soviet space learned what prayer is, what it can and should be, what a temple and church sacraments are for an Orthodox Christian. The reader gained an understanding of the Orthodox way of life, the rules of piety, and virtues, and began to understand why fasting is needed, why attention to oneself and sobriety are so important. Before the eyes of the reader, unaccustomed to such things, a whole world unfolded - rich, demanding, strict and at the same time joyful. The reader gradually moved deeper into this world, and the invisible pointer of Professor Pestov (remember, a highly experienced teacher of inorganic chemistry) pointed him in time to what he was supposed to see. A person who until then knew practically nothing about the faith of his grandfathers and great-grandfathers received clear answers to difficult but inevitably arising questions: if the Lord is good, why is there so much grief and evil in the world? Why don't people in the Church become sinless? How to treat other religions and the people who profess them? Should a Christian participate in the life of society or is his destiny to be detached from the “vanity of the world”? It should be emphasized that atheistic propaganda actively speculated on most of these issues. Nikolai Pestov (almost always, however, anonymous to the reader) calmly sorted through the rubble of false ideas and ugly stereotypes. (And these stereotypes, meanwhile, in addition to propaganda, are formed in the consciousness of a person who has not learned to delve into the truth; and today they dominate many “advanced” minds. You read another young author, a liberal and anticlerical, as if he graduated from the institute of Marxism-Leninism, all concepts about Christianity, about Orthodoxy - from there.)

Nikolai Evgrafovich’s books opened for the reader a door (or, better to say, a window) into patristic literature, which was practically inaccessible even to priests in those years. Frequent quotations showed its depth and universal applicability. But why do I write all the time about the contemporaries of Nikolai Evgrafovich, who died in 1982? Perhaps for us, who freely participate in church life and have unlimited access to Orthodox literature, his works are no longer so important?

Against. We, journalists and publishers, know: the more experienced the proofreader, the tighter his grip on the dictionary. Pestov’s two-volume work can be compared to a dictionary, an encyclopedia, which is always useful to look into, no matter what question arises. Why is it so difficult to cope with the sin of idle talk? What to do with an unbelieving friend, is it worth convincing him? What to do if you feel lonely and misunderstood? Personally, I have never had a situation where I opened Pestov and did not find an answer, support, did not feel that same warmth - love. Nikolai Evgrafovich was an amazingly kind, loving person, his daughter and granddaughters told me about this; but even if I weren’t familiar with them, I think I would have guessed this by reading his books.

In our church kiosks and Orthodox literature stores you can also see Nikolai Pestov’s book “The Light of Revelation.” It explains one of the most difficult books of the Bible to understand, the latest of them - the Revelation of John the Evangelist, or Apocalypse. The text of the book “The Light of Revelation” is as clear, simple and intelligible as the text of a two-volume book.

And one more book by Nikolai Evgrafovich cannot be ignored here. It is called “Life for Eternity” and turns us to the author’s personal experience, a bitter, terrible and bright experience. The son of Professor Pestov, Nikolai Pestov Jr., died at the age of nineteen, in 1943, during the liberation of Smolensk. He grew up in the era of the “storm of heaven,” a total and brutal struggle against the Church. But, despite all this, he became a believer - such was the influence of his family. During the years when thousands of monks were shot, Kolya dreamed of becoming a Diveyevo monk (the Pestovs always considered St. Seraphim their patron). But God called him to a different sacrifice... After the funeral, the father collected in a book the letters he received from his son - first from military school, then from the front - and spoke about his own spiritual experience of his death. Believe me, the letters of this Russian boy cannot be forgotten, just like the words of his father.

According to Nikolai Evgrafovich’s own testimony and according to the testimony of people close to him, he was driven by a great feeling - repentance. Repentance for “red” youth. He was a member of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), a commissar. Until one day, in 1921, in a dream, I met the gaze of Christ... In the 30s, the confessor of the Pestov spouses was the holy martyr Sergius Mechev, the son of the most famous Moscow elder Alexy Mechev. After the execution of Father Sergius, no one came for Nikolai and Zoya Pestov - well, perhaps by a miracle, or by God's Providence. Nikolai Evgrafovich used his life and freedom for the benefit of Christ and the Church - as much as he could. His books will be read for a very long time.