A feat is needed. Conversation with Archimandrite Elijah (Reizmir)

The train rolls out from dark Moscow and arrives at the dawn Lavra. Light clings to the ancient sugar-white walls, and the gold of the crosses floats in a sky as bright blue as you can imagine. Snow sparkles.

Trinity-Sergius Lavra

First of all, of course, to the Reverend: the lamps above the shrine are flickering in the depths, and a monk is kneeling, head bowed, at the column. “Reverend Sergius, help,” I ask and jump out back into the sunny morning.

The doorbell rings, trampling in the cold at the porch of the Patriarch's chambers - Archimandrite Elijah (Reizmir) has been the caretaker here for forty years now. LIGHT steps outside the doors and coughing.

"Who's there?" - “It’s me, father, you blessed me to come today!” Such a joy to see him again! An old blue sweater for a cassock, skufiya; he looks, squinting slightly, he sees poorly, and it seems so simple, simple, and the gift of words is special: when the patriarch comes to serve at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Father Elijah always speaks a word at the Liturgy.

I hurry up the wooden stairs after him: there will be disturbances below, cleaning is in progress. On the second - the same sunlight falls on the holy walls and portraits of the patriarchs, who in Soviet times lived and prayed for a long time in the Lavra - neither Alexy I nor Pimen were allowed to travel even around the country: “Propaganda of religion,” Father Elijah smiles, “and the chambers were rarely empty. And now they are waiting for His Holiness in the First Week.

Father sits down at the table. On the table are his “Sermons.” On the cover he is not as he is now, but solemn, in a hood, with a cross with decorations: a holy archimandrite. He flips through the book - finally, there is a necessary page - about repentance, but for now I ask questions and receive answers: that we, modern, lazy and lukewarm Christians, must be faithful to the Lord and the Church with all our might, and that Without her thousand-year experience, we cannot resist, we cannot be saved.

Love for the temple of God, for divine services, for church piety - this is what, above all else, fills the word of the elder, who gave all his human nature to the service of God. Looking at Father Elijah, you remember the verses of the prophet David: “I have asked one thing of the Lord, this I will require: that I may live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, that I may behold the beauty of the Lord and visit His Holy Temple.” Probably, having acquired such love, a person finds in himself the image of God and God-likeness.

“Great mercy has been given to us from God - Fasting! This is such joy, such grace! When Lent ends, it’s even a little sad to break your fast - it’s like you’re losing what you’ve gained,” says the priest and smiles. And I find myself familiar with this: the special flight of Holy Week, when the initial heaviness of the first days of Lent has long been replaced by a ringing lightness, and you greedily inhale the incense of the last long services, and indeed, it becomes a pity to change all this for a hearty Easter table: here I would like to continue to live like this - with all my soul in the temple. But the all-conquering Sunday rejoicing is still far away - the First Week is ahead.

- Father, how should it be carried out? What services are required to attend?

– Those who are free from government work should try to attend all services during the first, third and last weeks.

During the first week we eat in the Lavra without oil - only on Saturday and Sunday is oil blessed. Many people say: I’ll get sick from such a post! No - on the contrary: you feel cheerfulness, because the Lord strengthens a person not only spiritually, but also physically during fasting.

There is no greater happiness than being an Orthodox Christian, especially in the Russian Orthodox Church. Nowhere else is there such mercy - not even in other Orthodox Churches. Where else can you find such beauty? What chants we have!.. “Open the doors of repentance”... “On the rivers of Babylon”... Treasure this great mercy! Let's not lose her.

Salvation is in our hands. Let's not miss it. Let's be very careful about ourselves.

Now we need a feat, a lot of attention. In the 1970s there was nothing, but the flame of faith and prayer burned. And now it’s a completely different time. People are neither hot nor cold. The young people rushed to something else: to grab money. They get loans, then they come and cry. Who blessed you? This is a fraud, a bank fraud! One person came - he took out a loan, wanted to start some kind of business, nothing worked out, in a year it doubled in size, was left without an apartment, a car, and moved to the village with his family. You're a Russian man! Who allowed you to take out loans? Why do you need this?

– Many people are now worried about the crisis caused by sanctions against Russia.

- It’s okay, the Lord will help. I believe that everything will pass. This is a temporary phenomenon. No crisis will harm us. God is with us. Doesn’t the Lord know that we need our daily bread? Or at work? And so, of course, people are people... Many lose heart. Many people despair. Don't lose heart, God forbid!

Whatever happens, don't give up. Pray with all your soul. Why are you losing heart if God is with us? It is forbidden.

It has always been like this: the truth has always been persecuted. Just as they persecuted Christ... - “they persecuted me - they will persecute you” - so the true Church will be persecuted. But be faithful to the Lord, and the Lord will not leave you. This is how the Lord leads our Church. And so He leads all the people.

– What can you say about nationalism? Today there is a lot of it.

– There can be no nationalism. It is a sin. Where there is no faith, there is nationalism. If you become an Orthodox Christian – Chuvash, Mordvin, Georgian, Armenian, Greek, Ukrainian, Russian, Belarusian – that’s it: the boundaries of nationality are erased. As the apostle said: there is no longer a Greek, a Jew, or a Scythian-Slav. All are brothers, all are one. Where there is trouble is nationalism. God is with us. We are brothers in Christ. To all - the grace of God.

– You spoke about lukewarmness. I feel it too: it’s kind of like in the Church, you do everything, but indifferently, as long as you’re neither cold nor hot. What to do?

- Take care of yourself. As the Apocalypse says: remember your first love, remember where you fell from, and repent - and return again. And repentance removes everything. He prayed: “Lord, help me, forgive me!” – and the Lord immediately forgives.

Everyone must watch their conscience. We must strive. Confess more often. Take communion. And no crises will harm us. I still believe that the Lord will not leave us, even though there is no such light. The Lord guides our lives. He sees us. The Eye of God is above us, the Guardian Angel is with us and the saints.

I tell many: send your children and husbands to church. Go yourself. Educate your soul in the temple for eternal life.

– Father, you quoted “The Revelation of John the Theologian.” Do people read the Holy Scriptures today?

– What’s interesting: in Soviet times there were almost no books. Church calendars were published, prayer books - and then only a little. And now - complete freedom, three or four Liturgies are served a day, our printing house has opened after renovation, new equipment has been brought in - millions of books have been printed, the elders have been translated from Greek, but who will read them?

For twenty years everything has been there, but it’s as if they don’t see it.

I ask: have you read the Gospel? Ever? For the whole life? No, I never read it. Or “I read a little.” Then I give you an assignment: before Easter or before summer, slowly, in Russian, read the New Testament or at least the Gospel. Many people look and do not see, many listen and do not hear. You can't live like that! Everything is given to us - don’t miss it!

The long services are now like this, they read the canon of Andrei Kritsky - it’s such a beauty!

– How important is it – not once a month or every two weeks, but often to visit the temple?

Archimandrite Elijah (Reizmir). In the Church of the Patriarchal Apartments. Photo by the author

- In the temple, every action - the blessing of the priest, and anointing with oil, and eating the prosphora, and applying to the relics, to the icon, to the cross, which are conductors of the grace of God - strengthens and unites us with close ties with our Sweetest Jesus Christ.

And even more so - the sacrament of repentance and communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ: we not only see the Lord Jesus Christ with our bodily eyes, but also accept into our soul in this small part of the whole Lord. “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood will have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

The Lord is still fulfilling this. We have the happiness of constantly being with the Lord. Especially when we confess worthily. Whoever receives communion worthily feels joy, and this is evidence that we have met Christ.

Such mercy of our Orthodox Church, such mercy is upon us. Therefore, I tell many: there is no need to lose heart - God is with us. And if God is with us, who can be against us? Just be faithful - to the Lord, the Orthodox faith and the Church.

Now many come and cry: there is disorder in their families, in school, at work... Pray to the Queen of Heaven! She is the Veil over us! And to Saint Nicholas - he saved those floating on the sea and now he saves on the sea of life. Honor and ask diligently! Pray to St. Sergius!

The Mother of God appeared to him before his blessed death. Where the Serapion Chamber is now, there was his wooden cell. He cried a lot and worried: what would happen to his monastery after his death? And then the roof parted, and the Mother of God appeared to him in Heavenly glory, with the Apostle Peter and John the Theologian. He, of course, was humanly frightened and bowed at the feet of the Queen of Heaven. “Do not be afraid, My chosen one,” said the Mother of God. – Your prayer for your holy monastery and disciples has been heard. I will always be My cover over this place.”

She still fulfills her will. Neither the Tatar-Mongols, nor the Polish-Lithuanian troops, nor the French in 1812, nor the Germans - She did not allow anyone to cross the threshold of the monastery of St. Sergius.

There was such an archbishop, Nikon (Rozhdestvensky) - for seven years at the Vologda see, and then his legs gave out; a native of the Lavra, buried behind the Spiritual Church. He left diaries. Wrote: look at the faith of the Russian people! This old lady is barely kind enough! He leans on his simple staff - a wand, shedding sweet tears. Ask: “Grandma, what are you crying about?” “I say goodbye to the Reverend,” she will answer. And he ends with these words: until the people’s path to St. Sergius is overgrown, Russia will stand. So it is, so it will be. Until now, many people come here at least once a year - from the Far East, from Moldova, from anywhere - and say: there is enough grace for the whole year. For the celebration of the Saint, in the summer, 150 thousand pilgrims were in the Lavra. God bless. “I tell everyone: approach the relics of the Reverend as if they were alive, open your heart, from the soul, with faith, say: “Father Sergius, help!” And the Reverend will pray to the Lord. In the 1980s, two twin brothers from Kazan studied with us. One was planning to become a monk, and the other was thinking about getting married. And the one who was thinking about monasticism sees a vision: on September 1, many students - ahead of the professor - go to the Reverend: on this day a prayer service is held at his relics before the start of the school year. And so they go, go, go - a lot. He thinks: “Oh, how will I make it in time?!” And he ran. He enters the Trinity Cathedral and sees: seminarians in twos approach the shrine, as if at a fraternal prayer service, bow, and St. Sergius sits in the shrine. He doesn't lie down, he sits! And blesses them. Two will come up, bow, and he will bless them. Two more - bless. He also runs up - and the monk waves his hand at him: they say, move away. “You,” he says, “are not from our flock.” And then he got married.

And the one who, on the contrary, wanted to get married, accepted monasticism - and is now a bishop. This is the Providence of God. The Lord controls our lives.

So, of course, no one knows such joy as a Russian Orthodox Christian. Such happiness, such mercy...

And Great Lent is a great mercy. The First Week is passing, and we are celebrating the Triumph of Orthodoxy. What a beauty! And the Veneration of the Cross...

The Lord calls to salvation in different ways. Through grief, through the death of relatives, through worship, through singing...

Once on the Cross Veneration, while still a young hieromonk, I confessed at night. In Soviet times, there were few monasteries, and train tickets were cheap: people came to us from Kazakhstan, Central Asia, Ukraine, Moldova. We confessed the whole night – until 5 am. And now 28 people are brought to me. “We,” they say, “are the TOC: the True Orthodox Church.” They did not recognize our Church, considered it to be Soviet, lived in the forests of Arkhangelsk, they did not have a priest - or maybe there was, I don’t know. And so they said these words: “Father Elijah, this is our first time in the Church. We did not recognize it, but we heard your chants and will never leave the Church.” The calling grace of God touched them precisely through hymns.

– Lavra chants are connected, of course, in the heart of every person, first of all, with the memory of Archimandrite Matthew (Mormyl).

– Father Matthew worked a lot, sat at night, lost, held rehearsals in the bell tower on weekdays - two, three, four a week... Whoever sang for him turned out to be not only a good singer, but also a regent. In Soviet times, there were no singing schools, but what Father Matthew did was recorded and distributed throughout the Soviet Union. And those who studied here sang with Father Matthew in the choir, copied the notes and distributed them throughout the country. This is the grace of God.

I couldn’t be happier about this kind of hymn, which is not even found in other Orthodox Churches.

In Soviet times, I had a friend from Nizhny Tagil who worked at a research institute. Not a communist or a Komsomol member, but not a church member either. And her mother was a very religious person. And before her death, already quite weak, my mother said: “Tamara! Fulfill my will. Take me to the temple and drink me when I die.” And she did it. I performed the funeral service for my mother... and left the church as a believer. Such is the grace of God!

The Lord calls us in different ways...

And we also had this Pavlusha - the son of a Politburo member. The highest governing body was in Soviet times - the Politburo. And then one day an excursion came to the Lavra from the Kremlin, and he was also on this bus - a boy of about 16 or 17. He himself told the story later. Father Nikon reigned that day. They sang beautifully, but in a simple way. But he heard and left the temple not himself. I didn't know what was happening to him. And he was still unbaptized. And so he began, slowly, so that no one would know, to visit churches around Moscow, to villages - and there were few of them then. I was baptized somewhere. And he asked Father Matthew to join the choir - he had a good musical education. Father Matthew did not refuse anyone - he accepted. He sang and sang - and he wanted to go to the seminary. Submitted documents. And then everything was checked. And my own father, from the Politburo, wrote a statement to his comrades: “My son Pavel has gone crazy, gone into religion. Help me rehabilitate him." Of course, he was not allowed into the seminary. He served in the army - and that’s it, now no one had the right to disturb him. He graduated from seminary, got married, and is now a famous archpriest.

This is how the calling grace of God works. I tell many: do not waste time for salvation while there is time. Be faithful to the Lord and the Church.

– How did the Lord call you to monasticism - how did you understand that this was your path?

– I worked as an agronomist in the early 1960s, under Khrushchev. We were sent to improve our qualifications at a research institute in Dnepropetrovsk. Lent was just beginning. We arrived and they said: there is no hostel, look for apartments. I went to the cathedral, where Yakov Sergeevich Litvinenko took me to an apartment. We went to the temple. My God! I have never heard such beautiful singing! And Yakov Sergeevich said - my name was Nikolai - these words: “Kolya! In Pochaev they sing beautifully, and in Zagorsk it’s like in heaven!” I come home, tell my mom, she says: “Go!”

Archim. Kirill (Pavlov)

Arrived in Moscow. I didn’t know what a metro was, what trains were... I rushed here. There was a dean in the Lavra - a visionary, Father Theodorit, who died in 1973. Been in exile for 20 years. Handsome, like an Old Testament patriarch. And Father Matthew was still young. The choir sang beautifully. I approached the choir. Father Matthew tells me: “Now Father Theodorit will leave the altar, come to him for a blessing.” I went. He looked and said: “Come to see me after lunch.” I came in. He took me by the hand, lifted me to the third floor to Father Matthew’s cell and said: “Father, take this young man, he is our future brother.” But I didn’t even have a thought about monasticism or seminary. “And tell him how to prepare for seminary and help him get in.” And it’s over – my life has changed!

Father Matthew sat me down, questioned me, and said: so that no one knows, only Mom, where you are going; Collect your documents as if you were going to college and hand them in at the very end of July. Documents were accepted until August 1, and the exam was on the 10th. 160 or 180 people applied, but only 40 were accepted. It was impossible to accept 41 at that time. And, thank God, I did it. This was in 1966.

What elders we had... Father Kirill (Pavlov) - a hero of World War II ... Father Theodorit... Father Kirill didn’t say much, but he himself was a clear example. No one saw that he was offended, or quarreled, or condemned someone, or scolded. Meekness and humility. And he saved thousands and thousands of people.

Father Theodorit was already old. In 1969, I was placed in the left choir; The elders always sang on weekdays, and he also stood on the choir. And no one walked around the temple, did not talk - not only were they afraid, but they were ashamed in front of this holy man. He was so gracious. He had a large library. And so, a month before his death, he began to distribute it to everyone who came to him. I came in too. I came across a book - a pre-revolutionary edition, a large one - “Monastic Rules”. And the life of John the Baptist.

And when he died and the governor came to his cell, it was empty: he gave everything away. And clothes - that's all there was. Only the extracts remained on the table: he loved Demetrius of Rostov very much, and read him, and made extracts, and preached from his works.

These were great holy people. This is how the Church lived. By the grace of God they were healed, and the signs of St. Sergius were performed. The same grace is with us. You just need to be faithful yourself. Be faithful to the Lord, and the Lord will not leave us.

With Archimandrite Elijah (Reizmir)

interviewed by Anastasia Rakhlina

Part 2. Stories of Archimandrite Elijah (Reizmir)

In the vision given to St. Sergius about his disciples, many birds flew not only inside the monastery, but also outside its fence. The disciples of Saint Sergius are both the monastery brethren and the laity living at the Trinity Lavra. Many who came to Sergiev Posad and stayed to live here, initially having neither property nor proper means of subsistence, testified that they felt the obvious miraculous help of St. Sergius in everything.

The author of these lines, who lived for eight years in the Lavra itself (as a student at the seminary, academy, and then for a year as an employee) and another ten years next to the Lavra, repeatedly felt the help and patronage of St. Sergius. However, the author will not talk about himself. He will give reliable cases from the lives of those who are worthy of the true name of disciples of St. Sergius.

The author would like to tell how the Lord calls St. Sergius into the ranks of his disciples using the example of his confessor, Archimandrite Elijah (Reizmir; born 1944).

Father Elijah comes from a simple Ukrainian family, where the sincere Orthodox faith was preserved by succession from previous generations. His mother knew the akathist to the Intercession of the Mother of God by heart and often prayed from memory; in the hungry year of 1947, she constantly read the akathist and cried. My father went through World War II and died of a heart attack at the age of 35, when my mother was carrying her seventh child. It is noteworthy that for the sake of the wedding, the parents walked 65 km, because in the Vinnitsa region, where they lived, only one temple remained active, they also returned on foot, and a week later they learned that this last temple was closed.

As a child, Nikolai (that was the name of Father Elijah before becoming a monk) was very bad at school. When it was time to go to first grade, little Kolya fell ill with measles, was in the hospital for 40 days, and then his mother took him to school, where the teacher greeted them sternly. “Read,” she said. The child, of course, could not read. “Take it away, he won’t be able to catch up with his peers,” was the verdict. I had to go to school a year later, at the age of eight, and, alas, my studies were not successful again. Mom, seeing that her son was worried, said to him in simplicity: “Kolya! You pray earnestly, study your homework, put books under your pillow and go to bed.” He did just that, and in the morning, when he woke up, he felt that his mind seemed to turn on, his head became free, clear, and from that time on he began to study well. His mind opened just as miraculously as that of St. Sergius, because he believed his mother in simplicity. “According to your faith, be it done to you” (Matthew 9:29), says the Lord Jesus Christ. Nikolai subsequently was an excellent student everywhere: at school, technical school, seminary and academy.

From his childhood, he recalled that once his mother brought tattered pieces of paper - the lives of saints. I began to read, and my soul was inclined to monasticism, to the exploits of spiritual life. Then, however, he forgot about it and returned to the desire to devote himself entirely to God at a more mature age. However, already in his school years he was oppressed for his faith, they started asking him: “What do you like about this Church? Pop, clerk, singer? And he answered: “I like the priest, the clerk, and the singer – I like everything.”

Trained to be an agronomist. I started working, once I went to improve my qualifications in Dnepropetrovsk and there I heard from one believer: “In Pochaev they sing beautifully, and in the Holy Trinity St. Sergius Lavra it’s like in heaven.” And Nicholas immediately went to the Lavra to listen to the monastery singing. There he was prophetically indicated for further service.

He stayed with one grandmother. She looked at him for a while and said: “You will make a good priest.” And Nikolai was not yet going to the seminary. He asked her: “How do you know?” - “Because you pray well.”

In the Lavra, Nicholas entered a small church, popularly called Mikheevskaya, which was built in honor of the appearance of the Mother of God to St. Sergius. There at that time the short elder Schema-Archimandrite Micah was with the people, preparing to perform a prayer service. And suddenly he said: “Make way, here comes the disciple of St. Sergius.” Nikolai was let ahead. He had not yet fully decided who he would be, but his calling to become a monk in the monastery of St. Sergius was already revealed to him. So the Lord called him to serve the Church in His Holy Lavra.

There was a third case. Nicholas was brought to the elder, Father Theodorit, who immediately drew attention to him and said: “Come to me after dinner.” As soon as the meal was over, Father Theodorit took him to the third floor to Father Matthew’s cell and also prophetically predicted: “Father Matthew, this is our future brother, take him to your choir. Help him prepare for seminary.” During the Soviet years, when Orthodox Christians were subjected to severe persecution for their faith, the Lord consoled and strengthened them with the manifestation of grace-filled gifts, in particular clairvoyance.

More time passed, Nikolai submitted documents to enter the seminary, and the usual persecution for Soviet times began - KGB officers were already looking for him at his place of residence, he was forced to immediately leave his home and go to Moscow not on a direct flight, but on transfer flights.

While still studying at the seminary, in 1969 he took monastic vows and since then has served the Holy Trinity with all his soul as one of the disciples of St. Sergius.

Vision of St. Sergius about his students

I would like to note that the people who came to the Lavra after the war, during Soviet times, were confessors. Because to become a monk at that time meant truly confessing Christ with all your soul. They are disciplined and completely devoted to the Church. These monks have no cars, no dachas, no apartments and no personal acquisitions at all; it is they who demonstrate the true continuation of the traditions laid down by St. Sergius of Radonezh.

"You are not abandoned"

Father Elijah told a real incident that was directly related to him, which may recall a story from the lives of ancient saints. In 1975, a girl from the city of Strunin, Vladimir region, Lydia Muravyova, was dying from cancer of her left breast.

The disease appeared as follows. Lydia, who was in her early 20s, worked at a children's dispensary located near the Sergiev Posad train station (in Soviet times the city was called Zagorsk). One day, when Lydia was working until late in the evening, a pit was dug along her usual route to provide heating. The girl, who knew nothing about this, left work already in the dark, did not notice the hole and fell. She received a severe bruise to her chest, but due to her youth she did not attach much importance to it. I didn’t go to the doctors, thinking that maybe it would go away on its own. And at the site of the bruise, a hardening gradually formed, a tumor and then cancer began.

It got to the point that in Moscow she underwent a very complicated operation: they cut her left breast. There was no improvement; moreover, the disease spread to the right breast. Lydia was a believer, but she fell into despair. Being alone in the ward, she prayed to the Lord and cried: “Lord, I’m a believer, why am I suffering so much?” At that moment, the Mother of God appeared to her, as depicted on the Kazan icon, and said: “Why are you, Lydia, despairing? You are not abandoned." After these small words the vision ended. And the doctors discharged the girl home as hopeless.

Her mother constantly went to the Lavra, and Father Elijah, who knew this family well, asked: “How is your Lydia doing?” The woman began to cry and said: “That’s it, she’s already in a very serious condition, but she’s still walking quietly.” Father Elijah gave advice to urgently unction Lydia. Here it should be clarified that during the Soviet years the authorities strictly limited the liturgical life of the Church; it was forbidden to perform the Blessing of Anointing in the Lavra. They decided to hold the unction, at their own peril and risk, secretly in the church in honor of the appearance of the Mother of God to St. Sergius with the beginning of a fraternal prayer service. The Blessing of Anointing began at twenty minutes to six in the morning. In addition to Lydia herself, her mother and sister were present. As Father Elijah recalls, the celebration of the Sacrament was accompanied by tearful prayer and deep faith in God’s help.

Archimandrite Elijah (Reizmir). Photo: Vladimir Evdokimov

After the Unction, the priest advised Lydia to take communion three times in a row. She did just that - a day later, two days later, as best she could. These days, Father Elijah saw Lydia’s mother and asked her after the first and second Communion: “How is Lydia?” Mom answered: “Yes. Nothing". And after her daughter’s third Communion, the mother herself ran to the priest and said: “Lydia has been healed.” Lydia was indeed completely healed. The wound closed, leaving only a white spot on the left breast as a sign of the previous cancer. Then she went to the same hospital to show herself, and when the attending doctors and professors saw her healthy, they were very surprised and even cried - they thought that she was no longer alive. And soon she married a seminarian. She had three children. Currently, the eldest son is a priest, serves in the parish and has his own children. The Lord showed such mercy to the people who lived near the Trinity Lavra and received the Sacrament of Anointing at the monastery.

Mercy for the former atheist

Father Elijah also talked about a significant incident that occurred during Soviet times. During the years of Khrushchev’s persecutions, one of the tasks of the country’s government was to reduce religiosity among the people; orders were often given to remove crosses from churches. Repeatedly such attempts ended in obvious God's punishment. So, one got behind the wheel of a tractor, the cable of which stretched to the dome of the temple, turned on first gear, drove slowly, but the iron cable burst, bounced off the dome and fatally hit the driver in the head. Another went to dismantle the cross, and at that time his little daughter was playing in her yard next to the kerosene stove, her dress caught fire, and she died while her father was removing the cross. Often, ordinary workers refused to carry out the order to remove crosses from churches. But what could the leaders do? And so one woman, who held a high position in her locality, was forced to personally take down the cross, after which she became deaf and mute. There was no limit to repentance and tears; it seemed that the punishment for the godless act would remain for life. Finally she learned about St. Sergius in Zagorsk and that the Rev. often helps people. The woman managed, with the help of her loved ones, to organize a trip to the Lavra. Once at the Trinity Monastery, she venerated the holy relics of St. Sergius and after that began to hear and speak.

(To be continued.)

Stories were collected by Deacon Valery Dukhanin

July 16, 2014

https://www.pravoslavie.ru/put/72213.htm

Sermon by Archimandrite Elijah (Reizmir) on Antipascha Sunday

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!

Christ is Risen!

Dear brothers and sisters! The first Sunday after Easter is called Antipascha, which translated from Greek means “instead of Easter,” because on this day the remembrance of Christ’s Resurrection is repeated for the first time. Since there is no greater event in world history than the resurrection of the Savior, it is remembered not only once a year, like all holidays, but every week. Antipascha is the first Sunday on which the celebration of the Great Day of the Lord is renewed and is called “new week” in church books. This Sunday is also called Thomas Sunday, because on this day we remember the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ on the eighth day after his resurrection to the disciples and the assurance of Thomas through his touching the wounds of Christ.

When the Lord appeared to the apostles on the day of His resurrection, at the discretion of God, Thomas was not with them. The joyful news of the appearance of the risen Lord, conveyed by the disciples to Thomas, seemed so incredible to him that he said: “Unless I see in His hands the marks of the nails... and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

Eight days after this, the Lord was pleased to appear again to His disciples, and Thomas this time was with them. Having greeted them, as usual, with peace, the Lord said to Thomas: “Give me your finger here... give me your hand and place it in My side; and do not be an unbeliever, but a believer.” - “My Lord and my God!” - Foma exclaimed joyfully, all doubt immediately disappeared in his soul. “You believed because you saw Me; Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” - these were the final words of the Lord at this His appearance. “Preach, Thomas, My resurrection to those who have not seen Me. Make the universe believe not in your eyes, but in your words, go through the cities and barbarian tribes, teach them to put on the armor of the cross instead of weapons. Just preach, and they will believe and worship: they will not demand that you show Me. Fulfill the calling and see faith, for truly, blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The unbelief of the Holy Apostle Thomas is called in the stichera on “Lord, I cried...” of Antipascha “good unbelief,” since it did not come from the hardness of the heart, which did not want to believe in the resurrection of the Lord, but from an ardent desire to be confident in the miracle that the apostle desired with all his heart. soul. Saint Cyril of Alexandria says that the Savior, deigning Thomas to be convinced by the touch of His most pure body in the miracle of the resurrection, strengthened in all future generations a faith that refutes all assumptions about the disciples’ vision of a disembodied spirit and affirms that Christ Himself appeared in the flesh.

So, do not be an unbeliever, but a believer! Dear brothers and sisters! The fate of our salvation depends on whether we are believers in the Savior or unbelievers. Our Lord Jesus Christ says: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; and whoever does not believe will be condemned.” It is said clearly and decisively, so that no subterfuge is possible on our part. If you want salvation, believe; If you don’t want to be saved, if you want your eternal destruction, then don’t believe. But who doesn’t want salvation, eternal happiness? Everyone is looking for him, because that’s what they are born for. However, not everyone believes. One might even say that very few believe and are faithful to the Lord. Unbelief, like a plague, destroys the human race. Woe to us, unbelievers and those of little faith, for we are preparing for a terrible condemnation! “You of little faith! Why did you doubt? - sometimes we hear a divine voice in our soul. But we still persist. All this is scary. However, why is this so? What is the reason for unbelief and lack of faith?

The main reason is our pride, rudeness and sinful, lawless life. The Holy Fathers say that faith becomes alive and strong in a person when he cleanses his heart of sinful inclinations, feelings and thoughts, from everything unclean and nasty. Sins against the seventh commandment and sins of pride lead to decline and loss of faith. Therefore, first of all, we must try through repentance and good deeds to cleanse our hearts from previous sins and, with God’s help, to preserve ourselves from all defilement of the flesh and spirit. Constantly read the Holy Gospel, the Psalter, fervently pray to the Lord to increase our faith. Through deeds of piety one must seek faith, as the Apostle Thomas sought it.

One monk came to the blessed elder Isaiah, who had lived in the desert for many years, and said to him: “Holy Father, teach me what to do: I read the words of Jesus Christ in the Gospel: “If you do not believe that it is I, you will die in your sins,” and meanwhile my mind is engulfed in the flames of doubt... How can I put out this fire? “Come, my son, in three days,” said the old man and disappeared into his home. Three days later, the monk again came to the elder and persistently asked him to give him advice on how to awaken his faded faith. “Come back in four days, then we’ll see,” said Isaiah. The young monk went to the monastery saddened, but four days later he came to the hermit again: “Give instruction, holy father, melancholy consumes me without faith, teach me, don’t put it off... Have pity on me, a sinner...” The hermit meekly and affectionately looked into the monk’s eyes and , slamming the window of his cell, said: “Go now in peace. Come back for advice in five days.” The monk was completely at a loss and could not understand why the elder was avoiding a positive answer. For all five days, the thought of this did not leave the monk seeking faith. On the sixth day, he again visited the elder, whom he began to beg with tears: “I beg, holy father, do not persecute me: I cannot live without faith. I won’t leave until I receive instructions...” The elder hugged the monk, kissed him and said: “My son! You already have faith, which I don’t have!” “I don’t have faith, I’m only looking for it. Teach me how to find her, father? “Whoever, like you, diligently seeks it, already has it,” was the answer.

Dear brothers and sisters! “Seek and you will find,” said Christ. Let us tirelessly work on ourselves and ask, pray fervently in order to acquire purity of heart, for only the pure in heart will see God, and then our disastrous lack of faith and unbelief will turn into deep living faith.

Amen.

Source: Sermons. — Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra. 2010.

STSL.Ru

Author:

Tatiana
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Spiritual joy

Archimandrite AGAFODOR (Markevich), cell attendant of Father Kirill for 15 years. Father Kirill repeated: the most important thing is to read the Gospel. Through this reading, faith and good will will be strengthened, the mind and heart will be enlightened. And these are not just words - these are his life experiences.

I remember that we still served as subdeacons in Trinity Cathedral. Often during the bishop's service there is a bustle, the subdeacons run around and interfere with each other. And Father Kirill stands in the corner, reading the Gospel.

His classmates, who gathered for the anniversaries of graduating from the Academy, recalled: after evening prayers everyone went to their bedrooms. Naturally, before lights out we need to talk about the past day. And Father Kirill left them in a separate cell, the so-called “kapterka,” and read the Gospel.

I also remember: a sanatorium in Crimea, usually at 10 o’clock in the morning they bring us a meal. Before this, there is an hour of morning prayer: kathisma, epistles, Gospel. Sometimes the sisters who served us were delayed, and then Father Kirill continued to read the Gospel. And we shift from foot to foot, wait for breakfast to be brought - we are still tormented by demons, the Gospel is not given to us, we do not love it enough, we do not feel that this is the most important thing for the soul.

Father Kirill (Pavlov)

Father Kirill loved to talk about his studies in theological schools - after the war, they studied first at the Novodevichy Convent, and then here at the Lavra. “A teacher of sect studies, an honored archpriest, who has gone through the crucible of arrests, interrogations, tortures, deportations, prisons, concentration camps, which did not break his spirit, but only strengthened him in holiness, will come,” and in the middle of the lecture he will say: “Let’s quietly sing “Glory” in the highest to God." And immediately it became cozy, quiet, everyone was immersed in prayer.”

This teacher with all his soul wanted to instill in his students, first of all, the spirit of prayer, love for the source of life, and then, on this basis, knowledge. So Father Kirill tried in us, future monks and priests, to lay the foundation of life - a love of prayer. He made us feel the difference between life in the Grace of God and in the world.

When in the evenings many students fled to the city to unwind after a hard day, we gathered in his room behind the entrance, and he read the Bible for an hour. You probably couldn’t force yourself – you were tired during the day, but he helped us feel the meaning of prayer. Because a priest without prayer is, consider, not a priest, but a performer of demands. The same is true for a monk. Archimandrite PAVEL (Krivonogov), dean of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra I remember that one brother came to the priest, burdened with problems, wanting to escape from his much-concerned obedience. And Father Kirill says:

“They don’t come down from the cross, they take them down from the cross.”

And I am a witness to how that brother left, confirmed in this thought: there is no need to come down from the cross. And repeatedly the priest emphasized that we should not seek our own will, but rather see the will of God in the life of each of us.

Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov) Easter

Archimandrite GLEB (Kozhevnikov), chief regent of the choir of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Father loved and appreciated singing very much. I remember he had a collection of Christmas carols, “Silent Night Over Palestine,” and other hymns. He opened the book and invited: “Brothers, come, let’s sing.” I listened with joy and sang from my heart.

Probably since the late 1980s. Znamenny chant began to be revived at the Academy. Once we sang in the Trinity Cathedral, the priest served. And we, as they say, “without declaring war,” agreed to sing the banner service - from beginning to end. Afterwards we approach the priest, smile - and his eyes are burning, but somehow it’s not right. We ask: “Father, tell me honestly: how?” He says: “You know, for the first time on Kherubimskaya I had no spiritual joy.” Of course, thank God that the chant is being revived. But we were probably vain and proud and carried a completely different spirit than we had 400 years ago. Although they sincerely tried, and when the znamenny chant was born, there was a strict rule that the singers received communion every two weeks, and confessed even more often. The path was correct, but the form turned out to be far from the content, because it is probably very difficult to cleanse the heart in two weeks, a month, or a year.

And also in connection with spiritual joy, I remember how one day after a service in the Assumption Cathedral, the priest came up to me and asked: “Did something happen to you? It’s impossible for you to go to confession, receive communion, and you don’t have spiritual joy, that you can be sad at this moment.”

Archimandrite Elijah (Reizmir) and editor-in-chief of the Pokrov magazine, Abbot Cyprian (Yashchenko)

That is, the priest did not even allow the thought that some kind of sadness might appear after Communion. Yes, it can occur in two hours, in a day, perhaps the person is carrying some kind of heavy cross. But at this moment it should not be.

Therefore, if you move away from the Chalice and feel something is wrong, then you need to immediately go back to confession and ask - tell me, why is this happening that I didn’t confess? There is a reason, it just can't happen.