Metropolitan German: “The villages are emptying, it’s a sad situation...”

What is it like to be a bishop at the end of the world? What is the main thing in hierarchal service? What difficulties do hierarchs face, and what, on the contrary, inspires and gives strength to live and serve further? About this and much more in an interview with Metropolitan Herman of Kursk and Rylsk.

Metropolitan German of Kursk and Rila.

Metropolitan German of Kursk and Rylsk (Moralin Lev Gennadievich) was born on December 24, 1956 in the village. Novo-Yazykovo, Arzamas district, Gorky region.

He graduated from the Arzamas Medical School with a degree in paramedic. He served in the army, worked in his specialty, studied at the Faculty of History and Philology of Gorky State University. On March 8, 1984 he was tonsured a monk, and on March 10 he was ordained a priest. He graduated in absentia from the Moscow Theological Seminary and the Orthodox St. Tikhon's Theological Institute.

On February 23, 1993, the Holy Synod elected Bishop of Yakutsk and Vilyuisk. The consecration took place on March 28, 1993 at the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow. Since 1995 - Bishop of Yakutsk and Lensk. On February 25, 2000, he was elevated to the rank of archbishop.

On August 17, 2004 he was appointed Archbishop of Kursk and Rylsk. By the decision of the Holy Synod of July 26, 2012 (magazine No. 62), he was appointed head of the newly formed Kursk Metropolis and temporary administrator of the Shchigrov diocese. On August 1, 2012 he was elevated to the rank of metropolitan.

Archbishop of Kursk and Rylsk Herman

— Vladyka, you did not receive a religious upbringing in your family. How and when did you have the desire to devote yourself to God?

“My parents were far from the Church, they didn’t go to church, but they always celebrated Christmas and Easter as a family. As a child, I did not think that I would become a priest. I wanted to be a general practitioner, I loved history, but I always had a feeling of God’s closeness. I remember that I could not indifferently pass by the destroyed temple, of which there were many at that time. And probably the Lord, seeing my attitude towards them, gave me obedience - to restore the temples.

For 30 years now, my entire church life, I have been mainly involved in the restoration of churches. If you love your work, then you need to give yourself completely, without reserve, and the monastic path - the path of a person not burdened by family concerns - is more acceptable for this.

Yakutia and loneliness

— 1993 was the hardest year for Russia. And this year was significant in your life, since Patriarch Alexy entrusted you with a difficult and responsible service - to be the Bishop of Yakutsk and Vilyuisk. How did you perceive this appointment, and what role did Patriarch Alexy II play in your life?

— His Holiness Patriarch Alexy made me a hierarch of the Church. I did not prepare for this post at all, because nowhere do they teach to become bishops. It is one thing to be the rector of a temple, and quite another to be a hierarch. This is high church obedience and great responsibility, so when Patriarch Alexy invited me to become the bishop of the Yakut region, I could not but agree immediately.

Initially, this proposal was made to several archimandrites, but they refused, and His Holiness very warmly accepted my consent, since, probably, he was grateful for my obedience. He was always interested in how things were going with us, delved into all the problems, and helped.

— What was the most difficult thing in Yakutsk: frosts, language barrier, distances?..

- Everything was destroyed. Only one poor wooden temple is in working order. But the main thing was that there was a temple and a throne, and a lodge in which one could live, and the rest, I decided, would depend on how to pray.

Winter in Yakutsk is a school of survival. 50-55 degrees below zero is not uncommon. It's hard to breathe at this temperature. The temple has gas heating. Sometimes the gas froze and flowed very poorly. I was also used to distances, I flew on airplanes and helicopters, but to get to distant villages, I had to overcome remote taiga paths.

And yet the most difficult thing was the lack of assistants. For the first six months I served alone, including as a deacon and choristers; it happened that I returned home in the evening without a voice, and besides, I fulfilled all the requirements. People were not yet accustomed to the church, they stayed away, even household work was under my care. A blank wall, all I could do was shout: Lord, help me! But there was no despair and fear.

Then, at my request, the Patriarch sent four hieromonks from those who agreed, because many refused. I even visited theological seminaries and invited graduates to come to my diocese, but no one agreed. Then I realized that I should rely only on my own strength and those who surrounded me. And only the next year candidates for clergy from local residents began to appear.

Then, gradually there were more helpers. I sent many to the theological seminary, communities were organized, churches were built. People reached out to faith. Church life began to develop. And if at the beginning of my episcopal service there was one parish, then 11 years later, when I left, 50 churches were opened and 30 clergy were already working. I am very grateful to them for their true missionary work. Some traveled for weeks, lived in the most remote villages, crossed rivers, walked through the taiga for days to preach the word of God. No one ever refused to travel. These are the kind of priests I had.

Not modernism, but a mission

— Over the 11 years of bishopric in Yakutia, a lot has been done, including the introduction of divine services in the modern Yakut language. Why was it necessary to introduce this particular innovation?

— Today all Yakuts know Russian, but I had to communicate with the older generation who did not speak Russian. My assistants made a translation of the Holy Scriptures into the Yakut language. For example, the Apostle and the Gospel were read in two languages. This really attracted people. It was very important for them that the Divine service be performed in their native language. Today in Yakutsk there are two Liturgies served on Sundays: in Church Slavonic and in Yakut.

My wonderful pre-revolutionary predecessors: Saints Innocent (future Metropolitan of Moscow) and Dionysius, who served on Yakut soil for 30 years as a priest and 14 bishops, preached in the Yakut language. Despite many years of persecution, their work did not disappear without a trace. Before the revolution in Yakutia, services were performed in 130 churches, almost all Yakuts were baptized, so the memory of Christianity was quite preserved among them. I knew people who were worried about their pagan relatives. There was a case when I arrived in Vilyuysk: several old men began to cry and extended their hands for a blessing. It is touching.

— In 2004, you had to head the Kursk diocese. Was this unexpected?

- Absolutely unexpected, since I’m already used to it and didn’t ask to go anywhere. I thought I was in the right place. But Patriarch Alexy called and said that I had been in the north enough and offered to head the Kursk diocese. Of course, I could not help but listen to His Holiness, but I accepted the offer with some trepidation: I am accustomed to the northern people with their mentality, and the number of parishes in the Kursk diocese is much larger.

Links

• RSFSR	Feofan (Gavrilov) • Nazariy (Kirillov) • Iuvenaliy (Maslovsky) • Damian (Voskresensky) • Onufriy (Gagalyuk) • Alexander (Schukin) • Feodosius (Kirika) • Efrem (Efremov) • Pitirim (Sviridov) • Alexy (Sergeev) • Nestor (Sidoruk) • Innokenty (Zelnitsky) • Roman (Tang) • Leonid (Polyakov) • Seraphim (Nikitin) • Nikolay (Bychkovsky) • Chrysostom (Martishkin) • Yuvenaly (Tarasov)
  Yuvenaly (Tarasov) • German (Moralin)

Don't wall yourself off with secretaries

— First impressions of the Kursk diocese? What problems did you face?

— A lot of things came at once: the construction of churches, monasteries, many problems arose, visitors, complaints, which did not exist in Yakutia at all. They love to complain here. One day, I think there haven’t been any complaints for a long time, I open the mail - four are there! It took me a while to get used to it here. It was hard.

—What do you, as a bishop, give preference to?

First of all, worship; standing at the throne, prayer, sermon. A bishop should be accessible to everyone, not fenced off from the world with a wall of secretaries, so I never run away after services - I stay and answer questions from parishioners. Of course, this takes a lot of time, but many issues are resolved.

When I host a reception in the diocese, I accept everyone who comes. Unfortunately, many priests do not do this. Most of the problems that people come with could well have been resolved on the spot if the clergy had not brushed them aside. We need to cherish every person who comes to the temple.

— Are there problems for which there is no solution?

- These are scams. If people get married, they must endure and live together. And often it happens that they do such a thing that it is impossible to live. Again, I will say that this is on the conscience of the priests, who do not conduct conversations before the wedding, do not explain how great the responsibility is to cherish the blessing of God and the Church. They perform the sacrament of wedding - and that’s it. Unfortunately, we have a lot of divorces.

Confessors and young elders

— Vladyka, tell me, what is clergy? Who are the confessors of the diocese?

— Confessors are priests experienced in spiritual life. Finding a confessor to get advice in difficult everyday circumstances is not easy. A priest must give advice not from his own head, but rely on the experience of the holy fathers, the Holy Scriptures, he must himself be a prayer book - only then this advice will be useful. Today a lot of spiritual literature is published, but we should read more of the holy fathers and teachers of the church. There are answers to many questions there.

Priests, like laity, need to have a confessor in order to confess. They need advice just as much, if not more. Life is more complicated than any rules. Our diocese's spiritual director for clergy is 85-year-old Archpriest Nikolai Davydov, rector of St. Nicholas Church in Kursk.

— Have you encountered the problem of being young?

- Yes. We are fighting this phenomenon. Those priests who themselves still need guidance take on the responsibility to bless. For example, a person comes for a blessing to go to the hospital, but he says: don’t get treatment, apply oil. Well, what is this!

One of the first questions I heard when I arrived here was how to approach the census. Then I thought: something is wrong here. How should you feel about the census? After all, every housewife counts chickens in her yard every day. What's so scary about that?

Or, for example, fear of Taxpayer Identification Number. Instead of directing their energies to fighting sins, people direct them to fighting tax identification numbers and passports. Next, talk about the end of the world. The end of the world has been expected since the very first centuries. Nobody knows when this will happen. It saddens me that there are priests who have a penchant for such things. They tend to create an unhealthy atmosphere in the parish. It turns out that we are not solving pressing problems, but fighting windmills. We are marking time.

Other Kursk news for this day

"Fashionable" calluses

“Today it has become fashionable to become a priest, and many go to the seminary in search of an easy path. How do you evaluate modern candidates for the priesthood?

“I don’t agree that it’s fashionable to be a priest today.” This is not an easy path, and few choose it. In the 90s, when freedom of religion appeared, many actually chose this path out of curiosity, but currently the number of people wishing to become a clergyman has decreased.

Most clergy in the province live very modestly. In our diocese, most parishes are small rural parishes (10-15 people), and not always with a restored church: there is no money for this. Therefore, rural priests live like real peasants. They get up every day at 4-5 am to feed the cattle. Their palms are calloused, because if they don’t take care of the housekeeping and gardening, they will die of hunger.

— How do you assess intra-church life in the Kursk diocese as a whole?

- Difficult question. We can’t say that we are so good, because we do a lot. More needs to be done.

Excerpt characterizing Herman (Moralin)

- Honey! mother! – Nikolai’s triumphant cry was heard. It seemed that Milka would strike and catch the hare, but she caught up and rushed past. The Rusak moved away. The beautiful Erza swooped in again and hung over the hare’s very tail, as if trying to grab him by the back thigh so as not to make a mistake now. - Erzanka! sister! – Ilagin’s voice was heard crying, not his own. Erza did not heed his pleas. At the very moment when one should have expected her to grab the hare, he whirled and rolled out to the line between the greenery and the stubble. Again Erza and Milka, like a pair of drawbars, aligned themselves and began to sing to the hare; at the turn it was easier for the hare; the dogs did not approach him so quickly. - Scold! Swearing! Pure march! - shouted at that time another new voice, and Rugai, his uncle’s red, humpbacked dog, stretching out and arching his back, caught up with the first two dogs, moved out from behind them, kicked with terrible selflessness right over the hare, knocked him off the line onto the green, Another time he pushed even harder through the dirty greens, drowning up to his knees, and you could only see how he rolled head over heels, getting his back dirty in the mud, with the hare. The star of dogs surrounded him. A minute later everyone was standing near the crowded dogs. One happy uncle got down and walked away. Shaking the hare so that the blood would drain, he looked around anxiously, running his eyes, unable to find a position for his arms and legs, and spoke, not knowing with whom or what. “This is a matter of march... here is a dog... here he pulled out everyone, both thousandths and rubles - a pure matter of march!” he said, gasping and looking around angrily, as if scolding someone, as if everyone were his enemies, everyone had offended him, and only now he finally managed to justify himself. “Here are the thousandths for you - a pure march!” - Scold me, fuck off! - he said, throwing the cut-off paw with the earth stuck on it; – deserved it – pure march! “She pulled out all the stops, gave three runs on her own,” Nikolai said, also not listening to anyone, and not caring whether they listened to him or not. - What the hell is this! - said Ilaginsky the stirrup. “Yes, as soon as she stopped short, every mongrel will catch you from stealing,” said Ilagin at the same time, red-faced, barely catching his breath from the galloping and excitement. At the same time, Natasha, without taking a breath, squealed joyfully and enthusiastically so shrilly that her ears were ringing. With this screech she expressed everything that other hunters also expressed in their one-time conversation. And this squeal was so strange that she herself should have been ashamed of this wild squeal and everyone should have been surprised by it if it had been at another time. The uncle himself pulled the hare back, deftly and smartly threw him over the back of the horse, as if reproaching everyone with this throwing, and with such an air that he didn’t even want to talk to anyone, sat on his kaurago and rode away. Everyone except him, sad and offended, left and only long after could they return to their former pretense of indifference. For a long time they looked at the red Rugay, who, with his hunchbacked back and dirt stained, rattling his iron, with the calm look of a winner, walked behind the legs of his uncle’s horse. “Well, I’m the same as everyone else when it comes to bullying. Well, just hang in there!” It seemed to Nikolai that the appearance of this dog spoke. When, long after, the uncle drove up to Nikolai and spoke to him, Nikolai was flattered that his uncle, after everything that had happened, still deigned to speak with him. When Ilagin said goodbye to Nikolai in the evening, Nikolai found himself at such a far distance from home that he accepted his uncle’s offer to leave the hunt to spend the night with him (with his uncle), in his village of Mikhailovka. - And if they came to see me, it would be a pure march! - said the uncle, even better; you see, the weather is wet, the uncle said, if we could rest, the countess would be taken in a droshky. “Uncle’s proposal was accepted, a hunter was sent to Otradnoye for the droshky; and Nikolai, Natasha and Petya went to see their uncle. About five people, large and small, courtyard men ran out onto the front porch to meet the master. Dozens of women, old, big and small, leaned out from the back porch to watch the approaching hunters. The presence of Natasha, a woman, a lady on horseback, brought the curiosity of the uncle's servants to such limits that many, not embarrassed by her presence, came up to her, looked into her eyes and in her presence made their comments about her, as if about a miracle being shown, which is not a person, and cannot hear or understand what is said about him. - Arinka, look, she’s sitting on her side! She sits herself, and the hem dangles... Look at the horn! - Fathers of the world, that knife... - Look, Tatar! - How come you didn’t somersault? - said the bravest one, directly addressing Natasha. The uncle got off his horse at the porch of his wooden house overgrown with a garden and, looking around at his household, shouted imperiously that the extra ones should leave and that everything necessary for receiving guests and hunting would be done. Everything ran away. Uncle took Natasha off the horse and led her by the hand along the shaky plank steps of the porch. The house, unplastered, with log walls, was not very clean - it was not clear that the purpose of the people living was to keep it stain-free, but there was no noticeable neglect. The hallway smelled of fresh apples, and there were wolf and fox skins hanging. Through the front hall, the uncle led his guests into a small hall with a folding table and red chairs, then into a living room with a birch round table and a sofa, then into an office with a torn sofa, a worn carpet and with portraits of Suvorov, the owner’s father and mother, and himself in a military uniform . There was a strong smell of tobacco and dogs in the office. In the office, the uncle asked the guests to sit down and make themselves at home, and he himself left. Scolding, his back not cleaned, entered the office and lay down on the sofa, cleaning himself with his tongue and teeth. From the office there was a corridor in which screens with torn curtains could be seen. Women's laughter and whispers could be heard from behind the screens. Natasha, Nikolai and Petya undressed and sat on the sofa. Petya leaned on his arm and immediately fell asleep; Natasha and Nikolai sat in silence. Their faces were burning, they were very hungry and very cheerful. They looked at each other (after the hunt, in the room, Nikolai no longer considered it necessary to show his male superiority in front of his sister); Natasha winked at her brother, and both did not hold back for long and laughed loudly, not yet having time to think of an excuse for their laughter. A little later, the uncle came in wearing a Cossack jacket, blue trousers and small boots. And Natasha felt that this very suit, in which she saw her uncle with surprise and mockery in Otradnoye, was a real suit, which was no worse than frock coats and tails. Uncle was also cheerful; Not only was he not offended by the laughter of his brother and sister (it could not enter his head that they could laugh at his life), but he himself joined in their causeless laughter. - That’s how the young countess is - a pure march - I’ve never seen another like it! - he said, handing one pipe with a long shank to Rostov, and placing the other short, cut shank with the usual gesture between three fingers. “I left for the day, at least on time for the man and as if nothing had happened!” Soon after the uncle, the door opened, obviously a barefoot girl by the sound of her feet, and a fat, ruddy, beautiful woman of about 40, with a double chin, and full, ruddy lips, entered the door with a large tray in her hands. She, with hospitable presence and attractiveness in her eyes and every movement, looked around at the guests and bowed respectfully to them with a gentle smile. Despite her greater-than-usual thickness, which forced her to stick her chest and stomach forward and hold her head back, this woman (the uncle’s housekeeper) walked extremely lightly. She walked up to the table, put down the tray and deftly with her white, plump hands removed and placed bottles, snacks and treats on the table. Having finished this, she walked away and stood at the door with a smile on her face. - “Here I am!” Do you understand uncle now?” her appearance told Rostov. How not to understand: not only Rostov, but also Natasha understood her uncle and the meaning of the frowning eyebrows, and the happy, self-satisfied smile that slightly wrinkled his lips as Anisya Fedorovna entered. On the tray were herbalist, liqueurs, mushrooms, cakes of black flour on yuraga, comb honey, boiled and sparkling honey, apples, raw and roasted nuts and nuts in honey. Then Anisya Feodorovna brought jam with honey and sugar, and ham, and freshly fried chicken.

Mother of God in Kursk

— In 2009, a rather significant event took place in the Russian Orthodox Church. For the first time in 90 years, the original icon of the Mother of God “The Sign” has returned to its homeland (albeit for a short time). Kursk during this period became the center of pilgrimage in Russia. People stood in line at the Znamensky Cathedral for 14 hours. How did you manage to avoid force majeure situations, and how do you assess this event?

— This event was preceded by a lot of preparation. In the Root Hermitage, a cathedral church for the icon was built on the site of the one in which it was located that was blown up during the revolutionary years. Negotiations with the Orthodox Church Abroad about unification were difficult. If there had been no unification, the bringing of the icon would have been impossible. We received Metropolitan Laurus several times before and after the signing of the act of canonical communion of the Churches.

These days have become a real holiday and triumph of Orthodoxy. Almost the entire city came out to meet the icon. It was an amazing sight! We were still driving from the airport, and people along the road were on their knees. Foreign guests cried seeing such love and memory of the Russian people. We did not expect that half a million people would come to venerate the icon. There were huge queues, the cathedral was open around the clock. Prayer services were served continuously.

Archbishop of Kursk and Rylsk Herman

The security worked well, but the tension was enormous. Thank God everything went well. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill was impressed by the huge religious procession and the splendor of the new church, and in those days we rediscovered our people, who stood in line for 15 hours, some did not eat or drink, in order to reverently venerate the miraculous Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God "The Omen".

— Will the image of the Mother of God “The Sign” return to Kursk from New York forever?

“I’m even afraid to talk about it yet.” Thank God that the foreign Synod allows us to bring an icon to us every year. She is infinitely dear to them, she is called a guide to the Russian diaspora, because she brought together many who had to leave Russia during difficult years and scatter all over the world. Therefore, when the topic of returning an icon comes up at any meeting, I try to change the topic so as not to confuse foreign guests. But we will ask that the icon remain with us longer.

This year we managed to visit the perinatal center with the icon, breaking the schedule a little, at 2 am. But what a meeting it was! All the women came forward, many did not believe that this was possible. The joy was such as is described in the Gospel: “...And where does this come from for me, that the Mother of my Lord came to me?” (Luke 2:51). Next year we will definitely visit the children’s hospital, cancer center, etc. with the icon.

№40 (649) / October 24 '11

Diocese
of Ekaterinburg, October 24, “Information Agency of the Ekaterinburg Diocese.”

Archbishop of Kursk and Rylsk Herman

Date of birth: December 24, 1956 Date of ordination: March 28, 1993 Date of tonsure: March 8, 1984 Angel Day: July 11.

• Born in the village. Novo-Yazykovo, Arzamas district, Gorky region.
• In 1975 he graduated from the Arzamas Medical School with a degree in paramedic. In 1975-1977 served in the ranks of the Soviet army, then worked in his specialty and at the same time studied at the Faculty of History and Philology of Gorky State University.
• Since 1983, he served as subdeacon under the Vladimir diocesan administration.
• On August 19, 1983, Archbishop Serapion (Fadeev) of Vladimir ordained him a deacon. He served in the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir.
• On March 8, 1984, he was tonsured a monk by the rector of the Assumption Cathedral, Archimandrite Alexy (Kutepov), and ordained a priest on March 10 by Archbishop Serapion.
• In April 1984 he was appointed rector of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Likino, Sudogodsky district, Vladimir region.
• Graduated from the Moscow Theological Seminary in absentia.
• In 1987 he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite.
• In 1989-1993 – rector of the Intercession and Nikitsky churches in Yuryev-Polsky.
• In 1991, he was appointed dean of the parishes of the Yuryev-Polsky and Kolchuginsky districts.
• On February 23, 1993, the Holy Synod elected Bishop of Yakutsk and Vilyuisk. The consecration took place on March 28, 1993 at the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow.
• Since 1995 - Bishop of Yakutsk and Lensk.
• On February 25, 2000, he was elevated to the rank of archbishop.
• In 2000, he graduated in absentia from the Orthodox St. Tikhon's Theological Institute.
• On August 17, 2004 he was appointed Archbishop of Kursk and Rylsk.
• By the decision of the Holy Synod of October 5-6, 2011 (journal No. 127), he was confirmed as rector (hieroarchimandrite) of the Znamensky Monastery in the city of Kursk and the Kursk Root Nativity of the Mother of God of the male Hermitage in the village. Freedom of Zolotukhinsky district, Kursk region.

Education:

• 1975 – Arzamas Medical School;
• Moscow Theological Seminary (in absentia);
• 2000 – PSTGU (in absentia).

Awards

• church: – 2002 – Order of St. Innocent of Moscow II century; – 2006 – Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh III Art.
• secular: – 2000 – state Order of Honor; – 2001 – Order of the Polar Star of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

Brief information

Date of creation of the diocese: 1666-1667.

Established in 1667 (according to other sources, in 1666). Metropolis.

Initially the metropolitan see in Belgorod; in 1833 it was transferred to Kursk, after which Belgorod turned into the Kursk Vicariate. She changed her boundaries many times. In 1799 the diocese was renamed after the name of the province to Kursk.

Now in the Kursk diocese there are 23 deaneries, there are 285 parishes, 7 monasteries and 4 monasteries: the Root Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos male Hermitage, its monasteries - in the name of St. Seraphim of Sarov and in the name of St. Nicholas - the village of Nikolskoye, Zolotukhinsky district; St. Nicholas Monastery, Rylsk, its monasteries - Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village. Korenskoye, in the name of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village. Bobrovo; Holy Trinity Convent in Kursk; convent in the name of Alexy, the Man of God, in the village of Zolotukhino; Convent of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in the village. Bolshegneushevo, Rylsky district.

Educational establishments:

• Kursk Theological Seminary;
• Orthodox gymnasium.

Address: Russia, 305000, Kursk, st. Lenina, 55 Phone: Fax: E-mail:

From the history of the diocese

Information about the Principality of Kursk was first given in chronicles in 1095. The son of Prince Vladimir Monomakh, Izyaslav, then began to reign in Kursk. The reign was short-lived. A year later, he died in a fight with his godfather, Prince Oleg of Suzdal. Secondary information about the Principality of Kursk is found already under the date 1125, when Prince Mstislav Vladimirovich inherited the dignity of the Grand Duke, and his son Izyaslav Mstislavovich became the appanage prince of Kursk.

In 1136, due to civil strife, Kursk went to the Chernigov branch of the princes, remaining an appanage principality led by Prince Gleb. In 1147, Ivan Georgievich (Ivanko Yuryevich), the son of Yuri Dolgoruky, reigned in Kursk, and two years later the Kursk inheritance with Poseimye and the Snov region was transferred to the reign of Svyatoslav Olegovich.

Not all documents have reached us, not all historical events were recorded in chronicles, and much has been lost. In any case, Kursk, of course, arose no later than the end of the 10th century as a native city. It is quite possible that it arose much earlier than 990, and this date only says that this year Kursk became a city of Kievan Rus. It is also appropriate to assume that the year 990 was the starting date for the beginning of the baptism of the Kursk people. Therefore, we can assume that the Christian faith on the Kursk land began to strengthen precisely from this time, that is, only two years after the baptism of the Kievites.

By the 13th century, Kursk had become the largest fortified city in the Poseym region. At this time, the steppe bordering the Kursk region was under the control of new nomads who came from the Volga region. These were the Mongols, or, as they were then called, Taurmans, Tatars. In 1237-1238, Khan Batu Mengu's cousin took Kursk. The city was completely destroyed. But the Kurdish people did not abandon their faith and hope in the Lord our God and His Most Pure Mother. And Heavenly help came. On September 8, 1295, on the day of the Nativity of the Mother of God, in the vicinity of the devastated city on the banks of the Tuskar River, in the forest thicket, the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “The Sign” was revealed.

May 17, 1667 is the starting historical date for the establishment of the department of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Kursk region. Kursk itself remained subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate. From July 2, 1748, by Divine Providence, the great ascetic of the faith, His Grace Joasaph (Gorlenko), became the head of the Belgorod diocese. The tireless Archpastor, through his intense activity, tried to raise the authority of the Church and raise its servants to be educated and strong in spirit. Saint Joasaph paid much attention to the life of the common people. It got to the point that he himself secretly brought firewood to a weak old man or woman. Saint Joasaph devoted his entire life to serving the Lord God with all the purity of his soul. In 1752, while in Kursk, he consecrated the foundation stone of the Sergius-Kazan Cathedral. The temple was built by Isidor Moshnin, the father of St. Seraphim of Sarov.

In 1797, 10 districts were established in the Kursk province. The number of churches by that time reached 875. On October 17, 1799, new changes to the boundaries of the diocese took place: Sloboda Ukraine formed the Kharkov diocese. Kursk became the center of the diocese, and the Most Reverend Archpastors began to be called Kursk and Belgorod.

During the war with Napoleon, the Kursk clergy heartily shared the grief of the people. Archbishop Theoktist began collecting funds to help the Russian army. Some of the clergy decided to defend their homeland with weapons in their hands. By decision of Archbishop Theoktist, one of the copies of the Kursk Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign” was taken from the Root Hermitage and transferred to the army of the prince. M.I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov in Maloyaroslavets.

In 1815, the Znamensky Cathedral was founded in Kursk as a monument to the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812. Through the efforts of Bishop Theoktist, many schools and colleges were improved. He showed special attention to the Kursk Theological Seminary.

Before the revolution, about 10,000 clergy lived in the Kursk province; by 1937, there were only 1,700 of them left. There were 1,700 temples; after 1937, only 476 survived.

Despite the long period of persecution, from the first days of the war the Orthodox Church acted as a patriotic force. Church activity was very active on the eve of the Battle of Kursk and during it. The headquarters of the Central Front was located in the Svoboda metro station, Zolotukhinsky district, in a holy place - the Korennaya Pustyn monastery.

For their service and contribution to the Victory, part of the Kursk clergy was awarded state awards - medals “For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War.” Only one parish of the Vvedensky Church collected 200,000 rubles for the needs of the front.

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Root Hermitage

The Korennaya Pustyn Monastery - the place where the Miracle-Working Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos "The Sign" of Kursk-Root was found - was founded in 1597 by decree of Tsar Theodore Ioannovich. This is one of the first monasteries in the Kursk region.

Korennaya Pustyn is located on the right bank of the Tuskar River, 30 km from Kursk. The Queen of Heaven herself pointed to this place with the miraculous appearance of Her image at the edge of a dense forest, and for more than seven centuries prayer has not ceased here.

The construction of the desert was difficult. The first abbot here was Hegumen Euthymius, tonsured a monk from among the priests of the city of Rylsk. The time was turbulent, the Crimean Tatars constantly attacked Muscovite Rus'. During the Time of Troubles, in 1604, many Russian cities were taken by the troops of the impostor Grishka Otrepiev, who called himself the son of Ivan the Terrible. False Dmitry, preparing a campaign against Moscow, settled in Putivl. In order to win over the people to his side, he demanded the miraculous icon of the Mother of God “The Sign” of Kursk-Root. With tears in their eyes, the Kursk residents celebrated the shrine; many of them walked with it to Putivl. The cunning impostor greeted the shrine with appropriate honors, and during the capture of Moscow, he installed it in the royal palace. And the newly built Root Hermitage was destroyed by the Crimean Tatars in the absence of the icon.

After the devastation of Root Hermitage in 1611, it was difficult to rebuild. In 1617, a church was erected in it in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, consecrated in 1618. At the same time, a miraculous icon was brought to the monastery: the shrine returned from Moscow, where it remained throughout the Time of Troubles, and after False Dmitry was expelled from the capital, it was for some time in the house of Prince Dmitry Pozharsky.

In 1701, a monastic hostel was established in the desert. In 1703, instead of the former wooden one, a two-story stone church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built. In the lower church, the chapel was consecrated in honor of Saints Anthony and Theodosius of Pechersk.

In 1764 the hermitage became independent from the Znamensky Monastery. The year 1816 is memorable for the establishment of an archimandry in the monastery. July 1, 1852 in the desert, designed by the famous architect K.A. A new church is being built on the site of a dilapidated church by the middle of the 19th century. In 1860, the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built and consecrated. The history of the monastery is connected with the life there of one of the outstanding educators of the past - Sylvester Medvedev. He was a monk in Korennaya from 1675 to 1678, did a lot for the development of book printing, and became one of the outstanding Russian bibliographers.

Several years ago, a monument to St. Seraphim of Sarov was erected in the central part of the monastery - the great ascetic of Orthodoxy visited the monastery more than once, and from the miraculous icon “The Sign” of Kursk-Root he received healing from a serious illness at the age of 10. The author of the sculpture is Vyacheslav Klykov. The same sculpture was installed not far from the city of Sarov, near one of the distant deserts, where Father Seraphim performed his spiritual exploits.

Famous Kursk religious processions

In 1618, on the occasion of the consecration of the first wooden Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Korennaya Hermitage, on the ninth Friday after Easter, the icon was first moved from Kursk to Korennaya. This was the beginning of the religious processions.

From 1618 to 1726, the icon remained in the Root Hermitage for three days, then until 1765 - for a whole week. But in 1767, by Decree of the Holy Synod, the Kursk religious procession was stopped and resumed only in 1791. At the same time, the icon began to remain in the monastery for two weeks. In 1805, thanks to the petition of Abbot Macarius, the period of residence of the icon at the place of its appearance was established from the ninth Friday of Easter until September 12.

The winter location of the shrine was the Znamensky Cathedral of Kursk, and the summer location was Korennaya Pustyn. The icon is traditionally transferred to the Znamensky Cathedral on September 12 (25). Majestic religious processions attracted many thousands of people. A legend has been preserved that when the first pilgrims entered Korennaya, the last ones were still in Kursk.

The ancient tradition of holding religious processions behind the holy Kursk-Root icon of the Mother of God “The Sign” was revived in 1990. In modern processions of the cross, a copy of the icon takes part - an exact copy of the miraculous image, painted in the Znamensky Monastery in 1902. The holy springs on the territory of the monastery have not dried up either.

Since 1792, the Miracle-Working Pryazhevskaya (Sudzhanskaya) Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary began to enjoy nationwide veneration. Largely thanks to her, the Nikolo-Belogorsky Monastery was reopened in 1863. Two religious processions were held with the holy image - in the city of Miropol (now Sumy region of the Republic of Ukraine) and in the city of Sudzhu. From the 30s of the 20th century until the 1990s, the revered image remained in the Holy Trinity Church in the city of Sudzha, and with the revival of the Belogorsky Gornalsky Monastery it was moved to this monastery.

Saints of Kursk land

Kursk is the birthplace of St. Seraphim of Sarov. Here he lived a little less than a quarter of his life. It was this saint who became the canonical example of Russian elders, who actively cared for the world. The Monk Seraphim of Sarov played an important role in the development of female monasticism and the opening of new nunneries. With his blessing and prayers, more than 10 women's monasteries were opened. At the behest of the Mother of God, the Monk Seraphim became the spiritual mentor and comforter of the Diveyevo orphans, the first nuns of the Holy Trinity Seraphim-Diveyevo Monastery.

The Kursk land gave Christianity other outstanding ascetics of the spirit, many of whom were awarded Heavenly glory: the Optina, Sarov, Glinsk elders. For example, St. Isaac I (Ivan Ivanovich Antimonov). At the age of 38, he left a brilliant career, honorary citizenship, and a considerable fortune and went to Optina Pustyn, where his elder brother Mikhail labored as a monk for several years. During the abbotship of Abbot Isaac I, the monastery reached a special blossoming in spiritual, economic and construction relations.

Kuryan monks labored in the Sarov Desert, thanks to whom an atmosphere of genuine ascetic piety was created in the monastery. This is the seventh rector of the monastery, Hieromonk Pachomius (Boris Nazarovich Leonov), born into a merchant family; Hieromonk Pitirim (Petr Ivanovich Druzhinin); the venerable saint of the Tambov diocese, schemamonk and ascetic Mark the Silent (Mikhail Andreevich Maltsov).

During the years of persecution of the Orthodox Church, the Kursk land was enriched with new martyrs and confessors. For the first time in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, with the blessing of Patriarch Alexy of Moscow, the celebration of the Council of Kursk saints, who shone in the land of Kursk, was established, and it took place on August 1, 2003, on the day of the 100th anniversary of the glorification of St. Seraphim, the wonderworker of Sarov and all Rus'. There are currently 23 names in the Cathedral of Kursk Saints. The icon was painted by Kursk icon painters, and local priests wrote a prayer to the Kursk saints. Among the names are the holy martyrs Damian (Voskresensky) and Onufriy (Gagalyuk).

Good Comforter

The discovery of the Kursk-Root miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is described in one handwritten legend as follows: “In the year 6803 from the creation of the world, and from the Nativity of Christ in 1295, on September 8, it happened that one pious man came for the sake of his income to the forest with which the surroundings of Kursk were overgrown, According to his ruin, and according to God's vision, he saw, near the Tuskari River in a semi-mountain, at the root of a large tree, an icon lying prostrate, which he had only just lifted from the ground, when a source of water immediately flowed from that place.

Seeing this, this husband placed the “Sign” icon of the Mother of God, which he had honestly acquired, in the hollow of that tree, and then he himself announced this glorious miracle to his comrades, who, agreeing among themselves, built a chapel from forest, cut down in this place, and, having placed a miraculous icon in it, returned home in peace.”

Such an unusual appearance of the icon, combined with a miracle, soon became famous in the neighboring city of Rylsk. Rylsky Prince Vasily Shemyaka ordered the icon to be moved to his city. The miraculous image was solemnly greeted by the residents, but the prince did not want to go out of the city gates to meet the icon and was punished for this with blindness. Having repented and received healing, the prince built a church in Rylsk in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, where the miraculous icon was placed. However, she miraculously disappeared and returned to the place of her appearance. Residents of Rylsk repeatedly took the icon, but each time it again ended up in the Root Hermitage.

People's rumors about her miracles reached the royal throne. Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich ordered to bring it from the desert to Moscow in order to give it proper worship. At the direction of Theodore Ioannovich, the icon was framed with a cypress board with the inscription of the Lord of Hosts on it, and on the sides and below - nine Old Testament prophets with charters in their hands, prophesying about the Mother of God. The frame was made of silver and gilded; it was decorated with pearls and precious stones.

The miraculous icon’s visit to the capital marked the beginning of the new birth of Kursk. In the same 1597, Tsar Theodore Ioannovich, along with the Decree on the establishment of a monastery at the site where the icon was found, ordered the construction of a fortress and the restoration of ancient Kursk in its original place.

Where the icon was found, a men's monastery was founded, which became known as the Root Hermitage. In her cathedral church in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, an icon was placed, and over the miraculous spring a church was erected in honor of the image of the Mother of God “Life-Giving Spring”. The icon remained in the monastery until 1598, when the Crimean Tatars invaded southern Russia.

The danger of an enemy invasion did not leave the Kursk lands; for safety, the shrine was moved to the previously restored city of Kursk. The icon was placed in the cathedral Church of the Resurrection, in the chapel of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And in the Root Desert there remains an exact list from it.

After the October Revolution, the icon was stolen from the Znamensky Cathedral in broad daylight on April 12, 1918. The shrine was discovered a few days later. One woman passed by a well (according to legend, dug in his youth by the Monk Theodosius of Pechersk himself). Here, on the frame of the well, she saw a package wrapped in a bag. There was an icon in it, but it was already without magnificent vestments, apparently planted by the kidnappers. She was wearing a chasuble with blue enamel.

At the end of October 1919, when the Volunteer Army abandoned Kursk, 12 monks of the Znamensky Monastery transferred the icon to Belgorod. From here, with stops in Taganrog and Yekaterinodar, it was transported to Novorossiysk, and then on March 1, 1920, by Bishop Feofan of Kursk on the steamer “St. Nicholas” - to Thessaloniki.

The only shrine that left with its people was the miraculous icon of the Mother of God “The Sign” of Kursk-Root. The Kursk icon became Hodegetria - a guide, the patroness of all Russian people scattered throughout the world; currently located in the USA.

Website of the Kursk and Rylsk diocese: https://www.eparhia.kursk.ru

© When using information, a link to the media “Information Agency of the Ekaterinburg Diocese” (registration certificate IA No. 11-1492 dated May 29, 2003) is MANDATORY.

In other rooms:

What kind of temples should we build?

— Vladyka, today there is an opinion that the construction of churches is not the most important thing, it is necessary to create the souls of people. They say that churches are being built, but there are no more believers. What do you think of it?

- I don’t agree. We have a lot of believers - and seriously, deeply believers. The arrival of the icon from New York revealed this sacred feeling of our people. There is still a lot of dirt on the human soul, but the thirst for the holy is great.

Recently, a lot of young people have come to the temple, even compared to the period when I first arrived here. This is especially noticeable on Sundays. I remember these serious, beautiful faces, intelligent eyes that were pleasant to look at. Therefore, to say that everything is only bad with us is not entirely correct. The construction of churches is directly related to the churching of the people, their spirituality and revival.

“It would seem that spiritual life in the country is growing stronger, but according to statistics, the number of abortions, suicides, and orphans is not decreasing. Why?

“What we have now is largely the consequences of the 1990s, when destructive information poured into the country through the media from all sides. This is a very powerful force that has a huge impact on a person. We have not yet learned to use information. The Lord has endowed man with free choice, but due to his inclination to sin, man chooses not what is good for his soul, but what seems pleasant, because it is easier to live.

The Church, of course, should not stand aside. She must call to goodness those who are able to hear. Every year in our diocese on June 1, we hold an action: young people walk along the main street of the city and hand out leaflets with information about the destructiveness of abortion. We work with antenatal clinics and maternity hospitals. A person must at least be convinced to give birth to a child, even if he keeps it, but not to kill it. Many people cannot have their own children, and happily take them into their families.

- Do you believe that the situation can be turned around?

“I think it’s not too late yet, so it’s possible.” There is still time to correct the mistakes.