Iliy Nozdrin - the miracles of the priest (temple in Peredelkino)

Iliy (Nozdrin)
(born 1932), Schema-Archimandrite, spiritual father of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and the Holy Vvedenskaya Optina Hermitage, member of the Inter-Council Presence of the Russian Orthodox Church and its Commission on the organization of the life of monasteries and monasticism In the world Nozdrin Alexey Afanasyevich, born 8 March [1] 1932 in the village of Stanovoy Kolodez, Oryol district, Oryol region, in a pious peasant family. Father - Afanasy Ivanovich Nozdrin, mother - Klavdiya Vasilievna. At baptism he was named in honor of Alexy, a man of God. Had three brothers and a sister. His grandfather, Ivan Nozdrin, was a great lover of truth, did not accept the new order, and was the headman of the Church of the Intercession in Stanovoy Kolodez. In 1942, both his grandfather Ivan and his father Afanasy died after being seriously wounded at the front [2]. After the death of her husband, the mother did not remarry, taking care of the children and housekeeping.

Alexey was baptized in the church of the neighboring village of Lukino. As he himself later assumed, he began praying at the age of three. The family gave him only indirect spiritual education, but he grew up as a very religious boy and already in childhood he was called “Divine,” “God’s man.” An incident in 1947-1948 became widely known in the village and district when, having been robbed and praying with tears before the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, Alexey found a hot wheat loaf on the ground.

In 1949 he graduated from Stanovokolodez secondary school.

He served in the army, where the foreman persuaded him to join the Komsomol. Upon returning home, he deeply repented of this, seeing it as a sin against God, and immediately burned his Komsomol card.

In 1955-1958 he studied at the mechanical engineering college in Serpukhov. After technical school, I was assigned to work in the city of Kamyshin, Volgograd region. There was one active church in the city, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, where John Bukotkin served as the second priest, who became Alexei’s first confessor. He talked a lot and for a long time with the priest, and began to pray in the barn at night. Father John invited him to enter the Saratov Theological Seminary and helped arrange this, although at great risk to himself.

After the closure of the Saratov Seminary, he was transferred to the Leningrad Seminary, then studied at the Theological Academy. In Leningrad, he decided to become a monk, received the blessing of Father John Bukotkin, and was tonsured with the name Ilian, in honor of one of the forty martyrs of Sebaste. The tonsure was performed by Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov), ​​who then ordained him as a hierodeacon and hieromonk.

During his years in the Leningrad diocese, he worked a lot in various parishes.

Since 1966, he spent ten years in the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery. Reading in 1967 a book about the then not yet glorified Venerable Silouan of Athos became an important step in his spiritual life for him.

On March 3, 1976, by decision of the Holy Synod, he was sent to carry out monastic obedience on the Holy Mount Athos, to the Russian monastery of the Great Martyr Panteleimon. He was among the handful of monks who helped preserve monastic life here, maintain the monastery's connection with the Russian Orthodox Church, and prevent the widely discussed and expected transfer of the Panteleimon Monastery to the Greeks in Greece. He carried out obedience in the monastery on Stary Russik, in a secluded dwelling hidden in the mountain gorges. During the Athos period, Father Ilian was also entrusted with clergy within the walls of the Panteleimon Monastery.

At the end of the 1980s, he was called back to his homeland and sent to the rebuilding Optina Pustyn as the confessor of the brethren. He arrived there in 1989, when the monastery was still an overgrown ruin. Soon he was tonsured here into the great schema with the name Eli in honor of another Sebastian martyr. He embarked on the path of senile service in Optina, which lasted 20 years. His numerous spiritual children, and even people who had only a moment of communication with him, testified to the decisive significance for them of his image, actions and instructions. But seekers of revelations often left him in bewilderment, because... it seemed that he was saying common truths known to everyone.

Soon after the Local Council of 2009, Schema-Abbess Iliy became the confessor of his fellow student at the Theological Academy, the newly elected Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill, and moved to Peredelkino, to the metochion of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.
On March 5, 2010, he became a member of the Inter-Council Presence of the Russian Orthodox Church [3]. Since December 16, 2010, he has been a member of the Commission on the Organization of the Life of Monasteries and Monasticism of the Inter-Council Presence [4].

On Easter, April 4, 2010, he was elevated to the rank of schema-archimandrite in the Cathedral Cathedral of Christ the Savior by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' [5].

Biography of Schema-Archimandrite Elijah

The future elder was born into a simple peasant family in the village of Stanovoy Kolodez (near Orel). This significant event took place in 1932. The baby was baptized with the name Alexy (in honor of the man of God Alexy).

At that time, there were few believing families, and atheism was widespread. But Elijah was lucky - his parents were deeply religious. The baby began to learn to work and pray very early. At the age of 3, he already knew the simplest prayers and sincerely cried out to the Lord. Having lost his father early, who died at the front, the boy experienced all the hardships and deprivations of his wartime childhood and became a real help for his mother. In addition to the boy, the family had three more children.

From early childhood, Eli was distinguished among his peers by his extraordinary mental abilities, as well as his enormous diligence. Despite the fact that he was always full of worries at home, he graduated from school with flying colors. Then there was military service, after which he entered a technical school. After successfully completing his studies, Iliy was sent to work at a cotton mill in the city of Kamyshin.

But the young man especially acutely feels the need for spiritual life and spiritual education. Therefore, he enters the theological seminary in Saratov. But Ilya failed to complete his studies. At this time, Khrushchev came to power and persecution of the Orthodox faith began again. The seminary is closed. Ily continues his studies at the Leningrad Theological Seminary, then at the academy.

In 1966, the most important event in Alexei’s life occurs - he takes monastic vows, at which time he is named Ilian. Then Ilian was ordained a hierodeacon, and soon a hieromonk.

10 years: from 1966 to 1976 he spends in the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery, where he meets and is in close communication with John Krestyankin.

And in 1976, he managed to make his cherished dream come true - to go to Mount Athos. On the Holy Mountain, he lived in a monastery in the mountains and served as the confessor of the monastery brethren.

The 980s are marked by a special spiritual upsurge of our Motherland. At this time, Hieromonk Ilian is recalled from the Holy Mountain to his country. In Russia, he heads to Optina Pustyn, or rather to what remains of it during the years of persecution. It was under him that Optina was revived and became the heart of Orthodoxy in the country.

Since 2009, the elder has carried out the honorable mission of confessor to our Patriarch Kirill.

At the same time, Elder Ilian does not leave his flock and is the spiritual mentor of many ordinary Orthodox people who come to him for advice and help in Optina Pustyn. For most of the day, the old priest, despite his fatigue, receives pilgrims right at the refectory table.

Schema-Archimandrite Eli (Nozdrin) on women's ministry

– Father Eli, they often say that the male dispensation is more salutary when reason dominates feelings. But the myrrh-bearing women did not think about anything at all when they followed the Lord. How so?

– Yes, women, out of their love for the Lord, can be even more courageous. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). And in the 20th century. During persecution in our country, women often acted more boldly, defending shrines. And now many ministries in the Church are carried out by women. There are, of course, many reasons.

The country has gone through so many wars. And in war, the best always die. And it was mostly men who died. In one XX century. - not only in the Great Patriotic War, but also in the latest wars in Afghanistan and Chechnya. And many die due to drug addiction and alcoholism. Men are more susceptible to these ailments. Women are still more restrained and thrifty in their approach to life in this sense. They, as those called upon to educate new generations, are more moral.

Many wives today suffer because of their husbands' infidelity. And those who are unmarried suffer because of their gullibility. On the one hand, she tries to be feminine and not argue. But on the other hand, when there is no strong family where the head is the father or husband, they can take advantage of these good qualities and act insidiously. Each judges the other to the extent of his own depravity. And today society is mostly corrupted.

A woman, if she lives without God, has nothing stable in her life.

– What advice can be given to a modern woman?

- Be strong in faith. Have the fear of God. Live morally. Be a Christian.

– What are Christian women called to today and is there any difference at all on the spiritual level in the calling of women and men?

– One law, one gospel. One faith, one Baptism, One our Lord Jesus Christ, who is “yesterday and today, the same and forever” (Heb. 13:8). In some ways, we humans are all alike. But, of course, each person is individual. Not only women are different from men, but in general we are all different from each other. And the Lord knows the qualities of the soul of every person. Therefore, everyone has their own calling.

The Lord did everything for the good of man. The Bible says: “...your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you” (Gen. 3:16). God Himself created men and women different so that they could love each other. And families were stronger.

Women, for example, are more emotional. They love to play with children. They cook well. Men, too, of course, are sometimes outstanding cooks. But it still happens more often that wives are better at cooking. Pies can be baked. Make me bake a pie. I can not. Maybe I’ll make some soup too. And I won’t be able to make the pie.

– The Lord accepts Martha’s service, but still favors Mary: “... she has chosen,” he says, “the good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:12). Does gender matter in monasticism?

– Just as in the world, so in a monastery a woman remains a woman. She organizes the material world with her presence. Take, for example, the cell of a nun and a monk. It may, of course, turn out the other way around, but you will mainly find order in the cell of a nun, and not of a monk. Women's ingenuity in relation to external improvement is more developed. They will always figure out what is wrong in the room, where to fix it, how to tidy it up. There are no children - this is how the nuns turn their care to serving their neighbors. They meet pilgrims and help each other. They pray for everyone. Now there are shelters in monasteries. The Lord accepts the manifestation of love in any form. The main thing is love for God. And when it is there, your neighbors feel it themselves. Nuns, having refused to create their own family, selflessly serve God and people.

– Isaac the Syrian instructed the monk: you can still talk to a laywoman with your eyes downcast, but don’t even talk to a nun. Why?

- So as not to tempt her. People were very clean back then. It is now that a person comes to the monastery, having already plunged into the world with all its temptations. He already knows what to guard against. And then souls were not tempted.

– Father Eli, looking closely at the Gospel, do you notice that Christ communicates differently with women and men, which means that our pleasing to God is still different?

– The Lord called the men: “...follow Me, taking up the cross” (Mark 10:21), but only women came to Calvary, with the exception of the Apostle John the Theologian. And then the myrrh-bearers were not afraid to go to the Holy Sepulcher and preached His Resurrection. And today, I would say, preaching and mission are carried out more by women than by men.

– The Gospel does not speak of a single woman who would not accept Christ, while there are many examples of men. Is it the same today? Men like to emphasize that Christianity is a male religion, but there are more women in churches...

– ...But the Divine service is still performed by men. The Lord is omniscient. And the Judgment of God is not the same as the judgment of man. Much depends on men in this world, and sometimes, while asserting themselves, they forget God. And women trust more in God than in their own understanding and strength. That’s why there are more women in temples. Perhaps in the next century the Lord will give greater preference to women.

Everyone will appear before the Court of God and answer for what he did or did not do. And not only in the physical, material plane, but above all in the spiritual. Where is your heart? Who or what did you give it to?

The most striking example in the Gospel is the Lord’s reclining in the house of Simon the leper, when a woman sinner came and washed the Savior’s feet with her tears (Luke 7:37–38). As a human being, everyone criticized her, but the Lord accepted her and did not condemn her like her master Simon.

Christ always looks into a person’s heart and if he sees in him love for the Creator and repentance, then he covers his sins.

– How to start a family today?

– A family is the election of two. When creating a small church, one should not be guided by passions and preferences in the external appearance of another, but by the salvation of souls. From the very beginning, those getting married must have the right Christian attitude - to have children, raise them, live in harmony, and be hardworking. Everyone has their own weaknesses, but there are also personal strengths. In order for the combination of husband and wife to be harmonious, indulgence and at the same time respect for each other are necessary. And most importantly, there should be love in everything. For the strength of the family union, you need to follow the royal middle path, and sometimes this requires compromises.

Spouses, and subsequently the entire family, together with their children, should have prayer, participation in the Sacraments, and Communion. This unites everyone into the One Body of Christ. The general prayer rule provides an incentive for indulgence - when together in evening prayers we confess our weaknesses before the Lord and ask for His all-powerful help. In common prayer, the realization arises that each person is unique, and one cannot demand from another what he does not have. If a husband and wife pray morning and evening, walk before God every day, take communion on Sundays, they begin to understand that the main thing in their life is the Lord, and He controls everything. Then people become calm, do not show complaints to each other, and tolerate all shortcomings, and the Lord covers their patience with the forgiveness of their sins.

Patience is the basis of strong families. Women work now, and if she came home from work tired and didn’t have time to do something, shouldn’t her husband help her himself? Children are also small, but helpers. And under no circumstances should a wife demand from her husband acquisitions beyond his means. You need patience and prayer to God, trust in Him.

And it’s important not to be afraid to have children. If the Lord gives children, then He will arrange everything properly. I recently had a man, very big, and he spoke in a deep voice. He told about himself, he is a very large manufacturer, and everything is going great for him. And then he paused and added: “I am the sixteenth!” At first it even seemed to me that I didn’t hear something: “What, what?” – I ask him again. It turned out, indeed, that he is the sixteenth child in the family. And the Lord blesses this family; they also all have many or several children.

Schema-Archimandrite Iliy (Nozdrin)

Interviewed by Olga Orlova

Source: Education and Orthodoxy / Orthodox magazine “Pokrov”

Confessor of Patriarch Kirill

Elder Iliy has been carrying out the honorable mission of confessor to His Holiness the Patriarch since 2004.

During this time, he was distinguished by enormous charitable activities. Thanks to the elder, destroyed temples are restored and new ones are built.

State Duma deputies awarded him the title of “Honorary Citizen of the City of Oryol” for his charitable and missionary activities.

How to get to Elder Iliy Nozdrin

Reviews of meetings with Father Eli bring so much light, warmth, and grace. These are just the impressions of those who met, what people feel when they are physically close to him. How to get to him, well-known persons in the public media space share their stories: Irakli Pirtskhalava, Evgeny Mironov, Boris Korchevnikov in the TV program “The Word” on the Spas channel.

But this does not mean that only famous people can get to the priest; it only confirms that without God it is impossible for anyone to build a happy life and walk the path on Earth with dignity.

The choice is up to the individual. Father gives an explanation about cancer patients, comparing the universal way of life with a cancerous tumor. A huge number of people come to him with this diagnosis, for healing, relief of the disease. But not everyone has the opportunity to travel distances to meet a seer in person.

Therefore, Father Eli tells not how to get an appointment with him, but how to find God, the way to Him, what needs to be done without delay, without waiting for the opportunity to meet in person.

There is not much time, because a Christian cannot rely on himself; we don’t know whether each of us has this time. This means that we need to correct ourselves not from the next Monday or the first of the month, but now.

Lenten days are a time of repentance, and there is no convenient time for it; it should be here and now, as soon as the awareness of one’s sinfulness and godlessness comes.

The Elder's Prophecies

In wide circles of Orthodox Christians, the Elder of Optina is known for his predictions about Russia.

Unfortunately, these prophecies are not very optimistic, so the elder calls on all citizens of our country to unite and revive the true Orthodox faith in their souls.

Elder Eli predicted difficult trials for Russia and Ukraine, which, in his opinion, are inevitable and cannot be prevented in any way.

In his predictions, the priest speaks rather vaguely, without naming either specific dates or specific events.

But his words suggest an unambiguous way out - a return to the origins of the holy Orthodox faith, not just in words, but in deeds. After all, it is not enough to simply build churches, decorate them and stand for long services; you need to let the Lord into your heart, love your neighbor with all your soul and live according to the commandments and biblical canons.

Father is confident that the time for the spiritual revival of Russia will definitely come, and then we will be truly invincible.

Quotes and prophecies about Russia

Photo: Blagos.ru
Father Eli gave a lot of advice and quotes in his interview, which also indicated a prophecy about Russia. Here's what every Christian should pay attention to:

• You cannot solve problems without God - this is the reason why we suffer misfortunes;
• Satan was cast out of heaven like lightning and continues to do his evil deeds on Earth;
• Unhappy are those who do not take into account the existence of God and deny the dark power;
• Denying God is a temptation for the devil;
• Banditry, bargaining with conscience may be the reason why families and relationships in the modern world have become fragile;
• The Patriotic War was given to Russia for the desecration of shrines and the death of priests;
• The most important thing is faith and fear of God.

Father Eli also gave his own prophecy about Russia. Faith will gradually be revived, but there will be no development as long as Lenin’s body is in the mausoleum.

In addition, the elder promised the revival of Russia only if faith in the hearts of Christians remains strong, as does the love of work, without which it is impossible to create and preserve the spiritual values ​​of the people. After all, work is what makes people like the Creator, helps them feel their need in the world, self-realization, and service. Only with the revival of his value of work, divine awareness of the meaning of earthly life, and the providence of God can one become stronger.

Russia, according to Ilya, has always been reborn in moments of disaster - the invasion of the Mongol yoke, the Great Patriotic War, and it was at this time that strength of spirit manifested itself, which helped to survive the most difficult moments and be reborn. This will happen if the love of work, dedication, and moral values ​​is revived. It is then that the spiritual growth and prosperity of the country will gradually begin.

Elder Ily of Optina

The Monk Ambrose of Optina is a recently lived saint, the founder of the Shamordino hermitage and the Optina elder, teacher and healer. He had a very great influence not only on the peasants who loved and revered him, but also on the educated society of the 19th century.

The future reverend was born into the family of a rural priest, but even during the seminary days he was a notorious... dandy. Only a serious illness forced him to completely reconsider his views, making a vow to God to enter a monastery.

October 8, 1839 He arrived in Optina, where he was joyfully accepted as a novice by the Reverend Elder of Optina Leo (Nagolkin). Father Lev immediately made the young and educated novice his cell attendant, that is, his secretary and assistant. In addition, as a novice, the future saint performed a number of difficult obediences in the refectory: he cooked yeast and was a baker. A short time later, in 1841, Alexander took monastic vows and was named Ambrose, in honor of St. Ambrose of Milan, a preacher and educator.

In 1842, he was tonsured into the mantle, that is, the “small angelic image,” the small schema. He took vows of obedience to the abbot of the monastery, renunciation of the world and non-acquisitiveness - that is, the absence of his property, everything from now on belonged to the monastery and the monastery itself took upon itself the responsibility of ensuring the life of the saint. This tonsure of monks has been going on since ancient times and continues to the present day.

A year later, Saint Ambrose was ordained a hierodeacon, that is, he was made a monastic clergyman who does not perform the Liturgy, but participates in divine services and helps the priest. That same year, the Lord sent him a new test, a new serious illness: having caught a cold in the winter, he fell ill. The brethren thought that Ambrose would die and, according to tradition, on December 9, 1845, he was ordained a hieromonk, as if giving consolation to his soul. The saint could hardly move and was between life and death for two years, but he survived. However, until his death, which followed in 1891, he could not perform divine services and was almost unable to even move, being lying down most of the time. The cell attendant looked after him.

The holiness of St. Ambrose illuminated everyone who came to him. This physically weak man was spiritually great. He endured his serious illness with patience, consoling many thousands of people who came to him. At first he became an elder only of the Optina monastery, and then many ordinary people began to come to him, the monks had fallen in love with the elder’s foresight. The Lord gave him knowledge of human thoughts, insight into the present and the gift of predicting the future - that is, advice regarding the future. After all, the priests of the Orthodox Church differ from psychics and fortune-tellers in that, seeing the future by the Spirit of God, they do not simply say what will happen, but give advice on how best to act in obedience to the will of God.

The elder never showed people the severity of his entire condition, but told how glad he was to serve and help people. Without getting out of bed, he gave his blessing to transfer material assistance to those in need. Seminary students, residents of orphanages and almshouses, and widows lived under his care. He remembered everyone, learned about everyone’s life.

A circle of admirers of the holy elder was formed, who also wanted to devote their lives to God and people, and the Monk Ambrose blessed the creation of the Shamordino Monastery, known today throughout Russia - the Kazan Ambrosian Hermitage. Here they took care of children and the elderly, cultivated the land, and helped sick residents of the surrounding area in the hospital (it must be said that in those days the very creation of the hospital was a good deed: rural medicine was not developed, and when transported on horses, patients often died).

All the elder’s time was occupied either with prayer, or answering letters, or communicating with visitors: peasants, nobles, and dignitaries came to him, and to requests for a blessing for feeding turkeys, and to questions about the state structure, he answered with the same attention and love. Knowing the mood of the intelligentsia, their thoughts - after all, before taking monastic vows, he managed to spend time in secular society, studying at the seminary - he exhorted these people not to indulge in empty philosophy, speculative tangles of thought, but to firmly profess Orthodoxy, which means to live the church life, to work on ourselves according to the covenants of the Fathers of the Church.

The elder died in the Shamordino monastery, but according to the will of the monk, his body was buried in the saint’s native Optina Hermitage.

On his tombstone were carved the words of the Apostle Paul, if translated into Russian: “He was for the sick as one who was weak, so that he might win the sick also for the Church of God. He was everything to everyone in order to save at least someone.” This refers to the saint’s self-denial, his love for all people and understanding. His grave was located near the burial of St. Macarius, the spiritual mentor of the monk, who was the confessor of the monastery before him; now there is a chapel above the place of his burial, and the relics are in the Vvedensky Cathedral of the monastery.

Instructions from Father Elijah

Father attunes a person’s soul to God’s Providence, and not to fate, as many people believe. When choosing fate, we choose uncertainty, because it is a consequence of a person’s different choices, which most often leads to the most terrible truth about us. The most terrible truth is sin; each of us has this seed of aphids.

If the law of physics, chemistry, and nature is violated, the entire development process becomes distorted and incorrect.

Even if you break a legal law, there is punishment. But what happens if the most basic law - God's - is violated. What else do we need to prove the existence of this law and recognize the primacy of God’s law in human life?

We hear and see the consequences of a planetary scale every day: in the news, around us, in our lives. Finding Father Elijah in Peredelkino in 2021 is just as difficult as getting to see him now; you can rely on the reviews of those who attend meetings with him.

The official information of the Patriarchal Compound in Peredelkino does not have information about the plans of Father Elijah, here is an example of what the will of God is, if you really have an important spiritual question, the Lord will lead you to it.

If the priest serves the Divine Liturgy, you can take his blessing, so it would be more correct to focus on the schedule of services of the Patriarchal Compound of the Church of the Transfiguration in Peredelkino.

Keep in mind that Father Eli travels a lot, so when organizing your trip, take extra time, plan the pilgrimage for several days, then the likelihood of meeting will increase.