| Metropolitan Eusebius (Savvin) |
Eusebius (Savvin)
(born 1939), Metropolitan b. Pskovsky and Porkhovsky In the world Savvin Nikolai Afanasyevich, born on May 15, 1939 in the village of Stegalovka, Dolgorukovsky district, Oryol region [1].
In 1956 he graduated from high school.
In 1957 he entered the Moscow Theological Seminary, in 1961 - the Moscow Theological Academy.
In 1963 he joined the brethren of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, on October 15, 1964 he was tonsured a monk by Archimandrite Pimen (Khmelevsky) and named in honor of the martyr Eusebius, Bishop of Laodicea, and on November 22 he was ordained a hierodeacon by Archbishop Donatus (Shchegolev).
In 1965 he graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy with a candidate of theology degree, and on November 14 of the same year he was ordained hieromonk by Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov).
On November 25, 1965, he was appointed a member of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem.
On November 28, 1968, he was appointed secretary of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem. Elevated to the rank of abbot.
Since 1969, he served as rector of the Kazan Church in the city of Yelets, Lipetsk region [2] and secretary of the Voronezh diocesan administration.
Since 1971, he was a member of the brethren of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, studied in graduate school at the Moscow Theological Academy, and since 1977 served as dean.
From 1982 to March 1984 he served as governor of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.
Visited Jordan, Greece, Cyprus, Holy Mount Athos, Bulgaria, Egypt. In 1982, he was the guest of honor at the World Conference “Religious Leaders for Saving the Sacred Gift of Life from Nuclear Disaster.”
On March 28, 1984, by resolution of the Holy Synod, he was determined to be the Bishop of Alma-Ata and Kazakhstan. On April 1 of the same year, the episcopal consecration took place at the Epiphany Patriarchal Cathedral, led by Metropolitan Alexy of Tallinn and Estonia. Concelebrating with him were: Metropolitans of Minsk and Belarus Filaret (Vakhromeev), Krutitsky and Kolomna Yuvenaly (Poyarkov); Archbishops of Vladimir and Suzdal Serapion (Fadeev), Zaraisky Job (Tyvonyuk) and Bishop of Solnechnogorsk Sergius (Fomin).
On July 20, 1990, he was appointed Bishop of Kuibyshev and Syzran.
Since January 31, 1991 it has been called “Samara and Syzran”.
| Eusebius (Savvin), archbishop. Pskovsky |
On February 25, 1991, he was elevated to the rank of archbishop.
On February 23, 1993, he was appointed Archbishop of Pskov and Velikoluksky.
On February 25, 2008, he was elevated to the rank of metropolitan.
On May 30, 2014, the Holy Synod, having heard his request for retirement in connection with the achievement of his 75th birthday, in accordance with paragraph 26 of Chapter X of the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church, blessed him to continue the management of the Pskov diocese [3].
On December 25, 2014, he was appointed head of the newly formed Pskov Metropolitanate with the title “Pskov and Porkhov” [4].
On May 14, 2021, he was retired with an expression of gratitude and determination of his residence in the Pskov-Pechersky Assumption Monastery [5].
Next to the pain, together with the sick
Brief biography of Archimandrite Eusebius
The future Archimandrite Eusebius was born in Greece, in the village of Georgitsi (prefecture of Laconia, administrative district of the Peloponnese) in 1910. In 1941, he became a monk, accepted the first degree of priesthood and became a deacon in the Great Lavra (Kalavryta), where he labored with humility and complete obedience..
Sensitive to human pain, during the period of occupation he becomes a consolation and support for the orphaned children of the Kalavryta martyrs from the surrounding area. He initiated the restoration (1948–1950) of the monastery, which was burned by the Nazis in 1943.
In 195, with the blessing of the abbot, he entered the Theological Faculty of the University of Athens. In 1952 he became a priest and was entrusted with pastoral responsibility for feeding the Hippocrates Hospital.
The ever-memorable Archimandrite Eusebius became known for his 35 years of service in the hospital as a wonderful shepherd and God-bearing confessor. Thousands of sick people and countless numbers of believers were born spiritually under the stole of the prudent old man and, being close to him, came to know new life in Christ. A tireless worker of the grapes of Christ, he turned the Church of St. Luke the Apostle - which he himself built - into the spiritual center of Orthodox life in Athens for more than 30 years.
The holy appearance of the elder exuded Divine grace. Near him, the souls of people were pacified and tasted spiritual joy. Everyone felt his sincere love, and his prayer had great boldness before God. He was a perspicacious old man, but, being deeply humble, he did not attach any importance to this. He called souls to repentance, which he lived by and inspired others with.
A true monk, filled with divine grace, he inspired priests and monks with his example. He became an experienced leader of many souls who desired an angelic, monastic life.
A lover of solitary life according to God, he became the organizer of monastic hostels. Founder since 1967, ktitor (a private individual who built a temple or monastery at his own expense) and confessor of the monastery of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary into the Temple (Oropa), in 1987 he moved to Aegea, where he became the founder and ktitor of the monastery in honor of the Apostle John the Theologian . There he settled until his holy death on June 19, 1995. His tomb, the decoration of the monastery, becomes a source of blessing not only for his spiritual children, but also for all those who come there to ask for his intercession before God in their needs.
Essays on the lives of ascetics
I always try to follow in the footsteps of my elder, both invisible and visible. He had his own doctor - Pandazis Vanakaris, and he became a doctor both for me with my many ailments, and for my novices. He was the first person who explained to me the difference between treatment and healing: “Healing is given only by God, and we, doctors, only heal with the help of His power, and that is not always correct.”
He was born in 1900 (and was the same age as my mother, which is why I remember the year of his birth) on the Thessalian plain and was always proud of his descent from farmers. In Volos he graduated from high school. His confessor in his youth was Hierokyrix 23 Joseph, whom he later recalled with gratitude: “I owe a lot to this man: he helped me go through my young years with “wet feet” 24.”
He studied medicine at the University of Athens. Then he was a member of the only Greek spiritual organization of that time - the Zoe brotherhood 25. He said: “I graduated from two universities at the same time: one - the Faculty of Medicine, and the other - the Zoe School. I have never regretted my entry there, but, on the contrary, I boast about it like nothing else. There I met people eminent in knowledge and morality. I interacted with wonderful people whose hearts were full of determination and love for Christ. Ascetics usually lived in deserts, but in this place there were many wise and intelligent men. The benefit they brought to the Church is much greater than the mistakes they made. I remember their words absolutely precisely and to this day I use them as saving sayings.”
He had an amazing memory, which remained until a very old age, and the reason for which he saw in the purity of his life. Indeed, moral purity keeps the mind pure, like a crystal bowl.
The person of whom he always had vivid memories was Father Eusebius. Pandazis said about him: “His meekness was medicine for the soul. When he served the liturgy, it was a living communion with the saints. At the end of his life, he performed one “demonstrative” liturgy for the young priests of the brotherhood, as we would say today. This long liturgy passed in one breath and since then has never stopped inside me. His words were soft and his character calm, no matter what tragic events they told him about. When he gave advice, it seemed that you were being controlled not by Father Eusebius, but by God Himself. When he resigned as chairman of the brotherhood and Father Seraphim took his place, during the meal he sat in the second place and began to persuade Father Seraphim to say a blessing over the food. Father Seraphim refused, but the elder insisted: “This must be done not for the sake of respect or nobility, but for the sake of the order that we must observe.”
Father Seraphim's strong personality and organizational skills left a deep imprint on Pandazis's heart, although he suffered from his hasty decision, as will be discussed below.
Despite the fact that Pandazis lived among famous people and communicated with them, he never became smart. The spirit of discipleship remained with him until his death. He even listened to me, then still a young man, with such attention that I felt ashamed. One day, when we were having dinner at his house, he remembered the past, and we talked a lot and well about the love of God, who tries to save us from sin in a variety of ways. I then said that there are sins that a person does not feel and therefore does not realize. These may be manifestations of cruelty, hidden selfishness, self-confidence, boasting, bringing us closer to the state of the Gospel Pharisee (“I am not like others”) 26. In such cases, God allows trials to bring us to the awareness of these sins and accept us, already purified into His Kingdom. But Pandasis could not accept this:
“Each of us sees our passions,” he said, “except in those cases when we hide them from ourselves.”
Our lunch ended in this disagreement. I went to my place, and he went to the hospital to examine the patient. Leaving the room (and the corridor was crowded with stretchers, besides, there were no wide corridors in this hospital) and trying to jump from railing to railing, he accidentally knocked over a flower pot on the head of a nurse who was transporting a wheelchair on the floor below, and left him unconscious . Burning with shame, he went outside, sat on the steps of the hospital and cried bitterly. He began to think: “Today at noon I boasted that I had never allowed myself to have or suggest an abortion. He boasted that he stood next to the patient until the end. Here is the answer to today's conversation. Oh, father, how right you were!” And then he said to himself: “No, I’ll go and admit my mistake, my inattention.”
- I am a doctor. I was the one who dropped the pot. How's the guy? Has he come to his senses?
- Yes.
He approached him.
- Son, forgive me. I accidentally dropped the pot.
Then he told me: “Yes, my dear father, this pot humbled me. And I paid very dearly for it, both in mental suffering and money.”
His specialization (he was a gynecologist) for a person who dedicated himself to God was dangerous, like walking on a tightrope. Unfortunately, due to a misunderstanding, he was expelled from the fraternity. The strict father Seraphim did not want to listen to anything and, without understanding it, decided to expel him. After a year, the error was discovered. Father Seraphim asked for forgiveness, begged him to return, but it was too late.
Pandazis said: “I found myself on the street with nothing. He opened a hospital on Veranzeru Street, but none of the patients wanted to deal with the damned doctor. The first thing I thought of was to go to a monastery. But I saw that I didn’t have enough strength for this. Besides, I didn't know anyone there. I was introduced to one girl, and in this I saw God’s instructions for marriage. The good God gave us three children. I made every effort to give them a good physical and spiritual education, and above all, Christ. Whether I achieved this, God knows. When my wife and I stopped having children, I called a carpenter, and he made two from our bed. Since then we have been sleeping separately. “Wife,” I told her, “your womb can no longer bear children. Let her now remain in peace, fulfilling her second function.” I said to the children: “My beloved children, fornication is not a bodily necessity, it is only lust. And the Creator gave a way out to bodily necessity in marriage.”
Here he stopped and, crossing his arms, looked at the sky...
In Athens he became a famous family doctor. He always received patients into his hospital with joy and greetings. He asked them about their families, and then he spoke to them about God, and his words were beautiful because he spoke from his own experience. In the bookcase behind him there were more patristic books than books on medicine. If he did not understand something in what he read, he did not hesitate to ask. He always spoke about the harmful effects of sin on the human body.
As a physician he was a researcher. He sat next to the sick, treating them very seriously and with love. If he had to tell them something unpleasant, he did it so tactfully that even the most serious illness seemed like a toy. “The Lord visited us,” he said. He encouraged the patient and always ended the treatment with the words: “Behold, you have recovered. Look, don’t sin anymore.” 27. He wrote his prescriptions in such beautiful handwriting that pharmacists in pharmacies framed them. He accompanied the patients to the exit, called the elevator himself, led them into it and accompanied them as if they were his children. Pandazis's kindness to the patients in his hospital will probably remain unsurpassed in the history of medicine.
One day he was called to an old woman. She was dying. He touched her cold feet.
– Maria, a little patience, and you will go to Heaven.
Maria, a married nun, opened her eyes, in which there was joy, looked at the doctor and quietly walked away...
He loved his patients and was never in a hurry to leave them. If he had doubts about what he saw, he could sit by the bed for hours until he was sure of the diagnosis. He sat next to me for three hours.
I asked him if, in his specialty, he had prescribed abortion for anyone.
- Never ever! During difficult pregnancies, both I and the pregnant woman, after many prayers, found a way out, and there were never any failures.
He was a practicing doctor until he was eighty, and maybe even until he was eighty-five, always remaining cheerful and treating his patients with love. When he wanted to tell the patient about death, he told him about what awaited the soul beyond the grave. Even his manner of speaking was reminiscent of the Divine Liturgy. He treated the sick person as a relative so that he would happily accept the transition from earth to heaven.
Pandasis was of average height. By abstaining from food, he kept his body fresh and full of vigor, and his voice until the very end was so strong that, figuratively speaking, hell was horrified by it and gave away the dead 28.
When he left medical practice, I told him:
– What will you do now?
“Now that I have a chainsaw for the estate, you ask what I’ll do?”
Every Sunday, old man Pandazis, together with the cardiologist Peridis, went to the hospice, where they helped serve the liturgy: Pandazis performed the sexton, and Peridis sang. Then, carrying a candle in front of him, he and the priest walked around the chambers in order to teach Christ to the dying through the Holy Gifts.
Pandazis's love for Christ was deep and strong, and the memory of his reverence remained forever in my heart. I have seen it manifest in a variety of circumstances. When he approached communion, he was all like fire, like a wildfire, all burning with the desire to unite with Christ. He opened his lips as if he wanted to take everything inside: Christ, the liar, the Holy Chalice, and at the same time the hand of the priest! The way he took the payment 29 left in his heart a deep feeling of awareness of his unworthiness and sinfulness: “I draw closer to God, I accept God, Christ is in my heart, let me not be burned! Adore me as You know, Lord.”
Another case: when in 1978 we were preparing to celebrate Easter, we placed him in the bishop’s cell.
– Father, who do you usually house here?
- The bishop, when he arrives.
“Do you want me to go to sleep on the bishop’s bed?” Excluded! I, not worthy of heaven and earth, came to the monastery for a blessing, and not for a curse.
In the end we changed the bed to accommodate the doctor, who had erased in himself every trace of the rationalism implanted by science in the human heart.
One Holy Saturday we really enjoyed watching him read the Acts of the Apostles. He gave us a good lesson on how to read this holy book. His manner of reading struck us to the heart, so that we celebrated Easter even before it arrived. We had a feeling like before reading the Gospel: we know when it will begin, but we do not know when it will end. So it is with the Divine Liturgy: we know what time it begins, but we do not know what time it will end. This happens with everything that concerns our salvation. Even perfection itself is called by the Monk John Climacus as having no end. 30. Muslims previously did not want to print the Koran in a printing house, preferring to copy it by hand (that is why printing came to Turkey so late). Likewise, since I heard the doctor read, I have been afraid to hear the Gospel read from the lips of a person with an indifferent heart and who does not know how to read.
He never took money from those wearing the cassock, considering it sacrilege to profit from the workers of the gospel.
“Even when some clergyman comes to me for examination and I touch his body, I consider it a great blessing for myself. “If only I touch His garment, I will be saved” 31.
For a whole century now he has been loudly calling to us: “Christ is the life and light of the world!” He used to talk about it in his hospital, and now from the grave.
