“There is a treasure to be found in every heart.” Archbishop Sergius (Korolev) about spiritual life in the world

Biography

From a family of employees. In 1991 he graduated from high school in the village of Narovchat, Penza region.

On March 16, 1993, Bishop of Vladivostok and Primorsky Veniamin (Pushkar) tonsured a monk with the name Sergius in honor of St. Sergius of Radonezh. He was ordained a deacon by the same bishop on April 7, 1993.

From August 9, 1993, he served as secretary of the Vladivostok diocese.

Since September 1, 1995, he was also the vice-rector of the Vladivostok Theological School.

On February 17, 1996, Bishop Veniamin (Pushkar) of Vladivostok and Primorsky ordained him to the rank of presbyter.

On April 2, 1997, he was appointed rector of the Church in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God in the city of Vladivostok.

In 2000 he was elevated to the rank of abbot.

In February 2003, they accompanied Archbishop Benjamin during his pilgrimage to Mount Athos[2].

In mid-August, he visited the Representative Office of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Kingdom of Thailand (Bangkok)[3].

On June 20, 2004 he was awarded a cross with decorations[4].

In May 2005 he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite.

On July 22, 2005, he was appointed chairman of the organizational commission for preparing the visit to the diocese of the relics of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious, which took place from August 7 to 17[5].

Bishopric

On December 26, 2006, by the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, Archimandrite Sergius was determined to be Bishop of Ussuri, vicar of the Vladivostok diocese[6].

On February 14, 2007, in the cross church of All Saints, who shone in the land of Russia, the Patriarchal residence of the St. Daniel Monastery, he was named bishop.

On February 15, in the Cathedral Cathedral of Christ the Savior during the Divine Liturgy, there was an episcopal consecration performed by Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II, Metropolitan of Krutitsa and Kolomna Yuvenaly (Poyarkov), Metropolitan of Kaluga and Borovsk Clement (Kapalin), Archbishop of Blagoveshchensk and Tyndinsky Gabriel (Steblyuchenko ), Archbishop of Kostroma and Galich Alexander (Mogilev), Archbishop of Istra Arseny (Epifanov), Archbishop of Vladivostok and Primorsky Veniamin (Pushkar), Archbishop of Khabarovsk and Amur Mark (Tuzhikov), Bishops of Abakan and Kyzyl Jonathan (Eletskikh), Bishop of Stavropol and Vladikavkaz Feofan (Ashurkov), Bishop of Shargorod Panteleimon (Bashchuk), Bishop of Dmitrov Alexander (Agrikov), Bishop of South Sakhalin and Kuril Daniil (Dorovskikh), Bishop of Lyubertsy Veniamin (Zaritsky), Bishop of Bronnitsky Ambrose (Ermakov), Bishop of Magnitogorsk Theophylact (Kuryanov) [ 7].

The purpose of the appointment of a suffragan bishop was a large-scale expansion of missionary activity in the region, both among diasporas and in neighboring states, as well as a more optimal distribution of church and administrative load in the leadership of the diocese.

On October 12, 2007, the Holy Synod entrusted Bishop Sergius with the spiritual leadership of the Orthodox community in Singapore, accepted into the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church[8].

On March 31, 2009, at the first meeting of the Holy Synod chaired by Patriarch Kirill, he was appointed Bishop of Solnechnogorsk, Vicar of the Moscow Diocese.

On April 1 of the same year, by order of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill, he was appointed head of the administrative secretariat, responsible for resolving administrative, economic, personnel, legal, protocol and information issues within the Patriarchate.

On April 9, 2009, by decree of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' No. 34, he was appointed rector of the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity - the Patriarchal Metochion in Ostankino, Moscow, and the churches and chapels attached to it.

On May 27, 2009, he was appointed a member of the newly formed Award Commission under the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'[9].

On July 27, 2009, by decision of the Holy Synod, it was included in the newly formed Inter-Council Presence of the Russian Orthodox Church[10].

On December 26, 2012, by decision of the Holy Synod, Bishop Sergius was entrusted with the archpastoral care of the Archangel Michael Parish in the city of Kuala Lumpur[11].

On October 21, 2021, the administrator of the parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate in Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, the DPRK, the Republic of Korea, leaving the post of head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Moscow Patriarchate[12].

Lawyer: Father Sergius will return to his flock in the spring

The ex-confessor of a convent can be released after serving six months in prison Photo: Vladimir Zhabrikov © URA.RU

article from the story

The case of Father Sergius

The Basmanny Court of Moscow extended the arrest of former schema-abbot Sergius Romanov until July. By the end of this month, a judicial investigation should begin, which will end with a verdict and a real sentence, URA.RU interlocutors from among legal scholars are sure. They also give a forecast for the duration of the disgraced monk’s imprisonment, and in the Russian Orthodox Church - for his return to the flock.

Father Sergius’s lawyers are already familiarizing themselves with the materials of the completed investigation; the next stage is the approval of the charges by the prosecutor’s office and the transfer of the case to court. The priest's defense - Pavel Babikov and Svetlana Gerasimova - are confident that she managed to prevent the case from being politicized, although there were many radicals around the ex-schemamonk who tried to impose just such rhetoric (a dispute about this even led to discord among the followers of the disgraced ex-schema-abbot ). Not a single political slogan was heard from the lips of their client. This is what, in the opinion of one of Sergius’s closest supporters, helped prevent the “aggravation of the charges.” According to the agency, the option of charging the ex-schema-hegumen with extremism was considered.

Related news

Source: Father Sergius will be left in pre-trial detention until August

Now in the criminal case of Sergius (Nikolai) Romanov, three articles of the Criminal Code remain: part 3 of article 110.1 (inducing suicide of minors), part 3 of article 148 (obstruction of religious activities) and part 1 of article 330 (arbitrariness). “We will continue to work with this accusation - to prove that he is not guilty,” Pavel Babikov, father Sergius’ lawyer, told URA.RU. “When considering a case in court, it is necessary to take into account his socially useful activities over several decades.”

According to the lawyers interviewed by the agency, given the fact that Sergia ICR does not want to release him from the pre-trial detention center (even a rented house in Moscow was not suitable for house arrest), the term will be realistic. But the most severe punishment that Romanov faces is four years in prison: this is the maximum term under Part 3 of Article 110.1. The other two articles of the charge do not provide for imprisonment at all. This means that Father Sergius will serve a maximum of four years, but in reality - less.

“A stay in a pre-trial detention center is counted as two days. He has been sitting there for six months already, the trial will also last at least six months - in total, he will have a year in prison for his sentence, which will be counted as two,” says Yekaterinburg lawyer Sergei Kolosovsky.

By law, a person convicted of a minor crime can apply for parole after half the sentence has passed. This means that Romanov will be able to apply for parole as soon as he ends up in prison. “But there is an unspoken rule: in order for a colony to issue a good reference, a person must serve at least six months,” explains Kolosovsky. - So, six months after the verdict, he will be released - even if he is given the maximum sentence! And they most likely won’t give him the maximum.”

According to the Yekaterinburg scientist, researcher of the phenomenon of “reprimands” Anton Kochnev (once he even gave a lecture in the Yekaterinburg bar “Demons” on the rites of exorcism conducted by Father Sergius), the punishment that the ex-schema-abbot will receive will not be severe. “Since the process has left the political plane, there will be no ‘exemplary flogging’,” the expert is sure. “I don’t think he will sit for long.”

Many followers of Sergius will find new idols for themselves, sectologists are sure. But some adherents will remain faithful to him

Photo: Vladimir Zhabrikov © URA.RU

Meanwhile, according to lawyers, in Sergius’ case a religious conflict with the Yekaterinburg metropolitanate is clearly visible. “We are outraged that the diocese is opposing him in this case,” says Pavel Babikov. — A lot of priests were questioned and testified against it according to the principle “I haven’t read Pasternak, but I condemn it.” I understand that as the employer told them, that’s what they will say. Apparently, they want to make the process demonstrative.”

In his opinion, the development of events shows that the conflict with the diocese was also of a property nature. “There were accusations that he allegedly interfered with the registration of the property of the “Contestant of the Loaves” monastery as the property of the diocese. But now the diocese, through the court, without him, calmly formalizes everything and carries out the appropriate examinations! This is normal legal practice, and neither Father Sergius nor anyone else is needed for this. Now the monastery has been taken away. We initially said that the matter had an economic basis - and so it turned out!” - says Babikov.

One of the most interesting questions discussed by everyone who is interested in the fate of Romanov is what he will do after leaving the colony. The Yekaterinburg Metropolitanate does not rule out the possibility of his returning to the fold of the church. “So far there is no evidence that he is disillusioned with his ministry and wants to change his occupation. Most likely, he will remain this way, says Father Veniamin (Rainikov), secretary of the diocesan council. “He has the opportunity to return to the path of serving God, but for this he must return to church. The Lord is waiting for every repentant sinner. Let’s hope that God’s voice will be heard.”

Meanwhile, according to religious scholars, this option is unlikely: the paths of Father Sergius and the Russian Orthodox Church diverged forever.

“It would be logical for the Russian Orthodox Church to send him to some distant parish, but it is unlikely that the Orthodox Church will want to contact him again,”

Article on the topic

Why do Sverdlovsk VIPs go to Father Sergius to cast out demons?

- says Anton Kochnev. The head of the human rights center of the World Russian People's Council, the head of the laboratory of destructology at Moscow State Linguistic University, Roman Silantiev, is confident that upon leaving the colony, Romanov will continue his “sectarian activities”, since “he can’t do anything else.”

“Most of its adherents will find new idols for themselves - we have enough of this “good”. Few of these types of figures have been excommunicated from the church, some are not even defrocked,” says Silantiev. “But some of the adherents will remain faithful to Romanov - he will have enough bread and butter.” True, without his usual image it will be harder for him.”

However, in Kochnev’s opinion, after leaving the colony, Sergius will still remain successful as an “old man” thanks to the already established image. “Rich patrons will take him under their wing,” the scientist is sure. — Everyone knows about [Ural Dumplings show participant Dmitry] Sokolov and [hockey player, Olympic champion Pavel] Datsyuk, but there are probably richer and more helpful people. Perhaps Sergius will have his own private parish, where he will tell adherents his conspiracy stories, and they will be happy to listen to him. A sort of court elder in the presence of one of the rich people. Since he loves Nicholas II so much, I think the role of Rasputin will be close to him. Perhaps this is his destiny - to become Rasputin under the local king.”

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Awards

church

• Order of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark II degree of the Alexandrian Orthodox Church (April 11, 2010)[13]
• Order of the Holy Supreme Apostles Peter and Paul, II degree (Antiochian Orthodox Church, November 13, 2011)[14]
• Order of St. Alexy, Metropolitan of Moscow, III degree (April 7, 2013)[15]
• Golden Cross of the Order of St. Paul the Apostle (Hellenic Orthodox Church, June 3, 2013)[16]
• Order of Saint King Constantine (Serbian Orthodox Church; June 3, 2013)[17]
• Order of Saint Sava, 2nd class (Serbian Orthodox Church; November 16, 2014[18])

secular

• Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" II class. (1994)
• anniversary medal in honor of the 1000th anniversary of Yaroslavl;
• medal for participation in military campaigns of Pacific Fleet ships;
• cross of Count Muravyov-Amursky, 1st–3rd centuries;
• insignia “For merits in strengthening cooperation with the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation”;
• Award Cross of the Russian Cossacks “For Faith and Fidelity to Russia”;
• Jubilee medal "300 years of the Russian Navy."

Notes

1. [www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/1909320.html “Regulations on diocesan vicariates of the Russian Orthodox Church”]. // Patriarchia.Ru
2. [vladivostok.eparhia.ru/blagovest/archive/faith/?ID=63&forprint “Rule of Faith”]
3. [old.vladivostok.eparhia.ru/blagovest/archive/info/?ID=116 Vladivostok Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church | Information]
4. [vladivostok.eparhia.ru/news/mitropolia/2003_2011/?id=186 News of the Vladivostok-Primorye Diocese 2003-2011 / Archbishop Veniamin awarded the priests of the diocese with awards]
5. [vladivostok.eparhia.ru/blagovest/archive/s_interviews/?ID=515&forprint Interview]
6. [www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/175655.html JOURNALS of the meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church dated December 26, 2006 / Official documents / Patriarchia.ru]
7. [vladivostok.eparhia.ru/eparhia/newest/upr/sergij/ Bishop of Ussuri Sergius]
8. [www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/307292.html JOURNALS of the meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church dated October 12, 2007 / Official documents / Patriarchia.ru]
9. [www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/657505.html JOURNALS of the meeting of the Holy Synod of May 27, 2009 / Official documents / Patriarchia.ru]
10. [www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/705058.html Composition of the Inter-Council Presence of the Russian Orthodox Church / Official documents / Patriarchia.ru]
11. [www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/2674273.html JOURNALS of the meeting of the Holy Synod of December 25-26, 2012 / Official documents / Patriarchia.ru]
12. [www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/4645730.html JOURNALS of the meeting of the Holy Synod of October 21, 2021 / Official documents / Patriarchia.ru]
13. [www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/1135853.html His Holiness Patriarch Kirill was awarded a high award of the Alexandrian Orthodox Church]
14. [www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/1673408.html The Primates of the Antiochian and Russian Orthodox Churches celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Dormition Cathedral of Damascus]
15. [www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/2894382.html The head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Moscow Patriarchate, Bishop Sergius of Solnechnogorsk, was awarded the Order of St. Alexy Moskovsky III degree]
16. [www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/3016930.html Members of the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church were awarded high awards of the Greek Orthodox Church]
17. [www.sedmitza.ru/text/4129804.html The Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches celebrated the Liturgy in the city where St. was born. Constantine the Great]
18. [www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/3842102.html At the end of the visit of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill to Serbia, a reception was held in Belgrade in honor of His Holiness]

Excerpt characterizing Sergius (Chashin)

All eyes looked at her with the same expression, the meaning of which she could not understand. Whether it was curiosity, devotion, gratitude, or fear and distrust, the expression on all faces was the same. “Many people are pleased with your mercy, but we don’t have to take the master’s bread,” said a voice from behind. - Why not? - said the princess. No one answered, and Princess Marya, looking around the crowd, noticed that now all the eyes she met immediately dropped. - Why don’t you want to? – she asked again. Nobody answered. Princess Marya felt heavy from this silence; she tried to catch someone's gaze. - Why don’t you talk? - the princess turned to the old man, who, leaning on a stick, stood in front of her. - Tell me if you think anything else is needed. “I’ll do everything,” she said, catching his gaze. But he, as if angry about this, lowered his head completely and said: “Why agree, we don’t need bread.” - Well, should we give it all up? Do not agree. We don’t agree... We don’t agree. We feel sorry for you, but we do not agree. Go on your own, alone...” was heard in the crowd from different directions. And again the same expression appeared on all the faces of this crowd, and now it was probably no longer an expression of curiosity and gratitude, but an expression of embittered determination. “You didn’t understand, right,” said Princess Marya with a sad smile. - Why don’t you want to go? I promise to house you and feed you. And here the enemy will ruin you... But her voice was drowned out by the voices of the crowd. “We don’t have our consent, let him ruin it!” We don’t take your bread, we don’t have our consent! Princess Marya again tried to catch someone's gaze from the crowd, but not a single glance was directed at her; the eyes obviously avoided her. She felt strange and awkward. - See, she taught me cleverly, follow her to the fortress! Destroy your home and go into bondage and go. Why! I'll give you the bread, they say! – voices were heard in the crowd. Princess Marya, lowering her head, left the circle and went into the house. Having repeated the order to Drona that there should be horses for departure tomorrow, she went to her room and was left alone with her thoughts. For a long time that night, Princess Marya sat at the open window in her room, listening to the sounds of men talking coming from the village, but she did not think about them. She felt that no matter how much she thought about them, she could not understand them. She kept thinking about one thing - about her grief, which now, after the break caused by worries about the present, had already become past for her. She could now remember, she could cry and she could pray. As the sun set, the wind died down. The night was quiet and fresh. At twelve o'clock the voices began to fade, the rooster crowed, the full moon began to emerge from behind the linden trees, a fresh, white mist of dew rose, and silence reigned over the village and over the house. One after another, pictures of the close past appeared to her - illness and her father’s last minutes. And with sad joy she now dwelled on these images, driving away from herself with horror only one last image of his death, which - she felt - she was unable to contemplate even in her imagination at this quiet and mysterious hour of the night. And these pictures appeared to her with such clarity and with such detail that they seemed to her now like reality, now the past, now the future. Then she vividly imagined that moment when he had a stroke and was dragged out of the garden in the Bald Mountains by the arms and he muttered something with an impotent tongue, twitched his gray eyebrows and looked at her restlessly and timidly. “Even then he wanted to tell me what he told me on the day of his death,” she thought. “He always meant what he told me.” And so she remembered in all its details that night in Bald Mountains on the eve of the blow that happened to him, when Princess Marya, sensing trouble, remained with him against his will. She did not sleep and at night she tiptoed downstairs and, going up to the door to the flower shop where her father spent the night that night, listened to his voice. He said something to Tikhon in an exhausted, tired voice. He obviously wanted to talk. “And why didn’t he call me? Why didn’t he allow me to be here in Tikhon’s place? - Princess Marya thought then and now. “He will never tell anyone now everything that was in his soul.” This moment will never return for him and for me, when he would say everything he wanted to say, and I, and not Tikhon, would listen and understand him. Why didn’t I enter the room then? - she thought. “Maybe he would have told me then what he said on the day of his death.” Even then, in a conversation with Tikhon, he asked about me twice. He wanted to see me, but I stood here, outside the door. He was sad, it was hard to talk with Tikhon, who did not understand him. I remember how he spoke to him about Lisa, as if she were alive - he forgot that she died, and Tikhon reminded him that she was no longer there, and he shouted: “Fool.” It was hard for him. I heard from behind the door how he lay down on the bed, groaning, and shouted loudly: “My God! Why didn’t I get up then?” What would he do to me? What would I have to lose? And maybe then he would have been consoled, he would have said this word to me.” And Princess Marya said out loud the kind word that he said to her on the day of his death. “Darling! - Princess Marya repeated this word and began to sob with tears that relieved her soul. She now saw his face in front of her. And not the face that she had known since she could remember, and which she had always seen from afar; and that face is timid and weak, which on the last day, bending down to his mouth to hear what he said, she examined up close for the first time with all its wrinkles and details. “Darling,” she repeated. “What was he thinking when he said that word? What is he thinking now? - suddenly a question came to her, and in response to this she saw him in front of her with the same expression on his face that he had in the coffin, on his face tied with a white scarf. And the horror that gripped her when she touched him and became convinced that it was not only not him, but something mysterious and repulsive, gripped her now. She wanted to think about other things, wanted to pray, but could do nothing. She looked with large open eyes at the moonlight and shadows, every second she expected to see his dead face and felt that the silence that stood over the house and in the house shackled her. - Dunyasha! – she whispered. - Dunyasha! – she screamed in a wild voice and, breaking out of the silence, ran to the girls’ room, towards the nanny and girls running towards her. On August 17, Rostov and Ilyin, accompanied by Lavrushka, who had just returned from captivity, and the leading hussar, from their Yankovo ​​camp, fifteen versts from Bogucharovo, went horseback riding - to try a new horse bought by Ilyin and to find out if there was any hay in the villages. Bogucharovo had been located for the last three days between two enemy armies, so that the Russian rearguard could have entered there just as easily as the French vanguard, and therefore Rostov, as a caring squadron commander, wanted to take advantage of the provisions that remained in Bogucharovo before the French. Rostov and Ilyin were in the most cheerful mood. On the way to Bogucharovo, to the princely estate with an estate, where they hoped to find large servants and pretty girls, they either asked Lavrushka about Napoleon and laughed at his stories, or drove around, trying Ilyin’s horse. Rostov neither knew nor thought that this village to which he was traveling was the estate of that same Bolkonsky, who was his sister’s fiancé. Rostov and Ilyin released the horses for the last time to drive their horses into the drag in front of Bogucharov, and Rostov, having overtaken Ilyin, was the first to gallop into the street of the village of Bogucharov. “You took the lead,” said the flushed Ilyin. “Yes, everything is forward, and forward in the meadow, and here,” answered Rostov, stroking his soaring bottom with his hand. “And in French, your Excellency,” Lavrushka said from behind, calling his sled nag French, “I would have overtaken, but I just didn’t want to embarrass him.” They walked up to a barn, near which stood a large crowd of men. Some men took off their hats, some, without taking off their hats, looked at those who had arrived. Two long old men, with wrinkled faces and sparse beards, came out of the tavern and, smiling, swaying and singing some awkward song, approached the officers. - Well done! - Rostov said, laughing. - What, do you have any hay? “And they are the same...” said Ilyin. “Vesve...oo...oooo...barking bese...bese...” the men sang with happy smiles. One man came out of the crowd and approached Rostov. - What kind of people will you be? - he asked. “The French,” Ilyin answered, laughing. “Here is Napoleon himself,” he said, pointing to Lavrushka. - So, you will be Russian? – the man asked. - How much of your strength is there? – asked another small man, approaching them. “Many, many,” answered Rostov. - Why are you gathered here? - he added. - A holiday, or what? “The old people have gathered on worldly business,” the man answered, moving away from him. At this time, along the road from the manor's house, two women and a man in a white hat appeared, walking towards the officers. - Mine in pink, don’t bother me! - said Ilyin, noticing Dunyasha resolutely moving towards him. - Ours will be! – Lavrushka said to Ilyin with a wink. - What, my beauty, do you need? - Ilyin said, smiling. - The princess ordered to find out what regiment you are and your last names? - This is Count Rostov, squadron commander, and I am your humble servant. - B...se...e...du...shka! - the drunk man sang, smiling happily and looking at Ilyin talking to the girl. Following Dunyasha, Alpatych approached Rostov, taking off his hat from afar. “I dare to bother you, your honor,” he said with respect, but with relative disdain for the youth of this officer and putting his hand in his bosom. “My lady, the daughter of General Chief Prince Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky, who died this fifteenth, being in difficulty due to the ignorance of these persons,” he pointed to the men, “asks you to come... would you like,” Alpatych said with a sad smile, “to leave a few, otherwise it’s not so convenient when... - Alpatych pointed to two men who were running around him from behind, like horseflies around a horse. - A!.. Alpatych... Eh? Yakov Alpatych!.. Important! forgive for Christ's sake. Important! Eh?.. - the men said, smiling joyfully at him. Rostov looked at the drunken old men and smiled. – Or perhaps this consoles your Excellency? - said Yakov Alpatych with a sedate look, pointing at the old people with his hand not tucked into his bosom. “No, there’s little consolation here,” Rostov said and drove off. - What's the matter? - he asked.

Vladyka Sergius managed to tell the truth

After his ordination to the rank of bishop in December 1995, Bishop Sergius flew to Novosibirsk. He accepted this appointment with joy, as a reward, knowing the saints who glorified the Lord in these parts with their labor and feat. When he was asked during a meeting at the airport how long he would be in Siberia, he unexpectedly said: “I came here to die.”

This answer surprised many; he was still a young man, barely over the forty-year mark... and suddenly such thoughts. But that’s what happened, he died on Novosibirsk soil, like a prophet, having predicted his fate. Bishop Sergius of Novosibirsk and Berdsk died on October 20, when the memory of Saints Sergius and Bacchus is celebrated, on the day of his heavenly patron, St. Sergius of Radonezh. In the morning, Bishop worked in the diocesan administration, then came home and prepared to meet the doctor... to baptize him. But instead of performing the sacrament, the doctor had to declare the death of his failed godfather - a heart attack or cerebral hemorrhage. A will was found on the table. Vladyka was ready for death for several months, Christianly feeling that the last days of his life were coming.

In a small room at the Church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi, its rector, Father Nikolai Sokolov, the elder brother of the deceased bishop, reads the bishop’s will in a trembling voice: “... There are planned meetings, services, trips, pilgrimages ahead. If God wills, then all this will happen, and if not, then thank God. I don’t know where the Lord will call me to himself, if here in the diocese, I want to lie until the General Resurrection in Berdsk at the altar of the cathedral, for me this will be a special mercy of God. For God there are no distances, let him pray for my soul with joy anywhere, God’s love saves us and unites us into one big eternal family. I ask everyone for forgiveness and prayers. Remember that death is not a tragedy, if our Savior and Lord defeated it, believe his every word, we all have an Eternal Joyful Easter ahead of us...” “He wrote his will on May 4,” explains Father Nikolai. “Not everyone can feel death so keenly and perceive it in a Christian way.” If we had known that he was so seriously ill, we would have asked him to go to the hospital.”

What words can describe the misfortune that befell the famous Moscow priestly family of the Sokolovs? On February 21, on a snowy road near Ples in the Ivanovo region, the life of the youngest of the brothers, the rector of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord in Tushino, Archpriest Fyodor Sokolov, was tragically cut short. The car in which he was traveling was carried into oncoming traffic right under the wheels of a multi-ton truck... “There are special days that are known only to the Lord; we cannot guarantee ourselves a single moment of life,” says Father Nikolai. — The Lord saved Fedor in deadly situations, when he was on the verge of death in the army, and in the late 70s during a pilgrimage with Patriarch Pimen in Montenegro, when the bus hovered over an abyss. They could have fallen, but the Lord had mercy.” We talked with Bishop Sergius about the death of his brother; he, like all of us, was deeply shocked, but perceived what happened as God’s providence.

Serving in the episcopal department also required enormous strength. Bishop Sergius spent less than five years in Novosibirsk, and during this time he managed to do a lot: churches were erected, new monasteries were opened, Orthodox gymnasiums and schools were established, publishing activities and missionary life developed - the ship-church “Andrew the First-Called” set off twice on the most remote villages of the Ob region, where priests carried the word of God. Vladyka was also appreciated in Akademgorodok, he repeatedly gave lectures to scientists, consecrated a gymnasium here...

“Vladyka was open, he was not a stranger to anyone,” says Father Nikolai. “The breadth of his soul, his receptiveness to everyone and everything earned him both respect and reverence from many, and hostility from certain circles, who sometimes did not mince words when commenting on his relationships with other faiths. Of course, education and experience had an impact here. Numerous contacts with non-Orthodox people, which he witnessed while being near Patriarch Pimen and working at the Theological Academy. Vladyka Sergius calmly entered into dialogue, talked about the most pressing issues and perceived them as brothers in Christ, but not competitors. He was loyal to everyone, and many people didn’t like that.”

For example, fundamentalists accused Bishop Sergius of the heresy of ecumenism and started a real persecution of him, which began with the congratulations of the ruling bishop of Novosibirsk Catholics on the consecration of their new church. Then Bishop Sergius had to publicly educate the rector of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Novosibirsk, Father Svyatoslav Nevzorov, who accused the Catholic charity organization Caritas, which opened the St. Nicholas, in the abduction of small children with the aim of converting them to Catholicism. In response, 96 representatives of the “Novosibirsk Orthodox community” published an open letter in “Soviet Russia”, in which they accused Bishop Sergius of apostasy from Orthodox dogmas and condoning the Catholicization of Russia. Pseudo-patriots continued to spread slander, sowing enmity and anger, which deeply wounded the heart of the ruler. “There was a misunderstanding,” Father Nikolai comments on the situation. “A certain group of people did not perceive him as a representative of Orthodoxy, which does not fight. Although the Lord called for love and peace, and the struggle should not be against flesh and blood, but against the spirit of evil. This misunderstanding gave rise to great loneliness, there was no opportunity to speak out, find support, and ultimately led to mental breakdown.”

Patriarch Pimen knew well one of the oldest priests in Moscow, Archpriest Vladimir Sokolov, his wife Natalya Nikolaevna, the daughter of the famous writer Nikolai Pestov, and their three sons - Nikolai, Seraphim and Fedor, whom he called to be his subdeacons. In his book “It will be true to tell...”, published last year, Bishop Sergius spoke about the last days of Patriarch Pimen, the times of whose difficult ministry have so far remained outside the attention of church historians. And before meeting with Patriarch Pimen, the future bishop studied at the Ippolitov-Ivanov Music School, served in the army... “Seraphim began to study music seriously (he played the double bass) only at the age of 12,” recalls Father Nikolai. — My brother had excellent musical abilities. In 3-4 years he brilliantly mastered the instrument, then worked in the Moscow Song and Dance Ensemble of the Air Defense Forces. When I came to his diocese a couple of years ago, he and I listened to music in the evenings and argued about Vanessa Mae’s CD that had appeared then. The tragedy that struck this year - the death of Father Fyodor and the death of Bishop Sergius - is an unending pain in the hearts of their mother Natalia Nikolaevna, sisters Lyubov and Ekaterina, orphans of Father Fyodor, and yet his youngest daughter is not even a year old. The untimely departure of two shepherds involuntarily leads to the idea that the Lord takes away the best. We will find out which of us is the best or the worst at the Last Judgment,” says Father Nikolai. “They probably accomplished what they needed to do on the ground.” By our standards, it seemed that it was still possible to work, to work, to live, but life stopped - God needs builders of the heavenly temple, we are here like God’s bricks. When you build a temple, you need everything - crushed stone, concrete, bricks, and sand.

A person passes away at the moment that is most favorable for him spiritually, or when he has exhausted his life and spiritual resources. And if a person is wicked, the Lord waits for him to reform, and when all possibilities have been exhausted, he takes his soul. The mystery of death, the mystery of birth - everything is closed to us, we can only assume, hope and believe. And in the Church we are all one family - both living and dead.”