New details of the Easter 1993 murder of the Optina monks
By the grace of God, during these Easter days I was privileged to visit Mount Athos.
In one of the monasteries I met a monk who in the 90s labored in Optina and was well acquainted with the murdered brothers Fr. Vasily, Fr. Trofim and Fr. Ferapont. Father Silouan (this is how my new acquaintance introduced himself) during one of our walks around the Holy Mountain spoke about some moments of Optina Easter in 1993, when three brothers were killed.
Having spent his last earthly days in the harsh feats of Lent, Fr. Vasily was already in the church from the very morning of Holy Saturday. A divine service was held; and then the spiritual children and pilgrims who came to the monastery for Easter were waiting for him for confession.
Almost the entire day, Father Vasily (Roslyakov) confessed. He was always physically strong, before he was even a member of the Olympic water polo team, but then he almost fainted in the temple, he was so tired. Father Silouan said that Father could barely stand on his feet and was very pale. Severe fatigue, services, and obedience took their toll. One of the brothers who blessed the Easter cakes saw that Fr. Vasily loses consciousness and sprinkles him with holy water several times. He, feeling relieved, stood for another minute, holding the lectern, and continued to confess. Fr. Vasily always said that it is better to die in obedience than to abandon it. He confessed almost until the very night Easter service.
The dean then was Abbot Melchizedek (Artyukhin). He distributed obedience to brothers: priests, deacons, monks. And before the Easter service, Fr. Vasily appointed to perform Proskomedia. But the festive service ended. The brethren, having broken their fast, went to their cells, and Fr. The dean sent Vasily to the Skete to confess the pilgrims before the late Liturgy. At the request of one of the brothers to give a break, Fr. Vasily O. Melchizedek replied: “Who has it easy now?”
Artyukhin was notified by the authorities that the Satanists who lived near Optina were planning to kill the monks for the upcoming Easter. Therefore, on the night of April 18, 1993, almost all the police from the nearby city of Kozelsk were brought into the monastery to protect the inhabitants and parishioners. However, immediately after the night service, Fr. Melchizedek released the law enforcement officials. The police left the monastery, and Fr. Vasily went to Skete alone.
When I returned home, I re-read the book “Red Easter.” It says that, indeed, Fr. Vasily went to the Skete 15 minutes after the security was removed.
The then dean, Fr. Melchizedek confirmed that he knew about the danger that awaited the monks on the fateful night of April 18, 1993. “There is evidence that on Easter night there were four more suspicious people on the territory of the monastery,” he said. “They watched the murder take place.” One of them was seen over the body of Hieromonk Vasily. The pilgrims heard him say: “We’ll get them anyway.”
I remembered that I recently saw an article in one of the newspapers in which the mother of the murdered hieromonk Vasily names Archimandrite Melchizedek (Artyukhin) as one of the culprits in the death of her son; called Athos and asked Fr. Silouana, is this true? He said briefly: “Yes.”
Having heard the answer, I asked him: “Perhaps this is ordinary negligence and lack of foresight. Melchizedek, who released the police ahead of time?
To this the Afonite replied: “No, money. Money and power. That’s the only thing that interested him and still interests him.”
Early on Easter morning, April 18, 1993, three monks passed away in Optina Pustyn.
Hieromonk Vasily - Igor Roslyakov (b. 1960) arrived in Optina on October 17, 1988. On August 23, 1990, he was tonsured a monk, and 3 months later he was ordained a hieromonk. Monk Trofim - Leonid Tatarnikov (b. 1954) came to Optina in August 1990 and found here what his soul had been looking for for a long time. Six months later he was accepted into the ranks of the brethren, and on September 25, 1991 he was tonsured a monk. Monk Ferapont - Vladimir Pushkarev (b. 1955) dreamed of monasticism. He came to Optina on foot in the summer of 1990. On Kiriopascha in 1991 he was dressed in a cassock, and six months later, on the Intercession of the Virgin Mary, he was tonsured a monk. Fourteen years ago, the jubilant Easter morning of Optina Pustyn was pierced by the cry of a young novice seething with tears: “They killed the brothers! Brothers!..” The long-suffering land was stained with blood, and the sky above the monastery was stained with blood, which many saw at that hour, not knowing about the tragedy that had occurred. “Red Easter, the Lord's Passover,” glorified in the stichera of this feast of feasts and celebration of celebrations, became literally red. This is the title of the truly soul-shaking book “Red Easter,” which has already been published in an additional edition. It is difficult to avoid parallels here. Low bow to her for her great work. This land is not easy. All of Russia knows the small town of Kozelsk, whose inhabitants held the line against the troops of Batu Khan for seven weeks - until the last survivor. The Tatars called Kozelsk “the evil city”. And in the 14th-15th centuries, five kilometers from the city, the Optina Monastery arose, which by the 19th century became, according to the priest-scientist Pavel Florensky, “the spiritual focus of Russian life.” Lapot peasants and the most prominent people of the country flocked here for consolation and guidance. Zhukovsky and Turgenev, Tchaikovsky and Rubinstein, the Kireevsky brothers and Sergei Nilus, Count Leo Tolstoy and Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov visited here. Gogol called Optina “close to heaven”; Dostoevsky, having in mind the Venerable Ambrose of Optina, tried in The Brothers Karamazov to understand what eldership is for Russia. The atheistic twentieth century sought to destroy the elders along with faith. Optina was mercilessly devastated, but its confessors and new martyrs, ascending to their cross, contrary to the obvious, directed their spiritual children: “You will live to see the opening of the monastery.” And when in 1988, among the barely covered ruins of Optina, the first Divine Liturgy was celebrated, Baba Ustya, who did not fully believe in it, exclaimed through tears of joy: “She made it!” Seeing the ruins and equipment warehouse in the temple, I did not believe in the possibility of reviving the monastery, as the current mayor of Kozelsk, and then chairman of the Kirov collective farm, Ivan Bogachev, admitted to the author of these lines. Collective farm lands bordered on monastery lands. And the monks, difficultly restoring the monastery, according to Ivan Mikhailovich, “from the heart and soul” worked with their land. The result is amazing: “If on our lands we collected 25 centners per hectare, then the monastery collected fifty!” The first years of restoration of Optina were a time of miracles. And there they were almost not surprised by the arrival of the astronauts, who, it turned out, had photographed from space the radiance rising above this marvelous point on earth. In the enlarged photograph one could distinguish the rising monastery and the monastery. But miracles are miracles, and the monastic feat is called a feat because not many people can handle it. Many inspired “prayers” flocked to the newly opened desert; they remained, growing spiritually and strengthened together with their native monastery. The three brothers of the Optina Hermitage, whose names ten years ago became known throughout Russia - Hieromonk Vasily, Monk Ferapont and Monk Trofim - then seemed to be one of many, but turned out to be God's chosen ones. During Holy Week, one of the Moscow priests (candidate of physical and mathematical sciences, captain of long-range aviation) reflected in his sermon that today we are all characterized by a common sin - a lack of nobility: whether in words or deeds. It has been forgotten over the past long decades that we are all of a good kind - Christian. The three Optina brothers were distinguished by amazing nobility even in appearance. The Silent Monk, Siberian Fr. Ferapont struck with some kind of otherworldliness - either an elegant Venetian page, or, as the artists gasped, “Titian - chiseled cheekbones, bright blue eyes and golden curls on the shoulders.” His impetuous fellow countryman, sparkling with generous joy, Fr. Trofim, who was a common favorite of the monastery, local residents and pilgrims, did everything so beautifully that people admired him against his will: “He sits on a tractor, as if taking off... He flies on a horse across a meadow. Beautiful, just like in the movies." The artist whom Fr. Vasily asked to paint an icon of his heavenly patrons - the blessed Prince Igor of Chernigov, St. Basil the Great and St. Basil the Blessed - and mentally talked with him. “Yes, father, you have the nobility and courage of a prince. You, like Basil the Great, have been given the gift of speech. And you have been given the wisdom of the blessed one to hide all these gifts.” All three brothers were richly gifted. Father Ferapont (in the world Vladimir Pushkarev) had a great talent for learning new things. He, a forester by training, did a lot of things in the monastery, including cutting crosses for tonsure with the figure of the Savior in such a way that the artists learned from him. Father Trofim (Leonid Tatarnikov) could do everything. He was the senior bell ringer, sexton, hotelier, bookbinder, painter, baker, blacksmith, tractor driver... Father Vasily (Igor Roslyakov), having successfully graduated from the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University and the Institute of Physical Education, wrote good poetry, had a wonderful voice, in the monastery, among other things, fulfilled the obedience of a chronicler, conducted catechetical conversations in prisons, a Sunday school in Sosensky and a school for pilgrims in the monastery, and was the best preacher in Optina. After his martyrdom, looking into the diaries, we discovered that we had lost a gifted spiritual writer. And at the same time, all three were true monks - secret, without pharisaism; prayer books, strict fasters and ascetics, especially during the last period of their lives, Great Lent. And, according to testimonies, all three guessed about their imminent departure, being already prepared for it through many prayerful works and climbing a steep spiritual ladder. That is why they were chosen - no, not by a murderer, but by the Lord - to play the role of the three-numbered (in the image of the Holy Trinity) new martyrs of Optina, powerful, as it turns out, heavenly intercessors for the monastery and all of Russia... The three monks were powerful and tall during their lifetime. Monk Ferapont studied Japanese martial arts for five years in the army and, they say, had a black belt. Monk Trofim literally tied the poker with a bow with his powerful hands. Hieromonk Vasily was an international master of sports, captain of the Moscow State University water polo team, and a member of the USSR national team. Yes, one cultural and educational worker, Nikolai Averin, is known to the official investigation. However, on the eve of Easter, a criminal group was operating in Optina, which is confirmed by many documents recorded by the public-church commission. There was a filigree technical preparation and a psychic attack: the priests were given “anonymous letters” with coffins, and the entire district knew that the monks were going to be “cut.” All three brothers were killed during obediences: bell ringers Fr. Trofim and Fr. Ferapont during the Easter ringing, Fr. Vasily on the way to confession at the monastery. Everything was thought out. But the killer did not take into account that great Christian love, for the sake of which three wonderful young people went to the monastery. Fr. was the first to be killed instantly. Ferapont. But then Fr. was pierced. Trofim nevertheless pulled himself up on the ropes and sounded the alarm, for a moment, with his last breath, raising the alarm of the monastery. With the same sword engraved “Satan 666”, Father Vasily was mortally wounded in the back, just as treacherously. However, from the moment the alarm sounded, people were already running here. And the 12-year-old girl Natasha was given the opportunity to see how the suffering suddenly disappeared for a while from the priest’s face turned to the sky and he marvelously brightened up... For a whole hour the life was leaving him. All his insides were cut. In such cases, doctors say, people scream terribly in pain. Father Vasily prayed. And Optina prayed with him, bursting into tears. And in his face, as the monastery’s confessor, schema-abbot Iliy, said at the memorial service on April 18 of this year, Easter, Resurrection joy was already reflected at times... Representatives from all over Russia gathered here, in Optina and Kozelsk, for the days of remembrance of the new martyrs of Optina. Ten years ago, an Optina priest said: “We lost three monks, but received three Angels.” Evidence of their help is multiplying almost every day: cancerous tumors disappear, drunkards and drug addicts are cured, the most difficult cases are settled, and Fr. Trofim leads the only surviving soldier out of the tightening ring of Chechen bandits. The killers then achieved the opposite effect. The best ringers of the country came to the numb Optina, teenagers and even numerous grandmothers flocked to the bells. Trofim, whom he so joyfully looked after. And after the fortieth day, which fell on the Ascension of the Lord, many, who had not previously thought about monasticism, set out on the path of the soldiers of Christ.
The murder of monks in Optina Pustyn - how it happened
Mass murder of monks in the Optina Hermitage in 1993. in the documentary film “The Mark of Satan’s Messenger” from Vakhtang Mikeladze’s series “Sentenced for Life”
In the early morning of April 18, 1993, on the territory of the Optina Pustyn monastery, the monks Father Ferapont, Father Trofim and hieromonk Father Vasily were killed.
The knife thrown by the criminal on the porch of the building of the fraternal cells - in fact, it was a homemade wide short sword - had traces of blood and in its geometric parameters corresponded to the wounds received by the dead; it was recognized by examination as the crime weapon. Both sides of the blade were engraved: on one side - 666, on the other - the word "SATAN". The alleged killer's military overcoat was also found.
An identikit and a verbal portrait of the unknown man were drawn up quickly and - most importantly! - exactly. Employees of the Kozelsky District Department of Internal Affairs identified a certain Averin Nikolai Nikolaevich, a resident of the village of Volkonsk, Kozelsky district, Kaluga region, from a photo identikit. Already on the evening of April 18, notices containing identifying information about this person were distributed to all police departments of Kaluga and neighboring regions.
Participants of the eternal Easter
I believe that the Lord, who called them on the first day of Christ’s Holy Resurrection through martyrdom, will make them participants in the eternal Pascha in the non-evening days of His Kingdom.
Patriarch Alexy
II . April 18, 1993
R. Abramochkin. Optina New Martyrs
When they asked me to write about the brethren killed in Optina Pustyn by a Satanist on Easter on April 18, 1993, at first I was confused. There was a week left until April 18, Memorial Day. And although I have been working in obedience in the Optina Monastery for five years and know many of the inhabitants of the monastery, it seemed unrealistic to have time to question the Optina fathers of the first call in a week - burdened with the numerous concerns of the confessors of the monastery.
Two or three days passed, and I was still unable to talk with any of the fathers who knew the monks killed on Easter. Someone promised to tell me, but later, after the post, as he is very busy. Someone refused, citing the fact that he had already told everything he knew, and this story was included in the well-known book “Red Easter” by Nina Pavlova...
Every day before the start of obedience I try to venerate the relics of the Optina elders and venerate the murdered brethren - Hieromonk Vasily, monks Trofim and Ferapont. And today, entering the Chapel of the Resurrection of Christ - the resting place of the murdered, I asked:
“Dear fathers! Forgive me for daring to ask you for help! I clearly feel my unworthiness, but I really want to remind people of you, honor your memory and bow to you once again... If possible, please help!”
The Optina residents know from experience how quickly Father Vasily, Father Trofim and Father Ferapont are obedient, how they want no one to leave the monastery unconsoled. And further events may become another page in the chronicle of the prayerful help of the murdered brethren to all who turn to them.
On the same day, I wrote down memories of the brotherhood of three people at once.
***
Monks Trofim and Ferapont
Hieromonk Roman, at that time just an Optina pilgrim, was a student at the Rostov University. When he began to think about the monastic path, in the church he was advised to find Father Ferapont in Optina, who before the monastery also went to the cathedral in Rostov. Father Roman recalls:
– I talked with the monk Ferapont twice. It was clear that he was very collected. Self-absorbed. He was actively engaged in the Jesus Prayer. And this is immediately obvious. As seen? By concentration... When a person tensely holds prayer, when he tries to stand before God, it is felt... You cut off thoughts and remain silent... Internal and external.
I know people who have said the Jesus Prayer; in Optina there were and now, of course, there are many brethren who try to keep this prayer, but none of them then felt such inner concentration as Father Ferapont.
I strived for inner work, looked for such people, and he was like that. How far he has progressed in prayer, only God knows. But the fact that he was in this work is beyond doubt.
During Great Lent I came to Optina and, after talking with Father Ferapont, asked him for advice about myself. But he did not say anything on his own behalf, but sent me to the elder, Father Elijah. And the elder blessed me to stay in Optina for a year and told me to enter the seminary.
I was wondering. And after the murder I felt such a spiritual uplift! You know, when people suffer for Orthodoxy, it is very inspiring! You understand: they paid with their lives, and you did nothing at all...
Here he told me. Shared. And now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go serve a memorial service.
***
And a few minutes later, Hieromonk Father Seraphim shared his memories, and in 1993, Hieromonk Mikhail:
Father Michael in the Chapel of the New Martyrs
– Father Vasily, Father Trofim, Father Ferapont - these are people who labored, sought God and were ripe for eternal life. Father Vasily was a bright man; the Lord gave him the powerful gift of preaching, the gift of speech. And what spiritual poetry he wrote! Prayer book. He had such grace... He walked ahead of everyone!
Father Ferapont prayed. He was silent because he was praying. When you pray, there is no time for vain talk... His last entry in his diary is the words of Isaac the Syrian: “Silence is the sacrament of the future age.” The man was of royal strength both physically and spiritually. Every night he got up and did five hundred. At night - taking time away from sleep. Few people do Pentecentenary at night... Put a padded jacket on the floor to muffle the sound of prostrations...
Monk Trofim
Father Trofim always helped everyone. Bogatyr. He worked on a trawler... he carried several heavy boxes in one hand. He was constantly engaged in doing good. God's man.
All three were killed in a mean way - in the back.
Many felt that something terrible was going to happen. After Easter Matins in the Vvedensky Church, I went to the monastery to prepare for the middle liturgy. I was walking, as usual, along the path to the monastery in the predawn darkness, and suddenly I felt horror. It hit me so hard! Never in my life have I felt such horror! Father Melchizedek later shared that he experienced terrible despondency.
And even earlier, at the temple, three people in leather jackets suddenly came out at me. They walked straight at me, and they had such looks full of anger that I immediately thought: “Murderers!” Although he still knew nothing about the upcoming murder. And there they filmed a film about Optina. And just like that – a powerful beam of light. And these three disappeared, turned around, and went into the darkness. Now I think that I could have died too. But I was not ready then, and the Lord did not allow it.
And they were ready. The seal of God was on them - the Lord took the best of us. They were later brought by car, and they lay there – as if alive – soft, with peace and tranquility on their faces. Sometimes they say: “They killed the first ones they came across...” No. They were God's chosen ones. Dying for Christ is an honor that still needs to be earned.
That's it, now there will be a rite about Panagia. Help me, Lord!
***
After my obedience that day I had to go to the post office. I arrive and there is a huge line at the post office. Stuffy, hot. And then there is an elderly woman standing in front of me, very talkative... I, tired, answer reluctantly, and then I listen to her words and understand that this meeting is not accidental. And she tells me about the wonderful help of the murdered brothers! This is what Galina Dmitrievna, a resident of Kozelsk, told me:
- It’s hard to stand, it’s hot... Well, nothing... And you, dear daughter, are probably working in Optina? How did you find out? Well, you Optina people can see that young people don’t often wear long skirts or scarves these days... I used to go to the monastery often... Yes... Now I rarely go, but before I often... Why rarely? You think: how old am I? No, no. Not seventy. I am eighty years old! So it’s already hard... I go to the nearby temple. With husband. I got my husband three years ago! Maybe you will find it funny: getting married at such a time... But listen first...
I have had many sorrows in my life. She grew up with her stepmother. She didn't love me. I was very offended. Then I got married, and my husband started drinking. He also offended me greatly. And then the children grew up, moved far away, and the husband died. And I was left completely alone. And I had such grief - loneliness...
One day, three years ago, I came to Optina, and I looked: and there people surrounded Father Elijah. Do you know Elder Elijah? I approached quietly. And he suddenly turns to me: “How are you, mother?” And I was embarrassed and answered: “Yes, I’m already old, but I still want to live...” And he smiles and asks: “Is twenty years enough?” And I just turned seventy-seven. I said: “Then, father, twenty-three - so that I can live to be a hundred years old!” He smiled. I was despondent, but his smile immediately made my soul feel lighter.
Easter in Optina Pustyn. 1990. In the center is Father Vasily, on the right is Father Ily. Photo: Optina.Ru
I went to the chapel to see the murdered brethren. I look: there is a girl hiding a note behind a cross. I ask her: “What are you doing?” She was embarrassed, but still answered: “Here, I ask the fathers for help... They help... The Lord hears them...” And she left the chapel.
I thought and thought, and also decided to write a note. She shared out loud: “Our dear, beloved fathers! Now, while there is no one in the chapel, I’ll tell you... It’s so hard for me alone, so lonely! Help me please! You know, life was not sweet. And it flew by so quickly! Maybe I’ll still live, even twenty years... But it’s very hard for me alone... And I also wanted to sell the house. Not for sale... It's been a long time... Help, if possible..."
I said this, but in the note I only wrote: “I feel very lonely. Servant of God Galina."
And what do you think, dear daughter?! Less than a week later, I successfully sold the house! And that same week I met my grandfather! Where? And in the temple! My grandfather, you know how good he is! Georgy! In honor of St. George the Victorious! A very religious and kind person. War veteran…
And he and I have lived so well that now we don’t even want to die... We’ve been living for three years... I’m 80, he’s 86. Maybe someone thinks that at that age you don’t need a life partner... Only we feel so good together! After my loneliness, this is so comforting to me! In the morning he gets up and (I often forget, but he never) always drinks holy water himself and eats a piece of prosphora and brings it to me. We always go to church services together. We also walk together, admiring nature... Sometimes at night he gets up, I also wake up, I look: and my grandfather is already at the icons, standing, quietly praying... And so we live peacefully, amicably - Father Vasily, Father Trofim and Father Ferapont about me taken care of!
It’s my turn... You see how much I’ve told you...
***
Chapel at the tomb of the new martyrs
Here are the three stories. And I would like to end with Father Vasily’s poems on the death of Hieromonk Raphael. The poems sound as if they were written about himself and about the monks Trophim and Ferapont:
I would find heavy words About life, about the coldness of the grave, And my speech would be so bitter That I wouldn’t say even half of it.
But I want to cry in silence And go out into the world with bright eyes. He who rushed like lightning across the earth is clothed in light under the heavens.
Father Vasily, Father Trofim, Father Ferapont, pray to God for us sinners!
A new book
The publishing house of our monastery has published a new book - . ”
In the new book of the famous Russian hagiographer Archimandrite Damascene (Orlovsky), the reader is offered the life of Metropolitan Veniamin (Kazan) of Petrograd, one of the first holy martyrs who did not sin with their soul or conscience during the persecution that began and gave their life for Christ and His Church.
Where there is peace, there is God, and where there is enmity, there is opposition, from which may the Lord deliver us!
Religion:
I happened to be in Optina at that time, to see the death of Fr. Trofim and lower the three coffins into the damp spring Kaluga soil. A lot has happened over the years, but it seems to me that I remember in detail every moment of that tragedy, so it shocked all the eyewitnesses then. My short story will be about some moments of that great day. I no longer lived in Optina and came to visit on Easter. The pre-Easter evening was quiet and beautiful: the setting red sun painted a lovely warm color and there was nothing alarming about it. It’s even strange that the sunset, despite its redness, could not be called bloody, it was so gentle and pleasing to the eye. Nothing foreshadowed trouble, although trouble was already nearby, next to each of us. The killer had prepared a crime and was just waiting for the push of his “voice that could not be disobeyed.” He was in Optina, nearby, very close, he was looking for his victim. But none of the people knew or guessed about this.
Walking around the monastery, I noticed Fr. Vasily. He stood at the northern entrance to the temple and admired the beauty of the sunset. And I, in turn, stopped and began to admire the picture with his participation: a beautiful monk was standing near a snow-white temple. A hare, slender, athletic, quiet and peaceful, reasonable for his age, clearly future Optina glory.
Many years will pass, he will become even wiser and more experienced, thousands of people will come to him for advice and consolation, and we will have a new Optina elder. After all, they promised that there would be seven lamps. Maybe this will be one of them. “Oh, how good he is, this is a warrior of Christ,” I thought, “God grant you, dear, not to go out of your way and remain a man, accumulate wisdom and love and bestow them on the people of God.” Father Vasily felt that someone was looking at him, turned around and, seeing me, smiled. We had not seen each other for several months, exchanged bows from afar and decided to keep our state quiet. But his smile, his radiant smile, stuck in my memory and will now live with me until my death.
The service has begun. The brethren of the monastery came to the church, including Fr. Ferapont. With o. Nobody was friends with Ferapont. Not at all because he was an evil or bad person. It’s just that, despite the relative youth of his years and early monasticism, he managed to become a real monk - he was not a member of any interest groups or circles that are often formed in monasteries, he lived a very secret and truly monastic life, without quarrels and conflicts, without empty conversations over tea and gossip during obediences. The life of such monks is usually called the beautiful Russian word hidden, as it is said in the letter of the apostle “a man hidden in the heart, in the incorruption of a meek and silent spirit, which is of great value before God.”
Fr. came to the temple. Trofim. He was slightly late for work because he worked a lot in the back room. From morning until late evening he was seen either on a tractor or on a walk-behind tractor. Always joyful, energetic, incredibly lively. The complete opposite of the withdrawn and silent Fr. Ferapont. Around o. Trofim was always in full swing with life and work. He had many friends and was a very sociable and positive person. He approached the left choir, where I was standing, smiled his open smile, we hugged tightly and kissed.
Quick exchange of news, strong handshakes. Who would have known that a few hours later he would not be alive. Lively, energetic, cheerful. Well, he couldn't die young. There are still many, many years ahead. But man proposes, but God disposes.
So these three smiles remained in my memory. So different and each beautiful in its own way. And then there were other smiles and they were imprinted in my memory even more firmly.
The Easter liturgy has ended. All the brethren went to the refectory, broke their fast, most of them went to rest, the bell ringers Trofim and Ferapont went to the belfry, and Fr. Vasily to the skete liturgy to confess to the people. At that time I was in the skete and resting in the cell of the monastery leader. The skete liturgy had just begun when there was a knock on the door. The knocking became more insistent and I decided to open the door.
The man on duty at the monastery hotel stood on the threshold and in an extremely nervous manner reported that a murder had occurred in the monastery - someone had killed some monks. They called him from the monastery entrance and asked him to warn the monastery leader and the entire monastery brethren. I sent the duty officer to the temple, and I myself got ready and went to the monastery. There was something absurd in the message, how could there have been a murder in the monastery, in Optina?! This is obvious nonsense and someone's stupid joke. Who would have known that at the same time as me, a killer walked along the path, only hiding in the bushes and in the other direction.
Optina was very deserted. After all, no one could even see the killer; everyone dispersed. Having heard about the crime, the brethren began to gather. The first I saw was Fr. Ferapont. He lay on the belfry, pierced through with a short sword made from a car spring. As it turned out later, it is very difficult to “work” with such a tool - you need to have either enormous strength or a lot of training.
The killer Averin was a puny man, but here he was clearly helped by the true eternal killer of people. Only this superhuman force can explain the force of Averin’s blow: in addition to the body, the leather monastic belt was pierced in three places. Having delivered a single blow directly to the liver, he lowered Ferapont’s body to the ground and covered his face with his hood. Why he did this he could not explain himself. Then he quickly stood up and mortally wounded Fr. with a second blow. Trophima. He didn’t even have time to understand anything - both monks stood almost with their backs to each other and Trofim didn’t see what happened, he only heard that the ringing had stopped and turned towards his comrade, but it was too late - a cold, bloody blade pierced his liver.
Averin lowered Trofim in the same way, covered his face with his hood and calmly walked towards the monastery, following the departing Fr. Vasily. The third blow and the third man fell to the ground. Then the killer ran behind the house near the monastery tower, threw his terrible sword there, climbed over the fence and ran into the forest. Only three pilgrims could see the running figure in a gray overcoat. No more traces or signs (except for the sword). But already on the third day there was an ambush in Averin’s house and a search was carried out in the nearby forests. (Since then, I know for sure that if our authorities want to solve a murder, they solve it quickly. They can (and maybe could then) do this if they want).
I did not see the murder itself, but Fr. breathed his last in my arms. Trofim. His face was full of sorrow and pain. It was clear that he was in great pain. He walked away quietly. He just froze and that's it. Father Vasily lived the longest and died in an ambulance on the way to Kozelsk. His trained body resisted death in every possible way, but the wound was too terrible.
Then the police arrived, operational actions began, and all the dead were taken away for an autopsy. A few hours later they were brought to the church of St. Hilarion. As far as I remember, I was the only layman who was present at this first prayer at the bodies of the murdered brothers, I saw their bodies still uncovered, without vestments. According to tradition, lay people should not wear monastic robes, but an exception was made for me. And I thank fate that I was present at this prayer. Believe me, I have never seen or felt anything like this again. First of all, it is necessary to say about the faces of the murdered brothers.
Do you know what struck me then? All three died in terrible agony, from unimaginable pain, and this pain remained on their faces at the moment of death. But several hours passed and I saw completely different faces. They can even be safely called faces, they glowed and shone so much. This was not my exalted perception; everyone noted the strange transformation of their faces - all three had a bright, quiet and peaceful smile. Very calm and confident. It feels like they saw something joyful. Here's what's amazing: the spirit left the body, but transformed it after death. I spoke about these three smiles at the beginning of my story. These are the ones I can never forget. This is clear proof of the existence of the afterlife.
It is difficult to convey in words the state of the brethren of the monastery. I think that the apostles experienced something similar after the execution of Christ and the disciples of the Optina elders after their death. On the one hand, horror from what happened and the bitterness of parting, on the other, joy for his brothers. After all, they are all now at the Throne of God. They began celebrating Easter on Earth and ended it in Heaven. And we believe that there their Easter joy will be eternal. They deserved it with their earthly life and were honored to receive the crown of martyrdom.
Many in the evening of that day said the following words: but I turned out to be unworthy for my sins.
***
Before writing this short memoir, I found a recording of the speech of the Optina hieromonk Theophylact, delivered at the funeral service for the murdered Optina monks. I don’t know if the quote is accurate, but it is very true in essence and conveys a lot from our experiences at that time: “... today something unusual, wonderful and wondrous is happening here... Every Christian who is well acquainted with the teachings of the Church knows that people don’t die so easily on Easter that there are no accidents in our lives, and to go to the Lord on the day of Holy Easter is a special honor and mercy from the Lord. From this day, when these three brothers were killed, the bells of Optina Pustyn sound in a special way. And he announces not only the victory of Christ over the Antichrist, but also that now the soil of the Optina Hermitage is abundantly watered not only by the sweat of ascetics and inhabitants, but also by the blood of the Optina brothers, and this blood is a special cover and evidence of the future history of the Optina Hermitage. Now we know that there are special intercessors for us before the Throne of God.”
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GEORGE MIKHAILOVICH GUPALO
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> Church in the modern world > Ritual murder in Optina DesertIn the early morning of April 18, 1993, on the territory of the Optina Pustyn monastery, the monks Father Ferapont, Father Trofim and hieromonk Father Vasily were killed. The killer fled the scene of the crime and it was not possible to detain him in hot pursuit. The incident was reported to the Kozelsky district police department at 6.25 am. Police forces blocked all access roads to the monastery and the city of Kozelsk; The posts were aimed at detaining all suspicious persons, but they failed to intercept anyone related to the crime. On the morning of April 18, a certain Alexander Nikolaevich Kartashov, three times convicted, a homeless person, who worked in a monastery firehouse, was detained. The murders, according to place and time, fell apart as if into two independent acts: first, the monks Father Ferapont and Father Trofim were killed, ringing the bells on a temporary belfry built right on the ground; a few minutes later, at the Skete gate, at the exit from the monastery, Father Vasily was seriously wounded. rice. 1: The belfry, which was the scene of the tragedy, was a wooden flooring surrounded by a low picket fence. The bell ringers were located sideways to each other, as a result of which there was a part of the belfry behind their backs, which they could not see. It was from there - from behind the bell ringers - that the criminal attacked. The monks who found him carried him in their arms to the temple and placed him near the shrine with the relics of St. Ambrose. Despite the severity of the wound received - the killer's knife pierced the kidney and reached the lung - Fr. Vasily remained conscious and did not stop praying. All the inhabitants of the monastery and pilgrims gathered around him. About 40 minutes after the attack, an ambulance arrived and took Fr. Vasily to the hospital. Despite all the efforts of the medical staff, Father Vasily died in the car on the way to the hospital. Witness the killer's attack on Fr. Vasily turned out to be a 13-year-old girl who reported the further route of the criminal. At first he continued his movement towards the gate, but after making sure that it was closed, he turned towards the building of the fraternal cells. There he threw off the black overcoat he was wearing and left a bloody knife on the steps - the crime weapon. Next, the criminal ran towards a huge woodpile of firewood, laid out near the fortress wall like a ladder, and climbed along it to the roof of a barn attached to the wall. From there he climbed onto the monastery wall - clearly visible traces of the fugitive's sneakers remained on the white limestone wall - and, jumping from it, ran away into the forest. The knife thrown by the criminal on the porch of the building of the fraternal cells - in fact, it was a homemade wide short sword - had traces of blood and, in its geometric parameters, corresponded to the wounds received by the dead; it was recognized by examination as the crime weapon. There were engravings on both sides of the blade: three sixes on one side, and the word “Satan” on the other. The engravings were made using an instrumental method (i.e., by removing metal with a milling cutter, rather than scratching). The monstrous nature of the crime committed on the night of Easter Sunday, with the shedding of the blood of people who had the priestly rank, the presence of satanic symbols on the crime weapon - all this immediately gave the incident the character of an extraordinary, unprecedented incident. The criminal acted with extraordinary cynicism. Until 4.30 am, almost the entire staff of the Kozelsky District Department of Internal Affairs - 40 people - was on duty at the monastery; After the religious procession, the security was removed and the people began to disperse, but nevertheless, many dozens of people were still present both in the monastery fence and in the surrounding area. On the one hand, it was obvious that the criminal was waiting for an opportune moment for his attack, on the other hand, he did not at all try to hide or disguise it. The first victims were the monks who were ringing the bells, and the sudden cessation of this ringing immediately attracted the attention of everyone who heard it. By attacking the bell-ringers, the criminal ran a great risk of being recognized or identified in the future, but, apparently, this consideration did not stop him. Interviewing witnesses - and there were a lot of them! - brought an amazing result: the pilgrims clearly distinguished the bell ringers in the morning twilight (fortunately, the belfry was a platform at ground level, and not a bell tower), they saw how the monks fell one after another, but no one saw the attacker. So, three pilgrims saw that someone dressed in a black naval overcoat jumped over the fence of the belfry and ran away; all three women, independently of each other, decided that the bell ringers felt ill and the man who ran would now bring the doctor. These women approached the belfry and for some time did not dare to approach the monks, deciding that their illness was caused by the severity of the Easter fast. Only when the blood flowing from the monks’ wounds became visible on the boards of the platform did the pilgrims realize that they had witnessed a crime. The other two women observed the very moment of the attack, but were also unable to give any satisfactory description of the perpetrator; According to them, what happened looked as if the monks silently fell on their own and the attacker was not visible until he ran from the belfry towards the Skete Gate. Of course, the investigation was faced with a certain curious phenomenon of subjective perception, but it should be recognized that in everything connected with the fate of the dead monks, there is a lot of mystical, rationally inexplicable. Murder of Fr. Vasily, the eldest in the monastic hierarchy and the last to die, was observed by a 13-year-old girl. According to her story, Fr. Vasily (he was heading towards the Skete Gate in order to confess to parishioners and pilgrims in the skete) was stopped by an unknown man in a black overcoat and talked to him briefly about something; They parted ways after saying a few phrases to each other. The monk was already standing with his back to the unknown man when he unexpectedly and quickly hit him from the bottom up and ran away. The girl said that an animal was running away and this instant transformation of a person into an animal amazed her so much that she told many people about what she had seen. She was the first to run up to the fallen father. Vasily and called pilgrims to help him, so her story does not raise the slightest doubt. The deceased saw his killer and although he remained conscious for more than 3/4 of an hour, he did not want to tell his signs. The random selection of victims was obvious. On Easter night in the Optina Pustyn Monastery, the bell ringing continues until five o'clock in the morning, led by four bell ringers. After this, every monk can ring, expressing with this ringing the delight that fills the soul. While the monastic brethren gathered in the refectory, Father Ferapont and Father Trofim ascended the belfry. This happened completely by accident; any other monk could have ended up at the belfry instead of them. The eldest was Fr. Ferapont (in the world Pushkarev Vladimir Leonidovich), born in 1956. In the monastery he worked in a carpentry workshop. rice. 2: Pushkarev V.L. at the monastery belfry. A quiet and inconspicuous man, whose martyrdom led many dozens of his relatives, friends and relatives to Orthodoxy. He was a very physically strong man. It was known that Pushkarev served in the army as part of special forces. After finishing his service, he remained in the army under a contract and served in the ranks of the SA for a total of five years. The monastic old-timers remember a very remarkable incident when on Fr. Ferapont was attacked by three punk drug addicts, who in the early 90s constantly flocked to Optina Pustyn (at one time, a real community of various kinds of informal hippie punks even spontaneously formed at the monastery). This attack took place on the porch in front of the pilgrim's canteen and was witnessed by several dozen people. Father Ferapont scattered the attackers so quickly that none of those around him not only had time to intervene, but even to realize what had happened. At the same time, he was such a quiet, meek man, who did not attract attention to himself, that when news of his death became known, not all the inhabitants of the monastery could remember who he was talking about. Some of the people who knew him well reported that the monk had a presentiment of his imminent death. So, for example, being an excellent carpenter, Fr. Before Easter, Ferapont unexpectedly distributed his best instrument to other masters; when they asked him why he was doing this, oh. Ferapont either remained silent or replied that he would not have to do any more carpentry. Father Trofim (in the world Aleksey Ivanovich Tatarnikov), who died next to him, born in 1958, was a sailor in the fishing fleet before he was tonsured. rice. 3, 4, : In the world Alexey Ivanovich Tatarnikov; in the monastery - monk Fr. Trofim. In the monastery he was revered as a jack of all trades and took on all the household work. He handled the tractor perfectly, which was used to plow the monastery gardens. A strong, tall man, he had an iron fist. Memories remain of his remarkable physical strength. One day he tied a poker in a knot. Many who knew him recalled that Fr. Trofim easily bent the nails with his fingers; a forty-nail, for example, he tightened with a ring or a screw. He did this out of frustration if the prayer did not go well. In Rus', it is not easy to surprise with physical strength - there have been many healthy men at all times - but such arm strength should still be recognized as extraordinary even by Russian standards. It is clear that such a person could, like Fr. Ferapont, provide stubborn resistance to the attacker. No matter how ferocious the killer was, such heroes as Fr. Trofim and Fr. Ferapont was able to stop him. And yet they died without resistance. This contradiction at first extremely puzzled the investigation and we will have to return to its explanation below. Hieromonk Father Vasily (in the world Roslyakov Igor Ivanovich), born in 1960, lived in Optina Pustyn for four years, took part in missionary work, and more than once went to camps to work with prisoners of a particularly strict regime. rice. 5,6: Orthodox new martyr Fr. Basil. Before joining the church, I.I. Roslyakov was a member of the USSR national water polo team, and before that, the captain of the Moscow State University team in this sport and the European champion. After graduating from the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University, he had the opportunity to make a brilliant career, but he neglected this and chose his own special path. Igor Roslyakov was among the first inhabitants of the revived Optina Monastery, those monks who raised the holy monastery from the ruins. Like the monks in the belfry, he was suddenly attacked and did not defend himself; dying o. Vasily did not want to reveal the secret of his conversation with the killer a minute before the attack. It is possible that if this conversation had not happened, the criminal would have run past. But history does not know the subjunctive mood... With a serious wound - the criminal’s knife pierced the kidney, the diaphragm and entered the lung - the monk was carried by the monks to the shrine with the relics of St. Ambrose, near which he lay praying for about 40 minutes. Doctors called to the monastery after the attack were amazed that a man with such a serious wound did not utter a groan and remained conscious for so long. Truly, life did not want to leave him... The policemen who rushed to Optina Pustyn demonstrated extraordinary service zeal. The detective theory prescribes trying to find the criminal “hot on the trail.” Alas! - those living in Russia know well what this rule means in its everyday application by the valiant employees of our police and prosecutor's office. Even in such high-profile criminal investigations as the cases of Chikatilo or Mikhasevich, superficial, mediocre and downright criminal investigative measures led to detentions, “exposures” and convictions of those persons who had not the slightest connection to the crimes (This topic causes an extremely nervous reaction from workers law enforcement agencies and heated objections on their part, but objective statistics - alas! - are such that as many as 14 people were wrongly convicted in the "Mikhasevich case", one of whom was shot. Almost all of these people ended up in the investigative meat grinder precisely as a result of searches "hot on the heels". In other words, they were caught in hot hand, put pressure in the "press hut" and extracted confessions within the three days allotted by law. There is no escape from these gloomy statistics - this is an objective indicator of the success of the work of our bodies law and order, evidence of their incompetence and unprofessionalism There was a hot search in this case too. When examining the naval overcoat abandoned by the killer on the porch of the pilgrim's hostel, the police discovered the passport and work book of a certain Kartashev. The inventory number sewn onto the lining indicated that the overcoat was monastic property. The fact is that such naval overcoats were received by the monastery from the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in the form of a donation; All monks and pilgrims were dressed in them. The police thoughtfully assumed that the criminal was one of the pilgrims. The illogicality of the killer, who went on a crime with a passport and work book in his pocket, did not bother them. Alexander Kartashev, a homeless person who worked in the monastery firehouse, was immediately arrested and, after a four-hour interrogation, hastened to confess to the murder. One can only guess (which, in general, is not at all difficult) exactly how the zealous guardians of law and order achieved the self-incrimination of an innocent (as it soon became clear!) person. Apparently, the desire of the soldiers of the invisible front was great to quickly report on the disclosure of the scandalous crime “hot on its heels.” Events, meanwhile, developed rapidly. By noon on April 18, 1993, an interdepartmental group (regional police department, MB and Prosecutor's Office) began working at the crime scene, which soon received a message about the appearance of an unknown person armed with a sawed-off hunting rifle on a farmstead near the village of Orlinka. Demanding food, the man shot at the floor and then walked off into the woods. Although Alexander Kartashov had already given his confession, none of the professional investigators seriously considered him as a murderer. By the afternoon of April 18, it became clear that the real killer had left the monastery and entered the forest. Therefore, the forester’s message was taken very seriously. An investigative team immediately went to the forester’s farm with the goal of trying to record traces of the unknown person’s presence (if there were any), and most importantly, to create a composite sketch of him. We should pay tribute to the efficiency and professionalism of the criminologists. An identikit and a verbal portrait of the unknown man were drawn up quickly and - most importantly! - exactly. Employees of the Kozelsky District Department of Internal Affairs identified a certain Averin Nikolai Nikolaevich, a resident of the village of Volkonsk, Kozelsky district, Kaluga region, from a photo identikit. Already on the evening of April 18, notices containing identifying information about this person were distributed to all police departments of Kaluga and neighboring regions. Nikolai Averin, born on June 13, 1961, came to the attention of law enforcement agencies in the summer of 1990, when he and a friend tried to rape an elderly woman. The case did not go to court then; it all ended with repentant apologies from the offenders with references to being “drunk.” Although, as the police precisely knew then, this attempt was far from Averin’s first act of this kind. In April 1991, just on the eve of Easter, Averin commits a new crime - and again attempted rape. The victim was severely beaten by him and there could be no talk of any “repentant” tears this time. A criminal case with a fairly simple plot and a seemingly obvious outcome was completed within a month and ended up in the Kozelsky District Court, which demanded a psychiatric examination of Averin. By a resolution of August 8, 1991, the court released Averin from criminal punishment as a schizophrenic. The court found that the attempted rape was made by Nikolai Averin in a state of insanity and ordered this man to undergo compulsory treatment. Until February 1992, Averin was in the Gannushkin psychiatric hospital with the usual observation regime. He left there as a disabled person of the 3rd group. The interviewed parents of Nikolai Averin confirmed that their son went to the monastery on Easter night. He was wearing a jacket and had a cap on his head with the visor torn off. In the meantime, several fingerprints suitable for identification were taken from the murder weapon sent to Moscow for examination. One of them clearly corresponded to the ring finger of Nikolai Nikolaevich Averin. Probably many will be able to accurately predict the ending of this whole story from now on. In any case, for people at least a little familiar with modern methods of work of law enforcement agencies, this will not be difficult. Averin showed a tendency characteristic of cycloid schizophrenics - an unconscious desire to return to a familiar calm environment. Such people feel much better among familiar objects, near their relatives, with a sense of rigor and orderliness in their daily schedule. It is paradoxical that Averin, who perfectly understood that they would be looking for him and tried to hide, after a successful escape found himself in a dead end; he just didn't know what to do next. As the investigation established somewhat later, he managed to escape very far - he walked through the forests all the way to the Tula region, there he committed theft in a dacha cooperative, after which he decided to go back to Kaluga. And off he went! He went to Kaluga by long-distance bus, then moved to Kozelsk, very close to home. In Kozelsk he came to his aunt. Any non-schizophrenic in his place could have assumed that by that time Averin’s aunt’s house and the house of Averin’s parents were already under secret surveillance. Nikolai Averin did not think about anything like that. The outdoor observation group had no command to detain the criminal. He was given time to relax; He calmly called his parents to the neighbors (what a conspiracy!), asked them to convey that they would gather and go to the aunt in Kozelsk; Then he ate, warmed himself, reassured by a sense of safety went to bed. And only then a group of capture entered the house, quietly took the sight of the hunting rifle, standing by the bed, and instantly leaned on a snoring killer. When Averin came to his senses, there were already handcuffs. Brought to the Kozelsky District Department of Internal Affairs, Averin immediately began to speak. He spoke about his voice, who pushed him to fight God, about the orders given from above the order (“if I had not done this, we would lose war with God”), that he came on April 13, and then on April 15, and then on April 15 To the monastery with the intention of committing murder. Probably, we can say that the “Averin case” is over. This schizophrenic will never be convicted by the criminal court. The farther the time moves us away from the tragic events of that Easter, the more clearly the scale of what happened becomes. The murder of the monks went far beyond the banal criminalism. The martyrdom of our contemporaries entailed such a chain of various kinds of miracles and signs that it is appropriate to talk about the worldview coup, which, perhaps, it marks. Already on the 40th day since the murder of the monks on their graves, the first healing of a person, recognized by medicine, was incurably sick. And since then many thousands of people have witnessed miracles revealed to the world. Many cut out about. Ferapontus crosses over time, they began to upper reaches. Exactly a year after the death of the monks, abundant myrrh of the crosses set on their graves was discovered. rice. 7: The burials of the new martyrs in the fraternal cemetery of the monastery have already become a place of pilgrimage. Warp crosses a year after the deaths of the monks began to weed ass. On these graves, numerous cases of healing of people suffering from incurable diseases are noted. Although there are no canonical prayers to the new martyrs, the pilgrims note the miraculous help of the drug addicts, which gives an appeal to Fr. Trophim; But a prayer appeal to about. Vasily helps on the road. Even according to the Orthodox religious tradition - very rich in examples of miracles and signs - this seems to be an exceptional event. Numerous miracles related to the personal things of the dead monks are recorded. rice. 8: Cross about. Vasily, who passed after the section of his things to the monk about. Ipathy, became assing the 40th day after the death of the previous owner. Starting since 1993, cases of its Peace have been noted repeatedly and recorded both by eyewitnesses and video. The fragrant world gathers in a cellophane package (O. Ipatiy in the photo holds it in his right hand) and is used to anoint parliamentar. The miracles that have been reached over the past years are so numerous and so convincingly testify to the divine grace on everything that is connected with the Optina new martyrs that the current generation (that is, contemporaries of the killed) will be able to see their reckoning to the face of saints. In the investigators-like people who were not-obsessed in general-in the process of investigation more than once the question arose of why three strong men without resistance allowed to kill themselves to some squelch? Little -growing, puny Averin and really looked pretty sorry for the background of monks who had, as mentioned above, outstanding physical data. Even if you make an amendment for the exhausting post that they withstood before Easter, one cannot but admit that the dead monks could carefully try to confront the attacker. It is unlikely that their passivity can be explained only by the suddenness of the attack from the back. Most likely, here we are dealing with the most striking expression of Christian non -resistance and hope for the will of God. At one time, St. John of Kronstadsky prophesied that Russia would not die until at least one person would live, ready to help in the Lord God. In this aspect, the death of monks born in the era of total atheism, but found faith and ready to die without trepidation, seems optimistic in their own way. Not one person in Russia was ready to die for Christ with that Easter morning, but three at once! And the martyrdom was a worthy crown of life for each of them. This is how believers explained to investigators by the behavior of the dead. Averin in interrogations also emphasized the mystical nature of the deed. He directly stated that the murder of the monks was committed intentionally and was prepared in advance. As an incentive motive, he called the commands of the inner voice, which constantly sounded in his head for several years. This voice for a long time tormented Averin with various kinds of roar and hum, which caused terrible headaches. There was no opportunity to fight him and over time the voice achieved the complete submission of Averin. By order of the voice, the offender committed the most unimaginable acts: he ate the used toilet paper, cut the Bible with an ax, made attacks on women, unrestrainedly cursed on public, etc. The voice hated Orthodoxy and everything related to Christianity, and therefore Averin himself was imbued with hatred of hatred . The criminal agreed that this inner voice belongs to Satan, and that he himself - Nikolai Averin - is a conscious assistant to evil spirits. These allegations of the accused allow us to qualify the crime committed by him as a ritual, that is, committed from the motives of religious fanaticism. In this case, the religion of the killer was Satanism. It is noteworthy that modern domestic law in every way evades the concept of “ritual crime”, replacing the religious motivation of political or economic. Meanwhile, the pre -revolutionary law of Russia (i.e. until 1917) was much wiser in this regard, which is perfectly illustrated by some materials presented on our website (for example, the “Sarra Modebadze” case or “scopic processes”). Obviously, legal systems that refuse to consider religious fanaticism as a motivation for a crime demonstrate significant one -sidedness. Strictly speaking, the tragic events of September 11, 2001 in New York should not be evaluated as political terrorism, but as a ritual crime. The fanatics of Al-Qaeda, who attacked skyscrapers, led precisely a religious frenzy, and by no means political, patriotic, economic or geostrategic considerations. Despite the fact that the offender was captured and exposed, a number of very significant points did not receive his explanation during the investigation. The fact of the appearance of Nikolai Averin in three months before the crime of a significant amount of money remained inexplicable. Meanwhile, many people who knew him before who constantly needed in human means, was surprised to note that he suddenly began to lend and drink drunkards easily. Averin himself did not drink, but after the New Year (in 1993), suddenly he easily began to give money to drink people from whom the debt was not expected. But this, apparently, did not at all bother the future to the killer: leaving the money of local drunkards, giving money to borrow his colleagues, he seemed to grow up in his own eyes and enjoyed the sinking of others. The investigation did not establish from what sources and for what merits Averin received money in the first months of 1993, although the fact of his unexpected enrichment himself involuntarily suggests the existence of unidentified friends (and possibly like-minded people) of the Satanist killer. The investigation did not want to consider on the merits numerous evidence that indicated (albeit indirectly!) The possibility of the existence of an organized group of Satanists, who set himself the goal of intimidating the monks of the Optina Desert and parishioners of the threat of terror. A number of independent sources indicate that in the early 90s of the 20th century this kind of threats were by no means a myth. Rumors were spread intensively that "they would cut monks on Easter." Already after the tragic events on April 18, 1993, some of the parishioners reported that the-atheists persuaded them not to go to the monastery by Easter night, as they would kill believers there. Someone's work was asked to shave his beard so as not to resemble an Orthodox believer, because in the coming days it could be unsafe. Different people recalled such rumors and warnings and cannot be doubtful that such rumor actually went among the people. Two weeks before the death of the monks in the monastery bookbinding workshop, where Fr. Trofim, an unknown man who shouted from the threshold looked: "Monks need to be killed and soon they will begin to cut you!" This exclamation was heard by everyone who were in the workshop. Leaving his work, about. Trofim approached the stranger and offered to take him to the dining room, so that he would eat a soup there. The monoclary proposal of the monk, apparently, was only redeemed by an uninvited guest and he answered Fr. Trofim: "Go give up the fish yourself!" After that, he patted the monk on the shoulder and added: "You are ours, ours!" The inhabitants of the monastery do not get used to the rudeness of the possessed and one could not mention this fleeting scene here, if all kinds of threats were not repeated to the Orthodox believers in different frets throughout the Great Lent. The day before Easter, overshadowed by a terrible tragedy, there was another case that left the most gloomy mark in the memory of witnesses. During the liturgy, an unknown person ran into the temple and screamed into the whole throat: “I can also become a monk if I kill three monks!” Then he quickly ran out. The protection of the monastery in all such cases was not able to establish the identity of the Gorlopans. It was clear that these were not pilgrims, but people are alien, unknown to anyone. One of the Optina abbot, whose name was not announced for security reasons, received two identical anonymous letters to the Great Lent of 1993. Each contained a photograph of an open empty coffin and a short note in which they promised to kill him with a golden ramrod in a crown. After the tragic events of April 18, both letters were transferred to law enforcement agencies. It is noteworthy that Averin himself did not make secrets from his intentions. Literally on the eve of the murder, he appeared in a mechanical workshop at the agricultural aviation airfield, where he worked lately, and began to sharpen his sword. The workers became interested in outlandish weapons and one of them asked the future the killer: “Who are you sharpened for a tooth?” “I want to cut monks,” Averin answered. He did not even cunning. Then, leaving the workshop to the courtyard, he showed a sharpened blade to other workers and blessedly talked about the fact that the world, they say, they would still hear about him! The investigation could not establish the origin of this sword with a satanic engraving. Averin showed that this sekach was made by a master at the Druzhba collective farm, an engraving on the blade was applied in a workshop in Kaluga. But neither the master from Mehdvor, nor the engraver from the workshop, the investigation could not be identified. Maybe because they did not exist at all. The investigation actually ignored the indication that at the time of the murder in the monastery there were accomplices Averin. Two battleships who witnessed the killer’s attacks on the bellows said that when they shouted from the horror of what they saw, two unfamiliar men, standing nearby, shouted at them: “Come on, shut up, not the same thing with you!” It is noteworthy that these men were not in the list of witnesses of a crime drawn up by an investigative group. In other words, these people hastened to leave the monastery, taking advantage of the bustle. This behavior is all the more strange that all the people who were in the monastery hastened to the belfry, puzzled by an unexpected break of the festive ringing. Explaining the origin of the passport and work book of Alexander Kartashev, found in his overcoat abandoned by him, Averin repeated at interrogations, as if he had abducted them from the hostel of pilgrims. From there, allegedly, he stole a overcoat in a few days later with a monastery inventory number. The theft data was committed precisely with the aim of leaving false evidence at the site of crime and investigation of an investigation on a false track. Meanwhile, the work and accommodation of pilgrims on the territory of the monastery are organized in such a way that it is very difficult to commit such a theft. For the successful committing such thefts, Averina would have to appear in the monastery more than once. Meanwhile, neither pilgrims, nor an order to work, nor monks knew him in the face. It is much more believable that the theft of Kartashev’s documents, as well as a black overcoat, was made by some secret murderers of the killers, disguised as pilgrims. They handed over to the abducted Averina, and they themselves hastened to leave the monastery even before the crime. Alas, this version did not receive the proper study. The investigation was easier to consider the crime as the actions of a lone killer. And the murders of pilgrims in Optina deserts took place throughout the 90s of the last century annually. Often, these crimes were timed to the festival of the Most Holy Resurrection. True, they took place not in the monastery itself, but in the surrounding forests, which allowed local law enforcement agencies not to consider them in any way connected with pilgrimage missions and not to consider the materials of investigations in aggregate. The specific nature of some of these murders serves as an indirect indication of the existence of a certain satanic organization that does not advertise the fact of its existence (we can assume that this completely coincides with the intentions and moods of local authorities). Most likely, this organization is based in Moscow and in the vicinity of the Optina Desert its adherents appears on raids. The time of these visits is dedicated to the days of Quasimodo (the very one in whose honor Mason V. Gyugo named his freak in the "Cathedral of the Parisian Mother of God"). The calendar “Quasimodo Days”, which are the satanic holidays in which various kinds of sacrifices are made and Christian churches and cemeteries are offended from the Orthodox parental Sabbages for a week. However, here we invade the area very far from forensics and investigation. I only note that the only open sources related to this topic was the newspaper Orthodox Petersburg. Most likely, no one will ever be able to reliably establish whether Averin was a member of such an organization. And therefore, can the vice be considered really punished, but the truth - triumphed? © A.I. Rakitin, 1999 © »Mysterious crimes of the past”, 1999 https://www.murders.ru/d4.html
