Eternal memory to Archimandrite Benedict, Governor of Optina Pustyn

Eternal memory to Archimandrite Benedict, Governor of Optina Pustyn

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At 15 minutes past midnight on January 22 of the recently begun year, Archimandrite Benedict, who was the Vicar of His Holiness the Patriarch for twenty-seven years, ruling one of the most famous and beloved monasteries of the Russian people, Optina Pustyn, died in a Moscow hospital at the age of 78.

Exactly 27 years ago, on January 20, 1991, on the day of the patronal feast of the Optina Skete, consecrated in honor of the Prophet John the Baptist, he arrived in Optina Pustyn, taking control of the monastery. For six months already, the monastery remained without leadership, since its rector, Archimandrite Evlogii, was in the hospital after a serious accident. The monastery, given to the Orthodox Church on November 17, 1987, slowly rose from the ruins. This was the first monastery opened in the Soviet Union (after the Danilov Monastery, the residence of the Patriarch of Moscow). There were already about forty brethren here, strict monastic rules of worship, the central Vvedensky Cathedral, many fraternal buildings and a partially destroyed fence had already been restored. And although the remains of foundations and homeless walls of other churches and bell towers were visible around, and there were still many more problems than hastily patched holes, it was a time of great spiritual upsurge, when the first sprouts of spiritual life slowly but surely began to sprout through the asphalt of atheism.

Archimandrite Benedict is a whole era in the life of our Church. The first half of his church activity, a time of growth and spiritual maturity, passed within the walls of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. There he graduated from the Theological Seminary, and then from the Academy; was tonsured a monk and ordained to the priesthood. There he became a faithful student of Archimandrites Cyril and Naum, communicating with them for two decades, according to him, almost every day. There, together with Archimandrite Alexei (Polikarpov), he became one of the people’s most beloved confessors. Hegumen Vissarion even composed a poem about them in the 80s: “Two pillars of the entire Lavra: Benedict and Alexei.”

For many years, every day, Abbot Benedict confessed for several hours in the gateway Church of St. John the Baptist, where his many spiritual children came. And after the meal he received those who needed a longer conversation at the gatehouse or in his cell. In addition to clergy, he performed several other important obediences: chief accountant of the monastery, librarian, postman, and sang in the choir. A year before being confirmed as governor of Optina Pustyn, he was appointed head of the hermitage of the Gethsemane monastery and began to revive it from complete desolation.

They looked for a vicar in Optina with great consideration - after all, in some ways this place is much more responsible than many episcopal sees. Father Benedict said that he himself had great doubts, seeing the complexity of the upcoming service. But the elders-confessors blessed and sent me to blessed Lyubushka in Susanino. She said: “Yes, Venedikt, Venedikt maybe.”

At first, the Patriarch offered him a choice: Vicar in Optina or confessor in Diveevo. Father Benedict immediately realized that he was no longer able to bear the burden of confession: he had already torn his heart and felt that it could not stand it for long. And I chose Optina.

Moreover, his state of health was depressing. Father Benedict himself did not understand how he could lead such a monastery. After all, until recently, asthma attacks were so severe that he could only sleep while sitting, he was out of breath as soon as he began to speak, and he could not finish shouting at a church service. But the Patriarch said that the Lord would strengthen him. And on the very first day of his arrival at the monastery, Father Viceroy was surprised to notice that he did not need the inhaler can at all, which he never used from that day on, although in the Lavra he was forced to use it many times a day. And the breathing exercises that he persistently performed in his cell day after day led to the fact that his voice acquired the power and volume that allowed him to pronounce his exclamations and sermons so that every word was clearly audible in any corner of the temple . This is how the will of God was accomplished - the Optina Viceroy often recalled this when it became unbearable for him to manage the monastery, but he no longer dared to ask to retire.

The Patriarch elevated Hegumen Benedict to the rank of Archimandrite and, having received Epiphany in his native monastery, he went to Optina. And at the age of 52, a new stage began in the life of Father Viceroy. Although his life “with St. Sergius” was filled with considerable labor and feats of selflessness and sacrificial love, the upcoming activity was not an elevation, not a step in his church career, but a harsh cross, which he accepted for the sake of love for Christ.

Having become rector, Father Benedict stopped confessing his spiritual children two years later, because he felt that combining the duties of Vicar and Confessor was beyond his strength. But while recommending that he choose confessors for himself, he did not renounce Fatherhood in spirit and, in extreme cases, always accepted and resolved the questions of his children, answered their notes, and most importantly, did not abandon his prayer, which was felt with undoubted conviction. Archimandrite Naum said that Father Benedict carries his children in his very heart. Behind these seemingly simple words is a feat of faith, deepest responsibility and compassion of his wide and wise heart.

The personal feat of prayer most often turns out to be hidden from people, but in Father Benedict, behind the external severity and extreme composure, one could always feel the constant presence of God. Not by his external position, not by his rank, but precisely by his inner bulk, this short man has always been significant in any society, even among people of much higher status. He did not abandon the secret feat of night prayer, which Father Benedict began back in the Lavra of St. Sergius. For health reasons, he gradually stopped attending the fraternal monastery, and he did not go to church every day, but the effect of the Jesus Prayer was very often imprinted on the features of his face, and a thin thread of wooden beads, looping his palm in a loop, was constantly moving. He developed this type of rosary himself back in the Lavra and made it with his own hands, sending it even to Athos at the request of the monks.

It cannot be said that the established brotherhood of the Desert easily accepted the new Viceroy. He was too different from the former Archimandrite Eulogius (who later became Metropolitan of Vladimir). Strong-willed and not particularly in need of advice, Father Benedict changed the liturgical regulations and the entire way of life of the monastery began to lead to a similarity to the Sergius Monastery, where most of his life passed. Some of the former monks left Optina in the first six months, others left later. It was a difficult stage of growing up, like adolescence, which replaced the largely bright and inspired period of childhood. The Viceroy had to endure many severe trials: here was the tragic death of three monks killed on Easter 93rd, and the loss of other faithful helpers and brothers. Even in many words it is impossible to describe the entire life of the monastery, difficult and full of temptations and invisible enemy confrontation.

But the monastery, glorified by the life of the great Optina elders, remote from large cities, attracted many seekers of true monasticism. Although monastic monasteries gradually began to be revived everywhere, Optina Pustyn did not get lost in their ranks, turning into a powerful monastery known throughout the world. Temples, bell towers and other buildings were rebuilt and raised from ruins, and unique granite pavements were laid. The temples received a splendid appearance and new paintings, filled with utensils, elegant carved decorations and icons. Here every day from two to five liturgies are celebrated, the services are distinguished by special reverence and spare monastic beauty, strict and unhurried prayerful singing. The number of brethren last year exceeded 220 people, and the number of pilgrims increases every year.

Under Father Benedict, thirteen Optina elders and several new martyrs and confessors of the monastery were glorified. It was possible to recover the relics of ten elders, desecrated by the atheists. Some ascetics and confessors buried in various places were reburied in their native monastery. Biographies and works of the elders, studies and memoirs dedicated to Optina Pustyn were published.

One of the main features that determined the entire path of Archimandrite Benedict was his fiery zeal for the faith. All his successes and numerous achievements were determined by the deepest reverent faith. He was truly a zealot of piety with a caring heart. Demanding from others evangelical purity and sincerity, he himself always set an example of extreme reverence for the shrine. Everyone will remember the services he performed - orderly, unhurried, filled with royal solemnity and at the same time prayerful.

Faith was the main treasure of this soul. He so loved the truths contained in the treasury of the Church, often with childlike spontaneity he shared some thought he had read from the Holy Fathers or in Scripture. For many days, turning the acquired treasure in his mind, he wondered and reasoned, and sometimes developed these thoughts, either striking those around him with newly discovered facets, or, on the contrary, confusing him with some bold judgment that ran counter to the teachings of the Church. This was not a far-fetched fantasy, but a living, deepest experience, he lived it. It would be possible not to write about this, preserving a certain formal correctness of “life,” but it is better to try to see these features as they were, than to remain silent and cover them with a veil of half-truths.

Being a creative person, Father Venedikt strove to do everything as best, more beautiful, and more intelligently as possible. It is enough to remember what kind of clashes and disputes the approval of sketches of temples, paintings, installation of icons in the temple, approval of the construction of a new building turned into! He interfered in everything: in the work of engineers who poured the foundation, in the projects of architects who proposed drawings of temples, in publishing and the design of books. This was not always successful and often seriously interfered with business. He affirmed, then decided in a new way, changing his blessings many times. However, all these questions were not external for him, but deeply significant, since he felt responsible before God for their solution. It was difficult to work with him, but this showed his indefatigable desire for perfection.

Likewise, in understanding particular issues of theology, he sometimes crossed the line, searched, pondered, and sometimes, carried away, stumbled. But time passed, and he listened to the opinions of those who tried to carefully correct him, and then, although with some reluctance, he abandoned the idea that seemed so beautiful to him, since it was not in consonance with the Truth of the Fathers.

He was a strict shepherd, often not sparing his children with outward human condescension, but putting them before the uncompromising judgment of the Gospel Truth. Those who looked at the life of the monastery from the outside often expressed sympathy to the brethren for living in such austerity; Sometimes the monks themselves could not restrain themselves from grumbling. But, having gone through various temptations, many understood how necessary and fruitful the exactingness of Father Benedict was. Despite all the severity and apparent despotism, the Viceroy never trampled on a person’s personality. He could be very harsh and impartial, regardless of the rank and age of a person, in some cases expressing his comments and punishing for misconduct. But this was the Father’s jealousy, the jealousy of a soul that does not accept negligence, laziness and deceit. Jealousy, burning not to cause pain, but to correct and heal a person. Make him understand the seriousness of life and the responsibility of his soul. No wonder one of his favorite words from Scripture was: “Cursed is everyone who does God’s work carelessly.”

One could notice that the Father Viceroy, having punished someone, then carefully watched how he endured his rebuke or outburst of anger. If he saw that his brother accepted everything with humility, his spirit rejoiced so sincerely that he even had to, albeit with difficulty, restrain this joy. If someone accepted thoughts and was offended, then Father Venedikt sometimes made considerable efforts to reconcile with him, trying to joke, to make amends for the negative impression that his brother had formed. And he often repeated: “Be angry and do not sin.” And everyone who entrusted his soul to him felt that it was not indifferent to him, that it was not just human passion, lust for power or ambition that was at work here, but a father’s zeal for salvation in God.

Father Benedict was distinguished by a special gift of prudence. He attached great importance to this, saying that even if a person makes a mistake when making any decision, but if he reasoned and made considerable efforts to know the will of God and understand how to do the right thing, then the Lord will not hold him accountable for his mistakes and He will correct their consequences himself. While pondering some thought, he often returned to it, offering one reasoning, then another, looking at it from completely different angles and constantly prayerfully turning to the Lord for admonition. Because of this, the solution to some issues that seemed elementary was delayed for a long time, but no one could blame him for being hasty and superficial.

In recent years, Father Viceroy has changed a lot; almost all of his former severity has gone and been transformed into kindness and amazing cordiality. This change is explained by the fact that the mask of external severity was no longer required, the soul achieved internal freedom and revealed itself to people in that completeness that was previously inaccessible to view, or was revealed only temporarily. This was especially evident not in a business setting, but in moments of relaxation. Every day, if his health permitted, Father Venedikt found time to come to the stables. Communication with horses was for him the break that people, in an incessant line of people rushing to him for solutions to certain problems, did not give him. Combing their manes or feeding them breadcrumbs, he often joked, relaxed from eternal tension, and sometimes even sang. And the horses felt the warmth and kindness that emanated from him. Many guests of the monastery and brethren came to the stables to communicate with him in an informal setting. Everyone knew that there was no better moment to communicate with Father Viceroy than in the stables. Although he “took a break from people,” many issues were resolved there. “The horses are silent, but you keep talking and talking,” he joked.

By his participation in all aspects of the life of the monastery, in every detail, he took on an unbearable burden of responsibility. He couldn’t help it, but it’s not surprising that he often succumbed under its weight. Being a man of remarkable will, he did not dare to shirk responsibility, as he understood it. Idleness was absolutely alien to him; he constantly lived with the problems of the monastery and other people. During the day, he allowed himself only a short rest of 20-25 minutes, and in recent years, sometimes up to an hour, and went out to the stable once or twice. His life was divided between holidays, when he was always at divine services, and workdays, which, most often starting at 8 in the morning, ended only at 11 in the evening, when he could finally retire to his tiny cell.

He was a man of a bygone era. There was no luxury or excess in his life; he was free from the love of money or any kind of acquisitiveness. He continued to live all the time in an unrenovated building, the oldest in the monastery. For a long time he resisted those who wanted to “transfer” him to foreign cars on business trips to Moscow. He didn’t like traveling abroad or traveling and didn’t go anywhere on principle, spending his holidays on Seliger, blessed by the Patriarch, leisurely fishing with a rod. Usually he would go alone on a boat for the whole day, leaving his companions and enjoying more prayerful solitude than the fishing itself. The food of the Viceroy's father was simple, although in recent years, due to health problems, it was quite varied. However, he never allowed violations of fasting days, although doctors often insisted on this.

As an experienced shepherd, Father Vicar created an entire system for educating the brethren. Seeing that urban residents, especially most of the youth, are characterized by infantilism, selfishness and lack of initiative, Father Venedikt led the newcomers through labor obediences in the cowshed, stables, poultry house and other agricultural facilities, where over time all the diligence of a person was revealed, his spiritual qualities were revealed. “You can’t hide how a person treats a horse and how it reacts to him,” he liked to repeat. “If a person has a hidden defect, the animal will immediately sense it and may not even let him near him.” He paid a lot of attention to new novices and candidates for the brethren. Being limited in his movements due to health reasons, he called the brethren to his cell and thoughtfully talked with them, trying not to miss anything important from their previous life, trying through prayer to understand the place of a particular person in the Church, the nature of his personality.

The situation in modern monasteries is such that the Abbot bears the burden of purely external administrative control of such a complex organism. Therefore, there is a danger that “external” financial and economic issues, participation in long services and inevitable communication with those in power and guests of the monastery will not leave the Rector time for internal, often very difficult, questions of the spiritual state of the brotherhood. The number of brethren in Optina increased enormously, and Father Vicar introduced a kind of “eldership” system, when confessors selected from the brethren, experienced in monastic life, are responsible for the leadership of 10-15 brethren. Confessing the children entrusted to them, the confessors resolved the various perplexities that arose with the Rector himself, who, calling them regularly, asked briefly how they lived, and he himself confessed only to the confessors.

Such a system can take the form of sophisticated denunciation, but Father Venedict never set out to enslave a person, he only wanted to help him overcome his many different passions. In the case of the most serious offenses, the confessors encouraged the monk himself to go to the revelation of what he had done to the Abba of the monastery, who, fatherly admonishing the offender, imposed punishment on him if he considered it necessary. What was surprising was that in the case of the most serious offenses of the brethren, with appropriate repentance, punishment was not applied by Father Benedict. Sin itself was the burden that the sinner bore.

In recent years, when the construction and restoration of the walls of the monastery began to approach a certain completion, Father Benedict began to pay more attention to issues of the internal life of the brethren. As a deeply religious person, he was very concerned about the lukewarmness and deep indifference even among those who came to devote their lives to God. Demanding strict adherence to discipline in attending divine services, he willingly met the needs of the sick who were forced to miss services, but in other cases punished them even for a minute's delay. He often repeated that the Lord sees everything, and if someone is disingenuous, citing illness and evading church prayer, then God will certainly send him illness, wanting to heal this sin.

Wanting to arouse the fear of God, Father Vicar introduced compulsory study of the commandments of the Holy Scriptures. Pocket-sized books were compiled with selected texts of Scripture, which each resident of the monastery had to memorize. This knowledge was tested by Father Benedict himself and the brethren appointed by him. Although this method can be called in many ways scholastic and formal, it helped those who had no desire to independently study the Holy Scriptures to often immerse their minds in its living and imperishable Word. By the enthusiasm with which Father Benedict pronounced some phrase from Scripture, it was clear how much he himself was enlivened by this word. He tirelessly convinced others that they needed to memorize it in order to constantly have it with them and truly comprehend what they read. And knowing - fulfill.

Love and attention to the Word of God were inherent in him from his youth. When Volodya Penkov went to work immediately after graduating from technical school, the master gave him the New Testament to read for one night, asking him to return it in the morning. Arriving at his home, Vladimir decided not just to read, but to rewrite the Gospel. He did not sleep at all and during the night he copied the Gospel of Matthew and several of the apostolic epistles. And the next morning he brought the book to the master. “Well, have you read it?” – he asked and was extremely surprised when the young man showed him his notes. The master was amazed, he simply could not believe him, and silently leafed through the notebook for a long time. And then I decided to give him this book. Then, retiring in nature, choosing a more picturesque place, Volodya took the New Testament with him and sat down to read.

Having amazing chastity from his youth, Father Vicar sometimes during confession could not understand the damage of a person by some kind of prodigal sins, sometimes even expressing this out loud among the brethren close to him. As a man of the old generation, he absolutely did not tolerate the now widespread freedom in clothing, partial nudity, and women wearing pants. When he saw this, the spirit of a zealot, the spirit of a prophet like Elijah, was kindled in him, and he mercilessly castigated this vice in his sermons, seeing in it a terrible sabotage against the chastity of the soul.

In addition to his sermons, which he always delivered without paper and with true inspiration, Father Vicar held Sunday conversations with visiting pilgrims and workers permanently living in the monastery. A venerable old man, wise with experience, he tried to at least to some extent pass it on to others. He often diluted his teachings with jokes, trying to make them more accessible and understandable. His pastoral zeal did not allow him to avoid these conversations, even when he began to hear much worse and could not move without assistance.

We still have to appreciate the spiritual greatness of the deceased Vicar of Optina Pustyn, taking a fresh look at the spiritual hero who crossed the line of eternity, a zealot of the faith, a reverent and unhypocritical servant of God.

We ask for deep prayers for the repose of the soul of the newly deceased Archimandrite Benedict.

Source: Ivan-Chai

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all notes by the author On January 24, 2021, at the Vvedensky Stavropegic Monastery of Optina Monastery, the funeral service and burial of the newly deceased abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Venedikt (Penkov), took place. The night before, the chairman of the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism, Archbishop of Sergiev Posad Theognost, who arrived at the monastery, served a funeral litany for the deceased. Metropolitan Evlogiy of Vladimir and Suzdal came to say goodbye to the deceased fourth governor of Optina Hermitage from the beginning of its restoration. On the day of burial, the Divine Liturgy was led by Metropolitan Barsanuphius of St. Petersburg and Ladoga, the head of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate. Concelebrating with His Eminence were: Chairman of the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Kliment of Kaluga and Borovsk; Chairman of the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism, Archbishop of Sergiev Posad Feognost; Bishop of Urzhum and Omutninsky Leonid; Bishop of Arsenyevsk and Dalnegorsk Gury; Archimandrite Alexy (Polikarpov), the abbot of the Danilov stauropegial monastery; Archimandrite Melchizedek (Artyukhin), viceroy of the Moscow Optina Metochion, press secretary of the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism; Schema-Archimandrite Iliy (Nozdrin); brethren of the monastery in holy orders. At the end of the service, Metropolitan Barsanuphius read a message from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' to the inhabitants of the Vvedensky stauropegial monastery of Optina Pustyn, participants in the burial of Archimandrite Benedict (Penkov). Next, the funeral service for Father Benedict was performed with the monastic rite. After Bishop Barsanuphius read the prayer of permission, Schema-Archimandrite Eli placed a letter of permission into the hands of the deceased. Then the coffin with the body of the deceased was carried around the Kazan Church under the funeral bell. After sprinkling the grave with holy water, the burial ceremony and farewell to the newly deceased governor of Optina Pustyn began. The deceased Father Benedict was escorted on his last journey by the brethren of the monastery; former inhabitants of the monastery, now working in other monasteries; numerous clergy, abbots and abbesses of monasteries of the Russian Orthodox Church, pilgrims, spiritual children and relatives of the deceased. Archimandrite Benedict was buried behind the altar of the Kazan church of the monastery.

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