The Odessa elder Schema-Archimandrite Jonah was known for his miraculous deeds at the Odessa Holy Dormition Monastery. And just recently he was seen off on his last journey. Therefore, it is very important to once again recall the glory of God’s messenger in a single small corner of the monastery, where he was able to help thousands of people from different parts of the world. Its visitors were both rich and poor, noble and ordinary people, young and old. Both believers and atheists respected the one through whom God himself spoke to them. Indeed, because of our distance from the spiritual world, we can perceive only those who are devoid of negative qualities: anger, envy, whose heart is filled with selfless kindness and love. One of such messengers of God on this sinful earth was the perspicacious elder Jonah of Odessa.
Biography
The worldly name of the spiritual father is Ignatenko Vladimir Afanasyevich. He was born on October 10, 1925 in the Kirovograd region (Ukraine). Mother Pelagia gave birth to a boy at the age of 45. He was the ninth child in a modest, devout family. Father Afanasy named his son in honor of Prince Vladimir. At that time they lived poorly, but joyfully. The farm had a horse and two cows, and even those were taken away by the authorities under the slogan of dispossession. But in truth - for the fact that they openly believed in God and attended liturgies in church. At school they taught that there is no God. But the mother told the children not to believe the atheists, and that in this world everything happens only by the grace of the Almighty. From childhood, children in the family were instilled with kindness, love, decency and hard work. “Prayer and work will grind everything down, and without God you can’t reach the threshold” - Volodya always had these words from his mother in his heart.
Vladimir first came to the monastery in 1964
In 1964, Vladimir wanted to become a novice of the Holy Dormition Odessa Monastery, but he was refused. Then he dug himself a small cave in a clay mountain, not far from the monastery, and lived there for some time.
Holy Dormition Patriarchal Monastery, where Vladimir first came
The monastery was without electricity, but Vladimir, as a former tractor driver who understands technology, volunteered to help and set up a diesel installation.
In 1971, he was admitted to the brethren, and in April 1979, he was tonsured a monk with the name Jonah. Then in 1990 he was ordained to the priesthood, and later became abbot.
1979
this year Vladimir took monastic vows with the name Jonah
Hard times
In the 1930s, the authorities fought fiercely against believers in God. Temples were destroyed and closed, and monks, at best, were sent to Siberia. But to understand God and his plan for each person, you need to go through a number of difficult tests. Even in the very ancient Vedic scriptures about the Slavic peoples there is a section where it is written that the age of enlightenment on earth will begin with them, but the path to God will be open to them through suffering. Because of this mercy from above, there is such chaos, godlessness, vanity, deception and war in our countries. People cannot understand God's plan, but we can take the right path only by listening to his selfless servants. This is important for anyone to understand, no matter what country they live in, what body they received, or what religion they profess. God is merciful and constantly sends us his faithful helpers so that they awaken in people their original state of eternal happiness and love. Many people think that they can establish the kingdom of God here on earth.
The Elder's Teachings
But Elder Jonah of Odessa said more than once that this is a school, not a home, and everything here is perishable. The body and place of residence are given to us here for the duration of our studies.
The perspicacious old man also mentioned the fall of Rus'. He said that during the reign of the king, people became proud of their exalted position. The monks forgot about asceticism and acquiring the body to pacify, and became mired in pleasures. And God shed mercy so that people would not continue to wallow in pride and not perish in the fiery hyena after death. He transferred power to other forces, but when they bring people to a certain level of suffering, they develop humility and patience. Then God likes it, and he again returns to them his best students from exile and from other places back for preaching.
Jonah exudes love, humility, and kindness towards God and people
Love, humility, kindness, non-judgment, Jonah of Odessa was ready to share all this with people. The elder confessed to thousands of people and became a spiritual mentor to many.
He admonished, guided in life, taught to always live in the Lord, to thank God for sorrow and for joy. Until his death, Father Jonah Ignatenko continued to receive him.
Metropolitan Agathon instructed Jonah to rest and take care of himself, because people tire him, but Elder Jonah always answered that he was sent to earth to help people.
Father Jonah instructed, admonished, taught to live always with the Lord, and to thank God for sorrow and for joy
God's revelation
Therefore, from childhood, Elder Jonah of Odessa prayed and worked tirelessly. He was waiting for his time to go out to people with a special mission. Dying is easy, but living righteously is difficult. The Mother of God has always been the patroness of this amazing man. Once in his youth, working in the field until late at night, he fell asleep at the wheel of a tractor on which he was plowing the field. And suddenly, when he woke up, he saw a woman in the headlights in front of him. Stopping abruptly, Father Jonah (then still Vladimir) ran out of the tractor to see what had happened, to find out who it was. But there was no one there; in the place where he saw the woman there was a cliff. Then the realization came that it was the Mother of God herself.
Took monastic vows
And so it happened. Having learned that hermit monks lived in the Caucasus, Jonah went on foot straight from the hospital to those parts. He received mercy from communicating with exalted personalities and chose a spiritual teacher for himself - the Monk Kuksha. He received ordination and became a monk.
With the blessing and instructions of his teacher, he went to Odessa, to the Holy Dormition Monastery. But they didn’t let him in there right away. Father Jonah did not despair and settled nearby in a dugout that he dug himself. I prayerfully and humbly waited for the opportunity. And so the monastery needed male strength, and he was hired for menial work. It was very difficult; I had to pass the test of humility and patience. But Father Jonah went from novice to schema-archimandrite. It was only later that the confessors saw in this the providence of God. In December 1964, Reverend Kuksha left this world, and the Lord sent his disciple to replace him that same year. The Lord’s deeds in the name of saving his children are amazing.
Schema-Archimandrite Jonah of Odessa
On December 18, in Odessa, a man who was called the conscience of Orthodoxy in Ukraine passed away to the Lord.
On December 18, 2012, at the 88th year of his life, after a serious long-term illness, the confessor of the Holy Dormition Odessa Monastery, Schema-Archimandrite Jonah (Ignatenko), reposed in the Lord. Schema-Archimandrite Jonah enjoyed great spiritual authority among believers. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus', during a visit to the Holy Dormition Monastery in July 2010, had a long conversation with Father Jonah.
Father Jonah was born in 1925 and was the ninth child. The entire earthly life of Father Jonah was marked by hard work. He could not even finish secondary school: he had to work to help his parents. During the Great Patriotic War he worked at a defense plant, and after the victory as a tractor driver, a miner, and in the oil fields. In his youth, a wonderful story happened to him. He was plowing at night and accidentally fell asleep at the wheel of the tractor. Suddenly he woke up and saw a woman standing in the headlights in front of the tractor. He turned off the engine, jumped out - no one was there. And in the place where the woman stood there was a cliff. Father Jonah said that it was the Mother of God who saved him from death.
Closer to 40 years old, he fell ill with tuberculosis. “...And then suddenly the moment came when I realized that it was impossible to live like this and it was time to save my soul...” said Father Jonah. In the hospital, seeing how the sick were dying, he swore to God that if the Lord healed him, he would become a monk.
Having heard that hermit monks and holy ascetics lived in Abkhazia, Father Jonah went on foot to the Caucasus. He lived there for several years among the monastic brethren.
The Monk Kuksha blessed him to go to Odessa, to the Holy Dormition Monastery. They didn’t take him into the monastery right away, so he dug a cave in the clay on the seashore, where he settled. Father Jonah ended up in the monastery thanks to his skills as a tractor driver. He lived in a monastery as a simple worker. He worked in the cowshed. And, as they say, he suffered greatly during his first years there. They humbled him, even doused him with slop. He slept somewhere there, next to the cows.
For more than 40 years, Father Jonah labored as a monk. People came to him for advice from all over the former Soviet Union. According to the testimony of spiritual children, Father Jonah had the gift of healing.
The funeral and burial of the confessor of the Holy Dormition Odessa Monastery, Schema-Archimandrite Jonah, took place on Saturday, December 22, the feast of the Icon of the Mother of God “Unexpected Joy,” after the Divine Liturgy. The funeral service was performed by Metropolitan Agafangel of Odessa and Izmail.
I learned about Schema-Archimandrite Jonah (Ignatenko), the Odessa elder-comforter, a month before his death. By the grace of God, I came to him for blessing when he was already accepting only a few of his closest spiritual children. Purified by the crucible of illness, he meekly endured back pain. I spent an hour and a half near Father Jonah’s bed. He had been brought from intensive care a few hours earlier, but the priest was cheerful, and most importantly, he was as joyful as a child. All this time, the priest animatedly talked about his life, interspersing memories of his own life with stories about the saints of God from the Holy Scriptures; he spoke about them as if about his closest relatives: in detail, urgently and clearly. With extraordinary speed, the priest placed books on us, in which he unerringly found places to read. And these were passages that spoke of the incompatibility of the Holy Spirit with carnal uncleanness. He also lamented about Western Europe and America, mired in the depths of prodigal sin. Lines were read from the reflections of Righteous John of Kronstadt on the Sacrament of the Eucharist, exposing the formal attitude towards the Sacrament of some believers, as well as chapters from the book of the Athonite monk Simeon about love.
Father Jonah never spoke about his suffering, but was filled with reverence and gratitude to God for the gifts he received. He mentioned that there are many Angels with us now. He constantly turned to the Mother of God. And next to his bed there was a photograph of the Goloseev ascetic Alipia.
His favorite image, before which he prayed in recent months and before which he rested, was
, He also called it “Recovery of the Lost.” It was a copy of one icon, which streamed myrrh in the temple in the form of a tear of the young Mother of God. Father said this: “And Baby Jesus strokes Her neck and says: Don’t cry, Mom, I will have mercy on everyone, I will save everyone for whom You are crying.”
Father’s voice, weak from illness, but so gentle and sweet, suddenly began to sound loud, bold and solemn when he talked about David and Moses. Father seemed to apologize that he received a lot of honors and gratitude from people for the many healings people received through his prayers and through anointing with holy oil, which he tirelessly compiled from all the shrines where he visited, collecting oil from lamps in front of miraculous icons and relics. Hopeless patients were specially sent to him, and sometimes they were healed. “It is God who does everything, and not poor Jonah,” he proclaimed several times, devoid of conceit. He considered his illnesses to be retribution for excessive human glory and complained that illnesses interfered with his purpose - to receive Confession from people, and this he considered the main thing in his ministry. “Now I can’t go to church to confess,” he lamented.
Constantly mentioning the prophets David and Moses, he allegorically drew a parallel with his own life. The most inconspicuous among his brothers, Father Jonah was elected to high service, like King David. And like Moses the seer of God, he firmly led his flock through the Red Sea to the promised land. And during our retreat from the norms of Christian life, without condemning anyone, he walked forward, not paying attention to the wall of water on the right and left. Burning with a thirst for prayer, he taught it to his children.
His amazing love of peace and meekness allowed the priest, who was alien to any conformism and concessions to “this world”, which already subjugate many believers, to somehow kindly get along with everyone and in all circumstances. He was visited by the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych and famous hierarchs of the Church. He loved and pitied everyone, he prayed for everyone. His children-benefactors rebuilt the monastery.
Alien to selfishness and self-interest, he became the support and conscience of Orthodoxy in Ukraine, especially in Odessa, leaving behind a good memory in the monastic brotherhood, in the seminary, and among the townspeople. Everyone knew him, many abbess built monasteries according to his behests. Imitating the prophet Jonah, he preached all his life: repent in order to turn away the wrath of God that hangs over the sin-ridden earth.
Father rested on the eve of the winter celebration of St. Nicholas. Like Nicholas the Wonderworker, his simple-minded childish heart did not know refusal from God. A year and a half ago, he fell ill with many ailments, the main one of which was heart failure. And so, in Kyiv, a pacemaker is implanted into him, and he... escapes in a wheelchair from the hospital to Jerusalem, to the Holy Sepulcher! The priest was taken to the plane in an ambulance: who could prevent him from flying if he received a blessing from the Lord!
He spent three hours in Edicule, not noticing people and remaining unnoticed by the stream of pilgrims. And he got to his feet and returned to his native Odessa Assumption Monastery to the relics of the Monk Kuksha, which reside in this monastery. One parishioner, seeing the priest going out to confession, as usual, exclaimed in her hearts: “Father, why is he risen?”
He countered the spirit of despondency with a prayer shield, as well as a joke and a good laugh.
With his characteristic childish mischief, he could play out any serious “military” situation, like Vasily Terkin, reducing the pathos of universal sorrow to the level of humility, kindness and forgiveness.
Father blessed me and gave me a copy of the Syrian Icon of the Mother of God, which he greatly revered and considered miraculous. She accompanied his death. This paper copy of the icon gave off myrrh and smelled wonderfully two weeks before his death. And this is a sign that Father Jonah was the favorite of the Mother of God, who warned us about his imminent dormition.
Father Jonah was a modern hesychast; he spent most of his time in deep heartfelt prayer and silence, concentration and sobriety. He lived in the presence of God and the Mother of God, used every moment to immerse his mind in his heart, to find peace and joy in the Holy Spirit through heartfelt prayer.
Like the great confessors of Athos, at Confession he was a dove that gathers its chicks under its wings, warms, feeds and protects from bad weather. Without denouncing strictly, allegorically naming the sins that his pure mind, directed toward God, revealed to him about the repentant, he encouraged people to remember and name grave, shameful sins, without which Confession has no power of cleansing.
His complete rejection of idleness was rooted in his peasant childhood and life before the monastery. Hard work and various spiritual pursuits have become a strong bulwark against spiritual delusion, which conveniently accompanies even people who have been rewarded with visions of grace.
The last 24 hours, when he was conscious, his spiritual child Elena spent next to the priest, continuously reading akathists, and the priest sang along with her. At this time, he did not need painkillers, since the power of prayer overpowered the pain. All night Elena read the Psalter - we all need at least one living soul nearby, especially in the dying hour, which is not easy even for ascetics.
He found a little rest from constant prayer in the memories of the pilgrimage to Athos and other shrines of the world. He was sensitive to the beauty of nature, loved all living creatures, especially donkeys. And in the courtyard of his cell lived tame squirrels.
Father was impetuous and agile, accustomed to fulfilling many difficult obediences from the clergy. He confessed to thousands of people. When the priest went to the temple, he was accompanied by crowds of two to three hundred people, lining up in a corridor on his way. His main distinguishing feature was that he was never visibly burdened by the fact that he was surrounded by a crowd of sufferers, although at times he was exhausted. He quickly regained his strength because he wanted to give his talents to people.
Thanks to the attention and care of Metropolitan Agafangel of Odessa and Izmail, Father Jonah lived for several more years. Having settled the ascetic near the Bishop's chambers, the Metropolitan in every possible way protected his sacrificial impulse from self-exhaustion, limiting the reception of people who, due to the endless problems of everyday life, would not give him a moment of rest.
After the last Communion, Father Jonah endured persistent and painful attempts to resuscitate him.
Father Jonah did not hide from the suffering people crowding around him. Thousands of people considered him a spiritual father. And thousands more rushed to the door of his cell to find out the will of God from the true elder, to receive healing and spiritual advice from him.
This is only the Russian eldership - in the thick of the crowd day and night; and not painfully, but joyfully they greeted the endless procession of people, literally blocking and overpowering the spirit of despondency and despair of the whole crowd, infecting people with inspiration and joy. Elder Jonah had only one weapon - love, love, love. Seeing a person for the first time, the priest could kiss his whole face, feed him a bun, generously anoint him with holy butter, give him icons and little books - this was enough to instill hope in the person for the best.
“Oh, that’s how a Christian loves!” - thought everyone who came under the “shell” of father’s love. Father “chastised” the possessed people not according to the missal, but with his fiery, sacrificial, compassionate prayer, which he could not stop - he breathed it, his heart beat with it, his pure mind was occupied with it. Also, his miraculous oil, collected from all the shrines that he constantly visited, renewed by grace, undoubtedly healed and healed physical and mental ailments. The priest saw these ailments, but out of his meekness and humility he never presented them to his child, respecting the freedom of every human will. He could reveal to a person the most hidden evil, but in wise, hidden, abstract plots that revealed the purulent ulcer of the soul. After confession with the priest, people regained the joy of forgiveness of sins. He was a spiritual surgeon, but a very kind one, with such an anesthetic arsenal that even great sinners were not afraid of him. But this punishment by love (“the righteous will punish me with mercy”) was more powerful than penance. By cutting at the root of sin, the priest aroused disgust and pain of conscience towards it. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.
He passed on the spirit of heroism and love to his children. There was no pharisaism in him at all.
He saw the essence of the processes taking place and never blessed people for what they were not yet able to do. Of course, he mourned the apostasy, in the wake of which lawlessness increased. And he did not give his blessing to take either a tax identification number, much less electronic and biometric documents. But when people who were trapped by circumstances or weak in faith asked him about this, he remained silent, as if he had not heard the question again. Delicacy was inherent in everything he did.
Father Jonah went through the most difficult feat of life, the main result of which was unshakable humility, which alone burns down all the machinations of the enemy of the human race. Born the ninth child in the family, he began to work from the age of thirteen, and when at the age of 40 he came to his monastery in Odessa, with labor he laid the path to grace, the path to the pinnacle of spiritual activity - unceasing prayer. At first he was not accepted into the monastery: thin, emaciated, not of this world. Before coming to the monastery, he lived for a year in Georgia, asceticizing next to the famous prayer book Schema-Archimandrite Vitaly.
Father’s favorite saint is Alexy, a man of God, who, for his special closeness to God, otherworldliness, unparalleled chastity and non-covetousness, was beaten by people of rough disposition, among whom lived the son of a wealthy Roman dignitary.
It was impossible to look at the priest; his old face was more beautiful than his youthful beauty. The voice was also like a crystal bell, gentle and affectionate.
At the end of his life, the priest also had to put up with a lot from his cell attendants. One of them locked him up and did not feed him. It helped that the priest had to pave the way to monasticism through honest and hard work. When the priest was not accepted into the monastery, he spent the night in armfuls of leaves and in a cave, and waited until circumstances graciously changed in his favor. In the atheistic times, it was difficult to get into the monastery. Haymaking and the summer harvest had begun, and there were not enough workers in the monastery's barnyard. And Vladimir Ignatenko (as he was called in the world) knew how to mow, and in hard work he had no equal, in patience and helpfulness for God. He bowed quickly and a lot.
Father was a novice for 15 years, doing the hardest work (working at the monastery power plant), but he had tuberculosis - as an echo of a hungry childhood and meager nutrition in the post-war years. The priest had diabetes, oncology, and a bypassed heart, but this could not overshadow his constant joy of spirit and inspiration of life. Comforting people, the priest will often, in a fatherly way, give a penny for ice cream. His favorite dish was dumplings with nuts and olives.
He blessed us to have houses with land, so that in recent times we would not depend on the mark of the number of the beast, without which it would be impossible to sell or buy. Therefore, he suggested preparing for these times now: to live chastely and to confess and receive communion as often as possible.
Ten years ago, the priest went to haymaking. And for spiritual children this was a whole event. People around him were accustomed to asceticism. From 5 o'clock in the morning there was already a line outside the priest's gate. With his illness confining him to bed and regular visits from the emergency room, access to him became difficult. But people stayed on duty for up to 3-5 days, praying. Father was very worried when his beloved spiritual children could not get to him. Overcoming the effects of medications and painful shocks, the priest tried his best to stay in shape - for the sake of the people who were on duty outside in any weather. Most of all, he lamented that he could not stand up and confess.
Here are just a few evidences of the spiritual power of his prayer.
One woman brought her atheist husband to the monastery. The atheist ran up to the elder, called him by name and bowed to the ground.
The monastery watchman Mikhail had a son who developed a tumor in his stomach, and he was taken for surgery. However, the father did nothing without the blessing of Father Jonah. He canceled the operation and ordered the boy to be brought to him. The doctors forbade him even to take a sip of water, and the priest ordered him to eat a bun, after which the tumor disappeared.
Father was not against operations. He blessed one woman with mastopathy surgery; she went to Father George the herbalist for treatment, but soon died.
He blessed another woman, a cancer patient, whom doctors gave three days to live, to receive unction and receive communion daily, and she still lived, and her family joined the church.
His child, Lyudmila, came to him, and the priest consoled her so much: soon her mother, whom she dearly loved, died. And the priest then happily told her that her mother had gone through the ordeal.
Father, as someone who came to the monastery late, was initially not recognized by the Athosites - there, virgins who have lived their entire lives on Athos without seeing women become elders. But when an incident occurred that revealed the special reverence of the Queen of Heaven for Elder Jonah - Greek newspapers wrote about this incident - their opinion about him changed. And Father became a welcome guest on Athos, living there for several months.
And it was like this. When he prayed in the altar at the Kykkos Icon of the Mother of God, the robe covering her face rose on its own so that the priest could see the icon.
Father felt sorry for the whole world, lamented about America and Western Europe, which were forgetting God, and prayed for the conversion of Muslims.
Father passed away reverently. In the last days they were not allowed to see him, but one of his children, whom he blessed to work in his cell three months ago, through the prayers of the elder, was allowed in and brightened up the hours of his dying anguish, which was not expressed outwardly by the priest. In the morning, they came to give the priest communion at St. Barbara’s. He crossed himself with difficulty and swallowed the Holy Gifts himself. The Great Martyr Barbara has the grace to give Communion before death and to administer the Holy Gifts to the dying. And it was December 17, the day of her memory. After Communion, the priest did not regain consciousness. And exactly one day later, during which the priest was injected with injections, his breathing quietly stopped. People who touched the hand of the deceased over the past 5 days felt its softness and warmth.
And so his body, at the festive service to St. Nicholas, rested in the middle of the temple. The Gospel sounded all the time, interrupted by funeral services, priests replaced each other, people crowded around the tomb of the righteous man around the clock. When the body was taken out for burial, the sun illuminated the sea of people. Father Jonah was buried in the crypt, from which the relics of St. Innocent of Kherson were removed in 2000.
Schema-Archimandrite Jonah visited Jerusalem 18 times, 19 times to Mount Athos, 10 times to Sinai and Cyprus.
The abbess of the St. George Monastery, Pelagia, said that while she was still a laywoman, she visited the priest, and he came up and covered her with his mantle. Later, she and her sisters became his spiritual children. When she begged the priest to visit the monastery, he said that he knew about everything, only he didn’t walk there with his legs. And yet somehow mother managed to quietly take the priest to the monastery directly from his cell. For a whole week, Father Jonah confessed and cared for the sisters. However, a day later all of Odessa was already in Danilki. We saw mother in Father Jonah’s cell and figured out where he could have disappeared to. And crowds of people stood on the sides of the path near the temple in the priest’s cell.
Father Valery rejected the offer of ordination due to his wife’s disagreement. But Father Jonah blessed him for the priesthood over the phone, and then, upon meeting, told him to serve as a psalm-reader for two years. Indeed, two years later the wife agreed to become a mother. When Father Valery had doubts, when he went to the priest’s general blessing, listening to the lives of the saints, he heard about the ordination of the famous 19th-century ascetic Parthenius of Kyiv. Father Jonah turned to him with approval. When Father Valery nevertheless asked the same question, Father Jonah said - you heard the life. Out of humility, the priest gave all the answers to those who came through reading.
When asked how to be saved, he invariably spoke about monasticism, putting into this concept the acquisition of chastity and the Jesus Prayer. He handed out books on prayer and rosaries religiously and several times. He also insisted that religious men wear beards.
In Odessa, where he lived in a monastery for about 5 decades, in this huge city, of course, there were many unhappy, lost, fallen from the faith, spiritually sick people with a poisoned consciousness. Father performed that prayer service that turned many away from death and led to salvation.
Father Jonah, according to the testimony of one Greek Metropolitan, visited his monastery on the island of Crete not only in spirit, but also in body, without leaving his cell. The day before, they exchanged greetings, feeling a spiritual kinship in the bosom of Greek-Russian Orthodoxy, as St. John of Kronstadt called it, emphasizing the unity, continuity and integrity of the spiritual tradition of Greeks and Russians. And then at night there was a quiet knock on the door of the Metropolitan’s cell, followed by the retreating steps of a barefoot man. And in the morning the Metropolitan calls Father Jonah’s children and asks if the priest puts on his shoes when he gets up for night prayer, and he finds out: no.
His heartfelt love for his mother organically grew into a filial, devoted love for the Mother of God and for the mothers—ascetics of monasticism. He always warmly remembered his mother, who from childhood instilled in his soul a longing for Heaven. When the icon “I am with you and no one is against you” from the St. George Monastery was brought into his cell, the priest exclaimed: “The Mother of God herself came to me!”
Like a child, he rejoiced at the arrival of the nuns, his children, admiring the purity of their souls, he did not want to let them go, even exhausted from pain. Abbess Pelagia says that she saw the priest’s transformed face, enlightened, with childish skin, spiritualized beauty.
When asked about the end of times, he said it would be soon. One woman asked what she should prepare for these times and received the answer: everything has already been prepared for you. Soon she died suddenly.
To others he said: you will suffer hunger for the sake of salvation. After all, then the choice between the Cross and bread will be relevant.
Father Jonah did not give his blessing to one priest, who served in the Chernobyl zone in a village of 14 people, to change his place of service, saying that he would be saved there. Father, having served there for 12 years, rested peacefully, having avoided many temptations.
Father loved the service so much that he went out an hour and a half before the Liturgy: he had to pay attention to the crowd of accompanying people, of which there were more than a hundred, and at the proskomedia to take out many particles for the children, whose troubles he knew in spirit. He loved singers, and an amateur “Jonin Choir” was created in the monastery. One day a village old man came to him with a pipe and tried without success to perform something sacred for him. Father, taking pity on him, asked him to play “Cossack”. And everyone was happy. Another time, someone brought a violin, and the priest sang to its accompaniment. No one saw him angry and irritated, but only complaining about the mistakes of his children.
At the altar, the priest merged with all the servants, considering himself an equal among the brethren. He was always with the people. At first there was a cell outside the gates of the monastery, where he came to care for the flock. And the people confessed during the service, invariably returning to the altar after the “Our Father” to receive communion. He lived by the Holy Mysteries, therefore, living on Athos, where they even bought him a child’s cell, he became a participant in hesychasm, which included daily communion and spiritual contemplation.
During confession he recalled sins; in the case of grave sins there were pauses - he prayed long and earnestly for the forgiveness of the sins of repentant sinners.
Having a strong body, by the age of 87 he had suffered many illnesses. Probably the reason was that he bore the sins of many people. After all, his brother, at the age of 90, came to see him at the hospital 30 kilometers away on a bicycle.
And in the hospital, through the window, the priest handed over to the people everything he had: bread, fruit, and money.
When no one was allowed to see him, he managed to throw rosaries, brochures, and icons into the crowd through the window for comfort. He somehow found a way out of any situation in order to show fatherly affection and love to everyone who was eager to see him. Everyone who wanted had access to it if they showed patience and prayerful zeal.
Father said that new, strong, young ones are coming to replace the elders. He did not complain about the spirit of the times, but actively opposed it, teaching everyone to stand firmly in Orthodoxy.
Nun Euphrosyne (Mukhametzyanova), Kazan.
Interesting case
We will not describe how the monk received his ranks, belts and robes, for the sake of the glory of Elder Jonah, who also did not like to focus on this. Even the abbot from above (the late Father Sergius) once raised a scandal over the fact that the monks were wearing old, threadbare cassocks. Father Jonah, humbly coming to the abbot for a blessing, bent down, wiped his hands (after repairing the tractor) on his new silk cassock, took the blessing and left. The abbot, however, understood the lesson from above and also accepted it with dignity. He didn’t say anything to anyone else about this, but wrote out new cassocks as a gift for all the monks, including Jonah.
Prophecies of Saint Jonah
Holy Father Jonah loved everyone very much. And these are not just flattering words, but heartfelt confirmations from everyone who has ever visited the elder. His sonorous divine voice always inspired hope and faith in everyone. Humility and hard work inspired even those spiritual brothers who were higher in rank. The holy father also possessed the gift of prophecy. It was Elder Jonah of Odessa who predicted the tragic events in Ukraine. Both high clergy, ministers, presidents of countries, and ordinary people visited him. Queues lined up early in the morning or even in the evening to receive the mercy of Father Jonah. He did not let anyone go without a gift, blessing and anointing with holy oil, which he replenished by visiting holy places. They invited him to stay in Athos, in the Lavra, in Jerusalem, but everywhere Jonah humbly asked for forgiveness and said that the Mother of God asked to stay in the Assumption Monastery. And how many wonderful stories are told by people who visited the elder! The predictions of Elder Jonah of Odessa always came true.
Prayers
Troparion, tone 8
To the zealot of Orthodoxy, / schism and heresy eradicator, / Odessa healer / and warm prayer book to God, / through your life and miracles you have become like the Kronstadt miracle worker, / righteous Jonah, / pray to Christ God to save our souls.
Kontakion, tone 8
Who can confess the many different exploits of your life? / Who can count the manifold mercies of God shown by you? / But your boldness is with the All-Bountiful God and the Most Pure Mother of God, who knows good things, / in the tenderness of our hearts we call to you: / do not deprive us of your help and intercession, // the shepherd of Christ and the miracle worker Jono.
Missionary activities
The Holy Father was very kind to all parishioners. The priest remembered some visitors who had visited the monastery for a long time by name, and even knew relatives, gave instructions and certainly gave gifts. In a small cell, the priest slept on the floor, and on the bed were books and offerings, which were replenished daily and immediately distributed. Saint Jonah gave everything without reserve - food, knowledge, books, icons, kindness, faith, and anointed him abundantly with sacred oil. And most importantly, he enveloped me in boundless divine love. In the cold, standing in only a cassock, he gave God's blessing to everyone who came to him, while he himself stood already blue from the cold. I asked God to ease the suffering of people who themselves cannot yet change their lives. Of course, part of the sins falls on the body of the person asking. Because of this, such good individuals suffer greatly. Father, enduring illnesses, never grumbled about fate, but joyfully greeted everyone and only gave good things. It is impossible to describe all the deeds of Saint Jonah. He gave inspiring prophecies for all of Rus' (that is, for all countries of the post-Soviet space). Something has already come true, something else will happen, and something will change. Everyone was especially shocked by the prophecy of Elder Jonah of Odessa about the war. Everything came true exactly as he said.
After his death, a great confrontation began. In which direction the changes will take place depends on the people themselves, their thoughts and actions. If everyone prays and tries very hard to live according to the laws, despite different languages, countries, religions, then the kingdom of God on earth, although not completely, will approach. And all people will live happily even here, but this time will be short-lived, so it is better to hasten to accept the instructions of holy personalities. After all, this is still not our home, and the Almighty wants us to cleanse ourselves of what is unnecessary to us and return to his eternal abode of joy, love, happiness, where there is no suffering, illness and death.
Father Jonah left this mortal coil at the age of 88, on December 18, 2012. He left prophecies about a future war and about a new righteous king. But it is important to understand that just sitting and waiting for change is stupid. We need to pray and work - these are the two wings that will lead us to God. This is what Saint Jonah bequeathed to us sinners. Odessa elder Jonah Ignatenko considered everyone his brothers and sisters or children. His prediction about the spiritual world on earth will certainly come true.
Jonah's predictions about Ukraine and the war, will they turn out to be prophetic?
They said that shortly before his death the elder saw a terrible prophecy. The predictions were about Ukraine and the beginning of the Third World War.
Father said this:
“There will be a Third World War.
A year after my death, everything will begin in the country,
which is smaller than Russia.
The mood will last 2 years,
and it will all end in a big war,
after which there will be a Russian Tsar.”
Jonah of Odessa
Schema-Archimandrite
Then many began to doubt whether it was really true? After all, no one saw how this prediction was written down, but many priests note that they believe.
The primary source is Elder Jonah himself, but there is no evidence that he said this. Each person decides for himself whether to believe in it or not.
Were there any other predictions from Father Ion? They said that shortly before his death, Schema-Archimandrite Jonah said that the time would come when people would come to the monastery in the evening for the all-night service, and everything would be as usual, the same chants, the same monks, confessors.
And when they come to the Liturgy in the morning, they will suddenly begin to peer into their surroundings and will be perplexed by the fact that there are no familiar faces of the monks. Instead of monastery priests, some strangers will begin the service, parishioners will ask each other who these priests are, and nothing will be understood.
They said that shortly before his death, Elder Jonah saw a terrible prophecy. It was about Ukraine and the beginning of a new third world war
And this will also happen when buses are driven to the monastery at night, all the monks are kicked out of their cells, loaded onto a bus, then taken away in an unknown direction. And the monastery will be given to strangers, not from our church, and this will be the seizure of the monastery.
This is exactly how it will be everywhere in Ukraine. People were so dumbfounded by this information that they did not ask questions about how this would happen, where the monks would be taken.
But literally some time later, when Jonah’s father was again asked about future events, he replied that the inhabitants would not be shot, they would be taken far from the city and released into an open field.
They also asked about those invaders who would seize the monasteries, and Father Jonah replied that the invaders would try to serve in the churches and deceive people.
But people won't believe it. No one will go to such churches and monasteries; they will stand empty. The schismatics will be left with nothing. And after that they will leave in disgrace.
Saint Jonah of Odessa became a symbol of Ukrainian Orthodoxy. Like the prophet Jonah, he devoted his entire life to people and the Lord. The holy elder believed from his heart that the Lord God and the Mother of God would not leave Rus'. Jonah also mourned the fact that big politics is trying to break ties between Ukraine and Russia. He said this:
“There is no separate Ukraine and Russia, but there is a single Holy Rus'. And our enemies decided to divide us in order to destroy Orthodoxy in Little Rus'. But the Lord will not allow that.”
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