Elder Nikolai Guryanov: “Help me, God, carry my cross”

Poems by Archpriest Nikolai Guryanov

PRAYER “LORD HAVE MERCY”

Of all the prayers that I know, I sing in my soul or read out loud, with which the wondrous power breathes the Prayer “Lord, have mercy.” One request in it, not much! I only ask for mercy from God, To save me with His power, I cry out: “Lord, have mercy.” I swim in the stormy sea of ​​life, I meet joys and sorrows; From what storms did you escape by force? The prayer “Lord, have mercy.” And the grief melted, and joy brought me twice the sweetness, And all this was the wondrous power of the Prayer “Lord, have mercy.” When tears flowed from grief, Or passionate dreams confused me, Then with special strength in my heart I repeated: “Lord, have mercy.” I am already close to the final brink, But still with hot tears, Although with the strength of a withered body I pray: “Lord, have mercy.” The soul, having ended its earthly life, repeat this prayer, and no other, there too, behind the grave, with hope: “Lord, have mercy.”

DON'T GROOM

Don’t complain, man, that you are small and ignorant, that the life you have lived is incomprehensible to people. He is assigned to you by Him Who distributes the lot of service on earth; That is His purpose. Do not grumble, poor people, Without a corner and without bread, Know that your burden is a special gift from heaven... Do not grumble, you who are sick with a long-term illness, Through that holy Cross You will be a friend to the Lord. Do not complain that blasphemy poisons your life, Know that the praise of earth reduces the reward of heaven. Don’t complain that your friends abandoned you in grief, God will not abandon you in this sea of ​​life. Poverty, evil and illness - The grave will cover everything, Keep your spirit pure - This is the power of truth. Believe, hope, endure the Cup of troubles - without a doubt, And you will save the soul For the heavenly villages.

STAR OF BETHLEHEM

In the heights of heaven, many stars are burning, but one shines brighter than all with joy. That is the star of the Child and the King of Kings, - He was laid in a manger by His Mother. And the wise men from the east follow the Star, and bring gifts with love to the Lord. Brothers! Let us hasten to receive the Lord, Let us hasten to give you bread and salt cordially - He will take this bread with the hands of the poor and send us a blessing for it.

IN THE MORNING HEAR MY VOICE

Tomorrow hear my voice, my King and my God! Fears, ghosts, dreams - Spawn of the darkness of the night, Disperse and crush with the light of the joyful right hand! Passions, murmurs, the spirit of pride - These are the tares of the soul, Plow away, with the reins of faith, Plow the aching chest, And moisten the soil of the heart with tears of humility, And graciously plant the seed of holy wheat: Prepare, O Lover, a pure field of love, A good sacrifice, O All-Powerful, In the field of my days come out. And cultivate me all over, Revive and renew - Let the ripe ear vegetate in the depths of my soul!.. Heart holder! Write the poor name in the Book of Life, May I not, unprepared, throw off my earthly cover from my spirit. Tomorrow hear my voice, my King and my God!

THE EVIL WAY

My path is dangerous and sad; I enter with involuntary trepidation; I haven’t walked along it yet, And I don’t know that country yet. No one knows me either, And it’s in vain to wait for consolation! The leaders... I’m afraid, It’s terrible for me to even look at them. And He, calling for judgment! How will I look at Him then?! The King of life and death, He calls us there with authority. Hallelujah!

LORD, HAVE MERCY, LORD, FORGIVE...

Lord, have mercy, Lord, forgive. Help me, God, to convey my Cross. You walked Your thorny path with love, You carried the Cross silently, Breaking your chest. And, crucified for us, You suffered a lot, You prayed for your friends, You grieved for your enemies. I am weak in soul, I am also weak in body, And I am a criminal slave of sinful passions. I am a great sinner On my earthly path, I grumble, I cry... Lord! Sorry. Help me, God! Give me the strength of strength, So that I extinguish my passions in my heart... Help me, God! With a generous hand, bestow patience, joy and peace. I am a great sinner on my earthly path... Lord, have mercy. Lord, forgive me!

PATIENCE

Don't be sad, don't be sad: The time of happiness will come again; Wait, be patient, there is a reward for those who wait! For those of us who suffer here, there is a crown for suffering; Who doesn't shed tears here? But they too will come to an end! Everything in life - everything is temporary, We are given for a short moment: Sweetness of happiness, burning burden - All one moment. Life itself is one moment, Joy is a bright dream, Sorrow is the ghost of a dream, All worries are vanity! Wait, be patient, - There is a reward for those who wait; Don't be sad, don't be sad; Time flies - everything will pass.

ALL HOLY VIRGIN

O Ever-Virgin All-Holy and Mother of Light! Calling before You with tenderness, I ask, I pray with all my soul: Extend, extend Your prayers, Extend them to Your Son For peace, mercy, forgiveness for this departed Servant! Yes, through your wonderful prayer, the hope of sinners of all ages, he will meet with mercy on the day of judgment and remission of sins. You, the Son, in meekness, jealous, Always, the Lady, before Him, with good boldness, you can pray: Hallelujah!

PRAYER TO THE HOLY VIRGIN

In obscurity, humbly In Nazareth You blossomed, In the midst of prayers, in solitude, Your life flowed peacefully. But God has blessed You with His Holy Right Hand, And He has destined the Meek Virgin to be the Heavenly Queen. The heavenly light shone on the unknown monastery. The celestial being came to you with joyful news. You listened to the good news with a troubled soul, but with humility you said: “The will of God be with Me!” Everything has come true - Your Porphyry, More beautiful than all earthly porphyries! Your Son is God, the Savior of the world! The world bowed before You! But you also endured many difficult trials! She was an accomplice to the Lord's sufferings! You prayed, you languished; But You did not burn with enmity towards the culprits of sorrows... You prayed for people!.. And now, remembering the hour of Your Dormition, We cry out: “Most Holy One, Intercede - have mercy on us!” There are many storms in the sea of ​​life! Among its angry waves, Without Your protection, our fragile boat will soon perish! Give us strength to resist the raging passions within us! Show us the path to salvation, To safe shores! Let us be taken by the grave, strangers to the world of vanity! Let me rest as You rested, And let me wake up where You are!..

BEFORE THE ICON OF THE HOLY ARCHISTRATIG MICHAEL

Supreme Leader and Voivode, Archangel of the Supreme Powers, And the warm Intercessor of the human race, Michael, Guardian of the Testament of God, And for warring spirits, a Thunderstorm and a fiery Warrior, And the prince of all angelic ranks! To you with a suffering soul I soar from the troubles of life and with a touching tear, Mystery of God, I say: “You see the pathetic waste of all my priceless gifts. The grace given to me by the Spirit, And the war with me of my enemies. From the days of infancy until now, my enemies have oppressed me, And I, both in thought and in deed, have already been plundered and crushed from them. Where is the path that leads us to God? There are no feelings with me, no good deeds, Serious sin - anxiety of passions, This is the path of all my paths! Driven by heartfelt delusion by the movement of my own passions, I was often a victim of corruption In the prime of my first young days. In the temptations of the demonic battle, I forgot to even think about taking the shield of Divine prayer and with it to gloriously defend the innocence of the heart, the holiness of feeling, that God gave everything to me in baptism, and I fell mortally from my own violence in that enemy battle! Enemies are pressing me... under their captivity I have been languishing all my life. And modestly, in an oppressed feeling, I pray to You, my Angel: You see, Angel, the evil enemy crushed me in the path of life. And I lost the lamp of eternal glory In the darkness of sin... And I was so captured by the demonic force, so tightly I was taken, That the heart of God stopped loving, Doesn’t want to listen, or even know His laws, commands, And only asks every moment Some sinful pleasures, Dreaming of finding happiness in them!.. What will happen to me when I again Give free rein to my heart, When I turn from the path of Christ into hell and demonic darkness? How then will I, from this life, appear in the bright Heaven and spiritually fly to the glory of the heavenly Fatherland without wings?.. I pray to you in contrition, the Ethereal Powers of the Archangel: protect me from falling Everywhere, in all my ways. Guard me from vice with your guardian wing, And, like a ray of the eternal East, Here be my lamp. When I hear the call from corruptible life, and the hour strikes, - To my soul, corrupted by sin, Then you will be both life and light; Shine an airy path for her to Heaven, Scatter the hostile regiments, Free the stuffy prisons And undecaying chains!.. Oh, let me see my desired paradise! Be my guide to him, and honor me with the light of glory, my angel!..”

AT THE CROSS

Oh, come, my weary, weary brother; Here, under the shadow of the Cross, there are no barriers for the heart. Rest your aching soul. You are tired, exhausted on the path of life; Your cross weighs you down, your heart aches in your chest, and you are overwhelmed by human malice. Don’t be sad, dear, let your soul be cold, At the foot of the Cross there is a lot of strength and warmth, A lot of affection, love, forgiveness. Oh, come quickly, here holy love calls the oppressed by fate, the dejected, and is ready to give relief to everyone. Let the mind be silent - come with love and make both Christ’s footstool, placing the burden of sorrow before Him. You are not without a heart, not without a look, my friend, So as not to see Christ - His Royal Face - Shedding a source of tears before Him. Surrender yourself entirely to Him, His will is strong, To lighten the earthly Cross, to take the burden from you, To strengthen your sick heart. Oh, will the Head under the crown of thorns, with this royal, blood-drenched face, not soften you with his power? Will not those ulcers of wounded hands reveal to you all the cruelty of those torments, How He suffered, dying for us? Will not the pierced heart of Christ teach us to suffer and endure to the end, trusting ourselves to His will? Look, He did not open His Divine lips, Because He loved so holy, so deeply, Subduing Himself to the will of the Father. Oh, come, my weary, weary brother; Here, under the shadow of the Cross, there are no barriers for the heart. Rest your aching soul.

REQUEST TO THE MOTHER

Mom, mom, what are you thinking? What do you want to create? Do you secretly want to destroy the blood fruit of your womb? Haven’t you ever heard about this, mother, that even the fetus was killed by you and is awaiting the Lord’s Judgment? In the bright day or secret night You will commit murder You will ruin me, mother And again you are in a hurry to sin. Know mom, I see everything. Even though I was ruined by you, But my living soul will meet you again. You lead my brothers and sisters by the hand. They are as bright as the sun, but you walk gloomy. You enter the Temple of the Lord, stand before the Lord, and look at the Savior with sad eyes. Your heart is troubled by sorrow, tears fill your eyes. You pray to God for the living, but never for me. I live in darkness without light In endless darkness, Mom, I am waiting for the Lord’s judgment And I am worried about you. For your sisters and brothers, you warm a candle to God, You give abundant alms to poor wanderers. You forgot about me and don’t want to remember, and show alms to a poor sufferer. Just think, my mother, That I lie dead: I see everything, I hear everything, But I cannot say. You brought my brothers and sisters into the world, baptized them, gave them communion, I don’t have a baptism. Listen, my mother, how the whole earth is crying. Like babies cry bitterly, complaining to God about you. Don’t think, my mother, that you will live forever, but death will come with a scythe to separate your soul from your body. Then, my mother, we will meet you. You will tell me with sorrow, with tears: “My son! Oh, how beautiful you are, Slender young man standing. Didn’t you really grow up here and talk to me like a murderer?” The son is ready to forgive the murder of his own mother, but the Lord will severely punish for the broken law. The Lord will strictly judge foolish mothers for killing their own children in their wombs. Without witnesses he will condemn you to endure eternal torment. It will be terrible to burn in a river of fire after death. Mom, mom, I cry, I grieve for your soul, Do not destroy your soul anymore, Have pity on your soul. Don’t teach all your sisters and brothers evil deeds, Because the time is near, The Time of the Last Judgment. Remember, Lord, all the nameless babies and baptize them in the sea of ​​Your bounties.

Source: https://agia-ksenia.kz/duhovnaya-poeziya/stihi-protoiereya-nikolaya-guryanova/

Elder Nikolai Guryanov - a true ascetic of Russian piety

Touch of the Savior...

Father Nikolai... What is the most important word in his life? What did the humble Elder and beloved disciple of Christ bequeath to us?

Repent and believe in the Gospel... This is the essence of the sermon of the saint, who had the gift of vision and knowledge of God and, from the abundance of Grace, repeated only one thing: “I am always with the Lord... I see and feel Him always... Believe in the Lord, undoubtedly, only the Orthodox Faith will save you in these scary times." And another very important thing: the priest lived according to the Gospel, having perfect faith in the Good News of Christ.

Nikolai Guryanov was the guardian of the purity of Orthodoxy as the inner Light in the soul of the people, he said that the Gospel is Heavenly Joy, announcing to man that evil has been crushed forever by the Savior of the world, and we all have strong hope of inheriting the Kingdom of Heaven. The last testament of Father Nicholas to all humanity: “Christ is Risen! Don’t lose Easter Joy!”

These words contain the entire life of Father and his lofty Theology. Hearing them, Schema-Archimandrite Simeon of the Glinsk Hermitage said: “This is what the great ascetic who found the Path could say.” And Elder Kirill (Pavlov) added: “In our last times, Elder Nikolai Guryanov is a lamp similar to Seraphim of Sarov.” Therefore, God works many miracles through the saint. One of the recent miracles: a young woman, who was in a deep coma, unconscious for two weeks, without any earthly hope of recovery, was completely healed by the placing on her of the stole and the cross of the righteous.

Father Nikolai was a true Elder. From experience we know that only a few, not all, can be elders, namely mentors. St. Ignatius Brianchaninov wrote: there are elders who, although they have achieved perfection in spiritual life, they cannot lead others according to God. Father Nikolai could, because he had the Grace of an experienced confessor from the Lord and preached the path of salvation, leading without wandering to the Kingdom of God. He said: “The Church of Christ is the Kingdom of God, and it, according to the word of the Savior, is within us, therefore a person needs to acquire Christ in the heart, and not engage in external piety.” To acquire Christ in the heart—this is what our father taught us. Rev. Simeon the New Theologian argued: you need to see God in order to preach Him. Father saw God... Nikolai Guryanov had a perfect mind, from the action of the Spirit, therefore he could give saving advice to the soul... But only to the one who wanted to hear.

Father Nicholas was a holy elder. A saint during earthly life... The Church calls a saint a person who has acquired the fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, mercy, faith, meekness, self-control - all this shone in the priest’s soul.

What is holiness? - asks Dionysius the Areopagite and answers: “This is freedom from all defilement and perfect, unsullied purity in all respects.” This is how the Elder was: without darkness. He completely oppressed himself and opened his heart to God, so that He would think for him, act through him, according to the word of the Apostle, - and the priest was honored with great Grace from Above and from then on was gifted with heartfelt prayer: “In childhood,” the Elder revealed to me, “Grace visited our home... The Queen of Heaven and the Savior appeared to me, unworthy... I saw the Lord, touched Him... The Lord took me tightly by the hand - and holds it to this day... Like this..." - with these words, the priest tightly squeezed my hand. The Savior touched the hand of the wondrous youth...

“Concerning touch, the Orthodox Church is faithful to its Founder, the Lord Jesus Christ,” writes St. Nikolai Serbsky. — Power is transmitted by touch, a person connects with Heaven. […] In His work of saving people, touch plays a major role. He touched the hand of the sick mother-in-law of the Apostle Peter - and the fever left her. He took Jairus’s dead daughter by the hand, and the girl was resurrected... When the blind men approached, He touched their eyes, and they began to see. To Peter, when he was drowning, He extended his hand and saved him...

Orthodox Christians constantly seek contact with God, and direct contact at that. There are two most significant: Communion and inner prayer...” (St. Nicholas of Serbia. Two hundred words about faith and love. P. 48-52). The ordination of priests occurs precisely from here - by the laying on of hands. How important it is to understand this exactly as the Church teaches, the holy Elder reminded us already from the Kingdom of Heaven.

Nikola the Merciful Myrrh-Streaming

On the fifth anniversary of the priest’s dormition, or rather a little earlier, at the beginning of the Dormition Fast, on the Origin of the Honest Trees of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, a new image of the holy Elder, a secret bishop in the schema of Nektarios, was painted, who was immediately named after the many miracles that happened from him and the abundant flow of myrrh “ Nikola the Merciful Myrrh-Streaming. This is a long-awaited and prayed-for icon, miraculous and Easter-joyful... The day itself is significant, on which the Lord blessed the appearance of the Life Icon, the theology of which is the bearing of the Cross to the Church. The prayer basis is “one is not saved - the one who is saved is saved in the Church”, in its entirety - earthly and heavenly.

This is the glorification of the great holiness of the persecuted and long-suffering Church, which did not deviate from the right faith and did not agree with the atheists, but joyfully submitted to torment and exile. This is a prayer to the Holy Confessors and, above all, to the Calvary of the Royal Sufferers. This is an icon of the Russian Orthodox Soul unbroken into wordless obedience to evil, in the center of which is the Crucifixion, and around it are the Royal Martyrs, the Heavenly Lilies, who flourished at Golgotha ​​in the snow-white vestments of Love. They are written as the Tsar’s Veil over the Russian land, a golden woven rainbow of reconciliation...

This is the worship of the Mother Church and her faithful son, the Royal Bishop, secret schema-bishop Nektarios, who went to camps and exile for Christ and the Tsar, who showed spiritual resistance to the Judases who are selling Christ and betraying Him to this day. This icon is our prayer for the Holy Church, which no obstacles delayed on the Way of the Cross. A Church that has not become dependent on the authorities and has preserved internal freedom, as the Holy Fathers bequeathed to us: “Let us not lose little by little, imperceptibly, the freedom that the Lord Jesus Christ, the liberator of all men, gave us through His Blood” (8 Canon 3 of the Ecumenical Council) .

Miracle from the icon

The painting of the icon for the Destruction of the Trees of the Cross became another evidence that man himself is unable to take even a small step without the blessing of Heaven, if it concerns God’s people and great saints. In such cases, St. Moscow Philaret noted: what was decided There, in Heaven, here on earth, cannot be canceled...

But on earth, some doubted and decided to cancel what the saints blessed from Heaven: on the second icon of the Life, the so-called. hagiographical mark, the Appearance of the Savior’s touch to the youth Nicholas had already been registered. The Lord held his hand, and he followed Him with the cross. The icon was blessed down to the smallest detail, and I prepared signatures for the stamps for the icon painter. While writing the corresponding words to this Appearance: “And the Lord appeared to him and said to him by the hand...” - suddenly I clearly heard the priest’s voice: “You are writing this, my dear, but it is no longer on the icon!” - immediately called the icon painter with the question: “Is the Lord holding the youth Nicholas by the hand?” - "No!" - came the embarrassed answer. “One priest came to me, saw what was written and said that it was not canonical: the Lord cannot touch sinful people, and I replaced the Lord with an Angel.” - “Not canonical?! And the image of the “Blessing of the Children,” the resurrection of Jairus’s daughter, Peter’s mother-in-law, the healing of lepers, the very testimony of the Elder?!” “Forgive me, mother, I will correct it, restore it as it was... This is a strong temptation,” the icon painter was upset, sincerely believing the priest.

Everyone understood that the temptation was allowed in order to reveal the greater glory of the priest’s holiness and strengthen in the faith that Father Nikolai instructs us, as in life, hears, sees everything we live and do, corrects mistakes and heals infirmities. The saints help us even when we know, but more often, as in this case, when we don’t even know. They are close by the Holy Spirit: they feel our heart, and we feel their closeness.

This is the first miracle from the Life Icon of St. Nicholas the Merciful Myrrh-Streaming. Father reminded us of the Lord’s covenant that we should not cease contact with Him, as St. writes. Nikolai Serbsky: “This is the New Testament of His Body and Blood. So that we may partake of Him and become parts of Him. So that they may join Him and be like Him” (Cit. ed. p.51)… This is the behest of Father Nicholas: “Be always with Christ… Believe in Him without doubt! Hold on to the Robes of the Savior and do not be slaves of man.”

About Divine Contemplation

God sends His Grace to a person not to the extent of his merits, but to the extent of the purity of his heart and readiness to accept Christ. God gave the Elder piercing insight and fiery prayer that scorched the spirits of evil. Everything about the priest was God’s. The pure heart of the prayer book had a special ability to see the souls of people. What really distinguished the priest was that he saw our souls at one glance. And not only the souls of the living on earth, but also those who have rested in Eternity, because souls are immortal... The fate of the missing people and the afterlife fate of the deceased was revealed to Nikolai Guryanov.

Rev. Nikon Optinsky reflects on three states in prayer. The first gift from the Lord in prayer is attention, the second is internal prayer and the highest state of spirit is prayer of vision: “The third gift is spiritual prayer. I can’t say anything about this prayer; here there is nothing earthly in a person anymore. True, man still lives on earth, walks on earth, sits, drinks, eats, but with his mind and thoughts he is entirely in God in Heaven. Some even discovered the ministries of the Angelic Orders. This prayer is the prayer of vision. Those who have achieved this prayer see spiritual objects. For example, the state of the human soul is the way we see sensory objects, as if in a painting. They already look with the eyes of the spirit, their spirit already looks. Whether they are constantly in the vision or only from time to time - I don’t know. They don’t talk about what they see, they rarely reveal their visions to others” (Jerom. Nikon (Belyaev). Diary of the last confessor of Optina Hermitage. St. Petersburg, 1994. P. 169).

This is exactly how I knew dear priest: truly saints rarely talk about their visions and contemplations, and this was how Father Nikolai was. But, thanks be to God! - they bless our gray, dull life with shining pearls of their personal achievement. The priest’s soul reflected Heaven, the saints of God, the Angelic world, and he occasionally opened the spiritual curtain of the unearthly world. At the time when the Lord vouchsafed me to be close to my father, especially in the last five years, he said more than once: “I am no longer earthly... I have not been here for a long time... But my head is all home, already at home”... The Elder called the Kingdom of Heaven home. . How often did the priest repeat, looking at our bustling world: “I don’t need anything anymore... I’ve been There for a long time... You all keep me on earth with prayer, but it’s time for me to go to Yours... The Tsar is waiting for me, the Empress, my mother...”

The soul of Nikolai Guryanov did not pray with prayer, but as Isaac the Syrian testifies to such states of the chosen righteous, he “felt with his senses the spiritual things of this age, exceeding human concepts, the understanding of which is possible only by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

One day the priest was suddenly asked by people who came in: “What were you doing just now?” “The elder raised his eyes in surprise, for the question was strange, and answered: “I pray... I always pray.”

Council of Saints

Elder Nikolai Guryanov was a saint whom Heaven heard. I will tell you a miraculous incident based on the priest’s prayers and our faith in his holiness. The year was 2001. We sat in our cell and reflected on the prophecies of Elder Aristoclius of Athos that we had read about the last times of the world: “Now we are experiencing the pre-tichrist time. The Judgment of God over the living has begun, and there will not be a single country on earth, not a single person who will not be affected by this. It started with Russia, and then further... And Russia will be saved... […]

But first, God will take away all the leaders so that the Russian people will look only to Him. Everyone will abandon Russia, other powers will abandon it, leaving it to its own devices. This is so that the Russian people trust in the Lord’s help. You will hear that riots will begin in other countries and things like that in Russia, and you will hear about wars, and there will be wars - now, the time is near. Do not be afraid of anything, the Lord will show His wonderful mercy. The end will be through China. There will be some kind of unusual explosion, and a miracle of God will appear. And life will be completely different on earth, but not for very long. The Cross of Christ will shine over the whole world, because our Motherland will be magnified and will be like a beacon in the darkness for everyone.”

The impending evil through the Chinese dragon troubled the mind. We remembered other prophecies of the universal saints about the yellow race, which, like a giant avalanche, will fall on the world with hatred and swallow everyone. The experiences resulted, as always, in a prayer to the priest: “Father! What should we do to stop the Chinese invasion?” — The father’s quiet answer: “Everyone, the whole world, needs to beg the Royal Martyrs to intercede for us. They are waiting for our prayers. Remember where They suffered, where Their bones were burned into ashes.”

The Elder’s answer stirred consciousness: the Urals are the land of ancient sacrificial cults, next to the lands of the dragon. And again the quiet words of the father sounded: “The Blood of the Royal Sacrifice cries out to Heaven and will stand as an Indestructible Wall for evil. They won’t get through it... They disappeared into our little land.” My heart sank with bitterness and pain that the Royal relics were destroyed by fanatics: “If there were relics, we would carry them along our land to stop China...

But there are no royal relics!” — Father shook his head sadly and crossed himself: “What should I do?!” My precious ones! They are Great Saints, Satan himself hated them terribly because They crushed his power. How They were tortured and destroyed, and how we were and will be tortured for the Tsar!” - And again quietly, in the depths of his heart, he added: “But the relics of the Martyr Elizabeth have been preserved.” - “Father! What if you ask the Church Abroad for the right hand of Elizabeth Feodorovna and encircle it in a procession of the cross?! She would become a shield!” - Father nodded approvingly and remarked: “But first you need to ask her what she thinks, it’s impossible without this”...

Some time has passed. In the evening, before going to bed, the priest suddenly said: “I talked to Elizaveta Fedorovna. She doesn’t mind, she blessed... You can ask the Church Abroad for her power for prayer and strengthening in Russia.”

Council of Saints... Close contact between the heavenly and the earthly, the soul of a saint in the Church Triumphant and the soul of a righteous man living in the flesh on earth. This is how Heaven hears the prayers of saints and the petitions of sinners...

In the evening of the same day, we called a man for whom the word of the Elder was holy and immutable. Alexey Alekseevich Senin, a warrior of the Russian Messenger, with the blessing of Father Nicholas, compiled a petition and sent it to His Eminence Vladyka Laurus... With the blessing from Above, the earthly mechanism turned on - letters, negotiations, everything in a row. Time passed... The Lord called Father Nicholas to His Heavenly Villages in 2002, and in 2004 the blessed right hand of the Venerable Martyr Elizabeth was brought to Russia, before whom the faithful prayed with reverence and love... Not by our will, but by our fervent prayer to the Lord and faith in His saints.

Tears of the Elder

“Now the Church and Russia are ill. The essence of the disease,” the priest lamented, “is that we are deprived of the deep strengthening Grace pouring out on the Sacred Head of the Anointed One of God, and through Him, on our subjects, on all of Russia.” “The Anointed One, who governs us with special assistance from the Holy Spirit, the Anointed One, through whom God Himself governs us,” - this is how St. taught. Macarius of Moscow. The famous canonist of the Orthodox Church, Balsamon: “The power and activity of the Emperor extends to both the soul and the body of his subjects, while the Patriarch is only a spiritual shepherd.” “Such is the power of the Tsar’s charisma!” - reminded the gracious Elder.

“All the reasons for our troubles are in the conciliar sin of betrayal of the Tsar from the Romanov Family and in allowing the ritual slaughter of the ancient Sanhedrin of the Royal Family by the fanatics, the unrepentance of hearts for the evil committed.”

The priest considered one of the main troubles to be a misunderstanding of the nature of Autocracy. Especially the clergy. With contrition of heart he said that the Church, the guardian of the Royal Grace of Confirmation, did not protect the Tsar and remained silent, most of the clergy renounced and betrayed. There was no fortitude to stop the ancient Sanhedrin, and our land was stained with rivers of blood. The rebellion against the Holy Anointed One was not condemned on behalf of the Church. They remained silent... “And now,” the Elder remarked bitterly, “everyone must bear penance...

Especially the clergy. Redemptive penance for the rejection of the Tsar... And if it were not for the Passion of the Cross of the Royal Family - who knows what would have happened to all of us, to the Russian Church..." Constantly returning in conversations to the general falling away from the Faith, he said: "But one cannot think that Rus' has lost strong Faith in God through the fault of some one person or group of people, the guilt is common to all, we all suffer... Most of all, the clergy was to blame for this, the priesthood, which, having forgotten about Heavenly, clung to the earth... They allowed the atheist sages to commit lawlessness both over the people and over the King.”

The elder deeply revered those shepherds who laid down their souls for the Tsar and the Royal Power. And especially - the Martyr for Christ and the Elder King of God Gregory, who brought all of himself to the foot of the Royal Cross. “If all the clergy understood the height and holiness of the service of the Sovereign and the Tsarina, then they would not torment and incriminate Gregory, but would pray to God, as he did - for Tsarist Rus', for Tsarevich Alexy... But envy, bitterness, ignorance gave way to Satan tempt the hearts - and they did the unheard of: they tortured the holy Elder, burned him, and many priests rejoiced and rejoiced. And now it’s no better than before... How much evil and hatred the clergy has towards Gregory, and what did he do to them?! What destruction of Russia by the man of God Gregory are they talking about? - This is something stupid and abnormal. Whoever does not pray, Gregory will not reveal himself to him. He was a Prophet... And from Sacred history we know what happens to a people if he kills a Prophet... And think, what kind of people killed their Prophets?! “So the same sages tortured Gregory”...

The Elder lamented: “The people are sleeping, the clergy is sleeping. Only the Church can reveal and testify in these apocalyptic times to the Truth about the Tsar and the Royal Family.” Father said: the devil’s nets have been thrown into the church fence - non-recognition and rejection of the Royal Power (even while glorifying, they uttered blasphemy: “By canonizing the Tsar, we are not canonizing the Royal Power”). Decreasing veneration of the Royal Sufferers, often coming from the clergy. Misunderstanding of the spiritual Cross of Royal torment not only for Rus', but for the whole world. The rebellion against the veneration of the Tsar is an invention by the Judaizing heretics of the terrible concept of “tsar-gods,” to which the Elder menacingly said: “Reverence for the Tsar and the Royal Authority is the Gospel commandment, which is given to all Christians, and it is a sin to violate it. Condemning God's Anointed is a sin against the Lord. For this there may be a terrible punishment from God for the Church” (this is especially true for the ongoing blasphemy against the First Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible).

Ways of salvation

“Whoever loves the Tsar and Russia loves God” is the testament of the Holy Elder Nicholas.

“Without true repentance there is no true glorification,” said the Elder. “The Lord will not grant Russia a Tsar until we truly repent for allowing the infidels to denigrate and ritually torture the Royal Family.” There must be spiritual awareness."

“Prayer to Tsar Nicholas is the spiritual shield of Russia. He has the great power of God against the devil's servants. The demons are terribly afraid of the Tsar,” said the Elder. Father gave his blessing to pray to the First Autocrat Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible. He forbade blaspheming, condemning, and speaking impudently about any Tsar - all this is a sign of impurity of heart. You cannot listen or read lies about the holy Kings and people in general - this leads to darkening of the mind. The eye of the soul becomes cloudy and does not see the Truth.

“If you hear that someone is blaspheming Tsar Ivan the Terrible, immediately ask the Lord to forgive this person. There could be a terrible punishment for him! He can die without repentance!” The elder left a spiritual testament: love for the Church of God, prayer for the granting of a Tsar to Russia, love for the earthly Fatherland - everything that leads to the Heavenly Fatherland.

It is necessary to restore true loyalty in oneself and turn to God so that the King will be revealed to us, imbued with proper church consciousness. He blessed the prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, through the prayers of the Royal Martyrs, have mercy on us sinners and save the Russian land.”

To perform religious processions with the Sacred Name of the Tsar and the entire Royal Family - for this is great power.

The clergy should educate the people about the great Redemptive Sacrifice of the Tsar, and be sure to remember it on all holidays.

The King's Redemptive Sacrifice

“The sacrifice of Tsar Nicholas,” said the priest, “a complete co-crucifixion with Christ, a sacrifice for Holy Rus'.” It is necessary to comprehend the greatness of the Tsar’s Sacrifice; it is exceptional for the Russian Church. The great Elder of the Russian Land Nicholas constantly cried about this Sacrifice and begged for forgiveness, and the Lord revealed to the priest that He had mercy on Russia, had already had mercy, and the Russian people were forgiven - for the Redemptive Golgotha ​​of the Holy Tsar...

“The Holy King did not renounce; He has no sin of renunciation. He acted like a true Christian, a humble Anointed One of God. We need to bow down at His feet for His mercy towards us sinners. It was not He who denied, but He who was rejected.”

“The sword of a terrible war constantly hangs over Russia, and only the prayer of the Holy Tsar Nicholas averts the wrath of God from us. We must ask the Tsar so that there is no war. He loves and pities Russia. If you only knew how He cries for us there!”

The Blessed Elder spoke about what was seen through the eyes of a soul purified by suffering. The angelic world, the world of dark spirits, was clearly seen by his eye. It was unbearably painful to hear the Elder’s revelations about the bloody torment of the Royal Angels: he said that the Children were tortured in front of the speechless holy Sufferers, the Royal Youth was especially tortured... The Queen did not utter a word. The Emperor turned white all over. Father cried: “Lord! What did they do to them all! Worse than any torment! The angels could not mature! The angels wept over what they had done to Them! The earth wept and shook...

There was darkness... They tortured them, chopped them up with terrible axes and burned them, and drank the ashes... With tea... They drank and laughed... And they suffered themselves. The names of those who did this are not open... We don’t know them... They did not love and do not love Russia, they have satanic malice... Damned Jews... After all, they drank their Holy Blood... They drank and were afraid to be sanctified: after all, the Royal Blood is Holy... It is necessary pray to the Holy Sufferer, cry, beg to forgive everyone... We don’t know their names... But the Lord knows everything! “(01/25/2000)

The priest testified, and his word is sacred: “There are no royal remains!” They were burned at one time.” - Then he added sternly: - Keep the Truth that is necessary in Eternity. Got it? This is the main thing!” — Later he explained: “Tsar Nicholas, out of great love for Russia and man, humiliated himself, suffered, suffered, and went to the Cross. He forgave everyone, even the fiendish tormentors, the accursed murderers... But God will not forgive us if we value His suffering at nothing, we tell lies and listen to Satan the murderer...

It is he who pours the poison of lies into the minds and hearts of poor people... And those who believe the slanderer and go against the Tsar, do evil with false remains - their fate is terrible in Eternity! God forbid! You can't believe lies! They burned them - and drank the ashes... How much evil is in the world, how much evil is in man... Keep that Truth that is necessary in Eternity - Our King is a great saint, He is with the Lord in ineffable Glory... The King has been given enormous power over the world... And who raised his hand against the Tsar, know that such a person entered into an agreement with the devil himself... Such people will be excommunicated from the Love of God in Eternity!”

Elder Nicholas about the Honest Royal Heads: “They were beheaded, not only the Tsar, but all the Martyrs, and taken away... At one time they were in the Kremlin. God knows, maybe even in the mausoleum... They did such things to them that God forbid even speak! Flour! Iniquity! Damned satanic mockery... It’s better to remain silent and cry about this... Demon dancing.”

“In every sorrow, misfortune or joy, sing the Akathist to the Sweetest Jesus, the Savior of the world. He will protect your soul and instill in it the joy and hope of salvation. If you knew how much the Lord loves everyone, you would never despair or sin.”

“Look every day in the mirror of God’s Commandments... If you have sinned, repent and believe that the Holy Spirit has only one thought - to pluck us from damnation and save us... Especially honor your parents, for honoring your parents, the Lord will extend your earthly life into Eternal Life.”

“Keep unshakable courage in the Faith. Never be afraid to be firm in everything that concerns our religion: be clear about what we believe and what we profess. If you have to go to torment for our Lord Jesus Christ, joyfully say, making the sign of the cross: I believe, Lord, and confess that You are truly the Christ, the Son of the Living God, who came into the world to save sinners, from whom I am the first.”

The ax lies at the root of the tree

In 2001, the priest said: “Satan is skipping, there are demons all around... We must fast, pray and repent.” Before the blessed Dormition, he blessed the publication of his favorite cell icon, the lithograph “The Last Judgment of God. The Second Coming of Christ” and asked that she be in every Temple. He revered this image so much that we call it “Father’s Icon”... He also blessed the publication of the book “The Last Judgment of God. Vision of Gregory, a disciple of our holy and God-bearing father Basil the New of Constantinople,” saying: “This is exactly how the Last Judgment of God will take place. Every person on earth should have this book.” In the “Monastic Catechism” of Jeremiah the Recluse there is a conversation between the Elder and the Novice.

Elder: “Having received my permission to walk through the garden and walking in it, what did you see there?”

Novice: “I saw a gardener, after a long and vain wait for fruit, cutting off a barren and worthless apple tree in order to throw it out of the garden... I ask you to explain... any truth pertaining to our salvation.”

Elder: “As a gardener cuts down a barren tree, so the Judgment of God comprehends and strikes an unrepentant sinner.”

Novice: “Doesn’t the barren, cut tree that I saw represent the fate of the whole world of the future?”

Elder: “Yes, it reminds us of the World and Last Judgment of God. The Lord is long-suffering to wicked and unrepentant sinners, just as He was long-suffering to the wicked who lived before the flood; but when he sees that there is no repentance in sinners... the world stubbornly stands in its wickedness, then unexpectedly, like lightning, the Judge Christ the Lord will appear, and the trumpet will sound, calling the living and the dead to the Judgment of Christ.”

Beginner: “What lesson or instruction does a tree that is not fruitful when cut down impart?”

Elder: “Looking at him and remembering him, repeat to yourself often: my soul, the ax already lies at the root of the tree. Will you, barren one, escape this beating?.. It is very pleasing to my heart that your walk in the garden brought to your mind several new and useful thoughts. And henceforth, do not be a simple and meaningless spectator of visible objects that you encounter, but always try to ascend with your thoughts from the visible to the invisible, from the earthly to the Heavenly. From material to spiritual! “It is not only Heaven that tells the glory of God, but every creature under heaven can teach and instruct us.”

Power of love

When people love and glorify saints, the Lord rejoices. Rev. Silouan of Athos said: “God is glorified in the saints, and the saints are glorified by God”... But not only we, people who love the gracious Elder Nicholas glorify him, the priest is glorified by the world created by the Lord - the heavens, lake water, trees and flowers, birds and animals. God wants the heart of man to return to Him, to learn to see in earthly phenomena a reflection of the spiritual Heaven, the Kingdom of Heaven. The Hagiography of St. Nicholas the Merciful Myrrh-Streaming revealed a lot... He immediately spoke to us. I mentioned the first miracle from the icon. The Lord showed the second miracle when we were traveling to the Island. The servant of God Galina called: her baby granddaughter had an accident - a severe concussion. Faith in the saint’s help was undeniable - we attached a note to the icon with the girl’s name - and she was completely healed!

All the saints had the aroma of holiness during their lifetime, and the soul of the unforgettable priest also smelled fragrant. Nowadays the icon subtly exudes myrrh all the time. During the consecration of the image, a strong fragrance filled the Temple, the air became thick and dense, like that heavenly fog that enveloped the Island during the dormition of the righteous. The fragrance of paradise emanated from the humble prayer book during his lifetime, the fragrance of paradise exudes from his icon. On the day of the Transfiguration, when the islanders, simple sincere souls, children of the priest, entered the cell and saw the miraculous image, someone exclaimed: “Father! Angel!" - and the icon poured myrrh abundantly.

Streams of myrrh flowed from the Elder’s mouth; it flowed in large drops, like diamonds, into the reliquary and covered the entire flesh of the icon... It breathed heavenly dew. Everyone felt the fragrance of the love of a spiritual father who did not leave us. They knew that the priest sees how the Church suffers from the Pharisees and Sadducees... I always keep his words in my heart: “Love forgives a lot, everything is forgiven by love... Don’t cry, the Lord washed away the sins of the whole world not with tears, but with Blood”...

We saw how the priest hears our prayers and has the power from God to help us, anyone whose heart has not hardened will tell about this. No one dared to stand in front of the holy image, they prayed on their knees... We believe and know for certain that the priest, who had such great Grace from the Lord during his life, is undoubtedly holy after his dormition. He sees how wolves in sheep's clothing distort and torment our Faith, sowing the tares of despondency, hopelessness, indifference and Jewish fear. Father still embraces with his love the whole world, our Holy Church, each of us, calling everyone to Christ. He stretches out his blessing palms and pours Light onto our mind, darkened by the shouts of the hypocritical elders of the Sanhedrin.

He denounces these Judases because they commit a crime against the Love of God: “Under the guise of the law, they rob and oppress the people and reject truth, mercy and faith. These are those whom God hinders and Christ annoys, and they act craftily to lead the people away from God, and they crucify Christ. These are the greatest enemies of the people who persecute and kill their true friends. Christ placed them lower than harlots and tax collectors, saying to the Pharisees: “Truly I say to you, tax collectors and harlots go ahead of you into the Kingdom of God” (St. Nicholas of Serbia. Cited ed. p. 123). Praying before the image of St. Nicholas the Merciful Myrrh-Streaming One, you understand to the depths of your heart the words of the Gospel: Come to Me, and I will give you rest...

apple tree

The Holy Martyr Queen Alexandra wrote: “We must not forget that the Redemption of humanity came to us with the Cross of the Son of God. The fruits of earthly suffering may taste bitter, but only they feed the human soul. An ancient legend tells how the Crown of Thorns lay on the Altar throughout Holy Week, but on Easter morning it was found transformed into a wreath of fragrant roses; every thorn turned into a rose. So the crowns of earthly suffering in the warmth of Divine Love turn into gardens of roses.”

The father’s heart, which endured so much suffering for everyone, was a heavenly garden during his lifetime. He had everyone planted in his merciful fatherly heart, and upon glorification by God, he showered us with fragrant roses from Heaven: on the fifth anniversary of the Dormition, we carried the icon of St. Nicholas the Merciful around the Island in a Procession of the Cross. The icon case was decorated with a wreath of fresh flowers. As soon as we left the Cross, where the holy relics of the Elder rest, roses began to quietly fall at our feet... One at a time... All the way... A touch of Love... We loved and love the priest with all our soul, mind and heart, as the Lord commanded us to love our neighbor, and no one cannot learn love unless the Holy Spirit touches the heart. Father loved and loves us meekly, without reproach, all of us - with the love that Christ showed to the world. This is not temporary, external love, but internal, eternal... The merciful father strewn our path not with thorns, but with roses...

The royal image sanctified and protected our path home to Moscow. In Bogorodsk we visited the priest’s spiritual children, it was August 30, 2007. The car with the icon in the back seat stopped quietly near a withered apple tree, which was planted in the spring, but it never took root in six months. Rare helpless brownish-withered leaves, never opening from their buds, looked pitifully at the world. There was no breath of life in them.

We overshadowed the house and everything around with the miraculous image of the Elder - and set off further on our journey. The next morning, the withered apple tree blossomed and produced many inflorescences! The dying buds were waiting for contact with Love, with God. In the warmth of the blessed rays from the holy icon of St. Nicholas the Merciful, in the month of August, a dry tree, contrary to the laws of nature, was covered with young bright green foliage and produced flowers... The Fruits of the Love of St. Father Nicholas...