Paisiy Velichkovsky - life and biography of the elder, works, letters and messages, veneration and days of remembrance

St. Paisiy (Velichkovsky). Lifetime portrait

Paisiy (Velichkovsky)
(1722 - 1794), archimandrite of the Nyametsky monastery, Venerable Memory of November 15, in the Councils of the Moldavian and Poltava (Ukr.) saints, as well as the Athos monks, the Russian venerable Svyatogortsy and the venerable collivad fathers of Athos (Greek)

Born in 1722 in the city of Poltava in the family of an archpriest, at the age of 17 he entered the Lyubech Monastery, moved to the Treistena monastery in Moldova, and from there to the Kerkul monastery, which was distinguished by its particularly strict monastic life.

Then the monk moved to Athos, where he founded a special monastic community - the skete of St. Elijah. In 1758 he was ordained to the priesthood.

In 1763, the Monk Paisius with 64 monks moved back to Moldavia, at the request of the local ruler, for a better organization of monastic life in this country and was appointed abbot of the Dragomirna monastery. In three years, the number of the Dragomirn brethren tripled. The organizer of the brotherhood, Father Paisius, wrote and introduced a charter according to the order of Sts. Basil the Great, Theodosius the Great, Theodore the Studite and Mount Athos. The main ideas of this charter: non-covetousness, cutting off the will and obedience, mental prayer and reading books, constant handicraft and household decorum (model hospital, hospice, church arts, etc.).

The land on which the Dragomirn Monastery was located, after the Russian-Turkish War in 1774, went to Roman Catholic Austria. Abba Paisius, not seeing the possibility of spiritual peace for the Orthodox in the new state, decided to leave and take with him the entire brethren - 350 people. Hospodar Gregory Ghika and Metropolitan Gabriel of Moldova provided them with the poor Sekul monastery, secluded in the mountains, in honor of the Beheading of John the Baptist. When the brethren multiplied and the Monk Paisius began to ask for help in building a cell, he was ordered to move with the brethren to the richest Nyametsky monastery, which he did in 1779, leaving part of the brethren in Sekule.

St. Paisiy (Velichkovsky). Lifetime portrait

The Monk Paisios arranged life in the Nyametsky monastery in the image of Dragomirna and Sekula - community life, mental prayer, correspondence and reading of patristic books, daily (morning and evening) confession of thoughts to confessors.
The saint's flock multiplied; there were monks of more than 10 nationalities, and by 1790 their number had increased to 10 thousand people. At that time it was the most populous monastery of the Orthodox Church. In 1790, the Monk Paisius was elevated to the rank of archimandrite, continuing to minister to Sekul and other surrounding monasteries and monasteries. Throughout the entire period of his senile labors in the Moldavian monasteries, Abba Paisius taught the brethren mental prayer, continuing the single line of the Fathers of the Philokalia, St. Gregory of Sinaite, St. Gregory Palamas and St. Nilus of Sor. The Monk Paisius cited numerous proofs and testimonies of the patristic veneration of mental prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me,” which is both prayer and confession of faith. “Mental-heart prayer is for the successful, for the average - singing, that is, ordinary church hymns, for beginners - obedience and work,” the elder taught.

The old man’s difficult life was coming to its earthly end. Having been ill before his death, he reposed in peace on November 15, 1794, having lived 72 years. The Monk Paisius was buried in the Nyametsky monastery in the cathedral church of the Ascension of the Lord.

His translations from Greek into Slavic of the patristic works, which for a long time were the only ones in Slavic literature, were read everywhere. Thus, he published: “Philokalia”, the works of St. Isaac the Syrian, St. Theodore the Studite, “Answers” of St. Barsanuphius and John, St. Gregory Palamas, St. Maximus the Confessor, “Enraptured Classes” - a collection of the works of St. John Chrysostom and much more.

St. Paisius is the revivalist in Rus', after St. Sergius, of the school of eldership, which throughout the 19th century and later bore its blessed fruits in the field of saving the children of the church in the Glinskaya and Optina hermitages and other monasteries of the Russian Church.

Life

The amazing life of St. Paisius Velichkovsky, who, as an ascetic of Orthodoxy, created his own monastic school.

Venerable Paisiy Velichkovsky

It must also be taken into account that the external vicissitudes of the life of a saint are fully consistent with the Orthodox canon of the lives of saints. But at the same time, he is the founder of a school of his own monastic practice.

Paisiy was born in Poltava in 1722 and his worldly name is Peter, his birthday is celebrated on December 21.
His ancestors up to his great-great-grandfather were clergy who served in the Assumption Church in Poltava.
When Peter was four years old, his father and brother died, the boy was left in the care of his mother, whose name was Irina.
At the age of 13, Peter entered the Kyiv Theological Academy, here the future elder Paisiy Velichkovsky studied for four years, and then, tormented by a thirst for monastic achievement, he retired to the Lyubech Monastery, where he took the position of cellarer. After he was severely punished by the abbot of the monastery, he secretly left the monastery
Peter ended up in the Medvedovsky Monastery, where in 1741 he was tonsured into the ryassophore with the name Plato. After the monastery was closed by the authorities of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Plato retired to the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.

Having accepted the first part of monastic tonsure, the monk Plato left the Lavra in search of a spiritual mentor. In his travels, he reached Wallachia or modern Moldavia, visited the monasteries: Dolgoutsi, Treisteni, Codriza, Kyrnul. But even here he did not find a spiritual mentor.

Book by Paisius Velichkovsky

After this, he went to Athos, however, he could not find a mentor and lived alone in complete poverty for four years. Finally, in 1750, he was tonsured a monk with the name that is known to everyone - Paisius.

Interesting fact! All ancestors of St. Paisiya, right up to his great-great-grandfather, were part of the clergy of the Assumption Cathedral in Poltava, and always remained faithful to Orthodoxy. The saint's mother became a monk, and from his childhood he was distinguished by such humility and silence that some considered him dumb.

In subsequent times, the life of Paisius Velichkovsky completely reveals new facets and heights in the life of the saint.

The saint's lifestyle, his very personality, attracted many. Novices and monks began to come to him who wanted to be under his spiritual guidance, and in 1758 he was ordained to the rank of hieromonk, with the preliminary passage of the path of hierodeacon.
After the number of brethren increased, Paisiy moved to the Elias monastery, which later became a stronghold of the Ukrainian diaspora on Athos.
Here he began collecting Greek manuscripts containing the works of the holy fathers of the Orthodox Church, which he intended to translate into the Slavic language.
He collected a huge number of manuscripts, which his students partly rewrote and partly acquired in the original. But due to the oppression of the Turks, St. Paisiy Velichkovsky returns to Moldova, where he settles with his disciples in the Dragomir Monastery.

Politically, Moldova was an exceptional phenomenon. She was in a tributary, but semi-independent relationship with Turkey, could resist the Catholic West and not submit to the despotic power of the Russian emperors. This was a short period in the history of Moldova, but it was precisely this that allowed the monasteries, founded with the blessing of St. Paisius Velichkovsky, to reach their peak.

During this period, the saint translated many saints into the Slavic language and, above all, translated the encyclopedia of monastic life and a guide to the pious life of the laity “Philokalia”.

In 1774, after Russia's victory over Turkey, the territory on which the Paisiya monastery was located went to Austria-Hungary. And the elder himself, together with 150 of his faithful spiritual children, moved to the Sekul monastery, located on lands under the protection of the Russian Empire. And then in 1779 he found his permanent place of residence in the Nyametsky monastery, where the brethren with his arrival increased to 1,500 people.

Neamets Monastery in Romania

In this monastery, until his death, the saint continued his translations of the holy fathers.

Excerpt characterizing Paisiy Velichkovsky

Bonaparte's adjutant galloped at full speed with this menacing letter to Murat. Bonaparte himself, not trusting his generals, moved with his entire guard to the battlefield, fearing to miss the ready victim, and Bagration’s 4,000-strong detachment, cheerfully laying fires, dried, warmed up, cooked porridge for the first time after three days, and none of the people in the detachment knew and did not think about what lay ahead of him. At four o'clock in the evening, Prince Andrei, having insisted on his request from Kutuzov, arrived in Grunt and appeared to Bagration. Bonaparte's adjutant had not yet arrived at Murat's detachment, and the battle had not yet begun. Bagration's detachment knew nothing about the general course of affairs; they talked about peace, but did not believe in its possibility. They talked about the battle and also did not believe that the battle was close. Bagration, knowing Bolkonsky to be a beloved and trusted adjutant, received him with special superiority and condescension, explained to him that there would probably be a battle today or tomorrow, and gave him complete freedom to be with him during the battle or in the rearguard to observe the retreat order , “which was also very important.” “However, today, probably, there will be no business,” said Bagration, as if reassuring Prince Andrei. “If this is one of the ordinary staff dandies sent to receive a cross, then he will receive a reward in the rearguard, and if he wants to be with me, let him... come in handy, if he is a brave officer,” thought Bagration. Prince Andrei, without answering anything, asked the prince’s permission to go around the position and find out the location of the troops so that, in case of an assignment, he would know where to go. The officer on duty of the detachment, a handsome man, smartly dressed and with a diamond ring on his index finger, who spoke poor but willing French, volunteered to escort Prince Andrei. From all sides one could see wet officers with sad faces, as if they were looking for something, and soldiers dragging doors, benches and fences from the village. “We can’t, prince, get rid of these people,” said the headquarters officer, pointing to these people. - The commanders are disbanding. But here,” he pointed to the sutler’s pitched tent, “they will huddle and sit. This morning I kicked everyone out: look, it’s full again. We must drive up, prince, to scare them. One minute. “Let’s stop by and I’ll take some cheese and a roll from him,” said Prince Andrei, who had not yet had time to eat. - Why didn’t you say anything, prince? I would offer my bread and salt. They got off their horses and went under the sutler's tent. Several officers with flushed and exhausted faces sat at tables, drinking and eating. “Well, what is this, gentlemen,” said the staff officer in a tone of reproach, like a man who has already repeated the same thing several times. - After all, you can’t go away like that. The prince ordered that no one should be there. Well, here you are, Mr. Staff Captain,” he turned to the small, dirty, thin artillery officer, who, without boots (he gave them to the sutler to dry), wearing only stockings, stood in front of those who entered, smiling not entirely naturally. - Well, don’t you feel ashamed, Captain Tushin? - the staff officer continued, - it seems like you should set an example as an artilleryman, but you are without boots. They will sound the alarm, and you will look very good without boots. (The staff officer smiled.) Please go to your places, gentlemen, that’s it, that’s it,” he added in a commanding manner. Prince Andrey involuntarily smiled, looking at Captain Tushin’s staff. Silently and smiling, Tushin, shifting from bare foot to foot, looked questioningly with large, intelligent and kind eyes, first at Prince Andrei, then at the officer’s headquarters. “The soldiers say: when you understand, you become more dexterous,” said Captain Tushin, smiling and timid, apparently wanting to switch from his awkward position to a humorous tone. But he had not yet finished speaking when he felt that his joke was not accepted and did not come out. He was embarrassed. “Please leave,” said the staff officer, trying to maintain his seriousness. Prince Andrei looked again at the figure of the artilleryman. There was something special about her, not at all military, somewhat comic, but extremely attractive. The staff officer and Prince Andrey mounted their horses and rode on. Having left the village, constantly overtaking and meeting walking soldiers and officers of different commands, they saw to the left, reddening with fresh, newly dug up clay, fortifications under construction. Several battalions of soldiers wearing only their shirts, despite the cold wind, swarmed around these fortifications like white ants; From behind the shaft, unseen, shovels of red clay were constantly being thrown out. They drove up to the fortification, examined it and moved on. Just beyond the fortification they came across several dozen soldiers, constantly changing and running away from the fortification. They had to hold their noses and start their horses at a trot in order to ride out of this poisoned atmosphere. “Voila l'agrement des camps, monsieur le prince, [This is the pleasure of the camp, prince," said the officer on duty. They rode out to the opposite mountain. The French were already visible from this mountain. Prince Andrei stopped and began to examine. “Here is our battery,” said the headquarters officer, pointing to the highest point, “that same eccentric who was sitting without boots; You can see everything from there: let's go, prince. “I humbly thank you, I’ll travel alone now,” said Prince Andrei, wanting to get rid of the officer’s staff, “please don’t worry.” The staff officer fell behind, and Prince Andrei went alone. The further he moved forward, closer to the enemy, the more orderly and cheerful the appearance of the troops became. The greatest disorder and despondency was in that convoy in front of Znaim, which Prince Andrei drove around in the morning and which was ten miles from the French. Grunt also felt some anxiety and fear of something. But the closer Prince Andrei came to the chain of the French, the more self-confident the appearance of our troops became. Soldiers in greatcoats stood lined up in a row, and the sergeant major and the company commander were counting people out, poking a finger in the chest of the soldier on the outermost section and ordering him to raise his hand; scattered throughout the space, the soldiers dragged firewood and brushwood and built booths, laughing and talking merrily; Dressed and naked people sat around the fires, drying shirts and tucks, or mending boots and overcoats, and crowded around the boilers and cooks. In one company, lunch was ready, and the soldiers with greedy faces looked at the smoking cauldrons and waited for the sample, which the captain brought in a wooden cup to the officer sitting on a log opposite his booth. In another, happier company, since not everyone had vodka, the soldiers stood in a crowd around a pockmarked, broad-shouldered sergeant-major, who, bending a barrel, poured into the lids of the mannequins, which were placed one by one. The soldiers with pious faces brought the manners to their mouths, knocked them over and, rinsing their mouths and wiping themselves with the sleeves of their greatcoats, walked away from the sergeant-major with cheerful faces. All the faces were so calm, as if everything was happening not in sight of the enemy, before a task where at least half of the detachment had to remain in place, but as if somewhere in their homeland, waiting for a calm stop. Having passed the Jaeger regiment, in the ranks of the Kyiv grenadiers, brave people engaged in the same peaceful affairs, Prince Andrei, not far from the tall, different from the other booth of the regimental commander, ran into the front of a platoon of grenadiers, in front of which lay a naked man. Two soldiers held him, and two waved flexible rods and struck him rhythmically on his bare back. The person being punished screamed unnaturally. The fat major walked in front of the front and, without ceasing and not paying attention to the shouting, said:

Rev. Paisiy Velichkovsky. Traditions of hesychasm in Russia

Life

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Excerpt characterizing Paisiy Velichkovsky