Proceedings
- “Biblical history of the Old and New Testaments” (part 1. M., 1875)
- “Essays from the biblical history of the Old Testament” (part 1. M., 1895; vol. 2. Yuriev, 1910).
- “Spiritual conversations delivered in the Moscow Archangel Cathedral in 1896-1902” (Moscow, 1910)
- "Sunday Gospels. Collection of sermons" (Moscow, 1910)
- “Great Lent. Spiritual teachings" (Moscow, 1910; republished: Moscow, 1997)
- “Spiritual Teachings” (Moscow, 1911).
- “Letters to Ekaterina Mikhailovna and to Father Archimandrite. Serapion Mashkin" (Theological Bulletin. 1914. No. 6. p. 327-350, No. 7/8. p. 508-534).
- “Spiritual teachings. Sermons of Archpriest Valentin Nikolaevich Amfitheatrov, former rector of the Moscow court Archangel Cathedral, recorded from his words by one of his spiritual daughters" (M., 1916; republished as "Sermons": M., 1995).
Biography
Valentin Nikolaevich Amfitheatrov is a representative of an ancient family that gave the Russian Church famous clergy. This glorious surname was borne by Saint Philaret, Metropolitan of Kiev, as well as Anthony, Archbishop of Kazan and Sviyazhsk. In the family of his brother, Archpriest Nikolai Gavrilovich, a boy was born, who was named Valentin.
Priest Valentin Amfitheatrov
early years
At the age of 11, the young man entered the Oryol Theological Seminary. A year before graduation, he transferred to a seminary in Kyiv. From 1854 to 1858, Valentin Nikolaevich continued his education at the Moscow Theological Academy. The young man, who read a lot and knew several languages, hoped to receive an appointment to serve in one of the capital's theological schools in order to continue self-development near Orthodox shrines and extensive book depositories. But due to the lack of vacancies in Moscow, the young theologian was appointed to the Kaluga Theological Seminary.
Kaluga period
At the age of 24, Valentin Amfitheatrov marries Elizaveta Ivanovna Chuprova, the sister of one of his students and the daughter of a clergyman of one of the churches in the city of Mosalsk. The wedding took place in July 1860, and two months later the theologian took holy orders. The first place of his spiritual service was the Kaluga Annunciation Church. Also during the year the priest is involved in the work of the diocesan administration.
After 4 years, Father Valentin was appointed to the position of dean of the church in the name of the Life-Giving Trinity in the county town of Likhvin, Kaluga province. At the same time, he taught the Law of God at a local school. In 1866, Valentin Nikolaevich was elevated to the rank of archpriest. And after 5 years, the clergyman’s diligent work was noticed and rewarded with a transfer to Moscow.
Moscow years
Upon his arrival in Moscow in 1871, Valentin Amfitheatrov received the position of teacher of laws at the teachers' seminary. Then for 8 years he worked in the same position at a state secondary school.
In 1874, Father Valentin was appointed rector of the Church of Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine and Helen. A small church, considered a parish, was located on the territory of the Kremlin in its southeastern part. Due to the small number of residential premises in the area, there were few parishioners in the parish.
Interesting! Thanks to the diligent service, kindness and power of the Spirit, Archpriest Valentin, the number of parishioners increased significantly. People came to the small temple not only from nearby areas, but also from remote corners of the city.
For 18 years, the spiritual light of the priest fell on people who came to the Church of Constantine with their sorrows and difficulties.
In 1892, Valentin Nikolaevich was transferred to the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin without his consent. The new rector, who strictly monitored the observance of all church traditions and rules during services, had a conflict with the cathedral choir, which was soon resolved. But these events significantly undermined the preacher’s physical health.
Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin
Following Father Valentin, many of his spiritual children from the Constantine parish moved to the new parish. The preacher paid special attention to the poor and people in need of help. He allocated his own funds for these acts and called upon influential and wealthy parishioners for help, to whom he pointed out people in need. All the people who communicated with the priest said that the Lord had sent him the gift of clairvoyance and providence.
Interesting! The high spiritual qualities of the famous Moscow preacher were noted by his contemporary John of Kronstadt. He pointed out to Muscovites who came to him that there was Father Valentin in their city.
Last years
Mental worries and persistent hard work led to a deterioration in the priest’s health. Due to leg disease, he began to conduct services less often. In December 1901, Valentin Nikolaevich, accompanied by his daughter, visited the capital to ask to be relieved of his post as rector of the Archangel Cathedral and assigned to a small church in which he could occasionally conduct services. But in the spring of the following year, the priest completely lost his sight, which made it impossible to continue his church service.
Despite his developing physical weakness, his spiritual children continued to gather around the preacher. At first he received people in a rented Moscow apartment, and then in his daughter’s house in Ochakovo, near Moscow. Since 1906, Father Valentin began to experience frequent headaches, insomnia and heart attacks. The earthly journey of Archpriest Valentin Amfitheatrov ended on July 20, 1908.
Revered by the people, the priest was buried on July 23, after the funeral liturgy and requiem service were performed by the highest Moscow clergy, at the Vagankovskoye cemetery in Moscow near the grave of his wife, who died in 1880.
Preacher
First of all, Father Valentin preached the true and unshakable faith of Christ, and was a great teacher of piety. “The priest spoke wonderful sermons - it was such a living speech of teaching and instruction, such a plea for repentance and correction, such beauty of expressions and comparisons that great tenderness and shock gripped the souls of those who heard it.”[4] He spoke tirelessly about virtues, love for one's neighbor, and mercilessly castigated laziness, greed, envy, ill will and indifference. He called humanity in all its manifestations the heart of Christianity: “But how many are deprived of this feeling!” he lamented. He warned about the danger of external piety: “Save your souls not with your stomach, not with your food. The Lord needs our warm heart, and not outward fasting and hypocritical going to churches, this is all hypocrisy and delusion. Let there be love and mercy in you, and not empty piety." He gave deep ascetic instructions about guarding the mind and heart, sobriety, cutting off the will, the omnipotence of prayer, careful fulfillment of the commandments, real, not superficial obedience: "Each of us has a proud spirit and a wayward character is a terrible leaven of evil for a person’s entire life. It cannot be destroyed by anything other than obedience.” He instructed: “Be right-thinking, orthodox and Orthodox, and the Lord will deprive you of little from the Angels.”
Confessor
Father was a zealot for frequent communion, in some cases even daily. Given the established practice of “once a year,” this was unheard of. He considered the sacrament of repentance and liberation from sin to be the main means of healing the soul and body.
He was very strict in preparing for the Holy Sacraments. He didn’t give Communion to everyone; sometimes at the Chalice he said to some: “Later, later, later” and asked them to step aside. Then he approached everyone and reminded them of the sin that they had forgotten to repent of in confession with another priest.
He demanded truth and sincerity, Christian behavior, complete repentance for all sins, even long-standing ones. He often subjected those who came to the test of time: sometimes he did not take them to confession for more than a year, especially if he saw an unpeaceful and quarrelsome disposition of the soul. His first question to the penitent was “Do you love everyone?” Do you forgive everyone? When he had to expose those who persisted in sin, he became formidable and unyielding: woe to those in whom he noticed self-will and stubbornness. “The priest could become hotly angry in the confessional and even drive out another rebellious person from there, forbidding him to show himself. Nothing was worse than such exile. This was the most powerful means of bringing a person to repentance and contrition. Seeing the man’s humility, the priest forgave him.”[3]
There were so many confessors that sometimes they had to confess from morning until late at night - sometimes for 17 hours straight! From the huge crowd, he himself called to confession those whom he considered necessary: “I take those whom the Lord Himself tells me to take,” these words of the priest inspired such awe in those gathered that they involuntarily began to repent and turned to the Lord with the most sincere contrition .
Like many illustrious elders, Father Valentin during confession often did not ask about sins at all, but he himself listed all the sins of the person he saw for the first time, saying: “I know the day of your birth and death.” To some he described their life from their very childhood, moreover, so faithfully and in detail that they, stunned, could not utter a word, amazed by the wondrous providence of the shepherd. Sometimes he exposed a person’s innermost thoughts not “head-on,” but as if by chance, turning to someone standing next to him. He often answered questions in advance that had not yet been posed, and sincerely consoled those who repented: “Don’t cry, child, I will take your sins upon myself.”
Stronghold of national love
The flock could not be counted: a huge number of people flocked to him, thousands of people of all classes, ages and conditions, from all over Russia and even from abroad. Historian S.P. Melgunov recalled: “In Moscow he was considered almost a saint. The church was always full of people; a crowd of people eager for his blessing awaited the pastor’s arrival. Dozens of women ran after his cab driver. In a word, he was a shepherd who was worshiped.” New Martyr Anna Zertsalova witnessed several times how an enthusiastic crowd unharnessed a horse and carried Fr. Valentina to his apartment. But excessive enthusiasm, fanaticism and a certain exaltation were not welcomed by either the priest or his loved ones - only a sober spiritual attitude and sincere faith. Son Alexander Amfitheatrov noted that his father was a highly educated man who spoke more than ten foreign languages, not counting the ancient ones. All his life he collected a library, which he bequeathed to Shanyavsky University after his death. He could communicate with any person, even the royal dynasty, at the proper level. And the Russian intelligentsia has always been in great need of spiritual healing... Outstanding scientists and public figures, noble gentlemen and ladies, the clergy, the merchant class, shopkeepers, artisans and, of course, ordinary people - everyone strove for the priest... It is difficult to overestimate the degree of his influence on Russian society generally.
Benefactor
Father considered it his duty to take care not only of the spiritual needs of his children, but also the physical ones: he helped those in need with everything he could. “Whom he will instruct, whom he will help with money, whom he will settle, give shelter and shelter, he will heal, he will correct, he will bring to reason. From morning to night the shepherd worked, neither in church nor at home, knowing no peace or rest.”[5] Having often taken a person under his leadership, Father Valentin continued to take care of him until his death: arranging his life, selecting a suitable occupation and keeping track of your progress at work. And he even began to take care of this person’s relatives, friends and acquaintances. He personally fed thousands of orphans and widows, giving them monthly benefits. But he tried to ensure that no outsiders knew about his alms, and acted more through other people.
He organized among his flock a whole well-thought-out and streamlined system of providing comprehensive assistance to those in need. The entire flock was like one big family, in which everyone, to the best of his ability and ability, contributed to the cause of mutual material assistance. Orphans were placed in good believing families, the homeless were placed in factories and enterprises, and the seriously ill were placed in hospitals. Experienced doctors and nurses were sent to the sick, the best lawyers to those defenseless before the law, and good tutors to children with learning difficulties. All this was done entirely voluntarily and free of charge. Alms also served as a blessing for those who gave them, actively teaching them sensitivity and compassion. Under the influence of the wise word, the priest’s sincere attention to each person, with the help of God’s Grace, the wealth of spiritual life was revealed to people and they became zealous Christians.
The priest’s spiritual and charitable activities continued until the last day of his life. When he was already completely blind and sick, his daughters carried him to visitors in their arms. All the notes, all the requests were read to him - until the very last minute he continued to help everyone, provide financial support for hundreds of people, and after his death numerous spiritual children continued the holy work.
