Ignatius Bryanchaninov years of life. Life and biography of Ignatiy Bryanchaninov

For a modern person who wants to lead a spiritual life seriously, the works of St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov; 1807–1867) are an irreplaceable guide. In them is concentrated the previous experience of patristic ascetic thought, and this experience was embodied by Saint Ignatius in his own life. His writings clearly reveal the essence of the correct spiritual path, and also clarify those subtleties of spiritual doing that can be misinterpreted when reading ancient ascetic treatises. An example of the disciplining of communion with God is the very life of Saint Ignatius. Despite the fact that our time is significantly different from the era in which the saint lived, his life path contains in itself much that is instructive for our contemporaries. What was the path of this greatest ascetic of the 19th century?

Due to many external circumstances, the fate of Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov) should have developed more like a secular career than a spiritual ministry. The fact is that the surname of the Bryanchaninovs belonged to the most ancient noble families of the Russian state. The boyar Mikhail Bryanko (XIV century), the squire of the faithful prince Dimitry Donskoy, is considered the founder of the clan, the same one who selflessly disguised himself as a prince before the Battle of Kulikovo and died in a bloody battle. It is known that the ancestors of Saint Ignatius defended legal power during the Time of Troubles at the beginning of the 17th century, fought heroically in the war with Poland (1654-1667) under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, served under Emperor Peter I, and defended Russia in 1812. Thus, the Brianchaninov family served the Fatherland with faith and truth, and it is natural that the parents of the future saint wanted to see in their son a worthy civil servant occupying a prominent place in society.

A few words must be said about his parents. The father of the saint, Alexander Semyonovich Brianchaninov (1784-1875), a page of the times of Empress Catherine II and Emperor Pavel Petrovich, was the leader of the nobility in his native Gryazovets district of the Vologda province, enjoyed universal respect and was known as an advanced educated landowner. Let us say in advance that the relationship with the father was very difficult for the saint. The tragedy was also expressed in the fact that the father outlived his son by nine years. Mother, Sofia Afanasyevna Brianchaninova (1786-1832), a quiet, pious woman, raised nine children and especially loved her eldest son Dmitry (the future Saint Ignatius), distinguishing in him intelligence and beauty (by the way, she died in the arms of her beloved son, at that time the abbot Pelshem Lopotov Monastery, being admonished by his prayers).

Despite the class belonging to the nobility, the saint had to go through a completely special path - serving God in the monastic rank, overcoming all kinds of obstacles along this path. It can be reliably asserted that the saint was chosen to serve God from the womb of his mother. This was revealed in the following way. His parents were married at an early age. The first two children died in infancy, after which long sterility ensued. In grief, the couple turned to God's help, undertook a pilgrimage to the surrounding holy places, spent several days in the monasteries of the northern Thebais: Holy Spiritual, Glushitsky, Lopotov, Prilutsky monasteries, in order to ask for permission of infertility with prayers and benevolence. As a result, on February 5, 1807, a son was born to them, who was named Dmitry - in honor of one of the first Vologda miracle workers, the Monk Dimitry of Prilutsky. The Providence of God manifested itself in the fact that the firstborn, requested by prayer after infertility, later became himself a zealous maker of prayer and its experienced mentor.

The saint spent his childhood in the family estate of the Brianchaninovs - the village of Pokrovskoye, Gryazovetsky district of the Vologda province (the estate, by the way, has survived to this day and in 2000 was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Vologda diocese). Actually, this was the beginning of the spiritual formation of the future saint. The very silent rural life, contact with the local nature instilled in the youth a desire for solitude. He often liked to stay under the shade of the centuries-old trees of the vast garden and there he plunged into deep thoughts. As the saint recalled, silence attracted his soul more than the noise of life. Early in his heart a desire to serve God, silence, secret inner spiritual work was kindled in his heart: already in childhood he loved to slowly and carefully read prayers; not limited to morning and evening time, he often prayed during the day.

Of course, due attention was paid to the education of children, mentors and teachers were invited, including a professor from the Vologda Theological Seminary. With special gratitude, the saint recalled the student of the Levitsky seminary, who lived in the house of the Brianchaninovs and taught Dmitry the law of God. He sowed in the soul of the youth the first seeds of love for God's word. And another thing Dmitry Bryanchaninov really stood out for was his extraordinary abilities in learning: he completed his home education, including with excellent knowledge of Latin and Greek. Parents had high hopes for him.

In total, the Bryanchaninov family had nine children. Dmitry was recognized as the undisputed leader. The biographers of Saint Ignatius (among whom his brother Peter Alexandrovich) report that the children of the Brianchaninovs “were all aware of the primacy of Dmitry and were aware not only because he was an elder, but as a result of a special, higher, so to speak, mentality and character, as a result of his moral his superiority. Dmitry Alexandrovich was quiet, modest, always very reasonable in everything, attentive and polite in his address, although he was silent. Enjoying the usual respect from his brothers and sisters and exceeding them in scientific abilities and other talents, Dmitry Alexandrovich did not show the slightest exaltation or boasting. The beginnings of monastic humility were expressed in his then behavior and way of thinking. In morality and intelligence, he was incomparably higher than his years - and this is the reason why the brothers and sisters treated him even with some reverence, and he, in turn, communicated his moral qualities to them. "

In the ascetic mood of the saint, his poor physical health also played an important role. As a child, swimming with his father in the Talitsa river (near his native village of Pokrovskoye), Dmitry froze so that he trembled all over, but did not dare to get out of the water before his father; after that he often caught cold and was ill, which only contributed to his inclination to silence and deep solitary prayer. The above act may seem strange to a modern person. But in the Bryanchaninov family, a strict, even harsh order of life reigned, regulated by their father, whose iron will no one dared to contradict - children were often afraid to open up to their parents. The very manifestation of love for children was considered an unworthy weakness, the rods did not spare either the elders or the younger. The behavior of the children was carefully monitored and reported to the parents every day. In this regard, it becomes clear that their further life path was predetermined by their parents, and the spiritual aspirations growing in their son (which ultimately led to the transition from the nobility to the spiritual) could not find a great response in their relatives. That is why the saint in the article "My lamentation" recalled this time in such a way: "My childhood was filled with sorrows. Here I see Your hand, my God! I had no one to open my heart to: I began to pour it out before my God, I began to read the Gospel and the lives of Thy saints. The veil, now and then permeable, lay for me on the Gospel; but Thy Pimen, Thy Sisoi and Makarii made a wonderful impression on me. Thought, which often soared to God with prayer and reading, began to gradually bring peace and tranquility to my soul. When I was a fifteen-year-old boy, an unspeakable silence reigned in my mind and heart. But I did not understand her, I believed that this is an ordinary state of all people. "

How does the desire to serve God arise in a person's soul? Why do some gladly strive for this, while others prefer to seek only the earthly? It is impossible to fully explain this. This is the secret of personality self-determination. It is more important for us to know that Dmitry Bryanchaninov, already in his youth, finally decided on his main decision in life. When, in the sixteenth year of his life (at the end of the summer of 1822), his father took Dmitry to Petersburg to be assigned to the Main Engineering School, which trained officers of the engineering troops, the dear first asked his son: "Where would you like to enter the service?" Dmitry was amazed at such a frankness of his father, decided not to hide his heart's secret and, asking for a promise not to be angry if the answer was not pleasant, he resolutely said that he wanted to become a monk and that out of all types of service he preferred service to the Heavenly King. Oddly enough, the answer was not taken seriously, and the father took his son further to his intended ministry.

Dmitry passed the exams at the Main Engineering School brilliantly (with more than four people per place in the competition), he was the only one admitted immediately to the second grade, soon became the first student in academic performance and kept this place until the very end of his studies. Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich, who became emperor three years later, at that time personally supervised the personnel of the school and immediately drew attention to the gifted and well-bred young man. Note that during the years of study, Bryanchaninov, thanks to his personal merits, had success in secular society. So, family ties brought him into the house of the then president of the Academy of Arts, archaeologist and historian Alexei Nikolaevich Olenin. There, at literary evenings, Bryanchaninov, reciting new works by authors of that time, became a favorite reader, and such famous people as N.I. Gnedich, I.A. Krylov, K.N. Batyushkov and even A.S. himself. Pushkin. This contributed to the development of the saint's literary gifts. And some visitors to this salon became people close to the saint for life and subsequently enjoyed his spiritual advice, in particular Nikolai Nikolaevich Muravyov-Karsky.

Such was the outer side of Dmitry Bryanchaninov's life, full of academic success, universal respect, but what was his inner, innermost side? Oddly enough, in his soul he felt dissatisfaction, even devastation. This is how the saint himself writes about this: “Human sciences, inventions of the fallen human mind, became the subject of my attention: I rushed to them with all the forces of my soul; vague pursuits and religious feelings were left aside. Almost two years passed in earthly pursuits: a terrible emptiness was born and has already grown in my soul, hunger appeared, an unbearable longing appeared - for God. I began to mourn my neglect, to mourn the oblivion to which I had betrayed my faith, to mourn the sweet silence that I had lost, to mourn the emptiness that I had acquired, which weighed down, terrified me, filling me with a feeling of orphanhood, deprivation of life! And, for sure, it was the vexation of a soul that had moved away from its true life - God. I remember: I walk through the streets of St. Petersburg in the uniform of a cadet, and tears are pouring from my eyes like a hail ... ".

It is worth remembering that this was an era when in society the secular clearly supplanted the spiritual, communion with God was by no means in the center of attention, many adhered only to the external form of churchliness, fasted, confessed and received communion only once a year in order to testify to their loyalty to the state religion. The main topics of conversation were exclusively of an earthly order. All this created a terrible vacuum in the God-loving soul of Dmitry Bryanchaninov and was expressed in a feeling of inconsolable melancholy. Left alone in his spiritual quest, Dmitry turned to the sources of living faith - the creations of the holy fathers. “Not living people were my mentors, they were the holy fathers who reposed in body, living in spirit. In their writings I found the Gospel, fulfilled; they have satisfied my soul. " Reading, a careful study of the works of the holy fathers forever determined the inner ascetic attitude of the saint. And since most of the Fathers of the Church in their ascetic instructions paid attention to the inner work of a Christian, Dmitry Bryanchaninov began to master smart work, inner prayer, in order to seek the help of the One True Helper and Benefactor in his loneliness. Surprisingly, while still a very young man, a student at the school, he achieved an almost incessant smart doing. “It used to be, in the evening,” the saint later said, “you go to bed and, lifting your head from the pillow, you begin to read a prayer, and so, without changing your position, without interrupting your prayers, you get up in the morning to go to service, to classes.”

True, Dmitry's spiritual aspirations found a response from his classmate Mikhail Chikhachev, who came from the nobility of the Pskov province. Despite the fact that Chikhachev was of a completely different character - a merry fellow and a talker, they forever became close friends and together tried to realize life in Christ. Unfortunately, the pious students did not find support from the closest clerics of the school; moreover, their ascetic attitude was misinterpreted. Perhaps this was the temptation of the invisible enemy, irritated by the constant prayer of Dmitry, or perhaps this is how the Providence of God acted, leading the saint along a more useful path for him. The following happened. Dmitry Bryanchaninov, feeling his inexperience in spiritual work, turned to the school's confessor for help and said that "we are fighting with a multitude of sinful thoughts." Father Archpriest, not having any desire to delve into the inner life of the student, immediately considered "sinful thoughts" as "political plans" and turned to the school authorities with fears about the political reliability of the student who confessed instructed to report their suspicions of confessing). As the biographers of Saint Ignatius write, "the confessor's indiscretion plunged Brianchaninov into a heavy responsibility before his superiors and brought him to a painful state." Brianchaninov was forced to change his confessor, with his friend Chikhachev he turned to the monks of the Valaam Monastery, confessed with them, joining their spiritual edification. However, the spiritual needs of the friends turned out to be so deep that the confessors of the Valaam Monastery themselves suggested that they turn to the monks of the Nevsky Lavra, to such experienced monks as the Lavra confessor Father Athanasius, the monks Aaron, Khariton, Ioanniki. The aforementioned fathers were disciples of the famous elders Theodore and Leonidas (the founder of the Optina eldership), successive disciples of the Monk Paisius Velichkovsky.

Two friends “consulted with the monks as with spiritual fathers about everything related to internal monastic work, confessed their thoughts, learned how to protect themselves from passions, sinful habits and stumbling blocks, which books to be guided by from the writings of the Holy Fathers, and the like. Good monks, especially Fr. Ioanniki and their confessor Fr. Athanasius, shared with the monastic and wise young men everything that was the property of their many years of spiritual experience. Dmitry Alexandrovich often surprised them with his questions, which concerned such aspects of spiritual life, which testify to a rather mature spiritual age. "

The growing rapprochement with monasticism finally caused substantial opposition from the father. The fact is that under Dmitry there lived an old servant Dormidont, who informed the parent about his son's frequent visits to the Lavra. Now the father recalled the desire expressed by his son to become a monk and asked high-ranking Petersburg acquaintances to prevent his son's intention. As a result, Dmitry Bryanchaninov was forced to personally appear before the St. Petersburg Metropolitan Seraphim (Glagolevsky). He expressed his sincere desire to become a monk. It is noteworthy that Metropolitan Seraphim, initially suspecting of him only ambitious plans, announced that Bryanchaninov, as he did not possess a scientific degree in theological academies, could not be elevated in the church hierarchy above the rank of archimandrite. To this, the young man replied that he was not looking for dignity, but only for the salvation of the soul, consisting in flight from the world. This was indeed the case. Not once did the saint express a desire to occupy any high office. And the metropolitan, after talking with the young man, allowed him to continue communicating with the monks of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. This was the first positive turn in the path to spiritual service.

However, for a final break with the world, something was needed that would make the last decisive revolution in the soul of the young prayer book. In the spring of 1826, the saint fell ill with a serious chest disease, which had all the signs of consumption. The best St. Petersburg doctors considered his position extremely dangerous, and Dmitry Bryanchaninov himself believed that he was already on the verge of death, he constantly read the works of the holy fathers and prayed. This illness became for him a real threshold of monasticism. As soon as his health recovered, he hurried to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, and here, unexpectedly, a fateful meeting took place. At this time, the famous Elder Reverend Leonid (Nagolkin), the future Elder of Optina (in schema Leo), arrived at the Lavra, and Dmitry, in a private conversation with him, “felt such an attraction to this old man that he seemed to live with him for a century: these were great moments in which the elder gave birth to him spiritually into a son. " It was precisely the Monk Leonid of Optinsky who, with his spiritual influence, made in Dmitry's soul a final break with the world, it was he who led the young saint to the full dedication of his life to the godly work of the soul. True, this was achieved, according to worldly concepts, at a very high price.

In the summer of 1826, a conversation took place with his parents - to no avail. In St. Petersburg, Dmitry submitted a request to dismiss him from the service - instead of granting the request, a major scandal was brewing. Emperor Nicholas I himself instructed his brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, to dissuade Brianchaninov from the desire for monasticism. It is difficult for a modern person to understand what it meant for a nobleman, brought up in the traditions of faithful service to the Tsar and the Fatherland, to go against the will of the Emperor. For the young Bryanchaninov, this was a deep inner tragedy. He, of course, directly expressed the desire of his heart to the Grand Duke, but Mikhail Pavlovich, in the presence of other high officials, harshly announced that the sovereign did not agree to his resignation. This decision was no longer subject to discussion. Brianchaninov was ordered to leave for Dinaburg (now Daugavpils in Latvia, on the Daugava River) to supervise the construction of the fortress.

It is commonly believed that holy people, since God helps them, easily overcome all kinds of obstacles, so that the path to heavenly abodes for them runs smoothly and smoothly. The life path of Saint Ignatius refutes this notion, since he clearly testifies how difficult it was for him to achieve his goal. Actually, holiness itself is loyalty to God under any, even the most unbearable, living conditions. Dmitry Bryanchaninov was forced to go into an open conflict with his father, who wanted to raise the prestige of his surname with his son's career, and a break with his parent meant a complete loss of content. He was forced to go into conflict with high-ranking officials of this world, which threatened with all kinds of bans and loss of personal reputation in society.

In Dinaburg, Bryanchaninov finally took to his bed, and only when in the fall of 1827 Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich personally visited the Dinaburg fortress and became convinced of the physical incapacity of officer Bryanchaninov to serve, Dmitry's desire to receive a resignation was satisfied. It is worth saying that Elder Leonid supported Brianchaninov with his letters at this time. Dmitry, having received his resignation, went to the Elder Leonid in the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery, and left at the beginning of January 1828.

Only now he could breathe deeply, fully devoting himself to spiritual work. From the outside, the life of any monk does not represent something bright, exciting: obedience, worship, personal prayer rule ... The true beauty of monasticism is revealed in his inner deed. In the Alexander-Svirsky monastery, Dmitry gave himself to unquestioning obedience to the elder and the deepest humility among the brethren. By the way, his first obedience was at the cook, where he helped the cook, a former serf of his father. The uncomplaining fulfillment of all, even the lowest, obediences engendered in the soul of the holy novice, with the complete oblivion of his “I,” the sweetness of humility, which the saint remembered all his life later on. Thus, in the complete biography of Saint Ignatius, compiled by his brother Peter Alexandrovich and his closest disciples, it is narrated how Dmitry, while undergoing obedience in the refectory, once put a dish on the table at which the novices were sitting, and mentally said: “Take from me, servants of God , this is a wretched service. " At the same time, he suddenly felt an extraordinary prayer action in his heart, so that he even staggered. A sweet consolation sunk into his chest, which did not leave him for more than twenty days (the saint described this incident in the Ascetic Experiments, attributing it to another person).

With all sincerity, he gave himself to the spiritual guidance of Elder Leonidas, in the likeness of an ancient novice, he daily confessed to him all the movements of his inner life, did not take a single action without the elder's blessing, went through the trials imposed on him, sometimes very difficult. Once, among other novices, Dmitry was appointed to pull a fishing net in the lake of the Svir Monastery. When the net got entangled, the monk in charge of fishing, knowing that Brianchaninov could swim well and stay under water for a long time, sent him to unravel the net. Despite the autumn cold, Dmitry unquestioningly fulfilled the order, however, after that he suffered from a severe cold.

Time passed, and Elder Leonid moved to the Ploshchanskaya hermitage of the Oryol province. Novice Dmitry Bryanchaninov, without hesitation, followed him. Mikhail Chikhachev also came here, who finally managed to break free from the shackles of worldly life. However, here Dmitry's relationship with his spiritual mentor has changed somewhat. The number of the elder's disciples multiplied, and their meetings began to be accompanied by some rumor and distraction. Excessive talk and gossip among the students echoed in Dmitry's soul painfully. The elder explained Dmitry's grief in his own way. Added to this was the fact that Father Leonid did not always answer the novice's questions satisfactorily. In this regard, it is worth making two important clarifications. First, let us recall that the soul of the saint from childhood was distinguished by a special refinement, contemplation, a gravitation towards silence. Even during his years of study, he was accustomed to prolonged internal prayer, and probably, with the abundance of disciples, Father Leonid no longer delved into the inner work of the saint in detail. Secondly, the very ideal of monastic life was developed by the saint during a detailed study of the writings of the ancient holy fathers, and he grieved a lot, seeing the inconsistency with this ideal. One way or another, but the Providence of God clearly led the saint along the path intended for him. This was expressed in the following. When Brianchaninov and Chikhachev expressed a desire to live in a secluded cell according to the rules of the skete life (that is, separately from the monastic brethren), Elder Leonid initially did not approve of this. Dmitry, worried and a lot sick from the fact that the elder did not understand him, in his sorrow began to pray especially hard to the Lord. And one day he was given a vision, about which he told his friend Mikhail Chikhachev. The saint saw a light cross, near which he and his friend Chikhachev stood, and a certain voice explained that Dmitry was expecting a sincere renunciation of the world and everything earthly and that his friend should participate in his sufferings. Deep peace and blessed consolation remained in Dmitry's soul. And Chikhachev noticed that since then the future saint received a special spiritual power of reason, so that he easily comprehended and resolved the most difficult spiritual questions and perplexities. The vision was passed on to Elder Leonidas, and he blessed them to live separately.

Young ascetics began a secluded, silent life, going only to church and to a meal. Their cell, which stood separately in the garden, became for them an inexpressibly dear with its convenience to God-thought and prayer. So the winter of 1829 passed. This is how the two friends thought to spend their whole lives. But between the abbot of the Ploshchanskaya Hermitage, Hieromonk Markellin and Elder Leonid, discontent arose, forcing Father Leonid and his students to move to the skete of the Optina Vvedenskaya Hermitage in the Kaluga province. It was ordered to leave and innocent Bryanchaninov and Chikhachev.

Initially, they went to the Beloberezhskaya John the Baptist Hermitage, but they were not accepted there. There was no place for them in Optina Pustyn, and only thanks to the intercession of the elder brothers of the monastery they agreed to accept them and were allowed to live in solitude in the cell assigned to them. However, the abbot, Father Moses, who at first did not agree to accept Dmitry with a friend, treated them unfavorably; there was no confidence in them on the part of some of the brethren. Ill-will and extremely poor food made the friends so sick that they could hardly get out of bed, and they received only one help from the other when one of them felt a little easier. It was at this time that news came to Dmitry from a seriously ill mother, who wanted to see her son before a possible death; the father, unexpectedly changing his attitude to his son's life choice, promised to build him a separate cell near the church, and soon a covered chaise was sent. The saint took this as an instruction from God and agreed to go, taking with him his friend Mikhail Chikhachev.

Looking ahead, we note that, after leaving Optina Hermitage, the saint subsequently maintained written relations with the Monks Leonidas and Macarius of Optina. At the request of the elders, he, already an archimandrite, participated in many affairs of Optina Hermitage, took care of the material well-being of the monastery, and helped to publish the works of the holy fathers. In overcoming the last, dying test of Elder Leonidas, the saint took a most active part. When in the Belevsk women's monastery some of the elder's disciples were accused of heresy out of envy, criticism began to fall on the Monk Leonidas himself. He was threatened with exile. Learning of this, Saint Ignatius immediately met with the Moscow Metropolitan Philaret (Drozdov), and he put an end to the persecution of the elder. After the death of Elder Leonidas, Saint Ignatius wrote in a letter to Saint Macarius: “My soul was filled with sorrow, and no matter how I remember him (Elder Leonidas. - V.D.) - every time an abundant sadness pours into my heart. Just as you write, he had a special disposition and love for me, the consequence of which I constantly feel in myself: deviating physically, I did not deviate into the opposite wisdom, but many of his sayings remained in my memory and until now they are guiding me, especially pronounced in the Svirsky monastery ".

In our days, discussions have repeatedly arisen in which Saint Ignatius and his followers are opposed to the Optina elders. Of course, the difference in traditions is obvious, but the path of St. Ignatius was as different as the path of St. Theophan the Recluse or St. John of Kronstadt. The Lord led those and others, albeit in different ways, but to a single goal. With the difference in spiritual services, they became the spokesmen for a single ascetic tradition. Orthodox Church... And most importantly, every holy father of the Church fulfills the spiritual vocation that God has given him. With much in common that is observed between St. Ignatius and the elders of Optina Hermitage, the difference, in our opinion, was as follows. The Optina elders proposed more active piety, while Saint Ignatius - a secret, intelligent deed with all the subtle features of inner life. The Optina elders constantly received the people, instructing them in high morality, and the saint throughout his life sought silence in the image of the ancient ascetics and taught how to acquire peace of the heart and inner silence. Therefore, the main works of the Optina elders are letters with the edification of those who questioned on a variety of topics, and the works of St.

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(Dmitry Alexandrovich) - Bishop of the Caucasus and the Black Sea, b. February 6, 1807 in the village. Pokrovsky of the Gryazovets district of the Vologda province., From nobility, died on April 30, 1867. Having received a good education at home, in 1822 he entered the St. The spouses and throughout his life enjoyed the attention of their high patrons.

In 1824 he was transferred to the lower officer class (what is now the Nikolaev Engineering Academy) and on December 13 he was promoted to an engineer-ensign.

At the end of the course, despite all the convictions of his parents and family, he decided to enter a monastery, which he had been thinking about since childhood, and only the intervention of the Tsar himself kept him from this step. In January 1827 he was assigned to the Dinaburg engineering team; but on November 6 of the same year, after a serious illness, he was dismissed from service with the rank of lieutenant and immediately went to the Alexander-Svirsky monastery.

For about four years he passed various obediences in the Ploshchanskaya hermitage of the Oryol province, in the Optina Vvedenskaya hermitage of the Kaluga province, in the Kirillo-Novoyezersky monastery of the Novgorod province, in the Seven-city hermitage in the Vologda province. and in the Glushitsky Dionysius Monastery. On June 28, 1831, in the Vologda Resurrection Cathedral, he was tonsured into monasticism with the name of Ignatius and on July 25, was ordained a hieromonk, and on January 6, 1832, he was appointed a builder to the Pelshem Lopotov monastery of the Kadnikovsky district; for the renewal and improvement of the Lopotov monastery (he, by the way, started a good choir) on May 28, 1833 he was elevated to the rank of abbot.

At the end of December 1833, the sovereign ordered him to be transferred as abbot to the Sergiev Hermitage with Production (January 1, 1834) as an archimandrite.

For about 24 years he ruled this wilderness and worked a lot for the construction of the monastery: he erected three temples and several buildings of cells, acquired land, forests and fields, started gardening, gardening, cattle breeding and arable farming, increased the staff of monastics; under him, the monastery was built among the first-class.

From June 22, 1838 he was dean of all monasteries of the St. Petersburg diocese; On October 27, 1857, he was consecrated as a bishop in the Caucasian city of Stavropol; on August 5, 1861, due to poor health, after smallpox and fever, he was dismissed to retire to the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery with a pension of 1,500 rubles; there he died.

By way of life, His Grace Ignatius was an ascetic in the full sense of the word. His works in 6 volumes: "Ascetic Experiments"; "Ascetic Sermon"; "The Tribute to Modern Monasticism - the Rules of External Behavior for New-Beginning Monks and Advice Concerning the Spiritual Monastic Activity" and others have been published in several editions. "Works" Ignatius, ed. 1885, vol. I. 1-80. (Polovtsov) Ignatiy Bryanchaninov (Dmitry Alexandrovich, 1807-1867) - first a military engineer, then a monk and archimandrite of the Sergius Hermitage near St. Petersburg; later Bishop of Kostroma and Caucasus; known for his ascetic writings: "Fatherland" (selected sayings of the holy monks, published in 1880), "Complete Works" (ascetic experiments, 4 volumes, St. Petersburg, 1865-1867). H. B. (Brockhaus) Ignatius Brianchaninov (Dmitry Alexandrovich) - saint, bishop of the Caucasus and the Black Sea. † 1867, commemorated April 30 / May 13 and on the 3rd Week after Pentecost in the Cathedral of St. Petersburg Saints.

Born on February 5, 1807 in the village of Pokrovskoye, Gryazovets district, Vologda province, into a noble family. From an early age, the future bishop loved nature very much with a special thoughtful love and found pleasure and joy in communion with her.

In childhood, his exceptional religiosity was also revealed.

Dmitry received an excellent home upbringing and education.

In 1822 (when he was 15 years old), at the insistence of his father, he entered the St. Petersburg Military Engineering School, although already at that time the demands of his soul were completely different.

The son told his father his desire to "become a monk," but this wish was taken as a joke. At the school, Dmitry showed outstanding abilities. On December 13, 1824, he was awarded the title of ensign engineer.

In 1826 he graduated from the school as the first student.

The origin, upbringing, brilliant abilities and family ties of the young engineer opened up a brilliant secular career for him.

But no blessings of the world could satisfy his soul. The striving for monasticism did not diminish in him over the years.

Only his friend Mikhail Chikhachev was a like-minded person in this endeavor, with whom they were united by a kinship of souls. Immediately after graduating from college, Dmitry Alexandrovich filed a letter of resignation from service.

This request was not accepted.

In addition, Dmitry Alexandrovich was ordered to leave Petersburg within 24 hours to his destination in the Dinaburg fortress.

For a whole year he worked in the fortress.

During this time, his health deteriorated greatly, and on a second request (in 1827) he was dismissed from military service.

In the same year, Dmitry went to his confessor, Father Leonid, at the Alexander-Svirsky monastery, where he was received by a novice.

A new page began in the life of the future bishop.

For several years he had to wander from one monastery to another following his elder father Leonidas. On June 28, 1831, at the Vologda Resurrection Cathedral, Dmitry was tonsured into monasticism with the name Ignatius, on July 4, ordained a hierodeacon, and on July 25, a hieromonk. On January 6, 1832, Hieromonk Ignatius was appointed abbot of the Pelshem Lopotov Monastery in the Vologda Diocese.

This monastery was in a very neglected state, and the young abbot had a great and difficult job to restore the economy of the monastery and raise the ascetic spirit among the brethren.

With jealousy, Hieromonk Ignatius took up the task entrusted to him and soon achieved great success. On January 28, 1833, Hieromonk Ignatius was elevated to the rank of hegumen for hard work on the revival of the monastery.

He soon fell ill with a debilitating fever.

Climate change was required to restore health. On November 6, 1833, he was appointed abbot of the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery near Moscow (at the request of the Metropolitan of Moscow Filaret).

But this appointment remained only on paper.

At this time, Father Ignatius had already gained fame as an abbot.

Emperor Nicholas I, who knew him well before, summoned Abbot Ignatius to Petersburg. On December 25, 1833, he was appointed abbot of the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage near St. Petersburg and was elevated to the rank of archimandrite.

He worked as abbot of the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage for 24 years. And there was something to work on. The Trinity-Sergius Hermitage was in a very sad state; the moral level of the brethren served as a temptation for visitors and neighbors of the monastery.

The appearance of the monastery corresponded to this spiritual desolation, many buildings of which had fallen into such dilapidation that it was dangerous to enter them. The new abbot, with great diligence and patience, took up the major reconstruction of the monastery buildings, the improvement of the monastic hostel and the restoration of splendor in the divine services.

All these tasks were accomplished with great success by Archimandrite Ignatius.

The monastery was built up and decorated.

The services celebrated here have become exemplary.

Monastic tunes were the subject of special care of Archimandrite Ignatius.

He took care of the preservation of old church tunes.

The famous church composer Archpriest Pyotr Turchaninov, who lived from 1836 to 1841 in Strelna, near the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage, conducted classes with the monastery choir at the request of Father Ignatius and wrote some of his best works for him.

MI Glinka also wrote several chants for this choir.

He was a deep admirer of Archimandrite Ignatius; at his request, he studied ancient Russian music and, with his advice, contributed to raising the musical culture of the monastery choir.

The director of the court chapel AF Lvov also took an active part in organizing the choir of the Sergiev Hermitage. A friend of Father Ignatius M. Chikhachev, who possessed a remarkable musical talent, in turn, did a lot for the splendor of the service performed in the monastery.

The cell attendant of Father Ignatius I. Malyshev (later Archimandrite Ignatius), distinguished for his outstanding artistic abilities, contributed a lot to the decoration of the monastery with his own icon-painting works and a skilful choice of icons and sacred images.

The monastic brotherhood, thanks to the tireless labors and cares of its abbot, has become a real spiritual family.

The door to the abbot's cells was always open to everyone, from the elder monastic brethren to the youngest novice: everyone could come to his archimandrite, turn to him with any question and receive fatherly advice, edification and consolation for him. "You know," wrote Father Ignatius in one of his many letters, "how I live in a monastery: not as a hermit, but as the head of a family." At this time, the circle of acquaintances (personal and written) of Father Ignatius increased significantly.

Spiritual enlightenment from Father Ignatius received both monks and laymen, people of the highest cultural level and simple people.

For everyone, he found the key that opens the doors of the heart.

Father Ignatius perfectly mastered the art of accepting the confession of thoughts, here his all-round spiritual experience was reflected.

He himself knew how to control himself in all the accidents of life and taught the same self-control and patience to his spiritual children. The fruits of his many years of careful observation of himself constituted his enormous spiritual wealth: he learned to recognize and discern all the passionate movements of human nature and to heal them with grace.

Bearing in mind, first of all, the spiritual needs of his loved ones, as well as the religious interests of everyone seeking an answer to the needs of the spirit, Father Ignatius often began to take up his pen in order to reveal his spiritual experience as much as possible. During this time he wrote many of his best ascetic works.

In these works, those distinctive features that characterize the spiritual image of their author appear with particular clarity.

A feature of his life and outlook was complete selflessness for the sake of exact fulfillment of the Gospel commandments in monastic deed hidden from prying eyes.

Everything that Father Ignatius taught in his writings is based on this life experience, on this personal feat.

The main theme of his writings is the doctrine of the inner perfection of a person embarking on ascetic deeds, and of his relationship with people and with beings of the spiritual world. One more responsible and difficult obedience was added to the many-minded activity of the rector, Archimandrite Ignatius. On June 22, 1838, he was appointed Dean of the monasteries of the St. Petersburg diocese.

In this field, in particular, he had to spend a lot of energy to establish order among the brethren of the Valaam monastery.

Meanwhile, Father Ignatius yearned for solitude, for ascetic deeds.

Constantly distracted from his ideal by many official duties and the reception of numerous visitors, he led the most austere lifestyle. But human envy and slander spread various ridiculous rumors about Archimandrite Ignatius. Once on a visit to Archimandrite Ignatius, his old friend, Father Zephanius, came.

Until recently, there were rumors that Father Ignatius was living in a "luxurious" monastery, in the splendor of the court.

Seeing the setting of the ceremonial rector's cells in the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage, Father Zephanius sadly thought that what he had heard far from Petersburg was confirmed by facts on the spot. And he asked a friend: "Well, Father Ignatius? Where are our dreams of the desert, of severe deeds and hardships?" Father Ignatius silently led the guest into the farthest room of his rector's cells, and there Father Zephanius saw only empty walls, an icon with a lamp and a mat on the floor ... That was Father Ignatius's answer to a friend's question. Fr. Ignatius had to endure and endure a lot during his reign in the capital's monastery.

In the damp seaside climate, his illnesses intensified.

But it was harder than illness to endure ordinary slander and human slander caused by human envy.

This is how Bishop Ignatius himself recalled this period in the article "My lamentation". "In 1833 I was summoned to the Sergiev Hermitage and made her abbot.

The monastery of Sergiev Hermitage received me inhospitable.

In the first year after arriving there I was struck by a grave illness, another year another, the third third; they took away the remnants of my meager health and strength, and made me emaciated, incessantly suffering.

Here envy, slander, slander arose and hissed; here I was subjected to heavy, prolonged, humiliating punishments without trial, without the slightest investigation, like a dumb animal, like an insensible idol; here I saw enemies breathing irreconcilable malice and thirst for my destruction ... Experiencedly I learned the mysterious meaning of Christ's silence before Pilate and the Jewish bishops ... "Exhausted by serious ailments, Archimandrite Ignatius asked for retirement, but his requests remained unfulfilled.

For all 24 years of reign in the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage, he received leave only three times to improve his health.

The longest and most beneficial was the leave he received in 1847 and lasted for a year. All this time he spent on the banks of the Volga in the Nikolo-Babaevsky monastery of the Kostroma diocese.

Here he received treatment and worked on his ascetic works, corresponded with the brethren of the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage.

The return from the quiet Babaevskaya monastery to noisy Petersburg seemed to Father Ignatius "the most disgusting mixture", but he had to endure this difficult obedience for a long time.

Among the many and difficult trials and experiences, new consolations came to him: the circle of persons widened, whose mood was harmoniously combined with the high spirituality of Archimandrite Ignatius.

They saw in him a true spiritual father, and he rejoiced in his heart and saw in this communication with spiritual children the fulfillment of his life vocation.

Here is what he wrote on this occasion: “The service of the brethren by the word of God! What a delightful, delightful picture this service seems to the eyes of my soul! .. The infinitely merciful God gave me this service into my hands.

Not only did he give it to me, but he also informs many souls to seek this service from me.

Now all my time has been taken by this ministry.

How many souls resonate with me! One from the bed of illness, another from exile, another from the Volkhov bank, another from the Dvina bank, another from the Borodinsky field, another from the hut, another from the palace ... The soul, wherever it is placed, if not killed by insensibility, everywhere feels the need for the word of God, everywhere the fall oppresses her, oppresses her. I pronounce the word of God in personal conversations, write it in correspondence conversations, compose some books that could satisfy the needs of today's Christianity. ”This understanding by Father Ignatius of his vocation in life was combined with his constant dream of solitude.

He began to think about where to settle for a residence, when, finally, he received the desired dismissal. But these dreams of Father Ignatius were not destined to come true yet.

In 1856, Archimandrite Ignatius undertook a trip to Optina Pustyn, intending to move there altogether, but this intention did not come true, for the Lord wanted His chosen one to serve the Holy Church even in the episcopal rank. In 1857, at the suggestion of Metropolitan Gregory of St. Petersburg, Archimandrite Ignatius was ordained Bishop of the Caucasus and the Black Sea.

The consecration was performed by Metropolitan Gregory with a host of other hierarchs.

This appointment was so unexpected for Archimandrite Ignatius that he was shocked by him, but took him for obedience, as he had accepted all previous appointments.

In his speech when he was named a bishop, he said: “The ordination of a bishop is terrible for me at the thought of my weakness.

I would consider it more consistent with my strength to spend the rest of my days, as well as the beginning of them, in the silence of the desert, in the contemplation of my sin. And again I am afraid! I am afraid of my will, so that, following it, I do not follow myself instead of God, and thus do not bring on myself an unforeseen disaster.

In my bewilderment, I deny myself, I betray both my temporary and eternal fate in the hand of my God. Bound by your election ... with humility and trembling, I bow my head under a burden that can crush an unworthy one. ”On January 4, 1858, Bishop Ignatius arrived at his new appointment in Stavropol and on the eve of the Epiphany performed his first service here.

The diocese, headed by Bishop Ignatius, demanded an extreme exertion of his strength from him. It was established relatively recently (Bishop Ignatius was the third bishop in this see).

At that time, the Caucasian War was not yet over, the settlement of this vast region continued. The population of the region was multinational and heterogeneous.

The development of the clergy often did not correspond to their purpose.

Many difficulties arose due to the fact that in the Cossack villages the clergy was removed from the jurisdiction of the diocesan bishop and submitted to the military "chief priest". The bureaucratic consistory apparatus was also a constant hindrance to the bishop.

However, despite all the difficulties, Vladyka zealously set about fulfilling his archpastoral duties.

He took care of the organization of the divine services and of the normal relations between the clergy and the laity. When there was a temporary, albeit very relative, improvement in his health, he toured his vast diocese.

Despite the multitude of affairs related to the administration of the diocese, His Grace Ignatius continued his spiritual and literary labors in the Caucasus and carried on extensive correspondence.

But his health continued to deteriorate.

In July 1861, he felt complete exhaustion and the impossibility of continuing to rule the diocese and applied for retirement with the determination of his place of residence in the Nikolo-Babayevsky monastery.

His petition was granted on August 5, 1861, and in October of the same year he arrived at the desert monastery he had chosen, which he received under management.

This same monastery was destined to become his last earthly refuge.

Bishop Ignatius quickly brought the monastery into exemplary order and, finally, got the opportunity to completely devote himself to his beloved work - to engage in spiritual and ascetic writings, continuing to nourish his soul with prayer and contemplation of God.

It was in these works that he spent his last years; his spirit was constantly vigorous, but his flesh, crushed by disease, was often exhausted.

His life in the Nikolo-Babaevsky monastery was the life of a recluse.

He left the monastery only once (in 1862).

All his free time was filled with prayer and activities related to the preparation for publication of his creations.

For the first three years, Vladyka received visitors.

But his strength was becoming increasingly scarce, and he resolutely prepared for the transition to another world and talked about it to those around him.

He prayed that the day of his death would be revealed to him, and received what he asked. April 16, A.867, on the first day of Easter, Vladyka served the last Liturgy with great difficulty.

Avoiding communication with people, he lived on earth, but his soul was already in another world. Then came Sunday, April 30 - the Week of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women.

Vladyka took the Holy Mysteries early in the morning in his cell and, due to extreme exhaustion, lay down on the bed with the Canon in his hands. Entering the bishop before the gospel to the late liturgy, the cell attendant Vasily found him asleep in death. His face shone with radiant joy.

The burial of Vladyka Ignatius was performed according to the Easter rite on May 5, 1867 in the Nikolo-Babayevsky monastery by Bishop Jonathan of Kineshma, vicar of the Kostroma diocese.

Bishop Ignatius can be called a bright personality, a distinctive feature of which is her inner concentration and self-discipline.

The prevalence of internal life over external is constantly felt in him.

Ignatius Bryanchaninov is a self-assembled, concentrated ascetic-ascetic, seeker and zealot of spiritual salvation for himself and his neighbors.

The bright graceful lamp of faith in Christ never extinguished in the soul of this God's chosen one.

His faith, to which he called all his spiritual children, was that which can be born only in a childishly pure heart, which accepts everything with love and thus enters into love for neighbors, and through it into love for God. He was endowed with a bright and deep mind, but this mighty, bright mind was connected not with proud exaltation and daring conceit, but with true monastic humility, he considered and called himself an "obscene sinner" and constantly wept over his sins. He did not strive for the blessings of the earth, but invariably desired only one good - spiritual salvation. “Nothing perishable, transitory can satisfy a person, - he said. - If it seems satisfying, - do not believe it: it is only flattering.

It will not flatter for long, deceive, slip away, disappear - leave a person in all the horrors of poverty and misery.

God is positive, eternal. "He strove for this eternal, for the knowledge of the truth all his life and did not deviate a step from the chosen path. Saint Ignatius was glorified in the face of saints in 1988 at the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The relics of the saint rest in the Holy Vvedensky Cathedral of the Tolgsky Holy Vvedensky Convent of the Yaroslavl Diocese.

Proceedings: Works of Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov: in 6 volumes - 3rd ed. - SPb., 1905. Puffiness. - 3rd ed. - SPb., 1891. About repentance // Russian pilgrim. - 1888, No. 11, p. 125-126. Letters from the bishop to those close to him. - SPb., 1881. Letters to Anthony Bochkov, abbot of Cheremenets. - 1872. Rules of external conduct for new-born monks and advice regarding spiritual monastic deeds. - 7th ed. - SPb., 1907. The word about death and the addition to it. - 6th ed. - SPb., 1906. Preparation for the sacraments of confession and Holy Communion. - 3rd ed. - SPb., 1900. On the patience of sorrows. (Teaching of the Holy Fathers). - 4th ed. - SPb., 1904. About the end of the world. (Three teachings.) - 5th ed. - SPb., 1907. Literature: Sokolov L. Bishop Ignatiy Brianchaninov: his life, personality and moral-ascetic views: in 2 volumes - Kiev, 1915. Putintsev M., archpriest.

A feature from the life of Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov // Psychological reading. - 1878. Michael (Chub), Archbishop.

Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov) // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. - 1967, no. 5, p. 75-77; No. 6, p. 58-73. Kovalevsky A. Abbess Emilia, founder of the Verkhne-Kharkiv convent // Psychological reading. - 1885. NS Leskov. Unmercenary Engineers // Collected Works: in 11 volumes - M., Goslitizdat, 1956-1958, v. 8. Tikhon (Tsiplyakovsky), abbot.

A seeker of unceasing prayer or a collection of sayings and examples from the books of Holy Scripture and the writings of God-wise ascetics of piety about unceasing prayer. - M., 1889, p. 48-50. Savva (Tikhomirov), Archbishop.

Memories of the Eminent Leonid, Archbishop of Yaroslavl and Rostov. - Kharkov, 1877, p. 62-64. Pogozhev E.N. (Poselyanin E.). Russian righteous men of the last centuries: in 7 volumes (1-3; 5-8). - Pg., 1917, p. 314. Verbitsky V. Trip to Valaam // Historical Bulletin. - 1913, March, p. 988-1015, pr. 997. Soloviev A. Nikolaevsky Babaevsky monastery of the Kostroma diocese.

Historical and statistical sketch. - Kostroma, 1895, p. 62-74. Savva (Tikhomirov), Archbishop.

Chronicle of my life: in 9 volumes - Sergiev Posad, 1897-1911, v. 3, p. 358; vol. 5, p. 451-741; vol. 6, p. 58. Tolstoy Y. Lists of bishops and episcopal departments of the All-Russian hierarchy since the establishment of the Most Holy Governing Synod (1721-1871). - M., 1872, № 348. Bulgakov SV Handbook for clergymen. - Kiev, 1913, p. 1413. Stroyev PM Lists of hierarchs and abbots of the monasteries of the Russian Church. - SPb., 1877, p. 273.1026. Denisov L.I. Orthodox monasteries of the Russian Empire: a complete list of all 1105 currently operating in 75 provinces and regions of Russia. - M., 1908, p. 141.323. N. D [urnovo]. Nine hundredth anniversary of the Russian hierarchy 988-1888. Dioceses and bishops. - M., 1888, p. 77. Lists of bishops in the hierarchy of the All-Russian and episcopal departments since the establishment of the Most Holy Governing Synod (1721-1895). - SPb., 1896, No. 348. Historical and statistical information about the St. Petersburg diocese. - SPb., 1869-1885, 10 t. Notes of a Russian monk-Athos // Psychic interlocutor. - 1901, p. 179. Historical sketch of the Nikolaev Ugreshsky communal monastery [Pimen (Blagovo)]. - M., 1872, p. 109. Historical description of the Moscow Epiphany Monastery. - M., 1902, p. 18. Brail. Church Questions in Russia and Braila's Russian Spiritual Gazette. - 1896, p. 37-38. Memoirs of Archimandrite Pimen, abbot of the Nikolaev monastery on Ugresh. - M., 1877, p. 22-24, 406, 407. Church messenger. - 1891, no. 34, p. 532. Biographies of Russian devotees of piety of the 18th and 19th centuries: in 12 volumes - M., 1903-1912, January, p. 77-81; April, p. 310-326, add. 1, p. 249. Spiritual interlocutor. - 1895, April, p. 120 .-- 1914, p. 289-290. Additions to the "Church Gazette". - 1903, no. 31, p. 1162-1171. Russian antiquity. - 1879, April, p. 657 .-- 1880, November, p. 608 .-- 1885, July, p. 168 .-- 1904, June, p. 559. Historical Bulletin. - 1885, July, p. 218-219; December, p. 34 .-- 1906, August, p. 527-530. Russian pilgrim. - 1916, no. 8, p. 127-128. Russian monk. - 1910, No. 9-10, p. 131-138. - 1911, February, 63; no. 8, April, p. 18-19; no. 9, May, p. 16-17; No. 10, May, p. 12-13. - 1912, no. 50, p. 8-11. - 1913, no. 88, p. 999-1004; no. 90-92, p. 118, pr. 12.1187, pr. 14.1188, pr. 15 - 1915, no. 8, p. 448, ave. Tatyana Vasilievna Shlykova // Russian archive. - 1889, book. 1, p. 518. From letters of Ignatius Bryanchaninov to S. D. Nechaev // Russian archive. - 1893, book. 2, p. 153-158. From letters of A.P. Dubovitsky to N.I.Bulich // Russian Archive. - 1897, book. 2, p. 443. Russian archive. - 1900, book. 3, no. 10, p. 235-236. Ekaterinoslavskie diocesan statements. - 1872, No. 10. Mariupol and its environs.

Report on educational excursions of the Mariupol Alexandrovskaya gymnasium. - 1892. Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. - 1945, no. 3, p. 73. - 1958, No. 1, p. 57-69. Orthodox Theological Encyclopedia or Theological Encyclopedic Dictionary: in 12 volumes // Ed. A.P. Lopukhin and N.N. Glubokovsky. - SPb., 1900-1911, v. 5, p. 797; vol. 7, p. 641-642. Complete Orthodox Theological Encyclopedic Dictionary: in 2 volumes. // Ed. P.P. Soikina. - SPb., B. G., vol. 1, p. 926. Great encyclopedia.

Dictionary of publicly available information on all branches of knowledge: in 20 volumes // Edited by S. N. Yuzhakov. - SPb., 1900-1905, v. 9, p. 781. Russian biographical dictionary: in 25 volumes - St. Petersburg; M., 1896-1913, t. 8, p. 45. Ignatius Bryanchaninov (in the world Dmitry Alexandrovich) - bishop. Caucasian; R. 6 Feb 1807, † 30 Apr. 1867 (Polovtsov)

In this section, we publish aphorisms of famous people who have made a unique contribution to world culture - about Christianity, history, love, freedom, work, faith, culture and much more. Continues the project "Thoughts of the Great" sayings of St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) - one of the most famous and beloved saints in Russia.

The rescue:

... salvation lies in the return of fellowship with God.

Unhappy is the one who is satisfied with his own human righteousness: he does not need Christ, who proclaimed about Himself: “The righteous did not come to call, but sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9:13).

Providence of God, hope and hope, simplicity and craftiness:

No blind chance! God governs the world, and everything that happens in heaven and in heaven is done according to the judgment of the wise and almighty God, incomprehensible in His wisdom and omnipotence, incomprehensible in His governance.

If there is not a single case that would be hidden from God, then for everything that happens one must praise God.

You need to assure yourself that God is in control of the participation of the world and the participation of every person. Life experiences will not hesitate to confirm and confirm this teaching of the gospel.

Everything goes by - both good and bad - and neither humans nor demons can do what God will not allow.

Why is our spirit indignant against the fate and permissiveness of God? Because we have not honored God as God ...

From living faith in God, complete obedience to God is born, and from obedience to God - peace of thoughts and peace of mind.

From the sight of the providence of God, deep meekness and unchanging love for one's neighbor are formed in the soul, which no winds can stir or disturb.

... God is seen over the times, social events and private destinies.

The vision of God's providence preserves, grows faith in God.

A Christian who looks unswervingly at the providence of God retains constant courage and unshakable firmness in the midst of the most fierce misadventures.

Before the vision of Divine Providence, not only temporary sorrows, but also those that await a person when he enters into eternity, beyond the grave, do not resist.

A Christian should never be embarrassed by anything, for the Providence of God carries it in his arms. Our concern should be that we remain faithful to the Lord.

The defeat of one soldier is no longer the defeat of the entire army.

… The Lord in a direct manner of behavior is the Helper; and the crafty politician is his own helper - the Lord does not come to his aid, as if he were a good one.

Living the Gospel:

Do not be content with one fruitless reading of the Gospel; try to fulfill his commandments, read his deeds. This is the book of life, and one must read it with life.

According to the Gospel commandments, we will be judged at the judgment established by God for us, Orthodox Christians ... we will be judged by the Gospel, that neglect of fulfilling the Gospel commandments is an active rejection of the Lord Himself.

The Gospel is an image of the properties of the new man, who is the Lord from heaven (1 Cor. 15:48). This new man is God by nature. His holy tribe of men, believers in Him and transformed according to Him, He makes Gods by grace.

The throne and rest, so to speak, for the Holy Spirit are humility, love, meekness and, consistently, all the holy commandments of Christ.

Both about your thoughts and about the thoughts of your neighbor, about his advice, consult the Gospel.

... the gospel beatitudes are spiritual states that are revealed in a Christian from the fulfillment of the gospel commandments; that the bliss are revealed one after the other, being born one from another ...

Cleansing is accomplished by the Holy Spirit in a person expressing by life the will for cleansing.

... confessing God with the mouth without confessing the activity and innermost life of the heart, while performing some external rites and church decrees, is recognized as empty, soul-destroying hypocrisy.

... the commandments should be the soul of both every Christian and Christian society.

Spiritual reasoning is acquired by reading the Holy Scriptures, mainly the New Testament, and by reading the Holy Fathers, whose scriptures correspond to the kind of life led by a Christian.

It is necessary that reading should be facilitated by living: Be the creators of the word, and not the hearer who deceives themselves (James 1:22).

Being in adoption to God, delivered through holy baptism, is sustained by living according to the gospel commandments. The stay in adoption is lost by the deviation from residence according to the gospel commandments.

For salvation, it is necessary that the one who is baptized into Christ should live according to the laws of Christ.

… Human damage consists in mixing good with evil: healing consists in the gradual removal of evil, when more good begins to act in us.

Intention:

As the soul is in the body, so is the goal and intention in every human activity.

Man ... is led by his own way of thinking ...

Thought is like a ship's steering wheel ...

The mind is ... the king ... in the person.

The confidant of the Law of God in all exercises, in all his deeds has the goal of pleasing God. The world turns for him into the book of the Lord's commandments. He reads this book by deeds, behavior, life.

It is the heart's business to distinguish between good and evil. But again, time is needed, it is necessary to be conditioned in the commandments of the Gospel, so that the heart will acquire the subtlety of taste to distinguish whole wine from counterfeit wine.

... everything, accompanied by confusion, has a sin as its origin, even if only outwardly and seemed to be the highest good.

Divine good should not be rejected if some or many have used it for evil.

Spiritual warfare:

Grief is called temptation for the reason that it reveals the innermost state of the heart.

Demonia is much more unimportant than the acceptance of any hostile thought that could destroy the soul forever.

Sin and repentance, pride and humility:

Repentance is the whole mystery of salvation.

... repentance is the consciousness of a fall, the consciousness of the need for a Redeemer ...

... repentance cannot be combined with an arbitrary sinful life.

The feeling of repentance is not akin to someone who is completely satisfied with himself, and sees only the temptation and shortcomings of all kinds around him.

The main signs of pride are cooling off towards others and leaving confession.

The humble one surrenders himself entirely to the will of God ... Humility trusts in God - not on himself and not on men :. and therefore in its behavior it is simple, direct, firm, majestic.

Humility does not see itself as humble.

False humility is always with a contrived appearance: it publishes itself with it.

False humility loves scenes: by them it deceives and deceives.

The greatest charm is to admit oneself free from charm.

All types of demonic delusion to which the ascetic of prayer is subjected arise from the fact that repentance is not put at the foundation of prayer, that repentance has not become the source, soul, and goal of prayer.

The Pharisee, abandoning the fulfillment of the commandments of God, which constitute the essence of the Law, strives for a refined fulfillment of external trifles ...

Recognizing oneself as a sinner is necessary for salvation, but it is very harmful to condemn oneself and rush in all directions from sinfulness. “Everything immoderate is from demons,” said the Monk Pimen the Great.

Innocence is unusual for a person on earth - lower for an inhabitant of the deepest desert and solitude.

Do not desire the impossible from yourself, do not demand from your soul that which it cannot give. Heal your enthusiasm for repentance, and make up for the lack of your doing by contrition of spirit.

Much and often we harm ourselves, demanding from ourselves something unusual for us.

It is reckless to seek the impossible.

You should not demand more from your soul, from your heart than how much they can give.

Be condescending to your soul in its weakness; excessive severity distracts from repentance, leads to despondency and despair.

The study of virtues that do not correspond to the way of life produces dreaminess, leads a person to a false state. Exercising in virtues that do not fit the way of life makes life fruitless.

Love for one's neighbor, concern for the salvation of others, condemnation, resentment, forgiveness:

Love for a brother consists in fulfilling the commandments of the Lord concerning him (2 John 1: 6).

True love for one's neighbor lies in fulfilling his gospel commandments ...

Your mind, instructed by the Gospel, will then humble itself before every neighbor when it sees Christ in every neighbor.

And the holy fathers do not command to seek from the neighbor the fulfillment of the commandment, because this only disturbs the world.

Love for one's neighbor is preceded and accompanies by humility before him. Hatred of one's neighbor is preceded by condemnation, humiliation, backbiting, contempt for him, otherwise - pride.

Do what you can useful and what the law allows, for your loved ones; but always entrust them to God, and your blind, carnal, unaccountable love will turn little by little into spiritual, rational, holy.

We must give all people to God. The Church teaches us this too; she says: "We ourselves, and each other and our whole life to Christ God we will give."

It is not a problem not to place the burden on your neighbor; to shift - and the neighbor can conveniently be damaged irreparably, become incapable of anything for the rest of his life.

About those who disobey and do not heed the word of salvation, one should not be very sad; but having told them what is right, betray them to the will of God, which can turn them to the right path through other instruments and means, of which there are countless numbers in His right hand.

Prayer for them has a stronger effect on neighbors than a word to them: because prayer brings into action the Almighty God Himself, and God creates with His creation everything that is pleasing to Him.

Remember that the Savior told Peter to follow Him, and when Peter inquired and took care of something else, he heard: what else is it to you, you follow Me. By caring prematurely and wrongly for others, we often forget or weaken caring for ourselves.

In order not to condemn one's neighbor, one must refuse to judge one's neighbor ...

One must violently distract oneself from the judgment of one's neighbors, shielding oneself from him by the fear of God and humility.

The servant of Christ cannot be anyone's enemy.

Obedience:

True obedience is obedience to God, the One God.

Belief in man leads to frenzied fanaticism.

... soul-destroying acting and the saddest comedy are the elders who take on the role of the ancient holy elders without their spiritual gifts ...

Freedom:

Be free! do not bind yourself to any scrupulousness. Rules for man, not man for rules.

... in your residence, keep reasonable proportionality, not being bound by quantity.

What the Lord said about the Sabbath, that it is for a person, and not a person for her (Mark 2:27), can and should be attributed to all pious feats, and between them to the prayer rule.

Pay all attention to the Gospel commandments, with them offer yourself as a living sacrifice, acceptable to God. In external actions that have no influence on the soul, such as changing dresses and the like, be resolutely free.

Prayer:

The path to God is prayer.

The soul of prayer is attention.

Continuously reciting prayers dissipates the mind.

... the fathers command that the rule for a Christian should be as simple and uncomplicated as possible.

The essence of the fulfillment of the prayer rule is that it should be fulfilled with attention. From attention our spirit comes to humility; from humility repentance is born. In order to be able to fulfill the rule slowly, the rule must be moderate.

Fast:

How much intemperance is harmful, so much is harmful, or even more immoderate fasting.

... the sick and the elderly should beware of unnecessary physical deeds ...

Church:

Without obedience to the Church, there is no humility; without humility there is no salvation: humble yourself and save me, said the Prophet (Psalm 114: 5).

... as a person consists of a soul and a body, external rituals and decrees were necessary.

... the weakness of a priest as a person does not at all hinder the performance of the Sacraments, which are performed because of the grace of the priesthood with which a person is endowed, and not because of his own merits, although it is nice to see in one person the combination of his own merits with the gifts of grace.

Heresy:

Heresy is a false teaching about Christianity ... Heresy is a sin of the mind. The essence of this sin is blasphemy.

... all the ancient heresies, under various changing guises, aimed at one goal: they rejected the Divine Word and distorted the dogma of the Incarnation. The newest are most eager to reject the actions of the Holy Spirit ...

Attitude towards the Gentiles:

Those deprived of the glory of Christianity are not devoid of another glory received at creation: they are the image of God.

Wealth and Poverty:

Temporary wealth is called unrighteous because it is the result of a fall.

Knowledge:

It is better to confess ignorance than to show insanity.

Wonders:

Wanting to see signs is a sign of unbelief, and signs were given to unbelief to convert him to faith

Everyday affairs:

Household and household chores are very useful: they remove from idleness and facilitate the mind's invisible struggle.

Biography of Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov)

Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov) (1807-1867) - Russian spiritual writer of the 19th century, bishop, theologian and preacher.

Born into an old noble family on February 5 (17), 1807, in the village of Pokrovskoye, Vologda Region.

In the world, the future saint was called Dmitry Alexandrovich Brianchaninov.

Even as a child, he felt a penchant for prayer work and solitude. In 1822, at the insistence of his father, Dimitri entered the Military Engineering School, which he graduated in 1826. A brilliant secular career was opening up for the young man, but even before the final exam, he submits a letter of resignation, wishing to take monasticism.

This request was not satisfied, and Dimitri Alexandrovich went to serve in the Dinaburg fortress, where he fell seriously ill. On November 6, 1827, he received the coveted resignation and immediately entered the monastery as a novice.

On June 28, 1831, Bishop Stephen of Vologda D. A. Brianchaninov was tonsured into monasticism with the name Ignatius in honor of the Martyr Ignatius the God-bearer; On July 5 he was ordained a hierodeacon, and on July 20 - a hieromonk. Then in 1833 he was elevated to the rank of abbot, and in 1834 - to the rank of archimandrite.

On October 27, 1857, the episcopal consecration took place in the St. Petersburg Kazan Cathedral. Father Ignatius becomes Bishop of the Caucasus and the Black Sea.

In 1861, Bishop Ignatius retired and settled in the Nikolo-Babayevsky monastery of the Kostroma diocese, where he led a solitary prayer life until his death on April 30 (May 12), 1867.

Saint Ignatius was canonized on June 6, 1988. Before canonization, on May 26, 1988, his relics were solemnly transferred to the Holy Vvedensky Tolgsky Monastery (Yaroslavl), where they are still located.

Ignatius (Brianchaninov) Bishop of the Caucasus and the Black Sea, saint (1807-1867)

Biography

Childhood, adolescence, youth

Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov was born in the village of Pokrovskoe, Vologda province, on February 5, 1807. He came from the old noble family of the Brianchaninovs, which traced back to Mikhail Brenko, a boyar, comrade-in-arms and squire of the Grand Duke Dimitry Donskoy. In baptism, the future Saint Ignatius was given the name Demetrius.

Father Demetrius, Alexander Semyonovich, a believer, was once close to the court, and over time, by the time the future Saint Ignatius was born, he became a poor landowner. Dimitri's mother, Sofya Afanasyevna, was an educated woman with a kind disposition. She got married early enough and since then tried to devote her energy to caring for the family.

From childhood, Demetrius was brought up in pious traditions, received a good, age-appropriate education. With his gifts, he stood out among his other brothers and sisters. Among other things, Dimitri showed the ability to study languages, drawing, singing, playing the violin. Probably, he could build a good career, but he was attracted by something else: from his youth, a desire arose in him to connect his life with monastic deed. Demetrius prayed a lot, often visited the temple. However, when he told his father about his desire, he did not express sympathy, and he did not take this desire seriously.

When Dimitri was fifteen years old, his father took him to St. Petersburg to get a job at the Main Engineering School. Being a patriot, a hero of the war of 1812, Alexander Semyonovich wanted to see his son as a military engineer. And the son did not contradict his father. Dimitri passed the entrance exams so successfully that he was ahead of all other competitors. He was immediately assigned to the second grade. It was 1822.

He studied diligently and during his studies he admired his comrades and teachers more than once with his training. Dimitri's successes made him famous even to Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich, inspector general of the Engineering Troops. In December 1824, Demetrius was promoted to the rank of ensign engineer.

During the years of study, he was included in the aristocratic houses. Affected by his origin, family ties, good education and upbringing. In addition, he was a wonderful reciter. For example, he met I. A. Krylov, V. A. Zhukovsky, A. Pushkin, K. N. Batyushkov, M. I. Glinka. Despite the opportunities for a good career lying before Dimitri, he himself was not attracted by such a prospect.

During this period, Demetrius persistently sought for himself answers to pressing questions about life. But neither physics nor philosophy could give such answers. He began to turn to the works of the holy fathers of the Church, became close to the monks of the Valaam courtyard, monks of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. His heart longed for the place where both external glory and material well-being are revered for nothing. In the Lavra, he met Elder Leonidas and, with his support, became firmly convinced of the idea of ​​going to a monastery. The father, having learned about what changes were taking place in the consciousness of his son, was indignant, turned to the leadership of the school, and Dimitri was supervised.

After graduating, in 1826, an engineering school, he, to the amazement of many, submitted a letter of resignation. This request was rejected.

In the spring, Dimitri fell ill with tuberculosis. The emperor sent doctors to him, who made a disappointing verdict: in such a state of health, monasticism is contraindicated for him. Meanwhile, Dimitri nevertheless recovered. Instead of resignation, he was offered the possibility of transferring to any of the guards regiments located in the southern parts of Russia, which were distinguished by favorable climatic conditions, but he firmly stood his ground. As a result, Demetrius was sent to the engineering unit of the Dinaburg fortress on the banks of the western Dvina.

On the way to monasticism. The beginning of the monastic path

In November 1827, against the wishes of his parents, he retired for health reasons, and soon entered the Alexander-Svirsk monastery. Here he studied spiritual wisdom, fulfilled various obediences: he worked in a bakery, fishing, worked as a driver. Elder Leo was his spiritual leader during this period.

In 1828, Demetrius followed him to the Ploshchanskaya Hermitage. After a while, he moved to Optina Pustyn. The peculiarities of such a new life, including moving, affected the weakening of health, and at the end of 1829, for some time, Demetrius came to visit his parents. They tried in vain to dissuade him from his choice.

In 1830, Demetrius, with the help of Bishop Stephen of Vologda and Ustyug, entered the Seven-City Hermitage. In 1831 he moved to the Glushitsky Sosnovetsky Monastery.

In June of the same year, at the Vologda Cathedral, Demetrius, at the age of 24, was tonsured into monasticism with the name Ignatius, which he received in honor of Saint Ignatius the God-bearer. On July 5 he was ordained a deacon, and on July 20 he was elevated to a priest and appointed to serve at the bishop's house. Then he was sent to improve the Grigoriev Pelshem Lopotov Monastery, which was then in desolation. In January 1833 he was elevated to the rank of abbot.

Around this time, the parents, having resigned themselves to the will of their son, restored good, trusting relations with him.

In view of the hard work and unfavorable climate, the health of Father Ignatius deteriorated again. With friendly support, they managed to procure a new place for him, and he was offered the position of abbot of the Ugreshsky monastery.

But a higher political force intervened: Emperor Nicholas I recommended him to head the St. Petersburg Trinity-Sergius Hermitage, and at the end of 1833 he was appointed her abbot, and at the beginning of 1834 he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite. Here he remained until 1857. During his leadership, the deserts were transformed, filled with inhabitants, and gained good fame. The knowledge gained in the world and the respect for Father Ignatius on the part of worldly people also affected: many donated significant sums to him.

Since 1838, Archimandrite Ignatius was appointed dean of the monasteries of the St. Petersburg diocese.

Archpastoral ministry

In October 1857, Father Ignatius was ordained bishop, and in January 1858 he arrived in Stavropol to take control of the Caucasian and Black Sea Diocese. When he arrived in the Caucasus, the diocese was in terrible desolation. Here Saint Ignatius faced numerous difficulties, ranging from insufficient funding to the hostility of schismatics, of whom there were many at that time.

During his leadership in the diocese, the proper order of worship was established, education was improved. Many famous people helped the bishop in his work, but there were also those who treated him unfriendly. In 1861, he applied for retirement. In August 1861, he was dismissed with a pension.

In October of the same year, the saint settled in the Nikolo-Babayevsky monastery. Here, in addition to promoting the economic and liturgical activities of the monastery, he indulged in solitude, worked on his compositions, received visitors in need of his archpastoral care.

On April 16, 1867, the saint celebrated the last Divine Liturgy in his earthly life. On April 30, 1867, he quietly departed to God. After death, a few kopecks were found in the pocket of his cassock. That is all material wealth.

Creative heritage

For the edification of believers, Saint Ignatius left many works of various orientations. Among his published works are sermons and serious treatises. In addition, many of his messages to individuals have come down to us (see:). He wrote about the ascetic life (see:;), and about various issues of Orthodox Dogmatics (see:;;), and against heresies and schisms, and on other topical topics.

Troparion to Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov), Bishop of the Caucasus and the Black Sea, Tone 8

A champion of Orthodoxy, / a fair amount of repentance and prayer to the doer and teacher, / the divinely inspired adornment of the bishops, / glory and praise of the monastics: / in your writings, all of us have survived. / Spiritual teddy bear, Ignatius to the wisdom of God, / pray the Word of Christ to God, whom you also carried in your heart, // grant us repentance before the end.

Another troparion, voice 8

The Chosen One is beloved of Christ and you appeared, / To him by many sorrows and unceasing prayer, cleaving to him, / having acquired the grace of the Holy Spirit, / the teacher was wrought by people. / Remember us, Saint Ignatius, the God-bearer of Russia, / let us find saving repentance by your teachings and prayers // and we will assimilate with heartfelt love of Christ.

Kontakion to St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, Bishop of the Caucasus and the Black Sea, Tone 8

Even if you did the path of the earthly life, Saint Ignatius, / both the laws of the eternal being constantly matured, / therefore teaching the disciples the words of many, // also follow us, holy, pray.

Prayer

O great and wondrous servant of Christ, Father Ignatius, saint! Graciously accept our prayers, brought to you with love and thanksgiving! Hear us orphaned and helpless, falling to you with faith and love and your warm intercession for us before the Throne of the Lord of Glory asking. Vemy, as the prayer of a righteous man can do a lot, propitiating the Lord. From the infancy years of the Lord you ardently loved and served Him alone, desiring to serve, all the red of this world you have imputed for nothing. You denied yourself and take up your cross, you followed Christ. You have chosen the narrow and deplorable path of the monastic life by your will, and on this path you have acquired great virtues. You, by writing your hearts of people of the deepest reverence and obedience to the Almighty Creator, did you fill the sinners who fell with your wise words in the consciousness of your insignificance and your sinfulness, in repentance and humility, you had recourse to God, encouraging them by trusting in His mercy. You rejected those who came to you, but you were a child-loving father and a good shepherd. And now do not leave us, who are fervently praying to you and your help and intercession of those who ask. Ask us from our human-loving Lord for mental and physical health, strengthen our faith, strengthen our strengths, exhausted in the temptations and sorrows of this age, warm our hearts with the fire of prayer, help us, who have been purified by repentance, receive the Christian end of this belly and in the hall of the Savior incline with all the elect and there it is bought with you to worship the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

The name of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, Bishop of Stavropol and the Caucasus, shines in the annals of the Church and Russia with the bright light of the blessed election. A strict adherent of the ascetic tradition, an outstanding scientist, ascetic, archpastor, peacemaker, a man of the highest spirituality and culture, he is known to the entire civilized world as a creator of immortal spiritual works, a talented administrator, a zealous keeper of Orthodox traditions and culture, as one of the most authoritative human leaders in paths to Eternal Life.

Saint Ignatius (in holy Baptism, Demetrius) was born on February 5, 1807 in the village of Pokrovskoye, Gryazovetsky district, Vologda province, and belonged to the old noble family of the Brianchaninovs. Its ancestor was the boyar Mikhail Brenko, the squire of the Grand Duke of Moscow Dimitri Ioannovich Donskoy. The chronicles report that Mikhail Brenko was the same warrior who, in the clothes of the Grand Duke and under the princely banner, died heroically in the battle with the Tatars on the Kulikovo field.

The father of the future Saint Alexander Semyonovich Brianchaninov kept good old customs in his family. He was a faithful son of the Orthodox Church and a zealous parishioner of the Church of the Intercession that he built in the village of Pokrovskoye. Bishop Ignatius's mother was an educated, intelligent woman. Marrying very early, she devoted her life entirely to her family.

All the children of the Bryanchaninovs received excellent home upbringing and education. Dimitri's teachers and mentors were amazed at his brilliant and versatile abilities, which were revealed at a very early age. When the young man was 15 years old, his father took him to distant Petersburg, and gave him to the Military Engineering School. The future outlined by the parents did not at all correspond to the mood of Demetrius; he had already told his father that he wanted to "become a monk," but his father dismissed this unexpected and unpleasant desire for his son as an inappropriate joke.

The excellent training and exceptional abilities of the young Bryanchaninov were already evident during the entrance exams to the School: he was accepted first in a competition (out of 130 examinees for 30 vacancies) and was immediately assigned to the second grade. The name of the talented young man became famous in the royal palace. During his entire stay at the school, the future saint continued to amaze his mentors with brilliant successes in the sciences and was the first on the list to complete a full course of sciences in 1826.

At the School, Bryanchaninov became the head of the circle of devotees of "holiness and honor." Rare mental abilities and moral qualities attracted professors and teachers of the School, fellow practitioners to him. He became famous throughout St. Petersburg. Sovereign Emperor Nicholas I treated him with special paternal attention and love; Taking the most active part in the life of the future saint, he repeatedly talked with the young man in the presence of the Empress and the children.

Origin, upbringing and family ties opened the doors of the most aristocratic houses of the capital for him. During the years of his studies, Dimitri Brianchaninov was a welcome guest in many high society houses; he was considered one of the best reciters and advertisers in the house of the President of the Academy of Arts A.N. Olenin (his literary evenings were attended, among others, by A.S. Pushkin, I.A.Krylov, K.N.Batyushkov, N.I. Gnedich) ... Already at this time, the outstanding poetic talents of Saint Ignatius were revealed, which later found their expression in his ascetic works and gave many of them a special lyrical flavor. The literary form of many of his works testifies to the fact that their author studied Russian literature in the era of Karamzin and Zhukovsky and subsequently expressed his thoughts in an excellent literary Russian language.

Even then, Saint Ignatius was sharply different from the world around him. In him there was no blind admiration for the West, he was not carried away by the pernicious influence of time and the lures of secular pleasures. Subsequently, when, at the age of 24, D. A. Brianchaninov became a monk, and soon archimandrite, abbot of the capital's St.Sergius monastery, dean of the monasteries of the St. Petersburg diocese, he became known throughout Russia. He was well known and appreciated by the leading member of the Holy Synod, Metropolitan of Moscow Philaret (Drozdov). Many prominent people of Russia were looking for acquaintance with Archimandrite Ignatius, his advice and guidance. Among them are N. V. Gogol, F. M. Dostoevsky, A. A. Pleshcheev, Prince Golitsyn, Prince A. M. Gorchakov, Princess Orlova Chesmenskaya, the hero of the Crimean War, naval commander Admiral Nakhimov. Fascinated by the way of life and work of St. Ignatius, the famous Russian writer NS Leskov dedicated his story "Engineers without mercy" to him.

Everything conquered the contemporaries of the future Saint: majestic appearance, nobility, special spirituality, sedateness and prudence. He spiritually nourished his large flock, promoted the moral perfection of people who were looking for God, revealed the beauty and greatness of Holy Orthodoxy. Many-sided experience, a special gift of looking at everything spiritually, deep insight, constant and accurate self-observation made him very skillful in the treatment of spiritual and mental ailments. It is to whose prayer help the modern sick should resort, and not to psychics and sorcerers, charlatans and "healers".

Sensitive to all falsehood, Saint Ignatius noted with bitterness that the object of the depiction of secular art is, first of all, evil. He sharply criticized literary works in which the so-called "superfluous people", "heroes" who do evil out of boredom, like Pechorin Lermontov and Onegin Pushkin, were praised. Considering that such literature causes serious harm to the inexperienced souls of reading youth, the saint wrote in 1847 for mass publication the sacred story about the Old Testament biblical hero - the righteous Joseph, the image of purity and chastity. In the preface to the story, he wrote: "We wish that many of Pechorin's followers would turn into followers of Joseph."

By the time of the appointment of Archimandrite Ignatius Trinity as abbot, the Sergiev Pustyn, located on the shores of the Gulf of Finland near St. Petersburg, had fallen into desolation. The temple and cells fell into extreme dilapidation. The small brotherhood (15 people) did not differ in severity of behavior. The twenty-seven-year-old archimandrite had to rebuild everything anew. The monastery was built up and decorated. The services celebrated here have become exemplary. Monastic tunes were the subject of special care of Archimandrite Ignatius; he took care of the preservation of old church melodies and their harmonization. The famous church composer Fr. Peter Turchaninov, who lived from 1836 to 1841 in Strelna, next to the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage, conducted, at the request of Fr. Ignatius, classes with the monastery choir and wrote for him some of his best works. MI Glinka, who studied with enthusiasm the ancient church melodies in the last years of his life, also wrote several hymns for this choir. The Lord wanted His chosen one to serve the Holy Church even in the episcopal rank, governing one of the new and most peculiar dioceses of Russia. It was the Caucasian and Black Sea Diocese with a cathedra in Stavropol, founded in 1843.

The episcopal consecration of Archimandrite Ignatius took place in St. Petersburg, in the Kazan Cathedral, on October 27, 1857. Having said goodbye to the brethren of the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage, brought into a flourishing state by his labors, Vladyka Ignatius set off on a long journey to the Caucasus. This route ran through Moscow, Kursk and Kharkov (at that time there was a railway connection only between St. Petersburg and Moscow, then it was necessary to go on horseback).

His Grace Ignatius arrived in the Cathedral city of Stavropol on January 4, 1858. Civil Governor P.A. The first words uttered by the Vladyka on the Stavropol land were: "Peace to this hail." With these words, Vladyka indicated that he had come to the long-suffering Caucasian land as a peacemaker, with a desire to extinguish the fire of the Caucasian War and pacify the world on the fire-breathing Caucasian land, where the Prelate was to stay from the beginning of 1858 until the fall of 1861.

Vladyka Ignatius was the third bishop of the Caucasus and the Black Sea. The external conditions of religious life in this newly established huge diocese were extremely different from everything with which he had to deal with before being appointed to the Caucasus. The Caucasian War continued, the fertile land was stained with human blood, crying and groaning were heard from everywhere. The multinational and heterogeneous composition of the local population was the reason for the emergence of many such questions of an ecclesiastical and administrative nature, the likes of which were not even imagined by the bishops who ruled comfortable dioceses in the center of the state.

Despite all the difficulties, Saint Ignatius zealously set about fulfilling his archpastoral duties. He saw his most important task in the apostolic ministry of the flock, in the peace of the world in the fire-breathing Caucasus, in the strengthening and expansion of Holy Orthodoxy here.

Vladyka Ignatius zealously cared about the organization of the divine services and about normal relations between the clergy and laity. The saint cared about improving the life of the clergy, raising their educational level, about better relationships befitting a clergy. Thanks to this care, diocesan affairs were soon brought to a prosperous state.

Under Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov, the Stavropol Theological Seminary, founded in 1846, experienced a period of especially rapid prosperity, for Saint Ignatius, like no one else, understood the significance of this nursery of spiritual enlightenment for the cause of Holy Orthodoxy in the Caucasus, and put all his energies into the construction of the Theological School. He personally watched the spiritual growth of the students, transferred the Seminary to a new spacious building, and forever remained in the grateful memory of the teachers and students of the Stavropol Theological Seminary, being a representative for it at the Throne of God.

The field of activity of the saint was not only the cathedral city of Stavropol. He made detours to the diocese, the borders of which were the shores of the Black, Azov and Caspian seas, the snowy peaks of the main Caucasian ridge and the distant dry Kalmyk steppes. The Caucasian War was going on, and on the way the Bishop always had a monstrance with him for, perhaps, the last Communion.

While on the Caucasian Mineral Waters, using the healing power of the sources of Pyatigorsk, Essentuki, Kislovodsk, Goryachevodsk, Zheleznovodsk, Saint Ignatius Bryanchaninov praised them and consecrated them. This holy blessing is valid to this day, bringing bodily and spiritual healing to all those who resort to the help of the springs, for the waters of the springs, in addition to natural healing properties, also have a special grace-filled force that heals the ailments of the soul.

On August 23, 1858, after the Divine Liturgy in the Sorrowful Church of Pyatigorsk, in the presence of representatives of the civil and military authorities, noble citizens and eminent visitors of the Waters, with a huge concourse of common people, Vladyka consecrated the newly discovered Lake Proval. After sprinkling the walls of the grotto with holy water, an image of the Sorrowful Mother of God brought by the Procession was installed in a niche opposite the entrance to it.

His Grace Ignatius attached great importance to the construction of the temples of God in the Diocese. Through his cares in 1859, the community founded by the first Bishop of the Caucasus Jeremiah John of Mary was transformed into a monastery. In the same monastery in 1861, His Grace Ignatius founded a new Church of the Intercession. Vladyka, together with the provincial architect Voskresensky, himself drew up a project for a church in the village of Novo Grigorievskoye, which became an adornment of the Diocese. In 1860, Vladyka Ignatius issued a charter for the construction of a new church in Mozdok in honor of the miraculous Iveron Icon of the Mother of God located in this city and deeply revered in the Caucasus. With the blessing of the saint, in two years (1859 - 1860) a unique bell tower of the Stavropol Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was built according to the project of P. Voskresensky, which for many decades served as one of the attractions of the Caucasus.

For a short time - less than four years - His Grace Ignatius ruled the Caucasian Diocese, but this time providentially coincided with many important events in the life of the Caucasus. In August 1859, Imam Shamil was captured. In 1860, the Caucasian line was divided into the Kuban and Tersk regions. In 1861, the settlement of the Trans-Kuban region began.

Helping God, Bishop Ignatius honorably accomplished the difficult task of administering the vast Caucasian diocese in the midst of the brutal Caucasian war. Despite the hostilities, the real danger of being taken hostage or being killed, he visited many parishes from Taman to Kizlyar, put in order the diocesan administration bodies, achieved an increase in the salaries of the clergy of the diocese, introduced a solemn divine service, arranged a wonderful bishop's choir, and built a bishop's house. He also preached tirelessly. In relation to the clergy and parishioners, Vladyka Ignatius was a true peacemaker - he was strict with himself, he was indulgent to the weaknesses of his neighbors.

A grave illness forced Bishop Ignatius in the summer of 1861 to apply for retirement to the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery, where, after satisfying the request, he left on October 13 along with several devoted disciples.

The significance of the writings of Saint Ignatius is invaluable - the living experience of an active ascetic who built his spiritual life on the basis of Holy Scripture and the Tradition of the Orthodox Church. The theological heritage of St. Ignatius was received by readers with great love and gratitude.

Interest in the personality and immortal creations of Bishop Ignatius does not fade away even today. Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov is the best spiritual leader, the best example of how, in the whirlpool of life, a person can remain faithful to Christ, constantly kindling in his heart the fire of love and devotion to God.

Bishop Ignatius canonized by the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church (Trinity Lavra of St.Sergius, June 6-9, 1988). His holy relics rest in the Holy Vvedensky Tolgsky Monastery of the Yaroslavl Diocese. Part of them was brought to Stavropol by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia during the first visit of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church to the Caucasus in August 1994.

Life of Ignatius Bryanchaninov

second option (short)

Saint Ignatius (in the world Dmitry Alexandrovich Brianchaninov) was born on February 5, 1807 in his father's family estate, the village of Pokrovskoye, Vologda province. Mother gave birth to Dmitry after prolonged sterility, through fervent prayer and travel to the surrounding holy places. The boy spent his childhood in the seclusion of rural life; from an early age he was unconsciously drawn to the monastic life. With age, his religious mood was revealed more and more noticeably: it manifested itself in a special disposition to prayer and the reading of spiritual books.

Dmitry studied excellently and until the very exit from the school remained the first student in his class. His abilities were the most versatile - not only in the sciences, but also in drawing and music. Family ties brought him to the house of the president of the Academy of Arts, A. N. Olenin; here, at literary evenings, he became a favorite reader and soon met A. Pushkin, K. Batyushkov, N. Gnedich, I. Krylov. But in the hustle and bustle of metropolitan life, Dmitry did not betray his spiritual aspirations. In his search for "eternal property for the eternal man," he gradually came to an uncomfortable conclusion: the importance of science is limited by the earthly needs of man and the limits of his life.

As zealously as he was engaged in science, Dmitry is taken to the study of ancient and new philosophy, trying to calm his spiritual yearning, but this time he does not find a solution to the most important question of Truth and the meaning of life. The study of Scripture was the next step, and it convinced him that, left to the arbitrary interpretation of an individual, Scripture cannot be a sufficient criterion for true faith and tempts with false teachings. And then Dmitry turned to the study of the Orthodox faith according to the writings of the holy fathers, whose holiness, like the wonderful and majestic consent, became for him a guarantee of their fidelity.

Dmitry Bryanchaninov attends services at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and there he finds true mentors who understand his spiritual needs. The final revolution in life was made by an acquaintance with the elder Leonidas (later the Optina hieromonk Leo). Dmitry Bryanchaninov leaves the brilliance and richness of aristocratic life and, causing the deepest bewilderment of the "world" and the discontent of his parents, in 1827 resigns. After being a novice in several monasteries, he takes monastic vows with the name Ignatius in the secluded Glushitsky Dionysius Monastery.

In January 1832, Hieromonk Ignatius was appointed the builder of the Pelshem Lopotov Monastery in the Vologda province, and in 1833 he was elevated to the rank of abbot of this monastery. Soon Emperor Nicholas I summons Ignatius to Petersburg; by the Highest recommendation and by order of the Holy Synod, he is ordained archimandrite and appointed abbot of the Sergius Hermitage.

Having lived in the Sergiev Monastery for 24 years, Archimandrite Ignatius brought it to a flourishing state. On October 27, 1857, he was consecrated bishop of the Caucasus and the Black Sea. The following year, Vladyka arrived in Stavropol. where he faced new great labors, but a grave illness, smallpox, which befell him, prevented them. The Right Reverend decided to ask for retirement and in 1861 settled in the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery. Here, free from official duties, he devoted all his time to the end of his life (1867) to work on spiritual compositions.

Biography of Ignatius Bryanchaninov

compiled by his closest students in 1881

"Remember your mentors, like the verb
the word of God for you: they are also looking towards the end
residence, imitate their faith. "
(Heb. XIII, 7).

INTRODUCTION

Twelve years have passed since the peaceful death of the ever-memorable saint - a monk of the Russian Church of the 19th century, His Grace Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov. His time is still close to us, many of his contemporaries, companions, disciples are still alive, and meanwhile the bright personality of the holy hierarch of God already stands high above us, shines brightly for us with the light of his Christian virtues, the exploits of his strictly monastic life and his ascetic writings. The beauty of the monasticism of our century, the saint is an active teacher of monks, and not only in his writings, but throughout his life, presents a marvelous picture of selflessness, close to confession, a person's struggle with passions, sorrows, diseases, a picture of life, which, with help and action abundant grace of God was crowned with victory, attracted many rare gifts of the Holy Spirit to the ascetic. Watching with reverence this long-suffering and mournful procession of the ascetic to spiritual progress and clearly contemplating at the same time the special guidance of God's providence in his whole life, you involuntarily feel a living knowledge of faith in the paternal care of God, our Creator and Savior, and you are imbued with the desire to imitate as much as strength to this, contemporary to us, a model of Christian perfection. Providing the future biographer with a detailed and thorough assessment of the fruitful activity of the unforgettable saint, we at the present moment decided to propose only short biography in the Bose of the deceased Right Reverend Ignatius, compiled from the notes of his closest disciples and his brother Peter Alexandrovich Brianchaninov, who was deeply devoted to him in spiritual matters, who shared with him the solitude of his last years at rest in the Nicholas Babaevsky Monastery and enjoyed the full confidence and love of the blessed saint , so likewise his companion - his friend, from his early years of youth to ripe old age, Schema-monk Mikhail Chikhachov, with whom he began his monastic exploit and together with him went through it all the way to the episcopate - a friend, before whom the saint did not conceal one of the events of their life, and, finally, most importantly, they were guided by the archpastor-monk's own narratives about his weaknesses, struggles, sorrows, feelings and blessed sensations, which he described in his creations. All works in general, and primarily spiritual and moral, have the property that they quite accurately express the inner life of their authors. Thus, the writings provide ample material for the biographer to delineate the characteristics of the face, this essential part of the life story, but in order to depict the life of the Reverend Ignatius in false traits, he himself must study and experience something that he studied and experienced. The study here is so little available, the experiments are so exceptional that they are least dependent on their own efforts and the will of a person. He who, by the providence of God, is set on such a road and is partly brought into the crucible of such tests, only he can know the whole peculiarity of such experiments, and from this side it is more correct to evaluate the activity of their representative. The biographies of especially remarkable or progressive people are distinguished by the sign that they predominantly show some one side with which the activity of these persons is especially manifested, which distinguishes them with sharp, characteristic features and focuses all attention on itself: this is, as it were, the front side of all of them. activity, hiding behind itself all the others. In the biographies of such persons, it is necessary to grasp this feature and carry it out completely from the beginning to the end of the biography; then it will have an inherent endurance. In this respect, the life of the Right Reverend Ignatius has a special advantage: it represents such a distinctive aspect that completely distinguishes his personality from the ranks of other spiritual figures of his day. Such a side of his life is complete selflessness for the sake of exact fulfillment of the Gospel commandments in secret monastic spiritual exploits, which served as the subject of a new, ascetic-theological teaching in our spiritual literature - the teaching on the inner perfection of man in monastic life and his relationship to other spiritual beings, influencing him both from the inner person and from the outer or physical side. This is the feature that distinguishes the Right Reverend Ignatius among other spiritual writers of our time, a sharp feature, but not everyone can see exactly, rightly distinguish.

CHAPTER I

The Right Reverend Ignatius was chosen to serve God from his mother's womb. Such an election - the lot of very rare and deliberate servants of God - was foreshadowed by the following circumstance. The Right Reverend's parents were married in early youth. At the beginning of their marriage, they had two children, but their parents did not take long to console them; both children died in the first days of infancy, and the young couple remained childless for a long time. In deep sorrow about their prolonged disgrace, the young couple turned to the only help - the help of Heaven. They undertook a journey to the surrounding holy places in order to seek permission for infertility by earnest prayers and benevolence. The pious undertaking was crowned with success: the fruit of the prayers of the grieving spouses was a son named Dimitri, in honor of one of the first wonderworkers of Vologda, the Monk Dimitri of Prilutsky. Thus, it is obvious that the infertility of the young Brianchaninovs was the dispensation of God's providence, so that the firstborn born after infertility, requested by prayer, would later become a zealous worker of it and an experienced mentor. Infant Dimitri was born on February 6, 1807 in the village of Pokrovskoye, which was the family estate of his father and is located in the Gryazovets district of the Vologda province. The future monk had the happy lot of spending his childhood in the solitude of rural life, in close contact with nature, which, thus, was his first mentor. She instilled in him a tendency to solitude: the youth often loved to remain under the shade of the centuries-old trees of a vast garden and there, alone, plunged into quiet thoughts, the content of which, no doubt, was borrowed from the surrounding nature. Majestic and silent, she early began to influence him with her inspiring images: she inspired his child's soul, still untainted by everyday pettiness, other, more lofty aspirations, such as a desert life is full of, she delighted his heart with more lively, pure feelings that she could deliver only solitude. The youth early learned to understand this silent voice of nature and to distinguish it from the noise of everyday life. The phenomena of domestic life did not affect him impulsively - he went deeper into himself and, in the midst of an elegant secular setting, seemed like a pet of the desert. A spark of divine love sunk into his pure heart. She expressed in him an unaccountable attraction to monasticism, to his lofty ideals, with which his native side is so full, a special affection for everything sacred and truly beautiful, as far as is possible for childhood. From this early period of her life, her further path has already been determined. The youth was spiritually separated from the world. Such a mood of the young Demetrius could not count on the sympathy of his parents. His father, Alexander Semenovich Bryanchaninov, a descendant of the ancient noblemen Bryanchaninovs, a very famous and revered surname in Vologda, was a secular person in the full sense of the word. A page of the time of Emperor Pavel Petrovich, he had an unusually developed taste for elegance at home and was the perfect type of modern progressive Russian landowner. Having inherited a significant estate from his parents, he had to exhaust most of it to pay huge debts, after which he was left with about four hundred souls of peasants and the picturesque village of Pokrovskoye, which has long been the seat of his ancestors, the birthplace of the future saint. His wife, the mother of the Right Reverend Ignatius, Sofia Afanasyevna also came from the Brianchaninov family and, as a woman of remarkable education, very pious, remembering that the husband was the head, in everything was subject to the influence of her husband, sharing his views and concepts. Alexander Semyonovich was justly considered among the advanced educated landowners of his time and loved education, and therefore tried to give his children, if possible, a thorough upbringing in order to prepare them as true sons of the Fatherland, devoted to the throne, faithful to Orthodoxy. Giving such an upbringing, he was no stranger to the ambition to see later his sons occupying honorary positions in the civil service. This trait of his parent, a trait completely opposite to the intentions and aspirations of the young man, could not hide from the insight of the young Demetrius, and this is the beginning of an internal struggle, the beginning of suffering and trials, which later became the lot of the whole life of the deceased Vladyka.

All the children in the Brianchaninov family, brothers and sisters of Dimitri Alexandrovich, were brought up together, linked by mutual friendship, but everyone was aware of Dimitri's supremacy, and were aware not only because he was the eldest, but because of his special, higher, so to speak, mentality and character , due to his moral superiority. Having always respected his brothers and sisters and surpassing all of them in scientific abilities and other talents, Dimitri Alexandrovich did not show the slightest exaltation or boasting. The rudiments of monastic humility were expressed in his then behavior and way of thinking; in morality and intelligence he was incomparably higher than his years, and this is the reason why the brothers and sisters treated him even with some reverence, and he, in turn, communicated his moral qualities to them.

With age, the religious mood of Dimitri Alexandrovich was revealed more noticeably: it manifested itself in a special disposition to prayer and reading books of spiritual and moral content. He loved to go to church often, and at home he used to pray often during the day, not limited to the set time - morning and evening. His prayer was not like a routine reading, often hasty and automatic, as is so usual with children; he was accustomed to attentive prayer, which begins with reverent anticipation and unhurried pronunciation of the words of prayer, and he succeeded so much in it that even in childhood he enjoyed its blessed fruits. Learning to pray attentively, he treated everything sacred with reverence, instilling this reverence in his other brothers and sisters; I always read the Gospel with affection, reflecting on what I read. His favorite book was The School of Piety in five volumes of the old edition. This book, containing a summary of the deeds of the saints and their selected sayings, was very consistent with the mood of the youth, or rather, it tuned his spirit, allowing the holy narrations and sayings of spirit-bearing men to act on him themselves, without the mediation of extraneous explanations. Dimitri Alexandrovich's abilities were very versatile: in addition to the established studies in the sciences, he practiced with great success in calligraphy, drawing, music singing and even music, moreover, on the most difficult instrument, which is the violin. Learning his lessons very soon, he used his free hours for reading and various writing exercises, in which his literary talent also began to show. His mentors at that time were professors of the Vologda seminary and gymnasium teachers. The home teacher was a Levitsky seminary student who lived in the Brianchaninov family. He also taught the Law of God. Levitsky was distinguished by his remarkable good manners and thorough knowledge of his subject. He was so good at acquainting his pupil with the initial truths of theology that Dimitri Alexandrovich kept a grateful memory of him until the end of his life.

Dimitri Alexandrovich's life in his parents' house lasted until the sixteenth year of his age; this first period of life was already difficult for him spiritually because the external and internal conditions of life in the parents' house did not allow the possibility of revealing to anyone the cherished desires and goals that then filled his soul. In conclusion of the period of childhood of the author of "Ascetic Experiments" it is very instructive to cite his own behavior about this childhood. Here is how touchingly he speaks of himself in the article "My Cry": "My childhood was filled with sorrows. Here I see Your hand, my God! I had no one to open my heart to; I began to pour it out before my God, I began to read the Gospel and the lives of Thy saints. The veil, sometimes permeable, lay for me on the Gospel, but Your Pimen, Your Sisoi and Makarii made a wonderful impression on me. Thought, which often soared to God with prayer and reading, began to gradually bring peace and tranquility to my soul. When I was a fifteen-year-old boy, an unspeakable silence reigned in my mind and heart. But I did not understand her - I believed that this is an ordinary state of all people. "

At the end of the summer of 1822, when Dimitri Alexandrovich was sixteen years old, his parent took him to St. Petersburg to be assigned to the Main Engineering School, where he was trained by home teaching. Dear, near Shlisselburg, the father suddenly turned to his son with the following question: "Where would you like to enter the service?" Struck by such an unprecedented frankness of his father, the son no longer wanted to hide from him his heart's secret, which he had never revealed to anyone; at first he asked him to promise not to be angry if he didn’t like the answer; then, with the firmness of will and the strength of a completely sincere feeling, he said that he wanted to go "as a monk." The son’s decisive response did not seem to work on the father; he either did not attach importance to it on the basis of the youth of the respondent, or did not want to object to the seemingly unrealizable desire, which was completely at odds with the plans that he built about the future of his son. In St. Petersburg, Dimitri Alexandrovich passed the entrance exam brilliantly. The good-looking appearance and excellent training in the sciences drew special attention to the young Bryanchaninov of His Highness Nikolai Pavlovich, who was then the inspector general of engineers. The Grand Duke ordered Brianchaninov to appear at the Anichkov Palace, where he introduced him to his wife, Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna, and recommended him as being perfectly prepared not only for the sciences required in an engineering school, but even knowing Latin and Greek. Her Highness was pleased to order to enroll Brianchaninov as Her pensioner. Having become Emperor, Nikolai Pavlovich and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna continued to show their gracious favor to Bryanchaninov. After passing the exam, Dimitri Alexandrovich was enrolled in the conductor company of the Main Engineering School, and his active service began to be considered from the day he took the oath on January 19, 1823. Success in science, excellent behavior and disposition of the Grand Duke put him in first place among the yukers-comrades: by the end of 1823, with a transfer to the upper conductor class, he was appointed sergeant major of the conductor company; in 1824 he was transferred from the cadet classes to the lower officer class (what is now the Nikolaev Engineering Academy) and on December 13 he was promoted to an engineer-ensign. The rare mental abilities and moral qualities of Dimitri Alexandrovich attracted professors and teachers of the school to him; all of them treated him with special favor, giving clear preference over other pupils.

Along with his service and educational activities, Dimitri Aleksandrovich had success in secular society with his personal merits. Family ties brought him into the house of the then president of the Academy of Arts, Olenin. There, at literary evenings, he became a favorite reader, and his poetic and literary talents in general gained him the attention of the then celebrities of the literary world: Gnedich, Krylov, Batyushkov and Pushkin. Such a society, of course, had a beneficial effect on the literary development of the future writer. Until the end of his life, the Right Reverend Ignatius spoke sympathetically about the advice that some of these personalities then gave him.

The described circle of secular acquaintance, to which Dimitri Alexandrovich A.M.Sukharev's aunt, who had great connections, belonged, only externally influenced the life of a young man, whose inner life developed independently, regardless of family and social ties. Dimitri Alexandrovich, even in the noise of metropolitan life, remained faithful to his spiritual aspirations, which he experienced in the solitude of a distant homeland: he always looked for living, experienced knowledge in religion and, kept by grace, did not succumb to either the pernicious influence of alien teachings or the lures of secular pleasures. Here is the detail with which he himself, in the above article "Crying", describes his then state of mind: "I entered the military and, together, academic service, not by my choice and desire. Then I did not dare - I did not know how to desire anything, because I had not yet found the Truth, had not yet seen It clearly in order to desire It! Human sciences, the invention of the fallen human mind, became the subject of my attention: I strove towards them with all the forces of my soul; vague pursuits and religious feelings were left aside. Almost two years passed in earthly pursuits: a terrible emptiness was born and has already grown in my soul, hunger appeared, an unbearable longing for God appeared. I began to mourn my negligence, to mourn the oblivion to which I had betrayed my faith, to mourn the sweet silence that I had lost, to mourn the emptiness that I had acquired, which weighed down, terrified me, filling me with a feeling of orphanhood, deprivation of life! And, for sure, it was the vexation of a soul that had moved away from its true life, God. I remember: I am walking through the streets of St. Petersburg in the uniform of a cadet, and tears are pouring from my eyes like a hail ... "

“My concepts were already more mature, I was looking for definiteness in religion. Unaccountable religious feelings did not satisfy me, I wanted to see the true, clear, Truth. At that time, various religious ideas occupied and agitated the northern capital, bickered, fought among themselves. Neither side pleased my heart; it didn’t trust them, it was afraid of them. In stern thoughts I took off the cadet's uniform and put on the officer's uniform. I regretted the cadet's uniform: in it, when you came to the temple of God, you could stand in a crowd of soldiers, in a crowd of commoners, pray and sob as much as you wanted. The young man had no time for fun, no time for entertainment! The world did not imagine anything attractive to me: I was so cold to it, as if the world was completely without temptations! It is as if they did not exist for me: my mind was immersed in science and together burned with the desire to find out where the true faith is hidden, where the true teaching about it lies, which is alien to both dogmatic and moral delusions. "

CHAPTER II

The beginning of spiritual activity, when it is undertaken for a specific purpose and becomes predominant, in order to then become completely exclusive, is usually accompanied by an internal abuse of thoughts and passionate feelings. This abuse is so strong that there is no way to resist it on your own - you need help from above. Dimitri Alexandrovich turned to prayer, doing it internally, attentively and unceasingly. Such a prayer, forming an inner monk, adjusts to itself all the mental activity of a person, but such a prayer must be properly trained, which is the subject of monastic spiritual work. He practiced mental prayer and practiced it so zealously that it was done with him self-effectively. “Sometimes, in the evening,” he later told about himself, “you go to bed and, lifting your head from the pillow, you start reading a prayer, and so, without changing your position, without stopping your prayer, you get up in the morning to go to service, to classes.” Thus, being a monk to his liking and even in his sixteenth year of life, having experienced the blessed effect of prayer, this devout young man could not be content with the custom established in the school - only once a year to begin the sacraments of confession and Holy Communion, but needed more frequent reinforcement of himself with this spiritual food, why, to satisfy his desire, he turned to the teacher of the law and the spiritual father of the school. Such an unusual phenomenon among young people aroused the surprise of the confessor, especially when the confessing person said that "we fight with many sinful thoughts." Without making a distinction between "sinful thoughts" and "political designs", the father archpriest considered it his duty to bring this circumstance to the attention of the school authorities. The head of the school, Lieutenant-General Count Sivere, subjected the accused young man to a formal interrogation about the meaning of thoughts, which he himself recognized as "sinful." The German authorities, not understanding the meaning of this expression, began to follow Brianchaninov. The confessor's negligence plunged Brianchaninov into heavy responsibility before his superiors and brought him to a painful state; he was forced to choose another confessor for himself. Therefore, Brianchaninov turned to the monks of the Valaam courtyard, began going there every Saturday and Sunday for confession and Holy Communion, and, having learned from experience, tried to do this secretly from the school authorities. In this holy deed, he was joined by a fellow at the school, Chikhachov, from the nobility of the Pskov province, who entered the school at the same time and was very beloved by Tsar Nikolai Pavlovich. Dimitri Aleksandrovich became attached to Chikhachov by the most sincere friendship, despite the dissimilarity of their characters: the first was serious, thoughtful, concentrated in himself, the other was a merry fellow, a talker, with his soul wide open. Chikhachov devoted himself to Brianchaninov rather like a son to his father than as a brother to a brother: such was the influence of Dimitri Alexandrovich on his companion. The very first acquaintance of these two young comrades is full of affection and a truly Christian character. Once, in friendly conversations, Dimitri Alexandrovich interrupted Chikhachov's cheerful chatter, telling him: "Be you a Christian!" “I have never been a Tatar,” his friend objected to him. - "So, - said the first, - yes, we must fulfill this word in deed and delve more diligently into it." Since that time, both of them went to the monks at the courtyard, confessed and received communion, prayed, were edified by soul-saving conversations, and asceticised. This is how Chikhachov himself describes these walks in his notes, where he frankly says what effect they had on him: “One Saturday I hear an invitation from my friend to go to the priest. - "Why?" - “Yes, it is my custom to confess, and on Sunday to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ; look, and you do not lag behind. " My poor little head was then in amazement and great confusion. Fear and horror: what and how, I'm not ready, I can't! - “Not your business, but a confessor,” - the comrade answers bravely, and with his love he draws him along with him. Youth and health, and all external circumstances and the whole situation, and besides, the internal strong rebellion of passions and habits, enraged by opposition to them, terribly agitated the soul, and could it have resisted with its weakness, if it had not been for an invisible force that supported her? And with all this, if I had not had such a friend who admonished me with his prudence, and always laid his soul for me, and shared every sorrow with me, I would not have survived in this field - the field of voluntary martyrdom and confession. "

The monks of the Valaam courtyard welcomed young people with love, because they saw in them a sincere striving for God and a desire for the path of salvation, but they, as people without scientific education, mostly limited to external exploits, could not fully satisfy their spiritual needs, which is why they advised the young people turn to the monks of the Nevskaya Lavra for inspiration. At that time, there were some disciples of the elders Father Theodore and Father Leonidas, men experienced in spiritual life, who received a monastic education - the first from the famous Elder Paisius Velichkovsky, archimandrite of the Moldavian Nyametsky Monastery, and the second from his disciples. Such were the monk Aaron, monks Chariton, Ioanniki and others. Young people began to visit these monks; through them they met the Lavra confessor, Father Athanasius, who, with his truly paternal, loving manner, supported their living striving for Christian piety. Young people rejoiced when they found true mentors who understood their spiritual needs and who could use them abundantly. They aggravated their zeal for the exploits of piety, made frequent visits to the monks, enjoyed the Lavra service, which made a good impression on them, because it was grander and longer than at the Valaam courtyard. They consulted with the monks, as with spiritual fathers, about everything that concerns the internal monastic work, confessed their thoughts, learned how to protect themselves from passions, sinful habits and stumbling blocks, what books to be guided by from the writings of the holy fathers, etc. Good monks. , especially Fr. Ioanniky and the confessor Fr. Athanasius, shared with the monk-loving and all-wise young men everything that was the property of their many years of spiritual experience. Often, Dimitri Alexandrovich surprised them with his questions, which concerned such aspects of spiritual life, which testify to a rather mature spiritual age. This close friendship with the monks had a corresponding effect. Dimitri Aleksandrovich became a perfect ascetic to his soul, overlaid himself with the creations of the holy fathers, mostly ascetic in content, which, rereading with greed, went even deeper into self-contemplation and, apparently, lost interest in secular society. In his Lament, he says this about himself: “Before the gaze of the mind there were already the facets of human knowledge in the higher ultimate sciences. Having come to the edges of these, I asked the sciences: what do you give a person's property? Man is eternal, and his property must be eternal. Show me this eternal property, this faithful wealth that I could take with me outside the grave! The sciences were silent.

For a satisfactory answer, for an answer that is essential, vital, I turn to faith. But where are you hiding, true and holy faith? I could not recognize you in fanaticism, which was not sealed by gospel meekness; he breathed with excitement and exaltation! I could not recognize you in a self-willed teaching, separating from the Church, making up its new system, vainly and arrogantly proclaiming the acquisition of a new true Christian faith, seventeen centuries after the incarnation of God the Word. Oh! In what painful bewilderment my soul swam!
***
And I often began, with tears, to beg God not to give me up as a sacrifice to error, to show me the right path along which I could direct an invisible procession to Him with my mind and heart. Suddenly a thought appears to me ... my heart goes to her, as in the arms of a friend. This thought inspired to study the faith in the sources - in the writings of the holy fathers. "Their holiness," she told me, "vouches for their loyalty: elect them as leaders." I will obey. I find a way to receive the works of the saints of God, eagerly begin to read them, deeply research. After reading some, I take on others, read, re-read, study. What struck me first of all in the writings of the Fathers of the Orthodox Church? - This is their agreement, a wonderful, majestic agreement ... By the way, what teaching do I find in them? I find the teaching, repeated by all the fathers, the teaching that the only way to salvation is to follow unswervingly the instructions of the holy fathers. “Have you seen,” they say, “who was deceived by false teaching, perished from the wrong choice of deeds — know that he followed himself, his reason, his opinions, and not the teaching of the fathers, of which the dogmatic and moral tradition of the Church is composed ...
***
This thought was for me the first refuge in the land of Truth. Here my soul found rest from the excitement and winds. A good, saving thought! Thought is a gift of the priceless all-good God, who wants all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the Truth! This thought has become the main stone for the spiritual creation of my soul! This thought has become my guide star! She began to constantly sanctify for me the arduous and painful, narrow, invisible path of the mind and heart to God.
***
Such are the blessings with which my God has spared me! Such is the incorruptible treasure that guides me into blissful eternity, sent down to me from above from the Throne of Divine Mercy and Wisdom ... God, God Himself, with good thoughts, has already separated me from the vain world. I lived in the middle of the world, but I was not on a common, wide, contented path: a good thought led me to a separate path, to living, cool springs of water, through fertile countries, over picturesque terrain, but often wild, dangerous, crossed by abysses, extremely solitary. A traveler rarely wanders along it.
***
The reading of the Fathers with complete clarity convinced me that salvation in the depths of the Russian Church is undoubted, which the denominations of Western Europe are deprived of, as they have not preserved intact either the dogmatic or moral teaching of the primordial Church of Christ. It revealed to me what Christ did for humanity, what the fall of man consists in, why the Redeemer is necessary, what is the salvation delivered and delivered by the Redeemer. It kept repeating to me: I must develop, feel, see salvation in myself, without which faith in Christ is dead, and Christianity is a word and a name without realizing it! It taught me to look at eternity as eternity, before which a thousand-year earthly life is insignificant, not only ours, measured by some half-century. It taught me that earthly life should be spent in preparation for eternity, just as on the threshold of the entrance to the magnificent royal palaces. It showed me that all earthly activities, pleasures, honors, advantages are empty toys with which adult children play and play out the bliss of eternity ” .

CHAPTER III

The spiritual aspirations of the young ascetic, his zeal, zeal for prayer withstood a difficult test. The first enemies on the path of salvation were his household. Alexander Semyonovich assigned to serve his son a man who was devoted to him to self-forgetfulness, he was an old man of about sixty named Dorimedont, who served his century with faith and truth to his master. He was, so to speak, the overseer of all the actions of Dimitri Alexandrovich and reported them to Alexander Semyonovich. This news was hard for the parent. He remembered then about his son's desire expressed on the way to Petersburg, and was now convinced that it was not a child's whim. He then wrote about everything to the head of the school, Count Sievers, his former comrade in the service in the pages, and asked him to watch the pupil Brianchaninov; he also wrote to his relative Sukhareva, asking her to distract his son from his intention. The school authorities took their measures, transferring Bryanchaninov from a private apartment to a state one, to the walls of the Mikhailovsky Engineering Castle, under strict supervision, and Sukhareva, an influential person, took care to inform the then Metropolitan of St. Petersburg Seraphim that her nephew Bryanchaninov, a familiar with the Lavra monks, that the Lavra confessor Athanasius inclines him to monasticism, and that if this is found out at the Court, then he - the Metropolitan - will not avoid trouble. The Metropolitan summoned his confessor Athanasius and reprimanded him severely, forbidding him to accept Brianchaninov and Chikhachov for confession from now on. These circumstances, which were embarrassing for the freedom of his spiritual activity, were difficult for Dimitri Alexandrovich; he decided to introduce himself to the metropolitan and explain himself personally. At first, the Metropolitan did not believe in the youth's disinterested aspirations when he announced to him in a conversation his indispensable desire to enter monasticism, but then, after carefully listening to the young man's sincere statements, the Metropolitan allowed him to continue to go to the Lavra to see his confessor.

Such was Brianchaninov's striving for a monastic life; it was not a whimsical desire to represent himself as an original in society, it was not a consequence of a simple disappointment with life, which he had not yet had time to experience bitterness and pleasures: it was a pure intention, alien to any calculations of everyday life, a sincere, holy feeling of Divine love, which alone is capable of such a power to master the soul's being that no obstacles are able to overcome it.

The practice of monastic life definitely indicates that those who sincerely elect it are ready for all kinds of donations and for complete selflessness. These are the feelings poured out in Lament, where the author of ascetic experiences says:
“The heart has cooled to the world, to its ministries, to its great, to its sweet! I decided to leave the world, to dedicate my earthly life for the knowledge of Christ, for the assimilation of Christ. With this intention, I began to examine the monastic and secular clergy. And here labor met me; it was increased for me by my youth and inexperience. But I saw everything closely, and upon entering the monastery, I did not find anything new or unexpected. How many obstacles there were for this entry! I leave to mention everyone; the body itself cried out to me: “Where are you taking me? I am so weak and painful. You have seen the monasteries, you have made a short acquaintance with them; life in them is unbearable for you both because of my weakness, and because of your upbringing, and for all other reasons. " Reason confirmed the arguments of the flesh. But there was a voice, a voice in my heart, I think, a voice of conscience, or maybe a Guardian Angel, telling me the will of God, because the voice was decisive and commanding. He told me: to do this is your duty, an indispensable duty. The voice was so strong that the representations of reason, the pitiful, seemingly fundamental convictions of the flesh, seemed insignificant before him.

Except for cases and circumstances depending on the will of people, nature itself put obstacles to the pious intentions of young Demetrius. In the spring of 1826, he fell ill with a serious chest disease, which had all the symptoms of consumption, so that he could not get out. Sovereign Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich ordered his own doctors to use the patient and inform him weekly about the course of the disease. Doctors announced to Dimitri Alexandrovich about the danger of his position, he himself considered himself on the threshold of life and with frequent prayers prepared for the transition to eternity. But it did not happen as the famous doctors of the capital had predicted; the disease received a favorable turn and served as an experimental proof for the patient that without the will of God the most imperative laws of nature are not strong to influence us.

All the pious exercises of Dimitri Alexandrovich served as preparation for that decisive revolution that he had to accomplish in order to fulfill his long-standing intentions and desires. But in order to effect this upheaval, that is, to completely break all ties with the world, a person was needed who would facilitate this break, who would carry him along with the power of his spirit - he needed his own Moses to lead the new Israelite out of Egypt's worldly life. Such a Moses was for Dimitri Alexandrovich the aforementioned hieromonk Leonid. Father Leonid was distinguished by spiritual wisdom, holiness of life, experience in monastic exploits; under his leadership, many true devotees of piety and instructors of monasticism were formed. Dimitri Alexandrovich had heard a lot about this elder from the Lavra monks. Finally the opportunity presented itself to meet him. Father Leonid arrived in St. Petersburg on business and stayed at the Nevsky Lavra. There, in a lonely conversation with this representative of the then monastic asceticism, Dimitri Alexandrovich felt such an attraction to this elder that, as it were, he lived with him for a century: these were great moments in which the elder gave birth to him spiritually into his son ... On the impression of this first conversation, Dimitri Aleksandrovich spoke after his friend Chikhachov as follows: “Father Leonid tore my heart out of me - now it has been decided: I will resign from the service and follow the elder; I will surrender to him with all my soul and I will seek the only salvation of the soul in solitude. " After this first meeting, Dimitri Alexandrovich no longer belonged to the world, a decisive coup was made, it took only some time to finally unravel worldly ties.

Having decided to completely leave the service and retire to a monastery, Dimitri Alexandrovich first had to endure a great moral struggle, on the one hand, with his parents, on the other, with the mighty of this world. This struggle cost him a lot of effort. As his physical strength was constantly undermined by illnesses, so now he had to prepare himself morally to accept the pressure of the parental and state authorities, which sought to suppress, crush what was most dear and desired to him. He withstood the struggle in his young years - physical and moral, but as in the first he always triumphed with the strength of his spirit over the weakness of the flesh, so in the second he was a skillful and reliable fighter against the elements of earthly life, which promised him many sweet, great and glorious. In this last struggle, his firm character was finally developed, which was necessary for the passage of the arduous monastic life, requiring selflessness, special steadfastness of will, fearlessness, constancy and readiness for every extreme. This is the door through which the young ascetic had to enter the narrow and deplorable path of monasticism.

In June 1826, Dimitri Alexandrovich received a three-month leave of absence from service and to improve his health went home, to the house of his parents. Knowing the ambitious intention of his father and not wanting to upset his parents by decisively announcing his will to them, Dimitri Alexandrovich tried to gradually and carefully prepare them for the alleged change in life, but this did not help either - Alexander Semyonovich could not come to terms with the idea of ​​monasticism of his firstborn. He was angry with him, refused outright, removed him from himself, like a rebellious son. Everything had to be endured by a meek and sensitive young man, obedient to the commandment of the Savior: He loves a father or mother more than Me, is worthy of Me (Matthew 10:37). With deep sorrow, not having received the desired consent, he left his parents' house for the capital. Here he had to first pass the final exam at the Engineering School, which he completed at the end of December, and although without competition with his graduates who had passed the exam much earlier, he retained his primacy in the number of points; then, freed from the dependence of the college, he resigned from the service. Then a new storm met him: he had to deal with the supreme power, had to defend his cherished desire even before the Monarch, to whom he was wholly indebted for his upbringing, education and gratitude for the merciful high attention to him. It was difficult for him to convince worldly people of the truthfulness of their spiritual aspirations, understandable only to a handful of monks in the Nevsky Lavra; courageous determination was needed; it was necessary to resist only with selflessness and willpower, and not with arguments and obvious instructions. It is clear that the dispute was unequal: it was necessary either to succumb, to yield, or to show an example of unshakable courage, valor of martyrdom, direct confession.

Sovereign Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich, having learned about the request submitted by Bryanchaninov and about his desire to go to the monastery, instructed his August brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, to dissuade everyone's beloved pupil from such an enterprise. In early January 1827, Dimitri Alexandrovich was demanded to the Grand Duke's palace. All the higher authorities of the Engineering School were gathered there. A nineteen-year-old boy with a quivering heart, but with a firm will, stood before the assembly. The Grand Duke informed him that the Sovereign Emperor, knowing his ability to serve, instead of resignation intends to transfer him to the guard and give him a position that will satisfy both his, Brianchaninov's, vanity and his ambition. The young man said to this that, not having sufficient funds, he could not serve in the guard. “The Emperor will be pleased to take care of this,” interrupted the Grand Duke. “My upset health,” the young man continued, “which is known to His Majesty from the reports of the doctors who treated me, makes me absolutely impossible to carry out office work and, foreseeing a quick death, I must take care of preparing myself for eternity, for which I choose the monastic rank". The Grand Duke noticed that he could get service in the southern climate of Russia and that it was much more honorable to save his soul while staying in the world. Bryanchaninov replied: "To remain in the world and wish to be saved is, Your Highness, the same as standing in a fire and wanting not to be burnt." Despite the convictions of the Grand Duke, who resorted to both caress and threat, Brianchaninov remained firm in his intention and asked to show him mercy - to dismiss him from service. Then the Grand Duke resolutely objected to him that since he remained adamant in his perseverance, the Highest Will was announced to him: the Sovereign Emperor refused to dismiss him from service and did him only the mercy that he left to choose the fortress to which he should be sent to the service. Brianchaninov rejected voluntary election from himself. The Grand Duke turned to Count Operman, his assistant in the rank of Inspector General of Engineers; he pointed to Dinaburg. The Grand Duke approved the order, and on the same evening Bryanchaninov was appointed to the Dinaburg engineering team, with the order to leave St. Petersburg at 24 hours to the place of his new service.

The head of the Dinaburg team was at that time Major General Klimenko; he was informed of Brianchaninov's mood and ordered to have strict supervision over his behavior. Comrades in the service at first were not entirely trusting of Dimitri Alexandrovich, but then changed their minds, seeing his true piety, meekness and prudence. They even became devoted to him, sharing his labors in the service because of his morbid condition. The official duties of officer Brianchaninov consisted of supervising the production of various buildings and earthworks in the fortress; he was so weak in health that he was forced to stay hopelessly in the apartment for several weeks in a row, and therefore needed the help of his comrades in the performance of official duties. Only one correspondence with Father Leonid supported Dimitri Alexandrovich in this spiritual loneliness, since he was also separated from his beloved friend Chikhachov. In the fall of 1827, the Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich visited the Dinaburg fortress and, convinced of the physical inconsistency of officer Bryanchaninov, bowed to his indispensable desire to be dismissed.

CHAPTER IV

On November 6, 1827, Dimitri Alexandrovich received the coveted resignation. He was dismissed with the rank of lieutenant and immediately went through Petersburg to the Alexander-Svirsky monastery to Father Leonid, so that, under his leadership, he began the feat of monasticism. Arriving in St. Petersburg in the clothes of a commoner, in a sheepskin coat, he stayed in Chikhachov's apartment. Here it was agreed for both to enter the monastery, and as soon as possible. Chikhachov immediately wrote a petition. Exposing domestic circumstances as the reason, but did not receive satisfaction and had to wait a little longer at the service.

Demetrius Alexandrovich left the service without the knowledge of his parents, and therefore, naturally, incurred their wrath. They refused to provide their son with material assistance and even stopped written communication with him. Thus, complete material poverty accompanied Dimitri Alexandrovich's entry into the monastery; he literally fulfilled the commandment of non-covetousness at the very beginning of monasticism, and could quite rightly say with the Apostle, as a true disciple of Christ: Behold, we have left everything behind and follow You with an idoch (9:27). In his Lament, he expressed his feelings with which he entered this new path of life: “I entered a monastery as an astonished one rushes, closing his eyes and putting aside reflection, into the fire or the abyss, - as a warrior, carried away by his heart, rushes into I am slashing a bloody one, for obvious death. My guide star, a good thought, came to shine for me in solitude, in silence, or more correctly, in the darkness, in the storms of the monastery. "

Unquestioning obedience and deep humility distinguished the behavior of the novice Brianchaninov in the monastery. The first obedience was assigned to him to serve at the cook. The cook was a former serf, Alexander Semenovich Bryanchaninov. On the very day of joining the cookery, it happened that it was necessary to go to the barn for flour. The cook told him: "Come on, brother, let's go for flour!" - and tossed him a flour sack, so that he was all covered with white dust. The new novice took the sack and went. In the barn, stretching out the bag with both hands and, at the order of the chef, grabbing it with his teeth so that it would be more convenient to pour in the flour, he felt a new, strange spiritual movement, which he had never experienced before: his own humble behavior, complete oblivion of his "I" so delighted him then that he remembered this incident throughout his life. Among other novices, he was appointed to pull a fishing net in the lake of the Svir Monastery. Once somehow the seine got entangled in the depths. A commoner monk who was in charge of fishing, knowing that Brianchaninov could swim well and could stay under water for a long time, sent him to unravel the net. Despite the strong autumn cold, Dimitri Alexandrovich unquestioningly obeyed the order, which had an extremely harmful effect on his poor health - he caught a bad cold. Such cases of obedience and humility made all the monastic brethren begin to treat Bryanchaninov with obvious respect, giving him preference over others, which he was very burdensome, because, living among the monastic fraternity, he even tried to hide his origin and education, rejoicing , when those who did not know considered him for a dropout seminarian.

Having entered the monastery, Dimitri Alexandrovich with all his soul devoted himself to the elder Father Leonid in spiritual guidance. These relationships were distinguished by their sincerity, directness, and represented a perfect semblance of an ancient novice who did not dare to take a step without the knowledge or permission of the mentor. Every movement of the inner life of such novices takes place under the direct supervision of the elder; daily confession of thoughts gives them the opportunity to carefully observe themselves, it protects the new-born monk from the harmful effects of these thoughts, which, being confessed, like the mowed grass, can no longer arise with the same force. The experienced gaze of the elder-confessor reveals the most secret recesses of the soul, indicates the passions nesting there, and thus surprisingly contributes to introspection. Sincere confession, everlasting devotion to the elder and the complete cutting off of the will before him are rewarded with spiritual consolation, lightness and a peaceful state of mind, which are characteristic of dispassion.

This kind of initial asceticism in ancient time When deserts and monasteries abounded with spiritual elders, it was the lot of a few novices. It is all the less common today, with a noticeable depletion of spiritual eldership. Dimitri Alexandrovich, as it is said, obeyed the will of his spiritual father in everything, all questions and perplexities were resolved directly by him. The elder was not lazy to make remarks to his young pet, he led him through external and internal humility, teaching him an active life.

“Once,” says I. A. Barkov, a very pious man and worthy of all likelihood, “Father Leonid came to me from the Svir Monastery in winter: there was a severe frost and a blizzard, the elder arrived in a wagon. When he came to me, I fussed about a samovar and thought: not only one old man arrived, probably there is some driver - and I began to ask the elder to let him also come in. The elder agreed. I called a stranger, and was not a little surprised when a young, handsome-looking man, with all the signs of a noble birth, appeared before me. He meekly stopped at the threshold. “What, perezyab, nobleman? - the elder turned to him and then said to me: - Do you know who it is? This is Brianchaninov. " Then I bowed deeply to the driver. "

Such an extremely humbling image of leadership was undertaken by Father Leonid in relation to his student, the young officer Brianchaninov, no doubt in order to defeat in him all arrogance and conceit, which are usually inherent in every noble and educated person who enters the environment of simpletons. The elder acted like an unhypocritical teacher, in the spirit of true monasticism, following the examples of the holy fathers; he constantly subjected his disciple to trials, and such experiences of humility could not but please the noble novice, who with sincere love for God devoted himself to monastic exploits.

A year later, the need arose for Father Leonid with all his disciples to move from the Svirsky monastery, due to the crowdedness of this monastery, to another place. He went to the Ploshchanskaya hermitage of the Oryol diocese; Dimitri Alexandrovich, among other students, followed the elder. At this time he arrived in the Ploshchanskaya hermitage and Chikhachov. The friends exchanged cordial greetings, were glad that they had again united in the quiet shelter of the monastery's seclusion, and began to live as before collectively, tying themselves to the union of the most holy friendship. Elder Leonidas also blessed them for such a life together, separately from other students.

CHAPTER V

Young novices indulged in a completely selfless life: they kept solitude, avoided crowds, kept themselves in every possible way from the impressions of the environment harmful to silence, avoided unnecessary meetings and unnecessary acquaintances in order to keep themselves in strict silence and mindfulness. All the forces of their souls were directed towards divine thought and prayer. A separate room in the monastery garden, without any messages, brought them the desired peace: the young ascetics rejoiced in their hermitage. So they spent the winter of 1829. Dimitri Alexandrovich, naturally endowed with the ability of literary creativity, loved to contemplate pictures of nature and from them to extract content for his divine thought, which he depicted with a skillful pen. Here he wrote his "Garden in Winter". To the same kind of literary creativity belongs his other work - "The tree in winter before the windows of the cell", written a little earlier, in the Svirsky monastery. In these two works, the views and feelings of a God-thought soul, indulged in religious contemplation under the influence of prayer states, were expressed, which is experienced only by the silent. But the young hermits did not have to use the peaceful shelter in the Ploshchanskaya desert for long: a difficult test was being prepared for them. Displeasure arose between the builder of the desert, hieromonk Markell and the elder father Leonid, forcing the latter to leave the Ploshchanskaya hermitage and move to the skete of the Optina Vvedenskaya hermitage, located in the Kaluga province. Bryanchaninov and Chikhachov were also ordered to leave the monastery immediately and go “anywhere”. The monastic brethren grieved for the innocent expulsion of the well-behaved young novices who did not annoy anyone, and spent them with feelings of deep regret and respect for their quiet and strict life, giving them five rubles, collected together, for the journey. It was difficult for two comrades to wander around an unknown side with a skinny purse, without having in mind a certain place; they tried to shorten their journey as much as possible and headed for the Beloberezhskaya desert in the same Oryol province. On the way they were in the Svensky monastery, where at that time hieromonk Athanasius, one of the disciples of the aforementioned Moldavian elder Paisius Velichkovsky, was working in seclusion. Dimitri Aleksandrovich visited the recluse and made a lot of use of his soulful conversation about the beneficialness of crying, which he recalls in his ascetic experiments, citing the words of the recluse that deeply sunk into his soul: “On that day, on which I do not cry about myself as a lost person, I consider myself in self-delusion. " However, the Beloberezhskaya Pustyn did not shelter the poor wanderers, and they, continuing their journey further, arrived at Optina Pustyn, where their elder father Leonid settled with his students. The abbot Moses did not agree to accept them, but the older brothers took pity on the plight of the wanderers and persuaded the abbot not to drive them away. In May 1829, Brianchaninov and Chikhachov settled in Optina Hermitage, keeping the same order of life as they had in the Ploshchanskaya monastery.

The stay of Dimitri Alexandrovich and his comrade in Optina Hermitage was far from the same as in Ploshchanskaya. The abbot looked at them unfavorably, the brethren were not entirely trusting. They had to grieve a lot in their solitary lifestyle; the monastic food itself, seasoned with poor quality lean oil, had a harmful effect on the weak and sickly organism of Dimitri Alexandrovich. They decided to make food for themselves: with considerable difficulty they begged for cereals or potatoes and cooked stew in their cell, an ax served them as a knife; cooked food for the Chihachs. Such a difficult and unseemly situation, of course, could not last long: the debilitating weakness of bodily strength was a consequence of it for both. At first, Dimitri Alexandrovich suffered from her, so much so that he could not stand on his feet; he was courted by Chikhachov, who was stronger than his physique, but he soon collapsed, stricken with fever. Then Dimitri Alexandrovich took care of the sick comrade; Although he diligently performed this service, he immediately collapsed from ultimate exhaustion.

Dimitri Alexandrovich's mother was ill. Disease - the harbinger of death - usually changes the disposition of the human heart. Sofia Afanasyevna forgave her son's deed in her heart; maternal feeling spoke in her; she wished to see her son. Alexander Semyonovich, under the influence of this circumstance, softened himself and wrote to his son that he would not interfere with his intentions, let him come to his mother and, at the same time with the letter, sent a covered chaise for him. Dimitri Alexandrovich hurried to his parents. He set off with his sick comrade Chikhachov, since Alexander Semyonovich was so attentive that he did not forget to invite him. But the meeting at my parents' house was far from what the invitation had promised. Bryanchaninov's sick parent recovered somewhat in health, and the peaceful feeling that suddenly appeared in her father about a threatening circumstance - his wife's illness - disappeared. He received his son coldly. Although the mother was friendly, she did it with restraint. Thus, wandering from one monastery to another, the difficult situation in the latter, the mother's illness and, as a result of her, an instant outbreak of parental feelings - all this served only to extract the young people from the orphanage of the holy monastery and put them on the same road, face to face with worldly temptation. The enemy of human salvation has no such advantageous net as the abandonment of the monastery walls by young novices under any plausible pretext. An unauthorized exit from the monastery is always his idea.

Young people settled down under secular shelter in a separate secluded wing of the house with the intention to continue their monastic exploits, turning to the local village priest for spiritual needs, considering their stay here only temporary. But Alexander Semyonovich did not think so. He turned to his former idea of ​​returning his son to worldly life and by all means began to persuade him to enter the civil service; the gaze of his family and friends turned to him with the same thought; although the mother sometimes listened to her son's teaching about the soul-salvation and other lofty truths of Christian life, she did not have enough independence to completely surrender to his suggestions. The temptations revolving before our eyes confused the ascetics; a noisy crowd broke their silence. Young people began to feel weary about their stay among the laity and thought about how they could quickly get out of the secular society, incompatible with monasticism, and settle down again somewhere in a monastery.

Having lived the beginning of the winter of 1829 in the village of Pokrovskoye, the following year, 1830, in February, both friends set off to look for a comfortable shelter within the walls of the monastery; they directed their way to the Cyril-Novoyezersky monastery. At this time, Archimandrite Theophanes, famous for his holy life and exemplary management of the monastery, lived there in retirement, and Abbot Arkady, his disciple and imitator of his mode of government, was the abbot. Father Arkady was distinguished by his simplicity of disposition; he foresaw the spirit of true monasticism in the two young newcomers and lovingly accepted them into his monastery. But the friends did not rejoice at the new place of residence for long: the inexorable nature proved to them that a person consists not only of a soul, but also of a body. The Novoyezersk Monastery is located on an island in a vast lake. The damp climate from the evaporation of water endows unfamiliar and weak organisms with a fierce fever. Soon Dimitri Alexandrovich felt his harmful influence; he contracted a fever and for three months experienced excruciating symptoms without any medical benefits. Towards the end, his legs began to swell, so that he could not get out of bed. In June, when the fever was especially rampant there, the parents sent a carriage for their son to bring him to the city of Vologda. It was a hard time for Dimitri Alexandrovich: he was forced to return again to where he wanted to flee. In Vologda, Dimitri Aleksandrovich stayed with his relatives and began to use medications for the fever that tormented him, which penetrated so deeply into his body that it left its marks for the rest of the century. Chikhachov, who also suffered from the climate of the Novyezersk monastery, went to the Pskov province to meet with his parents on August 13 of the same 1830. The friends parted to test their strengths individually in the struggle against the elements of worldly life.

CHAPTER VI

The hand of providence, hitherto invisibly covering the homeless wanderer, touched the heart of His Eminence Stephen, Bishop of Vologda: the archpastor penetrated the spiritual aspirations of the young Brianchaninov and settled down to him. The Right Reverend Stephen loved Dimitri Alexandrovich so much that he took a very lively part in him, and this love of the Vladyka was a visible sign of God's grace for the sacrifice of the heart, which the new Abel brought: it announced a favorable outcome of all trials borne on the path to monasticism, because the archpastor kept in on his hand that laurel, with which the head of a young fighter, exhausted in battle with the world, the flesh and the devil, was to be worn. Having recovered from his illness, Dimitri Aleksandrovich did not want to return to his parents, and with the blessing of Vladyka, he settled in the Seven-City Hermitage. The locality of this monastery was conducive to the restoration of his health; with renewed zeal, he devoted himself to his usual spiritual pursuits: contemplation of God and prayer in the silence of his private solitude. Here he wrote his "Lament of a Monk", which expressed the sorrowful state of the soul, intensely striving for God, but broken by the worries of life, as a result of which her lot became only crying on the ruins of her aspirations. Dimitri Alexandrovich did not live long in the Seven-City Hermitage; soon, on February 20, 1831, he was transferred at his request by the bishop to a more secluded, deserted Glushitsky Dionysian monastery, where he was enlisted as a novice. The first acquaintance of the Right Reverend Ignatius with the former abbot of the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery, Archimandrite Pimen, dates back to this time. Father Pimen, then a young merchant's son, describes the appearance of novice Bryanchaninov as follows: “The first time I happened to see Bryanchaninov on the embankment of the Zolotukha River (in Vologda): I was on the left bank, and he walked on the right. As now, I see him: tall, slender and stately, fair-haired, curly, with beautiful dark brown eyes; he was wearing a sheepskin sheepskin coat, covered with pea-colored nanko, and a novice cap on his head. " Further, the narrator admires his noble posture, modest gait, extremely reverent standing in the church at divine services and, finally, the very conversation, which he describes in the following words: firmly of John Climacus, Ephraim the Syrian, Philosophy and the writings of other ascetics, and therefore his conversation, edifying and fascinating, was extremely delightful. "

Meanwhile, the parent of Dimitri Alexandrovich, even during his stay in the Glushitsky monastery, did not cease to express a desire to fulfill his requirements: he persistently strove for his son to leave the monastery life and enter the civil service. Then the novice novice began to ask the bishop to show him mercy and, in view of family circumstances, to hasten to tonsure him into monasticism. The Right Reverend, knowing well the spiritual mood of Brianchaninov, decided to fulfill his request. Having sought permission from the Holy Synod, he summoned Demetrius Alexandrovich from the Glushitsky monastery to Vologda and ordered him to prepare for tonsure; at the same time, he ordered him to keep it a secret from his relatives and friends, in order to avoid any claims on the part of them that could interfere with the case, since he intended to cut him unexpectedly for everyone. Such a situation was embarrassing at such an important time: the one preparing for the tonsure was forced to stop at an inn and prepare for the great rite amid the waves of the world.

On June 28, 1831, His Grace Stephen performed the rite of tonsure Brianchaninov into the minor schema in the Cathedral of the Resurrection Cathedral and named Demetrius Ignatius, in honor of the Holy Martyr Ignatius the God-bearer, whose memory is celebrated by the Church on December 20 and January 29. Monk Ignatius, first on the first, then on the last of these days, celebrated his namesake. This name of Ignatius also points to the Monk Ignatius Prince, the Vologda wonderworker, whose relics rest in the Prilutsk monastery, where the relics of the Monk Dimitri Prilutsk, the angel of the newly tonsured monk from baptism, rest. Thus, a change in the names of the two miracle workers resting in the same monastery was made over him. The memory of the circumstances of birth is combined with the name of one given at baptism, and the name of the other is given during the tonsure, as if to commemorate the similarity of the earthly fate of the newly tonsured one with the monk from the princely family. Bryanchaninov's relatives, who arrived at the cathedral on June 28 for the divine service, were extremely amazed at the unexpected priesthood, which they became spectators. On July 4 of the same year, the monk Ignatius was ordained by His Grace Stephen to the hierodeacon, and on the 25th of the same month - to the hieromonk and temporarily left at the bishop's house, which is located in Vologda at the Cathedral, in the same fence formed by the walls of the Kremlin, from the time Tsar Ivan the Terrible. To teach the clergy, the newly ordained one was assigned to the city church of the Savior, the ordinary one, under the leadership of priest Vasily Nordov, later archpriest and rector of the Vologda Cathedral.

The parents of the newly tonsured, of course, reacted with displeasure to this event, especially Alexander Semyonovich was amazed by him; his will, on which he so stubbornly insisted, did not materialize: all plans for his son's secular career collapsed, dreams of his brilliant future disappeared. In the eyes of his father, the son has become a useless member of society, having lost everything that his father brought him upbringing. A woman's heart, less stubborn in opposing circumstances and always more pliable to reciprocity, disposed Sofia Afanasyevna to look more favorably on her son's act, but the spiritual side was also alien to her, and worldly concepts took over. All this, of course, meant nothing for the monk, who voluntarily puts himself in a position that makes him forget all worldly ties and family feelings, but the circumstances of the monk Ignatius were not such that this displeasure of his parents was insensitive to him. After being tonsured, he had to take shelter in the country house of his uncle and godfather Dimitri Ivanovich Samarin and was forced to accept monetary assistance from one of his relatives (Mrs. Voeikova). Staying in Vologda forced him to often revolve in the circle of relatives and friends: many of them began to visit him and demanded from him reciprocal visits. Young for years, handsome in appearance, he was interested in the whole Vologda society, everyone talked about him, everyone wanted to get closer to him. This necessarily drew him into worldly absent-mindedness and directly contradicted the vows he had just made at the altar. The entire external environment of the desert-loving monk was contrary to his inclinations, he bored with the city rumor and began to ask the patron saint of his Reverend Stephen to let him go to the Glushitsky Monastery, but the Right Reverend, intending to give him a place corresponding to his abilities and pious direction, and also decent in relation to his society , kept him to himself. Soon such a place was opened: at the end of 1831, the builder of the Pelshem Lopotov Monastery, Hieromonk Joseph, died. Hieromonk Ignatius was instructed to perform the burial ceremony. On January 6, 1832, he was appointed to the place of the deceased, and on the 14th he was given the title of builder, and a legguard was placed on him.

CHAPTER VII.

The Lopotov Monastery, founded by the Monk Gregory of Pelshem, a Vologda miracle worker, is located in the Kadnikovsky district of the Vologda province, forty versts from Vologda and seven miles from Kadnikov, located on the banks of the Pelshma River, which flows into the Sukhona, in a forest and swampy area. The monastery was almost in ruins, so it was proposed to abolish it: the church and other buildings were extremely dilapidated, incomes were meager, there was a lack of the most necessary things - food, and therefore there were very few brethren. It was necessary to use a lot of work and worries in order to fix everything, renew, replenish poverty in all respects. The new abbot was not discouraged; he set to work with energy. Donations soon flowed from the pious inhabitants of Vologda, who honored the memory of the Monk Gregory; monastics from those monasteries where the builder Ignatius lived as a novice began to gather in his monastery and in a short time formed a fraternity of up to thirty people in it. The divine services have been brought into proper order: the monastery was renewed both externally and internally, became unrecognizable against the position in which the builder Ignatius accepted it. But what did it cost him? According to an eyewitness who visited the Lopotov Monastery in the winter of 1832, the builder Ignatius was placed in the gatehouse at the Holy Gates when the new abbot's cell was being built.

Aleksandr Semyonovich's heart softened when he saw his young son in such a dignity as befitting an old age, therefore, much promising ahead. Where the inner, spiritual side could not work, the outer took over, and it completely had a beneficial effect on Sophia Afanasyevna. The builder's son often began to visit his parents' house: his mother's heart, who was often ill and felt close to death, won over to his powerful word about the truths of the afterlife. The mother was imbued with the spiritual discourses of her son; her concepts have changed; from the carnal they became spiritual: she thanked God that he had vouchsafed her to have her firstborn among His servants, whereas before she had considered it a great misfortune for herself. Such a change with the parent on the threshold of her life greatly delighted the priest's son. Admonished by his edifications and prayers, Sofia Afanasyevna died peacefully on July 25, 1832. The builder Ignatius himself performed the funeral ceremony in the church of the village of Pokrovskoye. It is wonderful that during this divine service the son did not drop a single tear over the lifeless body of his mother! And this did not come from the restraint befitting a priest, or from the coldness of a kindred feeling, but constituted a special feature of his spiritual character. The feeling in him was alive, filial love for the mother in its natural measure, but in him the spiritual man was replaced by the spiritual; the feeling of carnal kinship was completely imbued with spiritual love, which prompted not to regret for a temporary loss, but to wish for the only blessed fate of the deceased - in eternity. Therefore, such kindred feelings in the monk Ignatius were never revealed in their usual way; they were reflected in him with deep thought and prayerful, silent reverence, with complete external tranquility.

In the Lopotov Monastery, the builder Ignatius had the consolation of meeting and reuniting with his beloved friend Chikhachov. Chikhachov became an active assistant to the builder Ignatius in the construction of the monastery; he had an excellent voice, knew church singing well, and composed a very good singing choir, which helped a lot in attracting many pilgrims to the monastery. The abbot Ignatius clothed him in a cassock and guided him in the spiritual life.

Entering the new career of the head of the monastic hostel, Father Ignatius was in the full sense of the word the abbot of the society of monks. The following excerpt from his ascetic writings depicts to us what spirit he was in the edification of monks: “I will say here about the Russian monasteries my wretched word, the word is the fruit of many years of observation. Maybe written on paper, it will come in handy for someone! - Monastic life has weakened, just like Christian life in general, monastic life has weakened because it is inseparably connected with the Christian world, which, separating weak Christians into monasticism, cannot demand from monasteries strong monks, like the ancients, when Christianity, which lived among the world abounded in virtues and spiritual strength. But also monasteries, as the institution of the Holy Spirit, emit rays of light on Christianity; there is still food there for the godly; there is still the preservation of the Gospel commandments, there is still strict and dogmatic and moral Orthodoxy; there, although rarely, extremely rarely, the living tablets of the Holy Spirit are found. It is remarkable that all spiritual flowers and fruits grew in those souls who, far from acquaintance inside and outside the monastery, cultivated themselves by reading the Scriptures and the Holy Fathers, with faith and prayer, animated by humble but powerful repentance. Where there was no cultivation, there is sterility.

What is the exercise of the monks, for whom - and monasticism itself? It consists in studying all the commandments, all the words of the Redeemer, in assimilating them to the mind and heart. The monk becomes a spectator of two human natures: a damaged, sinful nature, which he sees in himself, and a renewed nature, a saint, which he sees in the Gospel. The Decalogue of the Old Testament cut off gross sins, the Gospel heals the very nature that is sick with sin, which acquired sinful properties by the fall. A monk must, in the light of the Gospel, enter into a struggle with himself, with his thoughts, with his heart's feelings, with the sensations and desires of the body, with a world hostile to the Gospel, with the rulers of the world who are trying to keep a person in their power and captivity. Omnipotent truth sets him free (see John 8:32); freed from the slavery of sinful passions seals, renews, introduces into posterity the New Adam, the all-good Holy Spirit ... ”.

His Grace Stephen of Vologda, seeing the indefatigable and useful labors of the builder Ignatius on the restoration and improvement of the Lopotov monastery, elevated him to the rank of abbot on May 28, 1833, but the swampy terrain of the Lopotov monastery took away the last remnants of his health, and finally put him completely on a bed of illness. Chikhachov yearned his soul for his abbot and, seeing no other way out of the plight, dared to offer him his idea - to move from the Lopotov monastery somewhere else. This idea was approved by the abbot, and it was decided to go to Chikhachova to his homeland, to the Pskov province, to seek to move them to one of the local monasteries. Guided by the blessing of his abbot, Chikhachov set off on a deliberate path. Arriving in St. Petersburg, he turned to Countess Anna Alekseevna Orlova-Chesmenskaya, whom he had had the opportunity to meet shortly before. This was on his first trip from the Lopotov Monastery, when he went to his homeland to arrange family affairs; then for the first time he met the countess in the Novgorod Yuryev monastery, in the cells of the abbot, the famous Archimandrite Photius. The Countess kindly received Chikhachov and donated several books and 800 rubles of money to the Lopotov Monastery. Since then, Bryanchaninov and Chikhachov enjoyed the gracious favor of Countess Orlova, which lasted until her very death. This time Countess Anna Alekseevna also cordially received Chikhachov, gave a room in her house, provided everything she needed, and actively began to bother to move Abbot Ignatius from the Lopotov Monastery. Chikhachov, being in the capital, in the circle of a noble society who visited the countess, already intended to return back to the Lopotov monastery, but the countess restrained him and advised him to introduce himself to the Moscow Metropolitan Philaret, who was then in Petersburg. Chikhachov came to the Trinity courtyard. His Eminence graciously received the Lopotovsky monk and said: "I am not ignorant of the life and qualities of Abbot Ignatius," and offered him the abbot's place in the third-class Nikolo-Ugreshsky monastery, his diocese, if he wished to move there, promising to deliver the best later. Chikhachov thanked the merciful Vladyka and dared to express in front of him the fear that it would be inconvenient for Abbot Ignatius to ask himself from the Vologda diocese, since he was personally tonsured by the Vologda bishop, who could be offended by such an act of his tonsure. "Well," said the Metropolitan, "I will make a proposal about this in the Synod and I hope that they will not refuse me." On the next day, a decree was sent from the Synod to Vologda to the Right Reverend Stephen on the transfer of Abbot Lopotov of the Ignatius monastery to the Nikolo-Ugreshsky monastery, where, upon surrender of his monastery, it was ordered to send him immediately.

His Grace Stephen reacted kindly to this event. Admonishing Abbot Ignatius with his blessing to a new office, he made the following comment about him in his attitude to the Metropolitan of Moscow on November 28, 1833: third-class Glushitsky monastery, with its meritorious qualities and education in the sciences always attracted my special attention, why was taken to the Vologda bishop's house and, after ordination to the hierodeacon, and then to the hieromonk, was used for the conciliar clergy, where more and more noticing he has excellent abilities, adorned with commendable behavior, in 1832 January 6, I appointed him, Ignatius, in the place of the builder hieromonk Joseph, who died in the Lopotov Monastery, the builder, and, being, in this new position entrusted to him, an image of his exemplary life, establishment in the monastery of order, in accordance with the rules and regulations of the monastery, accurate supervision until false decency in the monastery, drawing special attention to himself from the public, he managed to revive zeal in the admirers of the holy monastery, and thus Lopotov achieved the possibility of the monastery, which had already come into complete decay and disorder, to bring now in a short time into the best condition, such as: 1) the establishment of valuable silver holy vessels, the Gospel and vestments, and many others for the splendor of church serving things, and 2) the construction of abbot and brotherly cells, and then the amendment of many dilapidated monastery buildings, which Ignatius is useful for the monastery of the holy service, and, moreover, the reviews of the public about his commendable qualities convinced me this year on May 28th, to encourage him to continue the same service, to be promoted to the abbot, leaving the abbot in the same Lopotov monastery as an abbot, about which hegumen Ignatius deserved to bring the excellent and commendable service for the necessary herewith to the attention of Your Eminence. "

Chikhachov, delighted with such a successful outcome of his petition, went from Petersburg to his homeland in the Pskov province to visit his parents. Here, shortly after his arrival, he receives a letter from Countess Orlova-Chesmenskaya, in which she informs him that all the events in the life of Hegumen Ignatius and himself have come to the attention of Sovereign Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich, and that His Imperial Highness deigned to remember his former pupils and ordered For the Metropolitan of Moscow to summon Hegumen Ignatius not to Moscow, but to Petersburg, For a personal introduction to Him, and he added that if He also liked Ignatius, as before, then He would not hand him over to Metropolitan Philaret. His Eminence Filaret, in fulfillment of this Highest will, in an official letter dated November 15, 1833 addressed to the Vologda Bishop Stephen, asked him to send Abbot Ignatius directly to Petersburg as soon as possible, and in his private handwritten letter to Abbot Ignatius he demanded that , arrived to him in St. Petersburg at the Trinity courtyard. "This order must be carried out without delay," wrote the Vladyka of Moscow, "because this is not my will."

On November 27, Abbot Ignatius surrendered the Lopotov monastery to his treasurer, and on November 30 he left for St. Petersburg. By this time Chikhachov had also returned there, impatiently awaiting the arrival of his abbot. Arriving in the capital, Abbot Ignatius immediately introduced himself to Metropolitan Philaret, who sheltered him at his Trinity courtyard, where he waited for the time when he would be appointed to appear before the Emperor.

On the appointed day and hour, Abbot Ignatius introduced himself to the Tsar in the Winter Palace. The Tsar was delighted to see his pupil, "and joy," writes Chikhachov, "to appear to the beloved Tsar, the fullness of grateful feelings for all His Monarch's mercies brought the warm soul of a loyal monk to awe-inspiring delight." After some explanations, the Emperor deigned to say: “I like you, as before! You are indebted to me for the upbringing I gave you and for my love for you. You did not want to serve me where I intended to place you, you chose the path of your own free will - on it you will pay your debt to Me. I give you Sergiev's hermitage, I want you to live in it and make a monastery out of it, which in the eyes of the capital would be an example of monasteries. " Then He led the abbot halfway to the Sovereign Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Entering her, he asked Her: does She recognize this monk? In response to a negative answer, He called the abbot by his last name. The Empress was very merciful to her former pensioner and forced to bless all her children. The sovereign immediately deigned to send for the chief prosecutor of the Synod, Nechaev, who reported to His Majesty that Sergiev's hermitage had a special purpose - it was given to the vicar bishop under the St. Petersburg metropolitan and the bishop uses its income in exchange for support from the spiritual administration. Then the Sovereign ordered to inquire about how great the amount of income received by the vicar bishop from the monastery, and in this amount to issue the amount to him from the office, and hand over the monastery to the full management of the abbot appointed by Him. The Chief Prosecutor announced to the Most Holy Synod the Highest Will and the Right Reverend Benedict, who was then vicar, was given a decree of the Synod to hand over the deserts to the Abbot Ignatius, and to receive 4000 rubles in bank notes from the cabinet. At the same time, by order of the Synod, Abbot Ignatius was elevated to the rank of archimandrite, which was performed in the Kazan Cathedral on January 1, 1834, and on the 5th of the same month, the new abbot left for his monastery, accompanied by Chikhachov and a twenty-two-year-old who had just been admitted to his cell. the youth Ioann Malyshev, who later, twenty-three years later, became the successor of his elder in the abbot of the monastery, with the rank of archimandrite.

Notes (edit)

(Tatiana Petukhova)

Bishop Ignatius is a Russian saint!
He is a great teacher for monks,
Spiritual guide for all Christians,
He was given this gift from God.
A baby was born in winter, in February,
In our area, in the Pokrovskoe Selo.
Dmitry Prilutsky is his patron,
Our saint was named Dmitry.
The youth Dimitri loved silence.
He looked at the stars, looked at the moon.
And he could not refrain from crying
How beautifully God created everything!
He did not want to frolic in childhood,
He loved to pray to God.
I read a lot, thought about everything,
And having matured, he left his home

Dmitry is noisily met by the capital,
He will study at a military school,
And there was a considerable competition in the school,
But he surprised everyone at the exams.
The student was very capable!
And although he is used to obedience,
But I asked my father's permission
And he begged, begged without end,
To go to a monastery forever.
The father refused, saying: Never!
And don't dream, forget about it,
In your life there will be another way
And Dmitry wanted to become a monk.
He loved to pray and contemplate.
The world of entertainment was not nice to him,
He loved God with all his heart,
But before your desired dream,
Oh, how difficult it was to get there!
Parental anger, displeasure of the king,
He received royal favor, apparently, in vain.
He was reproached, persuaded more than once:
- Well, why aren't you listening to us?
The officer's uniform suits you so well.
You must submit to your father.
Wealth, career, so many roads!
But in the heart of Demetrius there is only one God!
With humility, softening parental anger,
Deprivations, hardships, having endured everything,
He was left alone in the royal city,
Dreaming of taking the angelic rank!

Demetrius suffered. The diploma was received,
He was exhausted by poor health,
But he was sent to the fortress to serve.
- How can I get my resignation as soon as possible?
Demetrius prayed every night
Only the Lord can help!
The almighty Creator heard the prayers.
Resignation is given and now, finally,
Long-awaited news awaits Dimitri.
In the northern city, in Vologda, here
He was tonsured.
He has now achieved his cherished dream.

They could no longer stop him,
They gave him a new name.
Monk Ignatius is called now,
And then he opens the door to the monastery,
The road there was not easy
But he endured everything for Christ's sake!
The soul rejoiced, at last he is here,
It is a great honor to serve God!

Monk Ignatius is beautiful in himself.
Smart, educated, with a generous soul.
Everyone was amazed at his nobility,
But never its superiority
Didn't even show in the slightest
He worked hard, spared no effort.

And if the disease strikes when,
That friend Michael is always there.
We worked together, together for the service
They saved friendship for many years!
Ignatius the monk prayed a lot
Secretly from everyone, on my knees, in tears.
He revealed all the thoughts to the elder.
Ignatius grew spiritually!
Several years have passed.
God's chosen one, ascetic, ascetic
Not young for years, but not old either
I became an abbot by the Providence of God.
He again earned the respect of the king,
And for the construction of the monastery
The king made generous contributions
He asked to pray for the Russian land.

Our saint had a multifaceted talent
Spiritual mentor, skillful builder.
His letters, like prose in verse,
But above all, the monk must
Pray to God both night and day.
To strengthen faith in your heart.
This is how the saint instructed the monks.
And the native monastery flourished.

A teacher of prayer and repentance.
He himself endured great suffering,
But strengthening by prayer, fasting.
He saw the will of God in everything!
The years went by. Becoming a bishop.
He humbles his temper even then.
Always and in everything he is very strict with himself.
And if, it happened, he got sick,
The saint thanked God
And he constantly prayed.
Everything he wrote to the monks
He experienced everything on himself.
Physical weakness oppressed him,
But he worked, believe me, a lot.
And there were many great works,
So that the teachings of the ancient fathers
They were understandable, available in everything.
He is then in modern language
He translated, explained their teachings.
And the words of those saints were not lost!

The great saint was always ready
Help. to reason, and how many volumes
His creations were written to people!
Saint Ignatius,
We will ask you -
Show your mercy to us.
Firmness of spirit, Faith, love
Teach us the weak in everything,
To make prayer with hot fire
Always warmed our hearts.
So that she is Orthodox until the end
Our homeland is Great Russia!
Let faith in Christ be strengthened.
Let the temples stand for many centuries!
Saint Ignatius,
From all fellow countrymen,
From all generations to our times
Accept in gratitude
Our deepest bows !!!