Where is Elder Eliy April now? Father Eli: what you need to know about the "clairvoyant old man

They say that today there are no elders left in Russia at all. The clergyman Elijah is called the last one who can be honored with such a title. Elder Ily Nozdrin, well-known among the people and the church environment, despite his advanced age, still receives visitors and is the personal Patriarch of Moscow.

The path to love and faith

Faith in Elijah, whom at birth his parents named Alexei Afanasyevich Nozdrin, seems to have always been there. As a boy, Alexei went to church, the boy began to pray to God at the age of three.

This unique person was born in the village of Stanovoy Kolodez. After graduating from high school in the 1950s, he joined the army. There he was enrolled in the ranks of the Komsomol members, which, upon his return to civilian life, he greatly regretted.

Repentance seized Alexei so much that he decided to burn the party card. And again he turned to faith as the only source of grace and righteousness.

Then Alexei Afanasyevich studied at a technical school. Worked in the city of Kamyshin. After work, the young man often came to the local church to the priest John Bukotkin. He then advised Alexei to enter the theological seminary.

While studying at the seminary in St. Petersburg, Alexei began to communicate closely with the future Patriarch Kirill. In 1966, at the hands of Metropolitan Nikodim, he was tonsured a monk. At the same time, he was given the spiritual name Ilian in honor of one of the forty holy martyrs of Sebaste. By the same metropolitan he was appointed to the rank of hieromonk. He served in various Leningrad churches, monasteries and parishes.

He was sent to Optina Hermitage in 1989 to work as a confessor, where the rector of the monastery tonsured him into the great schema with the name Eliy. Elder Eli Nozdrin lives there today.

The schiarchimandrite is extremely negative about any manifestations of communism. Stalin and Lenin for him - worst enemies people and faith. His public views are as follows:

Optina elder leads simple life. He prays a lot and regularly receives people who need his advice.

The way of life in Optina Hermitage is quite severe. Confessor Eli wears an ordinary cassock. Looks thin and hunched over. But everyone who gets to see him vied with each other about the holiness that comes from this warrior of Christ.

Elder Eli speaks in a low voice and in simple words. But they seem to penetrate into the heart, they respond there with something already known for a long time, but not yet fully realized. The clergyman Eli knows the Bible, church history, and the lives of the saints very well. He understands many worldly problems. And he often moves from place to place for his church affairs. And everywhere he is found by people who want to receive a blessing from the elder.

Who are spiritual elders?

Those who just come to work in the church are called beginners. Like spiritual babies who have just stepped onto the path of faith.

Who then are the spiritual elders? The title of an elder cannot be obtained by someone else's order. Those priests who strive for unity with God, live according to God's laws and are marked by God's mercy become elders. These people go through a difficult path of faith and love. They are endowed with insight, but do not show it without measure, their wisdom is quiet, and their faith is very deep.

The elders know how to instill spiritual strength in a person so that he can cope with his problems on his own. They only point the way and share their grace with believers.

True elders are as pure in soul as children. They are really full of love for the world, devoid of passions, calm and humble. This state is achieved by people when they work hard spiritually, engage in spiritual development. All of the above is also in Ilia Nozdrin. And this is confirmed by the endless stream of people, which does not seem to dry up next to the elder.

Optina elder Iliy Nozdrin is an example of a highly spiritual person. His deeds are simple and devoid of pathos, and the results from them exceed all expectations. Will there be elders like him in Russia in the future? This question is difficult to answer. But Christianity, like the whole world, is constantly evolving. Therefore, there is always hope for such spiritual support. After all, year after year more people comes . Perhaps the faith of some of them will be so strong, and life is pure, that a new elder will appear who will tirelessly help people solve their problems, support them and guide them along the right path.

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The personal confessor of the Russian Patriarch flew to Yekaterinburg

"This is a classmate of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church ... he heals from cancer and shows many more miracles ...". A PHOTO

Father Eli (left) is probably the only person who knows all the secrets of Patriarch Kirill (right)

A great event took place in the Orthodox community of Yekaterinburg and the Sverdlovsk region. Elder Eli arrived in the Ural capital. The biography of this man, who, in fact, is the second most influential person in the Russian Orthodox Church, is like a legend. His grandfather threatened to tear off Stalin's head, and the future elder himself, who later became the confessor of the Russian patriarch, influenced the outcome of the Battle of Kursk. But that's not all...

Schema-Archimandrite Ily (Aleksey Nozdrin), who is called one of the most famous modern clergymen, came to Yekaterinburg on a pilgrimage. As the secretary of the Metropolitan of Yekaterinburg and Verkhotursk, hegumen Veniamin (Raynikov) told the site, the 84-year-old elder held a service in temple complex on Ganina Yama - the place of destruction of the remains of the family of Emperor Nicholas II. Today, accompanied by Metropolitan Kirill of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye, Elder Ily visits Verkhoturye, where he venerates the relics of St. Simeon of Verkhoturye, and Alapaevsk, where the monastery of the New Martyrs of Russia is located, also built on the site of the execution of members of the Romanov family and their entourage.

For the Orthodox community, the visit of Father Elijah is a great event, as this person enjoys great prestige. The announcement of the meeting, published on the official website of the diocese, said that "such an event does not happen often" and that for many this meeting could be "life-changing". According to Abbot Veniamin, the meeting of the flock with the guest took place in the spiritual and educational center of the Yekaterinburg diocese. “We did not have time to qualitatively announce the meeting, since we were finally convinced of the arrival of Father Ily only when he got on the plane to Yekaterinburg, but at the same time a full hall gathered to listen to him, people even stood in the aisle,” he said.

The biography of the elder is extremely fascinating and in places is similar to the apocrypha. So, it is reported that the future spiritual leader was born on March 8, 1932 in the prosperous village of Stanovoy Kolodez, Oryol district, Oryol region, into a peasant family. In the world, the future spiritual leader was named Alexei, and, by his own admission, he began to pray at the age of three. Alexei's grandfather, headman of the Intercession Church, Ivan Nozdrin, categorically did not want to join the collective farm. Then he was offered to move with his family from the village to the farm, which they did. However, later the innovations of the revolution got there: the family returned to the village, and grandfather Ivan, in protest, welded iron boots for himself and walked around the village in them. “I could say directly: “I will tear off Stalin’s head for the truth!” That was the man."

The future father, Eli, went to school in his native village. In the Orthodox community, the legend is passed from mouth to mouth that, as an 11-year-old boy, in 1943 he influenced the outcome of the Battle of Kursk. Allegedly, the boy was praying outside the house, and drunk Germans drove past him on a motorcycle on a village road and dropped a tablet with a map of the fortified area on the Kursk Bulge, the boy picked up the map and handed it to the adults, and they handed it to ours. In the morning, the Nazis began to comb the neighborhood in search of documents, but found nothing. It is not known for certain whether the secret information reached the target, but the commander of the Central Front, Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky, using information from four independent sources, delivered a powerful preemptive strike to the positions of the Wehrmacht.

After leaving school, Nozdrin served in the army, where the foreman persuaded him to join the Komsomol. As the biography of the elder says, upon returning home, he deeply repented of this, seeing it as a sin, and immediately burned his Komsomol card.

Then Nozdrin studied at the engineering college in Serpukhov, and after graduation he was assigned to work in the city of Kamyshin, Volgograd region. He attended the only functioning church in the city in honor of St. Nicholas, where his first confessor was the priest John Bukotkin, who recommended young man enter the Saratov Theological Seminary. After the closure of the Saratov Seminary, Alexei Nozdrin was transferred to the Leningrad Theological Seminary, and later he graduated from the Leningrad Theological Academy, where Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov) was tonsured a monk with the name Ilian (in honor of one of the forty martyrs of Sebaste). It is known that Vladimir Gundyaev also graduated from the Leningrad Theological Seminary, and then the Academy, who was tonsured a monk by the same Metropolitan Nikodim, received the name Cyril, and now heads the Russian Orthodox Church.

For ten years, Hieromonk Ilian carried out his obedience in a monastery on the holy Greek Mount Athos, and in the early 90s he was sent to the restored Optina Hermitage. There he was tonsured into the great schema, that is, he vowed to observe especially strict ascetic rules of behavior, and received the name Eli. For 20 years, Iliy revived the senile ministry, for which the monastery has always been famous. Among the parishioners, rumors quickly spread that Father Eli had the gift of healing and foresight. So, they write that he foresaw the tragedy that occurred in Optina Hermitage on Easter April 18, 1993, when three monks were killed by a cultural enlightener Nikolai Averin, who turned out to be a Satanist. They say that Father Iliy was forced to leave Optina Hermitage after he did not agree with other monks in the point of view of the end of the world.

Now Father Eli, as the confessor of Patriarch Kirill, mainly lives in Peredelkino on the territory of the courtyard of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.

Protodeacon Andrey Kuraev, who criticizes the Russian Orthodox Church in many aspects, calls Father Iliy "a wonderful person." However, in an interview with a correspondent, the site Kuraev noted that in last years there were a lot of politicized people around the elder, which is “very sad.” So, on the VKontakte page, which is probably run by the followers of Eli, the elder’s statements about the crisis in Ukraine were posted, in which he asks God to “save Little Russia from the “Westerners” and the American-Bandera unrest.”

“During a meeting with Yekaterinburg residents, which was broadcast on the Soyuz channel, a crying woman asked Father Elijah: “Father, my son was going to Ukraine to join the militia. How to be? To this, the priest replied: “Well, the work and the mood are, of course, good, but who knows ...”. It is not clear why the patriarch's confessor needs publicity. After all, people who believe in the closeness of their spiritual relations will believe that now they have learned the true position of the patriarch,” said Kuraev.

However, hegumen Veniamin from the Yekaterinburg diocese notes that political issues were hardly discussed during the meeting. “He is not a political, but a spiritual figure, and when people are killed in Ukraine, this is no longer a political, but a spiritual problem,” the abbot said.

In Russia, there have always been spiritually perspicacious people who were called elders. Moreover, they fell into this category not at all for advanced years, but thanks to special wisdom, which appeared as a result of fervent prayers and labors for the glory of God. Previously, such elders lived mainly in Optina Hermitage, where pilgrims from all over Russia came for advice and blessings. Today, this tradition is being revived, and Elder Eli, who will be discussed in our article today, played a significant role in this process.

For the sake of meeting this amazing person, people are ready to spend several days in Optina Hermitage, waiting for his visit and at least one encouraging word. As the pilgrims say, not a single trouble will hide from the gaze of the elder Elijah. He will encourage, support and guide everyone. Much that he does is perceived as something miraculous, although the elder himself believes that everything in this world happens only by the will of God. Who is he, Elder Elijah from Optina Hermitage? Let's get to know him together.

Getting to know an old man

Schema-Archimandrite Elijah is difficult to find in one place. Despite the fact that he recently turned eighty-five years old, he is constantly on the move. And how could it be otherwise, if the elder has so many tasks and duties that one wonders where he draws strength for all this? Although the Schema-Archimandrite himself only trusts in God. He is sure that everyone in this world is given a burden according to their strength and understanding. After all, the Lord is merciful, and therefore he will never scourge the children of his beloved.

Elder Elijah manages everything. He often travels around Russia and holds meetings with ordinary people, and besides this, he does not forget to visit Optina Hermitage weekly. After all, it was he who was blessed for the restoration and revival of this ancient monastery. And, judging by the way he looks now, the elder did an excellent job with this work.

Not so long ago, the schiarchimandrite was appointed confessor of Patriarch Kirill himself, with whom they have known each other for several decades. This appointment was the reason for the forced relocation of Elder Elijah to Peredelkino.

Many pilgrims wonder how to get to meet him. They are planning visits to Peredelkino, but this is not worth doing. After all, it is almost impossible to find an old man here. He comes to his house for rare moments of relaxation and does not receive visitors. O the best way we will tell readers a little later about seeing and talking with the elder.

Young years of Schema-Archimandrite

The future elder Elijah, and in the world Alexey Nozdrin, comes from a simple peasant family. He was born in the Oryol region and still loves these places very much. He comes here most often and oversees many parishes.

Despite the fact that in the thirties of the last century atheism was totally implanted, the Nozdrin family was very pious, and with early years the boy attended church regularly. From the age of three, he could no longer imagine himself without prayer and, in his own words, turned to God for advice in absolutely any situation.

There were four children in the family, but it was Alexei who had to help his mother raise them. His father died at the front, and the boy took care of his mother and loved ones. By nature, he was generously endowed with kindness, diligence and humility. In addition, the young man was distinguished by intelligence, quick wit and a desire for knowledge, which helped him finish his studies in high school.

While serving in the army, a story happened to Alexei, which he later regretted for a long time. Surrendering to the persuasion of his commander, he joined the Komsomol and received a Komsomol ticket. However, the young man believed that a person who believes in God cannot be a party member. He deeply regretted that he had allowed himself to be persuaded to this act, and soon burned the ticket issued to him.

In the fifties of the last century, Alexei graduated from a professional educational institution in Serpukhov and was sent to work in Kamyshin.

Path choice

Since the young man learned to be a builder, he was sent to build a new factory. However, it was at this time that Alexei realized that he did not feel any attraction to his profession at all, and began to visit the only functioning church in the city more and more often. There he often talked with his spiritual, and he once advised the young man to try to enter the theological seminary. This proposal seemed very interesting to Alexei, and after much deliberation, he moved to Saratov, where he entered the seminary.

Seminary studies

The years of study were not easy for Alexei. During this period of time, mass persecution of the church began in the country, as a result of which churches and Christian educational institutions began to close.

The seminary in Saratov was closed, and the young man had to continue his studies in Leningrad. Here he graduated not only from the seminary, but also from the academy. During these years, he met the future Patriarch Kirill, communication with whom gave him great pleasure. As the patriarch later recalled, Alexei seemed to him a lively, reasonable and very kind person who literally saw everyone from the inside, and was very sociable by nature.

In Leningrad, he received monastic tonsure and took a new name - Ilian. He began his service in several parishes of the city and region at once. In the first years of his obedience, he was ordained a monk with a priestly rank.

Formation of the spiritual world of the elder

Ilian was very thoughtful about his duties and read a lot. Under the influence of the lives of the saints, his spiritual outlook and attitude to the service of the Lord was formed. He was especially inspired by the opportunity to devote his life to serving in the Athos monastery. For the sake of this, Ilian spent ten long years in the Pskov-Caves monastery. Here he could often be caught in spiritual conversations with Elder John Krestyankin.

Finally he was sent to Athos, where he carried out the obedience of a monk and lived in a secluded cell. The years spent in the monastery of St. Panteleimon gave the elder a lot. In silence and prayers he knew the secrets human soul which greatly helped him in his future activities.

Revival of the Optina Hermitage

By the early 1990s, the situation in the country had changed dramatically. Temples and monasteries began to revive everywhere, and the people reached out to faith with their souls. Such a massive impulse revealed an acute shortage of priests, who by this time were scattered around different parts of the world. From Athos, Ilian was also called, who was entrusted with the important mission of restoring the Optina Monastery. By this time, for more than ten years, he had been in complete desolation and needed a person who could take on the real feat of reviving the holy place.

In the same year, the elder received the highest rank, according to which he completely renounced the world and devoted every second of his life to the Lord. Since the acceptance of this dignity can be considered as a birth in God, the elder also received a new name - Eli. The elder has been serving in the Optina Desert for about thirty years, and the monastery owes its current status to the tireless labors of the Schema-Archimandrite. Quite deservedly, this place is considered the center of Orthodoxy, where tens of thousands of pilgrims come every year.

honorary mission

For eight years already, the schiarchimandrite has been fulfilling the most honorable mission that an Orthodox clergyman can only imagine. He is the confessor of Patriarch Kirill. Surprisingly, the elder himself believes that this work is his sacred duty, and even left the monastery so dear to his heart to settle in Peredelkino. From here it is much closer for him to get to Moscow and communicate with his spiritual child.

Warm relations have long been established between the patriarch and the schiarchimandrite, so they are only getting stronger every day. Not the last role in this process is played by the prayers of the elder. They are credited with incredible power, because where Elder Eli, there is always a place for a miracle.

About how to get to Elder Elijah, in one or another life situation many Orthodox think. And those lucky ones who managed to do this tell amazing things about the schiarchimandrite. Each pilgrim has his own story of meeting and communicating with the elder, because he literally saved many from spiritual blindness and other problems.

Some talk about how, without even looking at the pilgrim, the Schema-Archimandrite answered all the questions that tormented the soul of the person who came for an answer. At the same time, depending on the situation, the elder found comforting or accusatory words.

Many write that Eli is able to heal mental anguish with one or two words or make a person think about his life, completely changing it in the future. And after all, the elder does not raise his voice, does not accuse, but can penetrate into the very essence of the pilgrim standing in front of him and understand what exactly he needs.

The elder always knows which of those present to give an icon that he personally brought from Athos, and to whom a book, the reading of which will help the pilgrim to see spiritually.

There are known cases when, after the elder's prayer, people were healed in the most miraculous way. The story of a soldier on the verge of death is widely discussed. His relatives brought him to the monastery hoping for a miracle. The man no longer regained consciousness, and only after the prayer of the elder opened his eyes, and soon got to his feet. Regarding this case, the doctors simply shrugged their shoulders and could not find him a worthy scientific explanation.

Elder Eliy, Optina Pustyn: how to get there

If you really need to see the elder, then feel free to go to Optina Pustyn. True, no one knows when the Schema-Archimandrite will arrive here. However, he visits the monastery almost every week and communicates freely with pilgrims in the refectory. Therefore, be sure to pray before going to the monastery and be sure that the Lord will give you the opportunity to talk with the elder if it is necessary for the good of your soul.

To be honest, Schema-Archimandrite Eli (Nozdrev) has always evoked in me an underlying feeling of hostility and rejection. Unlike such truly spirit-bearing elders as Fr. Kirill (Pavlov), Fr. Nikolay Guryanov (Schibishop Nektary), Fr. Paisius Svyatogorets, Fr. Hieronymus of Sanaksar, Fr. Gury (Chezlov), Fr. Tavrion (Batozsky) and many others.

On the Web, you can find an audio recording of a certain monk Alexander, in which he talks about the visions that were with him during clinical death. You can treat them differently - believe or not believe! But there is an interesting fragment in which the monk tells that the devil considered Schema-Archimandrite Elijah HIS HIS right after he “blessed” (according to the vision, it was not in Optina, but in some official, pompous residence) acceptance for the people of an electronic document in the form of a plastic card (he allegedly added in thought at the same time a phrase of such semantic content: well, since it is so convenient ...)

Recall that almost all the elders (with the exception of Archimandrite John (Krestyankin)) categorically FORBIDDEN taking plastic documents as a passport - speaking of this as a kind of “point of no return”: anyone who accepted them, according to the elders, would certainly accept subsequently the mark of the Antichrist!

In addition, the “old man” Eliy looks very ugly in the story with Fr. Simeon (Larin). This is one of the oldest inhabitants of Optina, a front-line soldier! So, it was precisely because of the oppression of the “old man” that this man was forced to leave the monastery. As Fr. Simeon, in Optina Pustina, many with irony in their voice designate Schema-Archimandrite Elijah as a "scheme" - putting a very significant meaning into it!

Alexey Anatolievich Cheverda

Fortunately, Father Eli does not consider himself as such. In this he is honest with God.

In fact, at the moment, the leadership of the ROC MP is the “spiritual children” of the odious Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov).

Those who lived in Optina for a long time, after the appearance of Abbot Elijah in Optina, should remember the scandal with the photo portrait of Pope John Paul II in the cell of this "old man".

And only when many of the brethren murmured and refused to go to Elijah for confession, the portrait that hung not far from the icons was taken down.

I heard this from my confessor, hegumen Nikon, one of the restorers of Optina, a prayer book and faithful warrior of Christ.

Was familiar with Fr. Nikon, if we are talking about the hegumen of Optina Nikon, who recent times labored at the Optina farmstead in Moscow and had already retired.

He was in disgrace, that's for sure. I also know about Elijah and I know some details from his life from Schema-Archimandrite Seraphim (Tomin), who was the dean in the monastery on Mount Athos, when Fr. Eli (then Hieromonk Ilian) labored there as a librarian. Even there he had a portrait of the Pope in his cell, which embarrassed the brethren.

And one day a cardinal arrived on Athos. The brethren ignored his arrival, and Father Ilian went out to meet the cardinal with a cross, as to a bishop. After that, the brethren stopped communicating with him, and after a while, Fr. Ilian returned to Russia.

He said that it was hard for him there. Because on Athos there are only abbots in free mode, and hieromonks must carry out obediences like ordinary monks. And he returned to Russia to receive abbess here. He took the vows of the schema, received the hegumenate and wanted to return to Athos, but he was invited by Fr. Evlogii to Optina not as an elder, but as a confessor of the brethren. From Optina, Ily wrote a letter to Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov), but he never received an answer.

I think that Father Eliy is a good person. That's just his faith distorted. He believes that Catholics are not heretics, but our brothers in Christ. He spoke about this in front of me to a monk from Optina Hermitage and spoke with fanaticism.

He showed Fr. Elijah a letter from Elder Ambrose, where the Elder condemns the heresy of the Latins, and Fr. Elijah sneezed at his feet, calling him "Satan" and "schismatic."

Father Eliy is a simpleton. He can’t even connect two words, watch his video of the conversation - they are all contradictory and paradoxical.

Simplicity is good, but the main gift of a true elder is prudence. The elder will never praise the one who harms the Fatherland, but Fr. Ily reveres Gorbachev, who ruined our state. Father Eli even blessed his children to print portraits of Gorbachev and handed them out in the church.

I do not condemn the Church, and even more so I do not oppose the Church, talking here about Fr. Elijah. Don't bother blaming me for this.

I just want to warn people against the danger that awaits them when they turn to Father Elijah. I think that the article published here has the same purpose.

Schema-Archimandrite Eli attracts with his "humble" appearance. But try in front of him to start a conversation about Catholics, call them heretics and you will see how his "humility" will disappear like steam. For some reason, the communists will immediately become to blame for everything. This is how Fr Eliy reacts to any political question.

An even greater misfortune of his religion is the Origen heresy. He believes that everyone will be saved, regardless of faith. And he thinks that this is his manifestation of love. ""God is love". He cannot make anyone suffer,” says Fr. Eli.

I don’t know what it is: a charming delusion or a heretical conviction?

Time will tell, but the Lord will judge. Sorry if I confused anyone. Be carefull. And to the enemies of the Church who blaspheme the Patriarch and the priesthood, I advise you to pay attention to your sins, and if you do not see them, then go to the temple of God. There are plenty of good shepherds who sincerely seek salvation.

"Elder" Eli (Nozdrin) as a weapon of information warfare

How is Orthodox anti-Sovietism promoted?

1. A person is taken who has the image of a “deserved authority” (in some cases this image is promoted artificially).
2. He is encouraged to speak out on camera on issues in which he is a priori incompetent.
3. After obtaining the required result, the information field is pumped with the finished material.
4. The Orthodox reverently absorb the offered ear noodles, because ... "this is old man and confessor of the Patriarch».
5. PROFIT!

For example, about the "gravedigger" of the great power (or "evil empire") of the USSR B.N. Yeltsin, the “old man” Ily spoke as follows: “If it were my power, I would make a monument to him. He, like George the Victorious, with all this synodism - the Central Committee - threw away his party ticket ... He went to be torn to pieces ... His merit is that millions, billions of people turned to God, and the Church became normal.

For a long time, a special category of monks, called elders, has appeared among Russian monasticism. These people are by no means always of advanced age, since the title testifies not to the years lived, but to the gifts of insight and wisdom sent to them by the Lord, for meekness, humility and victory over their own passions. One of these chosen ones of God is our contemporary Schema-Archimandrite Ily Nozdrin.

Father Iliy Nozdrin was born in 1932 in a peasant family in the village of Stanovoy Kolodez, Oryol region. At holy baptism he was given the name Alexis, in honor of Saint Alexis, the man of God. Despite the mass atheism that prevailed in those years, his family was very religious. As Elder Eli (Nozdrin) himself recalls, he began to pray from the age of three. Having lost his father early, who died at the front in 1942, the boy became a faithful support for his mother, who was forced to raise four children alone after the death of her husband.

By the grace of God, from childhood, the future Schema-Archimandrite Ily Nozdrin was gifted not only with diligence, but with a lively and clear mind. Despite all the difficulties of the post-war years, he successfully graduated from high school and, having served his term in the army, went to study at the Serpukhov Mechanical College. After graduation, Alexei Nozdrin (Iliy) was sent to the city of Kamyshin, Volgograd Region, where he worked on the construction of a cotton mill.

Years of study

During these years, a desire to serve God manifested itself with special force. Leaving the profession of a builder, to which, as it turned out, he had no inclination, Alexei Nozdrin (Ili) went to study at the Saratov Theological Seminary. However, it failed to finish. As you know, in those years, the enemy of the human race chose the head of state Nikita Khrushchev, who perpetrated another persecution of the church, as his weapon. In the wake of this anti-religious campaign, the seminary in Saratov was closed, and Alexey went to Leningrad, where he continued his studies at the theological seminary, and then at the academy.

Academy graduate Nozdrin (Iliy) becomes a monk

Here, on the banks of the Neva, happened major event in his life. In March 1966 Alexei Nozdrin (Elij) took monastic vows with the new name Ilian, which he took in honor of one of the forty martyrs of Sebaste. Soon, Metropolitan Nikadim (Rotov) ordained the monk first as a hierodeacon - that is, a monk who has the right to perform the deacon's ministry, and then as a hieromonk - a monk with a priestly rank. Since then, he begins to fulfill obediences in a number of parishes in Leningrad and the region.

Years spent in the Pskov-Caves Monastery and on Mount Athos

As father Iliy (Nozdrin) later recalled, on the formation of his spiritual world the example of a native of the Tambov province who became a monk had a great influence Athos monastery, and subsequently canonized as a saint, Silouan of Athos. Having a desire to also devote himself to life in the holy monastery, Ilian spends a long period of time, from 1966 to 1976, within the walls Pskov-Caves Monastery, where he closely communicates with an outstanding figure in the Russian Orthodox Church- the recognized old man and seer Archimandrite John Krestyankin.

In 1976, the cherished dream of Father Elijah came true - he was sent to the monastery of the Great Martyr Panteleimon, located on Mount Athos. Living in one of the mountain sketes, far from the vain world, he carried the obedience of the confessor of the monastic brethren, which, of course, provided him with the opportunity to gain rich experience in knowing the secrets of human souls.

In the Optina Desert

The end of the eighties in Russia became a period spiritual rebirth country after decades of total atheism. In order to give this process an additional impetus, the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church used all the reserves at its disposal. By decree of the Holy Synod, Hieromonk Ilian was also summoned from Athos.

He was sent to the once famous Optina Desert, which was to be restored after decades of desolation. Elijah begins his stay in it with the adoption of the great schema - the highest monastic rank, providing for a complete renunciation of the world and spiritual reunion with God. According to church charter, he also receives a new name - Eli, by which he is known today.

Recognition of the merits of the elder

Optina Hermitage owes much to the revival of its former spiritual greatness to the senile service, which Schema-Archimandrite Iliy has been carrying in her for the third decade. It is thanks to his tireless work as a coordinator and ideologist that the monastery has become today the largest center of Orthodoxy and pilgrimage.

Since 2009, Father Iliy has been fulfilling an important and honorable mission - he is the personal confessor of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill. To feed your spiritual child he moved to his residence near Moscow, located in the village of Peredelkino, widely known for the fact that many prominent figures of Russian and Soviet art lived in it.

Senior ministry

Fulfilling such a lofty obedience, the elder does not stop, being in Optina Hermitage, communication with ordinary people. Many in life have various difficult situations, which, in their opinion, can only be sorted out by Elder Eli (Nozdrin). How to get an appointment with him is a question that worries many. However, this is a very real task, if it were the Will of God and one's own desire. Optina monks report that the priest regularly receives pilgrims right at the table in the refectory and devotes most of the day to this.

As a rule, there are many visitors, and this is no coincidence, because the elder's prayer has a special grace-filled power, which has been repeatedly confirmed in practice. Both within the walls of the monastery and outside it, a case is known when, with his prayer, he brought back to life a seriously wounded and already dying soldier brought from Chechnya. It is known that this episode, widely discussed in medical circles, did not find a scientific explanation. There are other known cases miraculous healings through the prayers of the elder.