He had the gift of educating monastics. In memory of Archimandrite Naum (Bayborodin)

SEER OF OUR DAYS.
The newly deceased Archimandrite Naum (Bayborodin) is remembered by his spiritual children and co-servants.

On October 13, 2017, at the age of 90, the oldest resident of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, the well-known throughout Russia, archimandrite Naum (Bayborodin), reposed in the Lord. About how Father Naum was, how he influenced their lives, his spiritual children and co-servants remember.

Inherit the burning spirit from Father Naum

, a resident of the Moscow Donskoy Monastery:

The hour of departure to the Lord has struck, I am not afraid of these words, one of the pillars of the eldership of the twentieth century, Father Naum (Bayborodin).

The number of his spiritual children, scattered throughout the post-Soviet space on both sides of the Urals, among which are lay people, monastics, abbots and abbesses of holy monasteries, is incalculable.

Today, early in the morning, even before the official media announcements about the sad news, all the hospices of Sergiev Posad were already filled to capacity.

The deceased had miraculous gifts of insight and healing.

His talents and burning spirit met with an ardent desire for Truth, which was characteristic of the younger generations after the death of Stalin, “a young, unfamiliar tribe” for veterans of the CPSU ...

Father Naum promptly involved the youth in church life. He had such a gift to convert even people who were very far from the Church to the faith.

At one time, he sent one after another those who talked with him to the Lenin Library, where, with his blessing, it was necessary to find a certain book; when people began to read it, they understood that it described in detail how to lay a Russian stove. Father Naum blessed those who can return to the earth. And in our area, the main thing in the village is not to freeze. It is in the cities that residents do not even think about where the heat comes from in the houses in the winter, but in the villages you need to take care of the hearth.

Also, I remember, Father Naum blessed his children to prepare spiritual literature, we multiplied it on copiers, where only anyone could. And I did it with his blessing. Father Naum, even before decades of church upsurge, spoke of the fact that many monasteries would soon open, and tried with the help of his flock to provide future monasteries with spiritually beneficial reading.

There are many cases of healing through his prayers. Those who needed healing of the soul, he could send to some dispensaries to work hard so that people come into contact with what happens when someone leads an impious life. These illustrative examples had a strong impact.

When communicating, he found out what kind of specialty someone had, in order to understand how this person could be useful for the monastery, for the Church. He blessed young enthusiasts to study as sisters of mercy with a pedagogical education - to teach children and adults the Law of God. Young people - to study solfeggio and vocals in order to become clerics, deacons. He burned himself and ignited the young with his "senile" burning of the spirit ...

Watchmaker of church life

Archpriest Sergiy Tkachenko, Rector of the Church of the Nativity Holy Mother of God in Vladykino:

In 1977, I returned from the army, it was necessary to decide how to continue to live. So I got to Father Naum. He was still a hegumen then. Not many people went to see him. Although even then it was clear that this is an amazing person. A scientist who became a monk. seer. When he first saw me, he immediately presented me with the Gospel. I leave him with this Gospel in my hands, and there, on a bench at the entrance, some nun sits and says:

“If you become a seminarian, you become a priest.

- Why? I ask.

- And the priest gives the Gospel only to those who are ordained.

“I’m not going to become a priest,” I shrugged my shoulders and moved on…

But my life path was already open to the eyes of Father Naum.

When he gave me the Gospel, he made an appointment for me. I came. He talked to me and gave me a lot of valuable advice about my inner life. They came in handy for me as a pastor. And then he asked:

- Who do you want to be?

- Yes, I have, - I answer, - a technical mindset ...

Let's go to the seminary!

- I cant!

“Then medical.”

- Yes, I don’t have any doctors in my family.

- Go ahead, I'll help you.

Later I learned that he had a lot of medical acquaintances. And then he asks me:

- And where are you going to do?

- In MPEI, - I answer. This is the Energy Institute.

“Do it,” he blesses, “I will pray.”

I did. Returned to him. And he tells me about the remaining piece of summer before the start of school:

- Go to Pyukhtitsa, there you will talk with Father Tavrion (Batozsky) in the Riga hermitage.

And then after the army I didn’t even have money to go so far. He gave me 30 rubles, on them the three of us with friends went there. I then breathed a lot into myself of the confessional spirit, talked with those who did not leave the temple of God under the Soviet regime, went through persecution, exile, and camps.

Arriving in the Riga hermitage, we realized that man's strength was needed there: there was a lot of hard work. We stayed there to work. Father Tavrion taught us all this time. Then, when we had to return to Moscow, suddenly he comes and brings, just like Father Naum, 30 rubles. Such a roll call in action. Then I brought money to Father Naum to return it, but he never took it back. And for me then this trip became a significant milestone in my inner path.

Then, when I was already studying at the institute, I constantly came to Father Naum, took care of him. Also after - already working at the Academy of Sciences. I took many of my colleagues to the priest, people turned, became churched.

What was remarkable about Father Naum? He filled your life with meaning and gave it direction.

There were two pillars in the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra: Father Kirill and Father Naum. Father Kirill is the shepherd of love. Tell him that studying at the institute is very difficult morning and evening prayers read it in full, and so you have to get up early, at night you constantly write some work ... “Well, shorten your rule,” Father Kirill said. And you will approach Father Naum with the same, he immediately: “So learn by heart.” Father Naum was very demanding.

Sometimes you come to him, and he says:

- Let's get ready, there was a fire among people, we must go to help.

And this is to go somewhere in the far suburbs. You start to balk:

- Father, let me do my homework ...

Everything, the next day he no longer notices you. If you are not mature, then you are not mature, you still need to realize something. It was inwardly open to the elders whether a person was ready to obey the will of God or not yet, holding on to his own will.

He instructed us to pray in such a way as not to ask for anything for ourselves: neither money, nor position, nor well-being - just pray, and that's it. Taught the Jesus Prayer. It would seem, who are we? Simple young guys, not some hermits there, to share such a gift with us.

Father Naum is a great patriot of Russia. He loved it very much and somehow intimately experienced her story in his own way. He often talked about the Battle of Kulikovo. Right now, the holiday of the Intercession - he just somehow felt the Intercession over Russia. Could mentally refer to the times of the Monks Anthony and Theodosius, whom the Mother of God blessed to found Kiev Pechersk Lavra, sent builders to build the first temple. Batiushka selflessly loved the Mother of God. deeply honored St. Sergius. I felt their intercession for the Russian people.

Throughout Russia, in all monasteries and churches, wherever you go, you meet the children of Father Naum serving there. How many abbesses he raised in monasteries!

Often I went to Father Naum. And then, when I have already become a priest, rector of a large parish, sometimes things drag on so much that I can’t escape. Moreover, I remember, you will come to Father Naum, and he has a lot of people there, you sit in this closet waiting for him. Once upon a time, Father Benedict, the current governor of Optina Hermitage, was there, waiting for the reception. And I haven't been for a few years. And here I come a year ago to Father Naum. He was already quite weak. I brought my spiritual children with me. And he put his hand on my head and asked:

Why haven't you been with me for four years?

He certainly had insight.

I know that once a woman came to him, brought another with her, and began to tell him about her:

“Father, she is so unhappy, she can’t do anything, she’s sick, she’s penniless.

And the priest looks at the one she brought and says:

- Why did you bring me such a rich one?

- How rich? I even bought her a train ticket here ...

And then it turned out that that woman was very wealthy, she simply hid her income and savings. And the old man, like an x-ray, saw everything.

Father Naum embraced with his inner gaze the entire mechanism of spiritual, general church life, he saw where something breaks, where it is necessary to lubricate, where to replace someone. Where there was a failure, he immediately sent people. Standing in the place of this broken gear that you are replacing, you could not stand it, break yourself - but you will be saved if you obeyed the elder and stood in this line. Father Naum was a firm, resolute person, a kind of military leader of the spiritual fronts. He sent children to where you should show the maximum of your strength: who will you be there - hegumen, abbess or just a monastic, you are needed.

Now this is somewhat lost in our church life, but for all of us Father Naum was a truly spiritual father. Later, when the priest was weak, he blessed each of us to choose someone younger as confessors to constantly confess, and then come to him to resolve cardinal issues.

Such two great elders left one after another: Father Cyril, Father Naum.

We addressed both. Father Naum once simply said about this:

“You won’t find everything at once, you won’t get everything from someone alone. Where you see a cherry, pick it there.

That is, did you feel somewhere the grace-filled help, the participation of God? – It is the Lord Himself who is acting now through this or that confessor. He had a deep experience of the Church as the one Body of Christ. He is with us today in his prayers.

“Such as Father Naum showed our time the path of true asceticism”

, Doctor of Church History, Professor of the Moscow Theological Academy and the Sretensky Theological Seminary:

The Lord showed me great mercy: He sent me an amazing old man of the Russian land - our father, Father Naum. I met him in 1980, when I was still a completely secular person, that is, a relatively young scientist, proud, rather arrogant and flaunting his erudition. It is noteworthy that for a long time he did not receive me: he simply walked by and briefly glanced at me. Probably, my natural stubbornness forced me to come again and again to his then still damp waiting room in the basement.

True, during this time the first steps in church life had already been taken: we went to Pechory, and Father John (Krestyankin), together with Father Adrian (Kirsanov), blessed my wife and I for the wedding. The current governor of Optina Pustyn, Father Benedict (Penkov), also did a lot for us, who “discouraged” me from my diligent studies in Gnosticism and Manichaeism (my doctoral dissertation was in many respects already completed), drawing my attention to the works of St. Maximus the Confessor. At first, of course, I resisted (it’s almost like “starting life anew,” I thought), but then, having started translating the works reverend father I realized what great treasures they hide in themselves.

And when Father Naum finally began to talk to me, at first I did not even notice how my life began to change dramatically. The process of churching was quite painful for me: every step was given by the "blood of the soul." One memory of how I quit smoking still makes me tremble: how the priest fought with me, and how much he prayed that I would break with this “innocent”, as I then considered, sin! How much labor it cost him to convey to me what real spiritual life is! I remember how he taught me to pray: he would bow his head to me and whisper softly: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."

In general, the whole church life of our family passed under his leadership. He blessed our children and helped us choose our path in life. The daughter married the future priest. Through the prayers of Father Naum, our grandchildren were born, and when the grandson fell hopelessly ill at the age of three (the doctors gave him one or two years to live), and then went blind, it was the priest who begged him. Through his prayers, to the surprise of doctors, he got rid of not only his incurable disease, but also blindness (now he has 100 percent vision).

But the most important thing that I saw in the priest is that he never insisted on anything, but simply made it clear that there is God's will for you, and then left it to you to decide whether to arrange your life according to the will of God or according to his own. I began to clearly distinguish that if I leaned towards my desire, then everything somehow immediately went awry. And I came to an unequivocal conclusion: if we always obeyed our shepherd, our life would be much deeper and more correct.

When in recent times the elder was ill, we were like orphans, left without his care. He even dreamed of me:

Well, now you are on your own...

– How are we? - think.

But I am sure that the priest will not leave us, he is with us in spirit. The last time I confessed to the priest, when he could no longer react, even just let me know whether he heard me or not, although I was sure that he heard and understood me. I saw in what a serious condition he was, all in tubes. And he clearly realized: our beloved father is tormented for us, his children, whom he had a great many throughout Russia in monasteries and even among the laity. He, like the apostle Paul, was all all(1 Corinthians 9:22).

So the enemy took revenge on him for converting people to faith, giving himself entirely: how many attacks, all sorts of insinuations were against him. But I am deeply and adamantly convinced that the priest is the bearer of a spiritual tradition that comes from the first centuries of Christianity through the Monks Anthony the Great, Maximus the Confessor and others, as well as our great Russian elders. As a matter of fact, he was the great old man of the Russian land. Such as Fr. Naum, Fr. John (Krestyankin), and the recently deceased Fr. Cyril (Pavlov), showed our time the path of true asceticism. In all these 36 years, I probably have not grieved for anyone, even for my own father, as now, having learned about the death of our beloved father Naum.

Kingdom of Heaven, our dear father Naum!

, Rector of the Nikolo-Perervinskaya Seminary:

– Father Naum is a whole epoch in the life of the Church and our country. His consecration as a hierodeacon in 1958 took place in memory of St. Sergius, and exactly a year later on the same day he was ordained a hieromonk, since then, studying with St. Sergius himself, he teaches and nourishes the people.

In this year 2017, elders Kirill (Pavlov) and Naum (Bayborodin) left us one after another. A long time ago, Father Kirill said: "Father Naum and I will leave in one year."

This is a sign of the times: the elders are being taken away from the people. Precisely because people are no longer able to perceive the will of God. They turn to ascetics for selfish purposes in order to beg a blessing for something pleasing to them. “We need this, then we need ...” - they chatter. No one says: "What is the will of God, as you bless, father, so be it."

We believe that there is still hope for the correction of the people. Although one of the bishops taking care of the elder reported that he heard from the lips of Father Naum a word spoken in the hearts:

- The current people are already incorrigible, they are subject to extermination.

Such terrible words are prophesied. This is alarming and obliges, in memory of the priest, to remember his covenants, instructions and live the way he taught. According to the Gospel.

Father Naum is a seer. This has been confirmed many times.

I remember once (it was about 15 years ago) there was a conversation about worship, and one of the priests asked the priest if it was possible to shorten the service. Father Naum answered very menacingly:

– If you want the Lord to shorten your life, then you can shorten the service.

, First Vice-Rector of the Ivanovo Seminary:

—Elder Naum used to go to the morning prayer service at 5:30 a.m. every day, and even before that he had time to read several chapters of the Gospel in his cell. But he also invariably attended the evening service, as far as he had the strength to do so. With us, his male children, it was so established that if someone did not have time or did not get to him in the morning for confession, when he accepts, then we went to the temple, went in, who had a blessing, into the holy altar, where he usually he prayed in the evenings, and there they asked him to confess. Then it was possible to ask and solve various questions.

Once, when I came to him in the chapel of the Holy Great Martyr Theodore Stratilates in the Assumption Cathedral, at some point in confession he asked me:

- What do you think, can a person have an Archangel as a guardian angel?

Then I remembered that somewhere in the lives or in another source I read that Saint Anthony Great was not a simple Guardian Angel, but an Archangel. And I answered Father Naum in the affirmative:

- I think it can.

He then, in my opinion, said that such mysteries were not recorded in any dogmatic theology, and he praised the Lord aloud for His mercy to us, sinful people, for the fact that the Lord had granted us the comprehension of His inexpressible mysteries.

“Illnesses happen for sins, including for the sins of parents and grandfathers,” Father Naum said. “But modern doctors sometimes don’t treat, but cripple.” Therefore, in order to alleviate illnesses, it is necessary to do more good deeds, not to miss an opportunity, to show mercy, - he instructed.

The elder, unflatteringly characterizing the present times, also said that one should not let fornicate and atheist teachers near children, for they would destroy and corrupt children's souls. In order to teach at school, he said, a future teacher must read: the Gospel, all twelve volumes of the lives of the saints, works of the Holy Fathers, and many other spiritual and moral literature. Society will only begin to recover when children are taught in schools by believing people, and lecherous and atheist teachers will be removed from teaching.

“Before the revolution of 1917, there was already a similar situation,” Father Naum reminded. - Then in comprehensive schools and theological seminaries introduced teachers and lecturers of revolutionaries, debauchees and theomachists. It was they who, at the behest of their masters, instilled religious skepticism and corrupted seminarians and young students.” “How can a whale swallow a human?! - exclaimed the theomachist, who broke through to teach in the seminary, commenting on the Book of Jonah the prophet. “The whale has a small throat, it can’t eat anything more than a fist, and this, they say, is anti-scientific, which is written in the Bible.” Saint Philaret (Drozdov), the smartest man of his time, answered this bewilderment: “If it had been written in the Holy Scriptures that it was not a whale that swallowed Jonah, but Jonah a whale, I would have believed it.” But not yet strengthened minds could be tempted by the tricks of provocateurs. Father Naum cited data once published in the magazine Around the World (in my opinion, for 1976 or earlier), which described a real case: a sailor who fell overboard from a Canadian whaling ship off the coast of South America was swallowed by a whale, and a day later from the belly the whale got this sailor, covered with bloody sweat, but alive and unharmed.

It is noteworthy that the 40th day - the period when the soul of a person appears before the Creator in order to hear the verdict of a private court that takes place before the General Court - at Father Naum falls on November 8/21 - the celebration of the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael and others heavenly powers incorporeal. I believe that Archimandrite Naum will be counted among the Archangel's face, as well as the holy elder Barsanuphius of Optina, who is deeply revered by him. About the Monk Barsanuphius, Father Naum himself told us that he was in the heavenly villages in the rank of Archangel. The old man knew it.

Eternal memory to Father Naum!

As a human being we mourn, but as a Christian we hope that we have found a prayer book in Heaven.

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/107380.html

Additional related materials:
• Report by Priest Georgy Klimov "Teaching Biblical Studies at the Moscow Theological Seminary"
• Report by Archpriest Nikolai Divakov "Actual Problems of Teaching Biblical Studies"
• Report by Deacon Alexander Timofeev "On the Study of the Holy Scriptures in Seminaries (What Knowledge Does the Academy Expect from Seminary Graduates?)"
• Report by Priest Dimitry Yurevich "Biblical Criticism or Biblical Analysis?"

On March 31, in the Small Assembly Hall of the Moscow Theological Academy, a seminar was held on the issues of teaching biblical studies in theological educational institutions Russian Orthodox Church. It was attended by 25 teachers from 20 theological schools of the Moscow Patriarchate. The meeting lasted all day and consisted of three sessions.

The session of the seminar was opened by Archpriest Leonid Grilikhes, Head of the Department of Biblical Studies of the Moscow Theological Academy. He greeted those present and expressed his hope that the event, which brought together representatives of most seminaries, would be fruitful and set a good precedent for holding similar events in the future. The tasks facing the forum participants are to discuss the most important problems of teaching biblical disciplines in theological seminaries, both from a methodological and substantive point of view.

In the discussion that followed, various additions and comments were made. Hieromonk Andrei (Moroz) from the Stavropol Theological Seminary noted that so far a single textbook for all seminaries may not be effective due to different local conditions. Father Georgy Klimov agreed with this and emphasized that now the task is to develop unified curricula for all seminaries.

Archpriest Vladimir Sorokin, head of the Department of Biblical Studies at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, said that single a curriculum for biblical studies that all academies and seminaries could be guided by. Further, he pointed out that the study of biblical studies should be built taking into account church life, in particular, the criterion that is contained in the Creed - the doctrine of the Church as "One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic." Therefore, the study of biblical disciplines should contribute to strengthening the unity, holiness, catholicity and apostolicity of the Church of Christ. In addition, it is important to develop and understand liturgical reading Holy Scripture. This is connected, again, with the special tasks of Orthodox biblical studies, for which some Western questions (for example, the "synoptic problem" much and hotly discussed by Protestant researchers) are not only not relevant, but even seem far-fetched.

He noted the importance of introducing an auxiliary biblical discipline in seminaries, which, in his opinion, should be read not at the end, but at the very beginning of the seminary course. He also drew the attention of those present to such a problem: often students read only abstracts lectures or study guides , but do not read the text itself Holy Scripture. Sometimes it comes to anecdotal situations: once a student on an exam reproduced verbatim a quotation from the Bible from a manual in which a typo crept in: instead of the biblical text "[Hagar] went and got lost in the wilderness of Beer-sheba;<...>and went, sat down in the distance, at a distance of one shot from a bow "(Gen. 21:14-16) there stood "and went, sat down in the distance, and fired one shot bow." This extreme situation, however, to some extent illustrates this flaw in the study of the text of the Bible itself.

Archpriest Valery Bunteev from the Kostroma Theological Seminary noted that it would be a good idea to solve this problem by introducing two-year theological schools as an obligatory stage. Archpriest Rostislav Snigirev, head of the Department of Biblical Studies at the Kaluga Theological Seminary, said that the responsibility for the unwillingness to get acquainted with the text of Holy Scripture lies entirely with the students. Concerning other questions, he pointed out that biblical history cannot be canceled, and the standard for biblical studies, if accepted, will remove 80% of questions regarding programs in theological seminaries.

He pointed out that the true knowledge of the Bible for a student, like for any believer, is not only and so much the result of listening to lectures, but the result of independent regular reading of the Holy Scriptures. Only the person who, following the psalmist, can exclaim: "I have learned in your law day and night" can say to himself that he knows the Bible. Therefore, the first and main task of the teacher is to instill in the student a love of Bible study.

The following approaches can be used to solve this problem:

• reveal the depth of the true meaning of the biblical text with an explanation of the meaning of the words of the original;
• ask for independent reading the text of the Bible;
• explain difficult places in the Bible, but at the same time teach students how to approach the work on the text correctly.

The speaker dwelled in more detail on the issue of teaching the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament in the seminary. He noted the insufficient number of teaching hours for studying historical and prophetic books, which is why the teacher has to stop only at individual, the most important topics for each of the books. Therefore, the course in its present form would be more correctly called "a brief overview of the historical and prophetic books."

Therefore, as a new teaching system, the speaker proposed to introduce parallel studying various historical and prophetic books, for example, simultaneously studying 2-4 Kings with the books of Chronicles; 18-20 chapters of the Fourth Book of Kings in parallel with 29-32 chapters of the Second Book of Chronicles and with the historical section of the book of the prophet Isaiah (36-39 chapters), the 25th chapter of the Fourth Book of Kings with the 52nd chapter of the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, the first and second Maccabees books. In general, there is an acute shortage of study time.

When studying New Testament disciplines in the gospel section, it makes sense to consider not only similarities, but also differences in narratives, including the Synoptic Gospels. The student must know what each of the evangelists focuses on when describing this or that event in the gospel history. [Full text of the report>>>]

The report was followed by a short discussion, during which Prot. R. Snigirev noted that the lecture system of teaching is more effective than the lesson system.

Further, the teacher of the Moscow Theological Academy, Deacon Alexander Timofeev, made a report on the topic "What kind of knowledge does the academy expect from seminary graduates? (on preparing seminarians for entrance exams to the academy)".

First of all, the speaker noted with chagrin that the level of applicants entering the Bible department of the MTA in August 2004 was low. Many graduates of seminaries, especially provincial ones, failed to pass the test and enter the academy. The reason for this was largely ignorance of the requirements for applicants to the newly opened department.

In order to exclude such a situation in the future, it makes sense to formulate the requirements that apply to seminary graduates entering the Bible Department of the Moscow Theological Academy.

• During the period of study in the seminary, the student must read the entire text of the Holy Scriptures. To stimulate this process, teachers can recommend this methodological technique. Assign from lesson to lesson 10-15 chapters from the Holy Scripture for reading. Oral questioning of students in this case is not quite effective, since, having answered at one lesson, the student may not prepare for the next, hoping. that he will not be questioned. Optimal in this case is a "letuchka" - a written survey at the beginning of the lesson for 10-15 minutes, in which each student is offered his own version of the question. This allows you to interview everyone and significantly saves time to control students' knowledge.
• Seminary graduates should thoroughly- and in some cases even verbatim- know the messianic texts of the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament.
• Applicants of the academy must be versed in isagogical and textual issues (including knowledge of the main papyri, codices, etc.).
• Seminary teachers should pay sufficient attention to the study of exegesis of the biblical text.
• The speaker also noted that already during the period of study at the seminary, the student should learn well the difference between the main methods of interpreting the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament in the Orthodox Church: literal and typological, as well as symbolic methods used primarily for moral teaching in Scripture (among which the most famous is the allegorical ).
• Teaching in the seminary should be structured in such a way that the student acquires skills in working with the biblical text. To do this, it is extremely useful to dwell in more detail on the philological analysis of individual terms in the original language (Hebrew or Greek).

In conclusion, the speaker emphasizes the need for a liturgical commentary on the Bilean texts, which will contribute to a more holistic perception of Scripture by the student in the context of church life.

After a break with a report on the topic "Biblical criticism or biblical analysis?" the lecturer of the Moscow Theological Academy priest Dimitry Yurevich spoke. He noted that one of the topical issues of modern Russian biblical studies is the attitude to Western studies, especially to such an approach to the study of the Bible, which is now widely used in the West, as historical-critical method.

A number of Russian students of Holy Scripture today accept and try to use this method, considering it as an adequate tool for the study of Scripture. They are attracted by the fact that Western works, using the historical-critical method, are written at a good level with the involvement of abundant material from the field of philology, history, biblical archeology and other sciences. Embarrassed by the fact that in pre-revolutionary Russian scholarship this method was known as "negative biblical criticism," these modern Russian biblical scholars propose to call it "biblical analysis." Moreover, the rejection of the historical-critical method in pre-revolutionary Russian biblical studies is explained by them as the "backwardness" of the latter, or even as the fact that "before the revolution there was no biblical studies in Russia."

In order to understand this complex issue, it is necessary in the process of any research, including biblical research, to distinguish methodology and factology. Fact It means little by itself unless it is understood and used. Therefore, the fact always needs interpretation. This is well known, for example, to those who dealt with archeology - when new antiquities are discovered, as a rule, there is an urgent need to explain them: what is it - a stone knife or an arrowhead, etc. But the interpretation of the facts is given on the basis method research, which assumes the existence of a number of a priori (i.e., accepted initially, on faith) premises.

For example, Orthodox methodology study of the Holy Scriptures is based on such prerequisites as the recognition of the inspiration of the Bible, the attraction church tradition and patristic understanding to explain difficult passages.

Historical-critical method comes from completely different prerequisites:

1. the denial of the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures (it is for this reason that this approach was called before the revolution "negative biblical criticism");
2. the assumption that both the history of Old Testament Israel and the early New Testament Church developed in an evolutionary way;
3. and this evolution followed the Hegelian scheme of "thesis - antithesis - synthesis".

In the field of the Old Testament, this method was most famous through the work of Graf-Wellhausen and their followers, and the New Testament - the school of Baur. The expansion of the historical-critical method into the Russian biblical studies of the New Testament could be stopped by such a titan of thought as Professor N. N. Glubokovsky of St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. In the field of the Old Testament, many remarkable works were also written, pointing to the falsity of the premises and conclusions of negative biblical criticism (Prof. Archpriest N. Eleonsy, Prof. P. A. Jungerov, Prof. V. P. Rybinsky, D. S. Leonardov and others). Rejecting Western methodology, however, Russian scientists have no problem using facts and reliable information drawn from Western sources.

Today, Russian biblical scholars are faced with the task of overcoming the temptation of the historical-critical method, especially in the field of the Old Testament, in order to resolutely and without regret reject both its false premises and incorrect conclusions. However, this is not an obstacle to studying Western works in order to take advantage of the huge factual base accumulated in Western science during the 18th-20th centuries. Concrete facts and undoubted information from the field of biblical philology, biblical history, stories ancient world, biblical archeology and chronology can be successfully used by Russian researchers of the Holy Scriptures for an adequate study of the biblical text. It is this approach - the combination of Orthodox church premises and methods with undeniable scientific information - that can be called biblical analysis.

In conclusion, the speaker pointed out that the value of Russian pre-revolutionary works on biblical studies lies precisely in their methodological orientation, although factually they are, as a rule, outdated. Therefore, the Department of Biblical Studies of the MTA, together with the theological publishing house "Aksion Estin", prepared the first CD on the topic "Biblical isagogy, hermeneutics and exegesis", which contains electronic books of pre-revolutionary authors (each participant of the seminar received this CD as a gift).

Due to the fact that lately a lot of materials have appeared on the Internet (coming from the same circle of people) discrediting the website of our monastery and the name of my deceased spiritual father, I am forced to publish my response to the expert assessment of the site by two persons of the Ivanovo-Voznesensk and Kineshma diocese: hegumen Vonifaty (Klimenko) and hegumen Methodius (Kondratiev).

I. Reply to the Scribes to the Criticism of The Tale of John, the Recluse of Staroshaigovsky.

Because you, ig. Boniface and Ig. Methodius met with ascetics only on the pages of books and you do not have personal experience in these, and in other matters (with the exception of clerical and fiscal), I think that I have the right to call you “scribes” without much stretch. Moreover, the libel to which I have to respond is simply an order, and probably paid for in one way or another, not necessarily in silver. The man whom you denigrate, my spiritual father, on his grave stands the Church with the throne of Seraphim of Sarov and people visit it and get healed, he fasted and prayed in seclusion for forty years at the very time when the very word “prayer” was considered criminal, and the current Father Superiors almost walked around in red pioneer ties. By the way, I was offered to give up my spiritual father publicly. What's the advice? The conclusion about the moral face of advisers suggests itself.

I'm afraid you won't even blush now. For you also know the word “shelter” from books, but you yourself are not able to stay in it even for a week. You draw information about the Jesus Prayer from the same place, which in itself is not bad, you just feel it, and you read little books on this issue, let alone practice. I note that I wrote something not for people like you, but for those who are able to breathe in and feel the aroma of the strict spiritual life of a person who has abandoned the world, an ascetic of our time. But you're nowhere without a computer and without a warm toilet. Why did you climb into such an alien atmosphere for you? Obedience? It is better to refuse some obediences so as not to lose the right to be considered decent person. But, of course, true monasticism will not be clear to you until you repent of your sham monasticism.

I would not like to spend a lot of time on justification, so I will answer the most important thing, and I will omit the verbal diarrhea that prevails in this so-called expert assessment.

1. The authors accuse me of preaching the doctrine of the reincarnation of the soul. It is written in my story: “The elder told one of my friends, who did not want to part with his usual passions, that he would not be able to forgive his sins in this life, but by the grace of God he would be born a bull. The steer will live in humility for a year or two, chewing what they give and going where they lead, until they are slaughtered and, thereby, released to a better life. This friend died early, had an accident, in accordance with what I wrote above. Undoubtedly, the vast majority of Orthodox Christians will consider the direct meaning of these words to be a trend of Eastern teachings. But where did the Mordovian peasant, who read nothing but the Bible, get such trends? However, in many other sayings of Elder Ivan, it is difficult for us to establish where the parable ends and the direct meaning begins. Or maybe in the Mordovian language this conditional boundary does not exist at all? Isn't it enough to make a reservation about a possible parable? No, the abbots really want to accuse me of heresy. But then let them, together with me, accuse St. Dmitry of Rostov, who writes: “In the city of Babylon there was King Nebuchadnezzar, who, for his pride, was turned by God into an ox, and who ate grass in the desert for seven years.” (Dmitry Rostovsky, volume I, p. 268, M. 2005). Or: "... and in the following time something similar happened, for Nebuchadnezzar turned into an ox, and Tiridates into a boar, when the punishment of God came upon them." (Synopsis, St. Petersburg, p. 180). Apparently, you will have to write a denunciation now also against Saint Demetrius. That's just who? To the same address? Subordination will not allow. And here is Psalm XLVIII: “Be venerated by senseless cattle and become like them”? What is this, King David for a red word? Or have you become like yourself? What, did the fathers not read, or will you say that this is a parable? Then why do you refuse to accept Elder Ivan as a parable of his words. Order? Understand. You see, not everything in life is as simple as one would like and how one really wants that person who “has one convolution in his head and that straight line”!
2. About changing the terms of life for swearing. You are indignant and say that you know cases when swearers swore to the grave. Well, is this reasonable evidence? Or maybe the coffin would have been later if the person had not cursed? Didn't that occur to you? And why? Bishop didn't say? Or do you not want to part with your mother?
3. Are you saying that you can't talk to animals, only understand them? You can't, but there are people smarter and more righteous than you. And the simplest bird whistles, and decoys, and the wolf howl of hunters? Oh, it's bad to be a theologian without God.
4. As proof of untruth. Agathon, you write that you cannot kiss a dead mother with her face tightly tied with a towel. Well, that's how the scribes want Agathon to write that he moved the towel for a second, or that his lips were not tied, but he didn't write! Of course, Agathon is lying. This makes it easier to process the order.
5. About the influence of the name on the fate of the human brothers, the abbots so categorically say the word “no”, as if they had been studying this issue all their lives. But Vladyka Hilarion, the head of the DECR, whose authority is somewhat higher than these co-authors, writes: “The name is perceived by the Bible as a complete and valid expression of a named object or a named person. In the Bible, the name has not an abstract or theoretical, but a vital and practical character: the meaning of the name is not verbal or verbal, but real or real. In the language of the Bible, a name is not just a conventional designation of a particular person or object: the name indicates the main characteristics of its bearer, reveals its deep essence. The name, moreover, determines the place that its bearer should occupy in the world. The name is mysteriously connected with the soul: when the name is pronounced, it ascends to the soul of its bearer. The Old Testament concept of a name includes not so much a set of sounds or letters to distinguish one person from another, but a connection with the person himself. To know someone's name means to get in touch with the bearer of the name, to know its inner essence. Man in Old Testament was perceived according to the principle "what is his name, such is he himself" ( Holy Mystery Churches, Ep. Illarion, p. 18 S-P. 2007).

So, I described in the story what I saw and experienced. But it turns out that I had to give Boniface and Methodius to censorship. Isn't it too much?

II. About the revival of prayer.

In the section on the revival of prayer, our abbots-theologians, offended by the destroyers of Athos monasticism, whom they greatly respect, write: and the liquidation of Russian monasticism on Mount Athos, and the perpetrators "individually", one can also point out their failure.

Regarding the personality of Archbishop Nikon (Rozhdestvensky), a worthy hierarch, who undoubtedly had the gift of clairvoyance, in the work My Diaries predicted the history of Russia for many years to come, it should be noted that he himself was an outstanding prayer book.

Also: "- the author indiscriminately and falsely accuses Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky) and Archbishop Nikon (Rozhdestvensky) of "ruining the prayer dispensation and almost liquidating Russian monasticism on the holy mountain," thereby blaspheming the venerable hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church."

But Bishop Hilarion, the head of the DECR, writes: “The result of the Athos disputes was the expulsion in 1913 of about a thousand (according to other estimates, about one and a half thousand) Russian monks from the Holy Mountain, which was the first powerful blow to Athos Russian monasticism, a blow inflicted hands of the hierarchs of the Holy Synod Russian Church. The second blow was the revolution and the subsequent persecution of the Church in Russia, because of which the flow of “those who want to live fasting” practically stopped on Athos, and the Athos Russian monasticism began to gradually die” (The Sacred Mystery of the Church, Bishop Hilarion, p. 10, S-P., 2007).

And here is what Metropolitan Veniamin (Fedchenkov) writes about the Synod that met on the occasion of monasticism on Athos: Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky), as the main opponent of this doctrine, was known not only for his harshness and frivolity (his report to the Synod was unacceptable, impossible, quarrelsome!), but also for his tendency to allow in his views and explanations human thought, the so-called "moral- psychological concept. And often, he crossed religious boundaries, carried away by the originality of his conjectures. Such was he in relation to dogmas in general, and especially in the false, human interpretation of the atonement” (Fr. John of Kronstadt, M., 2001, p. 903). In conclusion, I will ask you a few questions.

1. Who killed and maimed Russian monks on Mount Athos and brought more than a thousand monks from Mount Athos by force?
   Answer: Archbishop Nikon Rozhdestvensky on a warship.
2. Who destroyed imyaslavie, and who defended it?
   Destroyed: Metropolitan Anthony Khrapovitsky and Archbishop Nikon Rozhdestvensky, and physically, with the help of soldiers.
   Defended by: John of Kronstadt with his writings that inspired the name-glorifiers, in particular the chieromonk Anthony Bulatovich, Metropolitan Veniamin Fedchenkov, Empress Alexandra, St. Tsar Nicholas II.
3. Whom did the holy empress Alexandra resent and call him a fanatic?
   Answer: Archbishop Nikon Rozhdestvensky.

What more proof do you need?

III. Glossolalia.

Abbots claim that St. the apostles at Pentecost spoke in foreign languages. This has not yet been confirmed by anyone but them. Various guesses exist, but only they are so sure. Let's say they suddenly switched from their native Aramaic to Greek and other languages. It would be very easy. But prof. Kyiv Seminary Skabbolanovich also says: “The Savior promised the believers to speak new languages, and not foreign ones” (Explanatory Typikon, M., 1995, p. 319 above).

Is it not more likely to assume that they spoke the same language, but this language was understood by everyone that day! Listen, I guess, and you dispose, as God himself. And the professor: “The Spirit of the Lord, embracing all of humanity ... produced in the inner foundations of the soul an instant arrangement of the national boundaries of language that most divide humanity ...” (ibid., p. 30).

By the way, such a term "Jesus glossolalia" really does not exist. It's lucky for you that someone made such a mistake. I see, I see that you made good use of it, I admit it. A few pages of extra nonsense sprinkled.

It must be said that the interpretation of the term "glossolalia" by the authors of the abbots is at odds with the interpretation of the professor of the textbook from which they studied. They really want to give this word a sectarian accent: "This is a state of collective psychosis ...". Or: "The Church did not recognize glossolalia as necessary for preaching and salvation...". In the textbook "Explanatory Typicon" prof. Skobbalanovich wrote a completely opposite opinion. For example: “From the outside, it was such a majestic phenomenon, quite worthy of the Spirit of God ... showing with your own eyes the presence of the Divinity itself in Christian assemblies” (ibid., p. 36). Or: “linguistics was a state of special spiritual deep prayer”, “During the time of St. Irenaeus (+202) tongue-speaking, although preserved, but apparently passes into prophecy. At least, distinctive in ap. Paul the function of the prophet to "reveal the mysteries" of St. Irenaeus attributes to glossolal: “we heard many brethren in the Church who had prophetic gifts and spoke through the Spirit...” (ibid., p. 37 above).

Like this. And there is no need to distort in order to bring me under sectarianism, although I really want to.

By the way, it is not Abbot Agathon who calls the gift of tongues, as you write, “an unknown tongue,” but the Holy Gospel. Of course, I am pleased that you attribute to me the words of the Apostle Paul, but I am afraid of plagiarism. Provide a quote? Please. “For whoever speaks in an unknown tongue does not speak to people, but to God, because no one understands him, he speaks in secret by the Spirit” (I Cor. 14:2). Hear: "No one understands." And only you theologians-abbots understand that this is in a foreign language. And another quote: “... therefore, whoever speaks in an unknown tongue, pray for the gift of interpretation” (I Cor. 14:13). Hear, interpretations, not translations. In addition, the Explanatory Typicon contains the following phrase: “The Savior promised the believers to speak in new” languages, not foreign ones” (Explanatory Typikon, p. 32). So, to summarize: you choose from sectarian brochures that which can compromise your obedient servant Abbot Agathon, but you do not always succeed. But you haven’t looked into the Gospel for a long time, confess?

Here are some other words that completely refute your “theological” and sectological delights: “The gift of tongues is presented in the N.Z. such a wonderful, majestic and touchingly amazing phenomenon that it cannot be recognized as a phenomenon of the same order as the language of Russian and foreign sectarians (Khlists, Malevans, Mormons) ”(ibid., p. 39 in the middle). Do you hear? It is impossible, and you only write about these perversions. And what foreign language do you think the evangelist heard about “unspoken verbs”?

So let's conclude: YOU DAMAGE THE CHURCH TRADITION TO PLEASE YOUR LOWER Aspirations. I have provided sufficient evidence.

IV. Jesus Prayer.

As far as the Jesus Prayer is concerned, it is not so much to talk about it as to do it. The authors are on the side of those who destroyed it. After all, her enemies cause them great respect (for example, Archbishop Nikon Rozhdestvensky, Metropolitan Anthony Khrapovitsky). Why be hypocritical? I am ready to talk to those who deal with it seriously, but to discuss it with you - God forbid. This is too expensive for me. In the convent, I have someone to talk about it with. I will not talk about it with you - this is profanity and betrayal.

And please don't waste my time. I have read more books on the Jesus Prayer than yours, and I have been practicing it for at least 30 years. During this time, being in charms, he would have died long ago in a madhouse. However, I am abbess in a monastery revered by the Orthodox.

Your knowledge of yoga and Kabbalah is impressive, and even more impressive is the reverence with which you capitalize the word Kabbalah. But your knowledge is of no interest to me. I will pray as I was taught when I was still young, and you were not yet born or were afraid to confess your faith if you ever had it, which I strongly doubt, given your uncleanliness. Your heads are not set up to think. They have one motive: "What do you want?"

V. Kabbalah and esotericism.

I understand your desire to entangle me in some kind of dirt. But see for yourself, don't fall into it. Over the 20 years of my service in the Church, people have become convinced of my Orthodox views, and there is someone to say a word for me. Many people have already seen this. Make sure you too. No matter how it turned out from a sick head to a healthy one!

In your opinion, if you breathe in yoga, then you cannot breathe in Orthodoxy. What about “let every breath praise the Lord”?

If a prayer to a demon is read in yoga, then we and God cannot pray? And you can’t pray while sitting, because it reminds you very much of yoga, the lotus position? However, the prophet Elijah prayed and not bad, I tell you, he got results. And St. Palamas Gregory and St. Sinai, also Gregory, prayed sitting (certainly not in the temple).

What to talk about with you?

VI. Video about the appearance of the monk Ferapont.

As for this film, I remember well how ig. Methodius summoned me to the disciplinary commission and spoke out loud about his doubts that these three monks would ever be glorified. I wonder what charges he can bring against them? It was the day I was scolded for contributing religious processions and the erection of the throne in the monastery of glorification in the face of the saints of Emperor Nicholas II and his family. And this is about already glorified saints? This is where the "true" Orthodoxy is. And the denunciation about this against me was written by a patient from a lunatic asylum with a strange surname Golova. Oh, how ugly, Father Methodius and Father Boniface. You are like that "officer's widow who flogged herself" by the immortal Gogol. Then, on the same day, the aforementioned abbot Methodius demanded that I remove from the temple the icon of the Optina Elders, on which, besides them, three murdered monks were depicted without crowns.

Yes, this video has been placed on our website for a long time and all claims are against its authors Hierodeacon Abel (Semenov) and Alexander Drozdov. Yes, hegumen Utkin does not like him, but if you listen to him and remove the video from our site, be sure that soon he will demand to remove everything else. For these reasons alone, we do not succumb to it.

As for the Kabbalah that you managed to dig up there, you know better. I have no doubt that this is again a lie and fulfillment of the order.

Conclusion.

So, let's sum up all this verbal skirmish that you provoked me into. At the end of your so-called peer review, you turn to the Bishop, calling various rebukes on my gray head.

Turning to God for protection, as well as to the defender of the monastery, the Monk Tikhon, I affirm that I am not guilty of the sins that I am accused of. Everything that I wrote and said is in strict accordance with the canons of the Orthodox Church, and if something does not quite coincide, then I do not insist on it and never insisted, unlike Abbots Boniface and Methodius, who accuse me, to whom I present the following accusations:

1. In slandering the great gift of tongues (glossolalia) in the Orthodox Church.
2. In a distorted interpretation of various facts posted on the monastery website.
3. In discrediting the honest name of my spiritual father, who spent 40 years in a strict retreat.

I end on this last note, for whoever does not protect his spiritual father does not respect his own.

Abbot of the St. Nicholas Tikhon Convent, Abbot Agathon (Chesnokov)

On July 9, the Abbot of the Resurrection-Feodorovsky Monastery, Hegumen Vonifaty (Klimenko) met with young mothers in the Shuya Central District Hospital. Hegumen Boniface made a presentation on the topic "Church marriage as a holy sacrament."

“The main reason for our meeting and conversation is the celebration of the state nationwide family holiday associated with the names of the noble princes Peter and Fevronia (July 8); and the goal is to wish every person: every girl or woman, every good young man and man to know and perceive that spiritual Orthodox tradition, to which Saints Peter and Fevronia belonged and which was the basis and foundation of their family happiness, their inseparability and, as a result, their godliness - they were canonized by the Holy Church. Their miraculous relics rest in Murom, and their prayers help our newlyweds and those who have been married for a long time to find true love for each other in God in the Holy Sacrament of the Wedding.

We speak of marriage as a Holy Sacrament. What does this mean? What exactly is the Sacrament?

The sacrament is a sacred action through which the grace of the Holy Spirit, the saving power of God, acts in a secret way on a person (or on people in general).

Why is grace needed? Can a person do without it? Consider the story of Adam and Eve in Paradise. They sinned, they wanted to become holy "gods" without God, without our Heavenly Father. They retreated from Him, moved away - and God drove them into the world where we live. What do we see in the later life of Adam and Eve, our first parents? Sorrow, sorrow, illness, evil: their one son (Cain) kills another - his brother Abel. Is this what Adam and Eve wanted when they distanced themselves from God? - Of course not! But! All this happened to them, and is happening to the whole human race as a result of the loss, the loss of holy grace. And the creation of happiness "with one's own hands", the formation on earth of something new, whole, without the grace of God, is in principle impossible. Moreover, this can be attributed to marriage as a marital union between husband and wife.

As a fundamentally new form of being, the union of husband and wife requires the sanctifying power of God for its strong, preferably until the end of days, union. As they say: forever!

The other side is the mystery, sacramentality of marriage. This means that God Himself is present, blessing the marriage, He Himself is acting here. And if the husband and wife continue to behave well in marriage, in their life together, then God will always be with them, blessing them, keeping them and benefiting them. But for this you need to keep God's Law. Which? The one that is set forth in the Holy Scriptures, in the Bible, through which the will of God is revealed to us, people - what does God want from us so that we can be happy?

The Lord said at the creation of Adam: “It is not good for man to be alone; let us make him a helper fit for him” (Genesis 2:18). And then “God created from the rib taken from the man a wife and brought her to the man. And the man said, Behold, bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she will be called a woman, for she was taken from her husband... and the two will become one flesh” (Genesis 2:22-24). In doing so, the Lord blessed them, combining them into a single marriage union. “Be fruitful and multiply,” He told them, “and fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28). The blessed union of husband and wife in one being and unity of life constituted the secret of marriage. “A man shall leave his father and his mother, and cling to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24), — thus the Lord Jesus determined the essence of this mystery.

Hence, as we see from ancient history humanity, the institution of God, the holiness and mystery of the union of marriage follows. The consequence of this is its indissolubility: the Lord Jesus Christ taught about the inviolability of marriage: “What God has joined together, let no man separate” (Matthew 19:6), except in cases of adultery – adultery. The Lord Himself forbids divorces, except for special, stipulated cases, which, unfortunately, happen in life because of our sins. But we can firmly say that God does not want divorces, He is against them.

Not without a special purpose did the Lord give such a high dignity to the marriage union. Established by God Himself, consecrated and approved by the Church in the sacrament of marriage, marriage is the foundation of a person's whole life - peace, peace of mind and happiness on earth and eternal bliss in heaven.

Marriage is a sacrament in which, with a free promise before the priest and the Church, the bride and groom of their mutual marital fidelity their marital union is blessed in the image of the spiritual union of Christ with the Church, and they ask for the grace of pure unanimity for the blessed birth and Christian upbringing of children (St. Metropolitan Philaret).

Thus, for the celebration of the Sacrament of marriage, two factors are necessary: ​​the will of the spouses themselves, which gives real existence to marriage, and the will of the Church, which affirms marriage with its blessing and imparts to it the living and active grace of God. Without God's blessing, there can be no complete blessed marital union - marriage. At the same time, the will of the spouses is not autonomous here, since the seal of holy Baptism - the same holy grace with which we are all sealed in Baptism - contributes to the choice of the bride and groom.

The Sacrament of marriage itself has been performed in the Church since ancient times: in the holy temple and in the community of people who believe in God, headed by a bishop and priests. And the Church has always seen in marriage not only the foundation of the family and the cell of society, but also the image of the union of Christ and the Church. Christians, with their deeper and more spiritual understanding of marriage, believed that marriage should not be out of passion, but with the thought of God, His moral law, and for His glory! Therefore, entering into marriage according to civil laws, they first asked for the blessing of their bishop on him. And the intention to marry was announced to the whole church before the conclusion of the civil contract. St. Ignatius the God-bearer in the Epistle to Polycarp writes: “And those who marry and are getting married should enter into an alliance with the consent of the bishop, so that the marriage is about the Lord, and not for lust.” Marriages that were not announced in the church community were equated with fornication. Tertullian wrote that true marriage was performed in the presence of the Church, sanctified by prayer and sealed with the Eucharist.

Each church sacrament is not just a rite or a prayer for something. The Sacrament is such a meeting with God, when the Lord, by His grace, by His action, really comes into our lives. The union of two people who intend to jointly build their lives, love each other, help each other, remain faithful, condescend, in the Wedding it acquires, finds and accepts Divine grace.

St. Patriarch Alexy spoke about the significance of the wedding of the newlyweds: “At the Throne of God, young people promise to be with each other all their lives, in trouble or illness to bear each other's burdens. How important is difficult times life together, remember these solemn, happy and responsible moments of union with another person and not get tired of forgiving minor offenses, tolerating the imperfection of another, as we tolerate our own imperfection, and in the course of life to discover and love the image of God in him. Indeed, true love, according to the word of the Apostle Paul, is long-suffering, merciful ... does not envy, does not exalt itself, does not pride itself, does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not irritated, does not think evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; covers everything... hopes everything, endures everything (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

And of course, marriage as a Sacrament can take place only if from the very beginning - and even before the beginning - it meets the requirements that the Orthodox Church imposes on marriage. This canonicity of marriage, in turn, is its stronghold, holding it together with strength, without which, as life shows, marriages break up or suffer an internal collapse: chills, quarrels, loss of peace between spouses, etc. are not uncommon. It may be that from an external point of view, marriage retains its external form, but in a spiritual sense it has already ceased to exist. This can happen even with a visible agreement between the spouses: only agreement on what? - general consent to lawlessness, sin, shamelessness and vice.

The wedding is performed on those Christians who agree to live according to Christian rules in marriage:

Lead a church life: observe Sundays, holidays and posts. These days do not have conjugal communion;

bear and raise children;

Do not have abortions;

In love and intimacy, observe the limits of decency, not arrange an orgy of permissiveness out of marriage - in a word, build a family as a small Church, according to the word of St. John Chrysostom.

A new academic year 2017/2018 has begun at the St. Alekseevskaya Ivanovo-Voznesensk Orthodox Theological Seminary. This year, 18 people were recruited for the Preparatory Department. Having successfully passed the entrance examinations in early August, the applicants initially went home. Arriving in Ivanovo on August 30, they settled into the rooms and got acquainted with those who have been studying within these walls for more than a year. All enrolled children already know how to read in Church Slavonic, they know the basics of the Liturgy.

First Vice-Rector Abbot Vonifaty (Klimenko), together with the Vice-Rector for educational work Priest Maxim Bychkov and his assistant on duty, Hieromonk Jonathan (Bogomaz), at the meeting on August 31, greeted the enrolled students of the Preparatory Department and spoke about the daily routine in the Seminary.

The coming academic year has brought a number of changes that should improve discipline and help future shepherds in their development. Hegumen Vonifatiy addressed to those who entered the SAIVPDS with parting instructions. He noted that the guys made a worthy choice in their life path, enrolling in a theological educational institution. This choice in itself is a challenge of the time, when sin, it would seem, knows no boundaries, and the shepherd must stand up for the protection of the flock from sin. Therefore, the First Vice-Rector noted, addressing the guys, you doom yourself to struggle, and this is very commendable! Further, the father hegumen drew the attention of the listeners to the fact that in addition to the main and main thing - the teachings - they should also, with an effort on themselves, be formed as true Christians, grow up, overcome sin in themselves. And if learning is the main thing, then morality is an inseparable companion of learning, so that the latter is successful. In conclusion, hegumen Boniface advised the children not to reach out for negligent students, but to avoid the bad, striving for the good, equaling the diligent and good fellow students and students.

A similar meeting was held for senior students. On it, hegumen Bonifaty especially drew attention to the 5th year, which this year will take the final exams and write the final qualifying work.

Knowledge Day, September 1, is celebrated not only in secular, but also in religious educational institutions. So, within the walls of the Seminary, this day began with Divine Liturgy, which was headed by Metropolitan Joseph of Ivanovo-Voznesensky and Vichugsky, rector of SAIVPDS, appointed this summer by the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. He was co-served by First Vice-Rector Abbot Vonifatiy, Secretary of the Academic Council Abbot Vitaly, Vice-Rector for Correspondence Studies Abbot Yuvenaly and other teachers of the Seminary in holy orders. At the end of the Liturgy, during which a number of students received Holy Communion, Vladyka Rector and his comrades served a moleben before the start of the academic year.

Further, Metropolitan of Ivanovo-Voznesensky and Vichugsky Joseph addressed the students with a welcoming and parting word, pointing out that spiritual education will enable students to become pastors. And there is nothing on earth higher than pastoral ministry. Therefore, the guys should make every effort, diligence and patience, which should go hand in hand with the spiritual development of the student.

After lunch, all students started their classes. The life of a Seminary student consists not only of study, but also of obedience. The guys go to Uspensky Cathedral for liturgical practice, doing chores in the Seminary itself, and working in the kitchen.

An important part is occupied by divine services, at which all students pray, sing together on the kliros, and perform obedience in the holy Altar.

Students of the Preparatory Department almost immediately plunge into this rich life. For many of them, it is nothing new. Several students came at once from the Orphanage in the village of Elunino, a boarding school at Nikolo-Shartomsky monastery, Orthodox secondary school of the Feodorovskaya icon Mother of God, and three students came to us from Astrakhan!

FROM God's help, prayers of St. Alexis, heavenly patron St. Alekseevsky Ivanovo-Voznesensk Orthodox Theological Seminary, the guys will be trained and prepared for difficult sessions.

Pukhov Alexander, 5th year student of the Specialist