Spiritual child of Lavrenty Postnikov. Great elders of our time. Father loved monks very much
On December 19, 2017, on the day of remembrance of St. Nicholas, Archimandrite Naum (Baiborodin), who before his tonsure bore the name of the Wonderworker of Myra, would have turned 90 years old. For 60 years, the priest was a resident of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, and now, after his death on the eve of the Feast of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, we believe, he resides in eternal monasteries. For some, his prayer was a covering.
The elder is remembered by his children, disciples, fellow servants, mother abbess...
“The Jesus Prayer was his main activity”
Matthew, Bishop of Shuisky and Teikovsky:
It’s hard to talk about such people... This is a great man. The seeds that he sowed in the all-Russian church field will still bear fruit, which we will see.
He penetrated into the past with his gaze, and into the future - like a prophet. What he said came true. Knew what every soul had gone through; could expose if a person had unrepentant sins. But I tried to guide him in such a way that in the future he could protect himself from the machinations of the enemy. Many miracles happened.
Father Naum himself was a very strict monk. It has never happened that he missed a rule without any good reason; he came to the fraternal prayer service when he was sick. Always attended the midnight office. At this time, you could take his blessing and ask him something.
He instructed the monastics, as well as the laity, in the Jesus Prayer. He himself lived by prayer and worked for the revival of intelligent work, which was being ruined in our country under the godless Soviet regime. Wrote a Ph.D. dissertation on this topic. He practiced smart work and inspired others to strive: “Before,” Father Naum was sometimes perplexed, “five hundred was the elementary work of monastics. Why aren’t we adopting it now?” He blessed everyone differently: some a hundred, some a thousand. Taught proper breathing when praying. Each one was approached individually. Prayer is a secret activity; there can be no general advice here.
It is said about the apostles: cloven tongues as of fire appeared to them... (Acts 2:2-3). Saint John the Baptist indicated that the Son of God would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Luke 3:16). And how I wish the fire would already ignite! (Luke 12:49), says the Lord. This fiery breath was felt in Father Naum.
I happened to be obedient to him as a clerk. I saw that the letter had not even been opened yet, but the priest already knew its contents and the answer that should be sent to the return address indicated on the envelope. His insight was amazing, as was the depth of the short answers he gave. It never sprayed. I looked at the root. After all, you can justify everything eloquently, but the essence will go away. Father Naum always answered briefly and to the point. One or two words from him were enough to understand what to do.
Father Naum always confessed very deeply. The main thing, as it followed from his spiritual practice and from the experience of confession with him, was to achieve contrition, genuine repentance. When confession is superficial, perhaps it is necessary to pay attention to those sins that will allow a person to feel contrition. Father Naum knew how to do this. He could expose any highly intelligent scientist. Valery Yakovlevich Savrey, a professor at Moscow State University and the Moscow Theological Academy, once brought five academicians to him: a mathematician, a philologist and someone else. And Father Naum asked each one a question from his area of knowledge that they were unable to answer. Thus he could convert even the most self-confident to God. A person will humble himself a little, understand the limitations of his mind, and his heart will open to the truths of the Gospel.
The elder cared about the revival of life in the monasteries according to the patristic statutes. He blessed the publication of the charter of Pachomius the Great and distributed it to us for study and development. Father published a lot of sermons and works, at least for his children. He always supplied us with a huge amount of patristic literature. We read all this with his blessing.
Father loved many saints very much. For example, St. Ambrose of Optina. He asked us to make a selection from his instructions - I remember, and I did this. Father Naum somehow intimately experienced the life of this saint: he absorbed this existence dissolved by grace and tried to instill in us a taste for such a life. Through the perception of Father Naum, we somehow vividly perceived the patristic experience and tried to imitate the Holy Fathers in some ways. Father called St. Ambrose of Optina a prophet of the 19th century. And Father Naum himself was for us a prophet of our times.
Father prayed for the people, and the people begged him
Archimandrite Lavrenty (Postnikov), monk of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra:
Father Naum served God and people. It's impossible to please everyone. When he spoke instructions, some accepted his words easily and joyfully, while others walked away saddened (see Matt. 19:22).
We lived next to Father Naum for almost 60 years. I have never seen anything bad in him or from him in all these years. He had his own approach to people. When we adhere to the canonical rules and do not move either to the right or to the left, our path is correct. People went to Father Naum to clarify whether they had deviated from the commanded path. If he had said something wrong, the believing people would not have followed him.
Father Naum was a hard worker. When he prayed, I don’t know. He was always in front of people, all about their needs, delving into everything. Since he was always with the people, teaching them how to live, praying for everyone, it means that the people were praying for him. And for sure, even if the priest sinned, the people begged for their elder.
“For such great elders, only the Judgment of God can determine their spiritual efficiency”
Archimandrite Zacharias (Shkurikhin), monk of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra:
We lived next to Father Naum, our cells were on the same floor. Sometimes they crossed paths at meals. He was strict. I made comments. Sometimes you say something wrong or there’s something wrong with your appearance – I’ve seen it all. But he always spoke to the point.
There is close communication between the brethren in the monastery. You can always see whether a person is praying or just like that, “the raven is counting.” Father Naum prayed. He, of course, devoted a lot of time to receiving people. But during the service he tried to concentrate, intensely delving into the words of the service. About synodics, when he was once asked why he didn’t read them, he said: “Let young people read them, so that they have fewer thoughts.”
For such great elders, only the Judgment of God can determine their spiritual efficiency. Now it is very difficult to care for people in our modern world. Vladyka Theognost of Sergiev Posad, our vicar, was always very surprised how Father Naum could remember everyone: who was where in the dioceses, in which remote monasteries, in which small towns and in abandoned villages, and at the same time who had what sorrows, problems, internal temptations. I sent something to someone, passed it on through someone... I received letters, wrote replies.
I remember once some servants of God came to him - they had a lot of problems, they had nowhere to live... He immediately blessed them: “Go there. That’s right,” he calls someone over, “that’s where people are going.” The house is now empty. That’s where you’ll live.” The homeless went there; They were immediately settled and lived there for several years. Then they are told: “That’s it, move out.” They, of course, felt sorry to leave what they had acquired over the years, but they left it all for the next residents. And somehow their lives got on better. Everything through his prayer happened smoothly and naturally. It was the same for the monastics - all problems, both internal and purely everyday, were resolved with the blessing of Father Naum.
The Lord created a miracle
Hieroschemamonk Valentin (Gurevich), confessor of the Moscow Donskoy Stavropegial Monastery:
At one time, after a serious operation, I lived in the Ascension Orsha Monastery of the Tver diocese. There, not far from the monastery, there is the village of Emaus. Apparently, at one time some pious landowner gave this name to his estate. And for some reason rock bands gravitate towards this kind of place names. They like biblical names: Nazareth, Emaus, etc. And so they chose this village to hold a rock festival. Since the village is located in an open field, the sound from the amplified speakers deafened the entire area. Such a temptation was allowed. Then Mother Eupraxia (Inber), abbess of the Ascension Orshina Monastery, received a blessing from Archimandrite Naum: everyone should read the akathist to Archangel Michael. Father Naum greatly revered the Archangel - two monasteries in the elder’s homeland are now dedicated to him: a women’s monastery in his native village of Malo-Irmenka, Ordynsky district, Novosibirsk region, and a men’s monastery in the nearby village of Kozikha. It is also providential that the 40 days of Father Naum fell on the celebration of the memory of Archangel Michael and all the Ethereal Powers. Mother Abbess with all the sisters and girls from the monastery shelter, as well as me, who was then living in the monastery, we all began to read the akathist to Archangel Michael. And the Lord performed a miracle. There was silence in the monastery. It was truly a miracle, because as soon as you stepped outside the fence of the monastery, the music thundered; you take a step back into the monastery - and silence! I checked it myself several times - I went outside the fence and came in: literally a meter, but behind the low symbolic fence you couldn’t hear this roar. This is inexplicable from the point of view of the laws of physics.
Another example. The children of Father Naum actively converted their friends and colleagues to the faith. Thus, now a professor at the Moscow Theological Academy and Sretensky Seminary, Alexey Ivanovich Sidorov was still teaching at Moscow State University at that time, where he helped the Finnish Kirsi Marita Ritoniemi, who was studying at the department of Slavic philology, get baptized. She, like him, became one of the spiritual children of Archimandrite Naum. She accepted monasticism. At one time she was the abbess of the Ascension Orshina Monastery, and then the ruling bishop, having transformed the Tver metochion of the monastery into an independent St. Catherine's Monastery, sent Mother Juliana (her name in tonsure) there as abbess. Temptations arose from time to time, and the enemy opposed the revival of the monasteries. Then Mother Juliania and Eupraxia, who was placed in her place at the Ascension Orshin Monastery, could talk together with officials, and all the sisters and girls of the orphanage sang the Trisagion in the church at that time. And everything – thank God – was sorted out.
“We were all under his prayer as if under cover”
Abbess Elena (Bogdan), abbess of the Holy Resurrection Convent of the city of Murom, Murom diocese Vladimir Metropolis:
This is a man of God. Holy life. His mother, schema-nun Sergia, was a very pious woman. They lived near Novosibirsk. Her children all died in infancy. When on St. Nicholas Day 90 years ago she gave birth to another boy - also weak - she prayed: “Lord and Mother of God, leave him to me, let him be like St. Nicholas.” Her maternal prayer was heard. The baby was christened with the name Nikolai. He devoted his entire life, like Saint Nicholas, to serving God and people - this is the most important thing.
He was an exceptional monk for our time. He labored according to the ancient monastic rules. He himself was a worker of obedience and taught us in self-denial. Obedience is paramount.
He helped us a lot with his prayer. When the monastics were tempted, the Lord allowed them to sin; Father Naum begged even those severely wounded by sin. Somehow everything was managed invisibly, souls were healed. All of us were under his prayer as if under cover - we could feel it. I think that even now the Lord will give him such a blessed state to help everyone who will resort to him.
Imitator of St. Sergius
Abbess Olympias (Baranova), abbess of the Pokrovsky Khotkovo stauropegial convent:
The kindest, the most holy - what else can I say about Father Naum?! He had his own approach to each person. Father instructed the monastics to pray tirelessly and not to forget the Jesus Prayer - this is the most important thing. And all the things of this life will be added (Matthew 6:33), he reminded us. Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him (Matthew 6:8). He himself was a very worthy monk, without exaggeration, to say - an imitator of St. Sergius. Our monastery, where the relics of the parents of the Hegumen of the Russian Land rest, the priest helped and helps with prayers, and incessantly.
Father loved monks very much
Hieromonk Nikolai (Elachev), dean of the Nikolo-Shartomsky monastery of the Shuya diocese of the Ivanovo Metropolis:
Father will forever remain in our hearts. In the Nikolo-Shartomsky monastery, all the brethren were gathered by him. He pulled many of us out of the very abyss of the world and set us on the path to salvation. All of us, with his blessing and his prayers, came to the monastery to serve the Lord and are now grateful to him for this.
How many of his children have already been consecrated bishops and metropolitans! How many hegumens, abbesses, good priests he gave to the flock of Christ, monks and nuns he raised for our holy Church.
The priest had his own method of converting people to monasticism. He will bless you, a man who has previously played tricks in life, to restore the temple: while you are working on the ruins, you will pass such a test! The enemy will beat you up so much that you yourself will understand what is important in life. Asceticism became an urgent necessity instead of an abstract activity. Before coming to the monastery, our brethren revived many churches in Novosibirsk, Priazovsk and other cities.
Years passed before Father Naum gave his blessing for monasticism. Only to him, as an elder, was it revealed where this or that soul was inclined. He could immediately tell someone that his path was monasticism, another after 3 years, and a third after 5 years. Each individual – when a person becomes ready for this.
Father was pleased with our obedience to God, the Gospel, and what the Lord revealed to us through the elder. And our sins upset him. It happened that if we began to act out of willfulness, we immediately got into trouble and returned to him: “What should we do now?..” Father Naum accepted in a fatherly way and did not drive out the repentant.
He could expose your most secret sin - even sometimes somehow imperceptibly, through someone, but everything was revealed to you, and you began to understand what you needed to repent of. We all have our weaknesses. But the elder knew who could bear what kind of instruction: he could give someone a thrashing in front of everyone, but not out of passion, but for admonition; and quietly brought someone to their senses in private.
Father loved the monks very much. He was all inspired when someone came to him for a blessing to become a monk. Even if just a person was going to go to the monastery to work, to live at the monastery, the elder was already rejoicing.
Father Naum always instructed: “Read the Gospel - everything is written there.” For us, he is an elder: we know that he did not speak to us on his own, but revealed the will of God.
On December 19, 2017, on the day of remembrance of St. Nicholas, Archimandrite Naum (Baiborodin), who before his tonsure bore the name of the Wonderworker of Myra, would have turned 90 years old. For 60 years, the priest was a resident of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, and now, after his death on the eve of the Feast of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, we believe he resides in eternal monasteries. For some, his prayer was a covering.
The elder is remembered by his children, disciples, fellow servants, mother abbess...
“The Jesus Prayer was his main activity”
Matthew, Bishop of Shuisky and Teikovsky:
It’s hard to talk about such people... This is a great man. The seeds that he sowed in the all-Russian church field will still bear fruit, which we will see.
He penetrated into the past with his gaze, and into the future - like a prophet. What he said came true. Knew what every soul had gone through; could expose if a person had unrepentant sins. But I tried to guide him in such a way that in the future he could protect himself from the machinations of the enemy. Many miracles happened.
Father Naum himself was a very strict monk. It has never happened that he missed a rule without any good reason; he came to the fraternal prayer service when he was sick. Always attended the midnight office. At this time, you could take his blessing and ask him something.
He instructed the monastics, as well as the laity, in the Jesus Prayer. He himself lived by prayer and worked for the revival of intelligent work, which was being ruined in our country under the godless Soviet regime. Wrote a Ph.D. dissertation on this topic. He practiced smart work and inspired others to strive: “Before,” Father Naum was sometimes perplexed, “five hundred was the elementary work of monastics. Why aren’t we adopting it now?” He blessed everyone differently: some a hundred, some a thousand. Taught proper breathing when praying. Each one was approached individually. Prayer is a secret activity; there can be no general advice here.
It is said about the apostles: cloven tongues appeared to them as if of fire... (Acts 2:2-3). Saint John the Baptist indicated that the Son of God would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Luke 3:16). And how I wish the fire would already ignite! (Luke 12:49), says the Lord. This fiery breath was felt in Father Naum.
I happened to be obedient to him as a clerk. I saw that the letter had not even been opened yet, but the priest already knew its contents and the answer that should be sent to the return address indicated on the envelope. His insight was amazing, as was the depth of the short answers he gave. It never sprayed. I looked at the root. After all, you can justify everything eloquently, but the essence will go away. Father Naum always answered briefly and to the point. One or two words from him were enough to understand what to do.
Father Naum always confessed very deeply. The main thing, as it followed from his spiritual practice and from the experience of confession with him, was to achieve contrition, genuine repentance. When confession is superficial, perhaps it is necessary to pay attention to those sins that will allow a person to feel contrition. Father Naum knew how to do this. He could expose any highly intelligent scientist. Valery Yakovlevich Savrey, a professor at Moscow State University and the Moscow Theological Academy, once brought five academicians to him: a mathematician, a philologist and someone else. And Father Naum asked each one a question from his area of knowledge that they were unable to answer. Thus he could convert even the most self-confident to God. A person will humble himself a little, understand the limitations of his mind, and his heart will open to the truths of the Gospel.
The elder cared about the revival of life in the monasteries according to the patristic statutes. He blessed the publication of the charter of Pachomius the Great and distributed it to us for study and development. Father published a lot of sermons and works, at least for his children. He always supplied us with a huge amount of patristic literature. We read all this with his blessing.
Father loved many saints very much. For example, St. Ambrose of Optina. He asked us to make a selection from his instructions - I remember, and I did this. Father Naum somehow intimately experienced the life of this saint: he absorbed this existence dissolved by grace and tried to instill in us a taste for such a life. Through the perception of Father Naum, we somehow vividly perceived the patristic experience and tried to imitate the Holy Fathers in some ways. Father called St. Ambrose of Optina a prophet of the 19th century. And Father Naum himself was for us a prophet of our times.
Father prayed for the people, and the people begged him
Archimandrite Lavrenty (Postnikov), monk of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra:
Father Naum served God and people. It's impossible to please everyone. When he spoke instructions, some accepted his words easily and joyfully, while others walked away saddened (see Matt. 19:22).
We lived next to Father Naum for almost 60 years. I have never seen anything bad in him or from him in all these years. He had his own approach to people. When we adhere to the canonical rules and do not move either to the right or to the left, our path is correct. People went to Father Naum to clarify whether they had deviated from the commanded path. If he had said something wrong, the believing people would not have followed him.
Father Naum was a hard worker. When he prayed, I don’t know. He was always in front of people, all about their needs, delving into everything. Since he was always with the people, teaching them how to live, praying for everyone, it means that the people were praying for him. And for sure, even if the priest sinned, the people begged for their elder.
“For such great elders, only the Judgment of God can determine their spiritual efficiency”
Archimandrite Zacharias (Shkurikhin), monk of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra:
We lived next to Father Naum, our cells were on the same floor. Sometimes they crossed paths at meals. He was strict. I made comments. Sometimes you say something wrong or there’s something wrong with your appearance - I’ve seen it all. But he always spoke to the point.
There is close communication between the brethren in the monastery. You can always see whether a person is praying or just like that, “the raven is counting.” Father Naum prayed. He, of course, devoted a lot of time to receiving people. But during the service he tried to concentrate, intensely delving into the words of the service. About synodics, when he was once asked why he didn’t read them, he said: “Let young people read them, so that they have fewer thoughts.”
For such great elders, only the Judgment of God can determine their spiritual efficiency. Now it is very difficult to care for people in our modern world. Vladyka Theognost of Sergiev Posad, our vicar, was always very surprised how Father Naum could remember everyone: who was where in the dioceses, in which remote monasteries, in which small towns and in abandoned villages, and at the same time who had what sorrows, problems, internal temptations. I sent something to someone, passed it on through someone... I received letters, wrote replies.
I remember once some servants of God came to him - they had a lot of problems, they had nowhere to live... He immediately blessed them: “Go there. That’s right,” he calls someone over, “that’s where people are going.” The house is now empty. That’s where you’ll live.” The homeless went there; They were immediately settled and lived there for several years. Then they are told: “That’s it, move out.” They, of course, felt sorry to leave what they had acquired over the years, but they left it all for the next residents. And somehow their lives got on better. Everything through his prayer happened smoothly and naturally. It was the same for the monastics - all problems, both internal and purely everyday, were resolved with the blessing of Father Naum.
The Lord created a miracle
Hieroschemamonk Valentin (Gurevich), confessor of the Moscow Donskoy Stavropegial Monastery:
At one time, after a serious operation, I lived in the Ascension Orsha Monastery of the Tver diocese. There, not far from the monastery, there is the village of Emaus. Apparently, at one time some pious landowner gave this name to his estate. And for some reason rock bands gravitate towards this kind of place names. They like biblical names: Nazareth, Emaus, etc. And so they chose this village to hold a rock festival. Since the village is located in an open field, the sound from the amplified speakers deafened the entire area. Such a temptation was allowed. Then Mother Eupraxia (Inber), abbess of the Ascension Orshina Monastery, received a blessing from Archimandrite Naum: everyone should read the akathist to Archangel Michael. Father Naum greatly revered the Archangel - two monasteries in the elder’s homeland are now dedicated to him: a women’s monastery in his native village of Malo-Irmenka, Ordynsky district, Novosibirsk region, and a men’s monastery in the nearby village of Kozikha. It is also providential that the 40 days of Father Naum fell on the celebration of the memory of Archangel Michael and all the Ethereal Powers. Mother Abbess with all the sisters and girls from the monastery shelter, as well as me, who was then living in the monastery, we all began to read the akathist to Archangel Michael. And the Lord performed a miracle. There was silence in the monastery. It was truly a miracle, because as soon as you stepped outside the fence of the monastery, the music thundered; you take a step back into the monastery - and silence! I checked it myself several times - I went outside the fence and came in: literally a meter, but behind the low symbolic fence you couldn’t hear this roar. This is inexplicable from the point of view of the laws of physics.
Another example. The children of Father Naum actively converted their friends and colleagues to the faith. Thus, now a professor at the Moscow Theological Academy and Sretensky Seminary, Alexey Ivanovich Sidorov was still teaching at Moscow State University at that time, where he helped the Finnish Kirsi Marita Ritoniemi, who was studying at the department of Slavic philology, get baptized. She, like him, became one of the spiritual children of Archimandrite Naum. She accepted monasticism. At one time she was the abbess of the Ascension Orshina Monastery, and then the ruling bishop, having transformed the Tver metochion of the monastery into an independent St. Catherine's Monastery, sent Mother Juliana (her name in tonsure) there as abbess. Temptations arose from time to time, and the enemy opposed the revival of the monasteries. Then Mother Juliania and Eupraxia, who was placed in her place at the Ascension Orshin Monastery, could talk together with officials, and all the sisters and girls of the orphanage sang the Trisagion in the church at that time. And everything - thank God - was settled.
“We were all under his prayer as if under cover”
Abbess Elena (Bogdan), abbess of the Holy Resurrection Women's Monastery in the city of Murom, Murom diocese of the Vladimir Metropolis:
This is a man of God. Holy life. His mother, schema-nun Sergia, was a very pious woman. They lived near Novosibirsk. Her children all died in infancy. When on St. Nicholas Day 90 years ago she gave birth to another boy - also weak - she prayed: “Lord and Mother of God, leave him to me, let him be like St. Nicholas.” Her maternal prayer was heard. The baby was christened with the name Nikolai. He, like Saint Nicholas, devoted his entire life to serving God and people - this is the most important thing.
He was an exceptional monk for our time. He labored according to the ancient monastic rules. He himself was a worker of obedience and taught us in self-denial. Obedience is above all.
He helped us a lot with his prayer. When the monastics were tempted, the Lord allowed them to sin; Father Naum begged even those severely wounded by sin. Somehow everything was managed invisibly, souls were healed. We were all under his prayer as if under cover - we could feel it. I think that even now the Lord will give him such a blessed state to help everyone who will resort to him.
Imitator of St. Sergius
Abbess Olympias (Baranova), abbess of the Pokrovsky Khotkovo stauropegial convent:
The kindest, the most holy - what else can I say about Father Naum?! He had his own approach to each person. Father instructed the monastics to pray tirelessly and not to forget the Jesus Prayer - this is the most important thing. And all the things of this life will be added (Matthew 6:33), he reminded us. Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him (Matthew 6:8). He himself was a very worthy monk, without exaggeration, to say - an imitator of St. Sergius. Our monastery, where the relics of the parents of the Hegumen of the Russian Land rest, the priest helped and helps with prayers, and incessantly.
Father loved monks very much
Hieromonk Nikolai (Elachev), dean of the Nikolo-Shartomsky monastery of the Shuya diocese of the Ivanovo Metropolis:
Father will forever remain in our hearts. In the Nikolo-Shartomsky monastery, all the brethren were gathered by him. He pulled many of us out of the very abyss of the world and set us on the path to salvation. All of us, with his blessing and his prayers, came to the monastery to serve the Lord and are now grateful to him for this.
How many of his children have already been consecrated bishops and metropolitans! How many hegumens, abbesses, good priests he gave to the flock of Christ, monks and nuns he raised for our holy Church.
The priest had his own method of converting people to monasticism. He will bless you, a man who has previously played tricks in life, to restore the temple: while you are working on the ruins, you will pass such a test! The enemy will beat you up so much that you yourself will understand what is important in life. Asceticism became an urgent necessity instead of an abstract activity. Before coming to the monastery, our brethren revived many churches in Novosibirsk, Priazovsk and other cities.
Years passed before Father Naum gave his blessing for monasticism. Only to him, as an elder, was it revealed where this or that soul was inclined. He could immediately tell someone that his path was monasticism, another after 3 years, and a third after 5 years. Each individual - when a person became ready for this.
Father was pleased with our obedience to God, the Gospel, and what the Lord revealed to us through the elder. And our sins upset him. It happened that if we began to act out of willfulness, we immediately got into trouble and returned to him: “What should we do now?..” Father Naum accepted in a fatherly way and did not drive out the repentant.
He could expose your most secret sin - even sometimes somehow imperceptibly, through someone, but everything was revealed to you and you began to understand what you needed to repent of. We all have our weaknesses. But the elder knew who could bear what kind of instruction: he could give someone a thrashing in front of everyone, but not out of passion, but for admonition; and quietly brought someone to their senses in private.
Father loved the monks very much. He was all inspired when someone came to him for a blessing to become a monk. Even if just a person was going to go to the monastery to work, to live at the monastery, the elder was already rejoicing.
Father Naum always instructed: “Read the Gospel - everything is written there.” For us, he is an elder: we know that he did not speak to us on his own, but revealed the will of God.
ORTHODOX LIFE
YOU DO NOT SING, O NIGHTINGALE, YOUR SWEET SONG
Favorite edging
Maria Ivanovna Parshukova (monastic monk Maria) is known throughout the former Soviet Union. A native of the Komi land, in Soviet times she carried the obedience of hospitality to strangers at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra for many years. “People came to her from both the north and the south,” Galina Belyakova says about her aunt, “and Aunt Masha would greet everyone, feed them and warm them up. Brothers and sisters in Christ, coming to her in Zagorsk, sat up talking until late at night: they shared their problems with her, then they all prayed together and sang spiritual cants. And she even received the blessed, the possessed, and holy fools in her house. And this is a very heavy cross. I remember some big bosses came to see her, prosecutors, famous artists. But mostly ordinary people were traveling. Everyone wanted to get to St. Sergius and live at the Lavra for at least a few days...”
In 2005, Maria Ivanovna suffered from paralysis - a consequence of a stroke. Relatives transported her to her homeland, to the Komi Republic, as it seemed then - to die. Doctors warned that she would not live long. But through the prayers of her many “wanderers” - brothers and sisters in Christ, relatives, as well as the elders of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, thanks to the loving care of her niece, Maria Ivanovna is alive to this day.
As before in Sergiev Posad, so now in Maria Ivanovna’s house on the quiet Okhotnichya street in the village of V. Maksakovka it is noisy from numerous visitors, the voices of children do not stop.
“Marya Ivanovna loves children very much,” Galina Valerianovna tells me. “She worked with children all her life. Immediately after finishing school I got a job in a kindergarten. And having moved to Zagorsk, she worked in children's institutions. There were nine children in our family, and she helped my mother raise us. She brought everyone to God; she became godmother to six of my brothers and sisters. From an early age she constantly took us to the St. Kazan Church for services. And it’s a ten-kilometer walk to it (there were no buses back then), and back. If we were tired, she would take turns carrying us on her shoulders. And in winter the whole road is covered with huge snowdrifts...
“After the service, Father Vladimir Zhokhov invited the singers to his house for a rehearsal,” mother’s niece also recalls. – Aunt Masha also sang in the church choir. While they were studying, we were with the children on the priest’s veranda. They played there while the singers were rehearsing.
There was no bridge across Sysola at that time, and during the ice drift we could not get into the temple. Therefore, all the old women from Maksakovka gathered to pray in our house. We were like a house church. I remember how my grandmother raised us to prayer early in the morning. But we wanted to get some more sleep - children are children. We washed ourselves, read the morning rule, then godmother Aunt Masha reminded: “Today is Sunday, read the akathist!” And we read some other akathist, usually to the Mother of God. Then they sat down near the stove - we had a stove burning in the middle of the room - and began to sing spiritual cants. Of course, my godmother taught us all to do this.
First they sang her favorite chant, then her grandmother’s, then her mother’s. The godmother has a favorite song: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior...”. We all had our favorite cants, and we took turns singing them.
- Godmother, do you remember how Kant taught us to sing? - Galina turns to her aunt lying on the bed.
- How come you don’t remember? Yesterday I sang “The Nightingale”. “Don’t sing your sweet song, nightingale...” Galina prompts. And Mother Maria immediately sings along with her: “...And don’t disturb my prayer, nightingale.”
– Do you remember what my mother’s favorite edging was? “Don’t complain about your harsh fate,” Galina sings again, and Maria Ivanovna picks up:
Bear the stern cross obediently,
Trust in the Lord God
And ask for strength with patience.
God sent you all the trials
To get stronger in a difficult struggle.
All those sorrows and torments, sufferings -
In this life for your benefit.
So don’t you dare in difficult times
Convey your grief to someone
Just pray to the Lord God,
Trust Him alone...
It was amazing to see an old woman, bedridden, singing about her cross... From the words of her niece, I already knew that from childhood Mother Maria was a great singer, she even played the harmonica, and sang in the amateur choir at the Lavra.
"Ask for what you want"
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Galina herself served all her life as a singer at the Lavra, then at the Lavra monastery in Saburovo. And now she leads the choir at the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh in Maksakovka. And all this thanks to my beloved aunt.
“When I moved to live in Zagorsk with my godmother,” says Galina, “the first thing she did was take me to a music school. She herself suffered greatly because she did not have a musical education, and she really wanted me to get it. And as soon as I got a job in the medical unit, I immediately went to classes at an evening music school. She also began singing with her godmother in an amateur choir. It was then managed by my confessor, Father Lavrenty. And from five in the morning we usually sang the early service in the Assumption Church.
– Why did you decide to move from Komi closer to the Lavra? – I ask Galina Valerianovna.
“We had a big family, life was hard. And the godmother lived there alone and constantly invited us to her place in letters. At first, my brother Mikhail and I went to see her during the holidays. The godmother led us to the relics of St. Sergius: “Bow and ask the Reverend for whatever you want. If God pleases, he will fulfill all your desires.” I really liked the Lavra, and, venerating the relics, I asked St. Sergius to live there. And after a couple of years, everything turned out so that I moved to Zagorsk for good.
Maria Ivanovna herself moved to Sergiev Posad with the blessing of her father Vladimir Zhokhov. When the authorities forbade the priest to serve in Komi, he advised his spiritual children to seek guidance from the confessors of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. And several of his parishioners moved to live in Zagorsk, becoming spiritual children of the famous elder Father Tikhon (Agrikov). (We talked about this saint in the publication in No. 616 of “Faith”).
When Father Tikhon was expelled from the Lavra by the authorities, he ordered all his spiritual children to confess and approach Father Lavrenty (Postnikov) for advice. My godmother immediately brought me to him for confession. Father talked to me and took me into his spiritual children. He was then twenty years older than me, and already had rich life and monastic experience behind him. And so I began to obey my father in all my affairs, and everything in my life turned out well. But if she did something without his advice, she immediately fell into great temptation.
One day, the priest’s spiritual children invited me to a birthday party in Lipetsk. I promised that I would come if it was God’s will. I didn’t consult with my father about this. And just before the trip, she approached him for a blessing, and so, they say, she promised to come to her spiritual sister. And Father Lavrenty said: “You didn’t ask me, how could you solve such a question yourself?” - “Well, father, people will be waiting for me!” “Okay, go,” he reluctantly agreed and through force blessed me for this trip. I came home and by evening I became very ill, my temperature rose. And early in the morning you have to go to the airport. Arrived in Bykovo. Suddenly they say that our flight is postponed - Lipetsk is not accepting us due to bad weather. So the flight was delayed all day. I was all exhausted and nervous. At about three o'clock landing was announced. The flight to Lipetsk is only forty minutes, and we fly for an hour, an hour and a half - everyone is already worried that something has happened to the plane. Finally, the lights of a big city appeared below. Everyone was happy, and the flight attendant announced: “The plane is landing in the city of Moscow due to bad weather conditions in Lipetsk.” So we returned to Moscow. I arrived in Sergiev Posad and went to the all-night vigil. Just as the anointing is underway, Father Lavrenty is holding a pod. I go up to him, and he: “Well, welcome!”
But here is the opposite case. Father was going to the Lipetsk region, to visit the graves of his many spiritual children, and he blessed me to go. Several other people gathered with him. And I just got sick - a severe sore throat, my temperature rose in the morning. I can’t talk or do anything. She came up: “Father, I probably won’t be able to go with you, I’m very sick!” But he doesn’t seem to hear: “Get in the car!” I sat down and let's go. We always prayed on the road. Father himself read the morning rule and an akathist to the Savior. And he blessed me to read the canons. I have a sore throat, I can’t even speak, but since the priest blessed me, I began to read. At first I wheezed and coughed, and after about forty minutes I felt that my throat no longer hurt and there was no fever. She arrived in Lipetsk, having fully recovered.
Aliens on earth
“Father Lavrenty came to us here in Syktyvkar several times,” continues Galina. – The first time was about 30 years ago, my father and I went to my homeland in Myeldino. We entered the dilapidated, roofless Church of John the Baptist. And they prayed there in the open air and sang a troparion to John the Baptist. Father then said that the temple would definitely be reborn. It was hard to believe then, but it was one of the first to be restored in Komi.
At this time, my brother Arkady was still in school, he was about 12 years old. Father Lavrenty visited our house, talked with everyone and, leaving the room, stroked Arkady on the head: “Here, the future seminarian.” No one then could even imagine that he would study at the seminary and become a priest. And he himself, of course, did not think about it. And after the army he came to the Lavra. And when his godmother brought him to Father Lawrence for a blessing, the priest said: “Well, you have paid your debt to the Motherland, now you must serve God.” At home, my brother was a reader and ktitor in our St. Kazan Church for some time, and then he went to enter the Moscow seminary. After its completion and ordination, he returned to Syktyvkar and the bishop appointed him to the parish in Maksakovka. The parish there was just opening, and Father Arkady proposed to name it in honor of St. Sergius of Radonezh, who became the heavenly patron of our entire family. And here’s the happiness: when I returned to my homeland after 22 years, I began to go to this temple and, as it were, again fell under the protection of our beloved saint. It is, of course, a miracle that St. Sergius and St. Stephen of Perm united our entire large family in God. Today, out of nine brothers and sisters, only four remain. But we live together and meet constantly.
Registration in Zagorsk
Galina remembered how she got a job in Sergiev Posad (then the city was called Zagorsk). Working in the medical unit, she could not obtain registration in the city, and it turned out that she was not living there entirely legally. They just didn’t register in Zagorsk - so those who came there first registered in the Vladimir region. And although my godmother had her own home, the authorities did not respond to her requests to register me. After a few years, I finally managed to register with the elderly mother nuns, Lavra icon painters. I looked after one of them, nun Antonia. She was perspicacious and knew how to find the right words to help a person in a given situation.
Then I was invited to go to work in a sanatorium, 15 kilometers from Zagorsk. And when I went to get a job there, I was outraged that right in the personnel department they began to load me with Komsomol work. I left Syktyvkar because of this, and here it’s the same thing! I wanted a different life - in Christ. And I didn’t agree to stay there, although they immediately offered me an apartment.
10 years passed, and I was again invited to that same sanatorium. I turned to my confessor. Then Father Lavrenty was ill, he was replaced by Father Kosma, who was the confessor of the Lavra. He listened to me carefully and asked me to come back in three days. I began to pray to find out the will of God. Three days later I come up to him and hear: “Yes, it is God’s will, get over. Don’t be embarrassed, you’ll be fine there.” And then nothing could stop me from deciding to move, although the head doctor from my previous job did not want to let me go: he came to our laboratory three times, asked me to stay, promised to give me a hostel and register me. “Where were you before? - I tell him. – How many times have I approached you with this question? At least they gave me a permanent residence permit.” I had a temporary one, but after a certain time I had to go and renew it. The head doctor, ashamed, let me go.
I worked at the sanatorium for 15 years. I really felt very good there, I lived like in a fairy tale. I loved the job and immediately got housing. I went to pray at the monastery in Saburovo, which was not far from our sanatorium, and sang in the choir there. And it so happened that in this monastery I met my future husband. Already here, in the North, with the blessing of the elders of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, we united our destinies. Now we live together. He serves as a reader at our church and helps me take care of my aunt and my mother, who is already 83 years old. I couldn't do it alone.
Big life
When I was about to leave, Valentina, Mother Maria’s cousin, unexpectedly joined our conversation. I remembered how they opened a prayer house in Aikino.
“It was in 1959,” said Valentina. – We arrived together with Father Sergius Parshukov, the future schemamonk Kirik, to Aikino. Everyone settled in one house. He served, and Marya Ivanovna and I sang together in the choir. Father Sergius didn’t even have a cassock at that time. And so I took a silk curtain and sewed a cassock for him. This is how it all started for us...
Marya Ivanovna and I are the same age, both 74 years old. Together we moved from Myeldino to Maksakovka, together we went to pray at the Kochponsky St. Kazan Church with Father Vladimir Zhokhov - he was such a kind father, I have never seen anything like him in my life. Although Marya Ivanovna had a heart condition (she often had heart pain), she did not take any medicine, she trusted only in God’s help. I scolded her for this, but she did not listen to me. It happened that she had a house full of people - they came from all over the country, she would put everyone on the bed, on the sofas, and she would throw her sweatshirt somewhere in the corner, and sleep there. In the evening, soak a large pot of pasta, chop the onions into it and put it on the stove to cook. Everyone eats it, they can’t praise it enough, it’s so delicious. And when they return home, they will cook it in exactly the same way - no, something is wrong, tasteless. Many people have told me this...
During her life, Mother Maria (Parshukova) led many people to God and herself served for the glory of God. Now those who visited her in Sergiev Posad come to visit mother in Maksakovka. Despite her serious condition, she still constantly prays for all her family and friends.
Pray for the health of the sick nun Maria, dear readers of the Vera newspaper.
Evgeniy SUVOROV
Photo from the family archive of Galina Belyakova
A fragment of a conversation between Archimandrite Lavrenty (Postnikov) of the Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius and the monastery brethren, March 2017.
Father Lavrenty, March 31 will mark 40 days since the repose of Archimandrite Kirill. Please tell us about him as his contemporary.
I have been at the Lavra since 1956, graduated from the Seminary and the Academy. At that time, on spiritual issues we mainly had Father Tikhon (Agrikov), you know about him, then Father Theodore, the senior priest, and Father Kirill. But of the three of them, Father Kirill was somehow in a lull. He often gathered Seminary students and the monastery brethren in his cell, held conversations with them, and sometimes treated them to tea. Then they began to press Father Tikhon from all sides, they were very exhausted, and he went into seclusion. But in fact, as it turned out later, he was with his nephew. Father Theodore died. For some time I was the main monastery candle maker. Father Kirill was sent to Peredelkino, and I began to go there to see him - because I, too, am not without sin. Anything happened, either a quarrel or something else...
There was such a case. We then carried out obedience behind the candle box, the service began at half past six in the morning, the temple was opened early, we had to get up at four and arrive early. The people were not like they are now; the Refectory Church was packed. Those behind the candle box had to have time to serve everyone, accept notes and magpies. The Liturgy begins, and one brother who was late for obedience arrives. I tell him: “Go back where you came from.” He left. Soon, a few days later, he was late for the box again. I tell him again: “Go back where you came from.” He left and then stopped walking altogether. After some time we come to the service at the Assumption Cathedral. Father Kirill prayed at the altar, on a high place. I turn to him: “Father Kirill, when we, clergy, take communion at the altar, we kiss the priest’s hands, greeting each other with the words: “Christ is in our midst!” and mutually answering: “And it is and it will be!” But with this brother, at the moment when I turn to him with such words, he does not answer me. This means he has a grudge against me. And if so, something needs to be done.” Then Father Kirill calls him over and asks: “Please tell me, do you have anything against Father Lawrence?” He answers: “I have.” “Then how do you take communion?!” - Father Kirill asks him. He began to evade. Then I was the first to approach him and said: “Forgive me for forcing you to approach Father Kirill.” Here he (sincerely realizing his error) bowed to me, and we kissed each other. From that time until now, he and I have been good friends. When the brethren are in common obedience, we depend on each other, doing a common task. You need to be attentive to yourself and others.
Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov)
Father, tell us who Father Kirill’s confessor was.
First there was Father Tikhon, then Father Naum, then another priest. Father Kirill was like a mother: he would listen, resolve, console. And when he began to serve in Peredelkino, after confession he would definitely give him food and drink. A lot of people always came to him. He always led the Easter service, and I sang it with the people throughout. It used to be that when I threw an egg at people, it would swing like this, but would be thrown in the other direction. He loved throwing eggs.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the Trinity-Sergius Lavra was a thriving hotbed of piety and guardian of the purity of the Orthodox faith. People from all over the Union and beyond came to the Lavra to communicate with the Lavra confessors. The most famous confessor of the Lavra was Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov). Patriarchs, bishops, priests, laity, as well as many of those who belonged to the powers that be, confessed to him.There were other good and famous confessors, such as Archimandrite Naum (Boiborodin), Archimandrite Lavrenty (Postnikov), Archimandrite Bartholomew (Kalugin), who were famous and to whom many people turned.
The brethren of the Lavra were not numerous, then there was a restriction on the part of the state; there could be no more than 60 or 70 brethren in the Lavra (I don’t remember exactly). But there was spiritual love among us: we helped each other, worried about each other, and our aspirations were to improve ourselves spiritually at least a little.
I, a sinner, entered the Moscow Theological Seminary in 1969, at the age of 24, after completing three courses at Chernivtsi State University. For some reason I remember going through the medical examination. The medical commission (it was made up of doctors from the city hospital) checked us so strictly that it gave the impression that we were entering not a theological seminary, but a military flight school. They found some kind of deficiency in me and sent me for examination to the district hospital. The doctor who examined me, already an elderly woman, strongly urged me not to ruin myself and not to go to seminary, but to go to study at the university and I would become a “good” person. She even promised to help me with this. I was silent and did not answer her a word and I think this was the best option.Moscow theological schools then represented a large, spiritually united family, whose teachers and students, before entering this school, went through many temptations and tests of their faith and devotion to the Church.
I was immediately enrolled in second grade. The seminary fraternity was good. Everyone tried to acquire spiritual knowledge and pious skills, although during recess we indulged and played pranks, regardless of age, but there was no malice in our pranks, there was kindness and mutual respect in them. Each student tried to educate himself for the rank in which he wanted to serve the Church. I remember that even in the bedrooms the children were lively discussing questions such as how to choose a mother for themselves, how they would raise their children spiritually, how they would work with parishioners, how they would organize Divine services, and what they would preach about.
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While studying in the 2nd grade of the seminary, I applied to join the Lavra brethren. When I was on vacation, I asked my parents for blessings on this path, but Father Simon did not let me go. I think he saw my unpreparedness for monastic life, so he held me back. He said: “Study, brother, until the 3rd year of the Academy, and then you will transfer to the Lavra.” But I was impatient and asked my confessor Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov) to intercede for me. A few months later Fr. Kirill, together with the dean of the Lavra, Archimandrite Varnava (Kedrov), went to Fr. inspector and he let me go. This happened at the end of December 1970. For me, a sinner, this was an extraordinary Christmas gift.
Those who entered the ranks of the brethren, students or graduates of theological schools, did not become novices for a long time, because their faith and love for God had already been tested upon entering the theological seminary. Therefore, after three months I was tonsured into the mantle, and after another three months I was ordained as a hierodeacon, and a year later - as a hieromonk.
Life in the Holy Lavra was very interesting, filled with struggle with oneself, with one’s passions. When a monk begins to break himself through prayer and humility, to destroy evil habits in himself, then the grace of God overshadows him and his life, which at first glance would seem monotonous and boring, in reality becomes bright, beautiful and interesting. Surrounded by these spiritual warriors, it was interesting and good for me, the careless one.The older brethren took part in this spiritual correction and polishing. Some - by their example, such as Archimandrite Nil (Kabanov) (in the schema Raphael), and others - by their word, such as Archimandrite Nikolai (Samsonov).
Father Neil carried out obedience behind the candle box in Trinity Cathedral for many years. When they asked him: “Father, what kind of obedience do you bear?”, he answered in the usual patter: “I work in the Trinity Cathedral, that’s where I work.” We objected to him: “Father, it is the worldly people who work, and the monks are obedient,” but he again quickly answered: “What kind of monk am I, what kind of monk am I? I have not yet become a monk,” but in fact, he was a very strict monk, a man of prayer, a hard worker. When he died, we examined his cell, in which everything was very modest and simple, and found a notebook in which he noted how many and what prayers he performed every day: if he read a prayer, he put a “+” sign, and if omitted - then “-” and in this notebook there were rarely minuses, there were pluses everywhere. If he left the monastery for several days and could not read his rule, then when he returned, he would say with concern: “Oh, everything is neglected, everything is neglected, everything needs to be read out,” and he read out all the omitted prayers and made the missed bows. He never taught anyone verbally or made comments to anyone, but he was a living lesson for the young.
Archimandrite Nikolai (Samsonov) was of a different dispensation: he taught us and harshly suppressed our exaltation and vanity. If he saw that a young monk was walking quickly, running, waving his arms, he would come up, take his hand, stop him and say: “Don’t run, don’t wave your arms, you are dead to the world, that you are fussing; your hands are bound by vows before God, why are you waving them?” In this way he taught us spiritual culture and behavior that the world has long forgotten.
In 1985, I was appointed dean of the Lavra. This obedience has its own characteristics, but for me, a sinner, it was not difficult, because I had already lived for 15 years in the Lavra brethren and knew the character and abilities of each monk. I think that the brethren knew me, a sinner, no less. I knew that in the spiritual life of a monk there are bright pages, but there are also dark ones; There are victories over passions, but there are also falls: and the tragedy of a monk lies not in his fall, but in the cessation of the spiritual struggle with himself. Through the fall, the Lord allows us to experience our weakness and insignificance and through this leads us to humility: if a monk does not give up the feat, he again rises through repentance and becomes stronger and stronger. I knew about this from the stories of spiritually experienced elders and tried to take all this into account when performing dean obedience, so I did not have any difficulties, I endured the infirmities of the brethren, and the brethren endured my infirmities.
In addition, the governor of the Lavra, Archimandrite Alexei (Kutepov), was kind and forgiving of my shortcomings and generously forgave my mistakes. It meant a lot to me.
At this time, “glasnost and perestroika” began in the state. This affected, to some extent, the Lavra, but not enough to change the established foundations of monastic life.
In 1988, by decree of His Holiness Patriarch Pimen, I was appointed vicar of the Holy Dormition Pochaev Lavra and was expelled from the brotherhood of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Today life in the Lavra of St. Sergius has changed in many ways: monks from the Lavra went out into the world, life has scattered them to different ends of the earth, they perform various church services there, but I think that those monks who do not give up the struggle with their inner old man, who force themselves to unceasing prayer , humility and repentance, they all belong to that spiritual monastic brotherhood, headed by the great Abba - St. Sergius.
