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SIGHT “THERE SHOULD BE DIFFERENCES OF THOUGHT...”Here is an article by the writer Nikolai Konyaev in defense of the St. Petersburg abbot Eustathius (Zhakov) in connection with the media campaign accusing the priest of “Stalinism”. If we talk about the attitude towards Stalin, then our editorial staff has a rather negative one. It is difficult not to respect what the Supreme Commander-in-Chief did for the great Victory. But how to cross the rivers of blood, the suffering of people who divide us? Perhaps Father Eustathius has a different view here. But with all the disagreements, we must realize that among us Orthodox today there are so many opinions on any issue that if we do not learn to tolerate each other, we will destroy the Church. “There must also be differences of opinion among you, so that skillful ones may be revealed among you,” the Apostle Paul bequeathed to us. That is, we can argue, and sometimes we need to, but we cannot forget about brotherhood. Judging each other is also a no-no. Regardless of our beliefs, we should protect each other from bullying, not play along with it. Too many “outsiders” are only looking for a reason to damage the Church. We should understand among ourselves in the spirit of truth and love. When about thirty years ago I read in N. S. Leskov’s “Soboryans” about the torment that Archpriest Savely Tuberozov was subjected to thanks to the machinations of the nihilist liberal Termosesov, my heart ached. The humble archpriest Natalya Nikolaevna had already died, having strained herself at back-breaking work; the scoundrel Termosesov had long been imprisoned, and the archpriest who had been slandered by him was still under ban... Even more terrible than this unjust reprisal was the fact that the ruling bishop knew perfectly well about Tuberozov’s innocence and, as Deacon Achilles said, betrayed him “to this torment only for one policy, so as not to contradict the officials of secular power”... And, looking up from N. S. Leskov’s book, saturated with the dull cruelty of Russian life, I thought - this was in the late seventies of the 19th century! It never even occurred to me then that I myself would become a participant in similar events... “...His Eminence called me to him and, approving my word in general, in particular indicated that in sermons he was afraid to make a direct relation to life, especially about officials, because the farther from them, the more sanctified.” N. S. Leskov. "Soborians" I met Father Eustathius (Zhakov) in 1996 in Staraya Ladoga, where he was restoring the Church of John the Baptist on the famous Malysheva Mountain above Volkhov. Before my eyes, the temple was reborn from the abomination of desolation, but still, when you look at old photographs, it is difficult to believe that the temple rose from those ruins. In Staraya Ladoga we had to deal with more than just repairs. One summer evening, when the monastically leisurely service had already ended and Father Eustathius was about to go close the doors, a drunken, severely beaten thirteen-year-old girl ran into the church... - God! – she screamed, collapsing onto the stone floor. - Mother of God! Help me! Then it turned out that the girl barely escaped from the sheds on the banks of the Volkhov, where adult fishermen dragged her and tried to rape her. From that very evening, while engaged in construction and repairs, performing divine services and looking for benefactors, Father Eustathius began to create his “children’s parish.” He pulled Old Ladoga children abandoned by their parents out of basements, took them to work, taught them to go to church... – It doesn’t matter how a person comes to church. Let the children come to earn something here,” he said. – The child will still change in the church. And definitely for the better. Not all parishioners liked this. “Why come here to earn money,” one of the women working in the church was indignant when I asked her about her attitude towards the “children’s parish.” - No, this is not the case that the priest started... Is it conceivable, they are timid to collect... The police are there for this... Father Eustathius did not listen to this “wise” advice. And if a miracle is the revival of a church in a poor parish, then the creation of a children’s parish of the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist is a double miracle. Very soon there were more children here than adults. And not only in the service. When the liturgy ended, the children did not go home, but gathered in the refectory. They sat down at long tables. I remember that we then asked the children to write about what connects everyone with this church. There was a whole pile of leaves covered with children's scribbles... “I came in 1994 to the Old Ladoga Church of John the Baptist. Father Eustathius sometimes, when we don’t have something, like a dress, for example, he’ll buy it. The boots are torn - he is thinking about this question. There is no jacket or hat - everything is thinking. Such kindness and care draws you to the temple like a magnetic wave. But in fact, we are all drawn closer to God...” "My name is Ann. I am 12 years old. I perform obedience in the Church of John the Baptist. I have already reached the rank of junior psalm-reader. Only in this church did I understand what a real church family is. Our brothers Artemy and Vitaly and eleven sisters. Our regent Tamara Vladislavovna became our mother. That's all. I would like to have more brothers and sisters. And to make a high choir.” “My name is Ksenia, I’m 13 years old. When I came to the Church of John the Baptist, I did not know how to pray and did not even know how to be baptized. I recognized Father Eustathius. I like going to church for services. I've made some good friends here. In general, there is nothing better than a temple and faith in God.” When the temple was finally restored, Father Eustathius had to leave Staraya Ladoga. Hearing that he was leaving them, all the children in the temple began to cry... Hieromonk Eustathius himself, who arrived at his new place of service, had no time for tears - the temple of Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga in the Mikhailovka estate near Strelnaya was ruins drowning in piles of garbage. After the war, a poultry farm was located here, then attempts were made to rebuild the church as a sports facility... Reconstructions and reconstructions ended with the altar vaults collapsing, the roof of the gallery being torn off, the stone floor collapsing... It was unrealistic to raise this GIOP architectural monument without the help of the state. There was no need to count on financial assistance from the diocese... Nevertheless, Father Eustathius erected a cross in the middle of the ruins, as he had done before in the three churches he had restored, and church services began in the Church of Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga. I remember the snow drifting along the floor of the temple, snowdrifts blowing against the walls, glittering with streaks of ice, and the words of the sermon sounded especially heartfelt in the midst of the ruins: “Pilate asked Christ: “What is truth?” - and the Savior did not answer him, because He Himself was the answer to this question. The Lord Himself is the Truth, the Path Himself, revealed to us in its entirety”... And a miracle happened. The temple rose from the ruins. You look now at the restored temple and think: what then is the restoration of the temple if not the comprehension of the truth? Along this path Russia left itself, along this path it returns to itself... “The governor, being a German, respecting the ambition of his Luther, did not allow the Russian priest to come to him, sent me to interview the governor about this. This same ruler, a Pole, attacked me screaming and roaring.” N. S. Leskov. "Soborians" The completion of the restoration of the Church of Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga in Mikhailovka coincided with the transformation of the St. Petersburg Highway into the St. Petersburg analogue of Rublyovka. The Konstantinovsky Palace, turned into a presidential residence, elite country houses, a magnificent golf club... you name it. Well, the palace and park ensemble “Mikhailovskaya Dacha” was transferred to the Higher School of Management (GSOM) of St. Petersburg State University. As the newspapers reported, “taking into account the strategic goal set for the Graduate School of Management of St. Petersburg State University to achieve a leading position in the global system of business education, the GSOM suburban campus should be one of the best in the world; “It will use all the capabilities of modern technical equipment.” In order to “provide an international environment for training managers for successful competition in the modern global economy,” it was decided that at least 30% of GSOM students and teachers will be foreign citizens. The creation of the Higher School of Management itself, no matter how ambitious the plan may seem, did not cause any fears among the parishioners of the Church of Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga. Back in 2000, the City Property Management Committee transferred the restored Church of St. Princess Olga under an agreement for free use to the St. Petersburg diocese. Just at this time, construction began in the basement of the church in the name of the holy martyr Yuri Novitsky, who worked until 1922 as a professor of criminal law at Petrograd University... “I was born and raised in the family of a professor, Doctor of Medical Sciences Mikhail Pavlovich Zhakov,” Abbot Evstafiy spoke about the plan of this temple. – Professors of the Ivanovo Medical Institute often visited us, and I visited their houses with my parents, but I don’t remember a single case of anyone talking about God, except perhaps with sarcasm... I have stayed with me from childhood the general impression of the professorial corps is how far they are from Orthodoxy, from the Church, from faith in God and, rather, hostile to all this. And so I learned that Yuri Petrovich Novitsky, a professor at the department of criminal law at Petrograd University, who worked at the law faculty of that university (where V.V. Putin and D.A. Medvedev later studied) was shot along with Metropolitan Veniamin (Kazansky) and others like him. with them - canonized! I was shocked by this fact, so atypical and even disgusting to the Russian intelligentsia, who only knew that they were shaking the foundations of a great state and watched with curiosity what would come of it. Trying to spit on the Church, religion and the Lord, these gentlemen intellectuals, themselves corrupted by anti-Orthodoxy, cynically corrupted the students, sowing the seeds of evil. Holy professor! And immediately a feeling of the greatness of the holy martyr Yuri arose, who broke the bonds of highly intellectual arrogance - and found himself among the four holy new martyrs. And all of us - clergy and members of the parish council of the Church of St. Olga - were seized by an urgent thought: to found a temple in the name of the holy martyr Yuri Novitsky and serve in it to strengthen the new intelligentsia, to whom the name of God is close to their hearts. This feeling was strengthened after the Church of St. Olga became part of St. Petersburg University, being located on the lands of the Mikhailovskaya Dacha, transferred to the university to house the Higher School of Management there. We were inspired by this, seeing a special divine sign - the temple of St. Olga returns its professor to the university in the name of his temple, in divine services in his name, a university professor, but already a holy professor.” Alas... This enthusiasm quickly dissipated. When a deputation of parishioners came to a reception with the leadership of St. Petersburg University, they were met by a very intelligent, impeccably polite man with an indifferent look. “We reassured him,” says abbot Eustathius, “saying that we are not asking for money, but we want the corporation of professors and teachers to simply rejoice that their colleague has now returned to them - a temple in the name of the holy martyr Yuri. The high erudition of our interlocutor prevented him from understanding the full significance of this event. On the contrary, taking care of the “grandmothers,” our interlocutor told us that the issues of construction and the creation of a management school are so complex that the temple will simply get in the way of the builders, and it will be more and more difficult to arrange the road to the temple.” Soon the “concerns” of the university management about the old believers took on concrete documentary expression. A letter signed by the rector of the university L.A. Verbitskaya was sent to Metropolitan Vladimir of St. Petersburg and Ladoga: “From 12.12.07. No. r – 61 Dear Lord! As part of the implementation of the Priority National Project “Education”, initiated by the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin, by order of the Government of the Russian Federation dated April 25, 2006 No. 576-r, the Higher School of Management was created on the basis of the Faculty of Management of St. Petersburg State University. A decision was made to locate the Higher School of Management on the territory and in the buildings of the Mikhailovskaya Dacha palace and park ensemble... In July 2006, the entire complex of buildings and structures was transferred to St. Petersburg State University. The goal of the project is to create a world-class Russian business school to train a national elite of management personnel capable of solving the problems of increasing the country’s competitiveness in the knowledge economy of the 21st century... In order to ensure the safety of the complex transferred to us, which is a historical and cultural monument of federal significance, a security fence was installed on the territory of the palace and park ensemble. In the fall of this year, it is planned to begin large-scale construction and installation work, which will significantly complicate the passage of parishioners to the Church of St. Princess Olga during services and church holidays. In order to ensure safety, in accordance with the requirements for the organization of a construction site, it is necessary to introduce a regime of limited access to the territory of “Mikhailovskaya Dacha”. Considering the current situation, I ask you to find an opportunity to consider the issue of temporarily (until the completion of construction and reconstruction of the Mikhailovskaya Dacha palace and park ensemble) transfer of the parish to another location.” There is no need to describe all the vicissitudes of the unfolding struggle for the temple in Mikhailovka. Although the parishioners managed to withstand the first onslaught, the clearing of the space “for the preparation of the national elite of managerial personnel” was continued in the liberal media, which launched a real campaign of persecution against Abbot Evstafiy (Zhakov). The reason was the interview of the abbot given to the newspaper “Zavtra” and the icon of the blessed Matrona of Moscow, which the parishioners ordered for the Church of Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga... “...They go from words to deeds. At the memorial service for the soldiers killed in battle, (the Poles) and the mayor’s wife raised such obscene laughter that the archpriest sent the cleric to ask them to stand quietly or to leave, after which they, smiling, left the church.” N. S. Leskov. "Soborians" Although the judgments of Hegumen Eustathius (Zhakov) about the positive role of J.V. Stalin in the history of our country irritate the liberal-minded public, in themselves they do not contain anything contrary to Orthodox morality and ethics. Of course, we must not forget about anti-people collectivization and the brutal repressions of the thirties. But gradually we are beginning to understand that our liberals hate Stalin so ardently not because so many people were killed under him. The reasons are that it was he who destroyed the anti-Russian system that was created by Lenin and Trotsky and their comrades. And of course, the icon of the Blessed Matrona of Moscow, which appeared in the Church of Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga, did not provide any grounds for criticism of deviations from church canons. Stalin in this icon is not only deprived of the signs assigned to the saint, not only is he not included in the strictly canonical space surrounding Saint Matrona, but he also cannot enter it. How artistic and organic this solution to depicting Stalin is is a question that we will not touch upon, but in my opinion everything is correct here. As rightly noted in an open letter from parishioners of the Church of Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga in Mikhailovka, no one perceived the icon of St. Matrona of Moscow as an icon of Stalin. “This icon is a testimony to the power of Saint Matrona’s prayer for Rus', a prayer that transformed the persecutor of Orthodoxy and the enemy of Russia into a true leader of the people, who greatly contributed to the revival of Orthodoxy in Rus' and led our country to victory in the Great Patriotic War.” The objections during the campaign of persecution launched against Abbot Eustathius also look quite ridiculous; they say there is no documentary evidence of Joseph Vissarionovich’s visit to Blessed Matrona. To this one could object that there are no documents indicating that such a meeting did not take place, but these are empty words. The point is different: it cannot be denied that Stalin stood at the head of the country that defeated fascism, that Victory was given to us through the prayers of the righteous. Their influence on the Supreme Commander for the Orthodox is undeniable. From an enemy of Russia and Orthodoxy, as Joseph Stalin undoubtedly was for a long time, he was able to grow into a man who managed to step over the atheism of the Leninist guard and stop the persecution against the Russian Orthodox Church. It is this turn that is captured on the icon. We see on it a prayer book for Russia and a man who did not remain deaf to these prayers. What's the lie here? Where is Stalin's apology? “I notice something very surprising and incomprehensible: the Poles (exiles) are like our masters, everything can be achieved in the province through them.” N. S. Leskov. "Soborians" As if on cue, materials defaming Abbot Eustathius appeared in Novye Izvestia and Kommersant, in Moskovsky Komsomolets and Komsomolskaya Pravda, in NTV programs, radio stations Ekho Moskvy, BBC and “Freedom”... Our television channels and newspapers devoted much more space to the appearance of this icon of the blessed Matrona than to other, incomparably more important church events. What was even more striking was the shoddy and unprofessionalism of the publications. Journalists tried to present the appearance of the image as an attempt to canonize J.V. Stalin. And since on the icon of the blessed Matrona above Stalin’s head it was impossible to find either a halo or an inscription placed on the saint, an image was immediately given of hastily prepared “images” of Stalin, which were distributed in an unknown location. It was widely reported that the organization “Communists of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region” intends to appeal to the Church with a request to launch the procedure for the canonization of Stalin. The journalists, of course, did not mention that the party “Communists of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region” has, as the party website reports, “more than 500 people” and belongs more to virtual organizations than to real political forces. “Komsomolskaya Pravda” did not hesitate, for example, to inform readers that Abbot Eustathius had a heart attack in intensive care and is now in a coma. The most disgusting thing is that the Komsomolskaya Pravda journalists referred to a certain goddaughter of her father, Eustathia, who allegedly told them this utter lie. All these blunders could be explained by the spirit of absolute contempt for the Orthodox Russian people that reigns in the liberal-democratic media, if these gross overlays did not also serve as a disguise for what those who directed the campaign really needed to hide. In this hastily cobbled together newspaper concoction, one could feel an experienced hand directing a charge of outright lies right to the target. And the discussion here was not about analyzing the reasons that gave rise to the amazing growth of Stalin’s popularity in modern Russian society, but rather the extremely pragmatic task of removing the rector from the parish, who for some reason was interfering with the “training of the national elite of managerial personnel,” was posed. We see accusatory headlines - “Prayer to the executioner”, “Stalin’s arrival near St. Petersburg”, “The rector of the temple in Strelna painted and hung an “icon” with the face of a bloody tyrant”! - almost instantly were replaced by caps reminiscent of reading a verdict: “A Stalinist in a cassock will be released from service”, “A Stalinist priest resigned as rector of the temple”, “The abbot, who displayed an icon depicting Stalin, was forced to write a letter of resignation”, “The abbot, reverer of Stalin, submitted his resignation." “The leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church condemned the rector of the church in Strelna, Hegumen Evstafiy (Zhakov), who exhibited an icon depicting Joseph Stalin in the church,” the newspapers joyfully reported. – The cleric committed a disciplinary violation by placing a non-canonical image in the temple. He has already asked “under public pressure” to be relieved of his post.” Such haste in making personnel decisions, which is so uncharacteristic of the Russian Orthodox Church, is absolutely inexplicable, unless you take into account that these decisions are the highest skill of custom journalism! – were laid as the foundation even in the first publications... “A request was received from the consistory: did I really speak an improvised sermon pointing to a living person? Oh, how everywhere we are afraid of all living things! Well, I answered that I said exactly this and that’s what. I think they won’t hang me for this... This courage was cooled first by thirty-six days of sitting on the ear without a fish, waiting for an explanation, and then by the order that everything I wanted to say in advance should be sent to the censor in advance...” N. S. Leskov. "Soborians" “Talking about the holiness of Stalin is a blasphemy against the memory of the martyrs who died during the Stalinist regime, because under Stalin no one suffered as much as the clergy, who were exterminated almost one hundred percent - immediately, as soon as the campaign of liberal persecution unfolded, he commented on the actions of the abbot Eustathia, head of the press service of the Moscow Patriarchate, priest Vladimir Vigilyansky. – A disciplinary violation has occurred: the cleric has no right to hang a non-canonical icon in the church. The ruling bishop (Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga Vladimir) will deal with the priest’s actions.” In this hasty commentary, which formed the basis for most newspaper publications, one is struck by the internal, stylistic consonance with articles from yellow-democratic publications. We can agree that talk about the holiness of Stalin is a blasphemy against the memory of the martyrs. But who, besides Moskovsky Komsomolets, Komsomolskaya Pravda and the Communists of St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region party, numbering “more than 500 people,” spoke about this “holiness”? The phrase about the disciplinary violation that allegedly occurred in the Church of Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga is constructed equally slyly. Well, what can you object to the words that “a cleric has no right to hang a non-canonical icon in a church”? Of course, if the icon depicts the Savior, the Mother of God or saints in an inappropriate form, such an icon cannot be placed in the church... For this purpose, there is a canon, so that there are no overlaps due to the thoughtlessness of the icon painter, indicating how the Savior, the Mother of God and saints But sinners, who are also sometimes depicted on icons, are a completely different matter. Here the canons no longer apply and everything is determined by prayerful reflection, spiritual tact and the talent of the icon painter. Sometimes, as, for example, on the icon depicting St. Seraphim of Sarov and the Decembrist officer who came to him, it turns out well, sometimes, as, for example, happened on the icon of the Matrona of Moscow, not so much. But there is no violation of the canon either here or here. The piety of such icons is tested by time, and they either fade into oblivion or turn into commonly used images. And the statement, they say, “the actions of the priest will be dealt with by the ruling bishop” looks very threatening. Although the press secretary is a considerable position, it somehow always seemed that the ruling bishop himself decides what and how to deal with it... It is hard to believe that priest Vladimir Vigilyansky does not know and does not understand the laws by which the mass press, including the yellow press, functions. After all, before taking holy orders and coming to work at the press center of the Patriarchate, he worked at Ogonyok under Korotich, from 1992 to 1994 he worked at the New York Times newspaper, and then headed the Sunday supplement to the Moscow News newspaper... These publications can rightfully be considered direct relatives of the newspapers that were involved in the persecution of Abbot Eustathius. And of course, when such a well-coordinated choir began to sound, it no longer mattered that the parishioners of the church sent an open letter to newspaper editors in defense of Fr. Eustathia. It informed the press that “Father Eustathius made a truly wise decision. In order to stop the newspaper hysteria and not to confuse ignorant Orthodox people, and also not to expose the icon to the possibility of desecration by liberal extremists, he asked the donors to take their gift from our church. On November 30, 2008, after the liturgy, having served a prayer service to St. Matrona of Moscow, we said goodbye to our icon.” It would seem that the incident is over, but it was not against the icon that all this television and newspaper hysteria arose, and it was no longer the icon that they needed to remove from the church, but the rector himself... “Now churches are being built in Russia, clergy regularly appear on television, and our society is falling deeper and deeper into the abyss of vices,” Abbot Eustathius was asked. – What is this: a paradox? “This is the same paradox as any struggle,” answered the abbot. – Struggle is always a paradox. Because opposing forces collide. Moreover, first one, then the other prevails. First one, then the other becomes stronger. But the power behind which the Lord stands is, ultimately, the most victorious. And what we are seeing now is nothing more than temporary. It seems to me important to remember once again these words of the abbot, when it is deafening - throughout the whole country! – with the squeals and hubbub raised by our “advanced” media, the last memories of decency and semblance of decency disappeared. The Komsomolskaya Pravda correspondent, for example, instead of apologizing for the false information he published, also scolded Abbot Eustathius for not falling into a comatose state from fear, as Komsomolskaya Pravda had prescribed, but continuing as nothing had happened to serve in the temple. “And what we are seeing now is nothing more than temporary,” says Abbot Eustathius. These words are very comforting when, amid the shrieks and hubbub raised by the liberals who hate the Russian Orthodox Church, the abbot’s statement was put into motion, and he was nevertheless appointed the second priest in the temple raised from the ruins through his labors and prayers... But the service continues in this church, Orthodox prayers are heard on the territory set aside for the training of the national elite of managerial personnel by foreign specialists... And this means that all this screeching and hubbub that has been deafening our country for two decades is still nothing before the power of the Lord... Nikolay KONYAEV -You have green eyes, Apollinaria. And I was always fooled by green eyes. Will you have some cold vodka? Hegumen Eustathius, rector of the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist, lives on Sadovaya, wears jeans, and during our conversation I constantly imagine the shadow of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, as if sitting next to his hero torn by passions... Harlots- Imagine, an expensive car stops on the side of the road, a man gets out, and one of the b...s standing around (this is a church word!) evokes a special response in his soul. He tells her: “I want to dress you, put on shoes, put you in a room, pay for your studies. I will feed you, bring you into the family...” And if this lasts a year and a half, the girl will not return to the panel. The first one that found a special response in the soul of Eustathius’ father was “one poorly dressed girl: an old windbreaker, rubber boots, no teeth...”. - She stopped my Zhigul, asked for bread, I began to question her. My mother died on the steps of a wine and vodka shop, my father beat me, sold me for vodka, put out cigarette butts on my body, forced me to copulate with a dog... I have nothing to spend the money I earn on (I’m an expensive priest - if I hold a funeral service for a not very righteous person or consecrate a house on Rublyovka, then large sums are obtained), and I began to help her. After all, since then I’ve saved seven people, and I think I’ll get credit for it THERE. Now someone is married, has given birth to a child, someone has opened their own sewing workshop, there is one businesswoman... Because if you are wearing good earrings, clothes, shoes, then you can no longer merge with this bottom, where every day you have to stand in your lungs panties in the cold... Although among them there are those who stand on the sidelines and wait for a miracle, dream of a prince, and there are amoebas for which there are no points of application. Are you this prince? -No, I am this miracle. Or a loser if he made a mistake about a person. One girl wore banners in my church, I boasted that I was studying to be a hairdresser, but it turned out that she didn’t even hold scissors in her hands - and they started laughing at me. How did the girls believe you? - They believed in money. I didn't preach to them. Think about it: she was left hungry, and the priest left in a foreign car. How can you believe in God? This is how people are made - things change people. First we go and buy boots for the girl. Then the earrings - there’s something mystical about them. Then the theater, cafe... We buy an outfit. It is reasonable selfishness to bring happiness to another. Universal love begins with love for a specific person. I look around for love, for grace. So far I only see icons and antiques. Saint- I am an unworthy priest. But the Lord bears with me for now... 40 years ago my mother died. There was a nurse with her, she told me: “Prepare mortal things” - and she went to see Father Leonty, who was later canonized. Father Leonty gave her prosphora, ordered her to chew and put the crumb into the dying woman’s mouth... Mom came out of her coma. I went to Father Leonty to thank him. I was a communist, worked as a doctor, but I hated patients because they complained a lot, I loved women, but my mother did not let me get married... And so Father Leonty told me: “Don’t cut your hair or shave, you’ll be a priest.” I had my hair cut, and shaved, and suffered terribly - I was sick, I sat in the bullpen for speculation... And then I became who I am. I am coded, God called me. A darkened icon of St. Leontius Mikhailovsky, who coded Father Eustathius, hangs in the kitchen next to a frying pan with champignons. - I restored five temples. Now the priest is without a place while the Shlisselburg Church is being restored. But I serve. God is difficult. You have to stand a lot, torment yourself... - The abbot looks from the lamps to me. - In general, all this, Apollinaria, is mild fornication, because, instead of being in deep prayer right now, I think what beautiful teeth you have. What are you saying, Father Eustathius? - These are just words. And words are steam. They prevent you from committing a greater sin. The life of a monk is a constant struggle against nasty things. Why did you become a priest at all? “I used to know what it was like to get drunk, and the power of fornication, and I had a box of morphine under my bed, but at the age of 40 I became a monk and went crazy. I am already 70 years old, now it has become easier, my body is letting me go. And now I have such a joyful life, I am so happy with this - lighting lamps, serving at the throne... The people's path to the home church of Father Eustathius does not grow. He attracts people. - My task is to catch souls and set nets. Not necessarily at a sermon, it can be done in different ways. Father Eustathius catches himself, proving with his whole life “that priests are people too.” Grandfather Lenin- My grandmother was Volodya Ulyanov’s cousin, and he was in love with her. But it didn’t work out: Lenin read Chernyshevsky, and my grandmother loved to ride a horse. And here was a call for me, Apollinaria... I have long known that the temple in the Shlisselburg fortress Oreshek, in which Alexander Ulyanov was hanged, stands in ruins. And suddenly I realized that he was waiting for me... I recently received an appointment to serve in the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist, and now I am the rector of these ruins. The place is not a good one, and only a crazy person like me would go there. That's why I need fame. Because I need money. One icon of the All-Merciful Savior, 2.6 meters high, costs 600 thousand! Father Eustathius is a martyr of the passions. And a prayer book. On the altar, under the holy books, there are a stack of photographs. Women, men, children, a separate pile - suicides... - There are nights when I serve these people... But abstract prayer does not inspire me. I have to experience the pain that this person feels. - Father Eustathius sorts through the cards, and the fire of desire in his eyes subsides. - Here is a killed warrior, here is a killed girl, here is a person who specifically went to mines in Yugoslavia. This beauty is a suicide, her husband brought her suicide note, and then for several years he sent their son an SMS “from his mother”... These are drinkers... But the main portrait in the room is Joseph Stalin. “It was an act of desperation on his part to come to the Holy Matrona of Moscow for advice on whether to leave Moscow to the Germans or not. And for me, it’s a tribute to the great man to hang the icon “Stalin and Matrona” on the wall of my previous church. Is it okay that this man violated the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” many times? - “Thou shalt not kill” is an abstraction. There are such words: “Lay down your soul for your friends.” You can kill for others. In war, it’s possible. It is possible to punish criminals with death. Those who kill have hope that God will forgive them. We are interrupted by a call. A parishioner wants to know whether to privatize her summer cottage plot or whether this is from the evil one. Father blesses privatization and immediately forgets about it . “You accepted my confession today, now let’s go to the cafe, huh,” the father suggests - Are there any partridges?- he asks, sitting down. There are no partridges. Then the priest says: “Apollinaria, let’s hit it.” How long can you torture a person? Are you like this with everyone? Doesn't that turn people away from you? - If you sat with a lean face, then I would sing romances to you. In general, the most terrible people are “deeply religious”: you can’t eat, you can’t drink... Father Eustathius orders himself buckwheat porridge and cold vodka. Hegumen Evstafiy (Zhakov): “I don’t want to listen to these poodles of democracy who bark at a dead lion” Stalin / 11/27/2008 Meanwhile, the head of the missionary department of the St. Petersburg diocese, Archpriest Alexander Budnikov, said that the icon depicting Stalin would be removed from the church in Strelna... As the Russian Line has already reported, in the Church of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga in Strelna, near St. Petersburg, an icon of the Blessed Matrona of Moscow recently appeared, depicting Joseph Stalin in full height. The icon depicts the moment when, according to church tradition, the head of the Soviet state met with Blessed Matrona at the beginning of the war, in the fall of 1941, asking for her blessing. Blessed Matrona, the legend says, predicted to Stalin: “You alone will remain in the city (Moscow - RL). Send everyone away, but don’t give up the city. And you won’t.” The rector of the church, the well-known confessor in St. Petersburg, Hegumen Evstafiy (Zhakov), said in an interview with NTV channel: “There is nothing criminal in this icon. It really blessed the leader for military exploits.” At the same time, the abbot is confident: “Stalin, of course, was a believer.” “No matter what they say, for me Stalin is a father. And I don’t want to betray him,” Father Evstafiy emphasized. He noted that there is no talk of the canonization of the leader of the USSR, for which the rector is reproached by ill-wishers, emphasizing that the icon of Blessed Matrona simply depicts Stalin, of course, without a halo and other attributes of holiness. “The feeling that Stalin is the father of nations, that he is partly my exalted father, this feeling has not left me all my life. I had two fathers, besides the Heavenly Father: one is my father in the flesh, and the other father is the father of nations , who was strict, who judged, who may have made mistakes, but who was still the father of my country. Any attacks on Stalin are both ridiculous and disgusting. I don’t want to listen to these poodles of democracy who bark at a dead lion, I listen my heart. I remember Joseph Vissarionovich at all services where appropriate, especially on those days when he died, on his birthday, on those days when he celebrated the common Victory of our people,” the Novye Izvestia newspaper quotes the priest as saying ". To the remark that Stalin was still an atheist, Father Eustathius replied: “How do you know? The fact that he headed an atheistic state - you never know who headed anything! I believe more in the two patriarchs - Sergius and Alexy I. They believed quite definitely : Stalin was a believer." Church parishioners, in an interview with NTV, were divided in their opinions regarding the new icon. “The views of Father Eustathius do not coincide with everyone. God and time will judge us,” said one of the parishioners. And the temple minister Anatoly expressed complete agreement with Father Eustathius. According to the NTV television company, “the leadership of the diocese did not treat the appearance of the new icon too strictly.” Meanwhile, the head of the missionary department of the St. Petersburg diocese, Archpriest Alexander Budnikov, called Abbot Eustathius an “extremist” and said that the diocese would remove the icon of Stalin from the church, reports [link] with reference to the newspaper “My District”. “I think the metropolitan will deal with this priest. Unfortunately, we have such church extremists,” said Father Alexander. “It is unacceptable to display even uncanonized saints in the church, let alone such a person as Stalin. This is a temptation. This is arbitrariness.” ", arbitrariness. This confuses people. We cannot confuse believers with such icons. In the near future, this icon must disappear from the temple." Russian line Stalin is now in one of the churches. In the one behind Strelnaya, near St. Petersburg. On the icon. In his simple overcoat, in which millions of Soviet people remember him, he looks at you with thoughtful and deep eyes from under thick eyebrows. Next to him is a saint. Matryona of Moscow with a halo around her head makes the sign of the cross over the Red Caesar. "Blessed Matryona of Moscow blesses the leader." This image brings together the torn and bleeding thread of Russian history that was torn in the 20th century. Stalin and the church. Soviet power and Russian tradition. Faith of Christ in Red Russia. Probably, such an icon is needed right now, when the enemies, who are burning out the very memory of the Soviet country, are trying to attract the church as their helpers. After reading the novel "Mother", Lenin called this book necessary for the cause of the revolution. Likewise, this image of Blessed Matryona of Moscow, painted by Ilya Pivnik, is necessary for the Orthodox. Hegumen Eustathius (Zhakov), rector of the Church of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duchess Olga, which now houses an icon depicting Stalin, is a priest very respected by parishioners. Earlier, in the church in Znamenka, of which he was the rector at that time, an icon of St. Eugene Rodionov appeared - a Russian soldier killed by the Chechens in captivity for refusing to remove his pectoral cross and renounce the faith - one of the first images of this new martyr in Russia. In April 2003, when the leader of the now banned NBP, Eduard Limonov, was awaiting sentencing in a Saratov prison, Father Evstafiy collected signatures from parishioners in support of the Russian writer. Many St. Petersburg National Bolsheviks flocked to this temple, where they were heard and understood. We met with Abbot Eustathius on October 4. On the 15th anniversary of the fatal shooting of the Supreme Soviet. Then, on that clear but cold Moscow day, on the barricades on the Gorbaty Bridge, everyone who cared about Russia stood shoulder to shoulder: communists and monarchists, Soviet officers and Cossacks, priests and atheists. And through the red and black-gold-white banners fluttering in the wind, banners were visible. On that day, all honest Russian people were united in their sacrifices and suffering. I believe that we have yet to meet the main day of Russian unity... "TOMORROW". Father Eustathius, how did the idea to create such an icon come about? O. EVSTAFY. You know, in Russia, commanders were often blessed by monks, blessed ones, holy fools. For example, the Monk Sergius of Radonezh blessed the commander Dmitry Donskoy for battle. And the battle was won. The same thing happened in Moscow in the fall of 1941. Blessed Matryona received leader Stalin, who was very concerned about the situation in Moscow. And she calmed him down and said: “You will be the only one left in the city. Send everyone away, don’t give up the city. And you won’t.” There is nothing strange about this. Holy people always blessed warriors and leaders. This is what Russia has stood for, stands for, and will continue to stand for. There is no fiction here. This icon reflects the holy path that Matryona of Moscow took, including blessing the leader for victory. "TOMORROW". But Stalin was an atheist. O. EVSTAFY. How do you know? "TOMORROW". He headed an atheistic state. O. EVSTAFY. You never know who headed anything. I believe more in two Patriarchs - Sergius and Alexy I. They believed quite definitely: Stalin was a believer. In any case, I trust them much more than all these liberals and democrats. "TOMORROW". Tell me, how did the leadership of the diocese react to the appearance of such an icon? O. EVSTAFY. You know, we have wise leadership of the diocese. It properly highlights the fact that this is not an icon glorifying Stalin. This is the image of Saint Matryona of Moscow. And Stalin is one of those people whom she blessed. She blessed many. Among them were one famous architect and a famous composer of those years. And Stalin was there. So there is no crime in this from a theological point of view. "TOMORROW". Stalin's name is now slandered and anathematized. They poured buckets of dirt on him. Do you think historical justice will ever prevail? Will this name ever be officially appreciated? O. EVSTAFY. You know, when all these pygmies and pugs who have their own order or interest die, then the atmosphere will clear. Yes, be sure to write that: they will die! And veneration will finally begin around Stalin. We are not talking about his canonization. We are talking specifically about honoring the great leader and leader, the savior of the country. But this will not be very soon. "TOMORROW". Now churches are being built in Russia, clergy regularly appear on television, and our society is falling deeper and deeper into the abyss of vices. What is this: a paradox? O. EVSTAFY. This is the same paradox as any struggle. Struggle is always a paradox. Because opposing forces collide. Moreover, first one, then the other prevails. First one, then the other becomes stronger. But the power behind which the Lord stands is ultimately the most victorious. And what we are seeing now is nothing more than temporary. "TOMORROW". In Soviet times, we seemed to have an atheistic country, but the level of morality and public morality was incomparably higher than now. Yes, now no one is officially abolishing religion or fighting it. But at the same time, the spiritual state of the people is getting worse and worse. O. EVSTAFY. We are talking about political will. And the political will is sometimes pleasing to God, sometimes displeasing. You were talking about the Soviet country. There was political will there. Maybe she was negative in some way. But she restrained many vices. For example, then no one had even heard of premarital cohabitation between the bride and groom... "TOMORROW". And now this is the scourge of modern Russian youth... O. EVSTAFY. Yes. Back then, pederasts were still being imprisoned. There was the death penalty, which was very good. These are all manifestations of political will. By the way, these are leftovers. Remnants of what Stalin did. This is his political will, although weakening over the years, nevertheless, it still had strength. After this country left, this political will weakened, timelessness began. But I expect that now we will still be able to see the birth of a different political will, which will be largely Christian, largely Orthodox. And at the same time, restraining in the same way that any will of a leader can restrain negative trends emerging in one or another part of our country. Therefore, let's wait for this new will. And now it’s timelessness, a time of troubles. But it ends. "TOMORROW". And will it end soon? O. EVSTAFY. No, not soon. But I see trends towards the end of timelessness. You can't do everything at once. Moreover, after what these anti-Russian, anti-patriotic elements, who jumped out of the bottle like genies, did. But they managed a lot! But the time will come when their influence will fade away. "TOMORROW". Another pressing question, Father Eustathius. In Soviet times, although not everyone was a member of the CPSU, almost everyone went through the pioneers and the Komsomol, they said that they were for Soviet power, for communism. And then, in the 90s, many people began to put on crosses and go to churches. What is this: true appeal or a tribute to fashion? Or were it simply that many millions of desperate people were looking for some kind of salvation? O. EVSTAFY. This is all. And protest, and a tribute to fashion, and a kind of hysterical reaction, and, finally, the reaction of people freed from spiritual oppression. Those elements were not viable, and they fell away by themselves. But the young people I see in churches now are different people. These are not grandparents - they are just other people. Those who already perceive Orthodoxy as something familiar, as something of their own. Although, perhaps, in many ways they are very far from the true faith. But nevertheless, interest in Orthodoxy and the perception of Orthodoxy as native and one’s own is also the beginning of the path to the truth. "TOMORROW". Are more young people applying now? O. EVSTAFY. Yes, much more! You know, young people now have a very meaningful attitude towards the church as an instrument for the well-being of the country, the well-being of the family. Those who go to church to get married believe that this is the strengthening of family ties that is not achieved by simply registering a marriage. "TOMORROW". But many of those who come to get married do it rather formally, without deep understanding of the sacrament. Perhaps before the wedding, they simply lived together for a couple of years. O. EVSTAFY. We don't care where you come from. We care where you go. They cohabited and cohabited. And then they stopped cohabiting and just got married. We all come from dark areas in which there is a lot of sin. But we are moving towards the light. "TOMORROW". How, in your opinion, can modern Russia respond to the global challenges of the 21st century? To globalization? To the cult of consumerism, which, flourishing in megacities, eats people's souls? To the spiritual impoverishment and impoverishment of many of our fellow citizens? The challenges are very serious. O. EVSTAFY. This is how Russia is already responding. Who are Russia's friends? This is the army and navy. A strong army and a strong navy are already the answer. If we see how well the country’s defense is organized, how magnificent the ships are, if we see how wonderfully the guns of the latest generations shoot, then people are proud of it. It is in such pride for one’s country, where a powerful power is gradually being built, that this answer is born. "TOMORROW". Do you still think that we are building a powerful nation? O. EVSTAFY. Yes, it is under construction. I don’t know, however, how powerful it is now, but it is being built. And in this, again, I see political will. After all, it would be possible not to defend South Ossetia, say. But our politicians are not just strong-willed people. They are decent people. And their decency is also an example. An example of how not to be pathetic, how not to be selfish. The power of example means a lot. If the army and navy are organized well, then a lot will change in our society. And of course, the church takes its usual place. This is neither a new nor an old place. It's just an ordinary place. This is such a living spring, where you can learn and learn a lot, and overestimate a lot. "TOMORROW". The Church is now striving to occupy the position it occupied in Russia before 1917. O. EVSTAFY. So what! Let him strive. The more monasteries and churches, the better. A monastery is an economic unit. There are people working there who, without the monastery, might not survive and become drunkards. And there they have both work and a place to live. A monastery is such an economic unit. And we need more and more of them. "TOMORROW". Is the unity of religion capable of consolidating Orthodox peoples? The example of Georgia, and Moldova too, provides the opposite example. O. EVSTAFY. Don't confuse the church with rabid politics. Because politics is a phenomenon of one order. And the church is soulful, deep and eternal. Politicians leave, but the church always remains. I think that at the church level, Georgia and Russia are by no means enemies. They are friends. Although politicians are trying to quarrel between Orthodox peoples. "TOMORROW". But the history of the Georgian Orthodox Church in the 20th century is the history of its split and separation from the Russian Orthodox Church. Under Stalin, she managed to achieve autocephaly. It is unlikely that such a step was aimed at achieving Orthodox unity. O. EVSTAFY. What's wrong with autocephaly? There's nothing wrong with that. Autocephaly is simply a feature of administrative management. And unity is the Gospel, this is the Lord, this is the structure of church life. There is unity. Autocephaly and autonomy are rather a clerical, bureaucratic phenomenon. "TOMORROW". Were there any examples of any of the Georgian hierarchs and clergy during the war days saying that the Orthodox Russian people were not their enemies, that they were pitted against us by politicians? O. EVSTAFY. I'm sure there were many such examples. But I simply have not been to places where such examples can be observed. We have a Georgian church in St. Petersburg. The Georgians there were very upset by what was happening. But, nevertheless, they treated the Russian people with a sense of unflagging brotherhood and did not blame their co-religionists for anything. "TOMORROW". However, none of the well-known representatives of the Georgian diaspora made such statements. On the contrary, Vakhtang Kikabidze and Oleg Basilashvili made anti-Russian statements. O. EVSTAFY. These are artists, and artists are often liars. They keep their nose to the wind. Why look up to liars?! Their profession is to lie, pretend, play roles. For example, an artist will tell you that she loves you, but in reality she is pretending, playing a role, practicing on you. I may be exaggerating, but you shouldn’t expect the truth from these people. Their specialty is well-played lies. "TOMORROW". Since we are talking about international challenges, about the place of Russia in the modern world, we probably cannot ignore this question: the growing and actively advancing world of Islam is based not only and not so much on religion itself, but on the very specific political ideology of Islamism, to Sharia. There is an opinion that Orthodoxy does not have such a political component. And in this respect it loses to Islam. O. EVSTAFY. Historically, Orthodoxy has always won. To form such a huge country, to keep it from collapse... "TOMORROW". What about the fall of Byzantium? O. EVSTAFY. This is a slightly different question. I'm talking about the thousand-year history of Orthodoxy in Russia. You know, only the Russian Orthodox Church could hold such a huge land and hold it together. After all, there were so many examples of Russian princes fighting among themselves and killing each other. But the common thing that could unite them and reconcile them was the church voice. Perhaps it was not always audible to them, but it always had a sound. For such a huge country, the Russian Orthodox Church has always been and is the system-forming factor. Therefore, we can only talk about ways to achieve national goals. Our methods are perhaps quieter and less visual, and there is less cruelty in them. But an Orthodox country exists. As for Muslims, I want to say that real Muslims are very peaceful people. And I know this myself, because I lived for a very long time in Kazan, among the Tatars. "TOMORROW". But these Muslims have been adapted to Russian civilization by five centuries of living together with us in the same state. But Chechen Muslims, for example, are largely unadapted. O. EVSTAFY. If unadapted Muslims come, then they must be confronted with the force of the law. Take, for example, the situation in Kondopoga. It is caused by the fact that the police sold out, that they did not carry out their protective functions. And that is why she allowed such interethnic strife to flare up. But if the police had strictly guarded the law: corrected some, helped others, suppressed the activities of others, then nothing would have happened there. That is, again we are talking about political will. If it is not there, then extremists can raise their heads and do great harm to all of us. "TOMORROW". There are some facts that are rather sad. For example, since the early 2000s, according to media reports, about forty seminarians have left Christianity and converted to Islam. There were also apostate priests. The name of Vyacheslav Polosin, of course, has already set teeth on edge, but if I’m not mistaken, he was not the only one. But I don’t know any counter-examples, on the “other side”. O. EVSTAFY. I do not know either. But I want to say that the Russian Orthodox Church is being cleansed of such people. This is self-purification. They left, and thank God. And it’s good that they left now and didn’t betray them later. This is a normal process of self-cleaning from harmful elements. Our Orthodox religion is the most pleasing to God. We devote a lot of time to worship. We honor God, we praise him correctly. That's right - it means a long time, a lot. If you compare it with other religions, they simply turn into some kind of cultural events. In some I even see the satisfaction of some sadistic tendencies. The difficulties of properly glorifying God are such that some people simply cannot stand Orthodoxy. This is very difficult for them. Orthodoxy is a very difficult religion. But it is the most divinely inspired, containing God precisely because of its heaviness. An Orthodox priest is an ascetic. If he is not like that, he will drop out or be damned. Not everyone can be ascetics. Even very few. Dropout is a positive phenomenon and should be welcomed. Only it should be done demonstratively. So that everyone can see: another unstable one has dropped out. It's easier for us now. As they say, a woman with a cart makes it easier for a mare. Let them drop out. We can manage without them. "TOMORROW". But a Catholic priest, for example, is not an ascetic? O. EVSTAFY. I wouldn’t talk about priests, but I want to say that our Nativity service lasts about five hours. The Catholic Nativity service lasts forty minutes. How can you organize a connection with God in forty minutes?! It's just a few chants, a few words, a few actions. And everything is so light, so shallow. I don't want to say anything about Catholic priests. But services in Catholic churches are lightweight and shallow. "TOMORROW". But this is already neo-Catholicism. As far as I know, by the decision of one of the Vatican Councils in the second half of the 20th century, the time of the liturgy was shortened and some other elements of the service were cancelled. Catholicism has been emasculated. Roughly speaking, it has now become pop. O. EVSTAFY. This is a crisis. This is their tragedy. But we are talking about a fact. We decided to make life easier for priests. And make it easier at the expense of worship, because they feel sorry for themselves. "TOMORROW". Now it’s no secret to anyone that Tsarist Russia was an Orthodox country with a church in almost every village, and the majority of the people were believers. But then our people were structured by classes, society looked monolithic. And modern Russia is a country of marginalized people and lumpen people, especially in big cities. Now there are no classes, all social layers and classes have long been blurred. There are millions of people who are in Brownian motion and are not tied to their roots. Will the country be able to preserve its Orthodox identity under such conditions? After all, no one has canceled the effect of social laws. O. EVSTAFY. As for the marginalized, I remember Maxim Gorky’s play “At the Depths”. And there were a lot of these tramps, whom you call marginalized. Moreover, some of them looked like pilgrims moving from monastery to monastery. And some were simply bottom dwellers. We have one guardian: the cup of the Lord, the temple, the icons, the priest, the service - that’s what keeps it. This is the core around which the marginalized and other unstable elements revolve. This is why we are needed, to give an example to people, to give some inspiration and consolation to those who heard and saw us. There are many such people. Even in our temple. Hegumen Eustathius (Zhakov) was the rector of the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, which was being restored in Staraya Ladoga on Malysheva Mountain. The temple was completely restored and hospitably received numerous pilgrims and workers. Next is Father Eustathius, rector of the churches of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Znamenka, then of the church of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duchess Olga of Russia in Strelna. All these temples literally restored from ruins. Now services are constantly held there, pilgrim groups are received, and Abbot Eustathius has become the rector of another temple - it's time restore the Cathedral of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist in the legendary Shlisselburg fortress "Oreshek", founded in 1382 Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist on Malysheva Hill became.
 Toughie Hegumen Eustathius and Hieromonk Gabriel during the Divine Liturgy in the Church of John the Baptist on Oreshek Island. The first Divine Liturgy took place in the church in honor of the Nativity of the Baptist John, which had begun to be restored, in the Oreshek fortress in the city of Shlisselburg. On the ruins of the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist in the Oreshek fortress in the city of Shlisselburg near St. Petersburg on November 21 of this year. The first Liturgy in the last ninety years took place. It was performed by Hegumen Eustathius (Zhakov), recently appointed rector of the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist, and Hieromonk Gabriel, cleric of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. Founded by the grandson of Alexander Nevsky, Prince Yuri Danilovich, the Oreshek fortress has a heroic past, and it is understandable why the Swedes were so eager to master it. During the ninety years of occupation, they translated the name of the fortress into their language - it became Noteburg - and strengthened the citadel, but on October 11, 1702, Russian troops “gnawed” the Swedish nut. They say that Peter I sent an officer to the island with an order to the commander of the assault detachment, Lieutenant Colonel of the Semenovsky Regiment, Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn, to retreat. Golitsyn answered the messenger: “Tell the Tsar that now I am no longer his, but God’s,” and ordered the boats to be pushed away from the island. The assault continued. The fortress was taken. The heroes who fell during the assault were buried inside the fortress. Well, the hero of the assault, of course, could not know then that he was taking a fortress into which his brother, Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Golitsyn, would be imprisoned a few years later. Peter I renamed the fortress that stood at the source of the Neva as Shlisselburg- “key city”, thereby announcing that with this key he opens access to the Baltic Sea for Russia. He made his sister, Princess Marya Alekseevna, the first prisoner of Shlisselburg, accusing her of a conspiracy in which she did not participate. And after his sister, he turned into a prisoner of the “key city” and the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky, or rather his holy relics, who dared not make it to St. Petersburg in time for the celebration of the anniversary of the Peace of Nystadt. It was decided not to import them into St. Petersburg until the next anniversary and to keep them in the Shlisselburg fortress all year. On the lanethe howl of the Liturgy seemed to be praying along with everyone from
warriors-defenders of the Shlisselburg fortress cast in bronze...
Another prisoner of Shlisselburg, Evdokia Lopukhina, was also solemnly greeted. She was imprisoned in the fortress by Empress Catherine I, but a year later Tsarina Evdokia was released and became... the grandmother of Emperor Peter II. Most generous Lord! Hear the words of those who boast of destroying the holy Orthodox faith! Help me! For You are our God, and we trust in You! - said in a moment of mortal danger for everyone In the destroyed church, the Liturgy took place in the open air. Rus''s holy noble prince Alexander is preparing for the Battle of the Neva, and it seems that only these words are capable of drowning out the unkind rattle of the Shlisselburg springs. And now the time has come, and these words finally sounded in the icy Ladoga draft... On October 12, by decree of His Eminence Vladimir, Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga, Abbot Eustathius was appointed rector of the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist in the Oreshek fortress in the city of Shlisselburg. And these eternal words were heard first by the bronze soldiers of the rifle company of the 1st division of the NKVD and the 409th naval battery, who, continuing the heroic chronicle of the Oreshek fortress, defended both the fortress and this church during the war. For almost five hundred days, a small garrison held the defense here, and all these days the Soviet flag flew over the bell tower of St. John’s Cathedral, and all these days God’s help was accomplished, for which the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky prayed at the moment of mortal danger for Rus'. Nikolay Konyaev-Shlisselburg, 01.12.2010
“...His Eminence called me to him and, approving my word in general, in particular indicated that in sermons he was afraid to make a direct relation to life, especially about officials, because the farther from them, the more sanctified.” N. S. Leskov. "Soborians"
I met Father Eustathius (Zhakov) in 1996 in Staraya Ladoga, where he was restoring the Church of John the Baptist on the famous Malysheva Mountain above Volkhov. Before my eyes, the temple was reborn from the abomination of desolation, but still, when you look at old photographs, it is difficult to believe that the temple rose from those ruins. In Staraya Ladoga we had to deal with more than just repairs. One summer evening, when the monastically leisurely service had already ended and Father Eustathius was about to go close the doors, a drunken, severely beaten thirteen-year-old girl ran into the church... God! - she screamed, collapsing onto the stone floor. - Mother of God! Help me! Then it turned out that the girl barely escaped from the sheds on the banks of the Volkhov, where adult fishermen dragged her and tried to rape her. From that very evening, while engaged in construction and repairs, performing divine services and looking for benefactors, Father Eustathius began to create his “children’s parish.” He pulled Old Ladoga children abandoned by their parents out of basements, took them to work, taught them to go to church... It doesn't matter how a person comes to church. Let the children come to earn something here,” he said. - The child will still change in the church. And definitely for the better. Not all parishioners liked this. “Why come here to earn money,” one of the women working in the church was indignant when I inquired about her attitude towards the “children’s parish.” - No, this is not the case that the priest started... Is it conceivable, they are timid to collect... The police are there for this... Father Eustathius did not listen to this “wise” advice. And if a miracle is the revival of a church in a poor parish, then the creation of a children's parish of the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist is a double miracle. Very soon there were more children here than adults. And not only in the service. When the liturgy ended, the children did not go home, but gathered in the refectory. They sat down at long tables. I remember that we then asked the children to write about what connects everyone with this church. There was a whole pile of leaves covered with children's scribbles... “I came in 1994 to the Old Ladoga Church of John the Baptist. Father Eustathius sometimes, when we don’t have something, like a dress we liked, he’ll buy it. The boots are torn - he is thinking about this question. There is no jacket or hat - everything is thinking. Such kindness and care draws you to the temple like a magnetic wave. But in fact, we are all drawn closer to God...” "My name is Ann. I am 12 years old. I perform obedience in the Church of John the Baptist. I have already reached the rank of junior psalm-reader. Only in this church did I understand what a real church family is. Our brothers Artemy and Vitaly and eleven sisters. Our regent Tamara Vladislavovna became our mother. That's all. I would like to have more brothers and sisters. And to make a high choir.” “My name is Ksenia, I’m 13 years old. When I came to the Church of John the Baptist, I did not know how to pray and did not even know how to be baptized. I recognized Father Eustathius. I like going to church for services. I've made some good friends here. In general, there is nothing better than a temple and faith in God.” When the temple was finally restored, Father Eustathius had to leave Staraya Ladoga. Hearing that he was leaving them, all the children in the temple began to cry... Hieromonk Eustathius himself, who arrived at his new place of service, had no time for tears - the temple of Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga in the Mikhailovka estate near Strelnaya was ruins drowning in piles of garbage. After the war, a poultry farm was located here, then attempts were made to rebuild the church as a sports facility... Reconstructions and reconstructions ended with the altar vaults collapsing, the roof of the gallery being torn off, the stone floor collapsing... It was unrealistic to raise this GIOP architectural monument without the help of the state. There was no need to count on financial assistance from the diocese... Nevertheless, Father Eustathius erected a cross in the middle of the ruins, as he had done before in the three churches he had restored, and church services began in the Church of Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga. I remember the snow drifting along the floor of the temple, snowdrifts blowing against the walls, glittering with streaks of ice, and the words of the sermon sounded especially heartfelt in the midst of the ruins: “Pilate asked Christ: “What is truth?” - and the Savior did not answer him, because He Himself was the answer to this question. The Lord Himself is the Truth, the Way Himself, revealed to us in its entirety"… |
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