“A monk’s cell is always a battlefield.” In memory of monk Barsanuphius (Stepanenko)

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On September 20, 2015, a resident of the Holy Dormition reposed in the Lord monastery Orla monk Barsanuphius (in the world Stepanenko Vladimir Prokopyevich), faithful servant of God, monk-poet.

Father Barsanuphius was born on May 13, 1950 in the city of Semipalatinsk, Kazakh SSR. In 1973 he graduated from the Kazakh Law School state university. For a number of years he worked as a lawyer in the city of Talgar, Alma-Ata region.
In 1981, Bishop Seraphim (Gachkovsky) of Alma-Ata and Kazakhstan invited the young lawyer Vladimir Stepanenko to take monastic vows. However, 22 years passed before this blessing was fulfilled. The untimely death of parents, a change of profession, moving to Russia in the early 90s, obedience in the Optina Pustyn, Rylsky and Beslan monasteries, the spiritual leadership of the elders Hippolyta and Elijah - these are the milestones of life and spiritual path Father Barsanuphius. Since 2001, he has been asceticizing at the Holy Dormition Monastery in Orel. In June 2003, he was tonsured into the mantle. From June 2011 to May 2015 - monk of the Novosilsky Holy Spirit Monastery. In May 2015, due to health reasons, he returned to the Holy Dormition Monastery.

In 2006, with the support of Oryol entrepreneur K.B. Grammatchikov's father Varsanuphius publishes a collection of poems. He publishes poems in the Moscow magazine “Inok”.

The poetry of the monk Barsanuphius is deeply folk in its origins. The thousand-year spiritual experience of the Russian people, seeking prayer and salvation, sounds in it and comes out.

The poems of the monk Barsanuphius are not for those who are looking for a source of spiritual comfort in poetry; they are completely devoid of a soothing beginning. The core of his creativity is not the “golden dream”, but spiritual wakefulness.

A candle burns before the image of the Saint.
And in the cell there is silence. The soul strives for God,
Prayer sounds reverently in the heart.
Darkness lurks at the threshold...

Behind every line of poems by Fr. Barsanuphius stands for lived and meaningful spiritual experience. Both speculativeness and ardent play of imagination are alien to his poems. Here we are dealing with the fruits of sobriety and self-collection. This is a phenomenon of spiritual reality. Noteworthy is the originality of the intonation, born of the breath of prayer:

Optina Pustyn. Autumn.
It's hot in the Temple. There is frost on the street.
Before the shrine of St. Ambrose
Elder Elijah prays...

In the work of Father Barsanuphius, the Orthodox hymnographic tradition paradoxically combines with the traditions of the Russian raeshnik - the high and the “low” are combined within the same phrase, but at the same time there is no gross vulgarization - thanks to the general prayerful sincere mood that permeates the poetic lines:

Our sexton spent his whole life riveting into the campan,
The soul rang and the bells rang,
When last hour has arrived
The Mother of God took him to her...

Or:
Sweetest Jesus, don't leave me
And throw me salvation like a dog a bone...

These lines may shock adherents of “moderation and accuracy,” but through the uneven, jumping and rough form, the light of the gospel source clearly appears: “Lord! but the dogs also eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
The monastery fence cannot isolate monks from the pain and suffering of the world. The tragic past and dramatic present of Russia appear in the poems of Fr. Barsanuphius in memorable images and intonations:

For the Motherland - fallen - heart wound.
Missing - missing - more painful...

Or:
The seagulls cried nervously, hysterically,
Foretelling trouble for Russia.
The Semirechensky Cossacks were driven
On the Aral, thin ice...

The motives of repentance and humility are intertwined with the motive of incessant spiritual warfare, requiring constant internal mobilization and incessant mental-heart vigilance:

Lips whisper the Jesus Prayer,
I pray with my rosary,
Soon the angels will blow their trumpets,
And my sins whip me worse than a whip...

The spiritual battle for Father Barsanuphius is not a metaphor, not a dream, but a reality, an everyday reality:

A monk's cell is always a battlefield.

At the same time, behind the external unpretentiousness of expression, in a number of cases, there is hidden a depth of thought, the source of which is the patristic Orthodox tradition, experienced as a personal spiritual experience:

Having the will of God's creation,
We jump into our own destiny.

In these lines we are dealing with a peculiar figurative formula that expresses the essence of the Orthodox view of free will and human destiny. Reverend Ambrose Optinsky liked to say: “No matter how heavy the cross that a person bears, the tree from which it is made grew from the soil of his heart.”

The pinnacle of Father Barsanuphius's spiritual poetry is, of course, his poems dedicated to the Mother of God. A reverent and reverent attitude towards the Queen of Heaven, our Intercessor and Patroness, flows with a quiet light in the monk’s poetry:

Mother of God, Most Pure Virgin,
Save your servant.
An evil force, an unclean force
Get rid of me forever...
*
Devo looks at me with love,
On the sinner, sinless and pure.
A heart full of fire trembles.
Save me, wash away the dirt from me, Most Pure One...
*
Virgin, Most Holy and Most Pure,
Soothe my sorrows, soothe.
You are my Invincible Wall,
Give me unexpected joy...

The death of the monk-poet followed during the all-night vigil on the eve of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

He was filled with spiritual joy when he attended the service in the temple. Everyone saw his enthusiastic gaze directed towards the altar, as if he was looking forward to the exit from there of his beloved Lord. And God alone knows how many times he was granted this vision.

Schemamonk Varsanuphiy (in the world Vasily Alekseevich Yuganov) was born in 1838 in one of the villages of the Don region. He was the son of a deacon in a village church. His father prepared him to become a priest and taught him to church life from childhood, but God decided to bring him to his temple in a different way.

The Crimean War began, and in 1855, 17-year-old Vasily was drafted into the army. He showed himself to be a very brave warrior, which attracted the attention of his superiors. After Crimean War he also had to participate in military operations to suppress the uprising in Poland.

Here one incident happened to him, which he later recounted: “In 1859 I was on military service in Poland. When I was in Warsaw, I fell ill. This disease developed in me to such an extent that I was coughing up ichor mixed with rot. I could neither drink nor eat, neither hot nor cold, because of the severe pain in my chest. In this state I left Warsaw to Berdichev by railway, and from Berdichev by mail home to the Don.

I should have gone through Kyiv. And so, upon arrival in Kyiv, I went straight to the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery. There he stopped for the purpose of talking and, having repented of his sins, to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. I began to fast, go to church for matins, mass... In order to prepare myself to receive the Holy Mysteries of Christ, I thought that I needed to fast for at least a week. So I did.

At this time, I had a special desire to pray, tears and repentance for sins appeared. I didn’t want to die, although I knew that consumption was an incurable disease. I have a wound in my chest, but as the doctors told me, it cannot be repaired. But still, I thought, by the grace of God it is possible to get rid of it too. Therefore, he placed all his hope in the mercy of God and the Queen of Heaven. He began to earnestly and tearfully pray to Her, asking for Her help and intercession. Ask her to - Holy Mother of God I petitioned my Son and our Lord Jesus Christ so that I could live as long as possible in this world.

So I prayed to the Mother of God, asking for Her mercy and intercession for me, a sinner, so that the Lord would bless me to live. On Saturday, I received the Holy Mysteries of Christ, came from church to my room, and hastily unbuttoned my checkmen (military uniform - Ed.), because I felt severe pain in his chest, lay down on the bed face up and immediately forgot. When I fell asleep, I saw how the image of the Mother of God appeared in the air against my chest in a silver ark and in a silver robe. The rays of light from this image hit right into my chest, into a sore spot on my wound. And from the rays on the chest, on the wound itself, a cross about three inches in size was formed from a silver thread, and went into my wound...

When I woke up, I stood up, and immediately began to have some kind of special cough and spitting. With a cough, some kind of lump of ichor and rot came out, and I immediately felt lightness in my chest, heartfelt joy and almost did not feel any pain, I became so healthy that I even completely forgot about the illness. My chest became like stone, as if it had never hurt.”

This incident completely changed the life of Vasily Alekseevich. He perceived the miracle that happened to him as a call from the Lord and decided to leave the mortal world and completely devote himself to God. But he had to postpone the implementation of his decision for almost 30 years. He was bound by military duty and could realize his dream only after leaving the service. After the war, on the recommendation of the military leadership, he was accepted into a military school, which was located in Moscow.

Soon after graduating from college, he got married and lived with his wife in different garrisons. Participated in Russian-Turkish War, where for his bravery he was elevated to the rank of colonel and awarded many orders. Vasily Alekseevich would have remained a military man if it were not for the understanding on the part of his wife, who was a very pious woman and knew the secret aspirations of her husband’s soul. She agreed to let him go to the monastery.

In 1888, Vasily Alekseevich arrived on Athos and entered the monastery of the Holy Great Martyr Panteleimon. Two years later, namely on March 21, 1890, he was tonsured into the ryassophore with the name Barsanuphius, and four years later, on April 8, 1894, into the mantle. Father Barsanuphius’ obedience took place in the office. Everyone was amazed at his humility and meekness. After all, a man who had been accustomed to command for 30 years, who had seen a lot of cruelty and blood, was now ready to fulfill any obedience, any request of his brother.

For his humility, the Lord vouchsafed Father Barsanuphius a new miraculous vision, which he later described as follows: “In the summer of 1893, I came from church after Compline to my wretched cell. He prayed to God and sat down on the bed with the goal of lying down on his wretched bed and falling asleep before the morning bell. As soon as I sat down on the bed, it occurred to me that, well, I’ve been living in the monastery for so long (for seven years already), I go to the Church of God every day, every week I confess and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, which means that I’ve already -what I earned from the Almighty Creator.

But my wife L. ... doesn’t go to church, doesn’t pray to God, lives badly, shamefully and even libelously. What awaits her? Certainly, eternal torment, unquenchable fire, unquenchable worm, hell - and nothing more! About the grief, the grief that awaits her, the unfortunate one, in the next world for her nasty, ugly life. With these thoughts I lay down and seemed to forget myself and fell asleep. What do I see: suddenly the cell began to shine, it became as bright as day, the doors opened, a young man of average height, blond, with wavy hair on his head entered, he was dressed very nicely: a blue shirt and a sash of the same color, white trousers ... He takes me by the right hand and says: “Come on, I’ll show you your place.”

I got up and followed him. We left the cell. As soon as we got out, a green field opened up to us, and we walked along it without a road, straight on good soft green grass, covered with various flowers with a good smell. They walked as if up a mountain, rising higher and higher towards the sky. Finally, we reached the top of this mountain. When they ascended the mountain, the sun shone in the east. Before this the sun was not visible, but still it was very light. I looked straight at the sun, and it did not blind my eyes.

From the top of this mountain a beautiful plain opened up. Tall grass and flowers grew on it. There were bushes and trees along which small birds fluttered from branch to branch. Only the beautiful singing of these birds broke the silence. To my great surprise, I see my wife sitting alone on a chair in the middle of this vast, and perhaps endless, steppe, and there is no one else. Sitting, she enjoys the favorable air and the singing of the birds of paradise. Crossing his arms over his chest, he looks complacently to the east. She is wearing a blouse that is familiar to me. And all her clothes looked decent.

I saw her from afar, since the place was level. As we passed by her, I involuntarily looked at myself. And what do I see? I am dressed in a long-worn military uniform, torn under the arms. On his feet are torn trousers and uncleaned, holey boots. I felt ashamed to walk past my wife looking so ragged. She had never seen me like this. What do I think I should do? If only we could get past her somehow, turn to the side to pass by her without being noticed by her, otherwise it would be a total disgrace. As soon as I thought this, my guide guessed my thoughts, looked at me, seemed to smile and headed to the right so that we could pass by without her seeing us. She looked intently to the east. As if she was waiting for someone from there.

We walked along this beautiful steppe for a long time. Finally, we found ourselves in a dry, sandy, rocky and nondescript area. We approached a large, long cast-iron cellar with a huge cast-iron door on which hung a large flat lock. This door also had an internal lock. My companion opened the outer flat lock, and then the inner one. The doors seemed to open by themselves. We entered together small room. There was another door with the same locks. My companion unlocked this door too. When my guide opened the door, he took the upper iron corner with his left hand, because of the heavy weight, he opened it with difficulty, and right hand silently indicated for me to go inside, stepping over the threshold, which was very high.

Before last minute I thought that he would follow me inside, but I was mistaken. As soon as I crossed the threshold, he, looking through the half-open door and holding it with his left hand, said to me: “Here is your place.” And with these words he slammed the door. I hear: click, click, click - the lock closed, and I, unfortunate, remained in this mysterious cellar, where there is a cast-iron door and cast-iron walls. Then I felt an unbearable stench, a stench. I heard a terrible roar, frantic screams, and saw smoke that made it impossible for me to breathe. I covered my face with my hands and burst into bitter tears, saying: this is your place.

Seeing my hopeless situation in this pitch darkness, filled with an unbearable stench, I shed tears for a long time. Having had enough of them, I woke up a little and began to look at this cellar, thinking: maybe I can find a way out of it. Then he wanted to find out what kind of noise was being heard, where the fire and smoke was coming from. I noticed that there was a staircase leading down, and at the end of it, to the left, big hole, from which tongues of flame and puffs of smoke occasionally jump out. I dared to carefully go down it to the hole and looked inside.

There I saw a huge endlessly burning stove, and there were many people in it. They were located in the oven, some sitting, some lying, some standing. And all these unfortunate people screamed in different voices from unbearable suffering. It was from them that such a scream came from this furnace that it merged into a wild, frantic roar. I thought to myself: it turns out that I am, as it were, on the threshold of this terrible furnace. I went up the stairs again and saw at the entrance to the door, on right side, the size of an old copper coin is a round window. Only through him does light come to me. I looked into it and again saw my wife, sitting in the same place where I left her, passing by. I imagined her pleasure. And I, unfortunate one, am in hell. She doesn't know this.

And I burst into tears again, regretting that I had not shown myself to her when I passed by. If I had told her, she would probably have come to this window and at least consoled me with something. Or maybe she somehow unlocked the door in this cellar and freed me from this critical situation. This is what my dreams have brought me to. This is my salary after death. And it’s best to consider yourself worse than any creature. The Creator alone knows our afterlife situation. That's how I woke up. And I don’t know whether I came out of this cellar or not!”

Father Barsanuphius commented on his vision in the following way: “So my wife now sits in this cleanliness and decent blouse in the beautiful steppe, enjoying the pleasant air and the singing of the birds of paradise. Where am I, damned dreamer? In pitch darkness! This is my place. Now about why I was walking in my old military uniform. What is this tattered military uniform and how did it end up on me?

I remember that once, when I was young, I donated it to my friend. Sent it to him. On, they say, comrade, you have something that is not worth it to me. So in this donated torn uniform I saw myself. Now about the blouse my wife was wearing. I want to say that she donated it to one poor old woman. It happened like this. She had an old blouse. She washed it, dried it, ironed it, covered it with ruffles, and at the moment when she finished all her work, an old beggar woman came by, begging for alms and asking to give her something from an old dress.

The wife asked her: “Do you have any young people in your house?” She answered that she had a granddaughter - a bride. Then my wife took and tied this same blouse in a knot, put underwear, stockings, and her ankle boots in there, and gave it to her, saying: “Here’s to all this for your granddaughter.” The old woman was very pleased, thanked her and left.”

On February 12, 1896, Father Barsanuphius was tonsured into the schema. After this, he lived in the monastery for another nine years, spending his life in repentance and humility. He was filled with spiritual joy when he attended the service in the temple. Everyone saw his enthusiastic gaze directed towards the altar, as if he was looking forward to the exit from there of his beloved Lord. And God alone knows how many times he was granted this vision.

Published based on the book: « Russian Athos Fatherland XIX - XX centuries » .
Series « Russian Athos XIX-XX centuries. » T. 1. Holy Mountain,
Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos, 2012.

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provided that an active hyperlink is indicated
to the portal “Russian Athos” ()

Long haul

The path to Optina of Elder Barsanuphius turned out to be longer than all the other Optina elders: he came here with the blessing of the Monk Ambrose in the forty-seventh year of his life, when strong gray hair had already appeared in his hair. What was this path like?

Not much is known about the elder’s life before he joined the brethren of Optina Pustyn, which is forty-six years. But Father Barsanuphius himself often talked about himself in conversations with his spiritual children - their records brought to us information about his life before Optina.

Under special protection

The Monk Barsanuphius, in the world Pavel Ivanovich Plikhankov, was born in 1845 in Samara on Memorial Day St. Sergius Radonezh, whom he always considered his patron. His mother Natalia died during childbirth, and the child himself remained alive thanks to the sacrament of Baptism, which the priest immediately performed on him. His father came from Cossacks and was engaged in trade.

The boy's grandfather and great-grandfather were very rich. Almost all the houses on Kazanskaya Street belonged to the Plikhankov family. All family members were pious and deeply religious people, they helped a lot to the Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, located on the same street. The family believed that their family was under the special protection of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.

After the death of his mother, his father remarried, and in the person of his stepmother, the Lord sent the baby a deeply religious, kind-hearted mentor who replaced his own mother. And here is Pavlusha with early age- real Orthodox man. He goes to church with his mother (that’s what he called his stepmother), regularly takes communion, reads house rule. He later recalled: “Mom also loved to pray at home. Sometimes an akathist would read, and I would sing in a thin voice throughout the entire apartment: “Most Holy Theotokos, save us!” At the age of five, Pavlusha began to serve at the altar and often heard people predicting: “You will be a priest!”

This child will one day drag souls from hell!

A significant incident happened to a child when he was about six years old. He himself recalled later: “For six years I was in the garden with my father, digging through the sand in the alley. Suddenly a wanderer walks along the alley. And it’s amazing how he could get into the garden when the garden is surrounded big dogs who don’t let anyone through without barking. The wanderer quietly approached his father and, pointing at me with his hand, said: “Remember, father, this child will one day drag souls from hell!” And after these words he left. Then we couldn't find him anywhere. And God knows what kind of wanderer he was.”

I begged God for monasticism

At the age of nine, Pavlusha was enrolled in a gymnasium, he studied very well, read a lot, knew very well world literature. Later, as an old man, he often spoke about the benefits book knowledge, first of all - the lives of saints. He recalled about his studies at the gymnasium: “In the summer, we were moved for vacation to a picturesque state-owned estate... There was a beautiful birch alley... The students usually got up at six o’clock, and I got up at five o’clock, went into that alley and, standing between those birches, I prayed. And then I prayed as I had never prayed again: it was the pure prayer of an innocent youth. I think that’s where I begged for myself, begged God for monasticism.”

“Oddities” of officer Pavel Ivanovich Plikhankov

Then there was study at the Orenburg Military School, and staff officer courses in St. Petersburg. Gradually rising in rank, he soon became the head of the mobilization department, and then a colonel. He had not yet thought about entering the monastery, he imagined monastic life like this: “terrible boredom, - there is only radish, vegetable oil and bows.” But he was already called, - often imperceptibly, but sometimes very clearly, the Lord led him precisely to monastery. Hence the numerous “oddities” of officer Pavel Ivanovich Plikhankov, which others talked about.

He was a young military man, his colleagues wasted their lives in entertainment, but he came to more and more asceticism in his everyday life. His room resembled a monk’s cell in its simplicity of decoration, order, and many icons and books. Years passed. His comrades got married one after another.

Later, the elder recalled this time: “When I was thirty-five years old, my mother turned to me: “Why are you, Pavlusha, still avoiding women, soon your years will be over, no one will marry you.” For obedience, I fulfilled my mother's wish... On this day, some friends were hosting a dinner party. “Well,” I think, “whoever I have to sit next to, I’ll enter into a lengthy conversation with.” And suddenly, at dinner, a priest stood next to me, distinguished by his high spiritual life, and started a conversation with me about the Jesus Prayer... When the dinner was over, I had a firm decision not to get married.”

Military service, brilliant career. He had the most excellent record in his service, and the rank of general was not far off for him. A direct opportunity to acquire all worldly goods. And... giving up everything. Colleagues and acquaintances could not understand: what kind of “flaw” was in the slender, handsome colonel, whose whole appearance so breathed some amazing inner nobility? He does not get married, he avoids balls and dinner parties, as well as other social entertainments. I used to go to the theater, but then I quit. Sometimes they even said behind Pavel Ivanovich’s back: “He’s crazy, what a man he was!..”

But it was Saint Barsanuphius who brought me out of the theater!

One day Pavel Ivanovich went to the opera house at the invitation of his military superiors. In the midst of an entertaining performance, he suddenly felt an inexpressible melancholy. He later recalled: “In my heart, it was as if someone was saying: “You came to the theater and are sitting here, but if you die now, what then? The Lord said: “What I find you in, that’s what I judge... With what and how will your soul appear to God if you die now?”

And he left the theater and never went there again. Years passed, and Pavel Ivanovich wanted to know what the date was then, whose memory it was. He inquired and learned that there was a commemoration of Saints Gurias and Barsanuphius, the Kazan wonderworkers. And Pavel Ivanovich realized: “Lord, it was Saint Barsanuphius who brought me out of the theater! What a deep meaning in the events of our life, how it is arranged - as if according to some special mysterious plan.”

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be

There were also other signs. Pavel Ivanovich once went to the Kazan monastery for confession and found out by chance that the abbot of the monastery was called Abbot Barsanuphius. When Pavel Ivanovich noticed that this name was difficult to hear, they answered him: “Why is it difficult? It’s familiar to us... After all, in our monastery rest the relics of St. Barsanuphius and Archbishop Guria...” From that day on, Pavel Ivanovich began to often pray at the relics of the Kazan Wonderworker, asking him for protection for himself: “St. Father Barsanuphius, pray to God for me! » While visiting this monastery, he involuntarily drew attention to its poverty and began to help: he bought a lamp, a case for a large icon, something else... “And he fell in love with everything in this monastery! Truly, where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

How many good seeds were thrown!

Now his colleagues no longer invited Pavel Ivanovich to parties or to the theater. But he made little friends. Pavel Ivanovich's orderly, Alexander, a kind-hearted man, helped him find poor children who lived in huts and basements. Subsequently, the Elder said: “I really loved organizing children’s feasts. These feasts brought me and the children joy equally... And I also told them about something useful for the soul, from the lives of saints, or generally about something spiritual. Everyone listens with pleasure and attention. Sometimes, for greater edification, I invited one of the monks or hieromonks with me and let him speak, which made an even greater impression... In front of us is a clearing, behind it is a river, and beyond the river is Kazan with its wonderful arrangement of houses, gardens and churches ... And it was good for me then - how much joy - and pure joy - I experienced then and how many good seeds were thrown then into these childish, receptive souls!”

Meeting with Father John of Kronstadt

In Moscow, Pavel Ivanovich met with the holy and righteous Father John of Kronstadt. He remembered this fateful meeting for the rest of his life; later he would write: “When I was still an officer, I had to go to Moscow as part of my service. And then at the station I find out that Father John is serving mass in the church of one of the buildings. I immediately went there. When I entered the church, mass was already ending. I went to the altar. At this time, Father John transferred the Holy Gifts from the throne to the altar. Having placed the Cup, he suddenly comes up to me, kisses my hand, and, without saying anything, goes back to the throne. All those present looked at each other and said afterwards that this meant some event in my life, and decided that I would be a priest... And now you see how inscrutable the fate of God is: I am not only a priest, but also a monk.”

So who will tell me which monastery to enter?

Finally, Pavel Ivanovich became convinced of the idea of going to a monastery, but which one, where - there was complete uncertainty. During the period of these thoughts, Pavel Ivanovich fell into the hands of a spiritual magazine, and in it there was an article about Optina Pustyn and reverend elder Ambrose. “So who will tell me which monastery to enter,” thought the young military man and took a leave of absence.

When he was just approaching the Optina monastery, one blessed woman who was in Elder Ambrose’s “hut” unexpectedly joyfully said: “Pavel Ivanovich has arrived.”

“That’s glory to God,” the Monk Ambrose calmly responded... Both of them knew in spirit that the future elder had arrived. When Pavel Ivanovich came to the Elder’s cell, he found there, in addition to Father Ambrose, also Father Anatoly (Zertsalov). Both of them met him, as he recalled, “very joyfully,” and the ailing Father Ambrose even stood up, showing special honor to the newcomer.

Here, in the “hut”, Pavel Ivanovich heard the words of the monk that struck him: “The trial must continue for two more years, and then come to me, I will accept you.” He was also given the obedience to donate some sums from his rather high salary as a colonel to certain churches.

From a brilliant military man, he became an old man overnight

In 1881, Pavel fell ill with pneumonia. When, at the request of the patient, the orderly began to read the Gospel, a miraculous vision followed, during which the patient’s spiritual insight occurred. He saw the heavens open, and shuddered all over, with great fear and light. His whole life flashed instantly before him. Pavel Ivanovich was deeply imbued with the consciousness of repentance throughout his life, and heard a voice from above commanding him to go to Optina Pustyn. His spiritual vision opened. According to Elder Nektarios, “from a brilliant military man, in one night, by the will of God, he became an old man.”

To the surprise of everyone, the patient began to recover quickly, and upon recovery he went to Optina. The Monk Ambrose told him to finish all his business in three months, with the understanding that if he did not arrive on time, he would die.

Overcame all obstacles

And this is where the obstacles began. He went to St. Petersburg for his resignation, but they offered him a more brilliant position and delayed his resignation. His comrades laugh at him, payment of money is delayed, he cannot complete his business, looks for money on loan and does not find it. But Elder Barnabas from the Gethsemane monastery helps him out, shows him where to get money, and also urges him to fulfill God’s command. People resist his departure from the world, they even find him a bride. Only his stepmother, who replaced his own mother, rejoiced and blessed him for his monastic feat.

With God's help, Colonel Plikhankov overcame all obstacles and appeared in Optina Pustyn on the last day of his three-month sentence. Elder Ambrose lay in a coffin in the church, and Pavel Ivanovich clung to his coffin.

Novice's Tribulation

On February 10, 1892, Pavel Ivanovich was enrolled in the brotherhood of St. John the Baptist Skete and dressed in a cassock. Every evening for three years he went to talk to the elders: first to the Monk Anatoly, and then to the Monk Joseph, the successors of Elder Ambrose. The new novice did not allow himself any preparatory stages and immediately began an ascetic lifestyle. Seeing the rapid spiritual growth of the monk, the enemy of the human race began to do everything possible to drive him into despair and expel him from the monastery. He turned some of his brothers against him. The novice Pavel did not give in, he behaved humbly, however, it cost him a lot.

Father Barsanuphius’s spiritual child, Father Nikon, later wrote in his diary: “Now Father told me about how he endured sorrows when he was a novice. Father endured sorrows, reasoning like this: “I must be worthy of all these sorrows. This means that they are all needed to wash away pride and other passions from me.” Father endured sorrows, without telling anyone about them, without complaining, trying not to become embittered at the offenders. Not only does one have to endure insults, one must also take care not to become embittered towards the one who inflicted the insult. “Sometimes,” Father said another time, “it became necessary to leave the Skete, but I decided it was better to die than to leave. I had firm hope in God and His Most Pure Mother. I used to stand in front of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, pray, and it would feel easier for me.”

All monastic degrees

The Monk Anatoly gave the novice the obedience to be the cell attendant of Hieromonk Nektarios, the last conciliarly elected elder of Optina at that time. Near Father Nektary, his cell attendant passed through all the monastic degrees within ten years: a year later, on the twenty-sixth of March 1893, during Great Lent, the novice Pavel was tonsured into the ryassophore; in December 1900, due to illness, he was tonsured into the mantle with the name Barsanuphius, on the twenty-ninth of December 1902 ordained a hierodeacon, and on January 1, 1903, he was ordained a hieromonk.

In 1903, the Monk Barsanuphius was appointed assistant to the elder and at the same time confessor of the Shamordino women's hermitage and remained so until the outbreak of the war with Japan.

Barsanuphius of Optina

(Pavel Ivanovich Plikhankov, July 5, 1845, Samara - April 1, 1913, Kolomna, Moscow province).

« Truly, we are going through a terrible time: we are running from Christ and are ashamed of Him. But the Savior said: Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels (Mark 8:38)...Meanwhile, especially rich people are ashamed to admit that they are Christians.”

“And not so long ago, when I was six years old, they were not ashamed of Christ. In the homes of the rich, even when they sat down at large tables, they first read a prayer and were baptized, but 60 years passed - and everything changed. Due to the indifference of educated and often simple people to the Church and its rituals, many are tempted... and ultimately perish.”

“In the Church we no longer have living prophets, but we do have signs. They are given to us for the knowledge of times. They are clearly visible to people who have a spiritual mind. But this is not recognized in the world...

“We will live to see a terrible time, but the grace of God will cover us...”

Everyone is going against Russia, that is, against the Church of Christ, for the Russian people are God-bearers, the true faith of Christ is preserved in them.”

“The eldership is now burning out... There is no longer an eldership everywhere, in Optina our little cinders are burning out. The enemy rebels against nothing more than the care of the elderly: it destroys all his strength.

Everywhere he tried to extinguish it and extinguished it. There are monks who live regularly, but they know nothing about the revelation of thoughts, about eldership. Therefore, without eldership, in many monasteries there was only one form of monastic life, one appearance. Nowadays, rarely does anyone say the Jesus Prayer, and what is monasticism without the Jesus Prayer?”

“We think too abstractly about the torments of hell, as a result of which we forget about them. The world has completely forgotten about them. The devil inspired us all that neither he (i.e. the devil) nor the torments of hell exist.”

“I hear complaints about what we are going through now hard times that now complete freedom has been given to all heretical and godless teachings, that the Church is being attacked from all sides by enemies and it becomes fearful for it, that these muddy waves of unbelief and heresies will overcome it.

I always answer: “Don't worry! Don't be afraid for the Church! She will not perish: the gates of hell will not prevail against her until the Last Judgment. Don’t be afraid for her, but you need to be afraid for yourself, and it’s true that our time is very difficult. From what? Yes, because now it is especially easy to fall away from Christ, and then it will be destruction.”

“Something dark, terrible is coming into the world... A person remains, as it were, defenseless, he is so possessed by this evil force, and he does not realize what he is doing... Suicide is even suggested...”

He warned about the fading of faith among the Russian people:« We have a lot of thieves. Not those who pick pockets or rob houses, no, these thieves are meaner and more dangerous. They come to you in a suit, say loud phrases, and as a result they steal the most precious thing - your faith. When a person’s faith is stolen, he asks his teachers: “How can we live now?” “Live according to your own understanding,” they answer.

Reason, as we know, without faith, is not always a good adviser, and a person begins to follow the desires of his flesh and falls lower and lower. Children, take care of the holy faith, this is an invaluable treasure, with it you will enter the Kingdom: after all, we do not work for little things, but to conquer the Kingdom, and what a Heavenly one at that! »

« There was a rich man who suddenly became poor, it’s hard, but it’s fixable. He was healthy, he became sick, and this can be corrected - for Christ is with the poor and with the sick. If you lose faith, it will be a great misfortune. It is so terrible that a person has no support... ».

“At present, not only among the laity, but also among the young clergy, the following conviction is beginning to spread: as if eternal torment is incompatible with the infinite mercy of God, therefore, torment is not eternal. This misconception stems from a lack of understanding of the matter.”

“In the city of Kostroma there once lived a blessed man who often asked a pious merchant: “Well, are the dead people still alive?” Some laughed at his words, not understanding their meaning, but the spiritual man understood that by the dead, the blessed one meant passions that die out in pious people, but are still alive, and one must always be on guard.

People who struggle with passions, like all of us, are sometimes overcome by them, sometimes conquered by them. Those who fight will be saved, the Lord will not despise their labors and efforts and will send them a Christian death. Carnal people, who do not think at all about the salvation of their souls, will perish, unless, of course, they bring repentance before death.”

“They don’t think about how to try so that children gain Christ. They say that money can buy everything. Only Christ cannot be bought for any treasure in the world. And without Christ there is no life, no salvation. The students were surprised how I managed to say everything for the benefit. I answered them that I did not come up with what to say myself, but said what the Lord told me.”

“They write to me: “I hoped to find complete peace of mind in the monastery, I thought that there I would be imbued with a spirit of prayer, but what happens in reality? Life in the monastery is the same gray as in the world: envy, intrigue, gossip... No, I can’t stand this, what should I do now?”

“The death of unbelievers and blasphemers is terrible, and now there are so many of them! The writer Spencer characterizes many people this way: “People are pieces of wood, but their heart is a ruble.” What a profit from a piece of wood and from a ruble, and this expression very aptly characterizes people who are immersed in petty earthly interests and do not think at all about other, higher ideals. And indeed, the Lord is not mocked (Gal.6:7), and the law of retribution remains in full force. Sinners are punished not only in the future, but also in this life.”

He spoke about the spread of occult hypnosis in his time:« The priest also spoke about the terrible power of hypnotism. Truly this is a terrible force. Usually this power is used by sorcerers, sorcerers and other evil people to commit evil. For example, they order a person to kill himself, and he kills. Almost the only, if not the only, force against him is the Jesus Prayer » .

Not done Is this house a den of thieves in your eyes, over which named

My name? Behold, I have seen it, says the Lord» (Jer.7:4-11)

He wrote about how the enemy of the human soul seduced pre-revolutionary Russian society:« Terrible phenomena sometimes happen in the cells of monks. We live in separate cells, but there must be at least two people in a separate room. This is so that in case of any demonic obsessions you can knock on your neighbor’s cell and ask for help. We had an outbuilding where one monk lived, but now they don’t allow one to live there.

Once there was such a case. After evening rule The monk saw that some man, already of advanced years, was sitting in his cell and said to him: “Why are you here only smoking the sky! Return to your previous activities, you will bring much more benefit there and, receiving a good salary, you will live for your own pleasure.”

“But how to leave here? The doors of the monastery are well locked." "Don't worry about it, just wish it, and I will instantly transport you. There are already three at the gate." "But who are you? Right, demon? Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me!” exclaimed the monk who came to his senses, and evil spirit disappeared... Only the devil can insult like that - so viciously, so impudently, so brazenly...

For example, today he may have insulted me so much and said such nasty things that I barely got up. He said it, of course, in a dream, in reality, thank God, he doesn’t appear to me, and you know, he says everything with a smile. So desperate villains, as they say, usually speak with a smile. So we fall under his power and do what pleases him: we offend others, allow laughter, idle talk, etc. And of course, he is to blame for everything...” .

“The pride in which they (demons) stand before God, we cannot even imagine. We cannot understand with what hatred they treat God... “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1 Pet. 5:5). Why is it not said that God opposes fornicators, or the envious, or anyone else, but it is said: specifically the proud? Because this is a demonic quality. The proud one becomes, as it were, akin to a demon... Behind pride, as if in its footsteps, fornication always follows ».

“The elder, when asked why demons bother us so much, answered: “Because we have rejected our weapons: self-reproach, humility, poverty and patience.”

“The monastic hieromonk and confessor Fr. Illary told me that Fr. Macarius, the Elder of Optina, once said under Archimandrite Moses that last times we will not see, but our descendants will see, as if hinting at the imminence of the end of the world.”

“The spirit of this age reigns in the world. Vice is not restrained there. For example, what a disgrace it is in Moscow, especially on holidays. It’s scary for a chaste girl to walk through the streets: the windows display such nasty paintings and statues that, looking at them, you feel how your sense of modesty and chastity is offended” (1910).

“Now it is especially easy to fall away from Christ and fall under the power of dark power.”

“In our monastery lives schemamonk Father Boris, an old man of about eighty, of good life, loved and respected by everyone. He recently told me that at night many demons in the form of wanderers came to the doors of his kalia and knocked on him. He performs the obedience of the goalkeeper in the monastery, and his cell has a window overlooking the forest surrounding the monastery, and the door opens into the courtyard of the monastery. Since the gates are locked at night, therefore, no outsider can enter the monastery at night.

The night before last, the same Father Boris said, the demons terribly approached him and knocked on the gate, asking him to open it. Both times Father Boris drove away the demons with the Jesus Prayer.

This same Father Boris had previously lived for about three years in one of the corner towers of the monastery. At this time, demons bothered him a lot. For example, at night they will start dancing over the ceiling of his kalia, singing bad songs, playing musical instruments, sometimes appeared in the form big rats. Father Boris is silent about other insurances, he just waves his hand. He says that if you walk past this tower at night, you can hear the screaming and howling of demons.”

“The head of our monastery, Father Anatoly, also personally conveyed to me the following incident. In the house of his friend, who now serves as the manager of the treasury chamber in one of the provinces of the Kingdom of Poland, a demon appeared. His appearance was marked by knocking at night, the movement of furniture in the rooms, and most importantly, by the horror that attacked everyone living in the house, especially at night. Children saw him as a small boy, dressed in a red jacket and performing various somersaults and jumps.

This acquaintance told one city archpriest, an academician, about everything that was happening in his house. The highly learned father archpriest, in response to this, only laughed at the simplicity and gullibility of his friend, but, however, promised to come in and personally see the demonic tricks. Upon his arrival, during evening tea, suddenly he, and everyone else, sitting... saw that a glass of vodka was walking through the air and stood opposite him on the table.

Behind her came another, then a third, so that many glasses filled with vodka, liqueurs, and wines appeared in the same way before the archpriest’s father, who from amazement and horror could not come to his senses, seeing what was happening before his eyes. At the same time, he was also quite embarrassed by the fact that he really liked to drink. The scientist inevitably believed in the existence of demons.”

“The monastery monk Father Adrian told me the following incident. He was about seven years old. One day he went to visit relatives who lived in the same village. In these relatives’ house it was, as they say in general about houses like this, “restless.” While playing in the room, the children suddenly saw some creature peeking out from under the bed. It was in the middle of the day, although there were no adults in the room.

The eldest girl, the daughter of the owner, was no more than twelve years old. The children rushed to run from the room, and he was with them; the girl ran last, and he ran ahead of her. When he ran out into the hallway and looked back, he saw that some living creature, similar to a ball and covered with hair, ran out from under the bed. At that time the girl wanted to close the door, but the creature rested its forehead on the door and did not allow it to be closed, so the door remained open a quarter, at which time he managed to see the invisible creature.

At the cry of the girl and other children, adults came running, but at the very moment when they approached the girl, who was leaning against the door from the hallway, the creature instantly disappeared, and they did not see it. The height of the unknown creature was about an arshin.”

“The head of our monastery, Father Anatoly, told me: “In our monastery, a certain Zhadkevich, originally from the nobility, lived as a novice. The demon did not give him peace, confusing him with the thought that at death he would immediately grab his soul and drag him to hell. The devil and insurance brought it upon him.

So, when Zhadkevich was one day walking through the monastery, he saw a cook suddenly run out of the meal with a broom with burning coals on it, and rushed to strike him with the broom. In horror, Zhadkevich rushed to run away from him, but the cook suddenly disappeared. It turned out that it was not the cook, but a demon who took his image.”

"Reverend JacobWith his life as an equal to the angels, he achieved such holiness that he performed great miracles: he healed the sick, cleansed lepers, cast out demons, raised the dead. But then one day temptation came upon him. At night a woman knocked on his cell, asking for shelter, as she had lost her way. The monk took pity on her and, fearing that wild animals would tear her to pieces, allowed her to spend the night with him.

After a meager meal, the saint went into his inner cell, but an evil thought began to confuse him; he entered again and, seeing the woman naked, fell into sin with her against her will. When the sin was committed, the devil began to inspire Jacob to kill the woman so that his sin would not be made public and the entire monasticism would not be reproached. Listening to these evil suggestions, he committed another mortal sin - murder.”

“I remember a terrible incident that happened at one ball, back when I was in the world. In one rich aristocratic house there was a masquerade ball (I wasn’t there, but my comrades told me about it). There was one wonderful beauty at this ball. The only daughter of rich parents, she was well educated, brought up (of course, only in a secular way), why not give her pleasure?

Her parents spared nothing for her. Her costume depicted a pagan goddess, cost hundreds of rubles, and much was said about this costume. The ball opened, as always, with a polka dance, followed by other dances, and finally a French quadrille. During the quadrille, the beauty suddenly fell in her death throes. She tore off her mask, her face turned black and looked terrible. The jaws were set, the eyes expressed horror with a plea for help that no one could give her. And so she died in the middle of the ball...

She appeared before the court of God, and the Lord said: “What I find you in, I judge you in.” So the Lord found her among the games, in the clothes of the goddess of debauchery, and her soul went into the dark confines of hell. This is where serving the world ends!”

“Usually the period of time from Christmas to Epiphany, but often this concept is combined with the concept of sinful pleasures, of which there are so many at this time.

The enemy mocks Christians, and the time in which the mystery of our salvation was accomplished turns into a rampant of all kinds of vices. That’s why I called it a feat that you left all worldly pleasures: theaters, balls, masquerades - and came to our quiet abode to spend these days in prayer, spiritual conversation and moving away from the bustle of the world.”

“Why does it happen that someone thinks that he is lower than every creature, but his action does not correspond to this thought? “If you do not see actions that correspond to a humiliated opinion of yourself, then this latter is not true, but the seduction of demons.”

He said a year before his death:“The end comes ... (to faith) in Russia, according to the prophecies of the monk Abel and Saint Seraphim of Sarov. Dark clouds are gathering over Russia...

There are monks who live regularly, but they know nothing about the revelation of thoughts, about eldership, for the elder stands much higher than the monk and many bishops. Therefore, without eldership in many monasteries, only the form of monastic life, one appearance remained. When the last elder disappears, we can say that Orthodoxy in Rus' has come to an end. ThirdRome will fall, and then seven bowls will be poured on the Earth by the great heavenly Judge.”

Barsanuphius of Optina did not live to see 1917 and did not know how prophetically his predictions about God’s punishment of Russian Sodom had come true. He spoke about this many times to his disciple, the future hieromonk Elder Nikon (Belyaev):“We will leave, and you will be participants and contemporaries of all these horrors...

You will live to see terrible times. Mark my words, you will see “the day of cruelty.”

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