John Peasant now. John Krestyankin. Who was he, years of life

Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) February 5th, 2016

« Blessing of the Lord over Russia, over our holy Orthodox Church,
over the people of God and over us ». (c) Archimandrite John

Among famous priestsXX century Father John Krestyankin occupies a special place. He left such a bright mark on himself that for thousands of people in Russia, even now that he is not on earth, one memory of this amazingly clear person, one glance at his photograph, a short excerpt from his sermon or letter, is enough to find the strength to move on. He was characterized by that special kindness and special optimism in life, which gives rise to the experienced suffering for the confession of faith, for devotion to the Church and closeness to Christ.

Ten years ago Archimandrite John Krestyankin passed away to the Lord...

Childhood and youth

Father John said that he was the eighth last child in the family of the Oryol philistines Mikhail Dmitrievich and Elisaveta Ilarionovna Krestyankin. Born on March 29 (April 11, New Style), 1910, then this day fell on Monday of the fifth week of Great Lent. Vanya was baptized in the church of the Holy Prophet of God Elijah, which is popularly called the Nikolo-Peskovskaya Church. Baptism took place on March 31 (April 13 according to the new style). That year it was the Day of the Standing of Mary of Egypt. The baby was baptized by priest Nikolai Azbukin. The godmother was Paraskeva Ilarionovna Ovchinnikova, mother's sister, the godfather was the older brother, Alexander Mikhailovich Krestyankin.

From the father's stories, it became clear that love for all living things manifested itself in him from early childhood. He wept over a dead chicken, arranging a “Christian burial” for him, fed blind mice, protecting their lives from the attempts of adult households. " Lisa, why are you looking at him, pull him out and that's it. Mice here to breed in the house! ' the uncle was angry. But the mother protected not so much the mice as her son from the harsh cruel sobriety of life, leaving his heart with sprouts of pity and love for everything weak and offended.

The future elder of childhood served in the temple, was a novice of the famous Archbishop of Oryol Seraphim (Ostroumov) (the future holy martyr, canonized in 2001). Already at the age of six he was a sacristan, then he performed the duties of a subdeacon. At the age of twelve he expressed his desire to be a monk for the first time. In the biography of the elder, this story is described as follows:

Bishop Nikolai (Nikolsky) of Yelets said goodbye to the pilgrims, leaving for a new place of service. The parting was drawing to a close, and subdeacon John also wanted to receive a parting word from the bishop for life. He stood next to him and dared to touch his hand to draw attention to himself. Vladyka leaned over to the boy (he was of small stature) with the question: “What can I bless you for?” And Vanya said in excitement: "I want to be a monk." Putting his hand on the boy's head, the Bishop paused, peering into his future. And he said seriously: “First you finish school, work, then you take the rank and serve, and in due time you will certainly be a monk.” Everything in life is determined. The blessing of Bishop Nikolai (Nikolsky), confessor and martyr, outlined the life of Ivan Krestyankin in its entirety.

Later, this blessing was confirmed by the Orel Bishop Seraphim (Ostroumov).

In 1923, a meeting took place in Vanya's life, which became a special milestone in his life. The headman of the Ilyinsky church, Pyotr Semenovich Antoshin, invited Vanya to go to Moscow. Moscow with its shrines made a very deep impression on the thirteen-year-old boy. But most of all, I was inspired by the meeting in the Donskoy Monastery with His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon and the blessing received from him. The grace of the patriarchal dignity, the grace of confession was vividly felt by the soul. Batiushka, already in his old age, said that he still feels the hand of the holy Patriarch on his head.

Only in 1929 did Vanya finish school, which did not leave any vivid impressions. For, as the priest recalled, at that time he was completely absorbed in church life and understanding what came into conflict with it.

After graduating from school, having studied accounting courses, he set to work, still remaining a zealous pilgrimage and church man. But it didn't take long to work. The fever of general contrition affected both the big and the small. Frequent rush jobs at work knocked down all the orders of life, there was almost no opportunity to attend worship services. And the young man, who was not essentially a rebel, suddenly objected: I am not the cause of your backwardness, nor am I a victim of its elimination. ».
The next morning, an order for his dismissal was posted.

All attempts to get a job in his hometown were unsuccessful. Ivan Krestyankin was among the unreliable. But even this was not an accident, even the mistakes of a person the Lord turns for good, if you trust in His Providence.

The question arose, what to do next? And Ivan remembered the first visit to Moscow by a thirteen-year-old boy, its shrines, an unforgettable meeting with the Patriarch. Increasingly at home, Vanya started talking about Moscow. Mom, not daring to answer her son's question herself, sent him to Mother Vera (Loginova) to find out the will of God from the lips of the blessed old woman. Matushka blessed Ivan to live in Moscow, and appointed a meeting with her in the future on Pskov land. And her prophetic words about the stay of Father John at the caves created by God came true more than forty years later. The memory of his heart kept the image of the old woman, and prayer for her, and prayer for her, accompanied him all his life.

Moscow priest

In Moscow, Ivan got a job as a chief accountant at a small enterprise. The team was mostly female, and very soon the young man began his first unspoken experiences as a confessor. Employees were imbued with Ivan Mikhailovich, as they called him, with such confidence that they confided to him their family secrets, their experiences. Sometimes, being too frank, they remembered that before them was a young man. They asked for forgiveness, but everything was repeated again and again.

Batiushka recalled that at that time he rarely visited his native Oryol. In 1936, during his vacation, his mother fell seriously ill. Vacation ended, and recovery did not come. I had to make a choice between the need to leave and the desire to stay with my mother. Ivan, as always, went to old mother Vera (Loginova), and she, hiding her spiritual talents, sent him to the pharmacist Ananiev: “ Dr. Ananiev, he, he will tell you everything ". Ananiev, in the same plaid pants and with a bicycle on the move, prescribed some kind of potion, saying: “ Tomorrow at twelve forty you will come to me and tell me everything ". The doctor, without knowing it, uttered prophetic words through the prayers of Mother Vera. The next day, exactly at twelve forty minutes, Mommy died. After seeing his mother on her last journey, Ivan returned to Moscow.

The church life of the capital fascinated the young man. Moscow shrines, patronal feasts and feasts in honor of venerated icons, blessed services of clergy, future new martyrs and confessors - all this spiritualized life, called to action. Unanimous like-minded friends appeared, united by the desire to serve God.

In 1939, everything changed in the most unexpected way. One day, returning home, Ivan could not knock on the door and, climbing from the street to the window, saw the hostess lying on the floor. The doctor who arrived, pitying the young man, said to him: Pray, my dear, that she won't lie down, she's paralyzed ».

The Lord was merciful: three days later Ivan closed Anastasia Vasilievna's eyes. Having buried her in a Christian way and returning from the cemetery, he saw that his door was lined with knapsacks. Old women from all over the house brought their funeral bundles to him and pursued him for a long time with requests and wills to bury them in the same way as Anastasia Vasilievna.

The result of his disenfranchised life in Bolshoy Kozikhinsky Lane was that the housing office itself petitioned for the registration of Ivan Mikhailovich Krestyankin in the vacated room. So he became a Muscovite.

When the War began, Ivan was not taken to the front: an eye disease left him in the rear. He continued to work in Moscow. On July 20, 1944, Ivan Mikhailovich Krestyankin was released from civil service and became a psalm reader in the Moscow Church of the Nativity of Christ in Izmailovo.

Six months later, a dispatch arrived: Metropolitan Nikolai called Ivan to him. Vladyka met him with the words: What did you do there? "Ivan was taken aback, thoughts rushed in his head:" Complained? He could not remember his guilt and was embarrassedly silent. " I ask you, what did you do there? "- the bishop repeated his question. Stuttering, Ivan said: I don't know, I didn't do anything ". And then Metropolitan Nicholas said that for the first time in his entire hierarchical service, the rector of the church came to him with a request to ordain a psalmist, who had not even served a year in the church. And he conveyed the words of the father of the archpriest: “ Vladyka, ordain him, let him squeak ».

On January 14, 1945, on the day of memory of Basil the Great, in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ at the Vagankovsky cemetery, Metropolitan Nikolai ordained Ivan Krestyankin as a deacon. The first day of Father John's independent diaconal service fell on the feast of St. Seraphim of Sarov, and the Gospel of Luke, which the young deacon read, fell on the heart as a formidable warning for the rest of his life: I send you like lambs among wolves...
In October 1945, John externally passed the exams for the course of the theological seminary, and on October 25, 1945, Patriarch Alexy I ordained him to the priesthood. The young father, Father John, remained to serve in the parish in Izmailovo, where he had already been recognized.

The labor day of the young priest was filled to the limit. After the service, he went without a hitch and meekly to the services of the parishioners, then it was still possible. Once he lingered in the temple, and when he came to the call - to give communion to the sick, it turned out that she did not wait for him, she died. Instead of receiving Communion, he celebrated the first funeral litia over her. The father was upset. The old woman's daughter comforted him, because they communed her daily. Returning from the deceased, Father John went deep into reflections about everything that had happened: is it not his own fault that he did not have time to find her alive?

He was brought out of deep thought by a woman standing at the gate of her house. She was dressed hastily, her eyes filled with tears. The priest, dressed in an ordinary coat, under which a cassock was tucked up, looked like a layman. He approached the woman with lively participation: " What's happened? And she, stricken with grief, spoke frankly about her young dying son. The main sadness of the mother was that he never went to confession and did not receive communion. Batiushka immediately expressed his readiness to enter this house of sorrow. Without undressing, so as not to reveal his dignity, he sat down by the bedside of the sick man and, having got to know him, started a friendly conversation, seemingly not related to the young man personally. He spoke about the joy of faith, about the heaviness of an unrepentant soul. Neither the priest nor the patient kept track of time. They already talked like close people. And from somewhere the young man took strength, he began to ask questions, he began to talk about himself, about his mistakes, delusions, about his sins. It was already dark outside, and only the lamp near the icon illuminated the heart-to-heart conversation of two young people. We agreed to the point that the patient was spiritualized by the desire to take communion. Behind the partition, light sobs of the mother were heard, but these were already tears of consolation. Father John opened his coat, threw it on a chair and appeared before the ailing not just an interlocutor, but a priest in a stole, with the Holy Gifts on his chest. There was no need to repeat the confession, it poured out all in the conversation. After reading the permissive prayer, Father John gave communion to the sick man.

So that was the Providence of God! Not to an old woman, but to a young man, the Lord called him with the Holy Gifts! And it was the answer to mother's tears and pleas. And the next day, in the morning, in the church, the mother of yesterday’s patient came up to Father John and called the priest to the coffin of her son. Wonderful are Your works, Lord!

In 1946, John was a sacristan in the revived Trinity-Sergius Lavra, but six months later he continued his service in the Izmailovo church. At the same time he studied at the correspondence sector of the Moscow Theological Academy, wrote a candidate's thesis on the topic: “ Venerable Seraphim of Sarov the miracle worker and his significance for the Russian religious and moral life of that time". However, shortly before the defense, in April 1950, he was arrested.

Conclusion

At the very first interrogation conducted by the young investigator Ivan Mikhailovich Zhulidov, he introduced Ivan Mikhailovich Krestyankin to a solid case collected against him and blatant about his dissent. A complete surprise for Fr. John were cuts from his conversations with an old nun, whom he lovingly took care of both spiritually and financially. He went to her, drawing for himself from her rich spiritual experience for himself the living water of the life lived in Christ. They did not specifically talk about politics, no, but they confidentially and frankly touched on everything that the soul lived during this period. Together they rejoiced, mourned, perplexed. Both of them already knew the history of the Orthodox Church in its post-revolutionary period and, observing its current day, made predictions for the future. But it turned out that for some time now mother was taken care of by more than one Father John. From time to time, either gas workers, or electricians, or some agents came to her, before whom she could not close the door. Unaware of the true purpose of their visits, she received them kindly for their concern for her old age. This is where the tapes with the recording of the old woman's conversations with Father John came from.

Denunciations, provocations, slander, which constituted the case, should, in the opinion of the investigator, force the simple-hearted priest to change his view of his environment and people. And ideological opponents opposed each other. The assertiveness and rigidity of the investigator Ivan Mikhailovich Zhulidov broke against the silent benevolence of Father John. And all that happened could not darken the loving and trusting heart of God. When a priest was invited to the confrontation, who was carrying out special assignments for the authorities, the priest with sincere joy rushed to kiss his brother. The same one, who agreed to work for two masters, could not stand the painful reproach of conscience, slipped out of the arms of Father John and, losing consciousness, fell at his feet.

And during the investigation, the priest received a life program for himself for the entire term of imprisonment. It was short but exhaustive: Do not trust, do not fear, do not ask ».

For four months he was in pre-trial detention at Lubyanka and in Lefortovo prison, from August he was kept in Butyrka prison, in a cell with criminals. On October 8, 1950, he was sentenced under article 58-10 of the Criminal Code (“anti-Soviet agitation”) to seven years in prison with a sentence in a strict regime camp. He was sent to the Arkhangelsk region, to Kargopollag for the Chernaya Rechka junction.

In the memory of the priest, the years of imprisonment almost always resurfaced in connection with conversations and questions about prayer. " Now what a prayer he said with a touch of bitterness, - Prayer is best taught by a harsh life. Here in the conclusion I had a true prayer, and this is because every day was on the verge of death. Prayer was that insurmountable barrier beyond which the abominations of external life did not penetrate. To repeat now, in the days of prosperity, such a prayer is impossible. Although the experience of prayer and living faith acquired there is preserved for life ».

On the Black River, the priest had to endure another serious temptation - the temptation to alleviate his own lot, the temptation of freedom. In the harsh winter time, a call was announced in the camp to work on a timber rafting. Those who wished were promised a good reward: to halve the term of imprisonment. In thought, the father began to pray: Desirable freedom! But is it like God? Is it his mercy or the enemy's temptation? And the Lord made His servant wise. Father John decided not to interfere with his desire in the Providence of God. He refused the offer. And time was not slow to confirm the correctness of this decision. Everyone who went to this job did not have to reduce the term of imprisonment: they all had the end of their lives.

In the spring of 1953, for health reasons and without his request, he was transferred to an invalid separate camp unit near Kuibyshev - Gavrilov Polyana, where he worked by profession as an accountant. On February 15, 1955, he was released ahead of schedule.

Ten years on the Ryazan land...

In 1957, Father John Krestyankin was brought to the Ryazan land. Initially, he was the second priest in the Trinity Church in the village of Troitsa-Pelenitsa.
In December 1959, Father John became the second priest of the Church of Cosmas and Damian in the village of Letovo. Father John Smirnov (future Bishop Gleb) was the rector. Among the people they were called Ivan-big and Ivan-little. Batiushka spent two and a half years in this parish.

In Letov, Fr. John took special care of the believers in those neighborhoods where the churches had been destroyed. On the patronal feast of the no longer existing house of God, the priest went to that village, to those pilgrims who were deprived of the joy of church services. In every village where a temple once stood, Father John had his own “ commissioners for ecclesiastical affairs ". Basically, these were old women who prepared their hut for the arrival of the priest, and the village grannies - for the acceptance of the Sacraments, for the service.

How blessed were these holidays, these meetings with God's people. Senile, wrinkled faces, a meager, hard life. But from under white handkerchiefs, the clear eyes of mothers and sisters looked at the world, who had not lost their living faith and living prayer to God, and often it was the Jesus Prayer.

By the arrival of the priest in the hut " authorized” worshipers gathered. Large basins of sand were completely covered with burning wax candles, almost everyone kept their apiaries, the priest brought incense. The service began with a prayer service to the patron of the temple that once existed here. All those present sang with senile, trembling voices, but with great enthusiasm. After the prayer service, they performed Confession, Unction and Communion, and completed the prayer with a memorial service - so everything was for the urgent need of God's people. And what were the confessions! The old women washed their childish misdeeds and pranks with tears.

1961 was a year of intense confrontation for the Church. Local commissioners for religious affairs were zealous in fulfilling the directives given from above. And the enemy of the human race, who began a new pogrom of Christianity through those in power, did not lag behind the rulers, inspiring outrages against the Church and the faithful. Rural youth - members of the Komsomol - were involved in the fight against the priest and looking after him. "Activists" with reckless vehemence began to vigorously annoy the parish life. Noisy festivities were now taking place near the church during services, and billiard balls were flying over the heads of the worshipers with the sound of broken glass. Their own grandmothers undertook to pacify the grandchildren. The noise stopped, but the priests began to receive threatening letters, ugly in form and content.

On the night of January 1, 1961, shadows in masks and robes entered the priestly house, standing on the outskirts, not far from the church. After bullying with a demand to give the keys to the church and money, and having received the answer that he did not have either, the furious visitors fastened his hands to his legs behind his back, stuffed a cape into his mouth and staged a search-pogrom, accompanied by obscene abuse and beatings of the bound . When the fruitless search ended, the verdict was pronounced - to kill the witness. Mocking the priest's faith, they threw him bound in front of the icons " begging for paradise ". Lying on his side, the priest raised his eyes to the image of John the Theologian, standing in the center, and forgot himself in prayer. How much he prayed, he did not remember, and when dawn broke, he heard movement in the room. Alexey crouched down beside him, thinking that the priest was dead, but, making sure that he was alive, with trembling hands began to unwind the wire that had stuck into the body. Not immediately coming to his senses, he freed the father's mouth from the rag. Together they hastily put the devastated room in order, thanking the Lord: Punishing the punishment of the Lord, I will not betray death .

And in the morning the father served. And everyone in the church noted with surprise the unusual beginning of the service. Batiushka began the service with a thanksgiving service and commemorated his nightly visitors, whose names " You, Lord, weigh yourself ". And almost no one understood that he was praying for the robbers who they don't know what they're doing .

In the spring of 1966, by decree of the bishop, Father John was transferred from Nekrasovka to the small town of Kasimov. The energetic headman of the only, Nikolskaya, church in the city managed to break the resistance of the commissioner and ensure that the well-known active priest in the diocese, Father John Krestyankin, was appointed rector of the church.

About Father John Krestyankin, and especially about the period of his service in the Ryazan diocese, there are Memoirs of Archpriest Vladimir Pravdolyubov, who happened to serve with the future elder.

Elder

Father John arrived at the Holy Dormition Pskov-Caves Monastery on March 5, 1967, on the day of remembrance of the Monk Martyr Cornelius, together with his academic friend, Bishop Pitirim (Nechaev).

The first monastic obedience of Father John was the bearing of the series of the priest of the week. And very, very soon the meaning of the word " dangle” was revealed by life itself. Frequent trips to rural parishes became the lot of the priest. And in his cell, as a constant reminder that God had determined such a life for him, a cast of an angel appeared under the ceiling. And every time, when, tired, he fell down in exhaustion, prophetic words sounded reassuringly in his mind: “ All your life you will dangle ».

Father John had to stay in prayer solitude for a very short time. A little more than a year passed, and pilgrims from those parishes where he once served were drawn to the monastery. The Pecherians did not remain indifferent to him either. And the time came when pilgrims from all over the world went to the monastery.

Immediately after the end of the Liturgy, the reception began. In the altar, issues were resolved with the visiting clergy, on the kliros the relatives who had come with the priests were waiting for their turn, in the church local parishioners and visiting pilgrims were waiting. Batiushka left the church surrounded by many people when it was time for dinner. But even on the street, belated questioners and curious people ran up, whose attention was attracted by the assembled crowd. And the curious, having become curious, found in the center of the crowd at first an attentive listener, and in the future also a spiritual father.

He prayed at night, but how much he slept - he kept silent about it. He was silent about himself, but the advice regarding the length of the night's rest was definite. The priest recommended that monks adhere to the rule of St. Seraphim of Sarov - to sleep for seven hours: three hours before midnight from nine to twelve and one hour after midnight (the hours before midnight take two hours). At his own place, the reception of visitors often continued well after midnight.

The first eight years of his stay in the monastery, under the governor of Father Alipia, the priest defined in the following words: “ The fear of God and the love of God were the guides of the inhabitants in life ". The brethren of the monastery, together with their governor, resisted the pressure from outside, which was carried out by the theomachy power. Gathered into a monastery at the call of God, they all went through difficult life trials, some by war, some by imprisonment and exile, and some literally wandered through the mountains and gorges of the earth.

In 1970, on the feast of Holy Pascha, Father John was elevated to the rank of abbot. Batiushka, sincerely embarrassed by his unworthiness, said: No, no, life has not yet tormented me so that I can wear a golden cross on my chest with dignity ". And in 1973, on the feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, they put a miter on him, raising him to the rank of archimandrite. They read a prayer over his head, and he has one thought: “ Lord, what am I going to do with this? "His spirit was completely timid, as he explained:" They didn’t give me what they deserved, but someone needs to go out, so I became needed as an archimandrite. And they put a miter on me, as if on a blank, but it was supposed to be done only after forty years, and then on special merit ».

Father John resisted the impending weakness for a long time. Until 1999, its routine was not much different from the statutory monastic life. He prayed in church, served Liturgy on feast days, received visitors, delivered sermons out of obedience, and answered letters. He vividly rejoiced at the sacramental guidance of the Reverend Father, who blessed him to preach such sermons, which eventually formed a year-long circle of teachings for major holidays. Seeing this external side of the father's life, we forgot that he is 89 years old, and what he does is already beyond human capabilities. In 1999, for the last time, the catechumen of John Chrysostom, read by the priest, and his jubilant unearthly joy sounded in the church on Easter for the last time. Christ is Risen! »

Since 2000, Father John has often spoken about his dual citizenship, that he is already more a citizen of heaven than earth. He testified to the same with his life. And on his 90th birthday, he publicly announced for the first time: “ The soul already longs for the sky and loves it more than the earth ».

In 2000, Russian President Vladimir Putin was on a visit to the Pskov region, visited the Pskov-Caves Monastery and had a conversation with Father Archimandrite John (Krestyankin). Since that time, a rare photograph has remained.

In 2001, Father John spoke out against the campaign to refuse to accept the TIN, which took place in church and near-church circles. Campaigners justified their position, in particular, by the fact that people are assigned a number instead of their Christian name. In his address to the faithful, Archimandrite John wrote:

Dear ones, how did we give in to panic - to lose our Christian name, replacing it with a number? But how can this happen in the eyes of God? Will someone forget himself and his heavenly patron, given at the time of baptism, at the Chalice of Life? And don’t we remember all those clergymen, lay Christians, who for a long period of their lives had to forget their names, surnames, they were replaced by a number, and many left forever with a number. And God accepted them into His Fatherly arms as holy martyrs and martyrs, and the white victorious robes hid under them the prison jackets. There was no name, but God was there, and His guidance led the believing prisoner through the shadow of death every day. The Lord has no concept of a person as a number, only modern computing technology needs a number, but for the Lord there is nothing more precious than a living human soul, for the sake of which He sent His Only Begotten Son Christ the Savior. And the Savior entered the world with a census.

From the notes of the cell attendant:
In 2001 " Easter Father”- that was the name of the inhabitants of the monastery, for the last time in his life he served Easter matins and Liturgy in the temple. But the grace of God visited him with Paschal night services even later and regardless of the church calendar.
So, on December 29, 2000, he served at night the Easter service at home, in the heavenly monastery. And in the morning he could not hide the exclusivity of his condition, meeting me with an Easter greeting: « Christ is Risen! » Continuing to live with the feelings and experiences of the past night, he spoke about unearthly grace, when everything rejoiced: the sky, and the earth, and everyone, everyone who was honored to be in this divine service. « What a joy, what a joy! Christ is Risen! » - repeated and repeated the father.

From that day on, the first words that he uttered in the morning, waking up from sleep, were: Christ is Risen! »

On August 26, 2003, at night, Father John exclaimed very loudly three times: « The world is dying! The world is dying! The world is dying! »

On September 6, 2003, at three o'clock in the morning, Father John called to me and, when I approached, made an exclamation in a strong and cheerful voice: « The blessing of the Lord over Russia, over our holy Orthodox Church, over the people of God and over us ". It was an undeniable statement. He spoke by the Spirit. And it was the voice of God.

Dying

From the notes of the cell attendant:

On February 5, 2005, in an instant, for no apparent reason, during prayer, a deathly pallor, like a shroud, covered him. Heavy drops of cold sweat soaked his cassock. I screamed desperately. « What are you going to die? A faint shadow of life passed over the father's face, and he whispered in a barely audible voice: « No, no, I'll live a little longer ».

On November 29, at two o'clock in the afternoon, the priest suddenly sang in delight: « Isaiah rejoice, Virgin in the womb ... "- and repeated this troparion several times. A nurse present in the cell joined in his singing. Father John's face shone with an unearthly light. Quietly and reluctantly, he said:

- She came.
- Who?
- The Queen of Heaven came.

From December 18, Father John took communion every day.
On the morning of February 5, 2005, I was getting ready for Communion. Early in the morning he was dressed: a white cassock, a festive stole. Everything happened in complete silence. To the question of whether we will take communion, - a silent nod of the head. Communion, drink. Father Philaret read: « Now let your servant go, Lord... ”- and left for the late Liturgy.
Batiushka closed his eyes and turned slightly to the right.

Half past ten. Fifteen minutes later the bell tolled for the service, the celebratory ringing filled the cell. Dad closed his eyes...

On his last journey through the monastery, from the cell to the church, Fr. John marched in the tomb with an open face and a cross raised high above the coffin in his hands.

Lord, through the prayers of Father John, have mercy on us, Thy unworthy servants!

John Krestyankin, also known as Archimandrite John, is a well-known minister of the Russian Orthodox Church. For 40 years he was a minister in the Pskov-Caves Monastery. It is considered one of the most revered elders in modern Russia. He passed away quite recently, in 2006.

Childhood

John Krestyankin was born on April 11, 1910 in the Russian Empire, in the city of Orel. His parents - Mikhail Dmitrievich and Elisaveta Ilarionovna - were bourgeois. There were 8 children in their family, Ivan was the youngest.

As a little boy, he began serving with the local Archbishop Seraphim (in the world, Mikhail Mitrofanovich Ostroumov).

Already 6-year-old John Krestyankin was Seraphim's sexton, a little later a subdeacon - a junior church official. At the age of 12, for the first time, he expressed his intention to become a monk in the future. Krestyankin himself talks about this episode as follows.

Bishop Nikolai from the diocese of Vladimir arrived to the pilgrims. When he was already saying goodbye, John, like the others, wished to receive parting words in life. And lightly touched his hand to draw attention to himself. Vladyka noticed him and asked him what he wanted. Young Ivan replied that he would like to become a monk. The priest put his hand on his head and seemed to be deep in thought. Only then did he admonish, recommending that he finish school, get a job, and only then take the rank and start serving. So he will come to monasticism.

Later, this episode from the life of the elder was also confirmed by Bishop Seraphim.

First Mentor

John Krestyankin received his first ideas about life and Orthodoxy from Seraphim. The future bishop was born in Moscow, graduated from the theological seminary and in 1904, at the age of 24, was tonsured a monk. At first he served in the St. Onufrievsky Yablochinsky Monastery, today located in Poland.

In the year of the outbreak of the First World War, he became the rector of the Kholmsk Theological Seminary. He was a famous priest in Russia. During the years of Soviet rule, he was arrested for participating in counter-revolutionary activities. Sent into exile in Kazakhstan, in Karaganda. Then his case was returned for further investigation to Smolensk. Sentenced to be shot. The sentence was carried out in December 1937.

In 2001, Archbishop Seraphim was canonized as a saint.

Civil life

Following the instructions and blessings, Krestyankin began to study. He graduated from high school already under Soviet rule, in 1929. Went to school to become an accountant. Then he got a job in his specialty in Orel.

The work was time-consuming, often having to stay up late or go to services on weekends to turn in reports. All this greatly distracted and interfered with church attendance. And as soon as he tried to disagree with such orders, he was immediately fired.

In 1932 he moved from Orel to Moscow. Gets a job in the same position as an accountant in a small business. Here the work was much calmer, nothing distracted from regular church attendance. In addition to services, he constantly participated in meetings at which they discussed topical issues of church life.

In the service of the church

During the Great Patriotic War, concessions were given to the church, it became much easier for priests to live, the state no longer persecuted them and even supported them in some way.

Therefore, in 1944, Krestyankin became a psalm reader in the capital's Church of the Nativity of Christ in Izmailovo, which has survived to this day. Six months later, Metropolitan Nikolai ordained him a deacon. John accepts celibacy, that is, renounces marriage.

Already after the end of the war, in October 1945, he passed exams externally to the theological seminary. In the same month, with the blessing of Patriarch Alexy I, he becomes a priest. At the same time, it remains to serve in the Izmailovsky parish.

The prayers of John Krestyankin evoked a response from the parishioners, he often read sermons, they turned to him for help or advice. At the same time, he, like most priests after the end of the Great Patriotic War, was in bad standing with the Soviet authorities. Largely due to the fact that he refused to cooperate with them.

At the Trinity-Sergius Lavra

When the pressure of the Soviet authorities became especially strong, the young priest turns to the patriarch for help. Alexy I morally supported him and advised him to turn to the Missal and fulfill everything that is written there, and endure the difficulties of the world around him. As John himself later admitted, these parting words greatly helped him.

In 1946, he moved to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, located in the Moscow region, in the center of Sergiev Posad. In parallel, he begins to study at the Moscow Theological Seminary at the correspondence department. He is writing a candidate's thesis about the fate of Seraphim of Sarov and his significance for the religious and moral life of that time. However, he soon returned to the Izmailovo diocese.

Krestyankin does not have time to defend his candidate: in 1950 he was arrested.

Prison term

Krestyankin spent four months at the Lubyanka and Lefortovo. In August he was transferred to Butyrka prison. He was kept in the same cell with criminals.

On October 8, 1950, he was sentenced. Krestyankin was sentenced to 7 years in strict regime camps for anti-Soviet agitation under Article 58, which was popular at the time. He served his sentence in the Arkhangelsk region, in Kargopollag.

The campers recalled that the prison did not break him, he always moved with an easy and relaxed gait. All prisoners were shaved bald, but the administration allowed him to keep his long black hair, as well as a beard. His gaze was always directed forward and upward.

In the camp he worked at a logging site, in 1953 his health deteriorated. As a result, he was transferred to a light regime in a camp in Gavrilova Polyana, near Kuibyshev, where he worked as an accountant.

After release

After serving in the camps, Krestyankin returned to church service. At the same time, he was forbidden to live in Moscow, so he found a place for himself in the Pskov diocese, in the Trinity Cathedral.

Such activity has provoked new dissatisfaction with the authorities. He was again threatened with persecution. Therefore, Father John had to leave the regional center for a small rural parish in the Ryazan region. First, to the village of Trinity-Pelenitsa, then to Letovo, then to Borets, and then to St. Nicholas Church in Nekrasovka. In 1966 he moved to the town of Kasimov. There, in 1966, he took the vows as a monk under the name John. The tonsure was performed by the elder Seraphim.

Such a frequent change of places was explained by the fact that Father John in a new place constantly began to actively preach and solve economic issues, which the Soviet authorities did not like very much.

In 1967 he was transferred to the Pskov-Caves Monastery at the insistence of Patriarch Alexy I. Returning from a meeting with Vladyka, Krestyankin learned about another transfer - the sixth in 10 years. However, it was canceled due to his departure to the monastery.

At the monastic service

From then until his death, that is, for more than 30 years, Father John lived almost without a break in the Pskov-Caves Monastery. In 1970, he received the clergy as abbot, and three years later, archimandrite.

Soon after he moved to the Pskov region, Orthodox believers from all over the country began to come to him. Many dreamed of getting to him for confession. Archimandrite John Krestyankin always gave good advice and blessings. For his high spirituality, they began to consider him an old man. A typical day went like this.

Liturgy in the morning. Immediately after it - spiritual and worldly affairs. In the altar, issues were resolved with priests from other churches and monasteries, in the temple, local parishioners and believers who came from afar were waiting for a meeting. Even on the way to dinner, he was constantly surrounded by many people who tried to ask a secret question or receive a blessing.

After lunch, the reception of visitors continued, the day ended with communication in the cell with pilgrims who were to leave on the same day.

Archimandrite's letters

Having grown old, Archimandrite John Krestyankin could no longer receive such a number of people, but he constantly answered their letters. Some of them were later published. These books immediately became popular among believers. One of the most famous publications was published in 2002.

"Letters of John Krestyankin" is a collection of the elder's answers to several Orthodox, which he could no longer accept personally. They were published by the publishing house of the Pskov-Caves Monastery. They talk about everything that can be found in this world. About God, the world, man, the church, the need to follow the commandments.

The sermons of John Krestyankin contain useful advice. In his speeches, the archimandrite discusses how to choose the right path in life. There are also instructions for parishioners.

"Sermon Building Experience"

During his life, he left many works that are highly valued by believers today, John Krestyankin. "The experience of constructing a confession" is one of the most significant.

The basis for this book was the conversations of John, which he conducted in the Pskov-Caves Monastery in the 70s during Great Lent, immediately after reading the canon of St. Andrew of Crete. During these evenings, many people remember the construction of the confession. John Krestyankin literally healed with a word.

Someone managed to record these conversations, and these records began to be passed from hand to hand. Each chapter is devoted to a separate commandment, which is described and interpreted in detail. In addition to the ten classic Christian commandments, the beatitudes are given. Among them are "Blessed are the poor in spirit", Blessed are those who mourn" and others.

Campaign against TIN

John Krestyankin, whose books were already actively published in the 2000s, had significant social weight.

In 2001, he spoke out against the campaign to end the TIN. Many clergy then claimed that they were trying to assign people a faceless number instead of a Christian name. Thus destroy their spirituality.

Krestyankin argued that in the eyes of God, a person cannot lose his Christian name. As an example, he cites dozens and hundreds of priests and ordinary believers who died in Stalin's camps. Everyone forgot about their name, in reports and documents they were listed only under a faceless number, but God certainly accepted them. After all, worldly affairs and worries are of little concern to Him. Moreover, many of them became martyrs, and some were even canonized as saints.

God is only interested in the human soul - claimed John Krestyankin. Confession, communion, prayer - if a person observes these simple rituals, then God will never forget about him.

Archimandrite awards

In 2005, Father John turned 95 years old. For the anniversary, he was awarded the church order of St. Seraphim of Sarov, about which he once wrote his Ph.D. thesis at the theological seminary.

By that time, the archimandrite had already been awarded several significant awards from the Orthodox Church. In 1978 he received the Order of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir of the third degree, and in 1980 - the Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh, also of the third degree.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, in 2000, he was awarded the Order of St. Prince Daniel of Moscow.

Then, in 2000, Vladimir Putin, who headed the country a few months ago, went to meet with the archimandrite. This speaks of the respect and importance attached to the elder even by the first persons of the state. Photographs remain in memory of that meeting.

Memory of Father John

At the very end of his life, John Krestyankin was seriously ill. Confession and other church sacraments practically do not conduct independently. And he rarely got out of bed.

On February 5, 2006, he passed away at the age of 95. Elder John Krestyankin was buried according to Orthodox custom in the caves of the Dormition Pskov-Caves Monastery. The remains of other Cave monks are also buried there.

By the way, Father John himself did not welcome when he was called an elder. He believed that these were God's blessed people, who no longer exist in our time.

At the same time, in our time, Archimandrite John Krestyankin is revered by Orthodox believers both as an All-Russian elder and as a preacher. Now, on the sidelines of the Russian Orthodox Church, there is talk of his possible imminent canonization.

In 2011, the publishing house of the Sretensky Monastery published a collection of stories by the archimandrite (at that time, now - a bishop) of the Russian Orthodox Church Tikhon, in the world of Georgy Shevkunov. Titled "Unholy Saints". A large number of works in the collection are dedicated to the life of the Pskov-Caves Monastery, as well as personally to John Krestyankin. In particular, his foresight and prudence.

"The world is ruled only by God's Providence"

Sayings of the Pskov-Caves elders John (Krestyankin), Nathanael (Pospelov) and Alipy (Voronov)

Elders on abortion

Sermon on the 4th Sunday of Great Lent on St. John of the Ladder and his "Ladder" and on the transfer of the relics of St. Tikhon, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'

Word on the day of memory of St. Seraphim, Sarov miracle worker

Word on the feast of the Archangel Michael

Word on the day of the enthronement of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus'

Speech on the First Anniversary of the Death of His Holiness Patriarch Pimen

Paschal Homily by Archimandrite John Krestiankin, 1993

Archimandrite John (Krestiankin)

The experience of building a confession

Sermon for the Feast of the Entry into the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos

A Word on the Parable of the Good Samaritan

Word for Christmas

Word on the Week before the Nativity of Christ, holy fathers

Man is society. spiritual reading

Church

Patience

The sacrament of communion. Sacrament of Unction

sacrament of baptism

Sacraments of the Church

Passion. judgment of God

On February 5, on the day of the celebration of the Council of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, at the age of 95, the oldest resident and confessor of the Holy Dormition Pskov-Caves Monastery, dearly beloved by all, the elder Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) passed away to the Lord. He reposed a few minutes after receiving the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

Father John is known and revered in various countries of the world. Words cannot express what Father John meant to his spiritual children and to the entire Russian Orthodox Church. In recent years, due to age and illness, he was not able to receive all those who thirsted for his advice. However, letters from different parts of the world continue to arrive at the address of the Pskov-Caves Monastery. The sermons and books of Father John continue to open up a new, spiritual world for thousands of people and bring yearning souls to God.

Among the most famous and popular books compiled on the basis of his conversations and letters are “The experience of building a confession”, “Sermons, reflections, congratulations”, “A handbook for monastics and laity”, as well as a collection of “Letters from Archimandrite John (Krestyankin)”. The conversations and letters of Father John have been translated and published in foreign languages.

On April 11, 1910, in the city of Orel, the eighth child was born in the family of Mikhail Dmitrievich and Elizaveta Illarionovna Krestyankin. The boy was named John in honor of St. John the Hermit celebrated on this day. It is significant that on the same day the memory of St. Mark and Jonah of the Pskov Caves is celebrated. Even as a child, Vanya served in the temple, was a novice at the Oryol Archbishop Seraphim (Ostroumov), known for his monastic rigor. When Vanya was two years old, his father Mikhail Dmitrievich died. A deeply religious and pious mother, Elizaveta Illarionovna, was engaged in raising her son.

Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) and his mentors

The book about. John in Serbian "Let's revive our hearts for God", published in Belgrade in 2004.

Father John preserved in his grateful memory the labors of love of those who led and instructed him spiritually. From infancy to youth, these are Oryol archpriests: Father Nikolai Azbukin and Father Vsevolod Kovrigin. At the age of 10, he experienced the influence of Archpriest-Elder Georgy Kosov from the village of Spas-Chekryak, Oryol Territory, who was the spiritual child of St. Ambrose of Optina.

Father John received his first indication of future monasticism in his adolescence from two friends who were bishops: Archbishop Seraphim (Ostroumov), a future Hieromartyr, and Bishop Nicholas (Nikolsky). The Oryol nun Vera Alexandrovna Loginova, blessing him to live in Moscow, looked into the distant future of the young man John, arranging a meeting with her on Pskov land.

The bright image of the Oryol Christ for the sake of the holy fool Afanasy Andreevich Saiko imprinted in the minds of the mind the charm of the man of God, the strength of his spirit and the warmth of love for people for the rest of his life.

After high school, Ivan Krestyankin graduated from accounting courses and, having moved to Moscow, worked in this specialty. On January 14, 1945, in the church on Vagankovo, Metropolitan Nikolai (Yarushevich) consecrated him to the rank of deacon. On the feast of the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God on October 25 of the same year, Patriarch Alexy I ordained Deacon John to the priesthood in the Izmailovo Nativity Church in Moscow, where he remained to serve.

Father John passed the exams for the seminary course as an external student, and in 1950, having completed the 4th year of the Moscow Theological Academy, he wrote a candidate's thesis. But it failed to finish. On the night of April 29-30, 1950, Fr. John was arrested for his zealous pastoral service and was sentenced to 7 years in labor camps. Returning from prison ahead of schedule on February 15, 1955, he was appointed to the Pskov diocese, and in 1957 he was transferred to the Ryazan diocese, where he served as priest for a total of almost 11 years.

The young priest was taken under their spiritual care by the Glinsk elders, and one of them, Schema-Archimandrite Seraphim (Romantsov), became his spiritual father, and it was he who took the monastic vows of his spiritual son, and the last Optina elder, hegumen John (Sokolov), saw in the parish priest his own by the spirit of man. Father John took monastic vows on June 10, 1966, on the feast of St. Sampson the Hospitable, in the city of Sukhumi.

On March 5, 1967, Hieromonk John entered the Pskov-Caves Monastery. On April 13, 1970, he was elevated to the rank of hegumen, and on April 7, 1973, to the rank of archimandrite.

Monasticism was taught to the priest and the monastic charter of life, and living elders who labored in the Caves monastery: Hieroschemamonk Simeon (Zhelnin), Schema-Archimandrite Pimen (Gavrilenko), Archimandrite Afinogen (Agapov), Archimandrite Alipiy (Voronov), the abbot; also the last Valaam elders: Hieroschemamonk Michael (Pitkevich), Schemamonk Luka (Zemskov), Schemamonk Nikolai (Monakhov); Bishops who lived in retirement in the monastery: Bishop Theodore (Tekuchev) and Metropolitan Veniamin (Fedchenkov).

It is no coincidence that Fr. John's departure to the Lord was precisely on the day of commemoration of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, because he himself suffered for his faith during the years of persecution, passing through a difficult trial in prison. We believe that, having joined the host of his associates, he will appear before the throne of God with an ardent prayer for us.

Father John will forever remain in the memory of all who knew him as a wise, joyful and perspicacious priest, a strict monk, a zealous fasting and prayer book, a sincere novice, as a man who generously shared his rich life experience, warming his love to everyone who asked for his advice, as a worthy heir to the traditions of the Pechersk elders.

Eternal memory to him!

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov). About Father John (Krestiankin)

Recently, my confessor Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) called from the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery and said: “Here, I will die soon. So take the trouble, write what you remember and want to say about me. And then later you will still write and you can think of something like that, like poor father Nikolai, who “resurrected cats” and other fables. And then I myself will look at everything and I will be calm. ”

Fulfilling the obedience of the confessor, I proceed to these notes in the hope that the priest himself will separate the wheat from the chaff, tell me something I have forgotten, and, as always, correct the mistakes I have made.

I will not write much about what Father John means to me. My entire monastic life is inextricably linked with him. He was and remains for me the ideal of an Orthodox Christian, a monk, a loving and demanding priest-father.

It is, of course, impossible to retell everything that has happened in more than twenty years of our communication. Anyone can read his spiritual advice in three recently published collections of letters. From my point of view, this is the best that has been written in the field of spiritual and moral literature in Russia over the past fifty years. I want to talk about something else - about what I know firsthand.

For me, the main spiritual quality of Father John has always been and remains not only his gift of reasoning, but also his unshakable faith in the all-good and perfect Providence of God, leading a Christian to salvation. In one of the books of Father John, the words often repeated by him were chosen as an epigraph: "The main thing in spiritual life is faith in the Providence of God and reasoning with advice." Somehow, in response to my bewilderment, the priest wrote: “Now I’m reading paroemias with attention, what depth:“ A man’s heart ponders its path, but the Lord controls its procession ”- the wise Solomon checked this on himself (ch. 16, v. 9 ). And you will be convinced more than once in your life that this is exactly so, and not otherwise.

I do not impose my opinion on anyone, but I myself am deeply convinced that Father John is one of the very few people living in our time to whom the Lord reveals His Divine will both about specific persons and about events taking place in the Church and in the world. This is probably the highest manifestation of love for God and devotion to His holy will, in response to which the Lord reveals to the Christian ascetic the fate of people, makes such a person His companion. I repeat, I do not impose my opinion on anyone, but many life stories connected with Father John led me to it. And not just me alone. My closest spiritual friends, the late Father Raphael and Abbot Nikita, who introduced me to Father John, first of all thanked God for the fact that their confessor was a man to whom the will of God was revealed, and each of us experienced this personally. . Although, unfortunately, as is often the case in life, we, even knowing the will of God, do not find the strength and determination to fulfill it. But more on that below.

Acquaintance with Archimandrite John (Krestyankin)

I met Father John in the autumn of 1982, when I arrived at the Pskov-Caves Monastery immediately after my baptism. Then, it seems, he did not make a special impression on me: a very kind old man, very strong (he was then only 72 years old), always in a hurry somewhere, always surrounded by a crowd of pilgrims. Other inhabitants of the monastery looked much more strictly ascetic, like a monk. But quite a bit of time passed when I began to understand that this old man is the one who in Rus' has been called an old man since ancient times - a rare and precious phenomenon in the Church.

Trust and obedience are the main rule of communication between a Christian and his spiritual father. Of course, it is not possible to show complete obedience to every confessor. There are few such confessors. This is actually a very subtle question. The most difficult spiritual and life tragedies often happen when unreasonable priests imagine themselves to be elders, and their unfortunate spiritual children take upon themselves complete, absolute obedience to them, unbearable and uncharacteristic of our time. Of course, Father John never dictated and did not force anyone to listen to his spiritual advice. Experience and time have led a person to free, unfeigned obedience to him. He never called himself an old man. And when they told him about it, he grinned and answered that now there are no elders, but only experienced old men. He is still convinced of this, however, just as I am convinced that the Lord in his person sent me a true elder who knows the will of God about me and about the circumstances connected with my salvation.

I remember when I was still a young novice, one of the Muscovite pilgrims approached me in the monastery and told me a story that he had just witnessed. Father John, surrounded by pilgrims, hurried through the monastery courtyard to the temple. Suddenly, a tear-stained woman rushed to him with a three-year-old child in her arms: “Father, bless me for the operation, the doctors demand it urgently, in Moscow.” And then something happened that shocked both the pilgrim who told me the story, and myself. Father John stopped and firmly told her: “No way. He will die on the operating table. Pray, treat him, but do not do the operation in any case. He will recover." And he baptized the baby.

We sat with the pilgrim and ourselves were horrified by our reflections, assuming: what if Father John made a mistake? What if the child dies? What will the mother do with Father John if this happens? Of course, we could not suspect Father John of vulgar opposition to medicine, which, although rare, is still found in the spiritual environment: we knew many cases when Father John both blessed and insisted on an operation. Among his spiritual children were many well-known doctors. We waited in horror to see what would happen next. Will the heartbroken mother come to the monastery and make a monstrous scandal, or will nothing like this happen, as Father John predicted?

To all appearances, this is exactly what happened, because Father John continued his daily journey between the temple and the cell, surrounded by pilgrims filled with hope and gratitude. And we could only assume that Father John saw the Providence of God about this baby, took upon himself great responsibility for his life, and the Lord did not shame the faith and hope of his faithful servant.

This incident came to my mind ten years later, in 1993, when a very similar story ended, on the one hand, humanly tragically, and on the other hand, through the prayers of Father John, it served as the eternal salvation of the Christian soul and a deep lesson for the witnesses of this incident.

Usually, even with a firm conviction in the correctness and necessity of his advice, the priest tries to exhort, persuade, even ask and beg for the fulfillment of what, as he knows, is necessary for the person who turned to him. If he stubbornly insists on his own, then the priest usually sighs and says: “Well, try it. Do as you please." And always, as far as I know of such cases, those who did not follow the wise spiritual advice of Father John, in the end bitterly repented of this and, as a rule, came to him next time with the firm intention of doing what he said. Father John received such people with unfailing love and sympathy, spared no time for them and tried with all his might to correct their mistake.

Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) and Valentina Konovalova

An unusually interesting and original woman lived in Moscow, Valentina Pavlovna Konovalova ... She was such a real Moscow merchant's wife and seemed to have descended from the canvases of Kustodiev. In the early nineties, she was sixty years old. She was the director of a large grocery store on Mira Avenue. Full, squat, she sat at the table in her office, behind her hung, even in the most difficult Soviet times, large Sofrino icons, and on the floor by the nightstand of the desk lay a huge plastic bag with money, which she disposed of at her own discretion, sometimes sending subordinates to buy a batch of fresh vegetables, sometimes giving gifts to the beggars and wanderers, who flocked to her food shop in large numbers. Her subordinates feared her, but loved her. During Great Lent, she arranged a general unction right in her office, at which the Tatars who worked at the base were reverently present. Often in those years of scarcity, Moscow abbots, and even bishops, looked in on her. With some she was restrainedly respectful, and with others, whom she did not approve of "for ecumenism" - she was harsh and even rude.

More than once, out of obedience, I traveled in a large truck from Pechory to Moscow to buy food for the monastery for Easter and Christmas. Valentina Pavlovna received us, the novices, very warmly, like a mother, and we became friends with her. Moreover, we had a favorite topic for conversation - our common confessor, Father John. Batiushka was, perhaps, the only person in the world whom Valentina Pavlovna feared, respected and loved endlessly. Twice a year, Valentina Pavlovna, with her closest collaborators, went to Pechory, where she spoke and confessed. And these days it was impossible to recognize her - meek, quiet, shy. She did not resemble the "Moscow mistress" in any way.

At the end of 1993, some changes took place in my life, I was appointed rector of the courtyard of the Pskov-Caves Monastery in Moscow - the current Sretensky Monastery, and I often had to visit Pechory. Valentina Pavlovna's eyes hurt, nothing special - age-related cataract. Once she asked me to ask Father John's blessing for cataract removal at the Fedorov Institute. Father John's answer surprised me a little: “No, no, by no means. Not now, let the time pass." The next day, I literally conveyed these words to Valentina Pavlovna. She was very upset: everything had already been agreed at the Fedorov Institute. She wrote a detailed letter to Father John, again asking for blessings for the operation and explaining the situation that this was almost a trifling matter, not worthy of attention.

Father John, of course, knew as well as she did what a cataract operation was, and that it did not pose a serious threat. But, after reading Valentina Pavlovna's letter, he became very alarmed. We sat with him for a long time, and he kept trying to convince me that it was necessary to persuade Valentina Pavlovna not to have the operation now. He wrote to her again, asked, begged, with his power as a confessor even ordered to postpone the operation. At this time, I had such circumstances that I had two weeks free. I didn’t rest for more than ten years, and therefore Father John blessed me to go on vacation to the Crimea, to a sanatorium, for two weeks, and by all means take Valentina Pavlovna with me. He wrote to her about this in a letter, adding that she had to do the operation later, a month after the vacation. “If she has the operation now, she will die,” he sadly told me when we said goodbye.

But in Moscow, I realized that I had found a scythe on a stone. Valentina Pavlovna suddenly, probably for the first time in her life, rebelled against the will of her confessor. At first, she categorically refused to go to the Crimea, but then, it seemed, she reconciled. As for the operation, she was extremely indignant that because of such nonsense, Father John "starts fuss." I told her that, be that as it may, I am beginning to fuss about vouchers, and in the near future we are going to the Crimea.

A few days passed, I received a blessing from His Holiness for a vacation, ordered two vouchers, which were not difficult to find at this time of the year, and called Valentina Pavlovna to the base to inform about our departure.

She is in the hospital undergoing surgery,” her assistant told me.
- How?! I shouted. - After all, Father John categorically forbade her.

It turned out that a couple of days ago some nun came to her and, having learned about her history with cataracts, being a doctor, she also could not agree with the decision of Father John, and undertook to ask for blessings from one of the confessors of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The blessing was received, and Valentina Pavlovna went to the Fedorov Institute, hoping after a quick and simple operation to leave with me for the Crimea. She was prepared, but during the operation, right on the table, she had a severe stroke and complete paralysis. As soon as I found out about this, I rushed to call the steward of the monastery in Pechory, Father Filaret, the old cell-attendant of the priest. In exceptional cases, Father John went down from his cell to Father Philaret and used his telephone.

How can you do that, why don't you listen to me? - Father John almost cried. - After all, if I insist on something, then I know what I'm doing!

What was I to answer him? I asked Father John what to do now. Valentina Pavlovna was still unconscious. Father John ordered to take the spare Holy Gifts from the church to the cell and, as soon as Valentina Pavlovna comes to her senses, immediately go to confess and take communion with her.

Through the prayers of Father John, Valentina Pavlovna regained consciousness the next day. Relatives immediately informed me about this, and in half an hour I was in the hospital. Valentina Pavlovna was taken to me in one of the intensive care units, on a huge metal gurney. She lay, quite tiny, under a white sheet. She could not speak, and when she saw me, she only cried. But even without words, this confession was clear to me that she succumbed to the enemy's temptation in disobedience and distrust of the confessor. I read a permissive prayer over her and took communion. We said goodbye. And the next day, Father Vladimir Chuvikin took her communion again. She died shortly after receiving communion. According to ancient church tradition, the soul of a person who has been honored to receive communion on the day of death passes to the throne of the Lord, bypassing the ordeal. This happens either with high ascetics, or with people with exceptionally pure hearts. Or with those who have very strong prayer books.

The history of the revival of the Sretensky Monastery is also inextricably linked with Father Archimandrite John. That year, 1993, I came to Father John with a whole bunch of problems. After a long conversation in the cell, Father John did not give me a definite answer, and we hurried with him to the vigil on the feast of the holy Archangel of God Michael. I prayed on the kliros, Father John at the altar. I was about to put on my clothes to go out to the akathist, when Father John literally ran out of the altar and, taking my hand, joyfully said:

You will create the courtyard of the Pskov-Caves Monastery in Moscow.
“Batiushka,” I answered, “but His Holiness the Patriarch does not bless the opening of farmsteads in Moscow, except for stavropegial monasteries. Quite recently, a monastery made the same request to the Patriarch, and His Holiness replied that if churches were given to the courtyards of all the monasteries now being opened, then there would be no parish churches left in Moscow.
But Father John did not listen.
- Do not be afraid of anything! Go straight to His Holiness and ask him to open the courtyard of the Pskov-Caves Monastery.

He diligently, as he usually does, blessed me, and I had no choice but to kiss his right hand and rely in everything on the will of God and his prayers.

Everything happened just as Father John had said. Not without fear, of course, I made a request to His Holiness the Patriarch to open the courtyard of the diocesan Pskov-Caves Monastery. But His Holiness suddenly reacted very graciously to this request, blessed this decision and immediately instructed Vladyka Arseny and Father Vladimir Divakov to oversee its execution. Thus, the first and only courtyard of a non-stauropegic monastery appeared in Moscow, which later, as Father John said, became an independent monastery, which, by the grace of God, never lost its spiritual connection with either the Pechory or Father John. Needless to say, the blessings and advice of Father John on organizing monastic life in the monastery are the most precious and desirable for us. Although, to be honest, sometimes I received not only affectionate, but also such harsh letters that I could not come to my senses for several days.

Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) - a gracious and kind man

Usually, when someone begins to think about Father John, he writes how gracious, affectionate, kind, loving he is. Yes, it is undoubtedly true that I have never met a person more able to show fatherly, Christian love in my entire life. But one cannot fail to say that Father John, when necessary, is truly strict. He sometimes knows how to find such words of denunciation, after which his interlocutor is not humanly enviable. I remember when I was still a novice in Pechory, I accidentally heard Father John say to two young hieromonks: “What kind of monks you are, you are just good guys.”

Father John is never shy or afraid to tell the truth, regardless of faces, and does this primarily to correct and save the soul of his interlocutor, whether he is a bishop or a simple novice. This firmness and spiritual integrity, of course, was instilled in the soul of Father John in early childhood, when he communicated with great ascetics and new martyrs. And all this was a manifestation of true Christian love for God and people. And, of course, a manifestation of the true church consciousness. Here is his answer to one of my questions in a letter from 1997: “And here is another example of a similar situation from my memory. I was then 12 years old, but the impression was so overwhelmingly strong that to this day I see everything that happened then, and I remember all the characters by name.

A wonderful Vladyka served in Orel - Archbishop Seraphim Ostroumov - the smartest, kindest, most loving, not to count the laudatory epithets that befit him. And with his life, he seemed to be preparing for the crown of a holy martyr, which actually happened. So, on Forgiveness Sunday, this Bishop of God expels two monks from the monastery, hegumen Kallistos and Hierodeacon Tikhon, for some misconduct. He casts them out publicly and authoritatively, protecting the rest from the temptation, and immediately pronounces the word about Forgiveness Sunday and asks for forgiveness from everyone and everything.

My childish consciousness was simply stunned by what happened precisely because everything happened here nearby and the exile - that is, the lack of forgiveness, and the humble petition for forgiveness to myself and the forgiveness of everyone. Then I understood only one thing, that punishment can serve as a beginning to forgiveness, and without it there can be no forgiveness.

Now I bow to the courage and wisdom of the Lord, for the lesson taught by him remained a living example for all those present then, as you see, for life.

What else is of fundamental importance that needs to be written about so that Father John himself can read and confirm the accuracy of these testimonies?

Over the years of communication, I noticed that Father John has certain principles regarding spiritual advice. But of course it doesn't automatically apply them. I was interested in the example of his advice regarding marriage. He gives a blessing for marriage only after the bride and groom have known each other for at least three years. With the current impatience of young people, this seems like too much time. But many cases have shown how much the experience of Father John and his insistence on the indispensable need to check future spouses with each other can be saving for families and souls. I know more than one case when priests, out of pity, shortened the period given by Father John to marriage, and this ended in tears for young families.

Regarding monastic tonsure, Father John also requires, as a rule, a significant test of time. And also attaches great importance to parental blessing. For example, I waited almost ten years for Fr. John's decision on my tonsure, until my mother blessed me to become a monk. All these years, in response to my impatient requests for a blessing to take the vows, Father John only persuaded me to wait for my mother's blessing. And he assured that the Lord would not forget this patience and obedience. I remembered these words when I was tonsured a monk at the Donskoy Monastery. It so happened that this happened on the very day of my birth, when I was thirty-three years old, and they named me in the part of my beloved saint - St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow.

Father John treats the bishops and church hierarchy with great reverence, love and obedience. He is truly a man of the Church. Many times he gave his blessing to act exactly as His Holiness decides, as the bishop, the governor, will bless. The realization that truth on earth abides only in the Church is deeply felt by him and reaches the spiritual children. Father John did not tolerate any splits, any revolts, and always fearlessly and menacingly spoke out against them, although he knew how much slander, and sometimes even hatred, he would have to drink. But he endured everything, if only he himself and his spiritual flock would follow the ecclesiastical, royal path.

This also applied to the trials that our Church has undergone over the past decade: on the one hand, renovationist tendencies, on the other, painful eschatological moods. In both cases, Father John distinguished between love for people entangled in spiritual life due to foolishness and enemy machinations, and the harm that they were actively and even furiously ready to bring to the Church. The vast, almost century-long experience of the church life of Father John himself gives him enormous advantages in discerning spirits, in determining where certain hobbies and innovations, or zeal not according to reason, can lead. Truly, there is nothing new under the sun. “I will not participate in the campaign proposed by you,” Father John writes to a young and very sincere hieromonk, who offers him participation in the movement “For life without a TIN”. - The very spirit of such activity, where there is a lot of selfishness, noise and hope not in God, but in man, and even with the criticism of the hierarchy of the Church, which is in full swing in your statements, forbids me to do this. I have already seen this in the actions and spirit of the Renovationists, who rise up against the quietest Patriarch Tikhon, and in fact against the Lord Himself and His Church.”

Father John expressed his sober and deeply thought-out attitude to the problems of global computer accounting and similar phenomena in the modern world more than once both in letters and in appeals. All this has been published many times, and for some it served as a pretext for spiritual peace, reassurance from rebellious moods, trust in the Russian Orthodox Church, for others, unfortunately, as a pretext for attacks on Father John, and sometimes even outright slander.

I think that this test of slander and hatred in the most advanced years of life was providentially sent down by the Lord. It seems that the Monk Barsanuphius of Optina writes somewhere that the Lord sends His faithful servants precisely in the last period of life such temptations as the image of the Golgotha ​​of the Savior.

A few years before these events, Father John also did not hesitate to call fire on himself in order to warn the church people against the temptation of a new renovationism. He met and talked more than once with the then popular and supported supporters of modernization and renewal in the Church. And only after exhausting all means of persuasion of the extreme danger of this path, he spoke clearly, definitely, publicly and with full responsibility for his words: "If we do not ruin this movement, they will ruin the Church."

I witnessed how Father John endured the hatred and slander poured out on him for standing in the Truth of Christ. I saw his pain, but also complacency when he endured misunderstanding and betrayal. But the priest never lost his endless love for offenders and Christian forgiveness. The words of his sermon delivered in the Mikhailovsky Cathedral of the Pskov-Caves Monastery in 1985 remained in my memory for the rest of my life: “We have been given a commandment from the Lord to love people, our neighbors. But whether they love us, we have nothing to worry about. We just need to take care that we love them.

One Moscow priest, the former spiritual son of Father John, turned to me with a terrible request: to return the stole, with which Father John blessed him for the priesthood. This priest, as he said, was disappointed in Father John because he did not support his political dissident views. This was in the late eighties. Whatever words this priest did not utter, but he himself did not listen to anything: neither that Father John himself spent many years in the camps, nor that he was tortured and was not broken, nor that someone but his father No one can suspect John of conformity. With a heavy heart, I handed over the epitrachelion to the priest. His reaction amazed me. He crossed himself, reverently kissed the sacred vestment and said: “I passed it on with love, I receive it with love.” Later, this priest moved to another jurisdiction, he didn’t like it there either, then another…

I cannot hide the following fact, which, perhaps, will cause an ambiguous assessment, but for the sake of the truth of life I cannot keep silent about it. Yes, Father John certainly reveres and submits to the church hierarchy, but this does not mean automatic, thoughtless submission. I witnessed a case when one of the abbots of the monastery and the ruling bishop urged the priest to give his blessing on their decision, with which Father John did not agree. This was necessary to give the decision they needed the authority of an elder. They approached the priest seriously, as they say, "with a knife to the throat." Monks and priests imagine what it is like to resist the pressure of the ruling bishop and viceroy. But Father John quite calmly withstood this multi-day onslaught. He respectfully, patiently and meekly explained that he could not say “I bless” to something with which he did not agree in his soul, that if the authorities consider it necessary to do just that, he will meekly accept their decision - they are responsible for him before God and the brethren , but he believes that in this case the decision is made out of passion, and he cannot bless - give his “good word” on this.

Much more can be written, and first of all, about how the souls of people were transformed, resurrected during communion with Father John, how people gained faith and salvation. But this is connected with people who are now alive, therefore, without their consent, it is not yet possible to tell these stories.

In conclusion, I would like to say only one thing: I thank the Lord for the fact that He, by His great mercy, gave me, a sinner, on my life path to meet such a Christian and communicate with him. It seems to me that I will not meet anything more amazing either in my past years, or, probably, in the remaining period of my life.

And reasoning with advice

Temptations of time, TIN, new documents

1. 70 years of captivity could not but leave an imprint on people. Captivity has passed, but a new misfortune is on the threshold - freedom and permissiveness to all evil
2. Experience shows that those who came to the Throne from rock music cannot serve for salvation ... Some cannot stand at the throne at all, and some sink to the bottom of hell with such iniquities that they did not even before taking the dignity
3. Some release religious literature on the computer, while others create disgrace. And, using the same technique, some are saved, while others die already here on earth.
4. Appeal to bioenergetics is an appeal to the enemy of God
5. You cannot simultaneously take in the Blood and Body of the Lord and urine. There is no blessing of the Church for the treatment of urine
6. Take cards: you are not yet asked about your faith and are not forced to renounce God
7. The seal will appear when he reigns and receives power, and there will be one and only ruler on earth, and now each state has its own head. And therefore, do not panic prematurely, but fear now the sins that open and corner the way for the future Antichrist

Sorrow, illness, old age

1. The time has come when a person is saved only by sorrows. So, everyone needs to bow at the feet and kiss the handle
2. It is necessary to look not for joy, but for that which contributes to the salvation of the soul
3. They don’t descend from the Cross given by God - they take it off
4. It is good that you mourn, it is a kind of prayer. Just don't let the murmur
5. In conclusion, I had a true prayer - and this is because every day was on the verge of death
6. The last believers will be in the eyes of God more than the first, more than those who have accomplished feats unthinkable for our time
7. Diseases - God's permission - contribute to the good of man. They slow down our crazy run through life and make us think and seek help. As a rule, human help is powerless, depleted very quickly, and a person turns to God.
8. It is necessary to fulfill the prescriptions of age, they are given to us from above, and whoever opposes them opposes God's determination about us
9. Gather together, confess and take communion - and with God give yourself to the doctors. Doctors and medicines are from God, and they are given to help us

God, His Providence and Salvation

1. The world is ruled only by God's Providence. This is the salvation of a believing person and this is the strength to endure earthly sorrows.
2. God does not consult with anyone and does not give an account to anyone. One thing is certain: everything He does is good for us, one good, one love.
3. Without everything is scary and life itself is not in life
4. Life is especially difficult now, but do you know why? Yes, because they completely departed from the Source of life - from God
5. Important not What do, but How and in the name Whom. This is salvation
6. There are no obstacles for those who want to be saved at all times, for those who wish are led along the path of salvation by the Savior Himself

Family, parenting, abortion, work and school

1. If your feelings include the apostolic definition of the concept of love (1 Cor. 13), then you will not be far from happiness
2. By the command of God, the first and most important blessing for creation, you must both receive from your parents. They are given sacramental knowledge about children, bordering on providence
3. Church canons you need to know: a possible difference in age plus or minus 5 years, more is unacceptable
4. For each - by the will of the mother of the unborn - baby, those others whom she gives birth "for the joy" of herself, will reward her with sorrows, illnesses,
5. If the votes are divided at the family council, then the voice of the spouse should be taken at the head
6. Work must be treated as obedience, and in professional terms, always be at the proper level, and not below average
7. Studying for the sake of killing time is a sin. Time must be valued

Monasticism

1. It is necessary to go to the monastery not because the family has collapsed, but because the heart burns with the desire to be saved by the difficult path and serve God undividedly
2. With the Lord, both saving and honest marriage is commendable. And each person chooses. But that both are cross-bearing, that's for sure
3. It is fitting for a monk to fight temptations on the spot: in a new place, the same demon will take up arms against you with redoubled force by right, for he once already won a victory over you, driving you out of the battlefield

Eldership, spirituality, priesthood

1. The elders you are looking for are no longer there. Because there are no novices, but only interrogators
2. retreats when they do not accept God's the first time, and then falls silent
3. To think for you in everything and to lead you like a blind man by the hand, I don’t see the point and benefit: you will become relaxed
4. Go to church, confess, ask many questions about your concerns. And only when you realize that out of many one is the closest to your soul, you will turn only to him.
5. The Minister of the Church needs a companion-assistant, not a hindrance
6. It is not befitting for a priest to play the part - this is a grave sin for him
7. His Holiness Patriarch Alexy I (he ordained Father John - ed. note) said: “Fulfill everything that is written in the Treasury, and endure everything that you find behind it. And you will be saved"

Orthodox Church, preaching Orthodoxy

1. If it had been planted with a fist, then it would not have been on earth for a long time
2. Others do not need to talk about God when they do not yet have the inclination to hear about Him. You provoke them to blasphemy
3. Faith will come to your spouse in response to your labors and wise behavior with him in everything
4. Let us not flatter ourselves with the thought that we can be more just than the Lord, but let us obey His commands given to us by the Holy Apostles and Holy Fathers, and this obedience will be both saving for us and beneficial for those close to us.
5. Be afraid to fall away from the Mother Church: she alone is holding back the lava of anti-Christian revelry in the world now!