1. The feat of Russian monasticism. Russian monasticism of the 19th century. gave many examples of true Christian feat. And already during their earthly life, these holy people served as a model for understanding the meaning of life, behavior and everyday existence of Christians. One of the peaks of Orthodox life was the spiritual activity of St. Seraphim of Sarov. In the feat of St. Seraphim of Sarov, Holy Rus' showed the world a great example of Orthodox holiness.
(in the world Prokhor Isidorovich Mashnin) (1754–1833) is one of the most famous and revered Russian elders. He was born in Kursk. His parents built the Sergius-Kazan Cathedral. When the cathedral was built and consecrated, he entered the monastery. In 1778, he settled in the Sarov Assumption Hermitage, which was located on the river. Sarovka, in the then Tambov province. In 1786 he took monastic vows with the name Seraphim, and in 1794 he left the monastery and settled in a secluded cell in the forest, a few kilometers from the monastery. In his cell and in the forest near the road, he placed two stones on which he prayed. In 1806, Seraphim took upon himself a new difficult monastic feat - silence, and remained in silence for about three years. In 1810, by decision of the council of monks of the monastery, Seraphim again settled in the monastery, but accepted a retreat lunch. Beginning in 1815, he loosened his retreat somewhat and devoted himself entirely to a new feat - eldership, i.e. serving the world, spiritual guidance and healing of monks. But he finally left the shutter only in 1825.
3. The Most Holy Theotokos visits Seraphim. Elder Seraphim, one of the few saints in the history of Russia, was honored with a visit to the Most Holy Mother of God, who appeared to him twelve times. The Mother of God showed her first intercession for St. Seraphim long before he was tonsured a monk. As his Life tells, when he was ten years old, he became very seriously ill. One day the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to him in a dream and promised to heal him. And it happened at that time that he was walking in a religious procession with the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God along the street where his parents’ house stood. Suddenly, a heavy downpour fell on the marchers and the religious procession turned into the courtyard of their house. The boy’s mother hastened to take him out and place him next to the icon. Since then the boy began to recover.
In 1780, already a novice of the Sarov Monastery, he became seriously ill, possibly with dropsy. The illness lasted three years without leaving him. One day, Elder Joseph of Sarov served the Divine Liturgy for the health of a sick man, and the sick man confessed and received communion. And then, in the Ineffable Light, the Mother of God appeared to the sick man with the apostles John and Peter. The Lady, pointing to John the novice, said: “This one is of Our kind.” And she laid her right hand on his head, and with the staff she held in her left hand, She touched the sick man. This touch left the novice with a depression in his leg, through which the accumulated fluid began to flow out, causing him excruciating suffering. Thus, miraculously, the patient recovered again. Later, on the site of the miraculous healing of St. Seraphim, a temple was erected in the name of St. Zosima and Savvaty.
In 1804, Elder Seraphim, who had long since taken monastic vows, lived as a hermit in a forest cell. And three peasants attacked him, who were looking for money from the old man. They did not find any money, but they brutally beat the monk. The doctors called found that Father Seraphim had a broken head, broken ribs, and crushed lungs. The doctors examined the old man in bewilderment - how was he still alive?! And at that moment Elder Seraphim fell asleep, and he had a vision. The Most Holy Theotokos approached the bed with the apostles Peter and John and, pointing to the ascetic, said to Her companions: “This one is from Our race.” Waking up, the Monk Seraphim felt relief and began to recover. And the villainous peasants were soon found, but at the elder’s plea they were released.
Another miraculous vision happened in 1825. By that time, the Monk Seraphim was living in a monastery and in his secluded cell he was performing a new feat of seclusion and silence. The elder lived for five years in seclusion and complete silence, contemplating the Lord in prayer. He spent another ten years in his cell, receiving brethren and laity. And on November 25, the elder had a vision of the Mother of God, who commanded him to come out of seclusion and receive everyone who would need his consolation, advice and prayer. Thus began another feat of St. Seraphim - eldership. And everything happened according to the word of the Mother of God: people from all over Russia reached out to the elder for spiritual help and guidance. And he, being already in his old age, accepted everyone and refused no one for conversation and advice. Moreover, being filled with the Holy Spirit, the Monk Seraphim acquired the gift of insight and healing. And many people left him healed either spiritually or physically.
The great elder loved the Most Holy Theotokos unspeakably. Most of all, Elder Seraphim prayed before the icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness,” or “Joy of All Joys,” as the monk called it. This icon stood in the elder’s cell. The elder anointed the sick with oil from the lamp that burned in front of the icon. In front of this icon, in prayer, the Monk Seraphim went to the Lord. After the death of the elder, the “Tenderness” icon was transferred to the Diveyevo monastery. Since then, the icon became the Supreme Abbess of the Seraphim-Diveyevo monastery, and the abbess of the monastery was often called the vicegerents of the Supreme Abbess. In honor of the Icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness,” the Russian Orthodox Church established a holiday on July 28 (August 10).
4. Public service. And the Most Holy Theotokos also commanded St. Seraphim of Sarov to serve people. The fame of the great ascetic had long spread throughout Russia. But now, when the monk began to receive people, many pilgrims rushed to the Sarov monastery for spiritual healing. Possessing the ability to penetrate the soul and heart of everyone, the elder recognized the inner thoughts of any person and became a true spiritual support for many who suffered.
In addition, he was given the gift of healing. The elder himself suffered from a serious leg disease all his life, but he endured the suffering steadfastly and tried not to show his weakness. At the same time, through his prayers, many people recovered.
The monk helps even after death. There are many known cases of St. Seraphim helping people through prayers to the saint in their needs and troubles, illnesses and suffering.
5. An example for believers. Since the 18th century, the faith of many educated people, nobles and even ordinary people began to cool. People did not reject the Church, but they relied less and less on God, believing that they would manage without Him. They prayed less and less and visited the temple less and less, and visiting the temple for such people turned into an empty formality. The monk, by his personal ardent example, demonstrated a model of living faith, living communication between man and God, the Most Holy Theotokos. He showed everyone that the Lord and the Most Holy Theotokos hear every believer, their prayers and help every sincere believer.
6. Founding of the Diveevo Vvedensky Convent. On that day, November 25, 1825, Elder Seraphim, fulfilling the will of the Mother of God, came out of seclusion for the first time. He went into the forest to his distant desert. And on the banks of the Sarovka River the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to him again. She ordered the elder to found a new monastery near the village of Diveeva, next to the already existing women’s community. The Ever-Direct ordered that only girls be accepted into this monastery and She herself promised to be the permanent Abbess of the monastery. The maiden community was to be surrounded by a ditch and a rampart instead of a wall. The Mother of God called the new monastery Hers "the fourth lot on earth". The Monk Seraphim of Sarov fulfilled everything as prescribed. He founded the Vvedensky Convent, which soon became known throughout Russia.
7. Holy Trinity Seraphim-Diveevo Monastery was founded in the village. Diveyevo is 24 km away. from the city of Ardatov (now in the Nizhny Novgorod region) in 1780 through the works of the Ryazan noblewoman A.S. Melgunova (in monasticism - Alexandra), as the Kazan women's community. Having settled in the village. Diveevo, in 1775, at her own expense, Alexandra built a temple in the name of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, around which a women’s community developed. The spiritual leadership of the community was provided by elders Pachomius and Isaiah from the nearby Sarov Monastery. After their death, St. Seraphim of Sarov became the spiritual leader of the community.
In 1827, he separated the maidens from the widows and, fulfilling the command of the Mother of God, 100 sazhens from the Kazan community founded a separate Mill girls' community, which was located near the mill. The mill community was surrounded by a ditch dug by the sisters at the behest of St. Seraphim. At his insistence, a two-story church was added to the Kazan Church in the name of the Nativity of Christ and the Nativity of the Mother of God. After the death of Seraphim of Sarov, in 1842, both communities united into one - Seraphim-Diveevskaya, which in 1861 was transformed into a monastery.
In the XIX – early XX centuries. Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery was one of the largest convents in Russia. More than 1,000 nuns lived here. The architectural ensemble was a whole city, surrounded by a high stone wall. In the center of the monastery was the majestic five-domed Holy Trinity Cathedral with five chapels (1848–1875). In 1847–1848 A winter church was built, wooden, but on a stone foundation, in the name of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, which had two chapels, and on the lower floor - a special church in the name of the icon of the Mother of God “Quiet My Sorrows.” In 1855, a cemetery single-altar church in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord was built. At the almshouse, a temple was built in the name of the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” (1861). Behind the monastery fence were the previously founded Kazan and Nativity churches. By 1917, a new stone cathedral was completely built, but it was consecrated only in 1999 in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord.
After 1917, the monastery was destroyed, and in 1927 it was finally closed, the churches were destroyed, and the nuns were persecuted.
And yet, through the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos and all Orthodox Christians in 1990, after the miraculous discovery and transfer of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov, the revival of the monastery began. Its temples have been restored. Hundreds of nuns and novices serve in the monastery.
In 2003, the ditch around the former Maiden Community was also restored. And now the one who walks along the groove and reads the prayer “Rejoice to the Virgin Mary” the prescribed number of times can hope to receive God’s grace. For the Mother of God did not leave Her fourth lot on earth through intercession.
8. Venerable Seraphim of Sarov about the future of Russia. Today, many of the prophecies of Elder Seraphim are known concerning the historical destinies of Russia, including future disasters - revolutions, the ruin of the Church, the desecration of shrines, the greatest human sacrifices, when “the Russian Land will be stained with rivers of blood.”
The great elder also predicted the subsequent revival of Russia. One of the prophecies of the Venerable Elder Seraphim of Sarov reads: “But the Lord will not be completely angry and will not allow the Russian land to be completely destroyed, because in it alone Orthodoxy and the remnants of Christian piety are predominantly preserved.” And therefore: “The Lord will have mercy on Russia and lead it through suffering to great glory.”
9. Canonization of St. Seraphim of Sarov. The Venerable Seraphim of Sarov foresaw during his lifetime that he would be glorified in his holiness, he even foresaw the time of year when he would be glorified - it would be summer: “What joy we (in Sarov) will have! In the middle of summer they will sing Easter! And to the people, to the people from all sides, from all sides!” And so it happened: the discovery and transfer of the saint’s relics took place on July 19 (August 1), 1903, with a crowd of millions of people. In the same prophecy, the reverend elder foresaw many of the torments that Russia would undergo: “But this joy will be for a very short time; what will happen next... such sorrow that there has not been since the beginning of the world!.. The angels will not have time to receive souls! At these words, tears flowed from the old man’s eyes...
In 1903, in the presence of Nicholas II and the entire imperial family, the solemn canonization and transfer of the saint’s relics took place.
This holiday became a real triumph of Orthodoxy, attracting more than one and a half million people. Numerous healings of pilgrims took place.
In 1927, the Sarov monastery was closed, and the relics of the holy elder were taken to Moscow. Then they disappeared and were discovered only in 1990 in Leningrad. Thus, in 1990, the second discovery of the relics of Seraphim of Sarov took place and their solemn transfer to the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery.
And another important event occurred in April 2004: a particle of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus', was transferred to the main garrison of the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation - in Vlasikha, near Moscow, to the temple of St. Elijah of Murom.
And it is deeply symbolic that the nuclear center where our country’s nuclear weapons were created is located in Sarov. This is not accidental, because in the akathist to St. Seraphim it is said: “Rejoice at our Fatherland, shield and fence.” Therefore, it is believed that the nuclear shield of our state was created precisely through the prayers of St. Seraphim.
The most discussed topic in Russian society today is probably the question of ways to save and revive Russia. Everyone understands that the Russian state is in a deep crisis, but the reasons for the emergence of this crisis and the ways out of it are proposed differently, often geometrically opposite. In this context, I remember the question on the Armenian radio: “Will there be a third world war?” The answer from the Armenian radio: “No, there will be no war, but there will be such a struggle for peace that “no stone will be left unturned.” Something similar is happening today in our Country. Everyone is trying to save Russia with such enthusiasm that it becomes scary for Russia itself. This is similar to a situation where several people pull a blanket towards themselves, as a result of which it eventually breaks. Likewise, the Russian state, from the intensified attempts of various social, political and religious groups to save it, is already bursting at the seams.
Yes, there are enough problems in Russia today. But if we honestly look at the reality around us, we will see that these problems are not political, social or financial in nature, but, above all, spiritual. Indeed, the future of a country whose residents are foaming at the mouth to rebuild the right to kill their own children, to debauchery, to spiritual indifference and syncretism, who do not want to start families, continue the family line, serve in the army, etc., is very, very doubtful.
The Holy Fathers say that the spirit creates forms for itself. A healthy spirit creates healthy forms, and a sick spirit creates sick forms. And everything that was listed above is precisely a manifestation of the sick soul of our society. A body with a sick soul gradually dies, the same thing happens to the state. We see that the population of our country has been steadily declining catastrophically for the past 20 years. Faith, language, history, culture, traditions are forgotten, and the vacated territories are occupied by foreigners and people of other faiths.
You don’t need to be a “best student” to understand the simple truth: all this is happening to us as a consequence of the loss of the spiritual roots on which the Russian state was built for hundreds of years. Consequently, the path to salvation and revival of Russia is a return to our native roots. These roots are holy Orthodoxy. Whether we like it or not, whether we like it or not, this is a historical fact. The only thing that is surprising is the blindness of our compatriots who cannot (or do not want) to see, understand and acknowledge this fact. Look at what Russia was like before 1917, and what it became after the revolution, and everything will immediately become clear. But no, people continue to ignore this simple truth and continue to argue until they are hoarse about who is really to blame for what is happening to us today and how to get out of this impasse. Oppositions are formed, rallies gather, slogans are shouted, nationalists march, clashes and pogroms occur, parties and groups argue, prove, refute, and amid the noise of this political bacchanalia and confusion, the country is slowly approaching its end. People who put forward loud slogans and propose, in their opinion, ideal programs to bring Russia out of the impasse, forget a simple, long-known truth: if you want the world around you to change, change yourself. As our holy compatriot, St. Seraphim of Sarov, spoke about this: “Save yourself, and thousands around you will be saved.”
In the XIV century, our long-standing state also experienced not the easiest times. For more than 100 years, Rus' has been exhausted under the heavy Tatar-Mongol yoke. Just like today, Russian people argued about why Rus' fell into such trouble, who was to blame and how to get out of this difficult situation. The princes tried to solve this problem in their own way. Someone flirted with the khans, someone raised uprisings, which were immediately brutally suppressed, but all human attempts to turn the situation around did not lead to any results, the Russian people continued to suffer under heavy foreign oppression. Not everyone wanted to understand and admit that this disaster was allowed by God for human sins for the purpose of admonition, repentance and correction of the Russian people. But there were also those who understood the deep essence of the processes taking place in Rus'. One of these people was St. Sergius of Radonezh. The young boyar son of pious parents Cyril and Maria, an ardent believer in God and loving his Fatherland, with all his soul he wished for her deliverance from the hated foreign yoke, freedom, prosperity and prosperity. But he did not put forward loud slogans, did not offer beautiful solutions to save Rus', he simply went into the forest to save his soul and pray to God for the liberation of his native Fatherland from the misfortune that befell him. And his spiritual feat did not remain in vain. He saved himself, and saved the Russian land with his prayers, his life, and his example.
He reconciled the warring princes, calling them to peace and unanimity, called ordinary people to repentance, to change their lives, to pray for the long-suffering Fatherland. When the time came for the decisive battle with the hordes of Mamai, the Monk Sergius blessed the noble prince Dmitry Donskoy for a feat of arms, inspiring the soldiers with a prophecy about God granting victory. Along with the blessing, the Radonezh abbot sent two of his monks to the battle - former warriors Perestvet (Alexander) and Oslyabya (Andrey). And we know that it was the monk Peresvet, sent by St. Sergius, who entered into battle with the invincible and formidable Tatar fighter Chelubey, with whom none of the Russian troops dared to fight - so terrible and ferocious was his appearance, and having defeated him, instilled in the hearts of the Russians warriors faith in victory. Had Peresvet lost this fight, it is unknown how that fateful battle would have ended. On September 8, 1380, on the day of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Russian soldiers won a complete victory over the Tatar hordes on the Kulikovo field, marking the beginning of the liberation of the Russian land from the Tatar yoke.
During the battle, St. Sergius stood with his brethren in prayer and asked God to grant victory to the Russian army, and remembering by name the repose of the soldiers who fell in that battle.
More than a century has passed since then, but the fruits of the spiritual feat of St. Sergius continue today to nourish the souls and hearts of Russian people who come to pray in the very heart of Russia - the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, which was once a modest monastery in the Radonezh forests, founded by St. Sergius, inspiring they have hope that the Lord will not be completely angry and, through the prayers of the Radonezh abbot, will save and have mercy on the Russian land. And let the example of St. Sergius remind us, his descendants, that the salvation of Russia is not in changing the socio-political system, not in rallies, shouting and arguing, but in repentance, changing life and turning to God.
Nikolai Melnikov "Citizen"
Your Russia... Thinking about her,
Beware of temptations and deceptions:
One prayer can become stronger
Than a whole rally with a hundred bawlers.
"For Rus', to fight!" - everything is vanity of vanities,
And the souls were drowned in the vanity.
One prayer! But there is no prayer!
"To the fight, for Rus'!" - and again they were deceived.
Your enemy is not there - not on a horse with a spear
And not with a sword in an open open field,
He is invisible, he cannot be taken alive
Neither force nor shouts of “How long!”
Your enemy is a schism, distant, centuries-old,
And if there is no unity in souls -
He rejoices, and your feat is in vain
In the field of "Russian Salvation".
There is Faith, God, Fatherland and you!
This is the only thing that makes Russians people!
Make up your mind, leave the demonic vanity,
Even if they say “cowardly” in passing.
Go away! And pray furiously yourself,
So that God returns both Faith and unity,
Don't be ashamed of tears or repentance
In the name of long-awaited salvation.
From all the edges of the torn earth,
Prayers will flow upward like threads of gold,
So that they reach the Lord, all the Saints,
Asking for the blessing of the right battle!
Then the army will rise by itself,
And there will be one leader, one road,
Rus' will be saved...And let them not know
Why did you beg God for all this!
Our spiritual and moral military traditions are the same both for the Russian army of past centuries and for the modern Russian army. For centuries, the Russian warrior was the same plowman in the military field as his peaceful brother. The one to whom the military lot fell served precisely “for his friends.” War for the sake of war, for the sake of seizing other people's estates, wives, lands, was never encouraged in Russia. It is no coincidence that the heroes of our epic epic - the heroes guarding the peace of the country - are so different from the heroes of Western European knightly epic tales. Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich serve at the heroic outposts “for their friends.” Prince Vladimir in epics, the Tsar in Russian soldiers’ songs are a kind of personification of the idea of the state that the Russian soldier serves and defends. The Russian warrior maintains loyalty to him not out of honor, but out of conscience.
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Gorbulina Tatyana Gennadievna
music teacher Municipal Educational Institution Secondary School 5
Belorechensk city, Krasnodar region
Spiritual feat of Russian warriors (Level 1)
(Sl.2)
Smolensk and Tula, Kyiv and Voronezh
They are proud of their past glory.
Where you can’t touch our land with a staff, -
There are traces of the past everywhere.
The past time gives us treasures:
Dig with a shovel and you will find everywhere -
Here in Danzig there is a forged stirrup,
And there is an arrow, tempered in the Horde.
Buried a lot of rusty steel in the ground
Everyone who feasted with us!
Like a monument stands on a pedestal,
So Rus' stood on the enemy’s bones.
To us, vigilant guards of ancient glory,
Calls out our past commanding,
So that on the rusty iron of the enemy
And henceforth there was Russian land!
D. Kedrin
(Sl.3) On the monument to the Russian grenadiers who fell in the battles near Plevna, there is an inscription: “Greater than this love, no one can lay down his soul for his friends.” (There is no greater love than if someone lays down his soul for his friends).
Gospel of John
(Sl. 4, 5)
Our spiritual and moral military traditions are the same both for the Russian army of past centuries and for the modern Russian army. For centuries, the Russian warrior was the same plowman in the military field as his peaceful brother. The one to whom the military lot fell served precisely “for his friends”(Sl.6) War for the sake of war, for the sake of seizing other people's estates, wives, lands, was never encouraged in Russia. It is no coincidence that the heroes of our epic epic - the heroes guarding the peace of the country - are so different from the heroes of Western European knightly epic tales. Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich serve at the heroic outposts “for their friends”(Sl. 7) Prince Vladimir in epics, the Tsar in Russian soldiers' songs are a kind of personification of the idea of the state that the Russian soldier serves and defends. The Russian warrior maintains loyalty to him not out of honor, but out of conscience.
Stands behind the holy altars,
Behind God are crowned kings,
For the coffins of our forefathers, dear ones,
For wives, fathers and children.
(Sl.8) How marvelously, over the centuries, God’s providence has clearly manifested itself for our Russian Land, for its fate. Rus' was largely enlightened through princes, because a prince is, first of all, a military and economic leader. The princes strove for statehood, through them Rus' was enlightened by faith. When Rus' was divided into small principalities, when family ties were lost, then they were united by faith. They were “instruments” in the hands of the Lord. Andrei Bogolyubsky and Alexander Nevsky were the first to begin to gather the Russian Land and raise the people to war against the invaders.
(Sl.9) The holy noble prince Andrei Bogolyubsky (1110-1174), grandson of Vladimir Monomakh, son of Yuri Dolgoruky and the Polovtsian princess (in Holy Baptism of Mary), was named Bogolyubsky in his youth for his constant deep prayerful attention, diligence in church services and “hidden prayers” appropriation to God."(Sl. 10) From his grandfather, Vladimir Monomakh, the grandson inherited great spiritual concentration, love for the Word of God and the habit of turning to Scripture in all cases of life.The conquest of the great Volga route became for Saint Andrew the main task of his public service to Russia.(Sl.11) By the end of 1170, Bogolyubsky managed to achieve the unification of the Russian land under his rule. On the night of June 30, 1174, Saint Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky suffered martyrdom at the hands of traitors in his Bogolyubsky castle. The Russian Church remembers and honors its martyrs and creators. Andrei Bogolyubsky has a special place in it. Taking in his hands the miraculous image of the Vladimir Mother of God, the holy prince seemed to bless with it the most important events of Russian history from now on. Through the prayers of Saint Andrew, his most cherished aspirations came true for the Russian Church.
(Sl.12) The Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky was born on May 30, 1220 in the city of Pereslavl-Zalessky. The most difficult time in the history of Rus' began: Mongol hordes were coming from the east, hordes of knights were approaching from the west. At this terrible hour, God’s Providence raised up the holy Prince Alexander, a great prayer warrior, ascetic and builder of the Russian land, for the salvation of Rus'.(Sl.13) Taking advantage of Batu's invasion, hordes of crusaders invaded the borders of the Fatherland. The Swedes were the first. Many ships approached the Neva under the command of Birger. St. Alexander, who was not yet 20 years old at the time, prayed for a long time in the Church of Hagia Sophia. Archbishop Spyridon blessed the Holy Prince and his army for battle. Coming out of the temple, Alexander strengthened his squad with words filled with faith: “God is not in power, but in truth. Some with weapons, others on horses, but we will call on the Name of the Lord our God!” “And there was a great slaughter with the Latins, and he killed countless numbers of them, and he put a seal on the leader’s face with a sharp spear.” For this victory on the Neva River, won on July 15, 1240, the people called St. Alexandra Nevsky.(Sl.14) The German knights remained a dangerous enemy. In 1241 lightning march of St. Alexander returned the ancient Russian fortress of Koporye, expelling the knights. In winter 1242, he liberated Pskov, and on April 5 he gave the Teutonic Order a decisive battle on the ice of Lake Peipsi. The Crusaders were completely defeated. Name of St. Alexandra became famous throughout Holy Rus'.
(Ml. 15) The western borders of the Russian land were securely fenced, the time had come to secure Rus' from the east. In 1242 St. Alexander Nevsky and his father, Yaroslav, went to the Horde. The Lord crowned the sacred mission of the defenders of the Russian Land with success, but it took years of work and sacrifice.
In 1252, many Russian cities rebelled against the Tatar yoke. Once again a threat arose to the very existence of Rus'. St. Alexander again had to go to the Horde to ward off the punitive invasion of the Tatars from the Russian lands. St. Alexander became the sole Grand Duke of all Rus'.
(Sl.16) The ascetic prince gave up his spirit to the Lord on November 14, 1263, completing his difficult life's journey by accepting the holy monastic schema with the name Alexy. His holy body was carried to Vladimir, the journey lasted nine days, and the body remained incorrupt. On November 23, during his burial in the Nativity Monastery in Vladimir, God revealed “a marvelous miracle worthy of memory.”
The incorrupt relics of the blessed prince were discovered, according to a vision, before the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380, and then a local celebration was established. Church-wide glorification of St. Alexander Nevsky took place under Metropolitan Macarius at the Moscow Council in 1547.
(Sl.17) On August 30, 1721, Peter I, after a long and exhausting war with the Swedes, concluded the Peace of Nystad. It was decided to consecrate this day by transferring the relics of the blessed prince Alexander Nevsky from Vladimir to the new northern capital, St. Petersburg. Taken from Vladimir on August 11, 1723, the holy relics were brought to Shlisselburg on September 20 and remained there until 1724, when on August 30 they were installed in the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, where they rest today. The celebration was established by decree of September 2, 1724, restored in 1730.
The name of the defender of Russia's borders and patron of warriors is known far beyond the borders of our Motherland.
(Sl.18) St. Demetrius Donskoy was born in 1350, raised under the guidance of St. Alexy of Moscow. The Christian piety of Saint Prince Demetrius was combined with his talent as an outstanding statesman. He devoted himself to the cause of unifying Russian lands and liberating Rus' from the Tatar-Mongol yoke.
Gathering forces for the decisive battle with the hordes of Mamai, St. Demetrius asked for blessings from St. Sergius of Radonezh. The elder inspired the prince and sent the schema monks Alexander (Peresvet) and Andrey (Oslyabyu) to help him.
(Sl. 19, 20) For the victory on the Kulikovo field (between the Don and Nepryadva rivers) on the day of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Prince Dimitri began to be called Donskoy.
(Sl.21) He established the Assumption Monastery on the Dubenka River and created the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the graves of fallen soldiers. Saint Demetrius reposed in the Lord on May 19, 1389, and was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.
(Sl.22)
Oh, abusive knight! You're sad
Alone, with drooping head,
You wander around dark and dumb,
Among the graves, among the ruins;
Do you see in your homeland
Traces of fires and swords.
(Sl.23) And let the feat of present-day Rus' be in memory of the future
(Sl.24) We would all like to live in a world free from wars and all kinds of violence. But, unfortunately, the world around us is still full of military dangers, and therefore, along with peaceful workers, our country needs warriors to protect our native Fatherland.
(Mk. 25)
To become a man, it’s not enough for them to be born,
How to become iron - it is not enough to be ore.
You must melt, break,
And, like ore, sacrifice yourself.
Willingness to die is also a weapon,
And you will use it once...
Men die if necessary
And that is why they live for centuries.
(Sl.26)
Rus! Great pain
She twisted my heavy arms.
I merge with you
I accept countless torments.
How many troubles are behind you,
What have I been able to accomplish with you! Rus!
You have become a country
Became forever great Russia.
And for all time you have
Invariably wealth -
You are immensely strong
The righteousness of selfless brotherhood.
(Sl.27) For the sake of the lives of other people, our ancestors died in the armies of Dmitry Donskoy, Mikhail Kutuzov, Georgy Zhukov... And it is for the sake of life in their native land that our contemporary warriors carry out their service today, often filled with mortal dangers.
A low bow to them for this, for that great love, without which it is impossible to sacrifice life for the sake of other people, without which it is impossible to be a real soldier, a warrior.
(Sl.28, 29)
Wherever you are
Honest Russian warrior, remember:
There's a buzz about you.
Be always worthy to wear in your blood
The angry heat of great kinship.
Fight in battles of equal and unequal
To end! Pay the enemy in full!
(Mk. 30)
The world is beautiful, soldier,
Although unpeaceful at times.
You will walk the path to the end,
You will save the light over the world.
You look like your father
You look like your grandfather.
(Sl.31)
List of sources:
- Collection “For Life on Earth”
- Textbook by A.V. Borodina “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture”, M. Publishing House “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture”, 2006.
MBOU Grushevskaya secondary school
Essay on local historyon the topic of:
« Spiritual exploits of ordinary people as an example of high morality.”
Cherskova Tatyana Aleksandrovna,
Head of the circle “Young local historian”,
teacher of Orthodox culture
Stanitsa Grushevskaya, Aksai district, Rostov region
2015
First meeting. Life of A. M. Cheremisina during the Great Patriotic War.
In Art. Grushevskaya I came to work as a teacher of Russian language and literature in the eighties of the 20th century after graduating from university, i.e. in Soviet times. Then I had no idea about visiting the temple, even occasionally.
I began going to church services in the name of the Holy Great Martyr Barbara, thereby becoming involved in the service of God, in other words, gradually “becoming a church member” in the early 2000s.
Icon of the Holy Great Martyr Barbara
One day I found myself next to a student from our school, Nastya Pyatnitsyna. Nastya drew my attention to my grandmother, who walked past us and stopped in a corner separate from everyone else, and when she was completely tired, she sat down on a chair. Apparently her back hurt, because she stood bent over, and her arm joints were also twisted, I understood this from the way she crossed herself with difficulty. Pyatnitsyna Lyudmila Viktorovna, Nastya’s aunt, who serves as a psalm reader at the church, told us about her: “This is Grandma Anya, she always goes to our Varvarinskaya church, never misses a service, and before she went to the church on Grushevka.”
For some reason, this word “always” surprised me, and I really wanted to know as much as possible about this person. My friend, Druzhinina Lyubov Mikhailovna, told me that at first she lived with her grandmother Anya in her apartment when she first arrived to work as a mathematics teacher in a high school.
The angelic passage of their lives and high revelations are incompatible for the mind of a sinful person, inexperienced, wandering in sin. But then we notice that God’s chosen servants do not disappear from our sinful land. They, it turns out, live very close by and can be the simplest and most inconspicuous, but when you get to know the details of their lives more closely, you can simply be shocked by their purity, morality, and fortitude!
Cheremisina Anna Mikhailovna (nee Sodkova) was born in 1931, on June 18, in the Cossack farm of Log, Rostov region, Romanovsky district, not far from the city of Volgodonsk (it did not exist at that time).
There were five children in the family, her father was engaged in fishing on the Don, everyone grew grapes together, the family was friendly and hardworking. When Anna turned 10 years old, the war began three days later. My father was taken to the front. Before the long journey, his mother blessed him, put on a cross, and sewed the prayer “Living Help” into his tunic (with which he did not part throughout the difficult and long road of the war). The family prayed tirelessly for their father’s life, and also for the war to end quickly. And it was then, as a ten-year-old child, that Anya made a promise to God (then she did not know that this was called a “vow” - a solemn promise, obligation *): If her father returns from the war alive, she will pray to God all her life and go to church .
Like so many people during those difficult war years, the family had a very hard time. Mother and older brother went to work in the fields, digging trenches. Anya remained the eldest in the family with three children: little sisters and a brother who had just been born. Anya fed them, put them to bed, bathed them, dressed them, although she herself was still a child.
From the memoirs of Anna Mikhailovna: “During the bombing, when the fighting took place near the farm, everyone was hiding in the trenches, they were constantly hungry and cold. It was scary, the ground shook from the bombing, and in the trenches it rocked like a cradle, the children cried and prayed, the mother asked and even forced us children to pray so that they would not fall asleep from the cold and freeze. And I prayed that my mother and father would not die at that time, that my brothers and sisters would not be left without parents.”
And the Lord was merciful, as she said, my father returned from the front, went through the whole war, was wounded, and reached Berlin.
This is what Anna Mikhailovna told my friend Lyuba about her life: “When I was 15 years old, my mother died. The youngest brother and sister were left in their arms. There was nothing to eat. I cut reeds to feed the children. Almost always in winter, the water froze in the boots, while these reeds were being cut, there was extreme cold, but my feet were bare, what socks were there, there was nothing.”
Since those childhood years, faith in God grew stronger, but there were no churches in the area; they were damaged during bombing, or were destroyed by Soviet power.
Cheremisina A.M. is a parishioner of the church in the name of the Holy Apostle John the Theologian, then the Varvara Church.
In 1960, Anna Mikhailovna and her husband, a participant in the Great Patriotic War, a communist, arrived in the village of Grushevskaya. At the behest of the Communist Party, as they said then. My husband was appointed director of a dairy plant here.
What first of all attracted and pleased her in the village of Grushevskaya was the presence of two churches.
She immediately began visiting the temple in the name of the Apostle John the Theologian.
Anna Mikhailovna really missed her family, because there were no relatives here in the village, but she did not leave, although she and her husband could, after a while, do so.
Relatives of Anna Mikhailovna (standing in the second row, second from left), 60 years old.
She never forgot about her promise to go to church, but in her homeland there was still no church.
Love and faith in the Lord and the Most Holy Theotokos overcame the husband’s multiple prohibitions from attending church. How she managed this, only she herself knows: how she cooked food at night, washed and cleaned during the day, looked after the children, and most importantly, so that her husband did not get angry, because bosses like him very often came to visit them with their wives, and, of course, always and everywhere, in every corner, there had to be impeccable order, as well as a “set” table, as they say in the village.
And how many atheistic conversations were held with her! Her husband locked her in the house, even beat her and locked her up, but nothing helped.
She told him: “Do what you want, but it’s better to be kind, I will still go to temple.”
Despite her husband’s frequent cruelty, coming to church and communicating there with deeply religious people: the priest of those years - Boris and mother, she felt that her faith only grew stronger.
Anna Mikhailovna constantly read divine books, prayed, always kept fasts, never forced anyone from her family to do this, and repeated that everything was the will of God, a person must understand everything himself.
“A Christian person,” teaches Saint Dmitry of Rostov, “must take care according to his strength so that, with God’s help, day by day and hour by hour, he comes to perfection in good deeds.”*
And he continues this thought in his Teaching: “How then? Here's how: you need to love what God loves, and never love what God does not love; do what pleases God and diligently avoid what does not please God.”*
This is exactly how Anna Mikhailovna lived. After burying her parents, she prayed for their souls.
She prayed for an unbelieving husband, and God heard her prayers; her husband, who had always been an atheist, suddenly in 1970 unexpectedly agreed to marry her. Having secretly agreed with Father Boris, they went late in the evening along the mountain, and not along the street, so that no one would see, to church to get married.
*(Teaching for Thursday of the 20th week on the Holy Spirit).
What power of persuasion! What faith in God! What made an “inveterate” atheist get married in the 70s?!
Yes, she did not force anyone, she always said: “There is freedom for the free, and heaven for the saved!” Don't look at me." But she didn’t welcome it if there was a noisy party during Lent or music was played. I always fasted. I tried to go to confession and communion as often as possible. She spoke about communion in the words of Demetrius of Rostov: “In the cup of the Lord there is life, and the kingdom, and friendship with the angels. Oh, how great is the gain of communion from her!
Where the cup of the Lord is not partaken, there is no life, but death; there is no kingdom, but Gehenna; there the angels are far away, and the demons are close.”*
I prayed for my sons who served in the army, then for my grandchildren and daughters-in-law, and great-grandchildren.
Relatives of Anna Mikhailovna (standing second from right), 80s.
In 1992, after graduating from the pedagogical institute, Druzhinina L.M. came to the village to work in a secondary school as a mathematics teacher and began teaching Anna Mikhailovna’s granddaughters: Irina and Anya. That’s how Young Lyubushka and the already aged Aunt Anya met and became friends, but this did not interfere with their friendship. Lyubov Mikhailovna says: “In 1988, my mother, E. S. Varankina, died. Nothing worldly consoled me. There was such emptiness in my soul. While I was studying, I went to the cathedral in Rostov, but rarely. And when I arrived in Grushevka, I went to church. It was a weekday, the temple was closed. The candle maker said that there would be a liturgy on Sunday. I went and met Anna Mikhailovna there. I began to visit her often. Each house has its own smell when you walk inside. Aunt Anya’s house smells of freshness, wood, newness, as if something new was bought, and cleanliness.
And everything in her house was amazingly clean! In the bedroom everything is covered in icons, there are a lot of old books. She always gave them to read. She and I talked about God, faith, holy people. She spoke quietly, calmly, sometimes even in a whisper.
You and I are talking about God, Mikhailovna,” she addressed me, “and he is with us now!” You see the broom in the corner,” continued Aunt Anya, “I would like this broom, like this in a corner, if only in heaven, next to God.
She often talked about her husband. I once told a dream:
I dreamed of my husband, Mikhailovna, either a dream or reality: he sat down on the edge of my bed and said:
Thank you, Anya!
He got up and then left silently.
My prayers probably helped.
So she understood the meaning of his words. Aunt Anya had a huge influence on me: she brought me into church, strengthened me in my faith in God, in showing love and great respect for the saints and shrines of the Russian land. She told the Lives of the Saints: Nicholas the Pleasant, Dmitry of Rostov, Sergius of Radonezh, Barbara, John the Theologian, Seraphim of Sarov, about whom she spoke especially a lot:
His legs are sore, he stood on a stone for a thousand days and nights and prayed for people, for us.
Where did the saints get such spiritual powers? – I asked.
From God, Lyubushka, from God.
She always accompanied me with gifts: pies, pies, Lenten pies, she baked bread herself. We'll drink tea, and he'll give it with us. And she ate very little. Always so skinny, but what a huge, bright, pure soul! With her, other people became brighter in soul and purer.”
Anna Mikhailovna often repeated to her children and grandchildren: “I go to church, and my soul becomes light, all grievances are forgiven.” There were always icons and divine literature in her room, even in those “persecuted years,” as she said, she did not allow anyone to remove them from the house. She always treated them with great respect and love; a lamp was always burning next to the icons.
Anna Mikhailovna Cheremisina died on April 27, 2011, Easter Week. Our father Pavel performed the funeral service for her, his parishioner, as he says. And the priest also said the following words about Anna Mikhailovna:
Pure, bright, very correct, she died in the days of the chosen ones.
And Anna Mikhailovna addresses us with the words of the priest from the sermon in the church: “Believe heartily in God; please him with faith and righteousness; Place all your hope in Him, and call on Him from your heart; and He is near you, ... and looks at your feat, and with an invisible hand strengthens you and helps you ... The Lord will save you from all evil, the Lord will preserve your soul.”*
These words and her spiritual testament to us, adults and children of the difficult, more often cruel than the kind 21st century, but ours, dear, because we will continue to live in it. But we have a spiritual testament, and also the memory that Anna Mikhailovna fulfilled her promise to God in childhood.
The house in which Cheremisina A.M. lived.
*Brief conversations about spiritual life for the common people, Moscow, 1995.
March 28 is the anniversary of Archpriest Vladimir Vorobyov, rector of the Church of St. Nicholas in Kuznetskaya Sloboda and the churches assigned to it, one of the founders and rector of the Orthodox St. Tikhon Humanitarian University - the most important theological and church-historical educational and scientific center.
PSTGU is a unique educational institution; its goal is to provide theological education to the laity. It would seem that the laity really needs theology? It is necessary, Father Vladimir is sure. And to unchurched people too. Because theology is not only the basis of faith, but also the most important, if not the main, part of the body of secular humanities - that is, those teaching about man - sciences, since it speaks about the most important thing for a person - about his connection with God and about him as the image of God . Through the efforts of Father Vladimir, theological knowledge is now taught in many secular universities and universities.
And for us - the abbot of the Sretensky monastery, its inhabitants, seminarians, parishioners and employees - the many years of work of Father Vladimir in perpetuating the memory of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church, collecting and systematizing information about those who suffered for the faith during the years of Soviet persecution are especially valuable, for the heavenly the patron of the monastery, Hieromartyr Hilarion (Troitsky), is one of them.
We sincerely congratulate Father Vladimir on his 75th birthday, we wish God’s help in his many different works, strength of spirit, vigor of body, joy and prosperity. Many years!
The Church and its role in the life of society, the importance of achievement in Christian life, the significance of spiritual tradition and the problems that arise when tradition is interrupted... Father Vladimir constantly talks about this in his sermons, speeches, and words. We offer our readers a small selection of the pastor’s statements on these topics.
About faith and the Church
Religion is not “the opium of the people,” as Lenin said. On the contrary, this is the highest spiritual dispensation, which helps a person to be a person and makes society human, where a person is not a wolf to a person, but a brother and neighbor.
The Church has proven that it is not an earthly organization that can be closed or destroyed, it is the living Body of Christ. It turned out that she was not connected with any earthly forms. You can destroy all earthly forms of her life, but this does not make her weaker. She responds to deadly persecution with a confessional feat, holiness, and wins.
Those coming from outside do not understand what the Church is. The Lord says: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick... I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9: 12-13). It’s stupid to be indignant and surprised that there are many sick people in the hospital - that’s why it exists, to treat the sick.
Everything of Christ is impeccable, but the human component has serious flaws, which are only gradually healed with God’s help.
The urgent task is to instill in parishioners or “visitors” - in a word, in those who want to consider themselves members of the Church - a sense of duty, responsibility, and finally - the obligation to participate in the life of the Church not only as a “recipient” of spiritual and other benefits, but and as a “child” who must take care of his Mother Church.
Getting used to sacred things, getting used to confession is one of the most terrible evils in our church life. And this happens because, firstly, there is no opportunity or conditions for correct confession, and secondly, we do not have a correct understanding of what confession is for those who live a constant church life, who often receive communion.
One can dare to say that the revolution, with all its tragic consequences, was largely due to the de-churching of the Russian people. De-churching, which occurred as a result of the transformation of church life into church life, as a result of a decrease in grace-filled life, grace-filled communication with God before the performance of church rites. People stopped feeling what “sacrament” means, they stopped finding a meeting with God in the sacrament.
About the priesthood
The priest does not serve by his own strength. But God’s grace cannot burn out. If a shepherd lives as he should, that is, he strives towards God with all his heart, performs his service with a prayerful request for help, with a humble awareness of his unworthiness, his weakness, then the grace of God acts in him and gives him the strength to serve. The Holy Scripture says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
The fault of the clergy - very often we seduce unstable people with our behavior. The priest must show the image of Christ - this is the essence of the priesthood. If the priest reveals a completely different image, then many, due to spiritual weakness and lack of faith, cannot overcome such a temptation. And their weakness does not relieve responsibility from the one who seduced the weak.
Most of all, a priest should be afraid of substitution, because substitution carries within itself the spirit of Antichrist instead of the Spirit of Christ. He must look: is he not lost, has he not forgotten the only correct goal? Is he coming to Christ, and is he ready to sacrifice everything in order to stay with Christ? And he must boldly admit that he knows little, little succeeds, and among those who follow him there are very few true spiritual children. And, while engaging in all kinds of activities - charitable, teaching, organizational, construction, and simply administering services and requirements - the priest must remember one thing that is needed - that the most important thing, which can never be sacrificed, cannot be compromised, - real life with God, a life of grace. Everything else without a grace-filled life has no value, no meaning and will only give the opposite result.
About the spiritual heritage of Orthodoxy
The teaching about the spiritual life of man is nowhere given in such amazing and grace-filled completeness as that of the holy fathers of the East. And every Christian who wants to live a spiritual life, and especially every pastor, must not only be familiar with patristic asceticism, but must constantly be in communication with the holy fathers, constantly read them, so that their perception of spiritual life is alive in his heart . And not only read, but also follow them yourself, live a spiritual life, know from personal experience what the holy fathers are talking about.
The best confessors have always been holy people - not psychoanalysts, psychiatrists and psychologists who provide “trust services”, give advice, and understand human mental states. It is not they who turn out to be the best spiritual doctors, but precisely holy people who act by other methods, have grace-filled gifts, know how to pray and know how to call on God for help and show this grace-filled Divine power to a weak and suffering person.
Orthodox theology is a great treasure, and it must be preserved and increased for the Russian Church and our people.
About spiritual life and feat
A gracious life with God is possible only when a person lives by feat. Without this feat, there is no spiritual, grace-filled life.
“The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force” (Matthew 11:12), says the Lord, that is, by feat. Any spiritual achievement must be suffered, but we received church life with ease, as a gift. It doesn’t even occur to us that if a person calls himself a Christian, he must work spiritually.
To pass on faith to a new generation, the feat of the older generation is necessary. Not lukewarm, “convenient”, “comfortable” Christianity, but precisely the feat of faith. This is absolute intransigence towards sin, primarily in oneself.
There must be a feat of prayer, humility, love, obedience, a feat of constant struggle with one’s passions, with one’s pride, vanity, ambition, lust for power, irritability and all other passions. There must be constant attention to yourself, to your spiritual life, very demanding attention. You need to notice every false step you take, repent of it, and correct yourself. Without such a spiritual life, without spiritual work, there will be no grace of God in a person’s heart. And most of all, humility is needed, because “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
When a person cannot do something, but with faith that God will help him, rushes towards this difficulty - this is a feat. As soon as a person begins to live by such a feat of faith, overcoming himself and his passions, spiritual life opens up for him.
Each time has its own level of difficulty and its own spiritual achievements. The Lord will not impute to us that we do not reach such levels, such righteousness, holiness, as the ancient saints.
There are very few people who truly want to seek the achievement of spiritual life. The overwhelming majority is looking for spiritual life, spiritual comfort, spiritual relationships, earthly life, not heavenly, does not want to free itself from their passions, does not want to give up their will, does not want to sacrifice anything significant.
When a person works and lives by feat, then limitation is removed and goes away. The Lord, with His grace, fills everything necessary besides man and besides the priest.
Humility is the basis of spiritual life, humility is given through obedience, through constant endurance of sorrows, through constant victory over one’s pride, over one’s vanity, over one’s resentment.
What is passion? Passion is a spiritual phenomenon, that is, it cannot be fully explained rationally. The spiritual is higher than the spiritual, the spiritual is also very often irrational, and therefore everything here is impossible to explain, it is impossible to understand with the mind, but you can understand a lot with the heart, having experience.
Prelest is a Slavic word; “flattery” is translated into Russian by the word “lie”. Prelest means self-deception. A person thinks that he is on the right path, but in fact he is on the wrong path. If he is left on this false path, he may go away and will definitely get lost and die.
You should always remember the danger of slandering a person. This is a terrible sin.
The most important thing is to fulfill the will of God, to fulfill the commandment of God, this is the first duty, this is the way of life.
About family
We believe that the birth of a child cannot take place without the will of God, and if God gives spouses children in their married life, then resist this, and even more so use any means so that there are no children, while according to God’s plan they must be, there is a great sin. This sin makes a marriage completely different from what it should be. Therefore, very often such marriages break up and are unhappy.
I am sure that it is more correct to give birth to children without looking back, without calculations: “Where will I settle them? How will I feed you?” The idea of family planning is fundamentally flawed. After all, all children are God's. The Lord knows how to plan better than us.
A good family is a great force; it, like a magnet, attracts many people to itself, enlightens all life around it, shows the way, and preaches love with its very life.
About raising children
The first thing necessary to raise a child is love for him. Love is not in general, but specifically for each specific child, someone must love him very much: parents, confessor, teacher.
The most important thing for a child is the example of his parents. He needs to see how they pray, how they treat people, how they communicate with each other, to feel the Christian spirit in this communication.
Looking the truth in the eye, we must admit that in the Orthodox environment we are increasingly observing the inability of the family to resist modern temptations, which with enormous force “lure” children out of the Orthodox family, from the Orthodox school, even from the Orthodox church to which they go with childhood.
The modern generation of parents is not capable or does not know how to show an image of Orthodoxy that is authoritative for their children. He does not know how to convey to them his faith, to convince them of the correctness of his vision of the world, his assessment of the destructive trends developing in the world. This is a consequence of a “break” in the continuity of generations, perhaps the most terrible of the fruits of long-term persecution of the Orthodox faith.
The most serious problem of a large family is education. Modern parents have forgotten how to raise children. Previously, in a large family, everyone had their own responsibilities: the elders helped their parents raise the younger ones and worked together with them. The living conditions themselves contributed to education. In the city, in this sense, it is much more difficult. A mother who stays in a cramped apartment with a large number of children (the father is usually at work all day) finds it very difficult to cope with them.
Only a combination of pastoral, teacher's love with rigor can produce good results in the education and upbringing of students. A university cannot exist without scientific work. But its main goal is still education and upbringing.
About Russia
Our people must understand that we have nowhere to retreat - our children are behind us. If you are a member of the Church, then be aware: what have you done to save your people?
We hope that with the return of our people to the Orthodox faith, normal life according to the Christian moral law will begin in our country, the Orthodox family will be revived, in which the birth and upbringing of children will be a joyful feat. Russian patriotism, honest work, Russian kindness known to the whole world, the invincible Russian army will return - everything that had its root in the Orthodox faith and Orthodox upbringing.