Bishop of Pyatigorsk and Circassia Theophylact: I understood that I had little chance

There are articles on Wikipedia about other people with the name Feofilakt and the surname Kuryanov.

Biography

Born in Grozny into a military family: “I was brought up in a Cossack family, where Orthodox traditions were always especially revered, so I was in Orthodoxy from a very early age.” In 1991 he graduated from high school.

On April 5, 1994, Metropolitan Gideon of Stavropol and Vladikavkaz was tonsured a monk and named in honor of the Monk Theophylact the Confessor, Bishop of Nicomedia. On April 23, Bishop Eugene of Vereisky ordained him to the rank of hierodeacon, and on June 5 of the same year - to the rank of hieromonk.

In 1996, he graduated from the Stavropol Theological Seminary and was appointed rector of the church under construction in the village of Ryzdvyany, Stavropol Territory.

In 2000, he entered the Institute of Friendship of Peoples of the Caucasus in the city of Stavropol, from which he graduated in 2004 with a degree in Psychology. In April 2001, he was elevated to the rank of abbot and appointed dean of the Izobilny district and rector of the St. Nicholas Church in the city of Izobilny.

In 2003, to continue his spiritual education, he entered the correspondence department of the Moscow Theological Academy.

Since December 2004, he was obedient to the secretary of the Stavropol bishop.

Bishop

On July 19, 2006, the Holy Synod elected Archimandrite Theophylact as Bishop of Magnitogorsk, vicar of the Chelyabinsk diocese[2].

On August 28, 2006, in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, Patriarch Alexy II elevated him to the rank of archimandrite.

On September 22, 2006 he was named Bishop of Magnitogorsk, Vicar of the Chelyabinsk Diocese.[3]

On September 24, 2006, in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, his episcopal consecration took place, which was performed by: Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II, Metropolitans of Krutitsy and Kolomna Juvenaly (Poyarkov), Metropolitan of Kaluga and Borovsk Clement (Kapalin), Metropolitan of Chelyabinsk and Chrysostom Job (Tyvonyuk) , Archbishop of Istra Arseny (Epifanov), Archbishop of Verei Evgeniy (Reshetnikov), Archbishop of Elista and Kalmyk Zosima (Ostapenko), Bishop of Filipopol Niphon (Saikali) (Patriarchate of Antioch), Bishop of Krasnogorsk Savva (Volkov), Bishop of Baku and Caspian Alexander (Ishchein) , Bishop of Stavropol and Vladikavkaz Feofan (Ashurkov), Bishop of Bronnitsky Ambrose (Ermakov), Bishop of Yeisk Tikhon (Lobkovsky)[4].

After the death of Bishop Mikhail of Kurgan and Shadrinsk, on August 11, 2008, by decree of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II, Bishop Theophylact was appointed temporary administrator of the Kurgan diocese.[5]

On October 6, 2008, by decision of the Holy Synod, he was appointed Bishop of Bronnitsky, vicar of the Moscow diocese, with the responsibility of managing the parishes of the Patriarchal Deanery in Turkmenistan[6].

On March 31, 2009, by decision of the Holy Synod, Bishop Theophylact was appointed ruling bishop of the Smolensk and Vyazemsk diocese, retaining responsibilities for the archpastoral care of Orthodox parishes in Turkmenistan.[7]

On March 22, 2011, he was transferred to the newly formed Pyatigorsk and Circassian department[8].

By the decision of the Holy Synod of March 16, 2012, he was confirmed as rector (hieroarchimandrite) of the Assumption of the Second Athos Beshtaugorsky Monastery in the city of Lermontov, Stavropol Territory[9].

On February 1, 2014, in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, in recognition of his hard work, he was elevated to the rank of archbishop.[10]

On February 4, 2016, due to the illness of Archbishop Zosima (Ostapenko) of Vladikavkaz and Alan, he was appointed temporary administrator of the Vladikavkaz diocese.[11]

Life of Saint Theophylact (Gubin), Bishop of Stavropol and Ekaterinodar

From birth to graduation from the Academy From graduation from the Academy to arrival in Stavropol At the Stavropol Cathedral Death and burial of the Pleasant of God Remember your mentors Troparion to St. Theophylact, Bishop of Stavropol Kontakion St. Theophylact, Bishop of Stavropol A century and a half ago (May 11, 1872) he rested in the cathedral city of Stavropol His Grace Theophylact, the fourth Bishop of the Caucasus and Black Sea since the founding of the Caucasian (Stavropol) Diocese (since 1866 - Caucasian and Ekaterinodar). His remarkable activity for the benefit of the Caucasian flock rightfully gave His Grace Theophylact a prominent, glorious place among other Caucasian hierarchs, and the Stavropol flock has long turned to the Saint with prayer for gracious help and intercession before the Lord.

From birth to graduation from the Academy

The future Saint was born in March 1818 in the family of a deacon in the village of Makovtsy, Tarussky district, Kaluga province, Dimitri Gubin, and in Holy Baptism he was named Theodore. From childhood he was brought up in a strictly religious spirit. Theodore Gubin's father was a strict faster, a man of an ascetic lifestyle. According to the memoirs of His Grace Theophylact, the father, despite his family life and life in the world, rarely ate meat, did not drink wine, and most of all loved to spend time doing household chores or reading the lives of saints.

Piety was the hallmark of the entire family. Theodore's brother subsequently accepted monasticism and became an archimandrite. The elder sister (his godmother), who nursed Saint Theophylact, also became a nun.

Due to the poverty of his parents, as a boy Theodore led a life full of deprivation and need. “Our parents did not care for us,” Bishop Theophylact later recalled. “In the seminary fellowship, we did not have many lucky people who, on the holidays of the Nativity of Christ, especially Easter, and during the summer holidays, could count on one-horse carts being sent for them from home by someone; this luxury was the lot of the few. A stick in your hands, a piece in your bosom - and off you go on your own two feet. This is how I usually walked around, and until the time everything was safe and profitable: you are there and do not take the horse and the worker away from the work.

In the 20th year of my life, when I was already in a theological class, I wanted to go home for Holy Easter to spend this holiday with my own family and relieve my soul, as they said then, with a better piece. Without thinking for long, I set off as usual, and this time on foot. It was April, the ground freed from snow began to thaw and dissolve, the road was dirty, walking was difficult, the movement here and there made sweat break out on my body. Here I come to a small river. At ordinary times, the river flows barely noticeably along its bed, but at that time it was a floodplain, it was overflowing, overflowing its banks, and yet there was no bridge or crossing on it. I think: What should I do? He took off his outer and lower clothes, tied them in a knot and in this position, supporting the knot with one hand above his head, started swimming straight across the river. I swam across safely, but what next! While I was getting dressed and putting on my shoes on the other side, I then felt a strong trembling in my body, from which I could not free myself the entire way to my parents’ house.

This road episode played a fatal role in the life of the young seminarian, causing him to develop pulmonary tuberculosis. The development of this disease was facilitated by material deprivation and intense studies within the walls of the Kaluga Theological Seminary, from which he graduated first in success.

He completed a course at the Moscow Theological Academy with the highest academic degree of Master of Theology. Here, at the age of 26, on March 8, 1842, while still a student, he took monasticism with the name Theophylact in honor of St. Theophylact, Bishop of Nicomedia.

One of Vladyka’s classmates recalled: “And before becoming a monk, he was a different person among us - focused, always self-controlled and so devout that he not only did not omit the obligatory services on Sundays and holidays, but attended evening services almost every day, especially at the relics Venerable Sergius. On March 15, 1842, the monk Theophylact was ordained a hierodeacon, and on June 28 - a hieromonk.

From graduation from the Academy to arrival in Stavropol Upon graduation from the Academy, in 1842, Hieromonk Theophylact was appointed inspector of the Olonets Theological Seminary and appointed as a mentor in the classes of “Interpretive Reading of the Holy Scriptures,” “Patristics,” “Sacred Hermeneutics,” Greek and Latin Fathers and Greek writers. On November 22, 1843, Hieromonk Theophylact was elevated to the degree of Master of Theology, and on July 27, 1844, the Master's Cross was conferred on Hieromonk Theophylact. From August 1 to November 11, 1844, he served as rector of the Petrozavodsk Theological Schools. On April 10 of the same year, according to the Highest Decree, he was approved as a member of the Petrozavodsk provincial prison committee.

On May 3, 1850, Father Theophylact was appointed rector of the Kaluga Seminary, professor of theological sciences, and appointed abbot of the Likhvinsky Intercession Monastery. On May 14, 1850, Hieromonk Theophylact was elevated to the rank of archimandrite. On July 25, 1850, Archimandrite Theophylact received the appointment of dean of the male monasteries of the Kaluga Diocese, and the next day he was included in the members of the Kaluga Theological Consistory.

Since December 1, 1857, Archimandrite Theophylact was the rector of the Volyn Theological Seminary, professor of theological sciences.

On September 22, 1860, he was appointed Bishop of Starorussky, vicar of the Novgorod diocese. Consecrated bishop - October 2, 1860 in St. Petersburg, in St. Isaac's Cathedral.

On December 1, 1862, Bishop Theophylact was appointed Bishop of the Caucasus, and on February 10, 1863, he arrived in the Cathedral City of Stavropol.

At the Stavropol See About the arrival of His Grace Theophylact in Stavropol there is evidence from a prominent Caucasian figure V. Insarsky, who wrote from here on February 9, 1863 to his wife: “Tomorrow they are expecting the arrival of a new bishop.” Some time later, on February 25, he reported: “Nothing remarkable has happened here during all this time, except for the arrival here from Novgorod of the new bishop Theophylact, whom I saw yesterday at mass.”

Bishop Theophylact arrived in the Caucasus at a time when the separation of the churches of the Caucasian Linear Cossack Army into the department of the Chief Priest of the Caucasian Army, which took place in 1845, was having a hard time making itself felt in diocesan life. Only the parishes of the Black Sea region and villages of the Caucasus region were subordinate to the Caucasian diocese. The cathedral city of Stavropol itself was surrounded by a dense ring of Cossack villages with parishes of the Stavropol Cossacks that were “alien” to the diocese.

Having taken over the administration of the diocese, which had been widowed for a year and a half, Bishop Theophylact first began to consider the many cases that had accumulated pending resolution. The new bishop amazed everyone with his amazing diligence. He read every matter, every petition, both in the diocesan and in the spiritual-educational department, with complete attention and resolved it, as required by justice and the benefit of the matter. It was unthinkable for the people who served under him to treat the matter without due responsibility. That is probably why the level of work of diocesan institutions - judicial, administrative and spiritual-educational departments rose quite significantly under him: the diocesan judicial institution did not know of a single appealed decision that in the highest spiritual court would not have been recognized as resolved fairly.

His Grace Theophylact was very absorbed in the thought of improving the Caucasian diocese entrusted to him by God. It often happened that he would wake up at night, remember about some important matter, light a candle in order to write down the thoughts that came to him on paper with a pencil. And the next morning, new orders from the Archpastor were ready for the consistory officials. He was especially concerned about unresolved matters concerning priests. The Bishop often said with contrition: “Why not hurry!” After all, these are not clergymen, but priests. They fed, the light, the salt of their arrival. Perhaps the helm has long been in need of correction, the salt has fizzled out and is losing its properties, and the light is dimming, and we are doing nothing to prevent harm and curb temptation.

Traveling around the diocese, Vladyka spent, if there was not enough time during the day, then also night conversations with the clergy of the surrounding parishes. Despite his deep fatigue, he spoke with amazing inspiration about the high calling of the shepherd, about his labors, needs and sorrows. “He himself will be moved, he will touch and bring his interlocutors to tears,” recalled one of the participants in such meetings. “His word was powerful and warm!”

To all requests to take care of weak health, affected by a serious illness and not to bring oneself to complete exhaustion, there was always the same answer: “No, friends, not like that!” That's not who I am. Until I’m in the grave, I won’t let go of my staff.

With great joy, he announced in 1866 in the Cross Church of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called a decree on assigning benefits from the treasury to diocesan religious and educational institutions, which significantly strengthened them financially. For the addition of the second floor above the wing of the theological school, he contributed 500 rubles from his personal funds, and another 500 rubles from the bishop’s house.

He was very upset by the scattered and cramped premises of the theological seminary, which adversely affected the educational work there. The educational premises and dormitory were located in private houses scattered across the city. However, even then, Caucasian seminarians differed in spirit from Russian seminarians.

“The students of the Caucasian Seminary differ sharply from the original type that characterizes the seminarians in the central provinces of Russia,” wrote S. Kersky, who audited the seminary in 1871. This difference, according to him, was caused by three factors influencing spiritual development. `This is the warm southern climate, the military environment in which he has moved from a young age, and the position of his family.' The climate explains his lively and active temperament. In a military environment, he adopts external manners and borrows concepts about the rules and requirements of public life. His sympathies are formed in his own family. According to Kersky, the students of the Caucasian seminary do not have that bitter, corrosive feeling of discontent and embitterment that usually develops in the type of student. On the contrary, they are dominated by contentment with the present and a calm outlook on the future... A sense of honor is the main motive for their moral actions. It protects them from gross vices and corrects them from laziness.

Although, given such features of the Caucasian Theological Seminary, a considerable part of its students were diverted to military and civil service in the Caucasus region, nevertheless, under the Right Reverend Theophylact, the diocese was replenished with a large number of educated priests.

He was only unable to carry out, due to lack of funds, the plan initially put forward by His Eminence Ignatius to open a diocesan women's school in the city of Stavropol. This was only possible to do in 1875 by his successor, Bishop Herman.

The tsar's permission, which took place on July 30, 1867, to subordinate the clergy of the Caucasian linear Cossack army to the Caucasian diocese had enormous consequences for it. The decree of the Holy Synod on this issue arrived in Stavropol on September 14, 1867. “Glory and thanksgiving to God, who put an end to the Caucasian war and then gave the opportunity to put an end to the division of the Caucasian clergy, which gave rise to so many difficulties and shortcomings!” Bishop Theophylact wrote with satisfaction about this most important event.

His Grace Theophylact was distinguished by rare truthfulness, complete impartiality, and attentiveness. He was ready to tell the truth to anyone. He was merciful and compassionate towards his neighbors in need of help, and secretly did charity to orphaned families. In his personal life, Vladyka was a strict faster, abstainer, and man of prayer, and for his strict, ascetic lifestyle he was highly revered by the Caucasian flock.

The Bishop showed special concern for the construction of new churches. Under him, the largest Kazan Cathedral in the Caucasian Diocese was built in the village of Novogrigorievskoye. A warm winter church in the name of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos (consecrated by His Grace Theophylact on October 10, 1863), a bell tower, and a stone fence were built at the St. John and Mary Monastery; He also performed the first tonsure into the mantle of nuns of this monastery.

In 1868, His Grace Theophylact wrote to the abbess of the monastery, advising them to streamline the practice of icon painting in the monastery. Fulfilling the advice of His Eminence Theophylact, Abbess Seraphim decided to ask the icon painter Mironov, famous at that time in the Stavropol province, for lessons for the sisters of the monastery... Two years later, experiments in this art reached such perfection that the works of the nuns were considered worthy of taking a place in the churches of St. John the Great. Marinsky monastery... The best of the icons were presented by the Caucasian saints as a gift to the persons of the reigning house. The nun Evgrafa enjoyed particular fame as an artist.

Through the efforts of Bishop Theophylact, the second floor was built above the outbuilding of the theological school, and two churches were erected in Stavropol: the Elizabethan Church at the Stavropol St. Alexandra Women’s Gymnasium and the two-story Sophia Church. The subject of the Bishop’s constant concern was the Ekaterino-Swan Hermitage, where, according to his proposal, energetic abbots were appointed who supervised and determined construction and repair work. According to the project approved by Bishop Theophylact, the Kazan Cathedral was built. The Bishop was very upset by the scattered and cramped premises of the Stavropol Theological Seminary, located in different parts of the city and in different houses.

Concerned about improving the moral character of the clergy, Bishop Theophylact held edifying conversations at the Theological Seminary with teachers and students, with stanitsa and rural priests visiting the Cathedral City on official business. In these teachings, much attention was paid to confession as a powerful means of educating the flock in a strict, moral, Orthodox spirit.

Death and burial

Bishop Theophylact often said: “I have measured all of Russia from end to end, now there is nowhere to go beyond the grave.” Exorbitant work at the Caucasian department accelerated the development of the disease that struck him in his youth. Since the autumn of 1871, he became increasingly weaker physically, began to experience difficulties in celebrating the Divine Liturgy, and if he served, then, for the most part, he served the early Liturgy in the Bishop's Church of the Cross. On the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, Vladyka celebrated the last Divine Liturgy.

“It’s time to die,” he told close people, “I’ve been sick for so long, and no one in my family lived longer than my years.” Before the onset of the Bright Day of Easter, the Bishop said with bitterness: “It’s scary to even think that on such a holiday the bishop will not be in his pulpit in the Church of the Cross, but on his sick bed...” But even despite the extreme loss of strength, His Grace Theophylact strictly observed fasting, He performed the cell prayer rule and, right up to the very last hour, showed concern for the state of diocesan affairs. On the day of his death, when he could no longer get out of bed, Vladyka ordered the secretary of the spiritual consistory who came to him through his cell attendant: “Let him leave the papers, maybe I’ll take a moment to look.”

The last words of Saint Theophylact after the unction were: “The limit has come for me, friends and brethren, you will not pass it, the hour has come to say goodbye to you. In all honesty I can say that I sincerely loved all of you for your honest life and work, although I admit that I was not always the same as you. But this last one could have been avoided if I had not been so sickly. Forgive me if I have offended any of you, and pray for me."

On May 11, 1872, Saturday of the second week of Easter, at 6 pm, His Grace Theophylact departed to the Lord. The 12-fold ringing of all city churches announced the death of His Grace Bishop Theophylact of Stavropol and Ekaterinodar. On May 13, the body of the deceased archpastor was transferred, under the red ringing of the famous cathedral bell and the singing of the solemn Easter canon and stichera, from the bishop’s house to the Kazan Cathedral.

On May 15, His Grace Isaac, vicar of the Caucasian Diocese, co-served by forty priests, celebrated the Divine Liturgy and burial of the deceased Caucasian saint. Vladyka was buried under the arches of the basement floor of the Kazan Cathedral.

Regarding his burial, His Grace Jeremiah, the first bishop of the Caucasus, wrote to the abbess of the St. John-Mariinsky Monastery, Abbess Seraphim, in Stavropol that Vladyka Theophylact, being the fourth bishop in the Caucasian See, was the first to lay down his honorable remains on it, and thus remains even after death inseparable from his flock.

The death of the Archpastor of the Caucasus was accompanied by a miraculous sign: before the day of his burial there was a terrible drought in the Caucasus, but as soon as the burial was completed, clouds moved in and heavy rain fell. The Orthodox residents of the city of Stavropol marveled at this, identifying in this sign clear evidence that the deceased Archpastor had found grace from the Lord.

“I do not argue with the souls of believers,” Archpriest V. Rozaliev said in his funeral eulogy, “because in the depths of my conscience I undoubtedly know that we buried in him not only a great worker in the field of a high rank, but also a complete virgin... ``We are still “, he continued, “in view of what has passed before our eyes, we can boldly and loudly say that the Most Reverend Theophylact did not abandon the work of God in the Caucasus, and we are fully convinced that impartial history and future posterity will give him a prominent place among the Caucasian hierarchs. It was truly a burning and shining lamp, the light of which shone before people, at all degrees at which the Highest Providence left it for illumination and burning; This was the Archpastor, whose tireless labors, good deeds and high qualities were seen by the entire flock, and many among them, imitating him, glorified and will glorify our Father in heaven.

Pleasant of God

The successor of the Most Reverend Theophylact, Bishop German, upon his accession to the Stavropol See on July 27, 1872, went down to the tomb of the Cathedral to bow to the Most Reverend Theophylact. All subsequent years, memorial services were served at the grave, and in 1912, on the 40th anniversary of his blessed repose, the question of canonization was raised.

In 1917, during the days of terrible upheavals, the grave of Bishop Theophylact became a place of mass pilgrimage. The priest of the Cathedral, Valentin Tikhov, wrote about this to the rector of the cathedral, Archpriest Alexander Yakovenkov. The latter reported to His Eminence Agathodorus, Archbishop of the Caucasus and Stavropol, and asked for blessings to receive a “laced book” from the consistory to include in it evidence of receiving assistance for the intercession of the late Bishop Theophylact in Bose.

On April 9, 1918, Archbishop Agafador imposed the following resolution on the report of Archpriest Alexander Yakovenkov: “The consistory will immediately consider this correspondence. If he finds it necessary, he will call priest Valentin Tikhov into the presence of the consistory and give him the necessary instructions, in view of Father Tikhov’s statement, to give the book to Father Archpriest of the cathedral for recording his applications for assistance in the intercession of the late Bishop Theophylact in Bose.

This book, for obvious reasons (just read “Demons of the Russian Revolution” by I. Surguchev) was not started, but the facts given in the report of priest Valentin Tikhov are worthy of the most serious attention. This is what he wrote, in particular: “In pursuance of your proposal of April 4 of this year, I have the most respectful duty to report to Your Reverence the following:

Pilgrims began to flock to the tomb of Saint Theophylact, who rested under the Cathedral, in the spring of 1917. The first who wished to pray at the tomb of the bishop were the nuns of the local St. John the Mary Convent, among whom were the well-known nuns of Cherubim and Raphael. I served them a memorial service for Bishop Theophylact. I. To my question: for what reason are they serving a requiem mass over the grave of the saint? The tomb of this Lord calms restless hearts and, in general, acts in a pacifying manner when all kinds of disputes, quarrels and disagreements arise.

The nuns of the monastery who served this requiem service served such requiem services more than once at the grave of Bishop Theophylact; their disputes and unrest in the monastery subsided, ending with the election of a new abbess Nina, who pleased all the nuns. To check this, on April 7th I went to the local convent and there I took a written testimony only from the nun Raphaila; As for the nun Cherubim, I could not interrogate her due to her temporary absence from the monastery. The testimony of nun Raphaila fully confirms the facts I stated above.

In May 1917, the wife of Deacon Molchanov, my former psalm-reader in the village of Rzhdestvenskaya, came to see me from Ekaterinodar, and in terrible grief she told us (me and my wife) the sad news about the death of her eldest son Vasily, an officer killed in Persia. She received this news by telegraph from the senior nurse of the hospital where her son Vasily allegedly died. Wanting to console the crying mother, my wife and I advised Molchanova to serve a memorial service for St. Theophylact at his grave and, perhaps, following the example of the nuns of the local convent, her grief would also be healed - and she would receive consolation. The deaconess carried out our advice; After the funeral service, I calmed down and went back home that same day, to Yekaterinodar. But then for some reason she had a strong desire to visit her matchmaker in the village of Malevannaya, Kuban region; and what was her unparalleled joy when she saw her son there alive, although very sick. This sudden appearance of her son, whom she considered already dead, cannot be explained by anything other than the result of the prayerful intercession for him of the deceased Saint Theophylact, at whose tomb his own mother prayed so earnestly for her son. Due to the distance and the cessation of postal communications with Ekaterinodar, I could not take away the testimony from Molchanova.

Last summer, the widow of a hereditary honorary citizen Olga Nikitichna Mesnyankina, living in her own house on Meshchanskaya Street, saw in a dream, in full bishop's vestments, with a miter on her head, an unknown saint, in one hand he held his staff, and in his right hand the saint cross, with which he blessed Mesnyankina in silence, and the latter kissed the cross and woke up. Having told this dream to the nun of the local monastery, Raphaila, who was with her that day, she, Mesnyankina, on her advice, served a requiem mass on that day at the grave of Bishop Theophylact, and then, when the same nun brought her a portrait of the bishop, she recognized the Saint who had appeared to her - Saint Theophylact.

The wife of the titular councilor, Olga Nikolaevna Fomenko, who lived at 1st Yasenevskaya Street, 45, also testifies that, after serving memorial services for Bishop Theophylact, she repeatedly received relief from her grief.

The official's wife, Maria Iosifovna Bogatyreva, who lives in her own house at 42 1st Podgornaya Street, testified that she received healing for her sore hand when she began to anoint it with oil from the lamp burning over the tomb of St. Theophylact.

Let us cite the testimony of Maria Iosifovna Bogatyreva herself: “Before the Epiphany of the Lord this year (1918), I pinched my arm, and my whole arm hurt so much that I could not use it: I wore it in a sling and never wore it in a fur coat. I went to doctor Konoplev, then to Perekropov, but did not receive any benefit from the medications. Doctor Perekropov said that my illness was protracted and could not be cured quickly. During the first Week of Great Lent, I fasted, and when on Thursday, March 8, a requiem mass was served over the grave of Bishop Theophylact, I touched the tomb of the Saint with my sore hand, during the service of the requiem, and also took oil from the lamp, which is located in the tomb above the tomb His Eminence. I stopped using the doctor’s medicines, since all this was for Maslenitsa, and now, from March 8, I began to anoint my sore hand with oil taken from the Saint’s lamp. And suddenly my hand began to gradually recover. Nowadays I have almost recovered my hand: I can cross myself with it... I can even pick up light objects with it. I attribute my recovery to the heavenly help sent to me, a sinner, through the prayers of St. Theophylact. I can confirm my testimony under oath.

Remember your mentors

During the years of hard times, when the Kazan Cathedral was barbarously destroyed, the grave of Bishop Theophylact was also desecrated. At the site of the cathedral, flower beds were planted, and for a long time the earth stored what was left of the cathedral and the tomb of the Bishop. But in 1990, under the Stavropol City Council, a committee was formed to create a protected area on Fortress Mountain, chaired by V. Grebennikov. With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Gideon, Archpriest Pavel Samoilenko joined the commission from the Stavropol diocese. On the initiative and with the direct participation of V. Grebennikov, in the summer of 1991, excavations began on the site of the Kazan Cathedral, during which a tomb with the remains of St. Theophylact was discovered in the southern part of the slope.

The Diocesan Council of the Stavropol Diocese, under the chairmanship of Metropolitan Gideon, having heard the message of the Metropolitan and the detailed report of V. Grebennikov, determined to transfer the honorable remains of Bishop Theophylact solemnly, in a procession of the Cross, from the Cathedral Hill to the Cathedral of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called and to install a tomb with the relics of the Saint in a visible place a place for honor and worship, which was done on November 17, 1991. For the first time after the 70th anniversary of godlessness and atheism, a solemn religious procession took place through the city of Stavropol from the Cathedral Hill to the Cathedral of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. Before the start of the procession with the relics of St. Theophylact, His Eminence Gideon, Metropolitan of Stavropol and Baku, co-served by many clergy, performed a funeral service at the site where the remains of the Holy Hierarch were found. Then His Eminence Gideon led the procession of the Cross, and the remains of the Saint were brought to the Cathedral. The governor of the region, E.S. Kuznetsov, took part in the procession.

On the same day, God's mercy and favor were apparently revealed: in the morning it was very cloudy and cold, but as soon as Vladyka Metropolitan said the initial exclamation of the requiem, the clouds instantly dissipated, the sun shone and it became warm.

The honorable remains of St. Theophylact were installed at the St. Nicholas chapel of the Cathedral. Above them is an icon of St. Theophylact of Nicomedia.

In 1994, the Diocesan Commission, with the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Gideon, examined the remains and stated that the relics emanated a light fragrant smell and they remained incorruptible. The commission submitted a corresponding act to the Metropolitan. Attached to the act were written testimonies from parishioners of the Cathedral about the miraculous healings that occurred at the relics of St. Theophylact. Thus, Olga Viktorovna Chulkova, who lives in the city of Stavropol, reports on the miraculous healing of her severely burned hand after applying it to the tomb of the Saint, as well as the healing of her son’s hand, which was broken in several places.

In the year of the transfer of the relics, documents were sent to the Synodal Commission for the canonization of the Saint. We in the Caucasus have long revered him, and his prayerful intercession, as the organizer of God’s peace, is for us living in the troubled and fire-breathing Caucasus. very necessary. There is no doubt that the glorification of the Saint will soon take place at the general church level, and the host of Stavropol saints will be replenished with another holy name. But we believe and know that the prayerful intercession and help of Saint Theophylact to the peoples of the Caucasus, the Caucasian clergy, and the Stavropol Theological Seminary, dear to his heart, did not stop and did not become scarce from the day of his blessed death and will never cease.

Troparion to Saint Theophylact, Bishop of Stavropol

Through many prayers and labors / you strengthened the peoples of the Caucasus in Orthodoxy, / you eradicated schisms and destructive heresies, / you subdued your flesh and spirit through serious illnesses, / Our Father Theophylact the Wise God, / the adornment of the city of Stavropol, / and protector of those living in it, / pray to Christ God, / may he pacify the people living here / and grant peace and salvation to everyone.

Kontakion to Saint Theophylact, Bishop of Stavropol

Since ancient times, the people of the Caucasus have revered you, Father Theophylact, as an enlightener, a prayer book and their intercessor, and now we ask you, Holy Hierarch, to help and protect the people living in the Caucasus, delivering them from schisms, heresies and unbelief, and we all cry out to you, Rejoice , Our kind intercessor, praise to the Caucasus!

Educational Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church Stavropol Theological Seminaryhttps://nvolgatrade.ru/

Notes

1. [www.blagos.ru/vse-novosti/item/3699-arkhiepiskop-pyatigorskij-i-cherkesskij-feofilakt-naznachen-vremenno-upravlyayushchim-vladikavkazskoj-eparkhiej Archbishop of Pyatigorsk and Circassia Theophylact was appointed temporary administrator of the Vladikavkaz diocese.]
2. [www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/127070.html The Holy Synod decided to make five new episcopal consecrations]
3. [www.patriarhia.ru/db/text/144197.html Archimandrite Theophylact (Kuryanov) was named Bishop of Magnitogorsk, Vicar of the Chelyabinsk Diocese]
4. [www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/144796.html The consecration of Archimandrite Theophylact (Kuryanov) as Bishop of Magnitogorsk took place]
5. [www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/446978.html Bishop Mikhail of Kurgan and Shadrinsk has died]
6. [www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/470345.html Bishop Theophylact (Kuryanov) has been entrusted with the management of the Patriarchal Deanery in Turkmenistan]
7. [www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/601938.html Bishop Theophylact of Bronnitsy was appointed ruling bishop of the Smolensk and Vyazemsk diocese]
8. [www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/1434889.html New dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church have been formed in the North Caucasus]
9. [www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/2080949.html JOURNALS of the meeting of the Holy Synod of March 15-16, 2012 / Official documents / Patriarchia.ru]
10. [www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/3550755.html On the fifth anniversary of the enthronement of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, a Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the Cathedral Cathedral of Christ the Savior / News / Patriarchia.ru]
11. [www.blagos.ru/vse-novosti/item/3699-arkhiepiskop-pyatigorskij-i-cherkesskij-feofilakt-naznachen-vremenno-upravlyayushchim-vladikavkazskoj-eparkhiej Archbishop of Pyatigorsk and Circassia Theophylact was appointed temporary administrator of the Vladikavkaz diocese]

Links

• Bishops of Smolensk and Kaliningrad	Kirill (Gundyaev) (1989—2009)
  Bishops of Smolensk and Vyazemsk	Anthony (Vakarik) (1965-1967) • Gideon (Dokukin) (1967-1972) • Feodosius (Protsyuk) (1972-1984) • Kirill (Gundyaev) (1984-1989)
  Bishops of Smolensk and Dorogobuzh	Sergius (Smirnov) (1944-1955) • Mikhail (Chub) (1955-1957) • Innokenty (Sokal) (1959-1964) • Pitirim (Nechaev) (1964-1965, high school)
  Bishops of Smolensk and Bryansk	Stefan (Sevbo) (1942-1943)
  Bishops of Smolensk and Dorogobuzh	Barsanuphius (Chertkov-Eropkin) (1671-1676) • Simeon (Molyukov) (1676-1686) • Sylvester II (Chernitsky) (1699-1704) • Sylvester (Kraisky) (1707-1712) • Dorofey (Korotkevich) (1712- 1718) • Sylvester (Kholmsky-Volynets) (1719-1720) • Varlaam (Kossovsky) (1720-1721) • Philotheus the Greek (1722-1727) • Gideon (Vishnevsky) (1728-1761) • Parthenius (Sopkovsky) (1761- 1795) • Dimitri (Ustimovich) (1795-1805) • Seraphim (Glagolevsky) (1805-1812) • Iriney (Falkovsky) (1812-1813) • Joasaph (Sretensky) (1813-1821) • Joseph (Velichkovsky) (1821- 1834) • Timofey (Ketlerov) (1834-1859) • Anthony (Amphitheaters) (1859-1866) • John (Sokolov) (1866-1869) • Seraphim (Protopopov) (1869-1874) • Joseph (Drozdov) (1874- 1881) • Nestor (Metaniev) (1881-1889) • Gury (Okhotin) (1890-1896) • Nikanor (Kamensky) (1896-1899) • Mitrofan (Nevsky) (1899) • Peter (Dugov) (1899-1908) • Theodosius (Feodosiev) (1908-1919) • Eusebius (Nikolsky) (1919-1920, v/u) • Philip (Stavitsky) (1920-1924) • Valerian (Rudich) (1924-1927) • Seraphim (Ostroumov) ( 1927-1936) • Modest (Nikitin) (1936-1937)
  Bishops of Smolensk and Mstislav	Kallist (Dorofeevich-Ritoraisky) (1657-1658, second-class) • Filaret (1658-1671)
  Bishops of Smolensk and Chernigov	Isaiah (Kopinsky-Borisovich) (1628-1631) • Abraham (1632-1653) • Lavrenty (1655, v/u)
  Bishops of Smolensk and Dorogobuzh	Theodosius (1592-1605) • Sergius (1608-1611)
  Bishops of Smolensk and Bryansk	Joseph III (1515-1532) • Savva (Slepushkin) (1536-1538) • Gury (Zabolotsky) (1539-1555) • Simeon III (1555-1567) • Theophilus (1568) • Sylvester (deceased 1572-1589)
  Bishops of Smolensk	Ignatius I (1128-1133) • Lazarus I (1133-1135) • Manuel the Greek (1137-1169) • Michael (?) • Constantine (dec. 1180) • Simeon I (dec. 1190-1197) • Ignatius II (dec. 1206-1219) • Lazarus II (1219-1220) • Mercury (?-1247) • Athanasai (XIII century) • John I (XIII century) • Porphyry (first half of the 13th century) • Dionysius (before 1238) • Thomas (1238-1256) • Pachomius (XIII century) • Ignatius III (second half of the XIII century) • Jonah (XIV century) • Daniel (XIV century) • John II (mentioned 1335) • Euthymius I (from 1345) • Theophylact ( Theoktist) (from 1356) • Parthenius (1364-1370) • Daniel II of Zvenigorod (1375-1382) • Michael II (1383-1396) • Cassian (Naasson) (1396 - ?) • Ignatius IV (dec. 1405) • Hilarion (after 1405-1408) • Nikon (1408-1411) • Sebastian (1411-1416) • Gerasim (1417-1433) • Michael III (dec. 1435) • Nathanael (dec. 1440-1445) • Simeon II (1440- 1445) • Euthymius II (XV century) • Misail (Pestrutsky-Drutsky-Sokolinsky-Babich) (1454-1480) • Joachim (1480-1485) • Joseph I (Bulgarinovich) (1494-1498) • Joseph II (Soltan) ( 1502-1509) • Barsanuphius (Khodykin) (1509-1514)

  Bishops of Kurgan	St. Alexy (Orlov) (1924-1927) • Georgy (Anisimov) (1927-1928) • St. Jacob (Maskaev) (1928) • Georgy (Anisimov) (1928-1929) • Peter (Gasilov) (1929, did not accept appointment) • John (Bratolyubov) (1930-1931) • Melchizedek (Averchenko) (1931-1933) • Irakli (Popov) (1933-1934) • Tovia (Ostroumov) (1950, secondary)

  Bishops of Shadrinsk	St. Hierotheus (Afonin) (1923-1924) • Stefan (Znamirovsky) (1924-1926) • St. Victor (Ostrovidov) (1927, did not accept appointment) • Daniil (Troitsky) (1927-1928) • Valerian (Rudich) (1928-1930) • St. Eusebius (Rozhdestvensky) (1930-1931)

An excerpt characterizing Theophylact (Kuryanov)

“I never cease to pray to God for one thing, mon cousin,” she answered, “that he would have mercy on him and allow his beautiful soul to leave this place in peace...” “Yes, that’s so,” Prince Vasily continued impatiently, rubbing his bald head and again moving angrily towards him. a table moved towards him - but, finally... finally, the point is, you yourself know that last winter the count wrote a will, according to which he gave all the estate, in addition to the direct heirs and us, to Pierre. “You never know how many wills he wrote!” – the princess said calmly. “But he couldn’t bequeath to Pierre.” Pierre is illegal. “Ma chere,” said Prince Vasily suddenly, pressing the table to himself, perking up and starting to speak quickly, “but what if the letter was written to the sovereign, and the count asks to adopt Pierre?” You see, according to the Count’s merits, his request will be respected... The princess smiled, as people smile who think they know the matter more than those with whom they are talking. “I’ll tell you more,” continued Prince Vasily, grabbing her hand, “the letter was written, although not sent, and the sovereign knew about it.” The only question is whether it is destroyed or not. If not, then how soon will it all be over,” Prince Vasily sighed, making it clear what he meant by the words everything will end, “and the count’s papers will be opened, the will with the letter will be handed over to the sovereign, and his request will probably be respected. Pierre, as a legitimate son, will receive everything. – What about our unit? - asked the princess, smiling ironically, as if anything but this could happen. – Mais, ma pauvre Catiche, c'est clair, comme le jour. [But, my dear Katish, it is clear as day.] He alone is then the rightful heir of everything, and you will not get any of this. You must know, my dear, whether the will and letter were written and whether they were destroyed. And if for some reason they are forgotten, then you must know where they are and find them, because... - That’s all that was missing! – the princess interrupted him, smiling sardonically and without changing the expression of her eyes. - I am a woman; according to you, we are all stupid; but I know so well that an illegitimate son cannot inherit... Un batard, [Illegitimate,] - she added, hoping with this translation to finally show the prince his groundlessness. - Don’t you understand, finally, Katish! You are so smart: how do you not understand - if the count wrote a letter to the sovereign in which he asks him to recognize his son as legitimate, it means that Pierre will no longer be Pierre, but Count Bezukhoy, and then he will receive everything in his will? And if the will and the letter are not destroyed, then there will be nothing left for you except the consolation that you were virtuous et tout ce qui s'en suit [and everything that follows from here]. It's right. – I know that the will has been written; but I also know that it is invalid, and you seem to consider me a complete fool, mon cousin,” said the princess with the expression with which women speak when they believe that they have said something witty and insulting. “You are my dear Princess Katerina Semyonovna,” Prince Vasily spoke impatiently. “I came to you not to pick a fight with you, but to talk about your own interests as with my dear, good, kind, true relative.” I’m telling you for the tenth time that if a letter to the sovereign and a will in favor of Pierre are in the count’s papers, then you, my dear, and your sisters, are not the heir. If you don’t believe me, then trust people who know: I just spoke with Dmitry Onufriich (he was the house’s lawyer), he said the same thing. Apparently something suddenly changed in the princess’s thoughts; her thin lips turned pale (the eyes remained the same), and her voice, while she spoke, broke through with such peals that she, apparently, herself did not expect. “That would be good,” she said. – I didn’t want anything and don’t want anything. She threw her dog off her lap and straightened the folds of her dress. “That’s gratitude, that’s gratitude to the people who sacrificed everything for him,” she said. - Wonderful! Very good! I don't need anything, prince. “Yes, but you are not alone, you have sisters,” answered Prince Vasily. But the princess did not listen to him. - Yes, I knew this for a long time, but I forgot that except for baseness, deception, envy, intrigue, except ingratitude, the blackest ingratitude, I could not expect anything in this house... - Do you know or do you not know where this will is? - asked Prince Vasily with an even greater twitching of his cheeks than before. – Yes, I was stupid, I still believed in people and loved them and sacrificed myself. And only those who are vile and nasty succeed. I know whose intrigue it is. The princess wanted to get up, but the prince held her hand. The princess had the appearance of a person who had suddenly become disillusioned with the entire human race; she looked angrily at her interlocutor. “There is still time, my friend.” You remember, Katisha, that all this happened by accident, in a moment of anger, illness, and then forgotten. Our duty, my dear, is to correct his mistake, to make his last moments easier by preventing him from committing this injustice, not allowing him to die in the thoughts that he made those people unhappy... “Those people who sacrificed everything for him,” she picked up. The princess tried to get up again, but the prince did not let her in - something he never knew how to appreciate. No, mon cousin,” she added with a sigh, “I will remember that in this world one cannot expect a reward, that in this world there is neither honor nor justice.” In this world you have to be cunning and evil. - Well, voyons, [listen,] calm down; I know your beautiful heart. - No, I have an evil heart. “I know your heart,” the prince repeated, “I value your friendship and would like you to have the same opinion of me.” Calm down and parlons raison, [let's talk properly] while there is time - maybe a day, maybe an hour; tell me everything you know about the will, and, most importantly, where it is: you must know. We will now take it and show it to the count. He probably already forgot about it and wants to destroy it. You understand that my only desire is to sacredly fulfill his will; I just came here then. I'm only here to help him and you. – Now I understand everything. I know whose intrigue it is. “I know,” said the princess. - That’s not the point, my soul. - This is your protegee, [favorite,] your dear princess Drubetskaya, Anna Mikhailovna, whom I would not want to have as a maid, this vile, disgusting woman. – Ne perdons point de temps. [Let's not waste time.] - Ax, don't talk! Last winter she infiltrated here and said such nasty things, such nasty things to the Count about all of us, especially Sophie - I cannot repeat it - that the Count became ill and did not want to see us for two weeks. At this time, I know that he wrote this vile, vile paper; but I thought that this paper meant nothing. – Nous y voila, [That’s the point.] why didn’t you tell me anything before? – In the mosaic briefcase that he keeps under his pillow. “Now I know,” said the princess without answering. “Yes, if there is a sin behind me, a great sin, then it is hatred of this scoundrel,” the princess almost shouted, completely changed. - And why is she rubbing herself in here? But I will tell her everything, everything. The time will come! While such conversations took place in the reception room and in the princess's rooms, the carriage with Pierre (who was sent for) and with Anna Mikhailovna (who found it necessary to go with him) drove into the courtyard of Count Bezukhy. When the wheels of the carriage sounded softly on the straw spread under the windows, Anna Mikhailovna, turning to her companion with comforting words, was convinced that he was sleeping in the corner of the carriage, and woke him up. Having woken up, Pierre followed Anna Mikhailovna out of the carriage and then only thought about the meeting with his dying father that awaited him. He noticed that they drove up not to the front entrance, but to the back entrance. While he was getting off the step, two people in bourgeois clothes hurriedly ran away from the entrance into the shadow of the wall. Pausing, Pierre saw several more similar people in the shadows of the house on both sides. But neither Anna Mikhailovna, nor the footman, nor the coachman, who could not help but see these people, paid no attention to them. Therefore, this is so necessary, Pierre decided to himself and followed Anna Mikhailovna. Anna Mikhailovna walked with hasty steps up the dimly lit narrow stone staircase, calling Pierre, who was lagging behind her, who, although he did not understand why he had to go to the count at all, and even less why he had to go up the back stairs, but , judging by the confidence and haste of Anna Mikhailovna, he decided to himself that this was necessary. Halfway up the stairs, they were almost knocked down by some people with buckets, who, clattering with their boots, ran towards them. These people pressed against the wall to let Pierre and Anna Mikhailovna through, and did not show the slightest surprise at the sight of them. – Are there half princesses here? - Anna Mikhailovna asked one of them... - Here, - the footman answered in a bold, loud voice, as if now everything was already possible, - the door is on the left, mother. “Maybe the count didn’t call me,” Pierre said as he walked out onto the platform, “I would have gone to my place.” Anna Mikhailovna stopped to catch up with Pierre. - Ah, mon ami! - she said with the same gesture as in the morning with her son, touching his hand: - croyez, que je souffre autant, que vous, mais soyez homme. [Believe me, I suffer no less than you, but be a man.]

No. 41 (986) / November 1 '18

Archpastor

In this topic:

Archpastor

Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa Theodore II: The Church is repentance, patience, love, forbearance

Vladyka, there are a lot of different questions, and the first one is about glory and fame. A person uses his fame and glory for some purpose. In some cases it is clear that this is unacceptable. Which ones are possible?

– I know people who are quite famous – “television stars”, one might say. Thanks to their fame, they, among other things, talk sincerely about the experience of their faith, their lives, how they first began the holy sacraments, how they gained the experience of life in the spiritual world. This kind of fame and what relates to personal life, when they are successfully combined, can be very useful for others. They show that in any person (regardless of whether everyone recognizes him or not) there are the most important and main questions: why am I living, who needs this life, what will happen next? And when famous people ask such questions and answer them, it can be very useful for everyone.

Vladyka, does it bother you when people recognize you in everyday life? Are you getting tired of this?

– Sometimes you meet a famous person at the airport - you know this person, but you don’t remember his last name and first name: you look so devotedly into the person’s eyes, and he understands that you recognize him, but you can’t remember who he is. These are the cases. He looks at you and says: “I saw you on TV” (thanks to our program!), I say: “Well, now I saw you too, thank God!” Sometimes it makes me smile, but maybe I don’t pay close attention to it.

Although sometimes, of course... There is such a wonderful Russian proverb: “You can see your butt in matting.” A priest is recognized anywhere and everywhere, no matter what clothes you are wearing - a cassock or a tracksuit. Recently I was riding a bicycle around our Mashuk (I love riding), and one of our parishioners saw it and had a very peculiar joyful reaction: she clasped her hands and started waving. Thank God we saw each other and got to know each other.

Vladyka, a serious question, it comes up quite often; I really want to hear your opinion. Modern diagnostics with a very high degree of probability can identify genetic defects in a baby even before birth. Some parents are concerned about this even before pregnancy, they begin to think, and the question arises: what to do if we suddenly hear some bad diagnosis? And what to do if, for example, one of the parents is not a church member? What would you suggest?

- Live. And believe. No matter what. Probably the most accurate forecast, which certainly cannot be avoided, for each of us will be that one day we will cross the threshold of our lives and appear before our Creator. But we must come to Him alive, and in order to be alive, we need to love and help, be faithful and real and live regardless of anything - with one leg, with one arm, some kind of internal weaknesses - but with great, living and with a real heart.

If God gives a child, then you need to accept it as a gift from God. And whatever the life of this child is, whatever he is, it is a gift. Yes, it may be necessary to bear the cross. But that’s why we get sick, and people around us get sick, so that we can sympathize, empathize, and can show our real human face, on which there are tears. But there is also joy and consolation. Therefore - to live.

How simple, but complex... Another question, also serious: how to react to outright rudeness if the dialogue, as they say, is in unequal weight categories? If, say, a man allows himself to speak rudely to ladies, and not only in the family, but also in the team, how should he behave?

– Rudeness must always be stopped, and one must always respond not with mutual rudeness, but with a word of principle. Do not allow this under any circumstances. I would like to advise everyone and encourage all participants in such discussions to be able to stand up for a person, even perhaps a stranger, and not allow such things to happen. Any untruth is dangerous not because it spreads to another person - it is dangerous for the one from whom it comes: it is like a disease, like a person who begins to sneeze or cough - he is dangerous not because he spreads his disease to others, and the fact that he himself can, having already been exposed to this disease, seriously suffer. And that is exactly why it needs to be stopped. And treat a person who is rude as if he were sick, and say: “It’s probably time for you to see a doctor. It looks like your cough is very unhealthy.”

Vladyka, they ask you to ask a question: do you have days off - and how do you spend them?

– This day is called “the day of non-presence” - when I am not present in public places (meaning a diocesan house or somewhere at a public worship service), and, as a rule, it happens on Monday, because Saturday and Sunday are the most working days for me. all priests. On Monday I perform divine services in my monastery, for us this is the day when we do not receive pilgrims - “closed doors day”: a statutory service is performed, and the brethren spend this day each at their own discretion; I do the same – I go to the mountains, if the weather is good, or ride a bike.

Vladyka, once again, if I may, I’ll ask a question: we talked about how we should treat older people, but it also happens the other way around - an elderly person lives in absolute love, the attention of his family, but often they begin to hear: “I’m old, I’m unnecessary, I'm a burden." This makes them feel bad, and it doesn’t feel good for him. How to support everyone so that everyone can live calmly?

– You need to understand that there are also some character traits and psychological image of a person. They develop through various circumstances, and it cannot be corrected immediately, so simply. The simplest remedy in such cases is a conversation with a person: just listen to him carefully and, perhaps, not always answer something. I know the story - exactly the same thing happened: one elderly man told his friend some things for a very long time and said: “Well, thank God, we talked to you, and it’s good,” but the second did not say a word! You just need to talk it out sometimes. And, probably, the most important answer that a person is needed will be the attentive eyes of the interlocutor. And this will help a person look at his life a little differently.

And at the end you can say: “Well, you see, it’s not exactly as you say: you are needed, and I didn’t just listen to you - I will pray for you, constantly think about you, especially these days. And let this support you. Let's pray together. Let's pray together now, because I need you, and you and I both need the One who gave us life. Let's pray to Him." I think this is very serious and can greatly help a person.

Vladyka, thank you very much for answering such various questions, and now – your final words...

– Thank you for our conversation today. Dear friends, dear brothers and sisters, autumn is a good time to drink tea with friends and meet. This is a wonderful time to watch the rain outside the window with your family and friends. But be sure to meet! I want to wish all of us that this autumn will become a time of our good and kind meetings over a cup of tea, and may the Lord always be the interlocutor in these meetings with all of us. God bless you!

Recorded by: Ekaterina Samsonova

You can view or listen to the full version of the program on the website of the Soyuz TV channel.

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