Elders who have reached invisible heights in their spiritual exploits are called pillars of faith, ascetics of piety. It is to them, the perspicacious righteous, that people come from all over the earth for help, guidance, and repentance.
Zosima Sokur is a shining example of eldership in the Russian Orthodox Church. He is known and revered not only in Ukraine, but also far beyond its borders.
Zosima's childhood
Father Zosima lived a short life. But he left a deep mark on the souls of numerous spiritual children. The elder’s life path was complex and contradictory.
O. Zosima was born in prison camps, but was raised in a true Orthodox spirit. He carried his unshakable faith throughout his short life in order to become an example and prayer book for us before the throne of God.
Origin and birth
Ivan Sokur was born a year before the end of World War II in a prison hospital in a remote, remote village in the Sverdlovsk region. His mother served time here for religious propaganda. Having been born amidst the feat of confession, the elder carried it throughout his entire life.
Maria Sokur gave birth to a son one year and lost her husband at the front. She accepted her widowhood as the cross of the Lord. And she carried it until the end of her days without complaining, with patience and thanksgiving to God, in prayer and work.
Family
At first they wanted to name the boy Thaddeus in honor of the apostle, on whose memory day he was born. But the Monk Kuksha, who was then in exile, conveyed through his acquaintances: “... let them call him John, the grace of God will be.”
Due to the fact that Ivan was born in difficult conditions, he was sick from an early age. His mother, in exile, worked at a logging site in Verkhoturye. Then, after liberation, it was no easier. They did not have proper housing and were in need all the time.
Ivan Sokur spent his childhood in the small mining town of Avdeevka. Here, after long wanderings and prisons, the sisters of the St. John's Monastery found refuge, and many were the children of the great John of Kronstadt. Among them was Vanya’s mother’s sister, Antonina.
For the rest of his life, the great John of Kronstadt became the beloved saint of Elder Zosima. As a spiritual inheritance, he received the saint’s personal belongings, and most importantly, the courageous spirit of true Christianity.
Studying at school and technical college
At school, the boy suffered bullying from teachers and classmates. But he knew even then that God would help and guide. He had a very decisive character and was not afraid of anything when it came to faith.
Vanya Sokur graduated from high school with a gold medal. And it seemed that all roads were open to the young man. But he had long ago chosen the only path - the spiritual one.
At that time, the authorities deliberately prevented educated young men like John from entering theological schools. The documents were not accepted into the seminary. There was no permission from the competent authorities, who clearly saw in the capable young man a danger to the atheistic future.
Ivan Sokur graduated from veterinary college (1961-64). But I only worked in my specialty for a year.
Founding of monasteries
The women's monastery in Nikolskoye was not created in one day. Faithful to God, the mothers and myrrh-bearing women accompanied the priest for many years, living near the parishes where he served.
In 1997, an almshouse was established, in which, in addition to mothers, the infirm and elderly people found shelter and help. On February 1, 1998, Schema-Archimandrite Zosima Sokur, whose sermons become a real holiday for parishioners, was appointed confessor to the Donetsk diocese, a year later he received an award - the Order of Nestor the Chronicler, and on April 20, 2000 he received the right to wear a second cross.
Father Zosima is the founder of the Nikolo-Vasilievsky Monastery
Everyone who wanted to live in a spiritual community was united by officially opened monasteries. 2000 was the time of the founding of the St. Nicholas women’s monastery; in 2001, the opening of the St. Basil’s monastery for men was consecrated.
About other temples and monasteries:
- Znamensky Cathedral in Kursk
- St. Vladimir's Cathedral in Liski
- Vysotsky Monastery in Serpukhov
Teenage years and early life
Even in his youth, the Monk Kuksha predicted Ivan his whole life: “You will be a priest, a monk, a schema monk...”.
At the age of 7, the boy could already read freely in church during services. As he himself said, his entire adult life belonged to the church. But with all his love for her, he did not immediately take the path of the priesthood.
Spiritual education
After a short period of work as a veterinarian, Ivan Sokur, by the will of God, went to the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. After its closure, he became a novice at the Holy Spiritual Skete of the Pochaev Lavra. When the monastery was closed, Ivan decided to enter the seminary. However, the priest who gave him the recommendation was removed from the staff. And he, who passed the exams with excellent marks, was refused admission to the seminary in Zagorsk on the instructions of the KGB.
Ivan Sokur was sent from Zagorsk to St. Petersburg, but he was denied registration. Then Bishop Pavel of Novosibirsk suggested that the young man go to distant Novosibirsk to enter the seminary from deep taiga Siberia, and not from the proletarian Donbass. A year later, with God’s help, Ivan’s cherished dream came true.
He entered the Leningrad Theological Seminary (1965) immediately into the 2nd year. And upon graduation, he was enrolled in the Theological Academy. While studying, he wrote a PhD thesis about the Valaam Monastery and its founders Sergius and Herman.
Upon graduation (1975), Ivan Sokur became a monk with the name Savvaty. A little later he was ordained deacon, and then hieromonk. He was sent to serve in the Donetsk region.
Church service
Wherever Father Savvaty appeared, he immediately began construction. And it was amazing. He managed to build temples at a time when they were closed everywhere. The authorities very quickly paid attention to the energetic priest. They began to move him from parish to parish, threatened him and even beat him. The priest’s already poor health deteriorated sharply.
Once upon a time, Nikolskoye did not stand out among other villages. But it was here that in 1986 the priest, who had been persecuted for several years, was exiled. Over the previous two years, he changed 5 parishes. He was never left anywhere for more than a few months. They tried to tear him away from the flock, push him further away, into the margins of human memory. Finally, he was appointed rector of the dilapidated St. Basil's Church in the village. Nikolskoye, Volnovakha district. Then it seemed that this was the most suitable place for oblivion.
Pastoral service
On December 25, 1975, Father Savvaty was appointed rector of the Alexander Nevsky Church in the village of Aleksandrovka, Maryinsky district. In a short time, a simple rural priest found funds to update the iconostasis, church crosses and acquire new holy images.
The once brilliant graduate of the Theological Academy became a real shepherd, bringing spiritual care to the people of God. Father Savvaty plunged into his calling, his lively sermons, willingness to listen and give advice, to provide support began to attract residents of surrounding areas to Aleksandrovka, residents of Donetsk began to come to him.
Father Zosima at the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, 2000
The active work of the priest was not to the liking of the Soviet authorities, who repeatedly stopped construction and held conversations with the obstinate priest. The opening of a new altar in the church in 1980 became a sensation in the region; from the notes of Metropolitan Hilarion (Shukalo) of Donetsk and Mariupol, we learn that Father Savvaty had the gift of church building.
Parishioners noted that the rector was very fond of polyeleos services, accompanying them with inspiration and majesty:
- solemn censing;
- we magnify loudly;
- obligatory sermon.
This fertile source of God's light and love attracted more and more parishioners who were thirsty for changes in life. The priest’s reverent attitude toward his old mother, who had her own favorite place of prayer in the church, was also a striking example of the fulfillment of the fifth commandment for many.
The grateful admirer was filled with special pride when she received tonsure into the great schema from the blessing of her son. Parishioners remember Mother Mariamne as a real angel, bringing love, warmth and peace to the world.
Only Mother Mariamne could tell the priest, who often raised his voice, about the need to be meek. The priest of the Alexander Church was sometimes ardent, intolerant of sin, but at the same time he would scold and immediately console the sinner.
In 1977, Father Savvaty received an award - a pectoral cross, and in 1980 he was ordained to the rank of abbot.
In 1981, on the night before the Feast of Peter and Paul, the priest served an all-night vigil, his mother did not feel well and stayed at home to read the psalter, during prayers and died. She was buried at the Alexander Cemetery.
In 1983, a simple rural priest received the Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh, which further irritated the KGB, on whose orders Father Savvaty was beaten more than once, constantly threatened, and transferred from parish to parish:
- 1985 - Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in the village of Andreevka;
- 1986 - Church of the Holy Trinity in the city of Makeevka;
- in the same year he was transferred to the Holy Intercession Church in the village. Nikolskoye.
Mature age
Father Savvaty was more than once offered to take an honorary episcopal position. Patriarch Pimen, when he was looking for a candidate for the post of Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church in Japan, also did not ignore the modest rural priest.
But oh. Savvaty, remembering the instructions of his spiritual father, refused each time. It had long been predicted to him that his spiritual path lay in serving God as an ordinary rural priest.
Adoption of the rank of archimandrite
In 1990, Fr. Savvaty becomes an archimandrite, and two years later he accepts the great schema and becomes Zosima.
A turning point came when the idol of communism came crashing down. People, at a loss, not knowing how to live, sought spiritual support. And Schema-Archimandrite Zosima became a bright lamp of the Orthodox faith in the darkness of general ignorance.
Foundation of the almshouse and monastery
At each new place of service, the first building, which was founded with the blessing of Father Zosima next to the temple, was always a refectory for pilgrims. He set his first task to feed and warm the person who came. “So that the Lord does not become angry with us, always help those in need,” the priest repeated.
Nikolskoye was no exception. But here, with the blessing of the elder, a house of mercy was also organized, which houses about 100 elderly people.
Then residential buildings, workshops, and several temples were added to these buildings. But about the establishment of the monastery, Fr. Zosima did not think for a long time.
Everything changed in 1998, after the priest experienced clinical death. The elder saw with his own eyes the Heavenly abodes prepared for the righteous. And after he had been beyond the bounds of life, he began to take steps to establish a monastery. Two monasteries were destined to appear.
A monastery in which two communities operate is an unusual sight:
- two choirs, male and female;
- separate tables in the refectory;
- different residential buildings, nursing and fraternal.
Such communities appeared only at the dawn of monasticism under the influence of the authority of the great ascetics of the church. So, oh. Zosima became the founder of two monasteries - St. Basil's Monastery and St. Nicholas Convent.
Gift of Prophecy
The elder sincerely loved prayer. The services performed by Fr. Zosima, they dragged on for an unusually long time. But they were not a formal performance of the ritual. The elder did not read prayers, but always prayed, infecting everyone with his burning. The elder’s communication with the people in the church could hardly be called a classic sermon.
He could suddenly interrupt the story about a church holiday with an example from life or ask a question, demanding an answer from one of the parishioners. Sometimes he could stop the service in the most unexpected place for teaching if he felt the need for it. And among the many people there were always those who were sure that this word about. Zosima turns specifically to them.
The holy father saw every person very insightfully. He even suggested future activities when he had not even thought about it yet. He saw the personality, her talents. I immediately guessed in a person coming to the monastery what obedience to send him to, and where he could most clearly reveal himself.
Many of the elder’s prophecies that have come true are known. For example, he accurately predicted his death, which he associated with the appearance in his life of the icon of John of Kronstadt. And so it all came true. Just before his death, the elder was presented with an icon of this saint, which foreshadowed his imminent departure to another world. He also has a number of prophecies about Ukraine.
Gift of Healing
Schema-Archimandrite Zosima (Sokur) turned to God. And the Lord heard him, answered his prayers, and granted healing according to the word of the priest.
The most difficult incurable diseases receded at the request of Father Zosima:
- cancer;
- congenital pathologies in infants;
- hernia;
- kidney diseases;
- hematomas in the brain area;
- viral damage to the immune system;
- obsessive thoughts;
- mental illness;
- spiritual possession;
- much more.
Possessing the gift of reasoning, the elder healed human souls with words of grace. He found the right words, spoke the same language as a child, a professor, a housewife or a peasant.
last years of life
Since 2000, the priest’s already poor health has deteriorated greatly. He suffered from erysipelas on his leg for many years. This in turn gave serious complications to the kidneys and the entire body as a whole. He became so weak that he could not speak or stand on his feet. The elder spent the entire next year in a hospital bed.
And in 2002, immediately after the end of the Dormition Fast, he passed away.
On the day of the priest’s funeral, the funeral procession of many thousands miraculously turned from a funeral into an Easter one. Gradually, the people who gathered to accompany the priest on his final journey were overcome by spiritual uplift.
There was nothing terrible in grief. Everyone felt that the elder had achieved the goal of his life. And that he is already with God, praying for all of us. Everyone who touched it for the last time that day spoke about the priest’s soft and warm hand.
Father's instructions
Sermons by Fr. Zosima was simple and understandable. There was always a very large flow of people coming to him. He took until 12 or one in the morning.
The elder’s help was immeasurable:
- He calmed souls, gave advice, taught to live according to the Orthodox way.
- Helped people in prison find a path to God.
- He never disdained the poor, the foolish or, conversely, the very smart. He always found a common language and was able to come to a common denominator with everyone.
- Each questioner could formulate a comprehensive answer.
Zosima's will
Many people know the elder’s spiritual testament, which he gave to his children and to all of us, who know him only from books and films. In it, the priest calls to adhere to the Russian Orthodox Church, not to deviate from its canons, and to preserve sacred traditions.
WILL
I, sinful Schema-Archimandrite Zosima, leave my last will: and after my death, sacredly and eternally, until my last breath, keep all wills, those sacred traditions, that peculiarity of the services recorded by brothers and sisters in the Monastic Rules, preserving them to the smallest detail and not allowing no deviations.
Strictly adhere to the Russian Orthodox Church and His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. In the event of Ukraine's departure from Moscow, whatever the autocephaly, lawless or “legal,” the connection with the Metropolitan of Kyiv is automatically severed. From the existing monasteries, then form a House of Mercy, which will fulfill the holy laws of mercy - serving people until their burial, and this commandment must be fulfilled by the monastery forever. Do not accept any threats or curses, since they are not canonical and lawless.
Stand firmly for the canons of the Russian Orthodox Church. In the event of a fall from the unity of the Russian Orthodox Church - the ruling bishop does not exist, the monasteries pass into stauropegial management under the omophorion of His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. I pray to God and hope that His Holiness the Patriarch will not refuse and will accept him under his omophorion. If this is impossible, then the monasteries will come under independent abbot management in the likeness of the Valaam monastery at the beginning of our century, under the guise of bright future times of unity of Ukraine and Russia, which, I deeply believe, will inevitably come, with which I go into eternity.
Create an effective Sunday school in monasteries for growing children, our future. There should never be televisions or other satanic video equipment in the monastery. The main languages in the monastery should be Church Slavonic and Russian, the rest - as needed.
As I depart into eternal life, I say my last word to you, dear brothers, sisters and all those praying in our monastery: stick to the Russian Orthodox Church: in it is salvation.
I give forgiveness to everyone from the grave, may God forgive you and have mercy on you according to His Great and rich mercy. Who came to me for spiritual guidance: stick to the holy monastery - brothers and sisters will help you and guide you on the path of salvation.
On my knees, I ask His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion and His Eminence Bishop Alypius for forgiveness for all. I ask the farewell and permission prayer to be read by His Eminence Bishop Alipius, who tonsured me into the Great Angelic Image - the holy schema.
Everything that belonged to me during my life is accepted by the brothers and sisters of the monastery after my death.
I beg you, brothers and sisters, preserve the holy monastic Rule, unity among yourself, love, brotherly love; sacredly fulfill the sacred traditions of the monastery, remain in obedience to the Father Vicar and Mother Abbess. The Lord will not leave you even after my death, and will always be with us, protecting the monastery from all evil.
Whatever temptation happens, repent and correct yourself. Release those who wish to leave the monastery as laymen, having removed all monastic and monastic robes. Do not accept those who have retreated back; they are like the Judases and are under the eternal curse of God. Wandering elder hieromonks, if they do not comply with the monastic rules, are not accepted into the ranks of the brethren, but into the almshouse.
Once again I beg the brothers and sisters to maintain unity, do not divide the monastery! In case of artificial separation, do not obey and be together.
From the grave I send God’s blessing and give kisses to everyone, I ask for your holy prayers, and God’s grace will not depart from you.
I humbly ask Bishop Hilarion to release the icon of the Iveron Mother of God from spiritual captivity at the Iveron Cemetery and solemnly transfer it to the Transfiguration Cathedral.
I ask you to write the historical truth about the Holy monasteries and icons, without distorting anything, so that the historical truth of my past life can be restored.
Remain protected by God, brothers and sisters of our monastery. May God's blessing be on all of you, on the monastery, on your families, on our benefactors.
Save yourself in the Lord!
The founder of the Assumption St. Basil's and Assumption St. Nicholas monasteries is the wretched Schema-Archimandrite Zosima.
I ask you to read this testament at my coffin before the last kiss and distribute it to everyone.
I give from the grave, lifeless and speechless, Peace, Love and God's Blessing.
Schema-Archimandrite Zosima
Priest of the village of Nikolskoye
Vasilyevsky Church first heard the sermons of the new rector on December 4, 1986, on the feast of the Entry of the Most Pure Mother of God.
Although it is quite difficult to call a dilapidated church, in which ice could be knocked off the walls during the cold winter, and bowls froze to the hands, with a toilet and a dump at the entrance, a temple, but God knew who to entrust the restoration of the spiritual shrine.
The temple was a terrible sight from the inside. The once majestic room became a refuge for mice and rats; instead of the famous majolica iconostasis, a plywood board was displayed. The real test for the new rector was the winter with multi-degree frosts and snowstorms, when there was no heating in the priest’s house, the broken window was covered with a mattress, but the priest did not give up.
Interesting! Possessing the gift of temple construction, Savvaty made every effort to restore the Orthodox shrine, by 1988 he built a baptismal room, which housed not only the abbot’s chambers, but also a refectory with a pilgrimage area.
In 1989, the St. Nicholas Church, which was in a state of extreme destruction and desolation, was also added to the Vasilyevsky Church.
In 1990, Father Savvaty was ordained to the rank of archimandrite, and two years later, Bishop of Donetsk and Slavic Alypiy tonsured him into the schema under the name Zosim.
Memory of Zosima Sokur
Having passed away, the great Donetsk elder still spiritually nourishes Orthodox Christians thanks to numerous video, audio, and printed materials.
Movies
In 2012, the 10th Pokrov Film Festival took place in Kyiv. It presented the film “Father Zosima”, directed by Olga Mironchuk. The film tells about the life and spiritual path of the famous Donetsk elder; it became an unforgettable event in the lives of many people not only from Ukraine, but also from Russia and other countries.
In the film you can see people who knew Fr. Zosima, listen to their memories. Thanks to them, the truthful and majestic appearance of the Donetsk elder emerges, who treats all people with great love. At the end of the film, the text of the priest’s spiritual testament is presented - the only truthful version remaining today.
About Fr. Zosima has also shot many other videos, for example, in 2003 - “Funeral Prayer”, “The Road of Life”. All of them introduce us more closely to the elder, his teachings, and prophecies.
Books
Books with the biography and instructions of Fr. Zosima. They reveal the appearance and essence of the great elder’s life feat.
Here are some of them:
- A Word about Holy Rus' (ed. Sretensky Monastery);
- What the soul grieves about (similarly);
- Love is above all (ed. “Orthodox Evangelist”).
Posthumous veneration of the priest is only increasing in Russian Orthodoxy. New books are being published, videos appear with memories of the deceased elder. More and more Christians are turning to his teachings, seeking spiritual help and advice in them.
Prayers
[5]
Troparion, tone 8
The zealot of the fatherly teachings, / the Siberian desert, the all-red vegetation, / the vigorous ascetic of deeds and contemplation, / the silence of the zealot, and the builder of the abode of the brides of Christ, / the vessel of the Spirit, / Zosia Reverend,/ pray to Christ God,// may our souls be enlightened.
Kontakion, tone 4
Perveya in the Siberian country/ you have rewarded the desert monastery of the nuns,/ from there we are unjustly expelled,/ you have placed your trust in the Providence of God,/ in whom you are protected even more than your mind,/ as if you were not harmed You have made your journey, / We are guided by the Mother of God Hodegetria, / You have reached the limits of Moscow, / and here again we will take over the leadership of the monastery, / you have left your God-gathered flock for good, / but for us your way of life / and you have left the honey-flowing teaching, like Zosimos, / pray to Christ God // preserve our souls from all defilement.
Memory March 1, May 21 / June 3 (Cathedral of Ufa Saints)
Holy Venerable Zosima of Ennatskaya Saint Venerable Zosima of Ennatskaya, Ufa
(in the world
Evdokia Yakovlevna Sukhanova
; March 1, 1820 - March 1, 1935, village of Sentsovka, Sharlyk district, Orenburg region) - Russian Orthodox saint, reverend.
The name Zosima means “living” in Greek.
Reviews of the gracious help of the holy relics of Venerable Mother Zosima
Evdokia Yakovlevna Sukhanova was born
in a peasant family in the village of Sentsovka, Orenburg province. She was raised by her parents in the fear of God and the Orthodox faith. Meek and silent, prayerfully disposed, she differed from her peers in her childlike gentleness, detachment from worldly vanity, and hard work.
Blessed relics
The holy relics of the venerable old woman were found on December 14, 2003 and transported to the Kazan-Bogorodsky Church in the city of Meleuz, Ufa Diocese, then to the St. John the Baptist Church in the city of Kumertau.
Discovery of the relics of Saint Zosima of Ennat
Only part of her relics was found - a skull and a number of bones. This is due to the fact that the opening took place in winter, and to the fact that five more people were buried at her grave (three babies, her brother-in-law, an unknown person were buried at her grave; right above the mother’s coffin there was also the coffin of her spiritual daughter, a nun Margarita), and, apparently, most importantly, with her own prophecy. So the local residents said that during her lifetime she promised them: “I will stay with you forever, I will never leave you!” Hieromonk Luka Vyshtykalyuk, a doctor by training, who was present at the discovery, helped identify the relics belonging to the 115-year-old old woman.
Nowadays the holy relics are located in the Intercession-Ennatsky monastery near the village of Dedovo, Fedorovsky district of Bashkiria, where her monastic journey began.
“I will stay with you forever, I will never leave you!”
The holy elder advised people to come to her when they felt bad. And people immediately flocked to her grave. They bore their grief, asked for blessings, and hurried here with their spiritual and physical ailments. The huge cypress cross brought by my mother from Jerusalem was dismantled into pieces. Pilgrims constantly took soil from the grave with them, so they constantly had to add it. Through her heavenly prayers, people received and are receiving healing and help. Now on her grave there is a cross with an inscription of thanksgiving from the Holy Mountain Schema-Archimandrite Seraphim Tomin for healing him in infancy and predicting his future monasticism.
