Biography of Filagaret Koltsov

They were all embodied by Christianity by spiritual leadership was established by the example of the Lord Himself, the relations of Christ and His first disciples. Toohno, there is no consensus on whether the monastic tradition has been preserved in the past century of God -fertilization and persecution, but more than once it has already been noticed: the presence of the elders in the church is an indisputable key to the fact that this tradition will not be lost.

A living legend about the great elders of the "Soviet era" is now compiled before our eyes. Probably, in some of its part, it has inevitably overwhelmed with myths, but all the more valuable memories of those who casually communicated closely with these amazing people, the main qualities of which were love and humility. The expensive grains of such memoirs about the permissible archimandy Ioanna Koratyankin, whose centenary we recently celebrated, we offer the attention of our readers about other elders of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery.

Archimandrite Filaret Koltsov: the first time I arrived in the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery in the year, in August, on the eve of the throne festival of our monastery-the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He came from the provincial city, and the monastery struck me primarily with its beauty. I still understood little in monasticism, I did not know anything about the elders, but the Spirit of the Pechor gave birth to a special state: all the inhabitants were saints for me then.

In the year, I entered the number of brethren, I was accepted here by the already deceased governor, Archbishop Gabriel Stebantichenko - "A thunderstorm of all peoples, seas and oceans." Unfortunately, I did not find Father Alipo Voronov, but I am very grateful to Father Gabriel, I remember him and pray for him as I can ... Of course, there were elders. True, I no longer saw the Valaam fathers who previously worked in Pechora, but still found this color of monasticism, old age.

At first, Savva Ostapenko, then Father John the Kentankin, found out. Father John for me, I think, as for everyone, is a vessel of grace, through which the grace of God is poured on us. His love for God and people was amazing: whoever comes to Him, he will accept, caress, kiss, hug, give, and, of course, spiritually instructed. After all, everyone came with their problems.

At that time there was no more cruel persecution, but, nevertheless, the state was atheistic. Father John tried to console everyone, and indeed - no one left him inattentive. All our elders for me were the guardians of faith, the keepers of the spirit of monasticism. Father John said about his generation: “We are Nikolaev” because he was born into Orthodox imperial Russia and absorbed this spirit; He did not waste, having passed all the trials of that time, but retained and handed it to us.

Of course, it all began in childhood, because in Orel he had already stole from the age of six, at the age of 12 he mortgaged by Archbishop Serafim Ostroumov, Bishop of Nikolai Nikolsky, now glorified by the Church. At Bishop Nikolai, a twelve -year -old lad asked for blessings for monasticism - a serious statement, this is where this spirit comes from! Vladyka, blessing, said: "You will finish the school, then you will work, you will take a dignity, and then you will be a monk." It was a whole program for Father John, and in principle everything happened.

Throughout his life, Father John kept a photograph of the Lord, presented to him at that time and signed by Archbishop Seraphim: “From two friends about the Lord the young friend Van, with a prayer. May the Lord will fulfill the desire of your heart and may you give you true happiness in life. ” Saints, the new martyrs and confessors of the Russian Church called him, thirteen -year -old, a friend, and he justified this with his whole life.

Father John showed us the spiritual beauty, which he continued to accept from his mentors. His confessor was hegumen John Sokolov, the last Optina elder, whom Father John very read very much, called the Professor of the Heavenly Academy. He greatly appreciated and honored the elder Sevastian Karaganda. And when Father John returned from a year’s conclusion, he went to the Glinsky deserts, and his confessor became Schiarchimandrite Serafim Romtsov, who, after a few years, already in Sukhumi, made the monastic tonsure of his father John, giving him a name in honor of the apostle of the love of the Evangelist John the Theologian.

Father John lived in chastity all his life, in cleanliness, even his cell was removed by white - for me this is the image of his inner holiness, his chastity. We are living witnesses of this holiness. Of course, he had a special gift - the gift of love, reasoning, prayers. He never forced, did not force, did not dictate - he showed how to do it - with such love! Probably, thanks to this love and condescension to human weakness, due to the fact that he never said “do as me,” we wanted to act like Father John.

God does not dictate to us either. He gave us the gospel, commandments, and waiting for us to understand, consciously began to fulfill these commandments. And Father John did not set conditions. Only lamented. When they came to him: “Father, my trouble happened! And he always called for prayer: "Well, let's pray." He himself began to pray, and he called for repentance.Sometimes I will come to him-young, inexperienced, daring: “Father John, why are you blessing to leave such and such a pilgrim?

He needs to work with me.

" I understand now - this madness was on my part. He looks at me, says nothing - he always knew how to listen. Then he cares, sheers, puts it next to him and put everything on the shelves - on the basis of the gospel, the lives of the saints ... And it turns out - you yourself are to blame. People came not to work here, but first of all to worship the shrines, chat with the old man, get instructions ...

Although, of course, many also came to work. Father John had a whole spiritual first -aid kit, under the bed were stored boxes with records. Now his works collected by Tatyana Sergeevna Smirnova, his many years of cell, are systematized and published. And look at these cell books - everything is from the Holy Fathers, he, like a bee of nectar, collected everything. I remember - people rewritten these instructions: how to keep his path clean, excerpts from St.

John Chrysostom about family life ... That was the spiritual first -aid kit. So he worked on a desktop book for the monks and laity. Specially left for the so -called medical vacation, was engaged in this book, the basis of which is the Gospel, the Holy Scriptures, the teachings of the Holy Fathers, the teachings of the elders and his own living example. A living example of prayer, a living example of communication with the departed and with current generations - all this happened before our eyes.

He was the guardian of our entire church history, but when they said: Father, we want to write a book about you, he answered: in no case, we don’t have to write anything about me. I did not like to act. And I, coming to him, sometimes saw: he sat, turned over some old albums with photographs of people close to him, kissed these photos ... I say once: “Father, you don’t want to act, you don’t want to write something about you, but they’ll still write who will write to what, they will write fables, but it would be better to write the whole truth from the source.

You kiss these photos, are touched, for you these are living saints, and what will we read, what to look at, what to admire? .. I was very delicately shot, but the film turned out to be very alive, the whole Father John in it. And he loved all living things. A dull person will come, and he will: “What are you, baby? I saw everything, heard, and there was always a crowd around him.

Like the uterus of bee swarm is surrounded, so he was. When we walked along the holy hill, he said: “What a wonderful monastery we have, there is no such monastery, only we have ...” Although he also loved the Trinity-Sergius, Pochaevskaya, Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, Glinsky deserts. He found the old school in Pechora, but he himself brought here his richest experience, including parish life, worship.

Look in the film by Vladyka Tikhon, as he serves at the Divine Liturgy, all -night vigils - inimitable ... Thank God that his sermons have been preserved. They are simple and at the same time very deep in meaning. To master them, you need to re -read several times. At first, one thing opens up to you, then the other, the third ... For us, Father John was like a lamp, illuminated the path to God, to salvation, to the kingdom of heaven ...

... Father John did not like it when they ran from the old man to the old man. He was sometimes indignant: “If the confessor told you, do it. Or go, ask again and listen to the end, but I cannot cancel someone else's blessing. ” If in our monastery, for example, father Adrian Kirsanov said something to a man, and he asks his father John-what to do, Father John will say: “Excuse me, I can’t, this is a question for father Adrian.” It is amazing that where Father John is now resting, the elder Simeon Zhelnin, the Monk, was buried in this place.

Father John still found the elder Simeon, even managed to serve with him. He said: “Father Alipius appointed me to lead the liturgy in the Assumption Church. I stand, worried, shook all ... On the one hand, Father Simeon is standing, on the other, Isaac's father, they see that I am worried. Father Tikhon secretarre, now our deceased governor, was preparing for this carefully, and the ark was ordered for relics, but until that moment they did not want to shift them into the state coffin, and the coffin that was already broke up.

Father John the coffin made himself in advance, during his lifetime. And the father of the governor asked: "Is it possible for a while to your coffin to shift the relics of the elder Simeon while the ark is brought from Sofrino." Of course, with love, Father John gave this coffin, and it turned out that Elder Simeon consecrated the coffin to Father John. And then he gave way to the caves, and in this again the Providence of the mysterious God, the succession of the old age.

Elder Simeon became famous and gave way. I think that maybe we will have some elders, they can now have secret ones, we just do not see them spiritually yet. And to someone, Father John will also give in a place. At the end of December of the same year, they tonsured me. In the monastery, as it seemed to us then, there were two main people around whom the whole spiritual life rotated: Father John and Father Adrian.

Now we understand that we most likely underestimated others, and they were great in their own way. But still, Father John and Father Adrian stood out among all. Each of them had spiritual children among the brethren - the child of Father John, the child of Father Adrian ... Father John was older, and access to him was harder. Although, for example, I was not embarrassed by this and asked questions through Tatyana Sergeevna.

We, the brethren, met with Father John, or when he walked along the hill with his father Philaret, with Tatyana Sergeyevna and in recent years he was already rolled in a chair, and the brothers gathered around him; Or when Father John went to the bathhouse, with Alexy the novice who drove him. At the exit, we surrounded him and talked with him-someone solved his issues, and Father John often talked about the past ...

... Father Adrian reported the demoniacs, it was his obedience. He served twice a week, in the early liturgy in the Nikolsky and Assumption temples; We all gathered at these services - young people, and priests, and just monks. The service began at six o’clock, he came to four, committed proskomidia, then professed his spiritual children ... That's how we lived, in general, closely and amicably.

Of course, there were ordinary monks, and in the sacred dignity, the greatness of which we could not see then, because we were absorbed by Father John and Father Adrian. For example, Father Alexander Vasiliev, who died in the San of Schiarchimandrite, he, even under the father of Alipia Voronov, was a dean of the monastery, then the confessor of the brethren. A noble, calm, with an even voice, a man who, since his youth, spent his whole life in the church.