From: Subject: Memoirs - Archimandrite Nektary Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2006 06:11:01 -0600 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://www.kollekcia.ru/cgi-bin/nika.cgi?cs=windows-1251&q=Russian&ch=http:%2F%2Fwww.roca.org%2Foa%2F159-160%2F159f.htm&fm=off X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2962 Memoirs - Archimandrite Nektary

Orthodox=20 America

  MEMOIRS Archimandrite Nektary (Chernobyl) =

(Continued from Orthodox America,=20 155-156)

 In the Russian Church = Abroad=20 Meanwhile, the Red Army was approaching Peremysl. What to do? I decided = that I=20 would leave the city and live in the forest; that was better than = falling again=20 into the hands of the Bolsheviks.

A peasant suggested that I go with him to = Czechoslovakia,=20 which at that time was a part of the German Reich. We succeeded in = crossing the=20 border, and found ourselves in a camp for "Ostebeiders," Russian workers. = People at=20 the camp were being recruited for work in Pressburg (Bratislava). I = signed up,=20 and that saved my life, for no sooner had I left than the camp was = besieged by=20 Red partisans.

In Bratislava I worked at first on an assembly line = together=20 with other "Osts." Later I was able to find work in a watch repair shop = located=20 in the city center.

One day I was walking along the street, when I saw = two Russian monks. = Running, I=20 caught up with them and asked where they were from. They replied that = they were=20 from the Russian Church=20 Abroad. One of them was Fr. Gelasiy (Maibord), and the other was Fr. = Sergius=20 (Romberg) - both were future archimandrites. They told me that they were = part of=20 the printing brotherhood of Saint Job of Pochaev, located in the town of = Ladomirovo, in Carpatho-Russia. With the advance of the Red Army, the=20 brotherhood had moved to Bratislava. There an old Russian emigr=E9 = had given=20 them a spacious warehouse, and in this building, on the shores of the = Danube,=20 they had built a temporary church and living quarters for the monks.

I was very glad of this encounter, as I had known = about the=20 existence of the Russian=20 Church Abroad when I was still in Russia, and, on finding myself in=20 Czechoslovakia, I had been thinking how to locate it. And so I joined = the St Job=20 of Pochaev Brotherhood as a novice. My first obedience was singing on = the=20 cliros.

At that time the superior of the brotherhood was=20 Archimandrite Seraphim (Ivanov), the future archbishop of Chicago and = Detroit.=20 Other members of the brotherhood included Archimandrite Nathaniel (Lvov, = later=20 bishop) and Hieromonk Vitaly (Ustinov, the current Chief Hierarch of the = Russian Church = Abroad).

Meanwhile, the Red Army was approaching, and in = January 1945=20 our brotherhood moved to Berlin. Shortly thereafter General Vlasov = requested=20 that the Church Abroad send clergy to minister to the soldiers of his = army. Our=20 Church sent Hieromonk Anthony (Medvedev, currently the Archbishop of = Western=20 America and San Francisco), and myself in the capacity of a reader.

This was not long before the end of the war.

It should be noted that the majority of Vlasov's = soldiers=20 were men who had been raised under the Soviets; few of them believed in = God.=20 However, when we served Divine Liturgy, all the soldiers and officers = attended.=20 I myself never did meet Vlasov in person.

In April 1945, =20 Vlasov's division that we were serving was ordered to move = towards=20 Prague. We made our way mostly at night to avoid being spotted by = American=20 planes, which flew by day. Once an American fighter plane flew over our = column.=20 Bullets rained down to the right and to the left of Fr. Anthony and = myself; they=20 riddled the vestments and church vessels we were carrying with us in the = cart,=20 but fortunately we were not hurt.

Before reaching Prague, we received news of = Germany's=20 surrender. Vlasov's soldiers scattered, and Fr. Anthony and I were left = by=20 ourselves, without horses or carts. I came across an abandoned baby = carriage,=20 and, after I had fixed it, we loaded our church accouterments onto it = and moved=20 west, towards the American zone.

En route we stumbled upon a Soviet border post. We = tried to=20 pass ourselves off as Czechs: Fr. Anthony had a Czech passport and spoke = Czech.=20 The chief of the post looked at us suspiciously nevertheless and said to = another=20 guard: "Still, we should take them to the commissar." But the other = border guard=20 waved his hand, "Aw, let them go home." The officer in charge thought = for a=20 moment and agreed. "Well, all right. Let them pass."

And thus we entered the American zone. There we = learned that=20 our brotherhood had moved from Berlin to Munich, and there we directed = our=20 steps. Along the way we knocked at the doors of German homes and asked = for a=20 night's lodging. Some received us, while others refused, in which case = we spent=20 the night in the woods. Whatever our situation, we always read through = the daily=20 cycle of   services, = and once=20 we even served Divine Liturgy in the woods.

We travelled on foot for many days until finally, = in some=20 town, we came upon an abandoned cart and two unclaimed horses roaming = the=20 streets. We harnessed them, loaded our church belongings onto the carts, = and=20 continued our way.

At last we reached Munich, but we did not find the=20 brotherhood; they had already moved to Switzerland. We were able to = obtain Swiss=20 visas, and arrived in Geneva. There we met for the first time the then = Chief=20 Hierarch of the Russian=20 Church Abroad, Metropolitan Anastassy (Gribanovsky) of blessed memory. = His=20 residence was located in Munich, but he came from time to time to = Geneva, and=20 served in the church of the former embassy. There lived in Geneva at = that time=20 Princess Tatiana Konstantinovna, the daughter of Grand Duke Constantine=20 Konstantinovich, who later became Abbess Tamara, the superior of the = Mount of=20 Olives convent in the Holy Land.

On 29 November/12 December 1946, Archimandrite = Seraphim=20 (Ivanov) tonsured me, giving me the name of the saint commemorated that = day,=20 Saint Nektary of the Kiev Caves, the Obedient. A few days later = Metropolitan=20 Anastassy ordained me to the =20 diaconate.

Not long afterwards, I came down with tuberculosis = (a result=20 of my years in the camps), and I was sent for treatment to a mountain = sanatorium=20 near Lausanne. There I spent half a year. I was glad to find a Russian doctor at = the=20 sanatorium. The treatment was successful, and I recovered. Archbishop = Vitaly=20 (Maximenko)

Meanwhile, our brotherhood prepared to move to = Jordanville.=20 Archbishop Vitaly (Maximenko) helped us to obtain our visas for entry = into=20 America. Vladika Vitaly (1873-1960) was one of the most illustrious = hierarchs of=20 the Russian = Orthodox=20 Church Abroad. Up to the time of the Revolution, his activity was = centered in=20 the Pochaev Lavra in Volhynia. There he founded a chapter of the Union = of Russian People, = which stood=20 for the defense of Orthodoxy and autocracy.

At that time the Lavra's print shop, which had = originally=20 been founded by Saint Job of Pochaev in the 17th century, was totally=20 obsolete.

Archimandrite Vitaly equipped it with new presses, = gathered=20 around himself some monastic printers, and in a short time the Pochaev = print=20 shop became a center of spiritual enlightenment for the whole of Russia. = The=20 brotherhood was particularly active in the battle against Unia.

In 1919 Archimandrite Vitaly was arrested by the = Poles and=20 sentenced to be shot. He was spared and released thanks to the = intercessions of=20 the Serbian Patriarch Barnabas.

Settling in Czechoslovakia, in the village of = Ladomirovo,=20 Archimandrite Vitaly gathered around himself a group of monks and = revived the=20 printing brotherhood of Saint Job of Pochaev. The brotherhood published = a=20 periodical, Orthodox Carpatho-Russia (later renamed Orthodox Russia), = and=20 printed church calendars, as well as liturgical and spiritual books, = with which=20 they supplied churches and parishes of the entire Russian = diaspora.

In 1934 Archimandrite Vitaly was consecrated bishop = and sent=20 to New York to minister to the Russian = =E9migr=E9s in America.=20 In his stead, he appointed Archimandrite Seraphim (Ivanov) as head of = the=20 brotherhood.

It was about this same time that Archimandrite = Panteleimon=20 (Nizhnik) of the Russian=20 Church Abroad bought a parcel of land near the village of Jordanville in = upstate=20 New York. On the parcel was a house, some arable land, and pasturage.=20 Surrounding the parcel were woods, and for several miles around there = were no=20 factories, just small farms. The nearest city, Utica, was twenty miles = away, and=20 it was seven miles to the nearest town, Richfield Springs. In spite of = there=20 being two roads through the property, the place was fairly secluded and = was=20 suitable for the establishment of a monastery.

It should be added that the climate there was = fairly severe:=20 summers were very humid with heavy rains, while winters brought frosts = down to=20 thirty below (Celsius) and drifting snow - which partly explained why = the area=20 was sparsely settled. There used to be a narrow-gauge railway passing = through,=20 but it was later shut down. For all these reasons, the property was very = affordable. Fr. Panteleimon and his assistant, monk Jacob (Masharuk), = earned=20 money to purchase the property by working at the Sikorsky helicopter = factory in=20 Connecticut.

For a long time just the two of them, Fr. = Panteleimon and Fr.=20 Jacob, lived in Jordanville. Later they were joined by Fr. Joseph. = However, by=20 working hard they were able to start a farm, to build a chapel, and to = lay the=20 foundation for a church dedicated to the Holy Trinity.

Soon after the end of the war, Vladika Vitaly = (Maximenko)=20 arranged for our brotherhood of Saint Job of Pochaev to come from = Switzerland,=20 and on 15 December 1946, fourteen monks arrived in Jordanville. Vladika = Vitaly=20 again became our superior, while Bishop Seraphim was entrusted with the=20 editorship of the newspaper, Orthodox Russia. We brought to Jordanville = the icon=20 of our patron saint, Job of Pochaev, with a particle of his relics. We = had=20 received the icon from the print shop of the Pochaev Lavra and it had = stood in=20 the print shop in Ladomirovo. Today this icon stands in the print shop = of Holy=20 Trinity Monastery.

Vladika Vitaly was the superior not only of our = brotherhood=20 but also of Holy Trinity Monastery. One can say that almost all that we = now have=20 in Jordanville, we owe to Vladika Vitaly: he founded the seminary and = was its=20 first rector; he directed the construction of the Holy Trinity = cathedral; he=20 organized the print shop; he strengthened the monastery by sending for = monks=20 from the Saint Job monastery near Munich and from other places, thanks = to which,=20 in a short period of time the number of monks grew to fifty.

Vladika Vitaly was a man of strong and resolute = character.=20 They say that a certain monk came to Ladomirovo, who upset the other = monks with=20 his insolent behavior. Once Vladika Vitaly caught him in the act of some = egregious misbehavior. Without saying a word, Vladika Vitaly grabbed him = firmly=20 by the hand, led him out onto the porch, and silently indicated that he = take the=20 road.

Vladika Vitaly stood firmly on the path of = Orthodoxy. After=20 the war, the "Leontiev Church" (so-called after its head, Metropolitan = Leonty)=20 split off from the Russian Church = Abroad and=20 entered into communion with the Moscow Patriarchate. Some people = demanded that=20 Vladika Vitaly join them. But he categorically refused any such = proposition, and=20 thanks to his firm position some of the American parishes remained loyal = to the=20 Russian Church = Abroad.=20 Vladika Vitaly reposed 8/21 March 1960, and was buried in the memorial = church of=20 Equal-to-the-Apostles Saint Vladimir in Casseville (Jackson), New = Jersey.

In Jordanville 

In Jordanville When we, thirteen monks from the = Saint Job of=20 Pochaev Brotherhood, arrived in Jordanville, construction on the Holy = Trinity=20 church had already begun. Only the foundation was completed. Fr. = Panteleimon and=20 several other monks and laymen had been working on the construction, and = were=20 utterly spent. We, with our fresh reserves of strength, in addition to = the=20 assistance of some hired workers, eagerly applied ourselves to the task, = and in=20 a short time the lower church was completed. Soon thereafter work began = on the=20 upper church, which was consecrated by Metropolitan Anastassy in = November=20 1950.

In the course of the next ten years, we likewise = built (true,=20 this was also with the help of hired workmen) the monks' residence and = the=20 seminary building. We also built a print shop.

Vladika Vitaly often came to Jordanville from his = residence=20 in New York City; he officiated at the Divine services, gave directives, = and=20 instructed the monks. And so it was that our brotherhood, under the = direction of=20 Vladika Vitaly, prospered in all respects: in the construction of the = church, in=20 the printing of books, and in the spiritual life.

All thirteen new arrivals were then young and = energetic.=20 Among them were: 1. Bishop Seraphim (Ivanov), the future archbishop of = Chicago=20 and Detroit (+1987). 2. Hegumen Philemon (Nikitin), the brotherhood's=20 father-confessor in Vladimirovo and also in Jordanville; he was likewise = the=20 stitcher in the print shop. A former Valaam monk, now deceased.

3. Hieromonk Cyprian (Pizhov), now an = archimandrite; a=20 talented iconographer, among many others, who painted two magnificent = icons: one=20 of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, and a second, All the = Saints of=20 Russia. He also frescoed the Holy Virgin "Joy of All who Sorrow" = Cathedral in=20 San Francisco, where the relics of Saint John of Shanghai and San = Francisco are=20 located, and many other churches of the Russian Church = Abroad.

4. Hegumen Nikon (Rklitsky), the future archbishop = of=20 Washington and author of the multi-volume life of Metropolitan Anthony=20 (Khrapovistky).

5. Hieromonk Anthony (Medvedev), currently = Archbishop of=20 Western America and San Francisco.

6. Hegumen Antony (Yamshchikov), later an = archimandrite, a=20 spiritual confessor of the monastery and the principal printer in = Jordanville.=20 He reposed in 1993.

7. Archdeacon Sergius (Romberg), later = archimandrite; book=20 printer and steward of the monastery in Jordanville. He reposed in = 1992.

8. Novice Nikolai (Gamanovich), now Archbishop = Alypy of=20 Chicago and Detroit; an iconographer and student of Archimandrite = Cyprian.

9. Novice Vasily (Shkurla), now Archbishop Laurus = of Syracuse=20 and Holy Trinity Monastery, the superior of Holy Trinity Monastery and = rector of=20 Holy Trinity Seminary.

10. Novice Vasily (Vanko), now Archimandrite = Flor.

There were also Hieromonk Seraphim (Popov), = Archdeacon Pimen=20 (Kachan), and finally, myself, Nektary (Chernobyl), at that time still a = hieromonk.

Soon after our arrival in Jordanville, Archbishop = Vitaly=20 ordained me to the priesthood. Later, Archbishop Averky (Taushev) raised = me to=20 the rank of hegumen.

I was at that time at the peak of my energies and I = did not=20 know what it meant to be tired. In the monastery in Jordanville I = fulfilled=20 several obediences simultaneously: I was choir director, I was in charge = of the=20 typicon, I was a mechanic, gardener, bookbinder, and typesetter.

I have already related how Vladika Vitaly revived = the=20 printing work of our brotherhood, which had been suspended by the war. = Upon his=20 instruction, Archimandrite Panteleimon (Nizhnik) purchased two printing = presses.=20 I, with my mechanical abilities, was able soon to have them in working = order,=20 and, on learning how to set type, began working in the print shop.

We typeset Pravoslavnaya Rus' (Orthodox Russia), = published=20 biweekly, and its supplements: the annual, Pravoslavny Puts (Orthodox = Way), and=20 the monthly, Pravoslavnaya Zhizn (Orthodox Life). Holy Trinity Orthodox = Russian Calendar, = Saint=20 Vladimir Calendar, and various liturgical and spiritual books were also=20 published.

I worked on the Linotype. At that time the = typesetting was=20 also done in part  = manually, letter=20 by letter. The elements were prepared from hot lead, which emitted = noxious=20 fumes. I became very ill with lead poisoning, which affected my kidneys=20 (uremia). When I recovered, Vladika Vitaly relieved me of my obedience = in the=20 print shop, and assigned me to the garden (I had learned about gardening = through=20 helping my father in my youth).

In summer I worked in the garden, while in winter I = worked in=20 the bookbinding shop, which I myself organized: in New York I bought two = binding=20 machines and fixed them up. Three fellows worked in the shop under my=20 supervision. We bound the books that were printed in our print shop. Our = garden=20 in Jordanville was enormous, producing sufficient produce to feed all = the=20 residents of the monastery. I had two or three helpers, novices, but the = bulk of=20 the work I did myself. We planted tomatoes, cabbages, carrots, = cantaloupe. Some=20 years the harvest was so abundant that we sent vegetables to the Synod, = to=20 Novo-Diveyevo convent, and to the Kursk Hermitage in Mahopac, New York. = Many=20 pilgrims would come each year for the feast of Pentecost, not only from = nearby=20 cities - Utica, Syracuse, Albany - but also from New York City and = Boston. We=20 fed them using the vegetables from our garden. I remember making borscht = for=20 several hundred people.

Archimandrite Constantine = (Zaitsev) and other=20 staff members of Orthodox Russia

When I was in Bratislava and in Geneva, I confessed = to=20 Hegumen Philemon (Nikitin). Fr. Philemon had been a monk on Valaam, but = he left=20 when the New Calendar was introduced there. Every night for the rest of = his=20 life, Fr. Philemon would get up at two o'clock in the morning to fulfill = his=20 prayer rule, as was the tradition on Valaam.

After his repose, I confessed to Fr. Antony = (Yamshchikov).=20 There was also a time when Archimandrite Constantine (Zaitsev) was my = confessor.=20 Archimandrite Constantine (Cyril Zaitsev in the world) was born in St = Petersburg=20 in 1888. He received a law degree and went on to work as an official in=20 government offices. After participating in the White Movement, he left = for=20 China, where he was ordained to the priesthood. From China he went to = America=20 together with Bishop John of Shanghai. When, in 1949, Bishop Seraphim = (Ivanov)=20 was assigned to a diocesan see, Vladika Vitaly invited Fr. Constantine = to take=20 his place as editor of Orthodox Russia. Fr. Constantine remained at this = post=20 almost to the end of his days. He reposed in 1975 at the age of 87. Fr.=20 Constantine was very reserved, always preserving an inner concentration. = He=20 preferred solitude. Every day he would take walks by himself along the = monastery=20 roads. In church he served with the same concentration and often gave = sermons.=20 Everyone regarded him with utmost respect. He had numerous spiritual = children=20 among both monastics and laymen, and he was the most popular confessor = among the=20 seminarians. His cell was piled with letters from readers from all over = the Russian diaspora, = and he=20 could barely keep up with this correspondence. Archimandrite Constantine = was=20 highly educated and responded to all current events. He was fiercely = opposed to=20 communism, he was a strong supporter of autocratic monarchy, he sensed = the=20 nearness of the time of antichrist, and in this spirit he wrote his = numerous=20 articles and editorials which appeared in almost every issue of Orthodox = Russia=20 and its annual, The Orthodox Way. I worked under his supervision in the = print=20 shop, typesetting issues of these publications.

Among the staff of Orthodox Russia at that time, I. = M.=20 Andreyev and N. D. Talberg stand out in particular.

Professor Ivan Andreyev (1894-1974), as a professor = in St=20 Petersburg, was a member of the delegation which, in 1927, tried to = dissuade=20 Metropolitan Sergius from his Declaration. Later he joined the Catacomb = Church.=20 He was incarcerated on Solovki. After the war he found himself in = Germany, and=20 from there he came to Jordanville. In his articles he described the life = of the=20 catacomb Christians of Stalin's era.

Professor Nicholas Talberg (1886-1977) was a=20 pre-revolutionary law school graduate. A man of distinctly monarchist=20 convictions, he became an =E9migr=E9 church historian, and wrote A = History of the Russian = Church.

These religiously oriented writers were Orthodox = zealots, who=20 admitted no compromise with any manifestations of apostasy in the = contemporary=20 world, including the ecumenism and Sergianism of the Moscow = Patriarchate. They=20 were like-minded and in solidarity with Vladika Vitaly and, after his = death,=20 with Archbishop Averky. Highly gifted and widely educated, they were not = only=20 church writers but also teachers at the Jordanville seminary: = Archimandrite=20 Constantine taught pastoral theology and Russian = literature, while=20 Professor Andreyev, who had been a doctor-psychiatrist, gave courses in=20 psychology as well as in moral theology.

There were also other talented writers on the staff = of=20 Orthodox Russia at that time: Archpriest Nicholas Deputatov, Protopriest = Basil=20 Boshcha-novsky, Professor G. Znamensky, Peter Marr, N. Bobrov, and = others.

Metropolitan Anastassy and = Archbishop John of=20 Shanghai and San Francisco

The head of the Russian Church = Abroad,=20 Metropolitan Anastassy (Gribanovsky) often came to Jordanville from his=20 residence in New York City. In spite of his high position and rank, = Metropolitan=20 Anastassy was very simple and unassuming. I drove him around the = monastery=20 property in a dilapidated, stripped down old Ford that had no roof, and = he was=20 not phased in the least. He would come to the garden, pick a cucumber, = and eat=20 it right there and then.

He was very fond of the singing of the monastery = choir. At=20 that time I was the choir director (I had learned to read notes when I = was at=20 the pedagogical seminary in Alexandria).

Metropolitan Anastassy was a true hierarch, a man = of firm and=20 unwavering convictions, who led a strict, ascetic life.

He was a resolute opponent of any rapprochement = with the=20 Moscow Patriarchate. In his Legacy he wrote: "As regards the Moscow = Patriarchate=20 and its hierarchs, inasmuch as they are in close, active and amicable = union with=20 the Soviet regime, which openly confesses its absolute godlessness and = strives=20 to implant atheism in the Russian people, = the Church=20 Abroad, guarding its purity, cannot have any canonical, prayerful or = even=20 everyday relations with them. At the same time, it leaves each of them=20 ultimately to the judgment of a Sobor of the future free Russian = Church."

He reposed 9/22 May 1960 and was buried in = Jordanville, in a=20 crypt at the back of the main church, next to the tomb of of the renown = Orthodox=20 zealot and ascetic, Archbishop Tikhon of San Francisco.

I shall also say a few words about the now = glorified hierarch=20 John of Shanghai and San Francisco (although I did not know him well and = rarely=20 saw him).

This was a very simple man, magnetic and = accessible. He was=20 always surrounded by people.

He communed daily. He adamantly opposed any = violation of the=20 church typicon, and if anyone on the cliros skipped anything, or did not = read or=20 chant in full the appointed text, Vladika would compel him to read it = again,=20 beginning from the place where the omission had been made. This = displeased some=20 of the clergy, but the simple people loved him, and he had numerous = followers=20 who, even in his lifetime, considered him to be a saint.

Archbishop Averky = (Taushev)

In 1951 there came to Jordanville from Munich = Archimandrite=20 Averky, who later became Archbishop of Syracuse and Holy Trinity. He = brought=20 with him the most sacred object belonging to the Russian Diaspora - = the=20 wonderworking Kursk-Root icon of the Mother of God.

Vladika Averky, Alexander Taushev in the world, was = born in=20 1906 in the Russian city=20 of Kazan, in the family of a military prosecutor. After the Revolution = the=20 family fled to Bulgaria. There, in Sofia, Alexander entered the = theological=20 faculty. During that time he became a student of the well-known ascetic, = Archbishop Theophan of Poltava, who had been a father-confessor of the = Russian Royal = Family. Later=20 Vladika Averky compiled a biography of Archbishop Theo-phan, which was = published=20 as a separate booklet.

After graduating from the theological faculty, he = served for=20 a time as a parish priest in Carpatho-Russia. Then he moved to Belgrade, = where=20 he was an assistant and father-confessor of Metropolitan Anastassy. In = 1945 he=20 moved to Munich, and from there to Jordanville, where he began to teach = at the=20 seminary (he gave courses in New Testament scripture). In 1953 he was = ordained=20 Bishop of Syracuse and Holy Trinity.

Later, when Archbishop Vitaly had grown old and = infirm and=20 was no longer able to leave his residence in the Bronx, Vladika Averky = assumed=20 the responsibilities of superior of the monastery and  rector of the seminary in = Jordanville.=20 And when Archimandrite Constantine fell ill, Vladika Averky also took = over as=20 editor of Orthodox Russia.

Vladika Averky led a serious and concentrated life. = He arose=20 at four o'clock, perhaps even earlier, and performed his monastic rule. = He was=20 very strict in fulfilling the church canons. Seminarians taking his = courses were=20 obliged to learn and to know the Nomokanon (compilation of canons of the = Orthodox Church). He guided the monastery and the seminary with a firm = hand, and=20 did not allow any self-will -neither among the monks nor among the=20 seminarians.

It should be added that his firmness of character = was=20 combined with a kindly and benevolent    disposition: he = was very=20 considerate and attentive towards people. In his sermons at funerals, he = always=20 found warm and sincere words to say about the deceased (some of these = eulogies=20 were published in the anthology of his works).

For the most part, his sermons concerned the = subject of=20 eschatology. He also compiled a commentary on the Apocalypse (the book = of=20 Revelation). He felt strongly that we were living on the threshold of = the coming=20 of antichrist, and that we must prepare for the Last Judgment. Some = people=20 listened to him with skepticism, but, nevertheless, we now see that his=20 sorrowful predictions, made thirty years ago, have clearly begun to be=20 fulfilled.

He revered Bishop Theophan the Recluse, considering = him to be=20 his patron, and he frequently repeated his predictions concerning the = fate of=20 Russia and the world, many of which have already come to pass.

Vladika Averky was a member of the Synod [of = Bishops] of the=20 Russian Church=20 Abroad.

In almost every issue of Orthodox Russia, there = appeared his=20 editorials and long articles, in which he defended Orthodoxy, battled = against=20 the spirit of apostasy and against ecumenism. A majority of his articles = were=20 published during his life in a four-volume collection of works titled, = Modernity=20 in the Light of the Word of God. He often exposed the falsehood of the = Moscow=20 Patriarchate and was a staunch opponent of any rapprochement with = it.

I deeply revered Vladika Averky, and he, on his = part, was=20 very kindly disposed towards me and presented me with gifts of his books = inscribed with his own hand.

He became my father confessor. Unfortunately, I was = with him=20 for only five years: in 1966 I was sent to Mount Athos, and then to the = Holy=20 Land. But we corresponded regularly, and I continued to receive = spiritual=20 counsel from him until he died.

He reposed at the age of seventy, on Lazarus = Saturday, 31=20 March/3 April, 1976, and was buried with great honor in a crypt at the = back of=20 the Holy Trinity Monastery church in Jordanville. Many people gathered = for his=20 funeral, among them were not only Russians but also Greeks and = Bulgarians. On=20 Mount Athos

 I = spent twenty=20 years in Jordanville (from 1946-1966), and was then sent to St Elias = Skete on=20 Mount Athos. Before my departure, Metropolitan Philaret raised me to the = rank of=20 archimandrite. At that time, the superior of St Elias Skete, Fr. = Nicholas, was=20 very old and no longer able to govern the skete, and I took his place as = superior.

I had been on Athos once before, as a pilgrim, and = it had=20 made a great impression on me. For this reason, although I had grown = accustomed=20 to Jordanville and had no desire to leave it, it gave me great joy to = return=20 again to the Holy Mountain.

I went first to Athens and began the process of = obtaining a=20 visa to Athos. This turned out to be no easy task, but Bishop Anatoly, a = Russian =E9migr=E9 = living at=20 that time in Greece, assisted me, and I succeeded.

I arrived on Athos in the spring. Everything was in = bloom,=20 and there was greenery all around. The mountains, the monasteries, the = sea - it=20 was all magnificent.

Saint Elias Skete is situated high in the = mountains. Access=20 is difficult: the road is a continual, steep ascent. I reached the skete = partly=20 on foot, and partly by donkey.

Saint Elias Skete is a dependency of the Greek = monastery of=20 Pantocrator, and it is located seven kilometers from Karyes, the capital = of=20 Athos. It was founded  in = the=20 eighteenth century by Saint Paisius Velichkovsky. For some time the = skete=20 remained quite small, both in physical size and in the number of monks. = It was=20 only in the mid-nineteenth century that it began to expand and was = settled by Russian monks; = before the=20 Revolution, their number reached 300. The magnificent church, in honor = of the=20 Prophet Elias, was completed not long before the Revolution and was = consecrated=20 by Archbishop Anastassy (Gribanovsky).

It is said that when the church was being built, a=20 fool-for-Christ ran around it shouting: "Build, build! It will be empty = all the=20 same!" And so it was. Not long before the Revolution, the Russian ambassador = in Athens=20 advised the superior at the skete to gather all the monastery's funds = which were=20 kept in various banks in Odessa, as there was danger of a coup. The = superior was=20 sure that Russia stood firm and inviolable. The ambassador, however, = proved to=20 be right. The Bolsheviks expropriated the monastery's funds, and the = monks were=20 compelled to work strenuously in towns and villages near Athos in order = to pay=20 off the debts incurred by the building of the church. Many monks = exhausted their=20 strength in this labor, and died prematurely.

When I came to Saint Elias Skete, there remained = only three=20 residents: the former superior, Fr. Nicholas, who was already very = elderly; a=20 hieromonk, also infirm; and a third, the steward.

The skete had three or four churches, among which = was a=20 rectory church where daily liturgy was served.  The service (Matins, Midnight = Office,=20 and Divine Liturgy) began at one o'clock in the morning, following the = Athonite=20 tradition, and ended towards morning. Afterwards everyone rested before = going to=20 their obediences.

I quickly found myself work to which I was = accustomed: I=20 selected a suitable plot of ground and planted a garden, which proved = sufficient=20 to feed me and all the residents. The work occupied all my free time = away from=20 services. There were three of us in the priestly rank, and we took turns = serving, while the steward sang on the cliros.

The Athonite rule is very demanding for a Russian. Russian churches = very rarely=20 have night services: only once or twice a year, on Pascha and sometimes=20 Nativity. I was unaccustomed to the night services, and became very = tired from=20 standing all night long. And there were few amenities on Athos, which = also made=20 life difficult: we would go around in the evening and at night with = lanterns or=20 candles.

In spite of all the difficulties, it was absolutely = wonderful=20 there on Mount Athos. It was so quiet and tranquil. During the day, from = the top=20 of the mountain on which the skete was located, one could see the sea. I = recall=20 the time I spent on Athos as the happiest period of my life, and I would = gladly=20 live there again. Afterwards I asked several times if I could be = reappointed=20 there, but this was not granted. While on Athos I visited the Russian hermits - = Fr.=20 Nikodim of Karoulia and others.

I spent over a year on Mount Athos, and then, at = the=20 insistence of Archbishop Averky, I returned to Jordanville.

In the Russian = Monasteries of=20 Jerusalem

In = Jordanville I planted=20 my garden, and there was a bountiful harvest. That fall, however, the = Synod=20 unexpectedly reassigned me to Jerusalem. I did not want to go. First of = all, the=20 monasteries there are large, there are many pilgrims, many tourists from = all=20 over the world, and consequently there are many temptations. In = Jerusalem there=20 was not that solitude that I found on Mount Athos, nor even the = tranquility of=20 Jordanville. Jordanville received its share of pilgrims, but they were = "ours,"=20 from the local Russian=20 =E9migr=E9s; very rarely were there tourists. I therefore asked Vladika = Averky to=20 request, on my behalf, that I remain in Jordanville, but he said that it = was not=20 possible to rescind the Synod's decision.

I arrived in = the Holy=20 Land in 1968. The Head of the Russian = Ecclesiastical=20 Mission at that time was Archimandrite Antony (Grabbe). His residence = was=20 located at the Russian=20 Excavations, and I was at first given a cell there, where I lived for = about a=20 year.

In Jerusalem = I met two=20 old acquaintances: the superior of the Mount Olives Convent, Abbess = Ta-mara,=20 with whom I became acquainted in Geneva, and Archimandrite Dimitri = (Biakai),=20 whom I knew in Europe.  = (When I came=20 to Jerusalem, he was living in retirement at the Mount of Olives = convent.)  I used to visit them often = there on the=20 Mount of Olives.

On Thursdays = I served=20 Divine Liturgy at the Russian = Excavations, in the=20 church of Saint Alexander Nevsky; on Fridays I served at the Bethany = School;=20 other days I served at Gethsemane, at the convent of Saint Mary = Magdalene.  On days that I was not = assigned to=20 serve, I would go to Jericho, where we had two fruit orchards, and there = I=20 worked.

There in the = Russian = monasteries of=20 Jerusalem I met a number of remarkable people, representatives of old, = Imperial=20 Russia. They had all left their homeland after the Revolution. Among = them were:=20 the superior of the Gethsemane convent, Abbess Barbara (Tsvetkova), who = in=20 Russia was close to the Tikhonite bishops; the elderly spiritual father = of the=20 Gethsemane convent, Fr. Seraphim, a former aide-de-camp of Tsar Nicholas = II;=20 Hegumen Stefan, also a father-confessor at the Gethsemane convent and a = former=20 soldier of the Imperial Army; Archimandrite Modeste, spiritual father of = the=20 Mount of Olives convent, formerly a monk of New Athos monastery [in = Russia -=20 trans.]; after the dispersal of the monastery, he was in the catacombs; = at the=20 end of the '30s he hid in the Caucasus; Nun Alexandra, whose father = served at=20 the court in Tsarskoe Selo; General M. Khripunov, president of the = Palestine=20 Society, formerly also at the Imperial Court. Another remarkable person = was the=20 abbess of Gethsemane convent, Mary Robinson, an Anglican convert to=20 Orthodoxy.

Frs. Seraphim = and Stefan=20 served at that time in Gethsemane. When they could no longer serve = because of=20 infirmities brought by old age, I began serving daily at Gethsemane.

In addition, = at the Mount=20 of Olives Convent I engaged in my usual work - as a gardener. With a = tractor, I=20 tilled the olive orchard, and pruned and fertilized the trees. Given = this=20 attention, the withering olive trees came to life and gave an abundant = harvest.=20 I also planted a garden, where I grew vegetables for the monastery = kitchen.

At the same = time I began=20 work in the mechanic and woodworking shops at the monastery. I cut = crosses out=20 of wood and prepared icons for pilgrims; I repaired candlestands and = other=20 church furnishings and fixed sewing machines. Soon people began coming = to me=20 with requests - to glue a chair, to tin-plate a kettle, to repair a = watch.

I had = virtually no free=20 time: mornings were taken up with services, the afternoons with work in = the=20 gardens or in the shops, and besides that there were confessions and my = own=20 prayer rule that I performed in my cell. I was always busy, always = wrestling=20 with time.

And so it = continued for=20 many years of my life as a priest and as a spiritual father in the Russian = monasteries of=20 Jerusalem.

About the=20 Holy Land

I love Mount = Athos, but I=20 am also very attached to the Holy Land. Every time that I leave = Jerusalem for=20 any time to go to America, I feel a pull to go back, as if to a place = that is=20 dear to me, and I impatiently await my return to Jerusalem.

Everything in = the Holy=20 Land is dear to me: the Tomb of Our Lord, the Russian = Excavations - this=20 house that was built by our Russian people = receives me=20 as if it were a small corner of Russia.

Here in the = Holy Land,=20 each stone, each place serves as a reminder of the events in Holy = Scripture.=20 After all, most of what is written about in the Gospels has been = preserved as it=20 was in the time of the earthly life of Jesus Christ, and this confirms = the truth=20 of the Gospels.

I always = liked very much=20 to take part in the annual procession of Great Thursday, when, late at = night,=20 after the reading of the Twelve Gospels, all the nuns and pilgrims walk = from the=20 monastery of Gethsemane and, with the chanting of the troparion of Great = Thursday, "When the glorious disciple..," with candles and lanterns in = hand,=20 follow the way of the Cross. En route they stop at the prison where = Christ was=20 held, and at other places associated with Christ's Passions, and read = passages=20 from the Gospels corresponding to these events. The procession ends at = the Russian = Excavations, at the=20 threshold of the Judgment Gate, through which Christ passed on His way = to=20 Golgotha, and there again the Gospel is read and the Head of the Russian = Ecclesiastical=20 Mission gives a homily about the events of Great and Holy Thursday.

Similarly, I = always=20 joined the solemn procession that the Greeks organize before the Feast = of=20 Dormition, when, to the chanting of spiritual hymns, the image of the = Holy=20 Virgin is taken from the Greek metochion near the Holy Sepulchre to the = Greek=20 church in Gethsemane where the tomb of the Mother of God is located. = (This=20 image, it should be noted, was given to the Greeks by some Russians.) = Many monks=20 and nuns, priests, local Christians, and pilgrims from different = countries take=20 part in the procession.

I also liked = to go to=20 Mount Tabor for the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord. On this = day a bus=20 takes nuns from the Russian convents, = to=20 Tabor.

I used always = to walk up=20 the mountain (at that time I was still full of energy) - not along the = road but=20 straight up - to the top of Tabor, where we would serve a moleben.

On the third = day of the=20 feast of the Holy Trinity it was an old custom to visit without fail our = Russian monastery = at the Oak=20 of Mamre in Hebron, where, in the presence of a great gathering of = Russians,=20 Greeks and Orthodox Arabs, I would serve a solemn Liturgy near the Oak = in the=20 open air. Likewise, we served the Divine Liturgy at our school in = Bethany on=20 Lazarus Saturday, its patronal feast, and then visited the nearby cave = of the=20 resurrected Lazarus, where the Gospel was read.

We also made = an annual=20 trip to Phar on the day of Saint Chariton, and visited his cave high up = in a=20 cliff. We would bring a ladder to climb up into the cave and there = served Matins=20 and Liturgy.

On the first = day of=20 Christ's Nativity, all the Russian nuns would = go to=20 Bethlehem and venerate the sacred sites of the Cave and the Shepherds' = Field,=20 and there serve molebens. On Nativity and on Pascha we always paid a = visit to=20 the Jerusalem patriarch to greet him with the Feast, and there at the=20 Patriarchate we would be treated to a festive reception.

On Theophany = we would go=20 to the Jordan River, to the place where Jesus Christ was baptized. = Later, when,=20 because of the political situation, access to the Jordan at this place = (near=20 Jericho) was closed, we began going to the Jordan in Galilee, and there = we=20 blessed the water, and whoever so desired immersed themselves in the = waters of=20 the Jordan.

In this = measured way the=20 life of our Russian=20 monasteries in the Holy Land flows, from one great feast to another. Of = course,=20 between these feasts there are also ordinary days, but here in the Holy = Land=20 even these are special, for almost daily there come pilgrims from all = corners of=20 the world - in groups and individually - and we, residents of the Holy = Land,=20 must show them some attention, tell them about the holy places and show = them=20 these sacred sites connected to the feasts of Christ's Nativity, His=20 Transfiguration, Ascension, and other great events from the Gospel=20 narrative.

For this = reason, the life=20 of the monastics in the Holy Land is constantly festively adorned.

Epilogue=20

I must say = that by nature=20 I have a particular trait - to be accurate in all that I do. This trait = revealed=20 itself in my relation to the Church as well, and this striving - to = observe the=20 church canons no matter what - this striving for the Truth, led me away = from=20 renovationism and from Sergianism, to the Catacomb Church.

When I found = myself=20 abroad, I sought there also the True Church, a Church that was truly = orthodox,=20 where all the Orthodox canons were observed - and I found such a Church: = our Russian Church = Abroad,=20 headed at that time by Metropolitan Anastassy (Gribanovsky).

In this = Church I have=20 experienced many spiritual joys: in Jordanville, then on Mount Athos, = and,=20 finally, in the Holy Land.

Every = Christian, in every=20 age, has considered it the greatest joy to visit the Holy Land at least = once,=20 even if only for a short time. I have been granted the great joy of = living here=20 for nearly thirty years.

After the = difficult and=20 agonizing life in the camps and in prisons, where for a long time I = could not=20 imagine life "outside," and where I was once under threat of execution, = I=20 managed to reach freedom - something I didn't even dream of. What is = more, in my=20 old age I have the consolation of living in the Holy Land, where our = Lord Jesus=20 Christ accomplished the salvation of the human race.

Jerusalem = 1996

Translated = from=20 Pravoslavnaya Rus (Orthodox Russia) #21, 22, 23, 1998, and #1, = 1999,=20 Jordanville, NY. Photos from the same sources, with the exception of = Archbishop=20 Averky, which is taken from Russkiy Pastyr #32 (III, 1998). =

 

 

 

 

 

Switch to: =20

Subscribe (and order back issues) to Orthodox=20 America
Order Books from = Orthodox=20 America
If you note problems with this site, = please=20 contact the Webmaster
=A9 1998-2006 = by Nikodemos=20 Orthodox Publication Society