This year, the Raifa Monastery received a new abbot, hegumen Gabriel. What innovations will affect the world-famous Orthodox monastery, what new images will appear in the walls of the monastery, silent frogs - truth or legend, and also what is the connection between the former place of service of the new rector Optina Hermitage and Raifa - about this and many other things in the first after joining the fast exclusive interview IA "Tatar-inform" told Abbot Gabriel.
34-year-old abbot Gabriel came to the Raifa monastery after 10 years of living in Optina Hermitage, he had a secular and spiritual education behind him. During the year, Father Gabriel was acting rector of the monastery and was approved for this post by the Holy Synod. Metropolitan Feofan of Kazan and Tatarstan hopes that the new rector will be able to revive the spirit of the monastery and continue the work of his predecessor.
—Father Gabriel, to begin with, I would like to congratulate you on your appointment as abbot of the Raifa Monastery. How did you receive this news?
– Prior to my appointment as governor, I had been acting governor for about a year, so this was not some kind of obvious surprise. But the last word on the approval of the viceroy puts Holy Synod and His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, so there was some excitement. But I took it as the will of God, as a cross to be borne.
– Tell us how you first came to the Raifa Monastery. How did you take it?
– I came here a year and a half ago, in January 2017, with the blessing of the ruling bishop of Kazan and Tatarstan Feofan. After some time, he was appointed housekeeper of the monastery - this is the person who is responsible for the economic life of the monastery. Prior to that, he performed the same role in Optina Hermitage, from where I was assigned to Raifa.
For ten years, I served as an assistant to the housekeeper, was responsible for the economic life of the monastery, so some new functions and duties did not represent anything difficult for me. It was a familiar field of activity.
At first, I was engaged in the economic life of the monastery, and later, with the blessing of Vladyka, I was appointed acting abbot of the monastery. He performed this duty for about a year.
Four months ago, the Holy Synod approved me as vicegerent. The Raifa monastery in principle does not differ from any other Russian monasteries. Orthodox Church. All monasteries live according to the same charter.
Prayer and the spiritual development of the brethren are at the center of the life of the monastery, in some monasteries this is a little better, in some a little worse due to objective reasons.
– Tell us about your family and how you decided to become a monk and a priest.
- I was born in an Orthodox family, my parents were believers, but little churched. But after one tragic incident, everything changed. My father was a chief engineer and worked on a collective farm. Once an attempt was made on him - they shot from a gun. My father was near death, it was a very serious shock for all of us.
After that, the mother began to think very seriously about life, began to go to church, taught the Law of God. She is a rural high school biology teacher. She taught the Law of God at school as an elective. It was 1993, just when the revival of church life began. Subsequently, she began to learn to sing, regent in the church choir.
Under the influence of my mother, I also began to join the church life. These were school years, and then it was an unconscious faith, as is often the case according to tradition, under the influence of parents.
Later I entered the Voronezh State Technical University. While studying at the university, he began to consciously think about faith, read, delve into some issues of church Christian life.
In my third year at the university, I read about the Optina elders and three murdered brothers - Father Vasily, Father Trofim, Father Ferapont, who were killed in 1993 on Easter by the Satanist Averin.
I read about them, I had a desire to come to Optina. He came several times as a pilgrim, lived there for some time, and after graduating from the university he decided to devote himself to the monastic life. It was 2005. I came there as a novice, and a year later I was tonsured a monk. He entered the Moscow Theological Seminary in absentia, after graduating from the seminary in 2010 he entered the Moscow Theological Academy in absentia, from which he graduated in 2015. In Optina Pustyn, he served as an assistant housekeeper for ten years, and in 2017, with the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch, he was transferred to the Kazan diocese, to the Raifa Monastery.
– What did Optina Pustyn give you?
– Optina Pustyn is one of the main centers of the spiritual life of Russia, pre-revolutionary and modern. This monastery is primarily known for its saints - the Cathedral of the Optina Elders.
Moreover, Optina is a unique place where the saints succeeded each other for a hundred years - from early XIX century and before the revolutionary events. Fourteen people supported the spiritual hearth in Optina Hermitage. The whole color of the then Russian intelligentsia and elite flowed to this spiritual hearth. Well-known writers came, six times there was Tolstoy, repeatedly Dostoevsky, Gogol. Members of the royal family came.
That is, Optina was a place of attraction for the spiritual life of Russia. After the Soviet era, the monastery of Optina Pustyn was among the first to be opened and revived to spiritual life in 1987, on the eve of the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the baptism of Russia.
At this time, the warming of church-state relations is taking place, Gorbachev meets with the highest hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church, it is allowed to hold festive events in honor of the 1000th anniversary of the baptism of Russia.
As a venue for celebrations, it is allowed to open the Danilov Monastery in Moscow, preparations for the anniversary begin. And in the wake of the anniversary events, several well-known monasteries, which were closed after the revolution, are transferred to the church. Among them are the Valaam Monastery, the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow.
A distinctive feature of Optina Pustyn is, of course, its brethren. Today it is one of the most numerous monasteries in Russia in terms of the number of brethren, more than 200 inhabitants are now in Optina Hermitage. Many people who want a spiritual life come from all over Russia to Optina Pustyn. Optina Pustyn is famous for its spiritual life.
We will not find any majestic buildings there, any high-profile history, any external examples. Optina Hermitage - these are the elders, this is the spiritual life, this secret life with Christ. And, of course, I am grateful to God that the Lord brought me to this monastery and that it has become the alma mater of my spiritual life.
I am also grateful to God that Raifa became the second place of my ministry. Moreover, these two monasteries are even superficially very similar. When I first went to Raifa, the road strikingly repeated the entrance to Optina Pustyn.
Also a pine forest, the same entrance to the monastery, even external walls similar. The Optina Desert is washed by the Zhizdra River on one side - here is the Raifa Lake. Even outwardly, everything was very similar. I was surprised.
Many historical parallels connect Raifa with Optina Hermitage, for example, the church we are now in was built with the blessing of Metropolitan Filaret Amfiteatrov. In the middle of the 19th century, he was the Metropolitan of Kazan, and a few years before his appointment to the Kazan cathedra, he was the Metropolitan of Kaluga.
This temple was built in 1841 on the site of an old dilapidated church with the blessing of Metropolitan Filaret. The second floor of the temple, where we are now, was made for cells for his chambers. Here he wanted to retire, to spend the rest of his life in solitude, in prayer. A special balcony was even made for him, which overlooked the temple. He could, without leaving his cell, listen to the service, divine liturgy to participate in worship.
With the blessing of Metropolitan Philaret, a skete was also established at Optina Hermitage, where the first Optina elders, Moses and Anthony, were invited, whom he invited to revive the spiritual life in Optina Hermitage.
One and the same person participated in the fate of both the Optina Hermitage and the Raifa Monastery. This was also a reinforcement and a miraculous sign that the Lord does not leave us. In addition, one of the Optina elders, the Monk Barsanuphius, was from Kazan. Such interesting historical connections with Optina Hermitage are what God's providence is, and what gives strength.
– Do you plan to introduce the experience and some traditions of the Optina Hermitage in the Raifa Monastery?
- Yes, such a task is set. His Holiness the Patriarch speaks about this, our ruling bishop, Metropolitan Feofan of Kazan and Tatarstan, speaks about this. Now the second stage of revival begins.
The first was founded in the 90s and concerned more with the appearance of the monasteries. People had to pray somewhere, they needed temples, they needed buildings to live somewhere, and a refectory to eat somewhere.
All this in the 90s was rapidly revived. Now the second stage has come in the life of all Russian monasteries - the revival of precisely the spiritual life, for which the external image was created. Better than tradition and the experience of Optina Hermitage, and in this respect it is now difficult to find in Russia.
There are no special innovations and innovations on this path, this is the usual way of life of an Orthodox monastery. First of all, this is worship, the public and private rule of the monks. This is obedience, this is the study of the Law of God, this is life according to the laws of God.
All this was here, it just needs to be improved and continue in the direction that the church is pointing. Much has been done in this direction with the blessing of the ruling bishop. Seven people have already entered the Kazan Theological Seminary in two years - His Holiness the Patriarch has been talking about raising the spiritual level of the clergy for many years.
We have a library of spiritual literature with the writings of the holy fathers, with educational literature. Updated book fund, created e-library. A classroom has been created where the brothers can study in their free time from worship and obedience.
Adjusted cell life. The brothers are divided into confessors, regularly go to confession, take communion. Singing on the kliros has been arranged, we have several compositions of singers from the brethren, the fraternal choir. In this direction we will continue to move.
In addition, Raifa is in many ways a missionary monastery. It was created in the 17th century as an outpost for the enlightenment of the Mari region and nearby villages. And until now, he performs this function on an external and internal mission.
People come to a monastery, learn about Orthodoxy: someone comes to faith in a monastery, someone deepens their faith. Raifa is open to the world. The previous abbot of the monastery, Father Vsevolod, saw the monastery in this capacity. Everything should be here for people so that they can freely come, pray and communicate with the brethren.
Raifa is very famous. Many people visit Raifa even on weekdays and join the spiritual life. We are very happy about this. Maybe somewhere the crowding is a little hindering, but for the benefit of even one person who comes to faith, all this can be tolerated. I thank God that the Lord brings people here.
– Will any work be done to develop tourism potential?
Much has been done, much is being done and much is planned. The opening of the museum of the Raifa Monastery is planned for the coming winter, where material exhibits will be collected: documents and pre-revolutionary photographs. The museum will be dedicated to the history of the Raifa monastery, ancient history, the history of the revolutionary years and recent history revival of the monastery.
In addition, publishing activities are actively conducted. Our publishing department has existed for more than ten years. The newspaper "Raifsky Vestnik" is published monthly, the magazine "Raifsky Almanac" is published annually, a rather serious scientific publication dedicated to Raifa, the history of the Kazan region, and Orthodox issues.
The site of the Raifa Monastery is being actively maintained, I invite everyone to look, read. We recently completely switched to a new format. The site has been updated, some sections have been improved. Work is actively carried out in social networks - we have many subscribers on VKontakte, on Instagram, information about the history of the monastery is actively laid out.
We are doing very interesting project on labor - "One day of the worker of the monastery." It tells how brothers live, oh Everyday life with household items. How brothers pray, how obedience proceeds, what kind of obedience there are. This is such an interesting video about the inner life of the monastery.
In a week we will have a major event, the anniversary - 350 years since the bringing of the image of the Georgian Mother of God to the Raifa Monastery, a solemn bishop's service is planned.
The release of several publications on the history of the monastery, the service of the Mother of God in honor of her icon "Georgian" is dated for this moment. Two photo exhibitions are planned on the history of the monastery by the famous republican photographer Farit Gubaev and our local photographer Eduard Zakirov.
An interesting traveling exhibition of the National Archives of Tatarstan is also planned on previously unseen documents on the history of the Raifa monastery. The exhibition will last during the holiday itself and several days after it. It can be seen at the entrance to the monastery - these are very interesting documents, photographs that have not been exhibited anywhere before.
We invite everyone to visit the monastery on this day and see this exhibition. I think this is the beginning of some kind of document exhibiting activity. Maybe we can come up with some other format. Now this is just the beginning.
- By the anniversary of the Georgian Icon of the Mother of God, a mosaic icon will appear in Raif. Tell about her.
- Yes, an amazing moment, how it even arose. Several girls from the creative workshop of Anna Solnechnaya came to the monastery, who mastered the unique technique of making an image from sea pebbles and shells.
They already had several similar works - they made mosaics for the World Cup, made an image of Bolgar, several views of Kazan. The exhibition of their work was very successful, people really liked it. And they decided to do something for the soul, for the monasteries, for the temples of Kazan and chose the Raifa Monastery.
We began to think that we could make it more relevant, and agreed that since this year the anniversary of the icon of the Georgian Mother of God is celebrated, then it is necessary to do it.
They chose a place for a long time - they wanted it to be natural object, because the image will be made from natural materials. As a result, they chose the shore of Lake Raifa. The composition is well placed. The image is visible both at the entrance to the monastery and at the exit from the gates of the monastery.
To raise money for this panel, we announced a fundraiser on our website. A lot of people responded, and fundraising is still going on. The result is a unique image of 3 by 4 meters, which will be ready soon.
It remains to improve the area around the icon, and I think that on September 4 this mosaic panel will appear in all its glory. After the service, on the day of the celebration of the anniversary of the bringing of the icon of the Georgian Mother of God to the Raifa monastery, a solemn procession will be made to the place of the mosaic and the image will be consecrated. We also invite everyone to participate in this festive unusual event.
- Icon painters, working on the image, follow certain rules. Craftswomen did not leave this tradition, creating a mosaic?
– Yes, there is a certain tradition of painting icons. Icons are not just paintings or some kind of work of art. An icon is a window to another world. And the state of the icon painter at the time of the creation of the icon greatly affects the work, so the ancient icon painters led an appropriate spiritual life while painting icons - they kept fast, prayed hard. Therefore, their images, their works, their icons were so inspired.
I think it also reflected in their icon. The image turned out to be an amazing look that penetrates the soul - very warm, very gentle, such a motherly look. We invite everyone to see this amazing mosaic. Initially, we did not plan this icon, but everything turned out so opportunely and just in time for the anniversary. In this we see the providence of God.
- Will the changes affect your famous Raifa Lake?
– The monastery is located in a unique natural place, in the center of the Volga-Kama Biosphere Reserve, on the shore of the protected Raifa Lake.
The lake is of karst origin, the maximum depth at the moment reaches 18 meters. Due to the fact that the lake and the reserve itself are under protection, the flora and fauna are in their natural state, not subject to human influence. Therefore, it was possible to preserve the amazing flora and fauna.
The reserve near the lake is home to many different species of birds, fish, animals and mammals. Many of them are listed in the Red Book, for example, peregrine falcon, white-tailed eagle - unique species birds that live and nest in our area.
From the side of the Raifa monastery, the lake has been ennobled, it is planned to create a font so that people can plunge into the lake. I think it might come in the spring next year. Such a tradition with sources exists in many monasteries, in particular in Diveevo, not even one, but several sources. We want to apply the same experience in Raif.
- The lake is also unique in that it contains frogs that do not croak ...
- This is our legend, our miracle of Raifa - you can’t call it in another way. When the monastery appeared, the frogs with their croaking prevented the brothers from praying and bothered the monks so much that they asked God to help them. And the Lord did a miracle. The frogs all over the lake have become silent and have not croaked for centuries.
This real story, I checked it myself - the frogs live and do not croak. Nearby is an artificial pond of a special school, literally a few hundred meters away - there the frogs are screaming with might and main.
Many try to explain this with some physical moments, they say that the springs are springing, the water is cold, so the frogs are silent - nothing like that. There are many such backwaters where frogs live and croak. This is a real miracle. But you need to understand that this is not just an external effect. The criteria for a miracle in Orthodoxy are that the Lord creates it for the sake of man's salvation. So that's exactly what happened here.
- The Raifa monastery has a rather rich history, in places, alas, sad. The monastery was restored for a long time. What are your plans for restoration work?
– The monastery shared the fate of most of the monasteries of the Russian Orthodox Church. During the revolutionary hard times it was closed. Moreover, it lasted quite a long time and was finally closed only in 1930, one of the last in the Kazan diocese.
The brothers resisted innovation for a very long time. Soviet power. In the 30th year, several people suffered, they were glorified in the guise of the new martyrs and confessors of Raifa: Job, Sergius, Anthony, Joseph, Barlaam, Peter. These are the six venerable monks of Raifa, who were not afraid of death, did not renounce their faith and went the way of confession to the end, to martyrdom for Christ.
And in 1997 at the cathedral they were glorified as new martyrs. We have their icon, every day the brothers remember them, sing praises, venerate the icon, commemorate them.
The monastery after 1930 was used for various purposes: there was also a branch of the Gulag, and a prisoner of war camp, and the faculty of the Kazan Forest University.
Here, in Georgian temple, there was a cinema and a club, on the second floor there was a gym, in the Trinity Cathedral - the largest building of the monastery - there was a plumbing shop for the manufacture of water centrifugal pumps. For the past few decades, the monastery has been occupied by a special school for difficult teenagers. Many buildings were occupied by employees of the special school for living quarters. In some fraternal cells there were cells for prisoners.
Naturally, there was no repair, no surveillance of the territory, of the buildings. Buildings gradually collapsed. And so in 1991, when it was decided to revive the monastery, there was desolation here. The safety of the monastery complex was 16 percent. Many buildings were completely destroyed, some walls remained, and what was not yet destroyed was in a very deplorable state. Mountains of rubbish, landfills… for several years, they simply sorted out the rubble.
There is a saying - the generation of abbots-scavengers: in the 90s, the first who came to the ruins of the monastery simply raked the rubble.
They just revived the outer side for the normal functioning of the monastery. In this regard, Raifa is in many ways more fortunate than other monasteries. The monastery was the first to be opened in the entire Volga region. Others have been waiting for this moment much longer: Sviyazhsk, Makaryevsky Monastery and Semiozerka opened only in 1997.
That is, for six years Raifa was the only monastery. Many people came to help, the monastery was quickly revived. A great contribution was made by the first governor - Archimandrite Vsevolod: the man was in his place in his time. He had remarkable personal qualities, was an excellent organizer and could win over people. People wanted to communicate, come and help the monastery.
Of course, during this time a lot has been done, but there is also a lot to be done. Restoration work has been actively underway for a year and a half. Almost all the roofs of temples and buildings have been replaced. This year, a lot of work has been done on the installation of our own gas boiler house, the monastery’s heating main has been completely shifted, a lot of work has been done to replace all communications: both the heating main and the monastery’s water supply. There is a lot of work to be done to restore and restore the corner towers, walls and, in general, to improve the monastery.
– Bishop Feofan said that the changes will also affect your boarding school.
- Another important feature of our monastery is the orphanage, which is fully provided by the monastery, boys from 6 to 17 live there. Now they attend a rural school, but this academic year we plan to transfer them to the Zelenodolsk school. There are regular extracurricular activities with the boys. They study the Law of God, they are taught church singing and music. Pupils participate in various conferences and olympiads throughout Russia.
Recently, they won prizes at an environmental conference, that is, active work is underway with them. They go hiking, this year they went to the Crimea, to Sochi in children's camps. They have a gym, a music room, a computer class and a good library - in this regard, of course, these are happy children. Even many children in families do not have such conditions for development as our children.
- What future do students choose for themselves?
– We do not agitate them for monastic life. The future guys choose themselves according to their inclinations. Many follow the spiritual path, many enter the military educational establishments, cadet institutions, we have programmers, lawyers. They also graduate from higher educational institutions, that is, their further life is very different, based on their own abilities and talents.
God gives talent to everyone, we try to see and reveal this talent, to help a person move further along the path that he chooses for himself. In this respect, they are no different from ordinary children in ordinary families.
– Are there guys who decided to stay in the monastery?
– Yes, a few people remained – they became priests. Many come to the monastery, many help to sing on the kliros - in general, they do not forget the places of their childhood. For many this native home. They come, we communicate, we correspond or call up. The spiritual connection is forever.
– There is a quartet “Parable” at the monastery. Tell us about the successes of the team.
- A unique quartet - the monastery choir "Pretch" has existed since the early 90s. In addition to singing at services at the monastery, participating in divine services, performing at various outdoor events not only in the republic, but also abroad, in Russia and abroad.
The quartet is actively developing. Discs are being released, new works are being recorded.
Now we are reviving the children's choir. We used to have a choir called Rodnichok. There are even recordings of it. Now the guys have already graduated from the children's corps, and we are recruiting a new group, we will work with them.
- Not so long ago you have a new icon of the Seven-shot. What other images are you planning to bring?
– The amazing image of the Mother of God of Seven Arrows is one of the first works of the creative workshop, which makes a mosaic of the Georgian icon on the shore of Lake Raifa. They donated it to the monastery. An amazing image - the Mother of God looks directly into the soul, it fits very well into the interior of the Trinity Cathedral.
As you have seen, in the two main temples of the monastery - in Trinity and Georgian - the oldest icons are from the 18th and 19th centuries, but there are also earlier ones, from the 17th century.
Such a decision was made by Father Vsevolod in order to connect the epochs, to smooth the gap of the Soviet period and immerse a person in the atmosphere of an ancient temple.
The origin of not all icons is known. Perhaps some of the ruined Raifa monastery, from nearby temples, were brought even from other dioceses. In the end, there was a certain exposition of icons, which has been here for many years.
Now we are planning to place a number of new icons, several have already been placed in the Georgian Church. We have placed icons of saints related to Raifa. These are the ancient martyrs of Raifa, in whose honor the monastery is named, and the icon of the New Martyrs of Raifa are our monks who suffered during the Soviet era.
The Icon of All Saints of the Kazan Land is the Cathedral of Kazan Saints. We plan that an icon of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia will appear, in whose honor we have consecrated the upper church above the church of the Reverend Fathers.
Several icons of famous Russian saints are also planned - Ignatius Brianchaninov, Theophan the Recluse. The icon of the Royal Martyrs will appear - with the faces of members royal family the famous Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra with children. An icon of the Optina Elders is planned, perhaps the relics will be brought from Optina Hermitage.
I would like to see in the monastery the icon of Gabriel Semiozerny from the neighboring monastery of the Holy Semiozernaya Hermitage, also, perhaps, with relics.
People really ask for the icon of the healer Panteleimon - the saint helps in bodily ailments. Well, the icon of All Saints, and the Mother of God the Inexhaustible Chalice. Such work on the addition of icons is being carried out at the moment.
Where will these icons come from?
- Icons will be made to order. Most likely, these will be lithographs on canvas, then we will update them with painted icons. This is a long, rather laborious process.
Three of the icons that I have named are already placed in the Georgian Cathedral, they are located on the inside of the pillars, you can already see them. Eight more icons will appear within two weeks. Initially, we planned to place them for the anniversary of the bringing of Gruzinskaya, I think that we will have time.
- Did you manage to personally communicate with your predecessor, Father Vsevolod?
- Personally, unfortunately, I was not acquainted with Father Vsevolod. I was appointed after his death. He died in August 2016, and I arrived in January 2017, about six months later.
I got to know him through stories, through memories and photographs. His story is amazing. In tonsure, he was named after Prince Vsevolod of Pskov. In baptism, this saint is written as Vsevolod-Gabriel - such an amazing connection has occurred between us, in this I see the providence of God.
Of course, the person was very open, as the sun illuminated everything around, very sociable, excellent organizer. Of course, thanks to his business qualities, the monastery was revived. What we now see are the fruits of his labors, and above all of his living faith.
In 1991, there were very difficult political conditions, economic ruin, and at such a time he took up the revival of the monastery. He started from scratch, on a heap of ruins. Then another part of the monastery was occupied by vocational schools, and he had to build new buildings for the school in order to free the monastery.
It would probably be easier to start from scratch. Of course, it is impossible to go through such difficulties without living faith. It helped that the person believed and with God help went down this path. We must pay tribute, and we honor his memory. Recently it was two years since the death of Father Vsevolod - August 20. A memorial service was served, many people came to honor his memory, so Raifa is a monument to his work, his feat and living faith.
– How many monks are there in the monastery now? And how many people want to get here?
– At the moment, there are 11 people in tonsure, along with about 22 novices. New brethren are constantly coming in, people who want to enter the monastery come, but this is not an easy process. Man needs to test himself.
Many subsequently leave, because the monastery, of course, is not for everyone. For this, the so-called obedient skill is established in the church, that is, the time during which a person lives in a monastery without taking monastic meals and tests himself whether he can live in this monastery.
The brethren look at him, whether they will be able to accept a person into their family, that is, the process of grinding in and entering into the life of the monastery is underway. Many after a while realize that this is not their way: someone decides to devote his life to his family, someone does not succeed, and others are not satisfied with something internally.
On average, one person out of ten to twenty remains. The process is long and difficult. It is better for a person to live longer, but to establish himself on this path and subsequently firmly stand on it, than, having quickly accepted monasticism, he will fall away.
There is a saying of the Apostle Paul that “lay your hands on no one soon ...”, that is, only with a great trial they are tonsured into monasticism, and even more so they are accepted into the holy order.
– How many ordinary lay people come without any idea of the spiritual life?
– Yes, a lot, and they come for different reasons. But most often, of course, these are some life difficulties. Until the thunder breaks out, the peasant does not cross himself - folk wisdom, which is most welcome here. But it shouldn't be main reason coming to the monastery, because the most important thing is love for God, the desire for spiritual and monastic life. There are all conditions for this.
But situations are different: someone comes to the monastery with a desire to stay and does not stay, someone comes from some difficulties and becomes a good monk. The ways of the Lord are inscrutable - a person comes to the monastery by completely different paths of life. And, of course, the Lord works on every soul - he leads a person to faith and later to a monastery. This is the riddle and mystery of the human soul with God.
– What can you wish to the parishioners of Raifa?
– There is only one wish – to come to the monastery and join the spiritual life, because this is the task of the monastery. The brothers who live in the monastery maintain the spiritual fire, and we invite everyone to get warm, warm their souls, be nourished by spiritual life, grace and join the life in Christ.
This is what monasteries exist for, and this function has always been performed in Russia for more than a thousand years. Nothing changes. Monasteries are sources of living water where people can come, be nourished by this grace and quench their spiritual thirst. 
Discuss()
A panikhida in the Georgian church and at the grave of Father Vsevolod was performed by the Dean of the Raifa Monastery, Hieromonk Anthony, together with the brethren of the monastery and the faithful. At the foot of the cross are fresh armfuls of roses... Flowers, words of gratitude. Everlasting memory! Eternal bright memory!
A morning phone call from Georgy Frolov, a photographer, historian-archaeologist, local historian, informed me that tomorrow he was going to Raifa to meet with the newly appointed hegumen, Father Vsevolod, to the monastery. “You know, this guy managed to break through the stubbornness of the Zelenodolsk “derzhimords”, the monastery was returned to the Church. The colony went beyond the walls of the monastery. Come! Join now! Vsevolod is very interested in your information about the museum of the monastery,” he shouted into the phone.
And here we are in Raifa. At the entrance we are met by a young clergyman with a kind smile on his face: “Let's get acquainted, Father Vsevolod. And I really need you, we are starting to raise the monastery, it's time to collect stones. Simplicity and unpretentiousness in dealing with us, the laity, bribed in this man, whom I saw for the first time. In a shabby kamilavka and a battered cassock with traces of whitewashing, he resembled a good rural father, which, in fact, he was until recently in the suburban village of Gary.
The rusty gate to the monastery courtyard opened with a creak, and we entered the territory of the former prison yesterday. I entered here for the second time. The first time, two decades before, it was a strict prison zone, I walked this land as a teacher going to a lesson with juvenile delinquents in a prison school. This time the picture was different: huge coils of Bruno's thorns and spirals, rolled up and wound on wooden spools, were being prepared for export. But decay and ruin reigned around. Mountains of broken bricks, construction debris and tattered cats swarming on it evoked bleak thoughts. Memory, involuntarily, was resurrected by Lermontov's lines from his "Boyar Orsha":
“... He drove into a wide yard
Everything is empty ... as if smooth and pestilent
Recently feasted in it ... "
Georgy Frolov did not stop clicking the shutter of his Zenith: “Take off! Shoot!” Father Vsevolod encouraged him. — We need a photo chronicle of the revival. Everything will change here soon."
We wandered around abandoned temples turned into manufacturing workshops. Machine tools were still standing here and there, and ventilation hoods protruded from broken temple walls. And Father Vsevolod kept telling and talking about the odyssey of the war with Zelenodolsk bureaucrats from the district executive committee: “Oh, how much mental and physical strength I lost while defending the monastery, and do you know what I read in their eyes? Fear! Fear that their time is running out. Now I am trying to attract the public to this holy and desecrated place, I am disturbing the enterprises of Kazan, Zelenodolsk. There are already real benefactors. And here's another thing: the filth of sin, the crimes that have been going on here for seven decades; take at least for faith here. We will pray for everyone."
Father Vsevolod leads us to the defiled monastery cemetery: “Here is the feast of Satan,” he nods at the tombstone with the cross knocked down. - turned over front side and they put it as a threshold for entering the turning workshops, and this is from the grave of the merchant Atlashkin, the main sponsor of the Raifa monastery, as it is now fashionable to call it. The first task now is to dismantle the rubble, remove all the rubbish, then we will begin to restore!”
On that first day of our acquaintance, Father Vsevolod was hastily summoned to Zelenodolsk for a meeting with the management of the plant. Sergo. So we agreed to see you in a week. On the appointed day, we arrived not alone, but with a newly created detachment of scouts from the Kazan center "Zarechye". This friendly landing helped with the clearing of the territory. After the labors of the righteous, Father Vsevolod took us to the semi-basement of the Fraternal Corps. Here, the shrines of the monastery were carefully preserved, those remnants that miraculously survived or were saved and preserved in the families of the surrounding villages of the monastery in the years of hard times. When they learned that the monastery was being revived, they brought what was saved.
The mysterious twilight of the patch of the newly born monastery resembles the catacombs of the times of the first Christians. Here on the floor are piled up dilapidated liturgical books, some documents hastily stuffed into transparent folders, a glass box full of pectoral crosses that have turned green from time to time, two pectorals, objects or fragments of church utensils stand out among them. There are icons on the racks knocked down from unplaned boards. different sizes and degree of preservation. Some of them have candles burning. From the depths of the twilight, the sternly and penetratingly majestic image of the Savior “The Fiery Eye” looks at us. I shuddered involuntarily, and again Lermontov's lines pop up in my memory:
“Stand over the bed of the image,
Their robes shine, their eyes
Suddenly they come to life, look, -
But with what to compare such a view?
He's creepier and scarier
All dead and living eyes!
Carefully taking my hand, Father Vsevolod led Frolov and me along the wooden gangway to the light: “I will guide you myself throughout the entire territory. We go out onto the path already cleared of debris and move after the governor. "Check this out!" Frolov exclaimed suddenly. We all stop in front of a dilapidated tower, on which traces of centuries-old whitewashing can still be seen. A rusty welded structure protruded from the top of the tower, leaning heavily, ready to fall on our heads at any moment.
“The Savior from the goddess has not looked for a long time,
And the light of the lamps has long gone out:
Before the original face of the reaper
He left us in the dark!
And now in the usual place
It is not the icon of the Savior that hangs,
And the sickle of retribution and revenge
And the peace hammer of the heart!
"Where do these lines come from?" I started. “This is our Russian poet Sergei Klychkov,” replied Father Vsevolod. “Death is a reaper driven by the power of demons, and he was mowed down in 1937. And note: his sickle is not a symbol of labor, but a symbol of death, revenge, as well as a hammer. Not creative, but destructive, the one that drives nails into the coffin. The Savior destroyed death, as the apostle Paul said. The Bolsheviks trampled on the Raifa shrine, knocked down all the crosses and images of the Savior. Cross - christian symbol resurrection and eternal life, were replaced by a pagan symbol of death, oblivion and emptiness. And this must be remembered at all times.
Father Vsevolod. Photo of Hieromonk John (Sidorenko)
On that day, already over a cup of tea, in the refectory being created, Father Vsevolod again returned to the idea that we are all mortal, our age is fleeting, and we must strive to do good, wherever you are. I remember, when parting, blessing us for good deeds of helping the monastery being recreated, he said: “The meaning of my subsequent life is to revive the monastery to the best of my ability and ability, to the best of those forces that the Lord will let me go.”
And he succeeded.
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Raifa Monastery is preparing for the holiday - 350 years since the day of bringing miraculous icon. A magnificent episcopal service, a religious procession, an exhibition from the National Archives - these are far from all the festive events. Tomorrow they will consecrate a pebble panel - the image of the Virgin. Hegumen Gabriel, the new abbot of the Raifa Bogoroditsky Monastery, tells Realnoe Vremya about this.
“We are waiting for the arrival of five bishops”
Early autumn Raifa is the sun and rain, which leaves instantly disappearing traces on the lake surface. The fragrance of wet flowers and the first, barely noticeable, yellow leaves. For two years, Raifa has been living without a vicegerent, Archimandrite Vsevolod. Near the place of his rest, as always, an armful of flowers, he is now here forever, and will always be loved and revered. The synod appointed a new viceroy in May - this is Abbot Gabriel, a native of Optina Hermitage. Young, sometimes serious, sometimes smiling, well educated and nourished by Optina's spiritual experience.
- Your Reverence, tomorrow is the anniversary in the Raifa Bogoroditsky Monastery ...
Tomorrow we celebrate the 350th anniversary of the bringing to the monastery of the Georgian miraculous icon of the Mother of God, the main shrine of the monastery. In 1668, Metropolitan Lavrentiy, then Bishop of Kazan, brought a copy of the icon in a procession from Kazan to Raifa. And since that time, more than three centuries, the icon has been in the Raifa Monastery, with the exception of 60 years of Soviet times. During this period, the miraculous image was in Kazan, in the temple of All Yaroslavl miracle workers. Tomorrow, in honor of the memorable event, we are planning a solemn episcopal service, which will be led by His Eminence Theophan, Metropolitan of Kazan and Tatarstan, together with the invited bishops. We are waiting for the arrival of five bishops. The solemn service will be held in the Trinity Cathedral of the monastery, it will begin tomorrow at 8.30.
- Usually such services are performed in the Georgian Cathedral.
Georgian this time will not accommodate everyone, so it was decided to move the service to the most spacious Trinity Cathedral. Today the Vespers will be celebrated in the Georgian Cathedral, then tomorrow morning the miraculous icon will be transferred to the Trinity Cathedral. After the liturgy, the procession was usually performed around the monastery, this time it will take place on the shore of Lake Raifa, where a mosaic panel with the image of the Mother of God was created nearby. The size of the panel is three by four meters, it is made of sea pebbles, made using a special technology. This panel will be consecrated tomorrow. After that, a festive meal will take place, and then the opening and viewing of several exhibitions. This is our first exhibition experience.
After the liturgy, the procession was usually performed around the monastery, this time it will take place on the shore of Lake Raifa, where a mosaic panel with the image of the Mother of God was created nearby. The size of the panel is three by four meters, it is made of sea pebbles, made using a special technology.
“There are a lot of documents related to Raifa in the archive”
- What are these exhibitions?
Farit Gubaev, a well-known photographer, he will exhibit several of his works that have not been exhibited before, plus the works of the seventies of the last century, on which Raifa is destroyed. The second exhibition - our photographer Eduard Zakirov. Another exhibition = and this is also the first time = documents from the National Archives of Tatarstan. It turned out that the archive contained a huge amount of documents relating to Raifa. About forty documents, as long as they are copies, we will put on display.
What period are these documents?
These are documents from the end of the 17th century, the highlight of this collection. There are papers dating back to the 19th century. Written documents, drawings, plans of the monastery, very interesting diocesan correspondence, many documents relating to the Georgian icon of the Mother of God. Basically, these are petitions from different dioceses to bring the icon to their chapels. Requests from Chistopol, there are descriptions religious processions with this image in Sviyazhsk, Paraty, and other places.
- How was the idea to contact the archive born?
This is the idea of one of our residents, he is graduating from the Kazan Theological Seminary, writing a diploma and dug up these documents in the archive. We contacted the National Archives and found support from its management. This is our first experience, but I think our contacts will continue. Exhibitions will be placed at the monastery bell tower and at the entrance to the monastery with right side. So everyone can see them. In general, looking ahead, I can say that we are going to open our own museum. We are preparing the room - the corner tower on the left side. The building itself is very interesting, it was built at the beginning of the 18th century. Now we are doing waterproofing in the tower, we plan to take up the museum by winter. We have accumulated a lot of exhibits - these are vestments, and church utensils, books.
"This pebble is from the many seas of the world"
- A panel of pebbles is quite unusual. How was this idea born?
Born spontaneously. I served the liturgy, after which two girls unexpectedly approached me and told me that they have a creative workshop and they want to make some kind of mosaic in Raifa. They themselves offered. At first I was skeptical, but the girls said that they already have a lot of work, and they want to do something for the soul, for the church, and they chose Raifa. And then, as if by chance, it turned out that we have an anniversary this year, I somehow forgot about it in business. And we decided to time the creation of the panel to the anniversary of our main shrine. We began to choose a place, since the panel was made of natural material, we decided to make it on the shore of Lake Raifa, at the entrance to the monastery, so that everyone who comes here tunes in to be met by the Mother of God. We found a good angle - the Mother of God is visible both at the entrance and at the exit from the bell tower. We launched a fundraising campaign, raised about 60 thousand, and we needed about 400, despite the fact that the artists worked charitably. We slightly reduced the cost of the project - we ourselves made a concrete base, it is with a two-meter foundation, three by four meters, partially provided building materials. About two tons of stone were spent on the mosaic, in general, five tons were sorted out.
The artists worked charitably. We slightly reduced the cost of the project - we made a concrete base ourselves, it was partially provided with building materials with a two-meter foundation, three by four meters. About two tons of stone were spent on the mosaic
- Where did the pebbles come from?
From different seas of the world. The color of the stones is unique, no dyes. The face of the Virgin from the beige Caspian shell rock, a little lower - stones from Antalya, there are stones from the Black Sea. These stones were ordered by the artist, and they were brought to them. One charitable project united many people. The girls, by the way, doing their work, kept the fast, came to services, confessed, took communion. They are now living in a monastery hotel, we have given them a few helpers from among the laborers. IN total the panel was created for about two months. Tomorrow it will be consecrated, a short prayer service will be held before it.
“I try to understand Father Vsevolod”
It is remarkable that all this continues the work that the first abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Vsevolod, did in Raif.
He was a very open person, and he made an open monastery for people. I try to understand Archimandrite Vsevolod, I read a lot of his interviews. We will continue his line - openness, it is laid in the foundation of the monastery. This monastery was created as a missionary, for the promotion of faith, promotion in the peaceful sense of the word, the monastery was created as a kind of outpost. The very style of the monastery is so elegant, baroque, in order to attract the beauty of the outer to the beauty of the inner.
Archimandrite Vsevolod was sometimes unfairly reproached for the fact that, for example, he made a playground, what does it seem to have to do with the monastery? And he said: “The child will come, play, ride down the hill, he will like it, and he will remember this place. And then he will come here with a great desire.” And the governor was right.
Now such concern for children has begun to enter the life of the church. I know that now at many Moscow churches they began to make children's rooms. because Small child cannot be in service. It is difficult for him, and if he is forced, he will associate the temple with something painful. And he will play in the children's room and ten minutes before the communion they will come to the temple, he will not get tired and thus will quietly become church. So Father Vsevolod had an absolutely correct approach, especially since the playground is located outside the territory of the monastery. Even if a mother comes with a child, he will ride down the hill, and then they will go into the temple and light a candle, this will already be a missionary move. In this sense, I will continue the work of Archimandrite Vsevolod. The most important thing is to understand the task of the monastery. The words of Father Vsevolod are often quoted, who said that before lighting a candle, someone must make it. And he did it. It is his great merit that he raised the monastery from the ruins. It is impossible to pray when there are no fraternal buildings, no refectory, no churches. And he rebuilt the monastery from the ruins. Now we must continue his work, even in memory of him, we must enter the second stage, where the greatest attention should be paid to the spiritual revival of the monastery. What is a monastery? It is primarily a spiritual center. The brothers living in the monastery melt this hearth, inflate it, and people who have come from the cold world warm themselves near it. Everything else is a derivative of the spiritual life. We must create beauty in the human soul, because the soul is eternal. She should be our main concern.
The most important thing is to understand the task of the monastery. The words of Father Vsevolod are often quoted, who said that before lighting a candle, someone must make it. And he did it. It is his great merit that he raised the monastery from the ruins
“Once I went to Optina Pustyn and decided to stay there”
You have a new monument - to Andrei Rublev, near the Trinity Cathedral. Is it near this temple because there is Rublev's "Trinity"?
Yes, Rublev is just depicted against the background of his icon. The Trinity is the quintessence of everything Orthodox iconography. The author of the sculpture is our Raifa worker.
- How did you come to church?
I come from the Voronezh region, my grandmother was a believer, my parents were baptized, but not churched. Once there was a tragic incident, my father almost died, miraculously survived. After that, my mother began to think about God. My mother is a teacher, a teacher of biology at school, when they began to restore the temple in our village, my mother also began to teach the Law of God in Sunday school, she sang in the church choir, she was a regent. And I started to join. But I began to think seriously when I was studying at the institute, I began to read, I read about the Optina elders, about those killed in Optina Hermitage in 1993 on Easter. I went to Optina, lived there for a while and decided to stay. After graduating from the institute, he immediately left for Optina.
- What did you graduate from?
Voronezh Technical University with a degree in economics and management. A year later, he took tonsure in Optina, entered the seminary, then the academy. Two years ago, two people from Optina Pustyn were sent His Holiness Patriarch to the Kazan diocese, this is the current abbot of the Assumption Monastery in Sviyazhsk, Father Simeon and I, we are friends, studied together. At first we thought that we would work together in Sviyazhsk, but two weeks later Bishop Feofan sent me to Raifa. Just try it first. For three months I was the steward, then acting governor, and in May of this year I was appointed governor of the Raifa monastery.
- Did you know anything about Raif when you lived in Optina?
I did not know anything, but there are many historical parallels. The monasteries are similar in appearance: the same forest, the same turn from the road, the towers, the walls seem to be repeated, here the lake is on the left, and in Optina the river is on the left. Metropolitan Filaret, who was the Kazan bishop, he participated a lot in the life of the Raifa monastery, with his blessing the Georgian Cathedral was built, and in Optina Hermitage he founded a skete and invited two elders there - Moses and Anthony, it was 1825. And for 100 years, 14 saints have become famous in this skete. Elder Gabriel, for example, lived in Optina Hermitage for ten years, the same one who lived in the Sedmiozerny Monastery, by the way, we are planning to paint his icon. Father Vsevolod was tonsured in honor of Vsevolod of Pskov, in church service this name is spelled Vsevolod-Gabriel.
Vladyka Feofan sent me to Raifa. Just try it first. For three months I was the housekeeper, then the acting governor, and in May of this year I was appointed governor of the Raifa monastery
- Accidents do not happen.
Such parallels strengthen and support me.
... One of the main difficulties for the new viceroy of Raifa now is to compare with his predecessor. They will compare him with Archimandrite Vsevolod, this is inevitable. But with the closest look, everything that Abbot Gabriel is doing now does not go against the work on which Archimandrite Vsevolod was concentrated, insisting that "one must not be exceptional, but necessary."
Tatyana Mamaeva, photo raifa.ru
Death occurred when Father Vsevolod was in the office of the Raifa Monastery, and it was not possible to save him. " It all happened very abruptly, ”a witness told the publication. According to him, the abbot turned pale and said that he felt bad. The ambulance, which arrived at the call, could not help. "Nerves! He always experienced everything very sensitively, his heart could not stand it, ”summed up the interlocutor.
Father Vsevolod, according to church canons, cannot be subjected to an autopsy, which will make it difficult to establish the cause of death.
Biography:
Archimandrite Vsevolod (in the world - Vyacheslav Alexandrovich Zakharov) was born on January 23, 1959 in Kazan, in a large family, where the mother alone raised six children. He went to church from childhood, carried the obediences of an altar boy and subdeacon.
After graduating from Kazan secondary school No. 1, in 1977 he entered the Moscow Theological Seminary. In 1981 he was ordained a priest in Kursk. He began his pastoral ministry in the Kursk diocese as rector of the Exaltation of the Cross Church in the village of Cherkasskoye-Porechnoye, Sudzhansky district. In 1985 he was transferred to the Kazan and Mari diocese, and was appointed rector of the church of Sts. Peter and Paul in the city of Zelenodolsk, TASSR. He actively began to restore spiritual life, created one of the first children's Sunday schools in the USSR. In 1989 he took monastic vows with the name Vsevolod and was elevated to the rank of abbot. In 1991, for the first time, he visited the ruined Raifa Monastery, where at that time there was a special school for juvenile delinquents. He began the restoration of the monastery in 1992. In 1993 he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite. Archimandrite Vsevolod had a higher legal education. In 2007 he graduated from the Moscow Academy of State and Municipal Administration under the President of the Russian Federation.
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