Archpriest Viktor Kuznetsov. Sketches from church life
I am often asked about my attitude towards certain church or political figures, famous priests and confessors. Not so long ago - I don’t remember which of the readers - sent me this clip with a conversation with priest Viktor Kuznetsov and asked me to evaluate it. Yesterday, I finally watched his more than hour-long discussion with my spiritual children of our internal church problems, and was surprised (!) by the prudence and courage of Fr. Victor - this is not often seen in our time - in understanding the processes taking place in our Church, and in seeing the true essence of individuals who are forming a new “Orthodox” consciousness in it. What is typical is that for all the issues raised in the conversation and the persons mentioned, most of whom I personally know, his point of view and assessment do not differ from mine.
Therefore, despite the fact that this conversation was recorded back in November 2011, I strongly recommend that our readers watch it, since it has not lost any of its relevance. Moreover, this fits into the concept of the Living Book - to give an objective assessment of what is happening in the Church and in the world, in general, by any possible methods and using any sources of information.
I want to note an important point. I have a catastrophic lack of time to cover many important issues, and I simply don’t get around to writing about many things. And here my father seemed to do the work for me. For example, I have long wanted to write about the “spiritual” bestseller of recent times by the hustler Tikhon Shevkunov. I even started, but put it off because of a trip to America, and then I didn’t have time. And here about. Victor dissected the confessor
(?) Putin, so thoroughly that you can only add details and place emphasis in your own way. Moreover, to the questions asked to me about specific spiritual authorities, such as Fr. Nauma, o. Blasius and others mentioned here mostly answered for me. I completely share his vision of the problem and attitude towards the characters.
All that remains is to wish Fr. Victor wants to preserve this spiritual dispensation in our difficult time for the Church and invite him to us on Karulya to pray and discuss how we can correct this abnormal situation in the Church with the whole world. And if any of his children and acquaintances reads these lines, we ask you to convey to him our invitation and gratitude for his principled position on the most important issues of church life.
Now be patient and listen to what Fr. Victor will tell you. For those who want to have an idea of the true state of affairs in the Russian Orthodox Church and to know what the most famous personalities in it really are, and not with a “homemade” halo on their heads, this will be useful. I repeat that all his assessments and definitions completely coincide with ours.
“He who is least among you will be great” (Luke 9:48).
A visiting provincial, in the capital since the nineties, approached the old temple in the city center.
A poorly dressed man stood at the high doors, begging for alms. His appearance was unusual. Even in this sad state, his pose retained its discreet dignity and unexpected, noble features.
The visitor asked him about the church he was near. Surprisingly, he told him in great detail about it and about other surrounding temples. With such details and features that the guest of the capital was even confused in surprise. Then he asked the person standing why he was so knowledgeable. To which the person asking, smiling, edifyingly advised:
The history of the Fatherland, my dear, must be known and studied. Well, besides, stay here with me and you will know a lot.
We were silent. It is not known why, but the provincial man did not want to leave the expert. He looked around for a long time, admiring the still-preserved beauty of the old corner of the capital. I wanted to ask about other surrounding attractions, but noticed that he was already out of the petitioner’s attention. He turned from time to time and looked at the windows of the house, standing not far away. The visitor cautiously inquired of him:
What are you looking at so closely?
Not immediately, after carefully peering at the questioner, the beggar sighed heavily and shared:
This is my home. I was born there. Increased. Everything is there... My whole life...
And why aren’t you there?.. - the provincial simpleton was confused with surprise.
Smiling slightly at the newcomer’s immediate, childish reaction, the petitioner continued:
Those three windows are on the third floor. My workshop.
Workshop?
Yes, I'm an artist. He exhibited at the Manege more than once. And now... - raising his hands, the petitioner pointed with his gaze at the “fringes” of the cuffs of his shabby jacket, and added frankly: “Now I am a so-called “homeless”, as they say now. Despised by everyone...
How could this happen?
Very simple in today's times. I went to sketch and draw in the North. I'm coming in two months. I approach my apartment. The door is not the same. Iron. I'm trying to insert the key, but it doesn't work. I'm calling. A man of southern appearance, unknown to me, opens the door. He asks: “What are you doing?” I say: “I live here.” He replies: “You don’t live, I live.” And closed the door. I'm calling again. Not right away, but it opens. With annoyance and contempt he says to me: “You don’t understand?” I answer frankly:
To be honest, not really. This is my apartment. I came home…
He interrupted me and advised me, as it were:
Ida atsuda.
Like this? - I was confused. - Where?
Wherever you want. Just so I don't see you again. Got it?
And he slammed the door. No matter how many times I called, he didn’t open again.
I went to the police. There they listened, grinning. One of them asked for my passport. I submitted. He took it and tore it. Then he said that they should no longer have my leg, otherwise...
Then I went to the house management. They also told me that they didn’t know me. They opened some book or magazine and showed that my name was not there, but in my apartment there was a certain “ogly”. The boss and her assistants kindly threw up their hands, gasped, sympathized, but spoke as if they were crazy.
I pushed myself into other places too. Useless. Like some kind of conspiracy. Everything at the same time. Wall!..
Went to see friends. Lived with one for a week. For the other, not for long. They have families and enough worries of their own. And then... (Waving his hand). It started rolling... I tried this and that... Without a passport, without registration, without housing, who am I?.. Bae me zhe. No place of residence. For us it has become the last, abusive, derogatory word. It does not at all imply sympathy, participation and assistance to a person in trouble. Friends, acquaintances have all flown off somewhere, they have no time. They shied away from me like I was a leper. Here I learned the truth of life. When there is trouble, then no one needs anyone. Fell out of the nest - that's all. Get lost! Nobody will pick it up. They will walk all over you without even noticing until they completely trample you. A homeless person is not everyone's cup of tea.
After a pause, he finished significantly:
- Anyone can become homeless these days .
He smiled bitterly and continued on a different note:
But I do not mourn, I do not lose heart. So, you have to go through this. You know, in the world where I plunged, there are people too. Also the whole world. It has everything! We are not a homogeneous mass. There is also an entrepreneur who has lost to the nines among us. And a well-known artist who drank everything. There is even a former deputy. A complete, so to speak, social cut.
Sighing, the supplicant turned around and once again peered into the dear windows. Shaking off sadness, invigorating himself, in a mock cheerful tone he led a new turn of the topic:
Once we, like you, existed serenely, but this or that unforeseen situation arose and ... everything changed dramatically. Now we have nothing, not only material, but also legal and social. In relation to us, all laws are canceled. With us you can do whatever you want to anyone. Humiliate, beat half to death, mock, imprison indiscriminately.
Letting out a hoarse laugh, the alms-seeker became sad:
Twenty first century. The apogee of human civilization! Remember, we learned by heart at school “Man - it sounds proud! ..” - the petitioner grinned. - This applies especially to us, more than to you. Why? But because we, besides this proud sound, have nothing else. And no one recognizes this in us.
Well, why... - the interlocutor tried to flatter the disadvantaged man.
This is not necessary, I ask you,” the beggar winced in distaste. - I didn’t talk to you for this, not because you would amuse me, say a bunch of nice words... We are adults.
I am no longer at all afraid of my current situation. I've gotten used to it. In addition, it is said that we arrived into this world with nothing, naked. We will leave here the same way. And I’m not afraid that we are much closer to the exit from here than you are. Our brother and sister are often dragged away feet first, and even dragged through the mud. We are not given funerals, proper funeral services, farewells, or feasts. They just bury you, you know where and how...
With a soft smile, apologizing, he decided to finish his story:
That's all. Such is, by today's times, a simple, sentimental story. But soon there will be many more such stories, they will multiply significantly when the people are completely reduced to poverty. They will be evicted from houses and apartments en masse. When all people are chipped. Those who oppose this will be persecuted from everywhere. That's when our ranks will grow significantly. Especially we will gain strength and meaning when thousands of believers are thrown into our midst. And these will be real, genuine confessors of the Faith. They will retain their baptized names. Instead, they will not have satanic "numbers", TINs, policies, cards ... They will not be able to pay rent, buy food ... They, like us, will be uprooted by this dying, decaying world. They, like us, are deprived of everything. They will come to us, but voluntarily, rejected “for the idea”, for the Faith. They will give and pour into us the meaning of existence. Life! Joy! There will be power!! There will be two countries, two worlds, divided by the sword not only of the complete collapse of the economy, but also of two opposing ideologies. Not far-fetched, but eternal - flesh and spirit. Two, I would say, ministries. One is complete loss, even atrophy, of the concept of shame and conscience. The service of the lust of the flesh, pleasures, which is now successfully happening, is being introduced everywhere. Predatory survival at all costs. And to another - human preservation of goodness and love, in this embittered and dying world. Serving the salvation of the souls of their immortals.
He pulled out a small but very worn book from his pocket and, using it, looking into it from time to time, began to intersperse his words with the words of that book:
Christ, the Savior of the world, said: “I am the sword that came to divide mother and daughter, father and son...” Spiritual sword. “You can’t work for two masters” God and mammon. Jesus Christ also said: “He who is not with me is against me; and whoever does not gather with me squanders"(Matt. 12:30). And it’s also said : "In the world you will have sorrow, but be of good cheer: I have conquered the world"(John 15, 16, 18-20).
Well, you're just a preacher! As you all know, - the listener praised the beggar.
“I’m not standing near the store, although it’s more profitable and satisfying there, but near the church,” he explained, closing the treasured book. He lifted it and appreciated it with meaning:
Book of books! Gospel! It's all here! With it, I came to life and live thanks to what is written in it. Spring of living water! Without her, he would have perished long ago and would have fallen.
When will all this be? Many will get to you? What were you talking about?
The Lord said that He does not know the timing, but it will be! And they, that small herd of those faithful to Him, persecuted by this world, who were not afraid of troubles and hardships, will follow Him,” he again took out the precious little book, opened it in a place familiar to him and read: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and then are unable to create anything; but I will tell you whom you should fear, the one who, after killing, can throw your soul into fiery hell; and be afraid of him"(Luke 12.4-5) . “Here,” he said, closing and carefully returning the book to the pocket on his chest. - These are the ones who will follow the Lord to the end. Even through death, like himself, His apostles. “Whoever does not take up his cross and come after Me is not worthy of Me.” And they will go! There will be many of them, army! They are His little flock; they will follow Him to the end. Can you imagine what a rise it will be?! Like the first Christian martyrs! More! Stronger!.. The time will come! It is already close, nearby.
Yes, many people feel that some events are about to break out,” agreed the grateful interlocutor.
After being supported with great enthusiasm, the artist continued:
You see how everything is polarizing before your eyes. Accelerates. Soon everyone will be stamped, averaged, lowered and that’s it... and off we go! To the Underworld... Do you feel that now is the time of full ripening? Some in abomination, others in goodness. The process of clear separation of wheat and black chaff is rapidly accelerating. Soon, that means the harvest!
There are many troubles and sorrows now. Oh, so many, everywhere!.. The overwhelming predominance of black chaff crushes and strangles the few wheat. And it will be forced out, expelled, this wheat of God, like us, will become “homeless” and will not have a “definite place of residence.” Because you can’t settle down well here, enjoy yourself, and count on something good there, in Heaven. Therefore, those who disagree with the devilish path of development of this world will be driven away from everywhere.
So what, a good person has no hope of living a normal, human life? - the visitor asked sadly.
No,” the beggar mercilessly snapped. - Because their residence is not here, but There, in the Eternal Kingdom. Christ said to His followers: “If the world hates you, know that it hated Me before you. If you were from this world, the world would love its own, but if you are not from this world, but I chose you, that’s why the world hates you... If they expelled Me, then they will expel you too... All this is done to you for My Name’s sake...” It is also said: “Unless the seed dies, it will not bear fruit.” So?
It seems like... - the visitor vaguely agreed, looking respectfully at his interlocutor, marveling at his knowledge, which did not correspond to the current appearance of the homeless man.
The petitioner continued:
We have become so lazy, softened, and degraded that only through “many sorrows” can we hope to obtain good things. Those who find the strength to reject not only the blessings of this world, but, in essence, the very means of existence, for the sake of saving their souls, will only receive the due reward. They can, they will become God's wheat. This will be the last color, the beauty of a passing, disappearing world. They will be martyrs - those who are killed will rot in the dungeons, and those who will not taste the sweetness of the martyr's crown, but will rush to us, being persecuted for the Faith, for the Truth of Christ. They will become His true followers. It is in them that the Church will remain and be preserved. They will justify the title of “soldier of Christ”, which the priests call us all at baptism, but as a rule, we do not justify this in our lives. And here... They will justify this title, become like Him in their suffering.
Yes, whatever is true is true. How many have been baptized!.. And few of us are churchgoers,” the interlocutor agreed.
Without being distracted by the extensive topic, the petitioner continued his reasoning:
They will be separated by the decrees of corrupt bureaucrats, by the batons of law enforcement officers, as in October 1993, from those “goodies” who will accept anything and everything for the sake of the inviolability of the comfort of their existence. They will drag those who are disobedient to the “prince of this world” from the opening sea of abominations and depravity, from where the “long-awaited” blackest chaff will come out. They will throw the faithful to torture, for the amusement of everyone, they will push them out of their homes, to the triumphant squeals and whistles of worms feasting on the plague. For the spectacle, for their amusement, and for people like us, “neither this nor that,” lukewarm, whom the Lord will vomit. They will throw it at everyone, even at our feet. And they, the most worthy of the worthy, will be trampled upon by everyone.
It's a pity. How can I help them? - the provincial was saddened.
There is nothing we can do to help them,” the artist explained sternly. - They will reject all condescension, like their Teacher the sympathy of the disciple Peter, and will follow Him, like lambs, to their Golgotha. They, these outcasts of a corrupt society, like diamonds pushed out of the impurities, will finally shine brightly with the light of the souls of their immortals. Like the last, sharp ray of sun before sunset...
Eh, I should at least drink to them! For these lucky ones, for their regiments coming to us, passion-bearers, true warriors of Christ Crucified for us. For the new, hot energy of those rejected from this world, which will revive all of us, despairing, trampled into the mud, humiliated, devastated.
They would rather come and strengthen us with the power of their faith and spirit. Gave meaning to all our suffering. Many of us will follow them with joy! We are so tired of the aimlessness, the futility of our suffering, in the midst of our primitive, empty survival, it is not clear why and for what. Even our sorrows, from the many iniquities against us, are empty, since they are not directed anywhere. The impulse of life has dried up in us. Need a push. It will be given to them by those who have not submitted to the will of the devil. Their torment will greatly exceed our suffering. Their sorrows will not be "due to circumstances", like ours, and voluntary. Not for the survival of the body, but for the life of the immortal spirit. And this is a much more difficult, more significant feat...
Eh, brother, if only I could look at them, the coming confessors and passion-bearers! Take your hat off to them. Will I wait? It’s unlikely... Our life is not like yours, we are in an environment of greater risk.
He looked back. Hastily, bending slightly, he asked:
That's it, brother. Now excuse me, it's time to get down to business. Take care of your daily bread. Now, after the funeral service, the parishioners will come out. Maybe they'll give you some money. This is my job now. Don't judge me, I'm sorry.
And you’ll forgive me,” the newcomer barely had time to interject and respectfully stepped aside.
The “homeless man” turned toward the exit of the temple, with a slightly wrinkled hat in his hand, and humbly bowed his head. His thin, tall figure did not lose his greatness and dignity.
The darker the night,
The brighter the stars
The deeper the sorrow,
The closer God is.
(A. Maikov)
WET PROCESS
“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble”(Proverbs 3:34).
Autumn. Gray, low sky. It's been drizzling all day.
At the exit of the metro there is a woman in monastic clothes. Collects alms in a box.
I come up, put money in the slot of the drawer, and ask:
Are you frozen?
The petitioner smiles forcefully:
Nothing. Not the first time. I'm used to it.
From what region, sister?
From the northern ones. From the V... diocese.
In a monastery?
We can say yes. We are just still forming.
How many of you?
There are five of us in total. I am for the abbess. With me are two novices and two more women and that’s it.
How is your device?
Difficult. They gave us half the house, that's all.
Is there a temple? Where do you hold services?
The temple seems to exist... As a matter of fact, only one bell tower remains from it. We cleared it out in the basement and serve there.
Devotees.
Well... well, we're trying.
Is there a priest?
From a neighboring village, they assigned us temporarily. He comes and serves. And so... When it comes, when it doesn’t. He has his own arrival. You have to serve there, there are worries there. And when there is bad weather. He's quite old.
Don’t have your own, the monastery one yet?
Not really. They probably won't give it soon. When we settle down a little.
I heard from many. Priests are afraid to go to nunneries.
Why?
The abbess there is very self-willed and vicious.
The fairly wet new abbess confidently picks up the lows of her voice and, with metal in it, says decisively:
Let them not make things up. They also need to be educated. Hold it well... - she squeezes her blue fist so that the skin on the joints turns white from tension. Continues. - Clamp and hold tightly, with a tight grip.
For what? They’ll send a priest to you, and even if he’s of a distinguished age, and how? Will you “squeeze” him?...
And how! One board at a time will walk.
For what?
With imperiously sparkling eyes, she finished victoriously:
To know your place. There should be only one master in the house!
Distressed, I walked away from her, confusedly reasoning with myself: “My God! What is happening? How much confusion, evil, unrest, and temptations such omnipotence gives rise to. Causes irreparable harm, damage to poor sisters, novices of convents...”
Looking at the nun standing in the rain, I was upset that even with such a difficult beginning, when there was still nothing but disorder and adversity, she already had such an attitude. The prototype of a nunnery is only just beginning, being formed, but the seed of the powerful aphid brought into them has already been found. It settled in the head of the still simple, hardworking abbess. They are waiting to mature and fly away.
Can you imagine what will happen when everything works out for them? This abbess will gain full “rights”, abandon her exploits of collecting money, organizing everyday life... With a sense of earned rights, she will sit on the throne erected by common efforts.
The abbess should not even be like a mother to the nuns, but closer, like a dear, older sister to the orphan sisters. Work with them, pray like everyone else, like equals, but concerned with vigilant care for your little sisters. Be an example to follow in everything, love and pity not yourself, but only them - your children, and your main concern is to guard and lead their souls to salvation. This is the only reason monasteries exist. Only for this is it worth taking upon yourself the heaviest cross of a superior.
Eg. In the pre-revolutionary century, the unknown monks Seraphim or Ambrose would have been “squeezed” by the abbess, “eaten”, kicked out. And what would have happened?.. Then there would have been neither Diveev nor Shamordin, with whom female monasticism is mainly glorified in our country. We would then lose a whole layer in the History of our spirituality, the history of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Is it in vain that I grieve and grieve about the spiritual dispensation of the sisters in women’s monasteries? The voice of one crying in the desert, under the dreary rain?..
NABAT
Bright Week coincided with many wild days off for everyone.
From the bell tower of the church in the center of the village the bell rang for the morning service. The bell ringer rang the alarm loudly.
A sleepy man ran out with an unsteady jog from a nearby country house, where the day before they were “humming” on the veranda with vodka, songs and drunken conversations until the morning. I ran up to a foreign car parked near the house. He opened the door and turned on the radio with blasting rock music. Turned the regulator to maximum power. Leaving the car door open for greater audibility, he hobbled back into the house to get some sleep.
So the demon needs to “answer” the bell, calling to a joyful Easter service, to a meeting with the Creator of everything. Such is the intensity of the struggle now.
Each world, mountainous and fallen, has its own alarm. At the present limiting power of sound.
Where, which one are you going to?
UNINVITED TRAVELERS
In the first summer of the new millennium, a bus with pilgrims set off from the church of one of the large regional cities in central Russia.
Having visited the nearby shrines, the pilgrims moved on. The bus taxied to the south... The final place of inspection and worship of Orthodox pilgrims was the places associated with the recently glorified Theodosius of the Caucasus.
Having examined the sights of the city, the temples, and venerated the relics of the saint, the pilgrims returned to their comfortable bus. On the windshield, a large icon of the Savior with a crown of thorns, a Cross and the inscription “Orthodox Pilgrims” stood out prominently.
Everyone was in a blessed mood. As soon as the bus started moving, everyone at once, as before on the way, sang troparia, prayers and an akathist to the holy Venerable Theodosius of the Caucasus.
They sang in chorus, with inspiration.
Far from the villages, in one of the wooded foothills, the bus suddenly stopped.
Two clearly Caucasian subjects stood across the road. The other three ran up to the bus from the side of the road and knocked hard on the front door. The driver opened the door. All five of them piled onto the bus. One of them casually took out an icon of the Savior, a cross and a sign with the inscription “Orthodox pilgrims.” He threw the icon and the Cross carelessly onto the panel in front of the driver. He began to look at the sign, grinning. Then, moving forward into the aisle of the bus, he asked everyone with a strong Caucasian accent:
So you are Orthodox pilgrims?..
There was silence. Nobody answered him. He looked at each other triumphantly. They all grinned. The challenger continued:
Well, who do you have right here? ..
Another tense silence was his answer.
He turned to his friends and announced to them:
Here we are not a pilgrim, we are Orthodox.
All of them together openly, contemptuously and arrogantly neighed.
The one who asked threw the tablet on the floor and spat on it. After that, he lost interest in those scaredly sitting on the bus. Stepped to the driver, gave a command where to go.
The bus started moving. We drove for quite a long time.
Uninvited fellow travelers behaved, oddly enough, in a peaceful way. For them, it was as if no one else existed on the bus, except for them and the driver. Having driven the passengers from the front seats, three of them lounged on the seats and dozed.
At some place, the uninvited guests gave a command, and the bus stopped. They rose from their chairs. Finally, with a humiliating cackle and whistling, they fell out of the bus. They grabbed the Icon and the Cross. All this they threw far into the grass. They gave a sign to the driver. The bus, closing the doors, moved off.
The whole wild company whistled and hooted for a long time after the departing bus, with not so long ago joyful, inspired, but now their heads buried in their shoulders. In deathly silence, fearfully hiding their eyes from each other, it was as if they died out on the spot at once. Songs and prayers were no longer heard, nothing alive, inspiring.
It took a long, hard time for the bus to get back to the highway along a dirt road. We were already driving without the Icon, the Cross and the inscription on the windshield about who was traveling here. This was fair, because other people continued their journey in the chairs, not Orthodox pilgrims, but simply timid fellow travelers, caring only for themselves.
“Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be earthquakes in places, and there will be famines and turmoil. This is the beginning of disease. But take heed to yourselves, for you will be handed over to courts of justice and beaten in the synagogues, and you will be presented before rulers and kings for My sake, as a testimony before them. And the Gospel must first be preached to all nations. When they lead you to betray you, do not worry in advance what to say to you, do not think about it; but whatever is given to you in that hour, then speak, for it is not you who will speak, but the Spirit who has been removed. Brother will betray brother to death, and children will rise up against their parents... You will be hated by everyone for My name's sake; He who endures to the end will be saved.”(Mark 13.8-13) .
My longtime friend, Orthodox priest Viktor Kuznetsov, who in 1990-1993. was a deputy of the Moscow City Council, donated his two-volume book, published this year, “That’s how it was (where the crisis came from). August 1991: Documentary story" (Moscow: Briz, 2010. - 400 pp.) and "So it was. EXECUTION: A documentary story" (Moscow: Briz. 2010. - 528 pp.). We saw him a month ago at the opening of the anniversary exhibition of Ilya Glazunov in the Manege. Victor is 65 years old, now he serves as rector of the Church of the Intercession (1514) in the village of Chirkino, Stupinsky district, Moscow region. He is a member of the Union of Theater Workers of the Russian Federation and the Union of Writers of Russia, which in 2007 awarded him the Imperial Culture Prize for his book “Consolation in Dejection.” “This work,” he writes about the two-volume work, “became possible thanks to the financial and human assistance of Vladimir Novikov, general director of Sheremetyevo-Cargo.” God bless his work and endeavors."
I consider the memories and thoughts of one of the honest clergy to be a document of the times. Here is a call to fight against the demons that occupy us. Some, tempted by Nicolaitanism, enter into concordats with the devil, others are ready to sacrifice their souls for their friends. It's time to choose.
“Today we complain,” the abstract says, “the crisis. We want to understand it, understand it. Find out how it will develop? What will it bring us tomorrow?.. Our future, our life depends on this. "or to understand without starting the study from the origins, from the initial stage of development? Crisis is an ambiguous concept. It is multilayered and multifaceted. It affects profound changes not only in the economy, but also in politics, the social structure and the moral, spiritual structure of society. Its roots, the foundations were formed and lie in the late 80s - early 90s. Particular attention in this study should be paid to the events of August 1991 and October 1993. After all, it is from these turning points that the message comes, the direction in which we "We are moving by inertia, and in fact with the same team on the captain's bridge. There, in those events, in those years, in the process of development of our state, something was laid that is producing surprising results today."
"/p. 3:/ COUP
“Blessed is he who visited this world in its fatal moments! The All-Good Ones called him as a companion to a feast.” (F.I. Tyutchev).
The crisis that broke out over Russia was prepared for a long time, for decades, from the Khrushchev-Brezhnev times. Crushing blows to our state were inflicted by the electoral fraud and the coming to power of the "democrats" in 1989-90, their "putsch" in August 1991, and the bloody suppression of the uprising against them in September-October 1993. Without analysis, consideration of these events - in the collapse, the crisis of the present day, it is impossible to understand and orient oneself in what is happening today.
“Blessed is he who reads and hears the words of this prophecy, and keeps what is written in it; for the time is near.” (Rev.1,3).
BLESSING
In February 2003, the author of this story arrived in Peredelkino, where the elder, Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov), was at that time. Along with other questions, the arrival asked the following question: /p. 4:/ - Father, a friend contacted me. He, knowing that I was a participant in the events of August 1991 and especially October 1993, insists that I participate in the writing and filming of a documentary film about those days. This year is a sad date - ten years since the execution of the House of Soviets, the death of thousands of people in Moscow.
Father Kirill, without hesitation, answered with conviction and firmly:
I bless you! Good, necessary thing.
I did not expect such a response. Until now, Fr. Cyril has not given his blessing to such questions of social activity. He answered that this was all for nothing and there was no point in returning to the way things were. Service, care for the parish and parishioners, spiritual dispensation is more important, and here ... here is such an answer.
To avoid a misunderstanding of the elder and unhelpful actions, I ask the question again:
Father! All this worldly things have left me. You yourself were so blessed. Besides, so many years have passed. What blatant lawlessness has occurred during this time, terrible events ... One Chechnya blocked everything. And there’s a lot to do when we arrive... Maybe it’s not worth doing this?
No, it's worth it. Definitely worth it!.. The execution of the highest legislative body of the country, elected by the people. This is a special crime! We must not forget about him. Work! I bless you.
I had no choice but to fold my hands and place my crown under the blessing.
I didn’t have time to prepare for that date. And the organizers of the documentary disappeared somewhere. Now, on the next, albeit not the “round” date of the Yeltsin clique’s execution of the Supreme Soviet of Russia, I perform obedience to the Elder and offer my vision of the events that took place, the beginning of those “cursed”, but also exciting nineties.
/page 5:/
Let the West call you a barbarian
The East is not subject to him!
Let him look with contempt into the lorgnette
To the Russian soul; deep
Takeoff purified by suffering,
Which the West does not have.
You know, he will save the universe
Our “barbaric” Russian East.
(I. Severyanin, 1920)
“If you walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments and do them, then... you will eat your bread to the full, and you will live safely in your land. I will look upon you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will be steadfast in My covenant with you.” (Lev. 26:3-5).
AN UNEXPECTED DISCOVERY
Surely everything would have turned out differently, and Nikolai’s life would have flowed in a different direction, if not for the chance, from the point of view of non-believers, meeting him with an acquaintance whom he had not seen for so long. The Giver of our life eliminates everything in a wondrous, unknown to us way.
This happened at a time when Nikolai, like many, and especially workers in science, culture and art... suffered an acute spiritual crisis, seeing and experiencing the destruction of the important foundations of the state, being present at the collapse of our country. What was creative, good and eternal was collapsing before our eyes, burying thousands of people. Seeing no possibility of correcting what was happening, like most honest citizens, Nikolai was in great despondency. Even the family and children did not inspire. The very foundations and meaning of life collapsed.
/page 6:/
They hugged and were glad to see each other. The acquaintance was in a hurry and invited Nikolai to go with him to a certain place, fortunately it was not far to go.
On one of the old streets, in the center of the city, they entered a large house and went down to the basement. Surprisingly, there were a lot of people there. Nikolai realized that this was a sculptors’ workshop. Friends are late. There was already a conversation going on there. They sat down and listened.
The conversation was not at all art-historical, it was sharp, about pressing problems. Proposals for their solution were bold and direct. One after another, those who wanted to have their say stood up and spoke intelligently and meaningfully.
Already after midnight, talking excitedly, they began to disperse.
This meeting of hitherto unfamiliar people made a strong impression on Nikolai. Thus, thoughts about the innermost were openly expressed, about what others only shared with each other in private, secretly.
Thanks to this wonderful meeting, the discovery of a new path for himself, Nikolai was essentially saved. Constantly carried away, rushing along the guides of the spirit in full sail, in this tragic time for everyone of the collapse of production, way of life, and spiritual composition in Russia, he could not slow down, switch to other rails. Like many specialists, he would certainly have crashed; he drank himself to death, went downhill, and maybe even committed suicide. By the grace of God, he was given another guide, a new path, which he wasted no time in turning and rushing with faith and determination.
Thus, having established personal contacts with these people, Nikolai joined the then small stream of those who cared about the Fatherland and were trying to do something useful for it.
Stormy days were coming for the entire country, and essentially the whole world. Again it was in Russia. And again in the capital. As the first action, these were elections to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
/page 7:/ “Watch, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man will come.” (Matthew 25:13).
BROKEN
This was the time of the appearance of bubbles - ghouls. The one who is bolder and more impudent is the “leader”.
Moreover, by arranging the collapse of the country without risking anything, having secured a reliable guarantee that their donor is Russia, /p. 8:/ will not leave them without content. The flows of energy, oil and raw materials are guaranteed to continue to be supplied. Be outrageous to your heart's content, as mean as possible, the sweeter it is for the helmsmen in Moscow.
The task is simple. They destroyed the socialist camp, now it was necessary to destroy the Union. At first, it was necessary to shake it from the outside, through the "republics" created in advance for this in 1922 by a native of Simbirsk. Throw in them the infection of "sovereignty" and - it's in someone's hat. (And who wears hats? Even indoors?.. Right-a-villa).
The situation was acute, but how and what should people do if they felt trouble, but were unable to help or influence its outcome. All steering wheels and hat buttons!
Nikolai, who had been avoiding politics all his life, was anxious. He didn't know what to do. Like most honest, "simple" people, he was at a loss.
At the very beginning of his adult life, Nikolai chose a firm, immutable rule for himself - to have nothing to do with social, political vanity, with the party, Komsomol, trade unions, teeming with primitive careerists. For him, the most important thing was: to serve the good, the kind, the country of his ancestors - with work, honesty, and loyalty. For this purpose, it was not easy for him to arrange his path. I worked, served in the army, worked again, and then went to college. He graduated with honors, knowing that to truly serve the good is a constant battle with the mediocrity that unites in a pack, with crooks, scoundrels, talkers... All of them, basically, were placed “from above”, and therefore sat firmly in their occupied places . Nicholas did not lose heart. He fought against them with passion, tirelessly. They interfered, defamed, slandered... he did not give up.
The only effective means in the fight against them was high, undeniable professionalism. Only he made it possible to break their dirty bonds, allowed them, despite everything, to achieve victory.
/page 9:/ Connecting with the victories of other people, his small achievements were intertwined into a common stand against evil, which kept everyone afloat and for decades prevented them from drowning in the abyss of a pernicious swamp. Like Noah’s Ark, this standing of a few held us, among the raging waves of a crazy world, rushing to the Underworld.
By the beginning of the 90s, plants, factories, institutes began to close one after another...
Nicholas’s unshakable principle also began to crack. The destroyers managed to shake the hitherto unshakable foundations of labor, education, education systems, and morality. To achieve success, long study, knowledge, work were no longer necessary... Only crooks, scoundrels, soared to the top... “The process has begun!” the labeled leader proclaimed.
The most merciful Lord saved Nicholas from a crushing blow, disappointment in everything, which dragged many wonderful people into the abyss of despair, the abyss of drunkenness, suicide, debauchery, loss of conscience, moral guidelines.
With all the breathtaking swiftness of the unfolding events and the clear, good and kind management of his /p. 10: / fate, Nikolai hesitated: should he take an active part, join the social movement, or out of habit, rejection of everything mass, vain, evade? but instructive.
As if Nikolai is walking in the early, sunny morning through some city, along one of the central streets, around - old, beautiful houses. Underfoot, a paved road gleaming with dew, rising up to a wide area barely visible in the morning haze.
Gold autumn. Day. The sun shines bright. Nikolai walks well, easily.
Suddenly - a slight movement of the curtains in the window of one of the houses. Then in the window of another house, in a third... And then Nikolai begins to realize... The time is not at all early, 10-11 o’clock in the morning. For a long time already the city should live a full, crowded life. Instead, there is an unusual, disturbing emptiness around. Yes, these timid peeks at him from the windows indicated that the houses were not empty - they were inhabited and people behind the curtains existed. Why don't they go outside? They do not ride in cars or in carriages, wagons. What are they using here?..
Nicholas became uncomfortable. With increased attention and sharpness, he began to flick his gaze from window to window. And everywhere I saw the same thing - quick, frightened closing of the curtains. Several times he managed to notice the faces of those watching. They all expressed extraordinary surprise and, at the same time, alarm.
What's going on here?
Some kind of plagued city. What are they afraid of?
The answer did not take long to arrive.
/page 11:/ On the opposite side of the square, behind two large houses, he saw another square, crowded with people.
But why don’t those people outside the windows come here, to this holiday, why do they timidly look out from behind the curtained windows?
Nikolai quickened his pace, quickly crossed the cobblestone street and found himself in a square filled with animated people.
What did these people gather for? They were talking loudly to each other, about what it was impossible to understand. Everyone is in high spirits. Their clothes, manners, gestures, and the tone of their loud conversations indicated that only gentlemen, the owners of the city, had gathered here.
Nikolai had already gone deep into their idle crowd, passing closely past animated groups of 3-7 people, and no one noticed him, no one reacted to him.
"What is this?" - he was surprised again. They don't see him, or what? No one will even look at him with annoyance because he is disturbing them with his close presence, no one will step aside?.. Why was he visible to those behind the curtains, but not to those? Mystery...
Then he realized that this is not reality, and he, Nikolai, is not him. He is probably incorporeal. Maybe he passed on to the Other World, died and was saved by the mercy of God, and now he is fulfilling some important assignment from the Lord?..
Thinking about this, Nikolai made his way through the crowd, boldly approached the nobles in front and three massive types like restaurant chefs, in large red aprons. They all stood facing the open space of the square. Directly in front of them stood three stretchers on metal wheeled tables, covered with white sheets, under which motionless human bodies were outlined in relief.
"What is this? Funeral?..” - Nikolai again became perplexed. Then why is everyone in an upbeat, joyful mood, expecting something pleasant?
/page 12:/ While he was thinking about this, one of those who was wearing an apron suddenly threw up a huge cleaver and brought it down with all his might onto the motionless body lying in front of him on a stretcher, under a starchy white blanket. The body trembled a little and froze, only under the cleaver a large red stain of blood quickly appeared and grew.
The second priest prepared to do the same, performing a terrible, but still incomprehensible ritual. He also raised the cleaver over the body lying opposite him under a snow-white sheet.
The second priest also sharply lowered the sharpened cleaver onto the body lying in front of him under the blanket. He slipped on something and the blow was not accurate. Hit the victim in the thigh. The victim twitched awkwardly. She probably had her hands tied. From under the bloody sheet, a loud scream and pleas for mercy were heard!..
Everyone present here, who had previously been talking serenely, began to shout loudly at once and moved tightly together. Their contentment, smiles, and triumph were replaced by cries of indignation, hissing, curses, and swearing at the victim. They vigorously began to express their desire to speed up the bloody outcome, to enjoy what was happening, and expressed reproach for the “tactless” behavior of the victim, who suddenly revealed her rejection and disagreement with what was happening. With their hum, approving nods, and gestures, they supported the speedy completion of the terrible action.
The second priest, having received their support, struck the victim a second time with the cleaver. This time more precisely, just below the place where the doomed man’s head was guessed, apparently in the neck. The victim's loud cries for mercy abruptly gave way to gurgling, inexpressive sounds and wheezing. The heartless priest quickly struck his terrible weapon two more times into the chest of the victim. The man under the bloody sheet fell silent and stopped showing signs of life. A stream of blood began to gurgle and ran straight from the body into a container attached under the stretcher. The crowd cheered, pleased with the completion of the ritual.
/page 13: / Nicholas was surprised not only by what was happening, by the impunity, the horror of what was being done, and by how it was perceived by those gathered here. But also to the fact that no one pounces on him as a stranger who has come at the wrong time and place. He could not get used to the fact that they did not notice him, that he was an uninvited witness to this terrible ritual.
He was also perplexed about himself. Keenly intolerant of injustice to other people, for some reason he did not interfere in what was happening here, did not snatch cleavers from the killers... With some unknown consciousness, he clearly understood that he was not sent by the Lord for this, not here. This is just an in-between place. His path is further, to another, to some more significant cause, to a more important goal for which he was sent.
Just as unnoticed by those gathered, not watching how they would shred the third unfortunate body, which was twitching in the bonds and mooing, Nikolai moved on, focusing himself in his path with a prayer.
The picture of what was happening was clear to him. Now he realized what kind of city this was, why it was deserted, as if dead. Why are people so scared?
The city is under the rule of that small clan, which makes regular sacrifices to its evil, black god, on certain days, chopping the bodies of the helpless inhabitants of this city, paralyzed by animal fear, on the square.
How unhappy are the inhabitants of this beautiful city!.. Every day they wait with fear for their turn.
The power of those in the square has become omnipotent here. There is no possibility of resistance or opposition from the residents shaking in panic, and is no longer expected. They are completely paralyzed by fear. There, behind the curtains, they are already dead. They were condemned by fear and cowardice. And therefore, the power of the murderers, bound by common tribal ties, the terrible fanatics who became the masters of the city, is unshakable as long as they /p. 14/ they will not slaughter the last resident shaking in horror in the square. They held the inhabitants of this city in a stranglehold of fear, crushing even any hope of deliverance. And those few who could resist them, they long ago destroyed and broke. The rest cowardly surrendered to the will of the villains. Subdued.
Nicholas really wanted to help them wake up, to rise up against the gang of maddened rulers, who were so maddened that such open, bloody Sabbaths became a spectacle that gave them extraordinary pleasure and triumph.
He moved on. This is in the world, earthly inhabitants can do whatever they want. For those, among whom Nikolai now found himself, there is an immutable condition - the utmost cutting off of their will, unquestioning obedience. What is surprising is that it is not a burden, but a great joy - serving the One Whom one must serve. As a matter of fact, this is the only desire, and “my”, personal, chaotically arising, changing “I want”, remained there on earth, along with the abandoned body.
On this path to a goal unknown to him, the vision ended.
Nikolai later realized that this was shown to him for a reason, but with meaning, as a projection, an image of what would happen in the cities and villages of the world in which he still resides. Apparently, everything is heading towards this and much has already been prepared. Ivan Efremov described something similar in “The Hour of the Bull” forty years ago.
After this vision, he felt better. It was more scary and at the same time calmer because now he clearly understood much of what was happening. The details and faces were only different, but the technology of the process, its final position, was clearly visible. He also knew how he should live now. Responsibly!
And yet he thought intensely:
/page 15:/ “We must still have time here, in earthly life, to learn the main thing - to live the life of an obedient son of our Father. Trusting Him completely in everything. “Be like children,” the Lord instructed. We must learn to fulfill with great joy any of His wishes, always and everywhere, doing everything possible and impossible to fulfill His will. To sharpen and refine your soul so that it can catch and perceive the lightest signals from There and carry them out. This is what we call happiness, harmony of life, meaning and endless joy, both here and, if we are worthy, there...
And if we don’t want the sad fate of the inhabitants of that plague-ridden city, then we must resist evil today!
Our task is to fulfill the mission received at our baptism - the mission of the soldiers of Christ. Warriors, not careless, capricious cowards and slackers.
We're at war! The strict meaning of existence here is from battle to battle, with ourselves and the enemies of our salvation. With courage, a cheerful spirit, a thirst for victory!... “It is not a man who lives these days,” Marina Tsvetaeva wrote during the Great Patriotic War. She is right: “living”, enjoying, experiencing “pleasant” pleasures, while the battle is going on, as then, is immoral. For there is a war going on!
If we succumb to laziness and become indolent, then tomorrow we will be like those unfortunate ones - peeking timidly from behind the curtains, awaiting our pitiful fate, while our enemies will mock and reign supreme over us and our children, making bloody sacrifices to their prince of darkness.”
From that day on, Nikolai decided that he needed to change a lot in himself. He no longer has the right to live as before, safely. He is called!
It wasn’t just that he was given that terrible vision. For what?.. Of course, in order to act - to fight against evil with all our might. So that it does not become the same terrible reality for us here tomorrow.
/page 16:/ This, apparently, is the task that Nicholas received from the Lord.
“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, and does not stand in the way of sinners, and does not sit on the seats of destroyers; But his will is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he will learn day and night.” (Psalms, 1st kathisma).
Until now, Nikolai had fled from any kind of politics and social activities like the plague. And now, having resigned himself with his whole being to a new task for himself, he devoted himself to an essentially hopeless cause - resistance to the “democratic” pogrom.
The general lack of will to fight and indifference led slowly but surely to terrible slavery. It was convenient not to see, not to worry. It’s safe to dwell in vanity, “innocent” sins, and apparent safety.
Nicholas was struck by general deafness and blindness. How can people not hear the iron roar of the approaching, advancing beast? He has already appeared in the guise of a supposedly “persecuted” member of the Politburo, with the face of a highway bandit. Obvious, one of the predecessors of that Last One, to whom people are already screaming in greeting from screens and stages, from the halls of discos and stadiums?!
The Savior warns us: “Watch, because you do not know at what hour your Lord will come. But as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man: they ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all... Therefore watch ye.” (Matt. 24.37-40)
/page 17:/ In our time, more than ever, we need to remember this warning.
Now there are especially many people dozing and sleeping. Mental sleep is not a physical sleep that strengthens the body, but on the contrary, it is an unhealthy sleep, a painful hibernation in which people chase after empty things. They completely forget about the main thing - the soul. What condition is it in? Are you a warrior of the spirit or the flesh?!..
Sow what is reasonable, good, and eternal. Sow! The Russian people will say a heartfelt thank you!.. (Nick. Nekrasov).”
« Behold, we ascend to Jerusalem,
and the Son of Man will be betrayed, just as it is written about Him.”
We are entering Holy Week of Great Lent. Already today the wondrous stichera of Great Holy Monday fills the heart: “The Lord is coming to free passion, the apostle said on the way: behold, we are ascending to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed, as it is written about Him. Come, then, we, with purified meanings, will descend to Him, and let us be crucified, and let us die for His sake with worldly passions, so that we may come to life with Him, and hear Him crying: no one will go to earthly Jerusalem for the sake of suffering, but I will ascend to My Father, and the Father yours, and my God, and your God, and I will exalt you into the Jerusalem above, into the kingdom of heaven.”
“Jerusalem, in a spiritual sense,” said St. Nikon of Optina, “means the Kingdom of Heaven. Ascension into Him is the earthly life of every believer who works out his salvation... On the path of life he inevitably encounters sorrows and temptations. You need to be prepared for them”...
And so the Lord sent us another test from ill-wishers. From the priest: lies, slander, gossip, and outright cynical theft - spiritual and material. In the form of an unscrupulous and evil publication about our spiritual father Father Nikolai (Guryanov) in the book:
As this strange “five-pointed” picture testifies, our unforgettable Father Nikolai (Guryanov), who led me, like many, to Spiritual Jerusalem, “came” here too...
In the part of the compilation edition dedicated to Elder Nicholas, from pages 337 to 407 (70 pages in total), 27 full pages of text were cynically and mercilessly torn out by the compiler (priest Viktor Kuznetsov) from my memories of dear Father. Naturally, without a single link to my books: "The Royal Bird cries out to God" (year 2009), " RussianCandle" (year 2014), "Royal Bishop"(2004), " Pearls of the Spirit. Holy words about the salvation of Elder Nicholas (Guryanov)" (2007), and my other articles published in the newspaper "Russian Herald" over the years. Moreover, my memories were “attributed” or “put” into the mouths of unknown persons under different names by an enterprising member of the Writers’ Union Viktor Kuznetsov: “Galina”, “Father Sergius”, Tamara and others.
In a word, we are talking about primitive and shameless theft or plagiarism. The dictionary explains it this way: « Plagiarism is expressed in the publication under one’s own name of someone else’s work, as well as in the borrowing of fragments of other people’s works without indicating the source of the borrowing. A mandatory sign of plagiarism is attribution of authorship, since unauthorized use, publication, copying, etc. a work protected by copyright is not itself plagiarism, but another type of copyright infringement, often called " piracy". “Piracy” becomes plagiarism when the results of intellectual work are misused and the publishing person assigns authorship.”
“In its current meaning in European languages, the word “ plagiarism"began to be used in the 17th century. In Roman law plagium(lit. kidnapping) designated criminal sale in slavery a free person, which was punishable by scourging ( ad plagas It is mentioned in this meaning in the novel “The Man Who Laughs” in relation to the theft of a child. The theft of literary property was originally called plagium litterarium, Wed also lat. plagiator- “literary thief.”
Thus, the Lord sent us a test in the form of the “literary thief” priest Viktor Kuznetsov, they are also called “pirates”, naturally, “literary”...
But if you think about it, how many thieves and spiritual pirates ply the sea of life of each of us?! Always ready to steal, lie, kill and bear false witness... Predators and robbers in robes...
Our human weakness always forgets about them, about spiritual robbers, we are all complacent, believing that nothing bad can come from a person in a “cassock”...
But instead, there is a cup of suffering from them... And we accept it: “therefore, if we see our life filled with sorrows, let us not lose heart,” the Venerable Father Nikon of Optina consoles us. “This is how it should be... The life of Christiania should be similar to the life of Christ.”
Schema nun Nicholas (Groyan)
Great Monday of Holy Week. 2016
Priest Viktor Kuznetsov, our regular author, turned 70 years old. Congratulating the hero of the day, the spiritual children of Father Victor, numerous readers and the Movement “Resistance to the New World Order” wish him spiritual and physical health, new successes in the diverse field of his activities.
Few people knew that in previous years, Father Victor lived a completely different life.
Studied and worked at the Bearing Plant. Graduated from the School of Working Youth. Worked in the theatre. Served in the Rocket Forces. After the army, he graduated with honors from the directing department of GITIS (now the Theater Academy). He was the director of the Moscow Theater. K.S. Stanislavsky. He became the director of the highest category of the Literary and Drama Editorial Board of the USSR State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company
Elected as a deputy of the Moscow City Council of the 21st convocation - 1990-1993.
For several years he was a novice, reader and altar boy, having passed all the stages of the church service, he was ordained a priest with the blessing of his confessor, Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov). After various ups and downs, he was appointed rector of the churches of Basil the Great and the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos in the village of Chirkino near Moscow, where the entire parish initially consisted of three grandmothers. Hard work began there to revive church life in the village and restore shrines.
Fr. did a lot of useful things. Victor. He revived the holy springs, prayerful veneration and processions on the days of commemoration of the royal martyrs of Tsar Nicholas 11 with his august family. On Ilyin's day and for baptism in Chirkino, many pilgrims and residents from the surrounding villages, towns, cities and from Moscow came to services and processions. In a rural school, he began to conduct classes on the basics of Orthodox culture, to teach children the Law of God.
Over the years, not only his theological gift, but also his writing one, came in handy. One of his first books, “Closer to God!”, is dedicated to the fraternal confessor of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov). Readers know this book and are grateful that many Orthodox people have heard the opinion of the great elder of our time on pressing issues.
Readers know and love the book “He Chose the Cross” about the warrior Yevgeny Rodionov, written and published by Father Viktor, in detail and truthfully.
At present, Fr. Victor collects, creates and publishes the highly demanded cycle of books “Martyrs of Our Time”, which testifies to the fate and death of Orthodox priests and laity for the faith in Christ and our Fatherland. Does not let us forget their feat, reminding us that “the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Orthodox Church". Even after their death, the martyrs of Christ illuminate the path to salvation for us.
In 2008, Fr. Victor published a book of stories, (sketches of folk life) “Signs of the Times”, where, according to a detailed preface by our famous writer Vladimir Krupin, “he noticed, highlighted many folk features, events and at the same time revealed errors and flaws imperceptible to us that hinder our piety.” And now a new book of stories by Father Victor, “God Everywhere!”, has been published. These books help Orthodox Christians in the matter of salvation.
The hero of the day is published in many Orthodox periodicals, often speaks on the radio "Radonezh" and "People's Radio", is a member of the Union of Theater Workers and the Writers' Union of Russia, a laureate of the Imperial Prize of the Writers' Union of Russia.
Particularly interesting are the events of his life related to the terrible years of 1991 and 1993. An eyewitness and participant who was at the epicenter of these events, Fr. Victor created a reliable chronicle of those days, captured in a two-volume book - “So it was (Where did the crisis come from) about the putsch of August 1991 and “Execution” about the execution of the rebels in October 1993.
Like your personal pain about. Victor accepted the tragedy of Little Russia and published a book of his wanderings in the native places of N.V. Gogol - “The Ways of Gogol”, where, among entertaining stories, he cites the words of the great Gogol himself, his pain and reflections on betrayal and the tragic division occurring within a single people who have found the Orthodox Church. faith and the baptized in one common Dnieper font. After it, the book “Martyrs of New Russia” comes out, filled with already open pain and compassion.
And what gift did Fr. prepare and present to the Orthodox people? Victor, having collected and published a large photo album dedicated to Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov) for his 90th birthday! Then he compiled and edited two books of stories of Father Kirill’s spiritual children about how they were cared for by the great elder. To do this, Father Victor spent four whole years looking for many people of different ages, positions and ranks in distant cities and villages, recording their stories about secret meetings with the Elder. These books, “The Elder” and “The Spiritual Father,” are deservedly in demand among Orthodox readers. They are often quoted in newspapers and magazines. Based on them, documentaries are being made about the confessor of three Patriarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church - Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov).
The spiritual care of Father Viktor Kuznetsov himself is distinguished by rigor and directness. Some parishioners are looking for other mentors, more flexible, gentle, and lenient towards sins. Sermons by Fr. Victor is distinguished by extraordinary depth and content. He, with four higher educations, by nature and character can be classified as a zealous ascetic of Orthodoxy. In big and small things, he knows how to scrupulously collect information and feel with all his soul God’s providence in what happened. He knows how to keep evasive, gullible people on the real path of salvation. Sometimes he gives impartial assessments, which, as a rule, turn out to be correct. Unlike some who played too much in their “young age,” Fr. Victor knows how to critically perceive his actions and treat his merits with irony, clarify if necessary, and correct his point of view.
He himself would have found it difficult to count how many souls he converted to Christ with his tireless labors and preaching. His flock (especially the readership, numbering in the tens of thousands of admirers of his sincere, truthful words, filled with burning, persistent faith) is rapidly growing and becoming churched, strengthening in the Orthodox faith. This is especially important in the current difficult situation, when, in order to capture public opinion, the enemy spends considerable effort and money on plundering the flock of Christ.
The firm position of priest Viktor Kuznetsov earned him the deep respect and love of believers. He never allows himself to be careless in worship. He is interested in and learns everything that happens, what he encounters, among what his brothers and sisters in Christ live. Knows about all important events and news, about all significant publications and public speeches that in one way or another affect church life. He never changes his Orthodox civic position, choosing for himself the only fear on earth to guide him - the fear of losing the path of God and offending the Lord with his sins.
On behalf of many Orthodox people, we want to wish priest Viktor Kuznetsov spiritual and physical health!
Many and blessed years to him!..
Andrey Vasiliev
A word introduced by the famous Russian writer Vladimir Krupin to Father Victor’s book “Signs of the Times”:
PHENOMENON OF TIME
The arrival of priests in Russian literature was expected and salutary for modern literature. No matter how much we hide behind phrases that we can not talk about God, but feel Him, life shows that those who know at least the basics of the Holy Scriptures and especially those who have examples of crossing the church threshold are more likely to join the church. Yes, good prose, good poetry ennobles a person, softens the soul, but more often than not it goes no further. Soulfulness is not spirituality, and a heart-to-heart conversation is not a confession. From love that expects reciprocation, to love for your enemies as from east to west. Therefore, the practical experience of clergy, constant acquaintance with most often unhappy people, and compassion for them bring our priests enormous “writing capital” of life impressions, and the experience of sermons makes it easier to work on the text.
“Signs of the Times” by priest Viktor Kuznetsov is a phenomenon of our time, when Russia, hitherto forcibly torn away from the churches of God, began to remember the road to them.
Father Victor began writing his notes about life in the 90s - early 2000s. They were compiled in the column “Signs of the Times” in the newspaper “Rus Derzhavnaya”. Published in many periodicals. In “Signs,” in addition to the undoubted, accurately noted signs of the changing times in Russia, there are impressive moral guidelines for readers.
Knowing better than others the means of healing souls and hearts, the priest sees in our ordinary everyday life those who need such healing. Many everyday encounters, the joys and sorrows of old and young, everyday and social situations are interesting not in themselves, but because of their deep meaning. The author of the book is not an outside observer, but an active participant in the cases described. The peculiarity of the priestly ministry is its constant teaching, and this is valuable in the book. Father Victor goes out to pastoral service from the church to young people who are perishing from vices, to lost old people, to intellectuals stubborn in pride, and has direct conversations with people. Analyzing unfortunate destinies, the author clearly distinguishes the degree of guilt of both the person himself and society. How a person uses his God-given free will and how the state fulfills its duty of care for its citizens are two constant questions asked latently in the book.
