On February 5, 2006, the ever-remembered All-Russian elder Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) reposed in the Lord. His earthly life is an unbroken chain of spiritual and human exploits in the name of strengthening the Orthodox faith in our long-suffering country and among our tormented, sinful people...
The time is not far when we will single out into a special cohort those clergy who did not die under the bullets of firing squads, did not die from disease and deprivation in the camps and prisons of the atheistic hard times (we commemorate them as new martyrs), but survived in spite of everything and in spite of everything, did not bend or break, remaining unquenchable lights in the long, dull atheistic night that fell on our Russia. This is a special category of people who throughout their lives resisted the violence and repression brought upon them by the state Moloch, and survived thanks to the Faith and for the glory of the Faith. Thank God that many of them, including Father John (Krestyankin), had a chance to see other times, which they brought closer with all their spiritual asceticism.
Archimandrite John (Peasant)
Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) died quite recently, and back in the mid-1990s, already at a very advanced age, he willingly received visitors who came to him from all over Russia at the Pskov-Pechersky Holy Dormition Monastery. Such proximity in time makes it especially close, understandable, and modern for us. In the last years of his life, he willingly shared his memories, so much more is known about the priest than about thousands of holy martyrs and confessors who ended their days in the places from which Father John was destined to return. In addition, there are hundreds of heartfelt memories about him. People who had the opportunity to see Father John remember how inspired he served in the church. How he walked from the temple, surrounded by people, old and young, who often came just to see him - he walked quickly, almost flew, managing to answer questions and give away gifts intended for him. How he seated his spiritual children on an old sofa in his cell and in a matter of minutes resolved doubts, consoled, exhorted, presented them with icons, brochures of spiritual content (in the 1980s there was a great shortage of them), generously poured holy water on them and anointed them with “oil.” With what spiritual uplift people then returned home. Father John answered the letters, the bag with which invariably stood in the corner of his cell, until his death (in recent months he dictated answers to cell attendant Tatyana Sergeevna Smirnova), and even the last Christmas of his life, many of his spiritual children celebrated, receiving the usual postcard from the priest with personal congratulations. How many of these cards did he send out every year—hundreds? thousands?
Father John (Krestyankin) was called the “All-Russian Elder” - and in fact, the will of God for people was revealed to him, for which there are many dozens of testimonies. He was also a confessor who endured prison, torture, a camp under Soviet rule, and was near death several times. And also the author of inspired sermons, which have now sold millions of copies. He also left several wonderful books, including “The Experience of Constructing a Confession,” with which many people of the generation of the 1970s. began the journey to faith.
Finally, Father John was a unique prayer book; in his prayer he remembered all the people he met at least once in his life.
Palm of Saint Tikhon
“Until I was 14 years old, I did not meet a single unbeliever,” admitted Father John. He was born on March 29 (April 11, new style) 1910 in the family of Oryol townspeople Mikhail Dmitrievich and Elizaveta Ilarionovna Krestyankin and was the eighth child. The boy received his name in honor of St. John the Hermit, on whose memory day he was born. On the same day, the Church celebrates the memory of the Reverend Fathers of the Pskov-Pechersk Mark and Jonah, so it is difficult to consider it an accident that Father John lived for the last 38 years of his life in the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery and it was at this time that he gained all-Russian fame.
Vanya's father died when the boy was two years old, and he was raised mainly by his mother, who was helped in any way possible by relatives, including Vanya's uncle, merchant Ivan Aleksandrovich Moskvitin. Until 1917, Vanya lived in Orel without a break and retained many touching memories of his childhood. For example, about how mother Elizaveta Ilarionovna divided between her younger children - Tanya and Vanya - the last testicle that was intended for herself, citing the fact that she “had a headache.” One of the important people for little Vanya was the local priest Father Nikolai (Azbukin), who baptized him as an infant. Once, while visiting, little Vanya was embarrassed by the lack of lean food on the table - it was a Friday. He did not eat, which made him feel unwell, but very soon the reason for his “ill health” was revealed. He happened to go home with his father Nikolai, who, unlike the boy, did not refuse the food offered to the guests and on the way gently explained to Vanya that the owners’ mistake was involuntary, so it “should have been covered with love” and not paid attention to it.
Already at the age of six, Vanya began to serve in the church - soon after the local undertaker and part-time assistant to the church warden sewed a surplice for the boy from gold brocade, which was used to decorate coffins. Vanya was appointed sexton, and his mother helped him clean the lamps and church utensils.
At the age of 12, in 1922, Vanya first expressed his desire to become a monk. This happened during the departure of the Yeletsk bishop, the future confessor of Nicholas (Nikolsky), to a new place of service: saying goodbye to the Oryol flock, he asked, among others, subdeacon John Krestyankin, what to bless him for. He asked for a blessing to become a monk, which he received 44 years later.
And the next year, having arrived in Moscow and being in the Donskoy Monastery, Vanya received another blessing, which he subsequently remembered all his life - from His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon, who spent the last years of his life under arrest. In 1990, when Father John lived in the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery, Patriarch Tikhon appeared to him and warned about the impending division of the Russian Church (which soon happened in Ukraine). At the end of his life, after the glorification of Saint Tikhon in 1998, Father John said that he still felt his palm on his head.
Orel – Moscow – Chernaya Rechka
In 1929, Ivan Krestyankin graduated from school and entered accounting courses. He worked as an accountant until 1944, but his heart always belonged to the Church. It was for this reason that in 1932 he had to leave Orel for Moscow: from his first job in Orel he was fired for his reluctance to participate in regular Sunday “rush jobs,” and in those days it was difficult to find a place for someone fired. During the first weeks, not wanting to upset his mother, Ivan regularly got up in the morning and “went to work”, and at the end of the month he even brought home a “salary” - money received from the sale of the violin. But no new job was found, and with the blessing of the famous Oryol elder, Mother Vera (Loginova), the young man leaves for the capital.
Ivan Mikhailovich was not drafted to the front in 1941 due to poor eyesight - he had severe myopia. But the difficulties of wartime did not escape him. The future father John had to hide his cousin Vadim at home for several days, who had fallen behind the evacuation column - according to the laws of war, he could well have been recognized as a deserter and shot. During the day, Vadim hid in a chest where holes were drilled to allow air to enter, and at night, together with his cousin, he prayed to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. In the end, Ivan went to the commandant’s office with a statement about Vadim’s shell shock. The matter was resolved favorably: Vadim was sent to the hospital, and both were given coupons for military rations - this temporarily saved Ivan from the hungry existence that he led in the first years of the war.
In July 1944, Ivan Mikhailovich became a psalm-reader at the Church of the Nativity in Izmailovo. He had recently seen this very temple in a dream: he was led inside by the Monk Ambrose of Optina and asked the monk accompanying them to bring two vestments to serve. Just six months later, Metropolitan Nikolai (Yarushevich) ordained John Krestyankin as a deacon, and nine months later he became a priest - one of the first to be ordained by the new Patriarch Alexy I.
The first post-war years were a time of short revival of the Russian Orthodox Church: persecution eased for a short time, and people flocked to churches. This time made special demands on priests: it was necessary to show special sensitivity and compassion, to help people in everyday circumstances, and Father John, who remained to serve in the Izmailovsky Church, gave himself to people without reserve. Until late in the evening he went to church services, confessed, baptized, married, and improved the temple. There were days when the only free time he could find for rest was half an hour before the evening service, which he spent at the altar.
The rector of the temple did not encourage the impulses of the young priest - they could attract unnecessary attention from the authorized representatives, who continued to vigilantly monitor the Church. The temple could be closed at any moment, and the overzealous ministers could be exiled to the construction sites of socialism. Much later, Father John told how one day, having doubted the appropriateness of his zeal at that time, he shared his thoughts with Patriarch Alexy (Simansky).
- Dear father! What did I give you when I ordained you? – the Patriarch asked him in response. - Missal. - So here it is. Do everything that is written there, and endure everything that comes next.
Already at the beginning of his ministry, in the late 1940s, Father John established the custom of composing sermons in advance. He did not part with this rule until the end of his ministry and during the liturgy, as a rule, he read sermons from notebooks. But these texts were never something abstractly theoretical. Already in his mature years, the priest recalled how once in his youth, carried away by writing a sermon about love, he locked himself in a room and, not wanting to be distracted, several times ignored the knock on the door. Then going out into the corridor, he saw a neighbor who apologized and explained that she wanted to borrow money for bread. The remorse of conscience was such that the priest did not even preach that sermon from the pulpit.
In 1950, Father John graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and wrote his doctoral dissertation on St. Seraphim of Sarov. There was no need to protect her. On the night of April 29-30, investigators raided his apartment, and Father John himself was taken to Lubyanka.
Priest John Krestyankin, photo from the 1950 case.
Father John spent the next five years in prisons and camps, and returned with broken fingers on his left hand and in a pre-heart attack state. “The Lord transferred me to another obedience,” he said about his imprisonment. But it was precisely this time, spent first in solitary confinement in Lubyanka, then in Lefortovo prison (both there and there he was interrogated and tortured a lot), then in the cold barracks of a maximum security camp at the Chernaya Rechka crossing (Arkhangelsk Territory) and, finally, in he called the disabled camp settlement near Samara perhaps the happiest in his life. “God is close there,” Father John explained. And one more thing - “there was a real prayer there, now I don’t have such a prayer.”
“The main thing is to pray”
Father John was arrested following a denunciation written by the rector, regent and protodeacon of the church where he served. Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), who for many years had the opportunity to communicate with Father John in the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery, says in his book “Unholy Saints” that the priest even agreed with part of the accusations brought against him. For example, he did not deny that young people were gathering around him, whom he, as a shepherd, did not consider himself to have the right to drive away, and that he did not bless them to join the Komsomol, because this is an atheistic organization. He only denied his alleged participation in anti-Soviet agitation: “activities of this kind” did not interest him at all as a priest.
Five years later, when Father John is released (he was sentenced to seven years, but was released two years earlier under an amnesty), the head of the camp will ask him: “Father, do you understand why you were imprisoned?” - No, I still don’t understand. “We must, father, follow the people.” And not to lead the people.
But even in the camp, where there were many criminals, people themselves were drawn to Father John. One day he was instructed to distribute to the prisoners their earnings - a few coins each, but on the eve of their distribution, someone stole a suitcase with money. Father John prepared for the worst and only mentally cried out to God: “carry this cup past me, but not what I want, but what You want.” The next day, the suitcase with its contents was found: it was seized from the criminals and returned to the priest by their main “authority,” whose word was law for the rest.
Another prisoner, Archpriest Veniamin Sirotinsky, told how one day the director of the camp’s daughter became mortally ill. “In desperation, the boss sent for us, we asked everyone to leave, baptized the child with a shortened rite, gave us blessed water to drink, prayed, and - a miracle! “The next day the child was healthy.”
Several times, Father John himself was on the verge of death: he was almost killed by backbreaking work at the logging site, which was later replaced by “frying” the clothes of convicts from insects in a hotly heated barracks. However, he did not condemn anyone, not even those who reported him. Even during interrogations in Moscow, the investigator summoned the rector of the church where Father John served for a confrontation with the defendant. Seeing the informer, the priest was so happy that he rushed to hug him, but he collapsed on the floor, losing consciousness from excitement. Later, already in the camp, Father John learned that the parishioners were boycotting the informer priest, and one day he sent a note for them with the next man released. The note contained God's blessing and a request to “forgive the informant priest, as Father John forgave him, and to attend the services he performed.”
All his life the priest remembered the investigator, whose name, like himself, was Ivan Mikhailovich. “He was a good man, good, but is he alive?” – his cell attendant later retold the priest’s words. He thought about it and answered himself: “He’s alive, he’s alive, but he’s very old.”
Father John was released on the Presentation of the Lord, February 15, 1955, but he never took his eyes off him, so the risk of returning to prison never really disappeared. One day it almost happened. In the spring of 1956, when the priest had been serving in the Trinity Cathedral of Pskov for almost a year, the local authorities and the commissioner disliked him for his long sermons and for the fact that he had improved the cathedral, says Archpriest Oleg Teor. One day Father John was warned: “Get ready and leave one night, otherwise you will end up where you’ve already been.” The priest obeyed, and, as it soon became clear, not in vain: they were already preparing to arrest him, attributing the theft of state property.
Many decades later, a nephew came to the resident of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery, Hieromonk Raphael, hiding from the police, who were looking for him on false suspicion. The teenager was brought to Father John, and he confirmed: he was innocent of the crime attributed to the boy, but he would still have to go to prison. After a half-hour confession, the boy himself came to terms with this thought, but still asked the priest: “how to behave in prison?” And I heard: “It’s simple - don’t believe, don’t be afraid, don’t ask. And most importantly, pray” (see “Unholy Saints” by Archimandrite Tikhon).
This special prayer, which Father John said in conditions of mortal danger, did not go unanswered. Having already been released and returned to ministry (he now served in rural parishes, mainly in the Ryazan region), Father John began to involuntarily attract the attention of parishioners with obvious spiritual gifts - an amazing gift of reasoning and insight. There is evidence of Simeon (Zhelnin), now glorified among the saints, who labored in the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery even before Father John became a monk of the same monastery. Once, when the cell attendant of the venerable elder Simeon began to ask for time off to go to the “holy places” and at the same time visit Father John, he perked up and replied: “Go and see him. He is an earthly angel and a heavenly man."
Six parishes
Under Khrushchev, the persecution of the Church resumed with renewed vigor. The new leader of the country promised to show the “last priest” on TV, churches began to be closed everywhere, either putting locks on the doors, or turning them into warehouses (the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery was almost the only one in Russia that escaped closure during the Soviet period). Mass arrests of clergy have resumed. For Father John Krestyankin, this was a time of wandering around parishes. Everywhere he appeared, sermons were preached and churches were restored - often contrary to official prohibitions. Together with the parishioners, the priest himself plastered the walls, replaced the roof, and painted the floors.
The hierarchy was forced to “take measures”: in 11 years the priest changed six parishes.
In those years, his spiritual kinship with one of the saints he especially revered, Seraphim of Sarov, became apparent. The Lord allowed Father John almost the same test that St. Seraphim suffered 150 years earlier. On the night of January 1, 1961 (Father John was then serving in the Church of Cosmas and Damian in the village of Letovo, Ryazan region), hooligans broke into the priest’s house, beat the priest, tied him up, gagged him and threw him on the floor. So he lay there until the morning, when his neighbors found him half-dead, and a few hours later Father John was already serving the Liturgy, praying among others for “those who do not know what they are doing.” Also, the Monk Seraphim, who suffered beatings from robbers who were looking for money in his cell, asked not to punish them when they were exposed.
Despite the adversities and everyday difficulties, it was rare in those years to meet such an open and benevolent priest as Father John Krestyankin was. Restorer Savely Yamshchikov, who in his youth participated in an expedition to the Ryazan region, visited churches and registered unique icons. “We often met either indifferent priests or very suspicious priests,” he recalled. The priest of the church in the village of Nekrasovka turned out to be completely different: he came out to meet strangers “with an amazing light gait - as if he was not walking, but floating in the air - with a benevolent smile,” and “his eyes sparkled with love, as if it were not strangers who came to him.” people, but his close relatives.”
In exactly the same way, dozens of people who would go to him at the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery would later describe Father John, now 70 and 80 years old. One of them, Alexander Bogatyrev, says that the priest received him, who arrived for the first time, as an old friend, “held his hand and looked affectionately through thick glasses.” “I couldn’t take my eyes off his gaze,” he writes. “These were not glasses, but a fantastic microscope through which he saw my stained soul.” Another example is given by Tatyana Goricheva, talking about an acquaintance who came to Pechory for the first time: “Nicholas stood hesitantly at the very end of the long line, but the elder immediately noticed him, came up, hugged him (he saw him for the first time), kissed him on the forehead, on the cheeks, in the back of the head - only a mother can caress her suffering child like that. The elder asked where Nikolai came from and when he could come to him for confession.”
“There are no elders now”
Father John's childhood dream came true in 1966 - he was tonsured a monk. A year later, Patriarch Alexy I blessed Hieromonk John (Krestyankin) to serve in the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery.
This period of the priest’s life is especially well known. At this time, he wrote “The Experience of Constructing a Confession,” analyzing each commandment in detail and showing how to learn to see “your sins as the sand of the sea.” It turns out that even the commandment “Thou shalt not kill,” which people usually do not consider themselves to be violators of, is often violated by us: “Everyone has experienced how an evil, cruel, caustic word kills. How then can we ourselves inflict cruel wounds on people with this verbal weapon?! Lord, forgive us sinners! We have all killed our neighbors with our words.”
It was during this period, spanning almost 40 years, that Father John (raised to the rank of archimandrite in 1973) became an “all-Russian elder”, to whom people and letters flocked from all over the country and even from abroad. The priest himself, however, resolutely opposed such a name: “There are no elders now. Everybody died.<…>There is no need to confuse the elder and the old man.<…>We need to learn that we are all essentially useless and are not needed by anyone except God.” Perhaps the priest himself did not always realize that behind many of his words and answers there was something more than just experience and human wisdom. Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) calls Father John “one of the very few people on earth for whom the boundaries of space and time are expanded, and the Lord allows them to see the past and future as the present”: “We were convinced with surprise and not without fear from our own experience , that before this old man, whom ill-wishers mockingly called “Doctor Aibolit,” human souls are open with all their innermost secrets, with their most cherished aspirations, with carefully hidden, secret affairs and thoughts. In ancient times, such people were called prophets.”
One of the striking examples that Father Tikhon gives is the history of the creation of the Pskov-Pechersk metochion in the Sretensky Monastery, which began with the fact that Father John, without listening to any objections, sent him - the future Archimandrite Tikhon - to Patriarch Alexy II to ask for a blessing to create a metochion in Moscow. Not long before, the Patriarch had strictly forbidden anyone to approach him with such requests, but when Father Tikhon followed “the will of God” (this is how Father John himself explained his order), no obstacles arose.
Usually Father John did not insist on the unconditional implementation of his advice and did not so much advise as gently and carefully direct the person himself to the right course of reasoning. But if he nevertheless insisted on something, and the spiritual child did it his own way, he was very sad - self-will more than once led to tragedies. For example, Valentina Pavlovna Konovalova, the director of a large grocery store in Moscow, suddenly passed away, having decided, contrary to her father’s categorical prohibition, to remove a cataract from her eye: during the operation she suffered a stroke and complete paralysis.
Father John prayed in front of these icons
In people's memories, Father John most often appears as a meek, affectionate and very loving person. “Children of God” - that’s what he called many of his visitors. “I thought: if a person can love a person like that and rejoice over every sinner like that, then how the Lord loves us!” - Abbot Nikolai (Paramonov) writes about the priest. But in his sermons and letters, Father John very often displays qualities that complement his kindness and caring - rigor (sometimes even severity), loyalty to the canons and intransigence to sin. In his sermon for the week about the Last Judgment, he demands “special attention” from parishioners and talks in detail about the torments of Gehenna from which Nikolai Motovilov, a disciple of St. Seraphim of Sarov, suffered for many years, who decided to fight the demons alone. And here is a typical excerpt from one letter written by the priest: “It’s simply wild for me to hear and read what you write about. At least you first became acquainted with the Orthodox Catechism, but you would have examined and known yourself better, and I am sure that you would have come to the only correct conclusion - you yourself must learn to live like a Christian.” The letters reveal the very essence of Father John, who calls to “stand for the faith until death.”
During his monastic years, Father John, who always had great respect for the clergy, had more than once the opportunity to humble himself: it happened that the monastery governors forbade him to receive visitors, they could even say a sarcastic word. And at the end of his days, Father John had to endure misunderstanding on the part of many former admirers, even to the point of being accused of treason - after he distributed the famous message about the Taxpayer Identification Number, which many were afraid to take, mistaking it for the seal of the Antichrist. Father John urged not to be afraid of numbers or cards, but to trust God completely: “Doesn’t the Lord know how to save His children from times of cruelty, as long as our hearts are faithful to Him.” He developed the same idea in private letters: “The seal will follow only a person’s personal renunciation of God, and not deception. There is no point in deception. The Lord needs our heart that loves Him.”
“To accept or not to accept an individual number - at one time it seemed that there was no more important problem in the Orthodox community,” recalls Archimandrite Zacchaeus (Wood), who visited Father John several times from the United States and considered him “an unquestioned spiritual authority.” “But on this issue too, the elder said his weighty word. Of course, it is grace from the Lord to know everything that concerns the lives of ordinary people living outside the walls of churches.” The fact that Archimandrite John has been since the early 1990s. practically never leaving the walls of the monastery, he was aware of everything that was happening outside, truly amazing, writes Father Zacchaeus. However, this may seem more understandable if we remember the flow of people and letters that passed through Father John’s cell every year.
The cell where Father John lived
The mystery of death
Father John reposed in the Lord on February 5, 2006, on the day of remembrance of the Council of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia - he himself considered this holiday one of the most significant for modern Russia. “The incessant persecutions in which the Universal Church was born seemed to have bypassed Russia,” the priest said in a famous sermon dedicated to this holiday shortly after its establishment, in 1994. “Rus' accepted Christianity ready-made, suffered by others, from the hands of its Great Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince- ruler Vladimir and grew into him with very small sacrifices. But could the Russian Church have avoided the path common to all Christians, outlined by Christ? They will lay their hands on you and persecute you, deliver you into prison, and lead leaders for My name's sake.(Luke 21:12). This God's definition of the Church has been clearly revealed since apostolic times. And for Russia, the hour of testing her faith, the hour of feat for Christ came in the 20th century, for it was not without Russia that the Universal Church had to achieve the fullness of spiritual age and perfection.”
Father John himself was such a confessor who went through these trials, was purified by them, and during his lifetime showed evidence of holiness.
Father John's departure from the world was gradual and similar to those that we find in the lives of the saints. Here are a few excerpts from the diary of his cell attendant.
“On December 2, 2004, Father John called me in the middle of the night and asked me to watch with him in prayer: “It will be difficult for you to survive if you find me in the morning already gone.” To my question: “What, have you already received a notification about this?” - He answered evasively: “I have already swam the river of my life and today I saw this.”
“On November 29, at two o’clock in the afternoon, the priest suddenly sang in delight: “Isaiah rejoice, the Virgin is with child...” and repeated this troparion several times.<…>Father John's face shone with an unearthly light. Quietly and detachedly, he said: “She came.” - Who? “The Queen of Heaven has come.”
“From December 18, Father John received communion daily.<…>Ten days later, on December 28, it became obvious that life was leaving. It was on that day that an order came from the printing house - audio discs of the priest’s sermons, united under the title “Blessed are the Dead, Dying in the Lord.” And someone’s hand, obeying a thought that looked into the future, wrote a decisive sentence on the boxes: “Funeral set.”<…>From December 30 to December 31, at 3:30 a.m., Father John became completely exhausted and, gathering his strength, loudly but calmly said three times: “I am dying.” They began to read the waste report. We lived until the morning.<…>While singing the Easter canon, the priest’s face changed.<…>So in the last minutes of earthly life, when the soul was ready to leave the decayed body, the Spirit of God stopped the separation.<…>At the end of the singing of Easter stichera in response to the exclamation: “Christ is Risen!” - everyone heard the quiet and confused whisper of the dying man: “Indeed, Vosk-rese!” At the second cry: “Christ is Risen!” - Father John raised his hand with effort, crossed himself and said more clearly: “Truly He is Risen!” And the supernatural powerful action of the Spirit of God in Father John became especially obvious to all those gathered in the cell when, at the third exclamation, he quietly but joyfully confirmed with his usual intonations the testimony of the Risen Christ: “Truly Christ is Risen!” - and firmly crossed himself.”
“On the morning of February 5, I was preparing for Communion. Early in the morning he was dressed: a white cassock, a festive stole. Exhaustion of strength was covered with sleepy languor. I measured my blood pressure, and it, without revealing my father’s secret preparations, was normal.<…>When asked whether we will take communion, there is a silent nod of the head. He took communion and drank<…>He closed his eyes and turned slightly to the right.<…>And at that moment I realized, I saw that the priest would not open his eyes anymore. He left. The mystery of death has been accomplished."
“Usually the Lord takes a person at the best moment of his life<…>“so that he does not lower his level,” said Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov, who knew Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) personally, “but here it’s the other way around: Father John long ago achieved Christian perfection and lived only for all of us. Such people used to be called the pillars of the Church.”
“I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it,” the Lord promised Peter (Matthew 16:18). And He preserves His Church, but not without human participation. Thanks to such rare and amazing people as Archimandrite John (Krestyankin), we, returning to the Church today, after several previous generations were raised in atheism and the continuity of faith was almost lost forever, we still have a place to return. This continuity has nevertheless been preserved.
Tomb of Archimandrite John (Peasant)
Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) February 5th, 2016
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The blessing of the Lord over Russia, over our holy Orthodox Church,
over the people of God and over us
».
(c) Archimandrite John
Among the famous priestsFather John Krestyankin occupies a special place in the 20th century. He left such a bright mark on himself that for thousands of people in Russia, even now that he is no longer on earth, one memory of this amazingly clear man, one glance at his photograph, a short excerpt from his sermon or letter, is enough to find the strength to move on. He was characterized by that special kindness and special optimism in life that is born of suffering experienced for the confession of faith, for devotion to the Church and closeness to Christ.
Original taken from filin_dimitry in the Book of the Living... ten years ago Archimandrite John Krestyankin passed away to the Lord...Ten years ago, Archimandrite John Krestyankin passed away to the Lord...
Childhood and youth
Father John said that he was the eighth and last child in the family of Oryol townspeople Mikhail Dmitrievich and Elisaveta Ilarionovna Krestyankin. Born on March 29 (April 11, New Style) 1910, then this day fell on Monday of the fifth week of Lent. Vanya was baptized in the temple of the holy prophet of God Elijah, which is popularly called the St. Nicholas Church. The baptism took place on March 31 (April 13, new style). That year it was the day of the Station of Mary of Egypt. The baby was baptized by priest Nikolai Azbukin. Paraskeva Ilarionovna Ovchinnikova, mother’s sister, became the godmother, and the elder brother, Alexander Mikhailovich Krestyankin, became the godfather.
From Father’s stories it became clear that love for all living things manifested itself in him from early childhood. He cried over the dead chicken, arranging a “Christian burial” for it, fed blind mice, protecting their lives from attacks by adult household members. " Lisa, why are you looking at him, just give him a break and that’s it. Breed mice in the house here! - Uncle was angry. But the mother protected not so much the mice as her son from the harsh, cruel sobriety of life, leaving in his heart the sprouts of pity and love for everything weak and offended.
The future elder of childhood served in the church, was a novice under the famous Oryol Archbishop Seraphim (Ostroumov) (future martyr, canonized in 2001). Already at the age of six he was a sexton, then served as a subdeacon. At the age of twelve he first expressed his desire to be a monk. In the elder’s biography this story is described as follows:
Yeletsk Bishop Nikolai (Nikolsky) said goodbye to pilgrims, leaving for a new place of service. The farewell was drawing to a close, and Subdeacon John also wanted to receive parting words for life from the bishop. He stood next to him and dared to touch his hand to attract attention. The Bishop leaned towards the boy (he was of small stature) with the question: “What should I bless you for?” And Vanya said in excitement: “I want to be a monk.” Putting his hand on the boy's head, the bishop paused, peering into his future. And he said seriously: “First you will finish school, work, then you will be ordained and serve, and in due time you will certainly become a monk.” Everything in life has been decided. The blessing of Bishop Nicholas (Nikolsky), confessor and martyr, outlined the lifestyle of Ivan Krestyankin in its entirety.
Later, this blessing was confirmed by Oryol Bishop Seraphim (Ostroumov).
In 1923, Vanya had a meeting that became a special milestone in his life. The headman of the Elias Church, Pyotr Semenovich Antoshin, invited Vanya to go to Moscow. Moscow with its shrines made a very deep impression on the thirteen-year-old boy. But most of all, I was inspired by the meeting at the Donskoy Monastery with His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon and the blessing received from him. The grace of the patriarchal office, the grace of confession, was vividly felt by the soul. Father, already in his old age, said that he still felt the palm of the holy Patriarch on his head.
Only in 1929 did Vanya graduate from school, which did not leave any lasting impressions. For, as the priest recalled, at that time he was completely absorbed in church life and understanding what was in conflict with it.
After graduating from school, having taken accounting courses, he began to work, still remaining a zealous pilgrim and church person. But it didn't take long to work. The fever of universal contrition affected both big and small. Frequent rush jobs at work disrupted all the rules of life, leaving almost no opportunity to attend religious services. And the young man, who was not essentially a rebel, suddenly objected: “ I am not the cause of your backwardness, nor am I a victim of its elimination.
».
The next morning an order for his dismissal was posted.
All attempts to get a job in my hometown were unsuccessful. Ivan Krestyankin was among the unreliable. But this was not an accident; the Lord turns even human mistakes into good if you trust His Providence.
The question arose, what to do next? And Ivan remembered his first visit to Moscow as a thirteen-year-old boy, its shrines, and his unforgettable meeting with the Patriarch. More and more often at home Vanya started talking about Moscow. Mom, not daring to answer her son’s question herself, sent him to Mother Vera (Loginova) to find out the will of God from the lips of the gracious old woman. Mother blessed Ivan to live in Moscow, and scheduled a meeting with her in the future on Pskov land. And these prophetic words of hers about Father John’s stay at the caves created by God came true more than forty years later. The memory of his heart kept the image of the old woman, and prayer for her and prayer to her accompanied him all his life.
Moscow priest
In Moscow, Ivan got a job as a chief accountant at a small enterprise. The team was mostly female, and very soon the young man began his first unspoken experiences of clergy. The employees developed such trust in Ivan Mikhailovich, as they called him, that they confided in him their family secrets and their experiences. Sometimes, having become too frank, they remembered that in front of them was a young man. They asked for forgiveness, but everything happened again and again.
Father recalled that at that time he rarely visited his native Oryol. In 1936, during his vacation, his mother became seriously ill. The vacation ended, but there was no recovery. It was necessary to make a choice between the need to leave and the desire to stay with my mother. Ivan, as always, went to the elder mother Vera (Loginova), and she, hiding her spiritual gifts, sent him to the pharmacist Ananyev: “ Doctor Ananyev, he, he will tell you everything " Ananiev, in his usual checkered pants and with a bicycle on the go, prescribed some kind of medicine, saying: “ Tomorrow at twelve forty you will come to me and tell me everything " The doctor, without knowing it, through the prayers of Mother Vera, uttered prophetic words. The next day, at exactly twelve o'clock forty minutes, mommy died. Having seen off his mother on her last journey, Ivan returned to Moscow.
The church life of the capital fascinated the young man. Moscow shrines, patronal feasts and holidays in honor of revered icons, the grace-filled services of clergy, future new martyrs and confessors - all this inspired life and called for action. Unanimous, like-minded friends appeared, united by the desire to serve God.
In 1939, everything changed in the most unexpected way. One day, returning home, Ivan could not knock on the door and, climbing from the street to the window, he saw the hostess lying on the floor. The arriving doctor, feeling sorry for the young man, told him: “ Pray, my dear, that she doesn’t lie around, she has paralysis ».
The Lord was merciful: three days later Ivan closed Anastasia Vasilievna’s eyes. Having buried her in a Christian manner and returning from the cemetery, he saw that his door was lined with knapsacks. Old women from all over the house brought their funeral bundles to him and for a long time pursued him with requests and testaments to bury them in the same way as Anastasia Vasilievna.
The result of his powerless life in Bolshoy Kozikhinsky Lane was that the housing office itself petitioned for the registration of Ivan Mikhailovich Krestyankin in the vacant room. So he became a Muscovite.
When the War began, Ivan was not taken to the front: an eye disease left him in the rear. He continued to work in Moscow. On July 20, 1944, Ivan Mikhailovich Krestyankin was released from civil service and became a psalm-reader in the Moscow Church of the Nativity in Izmailovo.
Six months later a dispatch arrived: Metropolitan Nikolai had summoned Ivan. The Bishop greeted him with the words: “ What did you do there? “Ivan was taken aback, thoughts were racing in his head: “ Did you complain?“He could not remember his guilt and was embarrassedly silent. " I'm asking you, what did you do there? “- the bishop repeated his question. Stuttering, Ivan said: “ I don't know, I didn't do anything " And then Metropolitan Nicholas said that for the first time in his entire hierarchal service, the rector of the church came to him with a petition to ordain a psalm-reader, who had not yet served a year in the church, as a deacon. And he conveyed the words of the archpriest’s father: “ Master, ordain him, let him squeak ».
On January 14, 1945, on the day of memory of Basil the Great, Metropolitan Nikolai ordained Ivan Krestyankin as a deacon in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ at the Vagankovskoye cemetery. The first day of Father John’s independent service as a deacon fell on the feast of St. Seraphim of Sarov, and the Gospel of Luke, which the young deacon read, fell on his heart as a formidable warning for the rest of his life: I send you out like lambs among wolves...
In October 1945, John passed exams for a theological seminary course as an external student, and on October 25, 1945, Patriarch Alexy I ordained him a priest. The young priest Father John remained to serve at the parish in Izmailovo, where they already recognized him.
The young priest's working day was filled to capacity. After the service, he went to church services in the homes of parishioners without fail and without complaint; at that time it was still possible. One day he stayed late in the church, and when he came to the call to give communion to the sick woman, it turned out that she did not wait for him and died. Instead of Communion, he served the first funeral litany over her. Father was upset. The old woman’s daughter consoled him, because they gave her communion every day. Returning from the deceased, Father John deepened in thought about everything that had happened: was it not his fault that he did not manage to find her alive?
He was brought out of his deep reverie by a woman standing at the gate of her house. She was hastily dressed and there were tears in her eyes. The priest, dressed in an ordinary coat with a cassock tucked under it, looked like a layman. He approached the woman with lively participation: “ What's happened?“And she, overcome with grief, spoke frankly about her young dying son. The mother's main sadness was that he never confessed or received communion. Father immediately expressed his readiness to enter this house of sorrow. Without undressing, so as not to reveal his rank, he sat down next to the sick man’s bed and, having become acquainted with him, began a friendly conversation, seemingly not concerning the young man personally. He spoke about the joy of faith, about the heaviness of an unrepentant soul. Neither the priest nor the patient kept track of time. They were already talking like close people. And from somewhere the young man gained strength, he began to ask questions, he began to talk about himself, about his mistakes, delusions, about his sins. It was already dark outside, and only the lamp near the icon illuminated the intimate conversation of two young people. We reached such an agreement that the patient became inspired by the desire to receive communion. The mother's light sobs could be heard behind the partition, but these were already tears of consolation. Father John opened his coat, threw it onto a chair and appeared before the sick man not as a simple interlocutor, but as a priest in an epitrachelion, with the Holy Gifts on his chest. There was no need to repeat the confession; it was all poured out in conversation. After reading the prayer of permission, Father John administered communion to the sick man.
So this was the Providence of God! The Lord called him not to the old woman, but to the young man with the Holy Gifts! And this was the answer to the mother’s tears and pleas. And the next day, in the morning, the mother of yesterday’s patient approached Father John in church and called the priest to her son’s tomb. Wonderful are Your works, O Lord!
In 1946, John was a sacristan in the revived Trinity-Sergius Lavra, but six months later he continued serving in the Izmailovo church. At the same time, he studied at the correspondence sector of the Moscow Theological Academy and wrote his thesis on the topic: “ Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, the Wonderworker and his significance for Russian religious and moral life of that time" However, shortly before his defense, in April 1950, he was arrested.
Conclusion
At the very first interrogation, which was conducted by the young investigator Ivan Mikhailovich Zhulidov, he introduced Ivan Mikhailovich Krestyankin to a solid case collected against him and blatant about his dissent. A complete surprise for Father John were the excerpts from his conversations with the old nun, whom he lovingly cared for both spiritually and financially. He went to her, drawing for himself from her rich spiritual experience the living water of the life lived in Christ. They did not specifically talk about politics, no, but they confidentially and openly touched upon everything that lived the soul during this period. They rejoiced, mourned, and were perplexed together. They both already knew the history of the Orthodox Church in its post-revolutionary period and, observing its present day, made predictions for the future. But it turned out that for some time now more than one Father John had been taking care of mother. Gas workers, electricians, or some agents periodically came to her, before whom she could not close the door. Not suspecting the true purpose of their visits, she accepted them cordially as concerns about her old age. This is where tape recordings of conversations between the old woman and Father John came from.
The denunciations, provocations, and slander that made up the case should, in the opinion of the investigator, force the simple-minded priest to change his view of the environment and people around him. And ideological opponents confronted each other. The assertiveness and toughness of investigator Ivan Mikhailovich Zhulidov was broken by the silent goodwill of Father John. And everything that happened could not darken the loving and trusting heart of God. When a priest, who carried out special assignments from the authorities, was invited to a confrontation, the priest with sincere joy rushed to kiss his brother. The same one, who agreed to work for two gentlemen, could not withstand the painful reproach of his conscience, slipped out of the embrace of Father John and, losing consciousness, fell at his feet.
And during the investigation, the priest received a life program for himself for the entire term of imprisonment. It was brief but comprehensive: “ Do not trust, do not fear, do not ask ».
For four months he was in pre-trial detention in Lubyanka and in Lefortovo prison, since August he was kept in Butyrka prison, in a cell with criminals. On October 8, 1950, he was sentenced under Article 58-10 of the Criminal Code (“anti-Soviet agitation”) to seven years in prison to be served in a maximum security camp. He was sent to the Arkhangelsk region, to Kargopollag at the Chernaya Rechka crossing.
The years of imprisonment were almost always recalled in the priest’s memory in connection with conversations and questions about prayer. " Now what a prayer - he used to say with a hint of bitterness, - prayer is best taught by harsh life. In conclusion, I had a true prayer, and this is because every day I was on the verge of death. Prayer was that insurmountable barrier through which the abominations of external life did not penetrate. It is impossible to repeat such a prayer now, in days of prosperity. Although the experience of prayer and living faith acquired there lasts a lifetime ».
On the Black River, the priest had to endure another serious temptation - the temptation to ease his own lot, the temptation of freedom. In the harsh winter, a call was announced in the camp to work on timber rafting. Those who wished were promised a good reward: their prison term would be halved. In thought, the priest began to pray: “ Longed for freedom! But is this God's way? Is this his mercy or the enemy's temptation? "And the Lord made His servant wise. Father John decided not to interfere with his desire in the Providence of God. He refused the offer. And time was not slow to confirm the correctness of this decision. Everyone who went to work did not have to reduce their sentences: their life span had expired.
In the spring of 1953, for health reasons and without his request, he was transferred to a separate disabled camp unit near Kuibyshev - Gavrilov Polyana, where he worked as an accountant. On February 15, 1955, he was released early.
Ten years on Ryazan land...
In 1957, Father John Krestyankin was brought to Ryazan land. Initially, he was the second priest in the Trinity Church in the village of Trinity-Pelenitsa.
In December 1959, Father John became the second priest of the Church of Cosmas and Damian in the village of Letovo. The rector was Father John Smirnov (future Bishop Gleb). People called them Ivan the Big and Ivan the Little. The priest spent two and a half years in this parish.
In Letov, Father John began to take special care of the believers in those surrounding areas where the churches were destroyed. On the patronal feast of the no longer existing house of God, the priest went to that village, to those pilgrims who were deprived of the joy of church services. In every village where a temple once stood, Father John had his own “ commissioners for ecclesiastical affairs " Mostly these were old women who were preparing their hut for the priest’s arrival, and the village grannies for receiving the Sacraments and for the service.
How blessed these holidays were, these meetings with God’s people. Old, wrinkled faces, a meager, difficult life. But from under the white handkerchiefs the clear eyes of mothers and sisters looked out at the world, who had not lost their living faith and living prayer to God, and often it was the Jesus Prayer.
By the arrival of the priest in the hut " authorized"The pilgrims gathered. Large basins with sand were completely filled with burning wax candles, almost everyone kept their apiaries, and the priest brought incense. The service began with a prayer service to the patron of the temple that once existed here. All those gathered sang in senile, rattling voices, but with great enthusiasm. After the prayer service, Confession, Unction and Communion were performed, and the prayer ended with a requiem service - all for the urgent needs of God’s people. And what confessions there were! The old women washed away their childhood misdeeds and pranks with tears.
1961 became a year of intense confrontation for the Church. Local religious affairs commissioners were zealous in implementing the directives given from above. And the enemy of the human race, who began a new pogrom of Christianity through those in power, did not lag behind the rulers, inspiring atrocities against the Church and the believers. Rural youth - Komsomol members - were involved in the fight against the priest and in keeping an eye on him. The “activists” with reckless abandon began to vigorously disturb parish life. During services, noisy celebrations now took place near the church, and billiard balls flew over the heads of worshipers with the sound of broken glass. Their own grandmothers took it upon themselves to pacify their grandchildren. The noise stopped, but the priests began to receive threatening letters, ugly in form and content.
On the night of January 1, 1961, shadows in masks and robes entered the priest's house, located on the outskirts, not far from the church. After mocking him with a demand for the keys to the church and money, and having received the answer that he had neither one nor the other, the enraged visitors tied his hands to his legs behind his back, stuffed a cape into his mouth and staged a search-pogrom, accompanied by obscene language and beatings of the bound man. . When the fruitless search ended, a sentence was passed - to kill the witness. Mocking the faith of the priest, he was thrown bound in front of the icons " beg for heaven " Lying on his side, the priest raised his eyes to the image of John the Theologian standing in the center, and lost himself in prayer. He didn’t remember how long he prayed, but when dawn broke, he heard movement in the room. Alexey fell to him, thinking that the priest was dead, but, making sure that he was alive, with trembling hands he began to unwind the wire that had dug into his body. Without immediately coming to his senses, he freed the priest’s mouth from the rag. Together they quickly put the ruined room in order, thanking the Lord: The Lord punished me and did not put me to death .
And in the morning the priest served. And everyone in the church noted with surprise the unusual beginning of the service. Father began the service with a thanksgiving prayer and remembered his night visitors, whose names “ You, Lord, weigh yourself " And almost no one understood that he was praying for the thieves who they don't know what they're doing .
In the spring of 1966, by decree of the bishop, Father John was transferred from Nekrasovka to the small town of Kasimov. The energetic headman of the only St. Nicholas church in the city managed to break the resistance of the commissioner and ensure that a well-known active priest in the diocese, Father John Krestyankin, was appointed rector of the church.
About Father John Krestyankin and especially about the period of his service in the Ryazan diocese there are Memoirs of Archpriest Vladimir Pravdolyubov, who had the opportunity to concelebrate with the future elder.
Elder
Father John arrived at the Holy Dormition Pskovo-Pechersky Monastery on March 5, 1967, on the day of remembrance of the Venerable Martyr Cornelius, together with his academic friend, Bishop Pitirim (Nechaev).
Father John's first monastic obedience was serving as a weekly priest. And very, very soon the meaning of the word “ dangle"was revealed by life itself. Frequent trips to rural parishes became the priest’s lot. And in his cell, as a constant reminder that God had determined such a life for him, a cast of an angel appeared under the ceiling. And every time, tired, he fell in exhaustion, prophetic words sounded encouragingly in his mind: “ You'll be wandering around all your life ».
Father John had to spend very little time in prayerful solitude. A little more than a year passed, and pilgrims flocked to the monastery from the parishes where he once served. The Pecheryans did not remain indifferent to him. And the time came when pilgrims from all over the world went to the monastery.
Immediately after the end of the Liturgy, the reception began. In the altar, issues with the visiting clergy were resolved, in the choir the attendants who had arrived with the priests waited their turn, local parishioners and visiting pilgrims waited in the church. The priest was leaving the church surrounded by many people when it was time for lunch. But even on the street belated questioners and curious people ran up, whose attention was attracted by the gathered crowd. And the curious, having become curious, found in the center of the crowd, first an attentive listener, and in the future a spiritual father.
He prayed at night, but how long he slept, he kept silent about it. He kept silent about himself, but the advice regarding the length of the night's rest was definite. The priest recommended that monastics adhere to the rule of St. Seraphim of Sarov - sleep for seven hours: three hours before midnight from nine to twelve and one hour after midnight (the clock goes two hours before midnight). At his place, the reception of visitors often lasted long after midnight.
The first eight years of his stay in the monastery, under the abbot Father Alypius, were defined by the priest in these words: “ The fear of God and love for God were the inhabitants’ guides in life " The pressure from outside, which was exercised by the atheistic authorities, was resisted by the brethren of the monastery together with their governor. Gathered to the monastery at the call of God, they all went through difficult life trials, some through war, some through imprisonment and exile, and some literally wandered through the mountains and gorges of the earth.
In 1970, on the feast of Holy Easter, Father John was elevated to the rank of abbot. Father, sincerely embarrassed by his unworthiness, said: “ No, no, life has not yet taught me to wear a golden cross on my chest with dignity. " And in 1973, on the feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, they put a miter on him, elevating him to the rank of archimandrite. They read a prayer over his head, but he had only one thought: “ Lord, what am I going to do about this? “His spirit became completely timid, as he explained: “ They didn’t give me what I deserved, but someone needed to get out, so I became needed as an archimandrite. And they put a miter on me, like on a blank, but it’s only supposed to be after forty years, and then for special merits ».
Father John resisted the impending weakness for a long time. Until 1999, his routine differed little from the statutory monastic life. He prayed in church, served the Liturgy on holidays, received visitors, preached sermons obediently, and answered letters. He eagerly rejoiced at the sacramental teaching of the dean’s father, who blessed him to preach such sermons, which eventually formed a year-long circle of teachings for major holidays. Seeing this external side of the priest’s life, we forgot that he is 89 years old, and what he does is already beyond human capabilities. In 1999, for the last time, the catechetical word of John Chrysostom, read by the priest, and his rejoicing with unearthly joy, sounded with inspiration in the church on Easter for the last time. Christ is Risen! »
Since 2000, Father John has often spoken about his dual citizenship, that he is already more a citizen of heaven than of earth. He testified to the same thing with his life. And on his 90th birthday he announced publicly for the first time: “ The soul already yearns for heaven and loves it more than earth ».
In 2000, Russian President Vladimir Putin was on a visit to the Pskov region, visited the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery and had a conversation with Father Archimandrite John (Krestyankin). A rare photograph remains from this time.
In 2001, Father John spoke out against the campaign to refuse to accept the TIN, which took place in church and parachurch circles. The campaigners justified their position, in particular, by the fact that people are given a number instead of their Christian name. In his address to the believers, Archimandrite John wrote:
My dears, how did we succumb to panic - to lose our Christian name, replacing it with a number? But how can this happen in the eyes of God? Will someone forget himself and his heavenly patron given at the moment of baptism at the Cup of Life? And don’t we remember all those clergy, lay Christians who for a long period of life had to forget their names and surnames, they were replaced by a number, and many went into eternity with a number. And God accepted them into His Fatherly embrace as holy martyrs and martyrs, and the white robes of victory hid the prisoner’s pea coats. There was no name, but God was there, and His guidance led the believing prisoner through the shadow of death every day. The Lord has no concept of a person as a number, a number is needed only by modern computer technology, but for the Lord there is nothing more valuable than a living human soul, for the sake of which He sent His Only Begotten Son, Christ the Savior. And the Savior entered the world with a census.
From the notes of the cell attendant:
In 2001 " Easter Father" - that was the name of the inhabitants of the monastery; for the last time in his life he served Easter Matins and Liturgy in the church. But God’s mercy visited him during Easter night services and later and regardless of the church calendar.
So, on December 29, 2000, he served the Easter service at night in his heavenly monastery. And in the morning he could not hide the exceptionality of his condition, greeting me with an Easter greeting: « Christ is Risen!
»
Continuing to live with the feelings and experiences of the past night, he spoke about unearthly grace, when everything rejoiced: heaven, earth, and everyone, everyone who was honored to be at this divine service. « What a joy, what a joy! Christ is Risen!
»
- the priest repeated and repeated.
It was from this day that the first words that he uttered in the morning, waking up from sleep, were: “ Christ is Risen! »
On August 26, 2003, at night, Father John exclaimed very loudly three times: « The world is dying! The world is dying! The world is dying! »
On September 6, 2003, at three o’clock in the morning, Father John called out to me and, when I approached, he made an exclamation in a strong and cheerful voice: « The blessing of the Lord over Russia, over our holy Orthodox Church, over the people of God and over us " This was an undeniable statement. He spoke by the Spirit. And it was the voice of God.
Dying
From the cell attendant's notes:
On February 5, 2005, in an instant, for no apparent reason, during prayer, a deathly pallor, like a shroud, covered him. Heavy drops of cold sweat soaked his cassock. I screamed desperately: « What, are you going to die? “A faint shadow of life slid across the priest’s face, and he barely audibly whispered: « No, no, I'll live a little longer ».
On November 29, at two o’clock in the afternoon, the priest suddenly sang in delight: « Isaiah rejoice, thou hast a virgin with child... - and repeated this troparion several times. The nurse present in the cell joined in his singing. Father John's face shone with an unearthly light. Quietly and detachedly he said:
- I came.
- Who?
- The Queen of Heaven came.
From December 18, Father John received communion daily.
On the morning of February 5, 2005, I was preparing for Communion. Early in the morning he was dressed: a white cassock, a festive stole. Everything happened in complete silence. When asked whether we will take communion, there is a silent nod of the head. He took communion and drank. Father Filaret read: « Now dost thou release thy servant, O Master...
- and left for the late Liturgy.
Father closed his eyes and turned slightly to the right.
Half past nine. Fifteen minutes later the bell rang for the service, and the festive ringing filled the cell. Father closed his eyes...
Father John walked his last journey through the monastery, from his cell to the church, in a coffin with his face open and a cross raised high above the coffin in his hands.
Lord, through the prayers of Father John, have mercy on us, your unworthy servants!
Archimandrite John (in the world Ivan Mikhailovich Krestyankin) was born on April 11, 1910 in the city of Orel in a large family, he was the eighth and last child. Since childhood, Vanya served in the church, already at the age of six he was a sexton, then served as a subdeacon. At the age of twelve he first expressed his desire to be a monk. In the elder’s biography, this story is stated as follows.
Yeletsk Bishop Nikolai said goodbye to pilgrims, leaving for a new place of service. The farewell was drawing to a close, and Subdeacon John Krestyankin also wanted to receive parting words for life from the bishop. He touched his arm to get his attention. The Bishop leaned towards the boy with the question: “What should I bless you for?” And Vanya said in excitement: “I want to be a monk.” Putting his hand on the boy's head, the bishop paused, peering into his future. And he said seriously: “First you will finish school, work, then you will be ordained and serve, and in due time you will certainly become a monk.” Everything in life turned out that way.
In 1929, Ivan Krestyankin graduated from high school, and then received a professional education in accounting courses. He worked in his specialty in Orel, but frequent overtime work prevented him from going to church, and when he opposed such orders, he was immediately fired. For some time he could not find a job and in 1932 he moved to Moscow, where he became the chief accountant in a small enterprise. Work did not prevent him from attending services. Soon Ivan entered the circle of Orthodox young people, discussed issues of spiritual life with them, and this friendship strengthened him even more in his intention to follow the spiritual path.
In 1944, he became a psalm-reader at the Moscow Church of the Nativity in Izmailovo, and in 1945 he was ordained a deacon at the same parish, and soon a priest.
Father John served with enthusiasm, preached with inspiration, treated parishioners with love and extraordinary attention - and for this reason aroused suspicion and persecution by the authorities. The “excessive activity” of a priest in those days was a reason for fabricating a criminal case.
Simultaneously with serving in the church, Father John studied in absentia at the Moscow Theological Academy, wrote a candidate's thesis on the topic “Reverend Seraphim of Sarov, the Wonderworker and his significance for Russian religious and moral life of that time.” However, shortly before his defense, in April 1950, he was arrested and was in pre-trial detention in Lubyanka and Lefortovo prison.
The priest immediately confused the assertive and tough investigator with his goodwill. Without reacting in any way to anger and rudeness, he behaved simply and openly and, moreover, rejected slander and did not take on unnecessary blame. When a priest, recruited by the authorities, was brought to him for a confrontation, Father John was so sincerely delighted and rushed to greet him so heartily that he could not withstand the reproach of his conscience and, losing consciousness, fell...
Since August 1950, Father John was kept in Butyrka prison, in a cell with criminals. Here he became especially immersed in prayer, thanks to which he always maintained a good mood and a cordial attitude towards others. His inner concentration was noticed, but not understood by the guards, so that during walks in the prison yard, one could sometimes hear from the tower: “Prisoner number such and such! Walk without hesitation!”
In October, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for “anti-Soviet agitation” to be served in a maximum security camp. He was sent to the Arkhangelsk region, to Kargopollag. At first, Father John worked in a logging camp. Living and working conditions there were extremely difficult, but this is how Father John himself recalled his internal state at that time:
“Prayer is best taught by harsh life. In conclusion, I had a true prayer, and this is because every day I was on the verge of death. Prayer was that insurmountable barrier through which the abominations of external life did not penetrate. It is impossible to repeat such a prayer now, in days of prosperity. Although the experience of prayer and living faith acquired there remains for life.”
In the camp, Father John was remembered by many for the inner strength emanating from him and the constancy of his goodness. One of the prisoners recalled:
“I remember how he walked with his light, swift gait - not walking, but flying - along the wooden walkways to our barracks. His pale, thin face was directed somewhere forward and upward. I was especially struck by his sparkling eyes - the eyes of a prophet. But when he spoke to you, his eyes, his whole face radiated love and kindness. And in what he said there was attention and participation; there could also be a fatherly instruction, brightened with gentle humor. He loved a joke..."
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His kindness of heart impressed everyone, and even criminals treated him warmly and called him “our dad.” Father John himself saw in them not criminals, but people crippled by their own sin. He felt pity for the unfortunate people, prayed for them, and most of them were friendly towards the young priest, feeling in him the depth of his Christian love for people, unknown to them. Remembering that time many years later, already as an old man, Father John wrote: “I would like to pray and ask you for the gift of love. So that love is the compass that will show the right direction in any situation and turn any person into a friend. This was also verified by me, even in exile.”
When asked if he was offended by rudeness and unfair treatment, which was enough in prison, the priest responded wonderfully: “When can you be offended? I don’t have enough time for love to waste it on grudges.”
Hard work in logging undermined his health, and in the spring of 1953, Father John, without his request, was transferred to a disabled camp unit. In 1955 he was released early.
And then there were years of work in various parishes of the Pskov and Ryazan dioceses, and everywhere the priest carried the light of Christ’s love, which warmed everyone around him. He did not stay anywhere for long: frequent transfers from one parish to another (6 parishes in 10 years) were associated with the attitude of the authorities, who, as before, did not want an active priest.
In 1966, he became a monk with the name John and was soon transferred to the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery, where he lived the last forty years of his life. In 1970 he was ordained hegumen, and since 1973 he has been an archimandrite.
Almost immediately after Father John settled in Pechory, people began to come to him for advice and spiritual guidance from all over the country and from abroad. And, of course, his numerous former parishioners strove for him.
Every day, immediately after the Liturgy, he began the reception and continued it, with short breaks for meals, until late in the evening, and sometimes even after midnight. He did not walk around the monastery, but almost ran - however, lingering near everyone who sought his attention, and for this they called him with good humor “a fast train with all the stops.” When the priest was in a hurry, not having time to ask questions and talk for a long time, he sometimes immediately began to answer a question that had been prepared but had not yet been asked to him, and thereby involuntarily revealed his amazing insight.
Archimandrite John was revered by all Orthodox Russia as an elder spiritual father. The time of his ascetic life, when he received and consoled dozens of people every day, lasted more than thirty years, almost until he was 90 years old.
There are mentors who are reserved and some who are stern. And Father, as those who saw him at least once remember, was all love and joy...
Since childhood, he was in poor health, often sick, always malnourished, he never felt sorry for himself and even simply did not take care of himself. And he lived for 95 years, and until the age of 90 he was strong and still served. God (2 Cor. 12:9) and that says it all. Father John himself, shortly before his death, said this: “Divine love, settled in a small, weak human heart, will make it great, and strong, and fearless before all the evil of a world maddened by apostasy from God. And the power of God will overcome everything in us.”
In recent years, due to illness, Father John almost did not receive visitors, but he received many letters from all over the world and answered many of them - either himself or with the help of his cell attendants.
The elder died on February 5, 2006, and was buried in the caves of the Assumption Pskov-Pechersky Monastery.
They call him “the elder of all Rus',” remembering the amazing kindness and love that came from him.
Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) was one of the most revered modern clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church at the turn of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. In absentia he was called the “All-Russian Elder.” The legacy he left for his descendants touches the soul. Back in the mid-90s, already at a fairly advanced age, the Monk John Krestyankin very willingly received visitors from all over Russia who came to him at the Pskov-Pechersk monastery. This closeness made it very clear to us. In the last years of his life, he enjoyed sharing his memories. Therefore, we are very lucky that we know more about Father John than about others and confessors who suffered martyrdom in those places from which the future archimandrite was destined to return.
Confession of John Krestyankin
People who were lucky enough to meet Father John at least once have the most heartfelt and pleasant memories of him. They tell how he enthusiastically performed church services and how he always walked out of the church, surrounded by a crowd of old and young people who sometimes came just to see him. How Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) walked rapidly, as if he were flying, while still managing to answer questions and distribute gifts intended for himself. How he warmly received his spiritual children in his cell, seating them on an old sofa, and in a couple of minutes of conversation the person’s doubts and worries immediately disappeared. At the same time, the elder gave icons, spiritual books and brochures, generously sprinkled holy water and anointed with “oil.” After such spiritual nourishment, it is impossible to imagine what kind of spiritual uplift people felt when they returned to their home.
Caring for your spiritual children
In the corner of Father John’s cell there was a bag of letters, to which he answered with his own hand. Only a few months before his death, cell attendant Tatyana Sergeevna Smirnova helped him answer messages. Even on Father John’s last Christmas, his spiritual children also received such familiar and such sweet cards with personal congratulations.
John Krestyankin. Sermons
It was not for nothing that he was called the “All-Russian Elder”, because he had the gift of foresight, and there is plenty of evidence for this. Elder John Krestyankin endured torture in the camps under Soviet rule and miraculously escaped death several times. He became the author of numerous and very inspired sermons, which today have sold millions of copies. John Krestyankin seemed to know in advance that many people from the generation of the 70s would begin their path to the Orthodox faith with them and how much they would need them. In one of the first books, John Krestyankin begins his construction of confession by explaining the main secret that all believers need to know. It was revealed to us by Jesus Christ Himself, and it is contained in the words of Holy Scripture: “Without Me you can do nothing.”
The perspicacious elder was an extraordinary man of prayer, since in his prayers he always mentioned those people with whom he had the opportunity to meet at least once.
short biography
Vanya was born in the city of Orel in 1910 on April 11 (March 29, old style), in the middle-class family of the Peasants (Mikhail and Elizabeth). And he was already their eighth child. He received his name in honor of St. John the Hermit, since he was born on the day of his memory. However, it is also interesting that on this day the memory of the Pskov-Pechersk holy fathers Mark and Jonah is also honored. And this is probably no coincidence, since he would then live for about forty years in the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery, where he would become famous as a perspicacious old man.
Vanya's father died very early, and his mother raised him. Relatives helped the family, including their uncle, the merchant Alexandrovich.
From the age of 6, the boy served in the church, and already at 12 he expressed a desire to become a monk, but this will happen much later.
In 1929, after graduating from secondary school, Ivan Krestyankin went to study accounting courses. Then he began working in his specialty in Orel. But in his heart he always wanted to serve God. He had a lot of work, and because of this, he often did not have time for church services, therefore, with the advice of Elder Vera Loginova, he was forced to quit and in 1932 he moved to Moscow. Then the war began. He was not taken to the front because of poor eyesight.
Moscow. Post-war years
In Moscow in July 1944, Ivan Krestyankin became a psalm-reader at the Izmailovsky Church. It was this temple that the future archimandrite saw in a dream. After 6 months, John Krestyankin was ordained a deacon, and after 9 months he became a priest with the blessing of Patriarch Alexy I.
After the war, a powerful revival of the Orthodox Church began, and more and more believers flocked to churches. At that time, people more than ever needed special sensitivity and compassion, as well as material assistance. Father John devoted himself completely to serving the church and people and at the same time studied by correspondence at the Moscow Theological Academy. Then he began to write a Ph.D. thesis about the holy wonderworker Seraphim of Sarov, but did not have time, because in 1950 he was arrested.
Camp
He spent several months of pre-trial detention in and on Lubyanka. He was sentenced to 7 years for anti-Soviet agitation and sent to a maximum security camp in the Arkhangelsk region. At first he felled wood in the camp, and in the spring of 1953 he was transferred to the disabled ward of the camp near Kuibyshev in Garilova Polyana, where he began working as an accountant. In the winter of 1955, Father John was released early.
Fellow prisoner Vladimir Kabo recalled how his eyes and whole face radiated kindness and love, especially when he spoke to someone. In all his words there was great attention and participation, sometimes there was also a fatherly instruction, brightened with gentle humor. Reverend Father John Krestyankin really loved to joke, and there was something of an intellectual in these manners.
Pskov diocese
When he was released, he was strictly forbidden to return to Moscow. Therefore, he began to serve in the Pskov diocese of the Trinity Cathedral. The authorities kept a vigilant eye on Father John's active church activities and again began to threaten arrest. Then he left Pskov and continued serving in the Ryazan diocese.
And so on June 10, 1966, he became a monk with the name John. In 1967 I transferred him to the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery.
Reverend Elder
John Krestyankin lived in this monastery until his death. At first he was the abbot of the monastery, and since 1973 - the archimandrite. A year later, believers even from abroad began to come to his monastery. Everyone loved the elder very much for his high spirituality and wisdom.
In 2005, 95-year-old Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) was awarded the Church Order of St. Seraphim of Sarov, 1st degree. At the same age, the elder introduced himself; it was February 5, 2006. His body rests in the caves of the Pskov-Pechersk monastery.
"Unholy Saints"
In his book “Unholy Saints and Other Stories” he very captivatingly and interestingly describes fragments of the life and cases of insight of the famous all-Russian elder and preacher John Krestyankin.
In 2007, he even created a documentary film called “Pskov-Pecherkaya Monastery.” In his film, he used unique documentary footage from 1986, which captured the great ascetics still alive, who spent most of their time in persecution. Among them was John Krestyankin. As they strived for a great feat, they preserved the treasures of faith.
In conclusion, it would be appropriate to recall the words of Archimandrite John (Krestyankin): “It sometimes happens that a person begins to languish and yearn for no reason. This means that his soul became bored with a pure life, felt its sinfulness, was tired of the noise and bustle, and began (often unconsciously) to seek God and communication with him.”
And reasoning with advice
Temptations of time, tax identification number, new documents
- 70 years of captivity could not but leave its mark on people. Captivity is over, but a new misfortune is on the doorstep - freedom and permissiveness to all evil
- Experience shows that those who came to the Throne from rock music cannot serve for salvation... Some cannot stand at the throne at all, and some sink to the bottom of hell with iniquities such as they did not do before taking holy orders
- Some publish religious literature on computers, while others create disgrace. And, using the same technique, some are saved, while others die here on earth
- Turning to bioenergetics is turning to the enemy of God
- You cannot simultaneously take in the Blood and Body of the Lord and urine. There is no blessing from the Church for treatment with urine
- Take the cards: you are not yet asked about your faith and are not forced to renounce God
- The seal will appear when he reigns and gains power, and there will be one and only ruler on earth, and now each state has its own head. And therefore, do not panic prematurely, but fear now the sins that open and angle the path for the future Antichrist
Sorrow, illness, old age
- The time has come when a person is saved only through sorrow. So, everyone needs to bow down to their feet and kiss their hands.
- We must seek not joy, but what contributes to the salvation of the soul
- One does not come down from the Cross given by God - one takes it off
- The fact that you grieve is good, it is a kind of prayer. Just don’t allow any grumbling
- In conclusion, I had a true prayer - and this is because every day I was on the verge of death
- The last believers will be greater in the eyes of God than the first, who have accomplished more feats unthinkable for our time
- Illnesses - God's permission - contribute to the good of man. They slow down our crazy rush through life and make us think and seek help. As a rule, human help is powerless, is depleted very quickly, and the person turns to God
- We must fulfill the requirements of age, they are given to us from above, and whoever resists them resists God’s determination for us.
- Congregate, confess and take communion - and with God, give yourself to the doctors. Doctors and medicines are from God, and they are given to us to help
God, His Providence and Salvation
- The world is ruled only by the Providence of God. This is the salvation of a believer and this is the strength to endure earthly sorrows
- God does not consult with anyone and does not give an account to anyone. One thing is certain: everything He does is good for us, one goodness, one love
- Without everything, everything is scary and life itself is not life.
- Life is especially difficult now, and do you know why? Yes, because they have completely moved away from the Source of life - from God
- It is important not What do, but How and in the name Whom. This is salvation
- There are no obstacles for those who wish to be saved at all times, for those who wish to be saved are led along the path of salvation by the Savior Himself
Family, raising children, abortion, work and study
- If your feelings include the apostolic definition of love (1 Cor. 13), then you will not be far from happiness
- By the command of God, you should both receive the first and most important blessing for creation from your parents. They are given sacramental knowledge about their children, bordering on providence
- You need to know the canons of the church: a possible age difference of plus or minus 5 years, more is unacceptable
- For each - according to the will of the mother of the unborn - baby, those others whom she gives birth to “to her joy” will reward her with sorrows, illnesses, and emotional distress.
- If the votes are divided at the family council, then the spouse’s voice should be taken as the head
- You must treat work as obedience, and professionally always be at the proper level, and not below average
- Studying in order to kill time is a sin. Time must be treasured
Monasticism
- You need to go to a monastery not because your family has collapsed, but because your heart burns with the desire to be saved the hard way and serve God undividedly.
- With the Lord, both saving and honest marriage is praiseworthy. And each person chooses for himself. But both are crucifixion, that’s for sure.
- It is appropriate for a monk to fight temptations on the spot: in a new place the same demon will take up arms against you with redoubled force, rightfully so, for he has already once won a victory over you, driving you out of the place of battle
Eldership, clergy, priesthood
- The elders you are looking for do not exist today. Because there are no novices, but only co-questioners
- retreats when they don’t accept God’s the first time, and then becomes silent
- I don’t see the point or benefit of thinking for you in everything and leading you like a blind man by the hand: you will become relaxed
- Go to church, go to confession, ask many people about issues that concern you. And only when you understand that out of many one is the closest to your soul, will you turn only to him
- A minister of the Church needs a companion-assistant, not a hindrance
- It is not appropriate for a priest to act - this is a grave sin for him
- His Holiness Patriarch Alexy I (he ordained Father John - Ed.) said: “Do everything that is written in the Trebnik, and endure everything that comes along with it. And you will be saved"
Orthodox Church, preaching Orthodoxy
- If it had been planted with a fist, then it would not have been on earth long ago
- There is no need to talk to others about God when they do not yet have the inclination to hear about Him. You will provoke them to blasphemy
- Faith will come to your spouse in response to your labors and wise behavior with him in everything
- Let us not flatter ourselves with the thought that we can be more just than the Lord, but let us listen to His commands given to us by the Holy Apostles and Holy Fathers, and this obedience will be salutary for us and useful for our loved ones
- Be afraid to fall away from the Mother Church: she alone is holding back the lava of anti-Christian revelry in the world now!
