Archpriest Valerian Krechetov: A confessor must be ready to go to hell for his children. "The disease cannot be cured without the spiritual correction of a person." Archpriest Valerian Krechetov on illnesses and overcoming them Where the elder's conversations take place
To the 80th anniversary of Archpriest Valerian Krechetov
Meetings with Fr. Valerian Krechetov is always amazing, they give spiritual support, cure despondency, fill our existence with meaning. As a wise confessor, relying on the teachings of the Holy Church and his own deep spiritual experience, he helps people find the main thing, get out of the swamp of sin, passion, and simply tell you how to be in this or that life situation.
.... The excitement began already at the entrance to the Cinema House on Vasilyevskaya, the posters of which spoke about the upcoming presentation of a documentary film about Fr. Valerian "Love does not seek its own ..." and about the presence of the priest himself at this evening. People were ready to stand in the aisles, sit on the steps and hang on to his every word through the open doors, even when they were in the foyer.
Batiushka was born on April 14, 1937, at the height of the repressions. His paternal grandmother, Maria Arsenievna Morozova, came from the Old Believer merchant family of the Morozovs. She was a very religious person, a model wife, mother and Christian. With their father, Mikhail Krechetov, they got married in the settlement after prison - it was a feat, because he was a political prisoner, "an enemy of the people." Later, the mother achieved the rehabilitation of her father, reached Stalin.
In the Solovetsky camp, my father sat together with Bishop Theodosius (Ganitsky), who in 2006 was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church in the face of saints as a priest. Once, when my father asked me what to do, Vladyka advised me to rely on the will of God. "I relied." “Why did you come to me? It's in the best hands."
The war began, mother was left alone with three children. A letter written to the front, in which she said that she would wait for any husband (“wherever you are, whatever happens to you, even without arms, without legs, I will find you and bring you back”), father , as a guarding prayer, carried in his pocket throughout the war.
About the war and the post-war years of his childhood, Fr. Valerian still remembers: “Sometimes now you can hear: “There is nothing”. Yes, you do not know what "there is nothing to eat." You don’t just want to eat, and “there is nothing to eat” is nothing to eat at all. This is it, God forbid."
Brought up in the spirit of love for God, little Valery began to serve in the church from the age of six. It was the 43rd year, the war. He sang and read, and he began to read both in Russian and in Church Slavonic at the same time. “I fell to the icon of the Mother of God and asked Her for only one thing: Mother of God, make me worthy to serve Your Son and my God. Nobody knew about this, it was my childish prayer, - the elder barely holds back his tears, uttering these words. “Well, as you can see, I serve.”
The Krechetovs were neither pioneers nor members of the Komsomol, however, in the characteristic after the 10th grade, Valery wrote: he enjoys the respect and love of his classmates.
If a person thinks about serving God all the time, then everything else will definitely fall into place. O. Valerian cites the words of the confessor of the Athos monastery Philotheus, Fr. John: “When we walk towards the light, our shadow follows us. The shadow is everything earthly. Go to the light and everything earthly will be given to you as your shadow. If you turn away and chase after the shadow, after the earthly, then you will leave the light, but you will not catch up with the shadow either.
“My father, who became a priest at the age of 54, always told me: “Priestly service is service, and you just have to have a profession, you never know what you have to do in life. Many of the apostles were fishermen, each had some kind of profession.” Once my father said that anyone who is going to be a priest should be ready for prison. “I was getting ready. God has been merciful."
At the beginning of his ministry, Fr. Valerian did not know which path to choose - family or monastic. Asked for advice from Fr. Cyril (Pavlov). He said: "Pray - the Lord will show you." On the same day, he met his future wife. On the difficulties of family life, Fr. Valerian, with his usual amazing sense of humor, says: “I lived with my mother-in-law for 35 years. Anyone who lives with a mother-in-law knows what an important moment this is. I got so much - no academy will give so much. School of humility - I was a very proud, obstinate person. And the Lord said: the recalcitrant are sent on the way to the recalcitrant. My mother-in-law, the Kingdom of Heaven to her (the spiritual daughter of Fr. Sergius Mechev, talked a lot about him), was a man of strong will. But I well remembered the testament of my mother: “Valya, be quiet. Do not dare to answer the elders. And fulfilling her covenant, I just rolled like cheese in butter. And I recommend this to anyone. Among the two, whoever yields first is right.”
God gave o. Valerian has five sons, two daughters and 35 grandchildren so far. Huge experience. One day a young mother calls him - what to do, father, the child is crying. The child is 9 months old - teeth are being cut, it's time. It is painful, and nothing can be done, only endure. “A very important medical moment,” says Fr. Valerian - when the disease is not treated, it must be endured. Just like your neighbor: if nothing works out, be patient. This is the law. By the way, very helpful.
I would like to quote the following half-joking reflections of the priest almost verbatim, they are so relevant and instructive: “A person is born and immediately begins to eat. He doesn't have teeth yet, but he eats. Teeth appear - he eats. Then the teeth begin to fall out, and the person continues to eat. All teeth can fall out, but the person still eats. That is, it turns out that he eats all the time, from birth to death. He doesn't have teeth all the time. This means that their main purpose is not for this - he can eat without teeth. But when do teeth start to come out? Before the person starts talking. So that's what they are for - to keep your mouth shut! And if they do not hold their tongue, then what are they for? The first causes of tooth loss are that they do not hold the tongue well. And how expensive it is to repair a tooth! Now I understand: silence is golden. And it's not a joke. For example, if you open your mouth with your mother-in-law or mother-in-law, then you have to part ways with them. And it's expensive. Keep quiet, and everything is cheaper.”
Batiushka has to travel a lot: “I find a lot of instructive things. As a chicken pecks at a seed, so everywhere you can find spiritual benefit. Here, for example, is a parable. Two friends quarreled, one hit the other. The one who was hit wrote in the sand: “Today a friend hit me.” After a while, the one who was hit began to sink. A friend, forgetting about the quarrel, rushed and saved him. Then the rescued carved on the stone: "Today my friend saved my life." Resentment must be written in the sand so that it is dispelled, and goodness must be carved in stone. If someone has done good to you, remember it, and when you have done good, forget it.
“The most important thing is the salvation of the soul. It can only be achieved by cleansing from sins. And the Lord forgives sins. But He forgives the one who forgives others: and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. The more you forgive, the more you will be forgiven. Therefore, you should rejoice when someone offends you - there is an opportunity to forgive him. Who reproaches us, he gives good. spiritual good."
O. Valerian continues: “Now is such a time - everyone is in charge. There are 9 people for an engineer's vacancy, and 300 for a manager. Whoever does not know how to do it, he teaches how to do it. And who does not know how to teach, he teaches how to teach. Try to live as God wills. Rejoice in life. When a person lives, he should not particularly think about how they look at him, how they think about him. The Lord will take care of everything."
Batiushka has been standing on the stage for about an hour, he does not sit down - he is used to speaking while standing. “True,” he complains, “you can’t get your age anywhere. Don't sell it or donate it. There is no such barter and money to return the lost agility, - Fr. Valerian. - I have already checked it myself. But age is something that applies to the body, not to the soul. When a person lives with God, not only is there no age for him, there is no time for him either. God is beyond time and space. The essence of our entire being is in two fundamentals. This is Epiphany and Divine Service. God has revealed Himself in His creation, and the creation must serve its Creator. That is, from us - Divine service. It is very important to preserve grace, reverence - for the temple, for worship, for the throne, in general for the shrine. Continuity for a priest is especially important.”
“We grew up not only in the atmosphere of worship,” the priest notes. - Life is very important. When we got together, we sang Russian songs and, of course, spiritual chants. They are called psalms, poems of spiritual content, set to music. Such a layer, but we don’t know it at all now.”
Together with his granddaughter Liza, who accompanied him on the piano, Fr. Valerian sang a spiritual verse about St. Seraphim.
After the conversation with the priest, there was a viewing of a new documentary film about him. Beautiful shots of significant places for the priest - Akulovo, Intercession Church, powdered with crystal white snow, beautiful nature, bird's-eye views. Classical music sounds - Vivaldi, Bach, church hymns. Many kind words are heard from the screen addressed to the priest from parishioners, children, grandchildren:
"Batiushka always serves very reverently, his soul is in the service."
“He does not belong to himself. He is everything here. He is the Father Superior, he keeps the tradition.”
“I thank God that he let me be born to my parents. And my gentle brothers are directed with love towards people. Our parents taught us this - to trust and love people. Spread love around you, and you will feel how this love will touch you, return to you.
Instructions from Fr. Valerian, memories:
“Somehow I drank a thimble of vodka, the priest (Fr. John Krestyankin) came to take communion, I prepared everything. Father John comes out, says, I won’t take communion, I can’t, I drank vodka. I understood everything: "Father, I'm sorry, I did it." Batiushka took communion, but I had a lesson for life.”
“No one can do anything unless the Lord allows it. The works of man are a miserable copy of what God has created.”
“The invaluable quality of Russia is that it survives in any conditions. Despite the sanctions.
"What can't be taken away? Mastery, skill. But this must be learned. The more a person knows, the more independent he is and can help others.”
And I would like to end the story of the evening with the following words of Fr. Valerian: “What is called love is a kind of semblance. The Greeks thought about this, so they have three names for love: eros, phileo and agape. Passionate, friendly and sacrificial. Love cannot live in itself, it must be poured out on someone. A person is unhappy if he himself does not have love. Not because no one loves him, but because he himself does not love anyone. As St. Iustin Popovich: “Love for a person without the love of God is self-love, and love for God without love for a person is self-deception.”
Love does not seek its own and never ceases ...
Anna Alekseevna ANDREEVA
In 1962 he married Natalya Konstantinovna Apushkina, whose father was an assistant professor, an organic chemist, the spiritual son of Alexei, and then Sergiy Mechev
In 1969 he was ordained by Bishop Philaret.
Last Award: Mitra, in 2003
Rector: Church of the Intercession, Church of the Nativity of St. Prophet and Forerunner John
Secular education:
higher 1959; MLI
Spiritual education:
academy 1973; MDA
Priest information:
2002 Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh III Art.
1997 Order of Prince. Daniel of Moscow III Art.
1987 cross with decorations
1983 club
1978 archpriest
1970 pectoral cross
1969 kamilavka
1969 gaiter
http://www.hram.kokoshkino.ru/Interv/Krechetov.asp
Interview with Archpriest Valerian Krechetov, Rector of the Intercession Church in the village of Akulovo
Father, please tell us how you became a priest.
The fact is that the main thing comes from the family. The family in Orthodoxy, in Christian terms, is a small Church. Our whole life is a multitude of small Churches that live as a big Church. We all have here, on earth, a father and a mother, and their prototype is the Heavenly Father and the Mother of God, the zealous Intercessor of the Christian race. Therefore, believers call each other brothers and sisters. So the basis of all life lies precisely in the family.
But often families are destroyed.
Yes, this is the situation now. Everything in the world is connected. The Church, of course, the gates of hell will not overcome, but the general influence of the world, the general departure from faith affects the family. The first Christians lived everything you have - with one heart, one soul. For a long time, of course, this could not continue, because this is only possible on a small scale. This is a small herd. And just as gold, diamonds, precious diamonds are not found at every step in life, spiritual values do not lie at every step, there are no mountains of them. Apparently, this is precisely the value of Orthodox families and people in general who live an Orthodox, Christian life. It is said:<Вы есте соль земли>. How many grams of salt do you put in to salt something? A little. Therefore, such strong families - like a jewel, like salt - are not often found. But they should be, they always are, because they are guided by them. For example, not all are saints. And the saints are lamps to be looked at, from which they take an example. The Apostle Paul said:<Подражателе мне бывайте, якоже и аз Христу>. And Christ said:<Я и Отец - одно... будьте совершенны, как совершен Отец ваш Небесный>. And this is a living succession, teaching from the older generation to the next generations, the younger ones, it is always present in a real family.
Why is the enemy always trying to split the family? Here we all tried to build a new society, put forward different slogans. And this is a completely useless job, giving nothing if it is not based on a solid family. About thirty years ago, the director of the thirty-first school in Moscow, where my children studied, Suvorov, talked with me for about two hours, even more. If someone came to him, he said:<Нет, нет, мы заняты>. Although I am a priest, and he is a party man, candidate of biological sciences, with great teaching experience, we talked with pleasure, because we spoke the same language, we had no disagreements. But those were the seventies.
Yes, and he said then a very important thing:<Дайте мне воспитанную мать, и я покажу вам воспитанных детей...>And he said terrible words:<У нас семьи нет и не будет. Мы идем к краху. Через мои руки прошли те, кто теперь уже стали бабушками. И, глядя на них, я вижу, куда мы идем>. Here is a prophecy, one might say, of a secular person. It, unfortunately, comes true and will indeed come true on one condition: if people do not turn to God. Only turning to God will save, only the restoration of the family. Actually, the Church does this: it is engaged in the restoration, strengthening of the family, because everything that a child first of all receives, he receives precisely from his parents, in the family.
To us, the three brothers, Peter, Father Nicholas and me, a sinner, the Lord showed such mercy. We were born in a family where, according to Lev Ivanovich Suvorov, there was a well-bred mother. Priest Vladimir Vorobyov, who died in prison, my father's confessor, when my father asked him how to build a family, what wife to choose, said:<Бери такую, чтобы была или христианка, как кремень, или чтобы из ее души семья христианская перла, вот так!>- and showed. These two qualities - a Christian, like flint, and a Christian family were in my mother, Lyubov Vladimirovna Krechetova, nee Korobova. And this Christian power is the basis in any business.
My dad was once a successful economist. He graduated from the Moscow Commercial School, but the trends of that time, as a young man, also captured him (unfortunately, this is especially characteristic of young people), and he stopped going to church. His mother, nee Maria Arsenievna Morozova, was from a family of Old Believers. Arseny Ivanovich and Zakhar Zakharovich Morozov are my father's maternal ancestors, and the so-called Noginsk manufactories (formerly Bogorodsky) belonged to my great-grandfather, Arseny Ivanovich. Therefore, the Old Believer foundations in the family were firm.
And so Maria Arsenievna said to my father:<Я тебе в ноги поклонюсь, сынок, сходи, причастись Великим постом>. And he told her:<Что ты, мама, я и так схожу>. Came to church, standing. And in the evening there was a confession, just Father Vladimir Vorobyov confessed, a holy martyr. He lived on the Arbat then, with Nikola in Plotniki. Father, while waiting for confession, kept looking at the girls. It is clear, because the young man was, handsome, tall, the champion of Moscow in rowing. He sang, he had a voice, he played the guitar - everything was with him.
And now it's his turn. Batiushka was sitting because he was already old, and my father had to kneel down. The father asks:<Ну, что, молодой человек, пришли?>He says:<Мама попросила>. And the father says:<Что ж, это хорошо, что Вы маму послушали>- and, without asking anything, covered him with stole.<Что со мной случилось, - отец вспоминал, - я не знаю. Я зарыдал, так только из крана может литься вода - слезы у меня текли ручьем>. Father asked his name and said:<Ну, завтра придете причащаться>.
Surprising, of course, is the power of a mother's prayer. For obedience, for the prayers of his mother, for the prayers of the priest, he received grace, which melted him in an instant. He walked back, no longer looked either to the right or to the left, or at any girls. Then he started going to church. Later, when they put him in prison, he sat there with the archbishops, with the bishops: with Archbishop Theodosius of Kolomensky, with Vladyka Emmanuel (Meshchersky). There were also priests there: Father Mikhail Shik, Father Iosif Fudel. My father was even on Solovki.
And how long did he sit?
Yes, a little, three years. Then three years of exile. When he was already in exile, in Arkhangelsk, he was registered, his mother came to him, and they got married there. That's what the brides were like: she came to a political prisoner - he was considered under Article 58. The accusation, of course, is paradoxical, it can only be in jokes:<За подстрекательство иностранного государства к действиям против Советского Союза>. It is not even said which state, just a foreign one. And this is an accusation to some accountant!
These are the parents. Then the first son was born in Moscow, because my mother immediately went to Moscow. And when dad was released, he was sent a hundred and first kilometers - and we moved to Zaraysk. My childhood was spent there. True, before the war, dad decided to move to Volokolamsk, this is also a hundred and first kilometers away. There we found the war. Dad went to the front, we were in occupation. I saw the Germans, heard the shooting. Until now, before my eyes is: a burning house, shooting, explosions.
Father, you probably prayed then?
It was a very interesting case. I was still small when my father went to war, I was four years old. I sat in my mother's arms, said goodbye and said:<Надо не биться, а молиться>. They remembered it. Of course, I don't remember. Then there was an occupation, and then our troops liberated us, and we returned to Zaraysk again.
My mother praised God for seventy-five years: from the age of fifteen, when she began to sing, she sang all her life in church. Then she became a psalmist. Of course, I received pennies, we lived only in the garden. We had no electricity, only a kerosene lamp, but we regularly went to all services: Saturday evening, Sunday morning. As far as I remember, I started serving in the church at the age of six, during the war, in the forty-three. Preschool age. The Lord has granted me special favors. One very unusual priest, Father Nikolai, served there. I remember how he sometimes gave me the Holy Gifts to consume from the Chalice.
And since then I had knowledge of the Church, I had dreams about it. Even when I was lying in bed, small, I already said:<Верую, Господи, и исповедую, Ты еси Христос, Сын Бога живаго, пришедый грешныя спасти, от нихже первый семь аз>- this prayer before communion completely by heart, and then:<Сложите руки, перед Чашей не креститесь...>The Lord gives it to children's memory. I remember everything from my childhood.
In Zaraysk there was a novice from the monastery, Eutychia. I later found her in the lists of those executed in Butovo. They had a spiritual father, they followed him from Ukraine and settled with us. When I went to first grade, she began to teach me the Book of Hours in Slavonic. And I simultaneously began to read in Russian and in Slavonic, I went in parallel, so I read Slavonic as calmly as in Russian, already in childhood. One teacher even said:<Кречетов, у Вас в сочинении славянские обороты>. I could tell<яко>, so it was for me organically, naturally. Therefore, I do not understand why they oppose the Slavic language, for me it is native.
And this mother - she later took the tonsure, nun Matrona (Mamontova), - she asked me:<Я малограмотная, ты мне почитай>. When I was still at school, I read letters from Bishop Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) to her, and she explained something to me. She wasn't completely illiterate, she just wanted me to read. Therefore, I knew many things since childhood -<Отечник>, For example. And when I first started serving, the first sermons, their materials were all from childhood memories.
Interestingly, my mother called me<духовничок>. I did not know, of course, that I would become the senior confessor of the Moscow diocese. It was so natural for me to sing and read in the church that when I became a deacon, Father Nikolai, my elder brother, said:<Как будто ты так всегда служил>. I did not even feel any special changes, it seemed to me that it had always been like that.
Father, who was your confessor?
My first confessor was Father Alexy Rezukhin. He was my first mentor, whom I loved very much, I even wrote a poem to him when he was transferred to another parish. When I was young, I wrote poetry. He sparked a spark in us, his sermons captivated us. We began to serve in the church, several people went.
When a priest went to litiya, I, as a child, felt that this place was special, invisible, such that it was impossible to cross this line. Even now I don’t understand why people don’t feel this, they often walk across the temple.
I was already a student when my father became a priest. He was very smart and spoke well. He had a clear language, a bright mind, logical thinking. He did not complete one course at the Academy, but was taught by old professors, still pre-revolutionary, of the old school. He talked interestingly, I really liked to listen to him. My father gave me a lot, and my mother practically led me: I saw how she prays, how she sings, what aspiring prayer she has, I saw her zeal specifically for the church, for worship. Worship was everything to her! She left the household for him - and nothing, everything was always there, thank God. And I saw her desire for worship, reverence for all this.
She always told me:<Валюшка, не смей старшим отвечать. Когда старший говорит, ты должен молчать>. Such was the Christian family upbringing, which required obedience to elders, unquestioning. Inside, you may be stubborn, but you have no right to argue. This rule has helped me a lot in my life. I hear her voice:<Валюшка, молчи. Не смей, не смей отвечать>. When we, brothers, fought each other, she told me, as the youngest, to stop bickering. Because you always need someone to stop first. Being the first one is very important.
Father Valerian, how did you teach your children? You have seven of them, did you punish them?
I didn't really punish them. He spanked one once, then regretted it all his life. I came home, and my grandmother said: so they did this and that. I punished, I myself was hurt. And then I never did it again, because I realized that when a child does something wrong, he can be spanked to stop him. When they fight, for example, you need to shake them up somehow at this time, bring them to their senses. It may be a slap, but without malice, without irritation, it is not a punishment. And you need to find out the reason for the fight or teach it at another time when children can perceive it.
I checked: when they go to bed, at this time they have such a philosophical mood, they can talk about something. Here is a very interesting reaction, very instructive for adults: here they are spinning, spinning, then they are told:<Ну-ка, детки, на молитву>. And then one ran to the toilet, the other fell:<Я не могу больше!>Before that, they walked on their heads - and then immediately<не могу>. So it is with an adult: he becomes a prayer, and immediately:<Что-то спина болит>. Adults are the same children, only with cunning, with slyness.
Well, the children will pray, settle down, calm down, and the toys, of course, are all scattered. And I tell them:<Видите? Игрушки валяются, а как вы сегодня днем из-за них дрались! В чем дело? Почему так дрались? Не потому, что игрушка очень нужна, а просто, когда один взял, другому тоже захотелось>. And I explained to them: to take away, you need strength, and to give in - humility, willpower. If the other really wants - give in to him. Giving up what you want is a feat.
We often confuse stubbornness and willpower, and these are completely opposite things, only superficially similar. Sometimes, it happens that he achieves his goal and looks like a strong-willed person, although he may not have willpower, but he simply cannot deny himself something! And very often weak-willed people achieve their goal by all means. And this is already completely bad when by all means: it means that a person is unprincipled, he will think only about what he wants.
Of course, I had to explain everything to the children. And I often saw the result: one takes away the toy from the other, pulls, pulls, and when he lets go, he will fall with this plastic trinket in his hands, and it seems to him that he is stronger ... He is pleased, and the other says:<Ну и что, а у меня осталось смирение>- and this one, the first one, was immediately so disappointed. These are the fruits of pedagogy. Or another time one of my sons, Fyodor (he is now a priest), sees: one is taking something away from the other and they are ready to fight now. He approaches them and says:<Да отдай ты ему, ему это не нужно, он просто хочет у тебя отнять>, - and indeed, both of them were released. And once there was such a moment: two grabbed, I say:<Ну, у кого есть смирение?>Immediately, both hands unclenched - and some kind of plastic horse or car fell between them.
And the most interesting was the moment when the brother and sister grabbed. I say:<У кого есть смирение?>Sister screams:<У Васьки смирение!>He, of course, flattered, let go. Here you are asking about the characteristics of the female and male sex. The male gender is straightforward, while the female gender is quirky.
Of course, it is very important that children always want to pray. But not everything is so simple. Sometimes they do not want to pray, to stand in the temple. In no case should you engage in violence, because it is disgusting, they may even hate everything. You need to be patient, give in a little. As they say, with children you always need to work tight. That is, you can neither pull hard nor let go. So that a direct connection is felt all the time, such an elastic, but not letting go. Because if you let go - it will roll, if you tighten it - on the contrary, everything will break. But this is already a flair needed, for each individual approach.
Father, in stagnant times there were problems, but over these decades have you felt any special difficulties?
Yes, then there were problems of confession, and now the reverse side, which was one of the causes of the revolution. This is when they were forced to go to church - and everything seems to be in order, everyone goes, and the child secretly waits for him to finally grow up and stop walking.
Here we sometimes try to drive all the children to Sunday schools, and they go there in herds. But here it is necessary to act very subtly, because the outside world still remains. And now it is more terrible in the sense that, on the one hand, they are driven into the church, and on the other hand, there is computerization, televisionization, televisionization - these are generally terrible things. We did not have such a flow of information.
By the way, one of the reasons that the Lord helped us raise our children is that our family did not have, and even now there is no TV and even radio. In our country, this programmed and purposeful flow of information did not fall on children. To do this, I attracted people of authority to talk to my children. They wondered:<Ну, батюшка, это же Ваши дети...> - <Нет, я прошу вас>. Because children don't listen to their parents. This is evangelical: a prophet is never honored in his own country. For your family, being a prophet is the hardest thing.
The fact is that I myself came across this moment: once I came to the same family, and modern music thunders there. I began to talk about this topic, and the child listened, and the parents were amazed: they hammer, hammer, and from the spot, and then suddenly listens. Well, firstly, because the priest spoke to him, and secondly, I did not speak like a family, but a little differently. And when I left, they attacked him:<Надо же! Мы тебе столько раз говорили!>And he them:<Да потерпите, я переболею>. Now this child is already over thirty, probably, but such was the fact. I have seen this over and over again in other families.
You don't have a TV, but how do you feel about the theatre?
I loved to sing since childhood, I loved opera. I had a voice, an alto, but the mutation was somehow incomprehensible. Usually the alto goes into the tenor, but I got the bass. And although I tried to perform operatic things, my voice sounded like a church, like a deacon's. Apparently, the manner was like this, since I sang in church since childhood. The fact is that I heard the deacons of the old, still pre-revolutionary school.
And the theater once opened my eyes to the performance<Принц и нищий>. I came to my relatives for the holidays in Moscow, and they took me to the theater. I was a gray person, I didn’t go anywhere except church, I didn’t know anything, my opinion about the theater was speculative, but I knew from childhood that it was sinful, it comes from buffoons. And here I am sitting almost in the third row, in the stalls. Here the beggar will laugh:<Ха, ха, ха!>And my eyesight was good, and I saw he had a full mouth of gold teeth. I am in shock, everything immediately faded, I realized that everything was not true - both the rags of the beggar and the clothes of the prince! And since then, apart from<Идеального мужа>, which my wife and I went to when she was still a bride, I never went to the theater again. On golden teeth<нищего>all my theater is gone. Opera has remained for me like music, like singing, and everything else ... I went to the opera a lot.
Did you take the kids to the theatre?
No, I don't think I've ever taken the guys to the theatre. When they went somewhere at school with the whole class, we let them go, but, in my opinion, they were not in the theater. They listened to classical music at home. I sang. We always sang: Russian songs, romances, opera things.
Father, do you have a hospitable house, did you have many guests?
No, we didn't have many guests. Once simple. Usually either relatives or people close in spirit gathered. We had dry law in our family, there was never wine on the table. Therefore, children, perhaps, almost up to the age of seven did not know what alcohol is, what a drunk is. Once they came from a walk, they say:<Мы видели дяденьку, у него, наверное, голова кружится, он держится за стенку, видно, больной>. We then lived in the center of Moscow, on Pushkin Square.
Then, I remember, the second son, when I was already serving as a priest, came and said:<Знаешь, пап, есть люди неверующие>. The children did not know that there were unbelievers. They lived in their own world: church, home, relatives. And they thought that all people were believers, even at that time. This is what family, environment, communication means.
At home we always read something from the lives of the saints, often secular literature, Russian classics and foreign, Christian spirit - Dickens, Gogol, Pushkin.
Father, did you have enough time for children?
Before taking the priesthood, of course, there was more time, and I tried to work with children. They took it seriously. I remember, I go in one day, and my eldest son asks:<Пап, а ты кто?>What should he answer? He looks at me expectantly, and then says:<Валериан Михайлович, наш отец>. And then I already had three of them, and they raised very serious questions. The second son somehow approaches his mother:<Мама, курочка делает яичко, но она ведь тоже из яичка. А откуда взялось яичко, когда курочки не было?>The child formulated this at the age of four. Mom, of course, answered very simply, clearly:<Господь сотворил курочку, а курочка несет яички>. And everything fell into place. And now the children are being fooled that at first there was caviar, then the caviar became large, it turned out to be an egg, fish eggs. In general, they are wise!
In general, with regard to the upbringing of a believer, everything simply works out. When I already became a priest, I realized that only faith gives a broad outlook on life, while unbelief narrows it down. Science generally drives blinders: this is not there, there is only this. Moreover, arguments like<наука уже доказала, что этого не может быть>- absurd, because science can only say:<Вот это знаю, а дальше не знаю>. I talked about such things with the children, explained them.
Father Valerian, how did you prepare to become a priest?
I thought being a priest was a gift. And he entered the Forestry Engineering Institute, because his father said:<Собираешься быть священником - приготовься к тюрьме. Приобрети специальность, которая может у тебя быть в тюрьме>. I did not dare to study as a doctor, but I went to this specialty. After all, prisoners were sent to work, to logging.
It was like a confession.
I was preparing to take the priesthood and was neither a pioneer nor a member of the Komsomol, although it was not easy in those days. But the Lord wised me. I knew that people were imprisoned and shot for refusing, so I spoke as loyally as possible. I was asked:<Почему ты не хочешь быть пионером?>And I answered:<Разве может пионер ходить в церковь? Нет, не может. Тогда вы не можете меня принять, ведь я же хожу в церковь>. The Lord gave wisdom.
That is, you spoke so openly, directly?
Yes. They also had conversations with me. Same with Komsomol. But I stood my ground and they fell behind.
One day my father told me how important it is - a confession, a sermon, the living word of a priest. Of course, I understood that the most important thing is worship, but both confession and sermon are important. And so I thought about these words of my father. We prayed, went to bed, and suddenly I saw myself in the chapel of the Archangel Michael in the Church of the Annunciation, in which I grew up (there were two chapels: one of the Archangel Michael, the other of St. Sergius). I see myself standing on the pulpit, in vestments, with a cross, and it is as if an inner voice says to me:<Ты желал быть священником - вот ты священник. Ты считаешь важным исповедовать - вот и исповедуй>. I looked - a full temple of the people. I took up the cross, as Father Alexy did, and I think:<Что же сказать?>I closed my eyes, then I open them and I feel that my hands are clenched, and I am lying - I closed my eyes in a dream, but opened them in reality. Clarity has come, and I feel: I'm not ready! And the most amazing thing is that when I was already a deacon and somehow arrived at the seminary, Vladyka Filaret (Minsky now), the rector of the seminary, turns to me and asks:<Готов? Я так не готов>. And before that, there was one more moment: when I met confessor Nikolai Golubtsov, I told him:<Я собираюсь быть священником>, and he told me:<Готовься, я к этому готовился всю жизнь>. And I, as in a dream, felt: I was not ready. Then, when I was going to get married, he also told me<готовься>and the bishop asked:<Готов? А теперь готов?>And I say:<Разве можно быть готовым? Всегда не готов>.
Father, you have been honored to serve with so many wonderful people, tell us about it.
These are all movers. A book has already been published about Father Nikolai Golubtsov. I was able to communicate with him a little. This is an amazing personality. Deeply spiritual person. He had a special gift of confession. Often in his sermon I heard the answer to those questions that arose in me, he seemed to answer me, everything was so vital with him. This is a special gift.
Later, since Father Nikolai Golubtsov died, through Elena Vladimirovna, my mother-in-law, I met Vladyka Stefan (Nikitin), who was in Kaluga just a week before his death. Later, when he died, I went to Kaluga for the funeral service, and from there, by car, along with the coffin, I drove here, to Otradnoye. Here I began to visit Father Sergius. Once I told him:<Прихожу на работу, все загнанные какие-то. Мне их жалко, жалко людей-то>. And he:<Такие, как ты, нам нужны, иди к нам. Инженеров много, а священников не хватает>. Well, I went for a blessing to Metropolitan Pimen, the future Patriarch. But the Church was so tight back then, he says:<Нам не разрешают>. And I thought it was a waste of time.
No, it turned out not in vain, then everything worked out. I met with the personal secretary of Patriarch Alexy the First (Sinai), Daniil Andreevich. He was the chairman of the economic department and took me on as an engineer. Then I entered the seminary. I graduated from it as an external student in a year, so I was prepared. When he passed the exam, he sang in similar at once, not only in voices. Once, when I had already become a priest, they got confused on the kliros, they could not find the paroemias of the Theotokos in the book, and I went out and read them as a keepsake. I could read<Шестопсалмие>knew by heart, all the canons, irmosy by heart. So it was easy for me.
Even before taking the ordination, the priest said to me:<Ты, когда станешь диаконом, служи вполголоса, концы обрывай, иначе пропадешь в диаконах>. One day, Father Herman, who is now the archdeacon at the Danilov Monastery, said to me:<Отец Валериан, что ты там мямлишь?>I answer:<Да не получается*. А он: <Врешь ты>. And then, when I had already been consecrated to the priesthood, I gave out proverbs in full voice. Everything:<Ах! Такой дьякон!>- but it's' too late. But I paid for it. I was supposed to get to Otradnoye right away, but the Patriarch took me to Peredelkino.
Patriarch Alexy the First loved the Basque. And I worked there for a year and a half. He was honored to serve with the monks, and even Hieromonk Valerian was a child. It was a very good school, because monastics are special. They were all from the Lavra, had succession from the old monasticism. And then they transferred me here, to Father Sergius, he is hieromonk Seraphim in tonsure. I served with him for four and a half years. He gave me a lot, of course.
In the Danilov Monastery I met Father Dorotheus, Father Euphrosynus, whom I received communion and buried here. He is a hieromonk of the Zosima Hermitage, he served ten years in the Kolyma.
Then Father Tikhon sang them. I served with him for two and a half years. This, of course, is a great consolation for me. Father Fyodor was also, such a dear old man, eighty-eight years old. Father Nikolai Morev.
Father, how did you get to Father Nikolai Guryanov?
I came here once or twice. One day I hear them say:<Батюшку, может, причастить? Батюшка не причащается>. I've been with the elders all my life, so I'm somehow used to it. I began to come more often, more often, and then I even had such consolation: somehow I come, and Father Nikolai asks:<Наш батюшка приехал?>
Many people now have despondency, a feeling that everything is collapsing, everything is falling apart. What do you think about this?
No, no. Dad didn't say that. Spiritually, everything is strengthened. While in Peredelkino, I met with a schemer, I don't even know who he is. I asked him what awaits us. He said:<Для тела, для земной жизни впереди - ничего особенного>. That is, earthly life will be scarier and scarier. And for the spiritual, there is only light ahead. Actually, you don't need to be scared. Our generation went through the war and the post-war years, Stalin's times, Khrushchev's times - these are all unsweetened times. My mother was a great optimist, somehow I got it from her. And what can be in general? We say:<Яко с нами Бог, яко с нами Бог>. God is really with us, only we forget about it. What you really need to remember is:<Разумейте, языцы, и покаряйтеся, яко с нами Бог!>
I have always been interested in herbs. I was convinced that, it turns out, we live completely wrong, we have left our own, native, natural. Seraphim Vyritsky also said:<Россия живет от своей земли>. Indeed, the earth gives us so much - one snout is worth something, which St. Seraphim ate! Snotty, nettle - all this is there, please, it costs nothing.
Here the Monk Paisios, an Athonite elder, says:<Если приучить себя к воздержанию и на постную пищу перейти, то с Божией помощью хватит в любое время выжить>. Everything comes from consciousness. You just have to leave this stamped life, in which there are a lot of excesses.
Father Valerian, how do you feel about what is happening to the country? Or do you have to put up with it?
What is happening to the country? This is natural selection: who goes there, and who - here. Of course, whatever a person does, the result will be from God. Works are from us, and the result is from God. It's just that the Lord can send such a time, some cataclysms... But familiar people will survive in peace. Do we need a lot? I just calculated: pearl barley, what a nutritious grain - only three kilograms a month per person is enough. Like this! I checked myself. For a year thirty-six kilograms. Well, you won’t eat it alone, something else. It is quite possible for a person to live in pleasure. I was told: in our time, one nun took a bag of barley and went to the mountains. She had enough cereal for two years, and there was still more. That is, we all invent, create stamps for ourselves: I can’t do without this, without that. Yes, it's all bullshit.
That's what posts are for, that's how they help. They put on simple food, a person sees that he can continue to work with the same opportunities - and spiritually, of course, everyone should work on his soul. Children also need to be taught to simplicity, to this simple food. This is why fasting for kids is important. And also physical labor. I tried to always give all my children different instruments. Now the son has arrived, he says:<Пап, ты мне топорик подарил когда-то, с надписью даже>. Just an ax, a saw and a shovel - and that's it, you can live. And television clogging, these stamps are superfluous.
Father, so we can’t lose heart, is it a sin?
What is the sadness? I tell people: I don't have enough time. When to be sad? Once. If there is time, you can lose heart, but if there is no time, you will not lose heart.
Interviewed by Nadezhda Zotova
The Father Who Takes Communion Well
– Father Valerian, what can you say about Father Nikolai Guryanov?
- With regard to Father Nikolai Guryanov, we can say that this is a holy, gracious old man, whom the Lord showed both our people and the world as an example of possible holiness in our days. This was a man who went through harsh times and persecution and prisons, but retained his spirit. We also have the concept of "not in the spirit." And he was always in the spirit in this sense: calm, not irritated. Once I told the priest that some Catholic priests, priests, out of zeal, go to the beaches and celebrate mass there, church service. And you won’t understand how people are dressed and whether they are dressed at all - this, of course, is some kind of blasphemy for us. Batiushka shuddered at first, and then in such a peaceful, peaceful and quiet, quiet voice he said: “Well, maybe you shouldn’t have done this ...”
– And how did you meet Father Nikolai?
- The thing is that we went to Pechory, Father John (Krestyankin) came here, to Akulovo, to Father Sergiy Orlov. And I heard that the priest is on the island, they go to him. Here we go...
– How old were you then, Father Valerian?
- 60 was not yet, 57, in my opinion. The servant of God Tatiana (nee - Tatiana Utochkina) visited Zalita - she came to the island and helped. This Tanya also went to our church. And so she says: "Come to our father." She actually told me about him. Well, I arrived, and somehow Valentina Vasilievna, a servant of God from St. Petersburg (she looked after the priest, served), suggested: “The father has not taken communion for a long time, maybe you would take communion with him?” “How, of course…”
After some time, I got ready, took the holy gifts, and I come. Batiushka says: “But I won’t take communion.” I say: "Okay, father." But then he took communion. And after a while he asked me: “Why don’t you take communion?” I say: "Batiushka, bless." And he also began to take communion with him.
Apparently, some priests, when Father Nikolai began to live separately, began to offer him: “You need to take communion.” "Need..." As if he doesn't know what he needs. And the priest, so to speak, humbled them: “No, no, no.”
Then, somehow, Valentina Vasilievna says to her father Nikolai: "Father has arrived." “Is this,” he asks, “our father, who takes communion well?” Good - means, as bless, calmly. It’s okay to teach each other or someone else, but it’s apparently not appropriate to instruct an old man.
And so, for many years, the Lord vouchsafed me to travel to Talabsk Island. Batiushka and we all took communion there every time. You go - you want to ask some questions. You come there - you forget everything, and you can’t ask anything.
When I went to the priest, I always gave him notes from people, and he answered me. Once I arrive, but I forgot almost all the notes.
“Well, that’s good,” says the father. I come back, and all these people thank me, they managed everything. I say: “You know, I didn’t even carry your notes.”
This is how the Lord did everything.
Surname Guryanov
– Every week you traveled from Moscow to the island of Talabsk in the Pskov region, for one and a half thousand kilometers?
In the end, yes, almost every week. Days on the road. Moreover, they went there at night, so that the priest would take communion in the morning, early.
– And who is driving?
- Well, they changed - one, the other. Then, for the most part, they drove me. Sometimes I replaced, as the driver himself. But this is what they bring and they bring. But in spring or autumn it was not easy. Because there was no navigation, and it was necessary to go through the swamp. And so I moved from hummock to hummock with ski poles, then went out to the edge of the swamp, and there such Sasha Petrov met me on the Niva with big wheels.
Sometimes you come, and there is a storm on the lake. And now the car goes along the spit, which is flooded with water - Sasha knew a place where one could go. And suddenly you feel that the "Niva" comes off and begins to rise. I think: "Well, that's it, now it will blow into the lake." When it freezes, she easily walked, rolled, somehow slipped. And when the swamp - it happened barely.
Several times cars crashed, we got into accidents. Once - scary: at high speed, a reinforced concrete pillar was knocked down sideways. The transverse thrust was broken into three parts. The owner of the car tried to insert it, but nothing came together. Later, an examination showed that a piece of traction, 15 or 20 centimeters thick, vomited.
I was saved by the fact that I was not wearing a seat belt. As we were flying, I rushed in and the pole went through my seat. If I hadn't evaded, it would have been crushed. The blow to the back was such that almost a liter of blood was then pumped out of the resulting hematoma. But I survived by the grace of God.
When we arrived that time, Father Nikolai said: “I cried all night.” Batiushka felt in spirit, evidently prayed.
– Father, does the spiritual connection with the elder remain?
- Certainly. There is definitely a connection.
– Are you asking him for help now?
- Yes, what to ask for help when everything is there. I have everything - God help me, sends everything to me, God save me. Recently, it's simple - I still have seven children, 32 grandchildren, I need to take them somewhere - they offered me a house with a plot in the village. And when they began to draw up - by proxy for the owners, a servant of God by the name of Guryanov was busy. Well, it must be like this! And I realized that it was the priest who reminded me of himself, that he was sending me ... And there is an amazing place: not far from the temple, the monastery of Theophan Vyshensky, in the Ryazan region. Father takes care of me, a sinner, of course.
You know, from the elders such warmth, such love emanates, that he is simply ready for anything. It happened that they would say something to the priest, and once he would give a slap in the face. I was even a little sad: I think he beats everyone, but he never hit me. And shortly before his death, they gave unction to the priest, he suddenly began to push away my hand - and he gave it to me, as much as it rang in my ears. And then he asks like this: “Does it hurt you?” That is, with love, you know? Such joy... It is only through love that one can feel what it is - "whom God loves, he will punish" (Prov. 3:11-12), when a blow from a loving person does not cause irritation, but joy. Here's how to explain? Hard to explain.
Non-standard people
– Father, how to explain that Nikolai Guryanov did not receive everyone ...
- Yes. In addition, he could say: “What are you here for, leave here.”
– But after all, people have traveled the road, come with their misfortune?
- The thing is that the elders are non-standard people. People may have made the road, but a person does not receive for the road, but for some kind of sins. And often not for those that he just did, but once upon a time.
There is such a Matrona Anemnyasevskaya, a saint. So, they told a case when one servant of God came to her, who had several children, and the youngest was the most prankster. And then she got angry at him, scolded him. He even ran away from home, because everyone vilifies.
And the mother decided to go to this Matryonochka. She came, knocked and heard a voice from there: “Drive the Kasimov woman, drive her out of the neck from here!” She cries: she dragged herself on foot, why doesn’t she accept her? Was upset. And then she hears, her name is: "Manyushka, Manyushka." Kindly so. She was delighted, she came in. “What,” Matryonochka asks her, “didn’t you like it then? And this is not the way to address your son. He will be your breadwinner." In fact, not everything just happens: he took it, he arrived, and he was sent.
– But, perhaps, after a conversation with an elder, a person would come to their senses?
- But I didn’t understand ... It’s you who are building options. And the elders have no options, they have one option. As the Lord said, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways. But as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Maybe this particular person needed only that. To one, for example, the priest said: “Leave quickly, leave here as soon as possible!” And she urgently needed to ask him something, she came specially for this. And the father sent her back. She came home, and her son was about to hang himself. Almost knocked the bench out from under his feet. A few more minutes and that's it! Here you are - "driven away"!
– Father, have the cell-attendants really not allowed anyone to see Father Nikolai lately?
- Well, why didn't they let you in? Of course, they were allowed, but in recent years, and especially in recent months, it was impossible without strictness. Because when 10 buses came and all this crowd attacked him, and the priest is already more than 90 years old, how is it possible?
And the questions that were often asked to him - well, there are simply no words. “If they appoint me king, will I agree or not?” I read it myself in a note. Or one writes: here, they say, they blessed me to fly around Russia with the icon. And where to get money? Father replies: "Steal." Well, where do you get so much money? And what is it like to fly along the border? This is crazy, any normal person knows that this is almost impossible.
Or such a question: what should I work with? He does not write: a man or a woman, how old - nothing is said. And simply: who should I work with? Batiushka brilliantly answered: "Pioneer." At the first moment I think: pioneer, what kind of pioneer? Then I understood. This means, wherever you go, wherever you are, everything will be new to you. That is, the father did not just dismiss it. He basically answered.
– Father, was Father Nikolai Guryanov a monk after all, or not? Until now, there are disputes on this topic.
– There are even photographs of him in monastic vestments. What are these conversations for? Just to satisfy curiosity? The main thing is that he was an old man, a holy man, you understand? And whether he is a monk, not a monk, a bishop, not a bishop is not so important.
I once talked with a professor at the Moscow Theological Academy, who said that eldership is a special talent that a commoner can have and not a bishop. That is, rank is rank, and the special gift of clairvoyance, the gift of eldership, are slightly different categories.
Miracles and more
– Father Valerian, they say, many miracles happened to Father Nikolai on the island of Talabsk?
- Yes, once two people went to him, they discussed among themselves: "They say that the old man is a miracle worker, he works miracles." They came and asked: "Show us some miracle." “Oh, a miracle? - says the father, - well, well. He went to the switch, turned the light on and off, turned it on and off again. They just grinned: “Is this a miracle?” They got on a boat, they come to the mainland, and there are people, cars, vanity. These two approach, they ask: “What happened?” “Yes, we are repairing the power line, because no one has had electricity in the entire district for two days.” It was then that they realized what this father's thing meant - turned on the light and turned it off.
And recently, one servant of God told a story, recalled how he went to the priest. He thinks: he will have to sail on a boat, he would not lose his watch. And his watch was new, good. He began to look for other houses, looked, did not find. I put on new ones and drove off. They are sitting with the priest, talking, and he suddenly asks: “Haven’t you lost your watch?” “No, father, I haven’t lost.” But I thought about it!
And somehow one servant of God invited me to the bath - to take a steam bath. Then he says: "You can have a little vodka." And I don't really drink. Father told everyone: do not smoke tobacco, do not drink vodka. Well, I think that, in fact, this does not particularly apply to me: I have never smoked tobacco, I don’t drink vodka. And suddenly they offer: “Try. Suvorov drank a glass after the bath. In a word, I drank such a thimble, washed it down with something. When I arrive, the priest says: “But I won’t take communion.” I ask: “Father, why?” "I can't." “Why not?” “Yes, I drank vodka.” “Father, forgive me,” I say, “I violated it.” He took communion, of course, later.
But the most interesting thing was when I went to the priest together with my son-in-law and my grandson, Kolya. We all confessed to the priest, and Kolya too - probably 10 minutes, and he was then five years old. And so we returned back, and one servant of God (now a priest already) asked Kolya: “Kolenka, have you been to the father?” - "Was". “Have you confessed to the father?” - "Yes". “Well, what did he say to you?” “But I won’t tell you that!”
This example is very understandable. Confession is a serious thing: you cannot be curious about what he said in confession. And here, sometimes, they will come to the old man, and then la-la-la. They told you to be quiet.
– Can't you tell what the old man will say?
- The point is that the enemy does not know what is said in confession. And you don't need to tell him what it was about.
– Father, does the enemy read thoughts?
- Not. He can inspire: he throws a thought to a person and looks at the reaction. Can only guess about something, but not know. And a person cannot know the thoughts of another person. One of them once told me: his daughter came to him and said: “There is a person who guesses thoughts. Said: guess the number. I guessed. And then he named it to me.” I say: “So it’s just a demon and my daughter and he inspired the same number. It's not mind reading at all."
Our people forget about the spiritual world. The enemy may know what has already happened somewhere, especially when something bad is happening. I recently heard from one person how he had a certain phenomenon; someone seemed to say: “In an hour, misfortune will happen to such and such a person, his fingers will be torn off at the factory.” And indeed, in an hour all this exactly happens. I say: “Of course, this same enemy, who inspired one thought, slipped his hand into the machine to another.”
– And how to avoid these enemy slanders?
- Pray. When we read prayers, we ask to save us from "the action of the devil, mentally acting in my hands." In thoughts, the enemy controls very subtly.
More about obedience
– Father, it is believed that the most important thing in communicating with an elder is obedience to him. Can an old man be wrong?
—The Monk Seraphim was once told: “Father, every heart is open to you.” “What are you saying, my joy,” he answered. “To God alone, every heart is open, a person will approach, and the heart will be deep.” - “But how, father, do you know everything about people then?” “Yes, it's very simple. If the Lord puts it in my heart to say, I will say. And so it certainly is. And I will start to speak with my mind - and I will be mistaken.
I don’t know about the elders, but about the prophets it is said: if you approach the prophet with a hesitant heart, then the prophet will make a mistake.
“I deceived him,” says the Lord. This means: “The Lord will give you according to your heart” (Ps. 19:4).
– And in what cases should you go to the elder? Now we are all looking for elders ...
– The thing is that the most important thing, as it is said about the last times: the Lord will not give understanding to the elders, because there will be no one to carry out their advice. If there is an indication that you need to go, then go. But the Lord can reveal through anyone. And if you do not prepare yourself, then you may not get anything here or there. This is a tricky question. We now write about the perspicacious. Well, far-sighted... We all know without any foresight that we will die, but we sin. What not to do, that's all.
distinguished guests
– Did they come to Nikolai Guryanov for advice from His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II?
- Yes. I remember that they came to somehow consult with Father Tikhon (Shevkunov) about the TIN. We were together. Batiushka calmly said: “Well, what is it for?” He perfectly understood why they were doing it: control is needed. But an Orthodox person does not need to be controlled, he works honestly. When they asked the priest (albeit not at that time): is this a seal? He says, “This is not a seal. So far, thank God."
– That is, a barcode is not a print yet?
– No, this is all on the eve of the seal of the Antichrist... When the priest was asked, the video recording was turned on, and then, when he had already said everything, they missed it - it turned out that the apparatus was not working. Then they asked for blessings, the priest blessed - they recorded the second double. The patriarch still asked. Then another double, already the third. And there is this entry: “What is this? - asks the father. - The first time I've heard". Everyone was asking and asking. Of course, this is not the case with an old man. He said and that's it. And with him, as with an artist, doubles are better. This is inappropriate.
– He, apparently, in his humility answered ...
– In humility, yes. I remember one banker came to him and said: you need to accept the TIN, otherwise they will close it. Batiushka blessed, but they covered him anyway. Because this number was just a nitpick. Well, not this one, they found another reason, that's all. In general, if just a person worked honestly, there would be no need for so many cameras, or so many police, or, you know, so many of all these systems. What is this for? To catch one or two crooks? If spiritual issues are resolved among mankind, then a colossal number of these decrees, regulations, laws simply will not be needed. So here's a very simple question. Batiushka said: where it is simple, there are a hundred angels.
- The father was generally very figuratively expressed. He has a wonderful collection of spiritual verses and hymns "The Word of Life"...
- Yes. His father was the regent. Batiushka played the harmonium, sang well, his hearing was excellent. Batiushka received many big, well-known faces... Somehow Father Nikolai was asked very interestingly: “Father, why do some get to you, while others do not? Your cell-attendant lets these people in, but doesn’t let them in.” And he calmly replied: "Whoever the will of God is, he gets it." Then they ask: “Why does a priest come to you to give communion from Moscow, because there is a monastery here?” And the priest says: “The one who does not understand anything asks this.”
- Not. There were no cockroaches, in my opinion. They don't come out of nothing. We have to drag them. In the metropolis, they have where and where to move: from car to car, from bag to bag. And where do they get on the island? But there were always a lot of birds, pigeons on the trees in the district.
–Father Valerian, in your life you have talked a lot with the elders. And what, besides love, is characteristic of them?
– Well, first of all, they are always with God. They themselves walked in the presence of God and reminded others that there is a Lord and that this is a manifestation in love. Of course, humility is characteristic. And asceticism, a strict attitude towards oneself: food is always very modest, sleep - there was abstinence in everything. Strictly cut off all thoughts of distrust, suspicion of the elders, of the bosses. Once I told Father Nikolai, they say, father, I heard this, and he said to me so sharply: “Don’t believe it!”
I remember that I was still young, I talked a lot, I came to Father Sergiy Orlov: “Here, father, this and that.” And he replies: “We are already good, but others are yes.” Then I realized that you can not blame anyone. And I was convinced of this later, indeed, I received confirmation of this. They never spoke ill of anyone or anyone. When they began to ask Father Nikolai: “Father, what are you talking about Grigory Rasputin, about Ivan the Terrible?” And he: “Are we saying bad things about them? We speak well."
– Father, eldership is passed down as a tradition?
Eldership is a special charismatic gift from God. This is not a priesthood that is passed down through succession. Not everyone likes the saying of the Optina abbot. When one monk broke up, he said to him: “Here you are the abbot, but you are not smart,” and he answers: “Well, dear, will you do it? Although you are smart, you are not the abbot.”
I once told Father Sergiy Orlov: “This one is such a father, this one is such ...” And he answers: “No ... It is given to one, and not given to another.” It is precisely because we begin to talk too much that we forget about God. These moments are very important.
Archpriest Valerian Krechetov
Interviewed by Dmitry Simonov, Olga Kameneva, Inna Lukyanova
The twentieth century for Russia became a time of testing true faith and brought to the Church a host of new martyrs and confessors. But besides them, there were thousands more Christians who carried the Orthodox faith through decades of atheism. The book contains interviews with just such people. These are priests and laity who directly faced persecution or lived outwardly calm lives. They are united by the main thing - Christ, the faith in whom they kept in the Soviet years.
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The following excerpt from the book Keepers of the faith. On the Life of the Church in Soviet Times (Olga Gusakova, 2014) provided by our book partner - the company LitRes.
Archpriest Valerian Krechetov
In our time, believers were simply imprisoned. Therefore, the father told us directly: “Are you going to be priests? Get ready for jail."
Archpriest Valerian Krechetov(born 1937) is one of the oldest clerics of the Moscow diocese, an authoritative confessor, rector of the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos in the village of Akulovo, Odintsovo District. Ordained in 1969, in 1973 he graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy.
– Father Valerian, please tell us about your family.
– My father’s mother, my grandmother Maria Arsenyevna Morozova, came from the Morozovs, an Old Believer merchant family.
Grandfather Valerian Petrovich and great-grandfather Pyotr Gavrilovich were from the city of Oboyan, from near Kursk. We arrived in Moscow. And so Pyotr Gavrilovich became a specialist in wool, in modern terms, a merchandiser. He was an arbitrator in disputes between merchants. Can you imagine what it is? He was completely incorruptible. He was very loved and respected in his environment. And his son Valerian Petrovich became a cotton and textile specialist. Valerian Petrovich lived for two years in England, in Liverpool. Then he traveled around Europe and mastered four languages: English, German, French and Italian. And just like that
Valerian Petrovich (my grandfather) married Maria Arsenyevna Morozova (my grandmother), who was from an Old Believer family.
Her father, Arseniy Ivanovich Morozov, owned the Bogorodsk manufactory and supported the Old Believer community. And when his daughter decided not to marry an Old Believer, he, of course, was against it. But they secretly got married, entered into marriage against the will of their parents. And Arseny Ivanovich later regretted that at first he did not accept his son-in-law. “In vain I,” he says, “resisted. It was possible to leave Valerian instead of himself as the owner of the manufactory. After the revolution, Arseny Ivanovich himself, Viktor Nogin, who was a worker at a manufactory in Bogorodsk, and then a Soviet figure, offered to remain a manager at the factory. But Arseniy Ivanovich refused: "No, I can't work with you." He gave all this production and died a natural death in 1932, no one touched him.
Grandfather, Valerian Petrovich, was a very straightforward person by nature. During the war, he lived with us - we were under occupation near Volokolamsk, the village of Ilyinskoye. So, my grandfather spoke different languages, so he communicated with the Germans and contributed to the liberation of some people. But someone who collaborated with the Germans, served them, slandered his grandfather, said that he was a traitor. They took him away and he never came back. We do not know where he died.
And so my grandparents had a son, Mikhail, my father. When he grew up, he became an accountant, a specialist in the field of cotton production. By the way, many years later, when he was already a priest, dad saw the economic reports of one of the Soviet knitwear factories. He said: "The work is unprofitable." That is, he could determine the unprofitability of production at a glance.
And my mother, Lyubov Vladimirovna, was from Kolomna. Her father, Vladimir Vasilyevich Korobov, is an engineer. And my mother's maternal grandfather, Ilya Nikolaevich Serebryakov, was the foster brother of I. S. Turgenev, and then the manager of his estate.
My mother lived to the age of ninety. She was a physically very strong person, as a child she went in for sports - figure skating, acrobatics, gymnastics. There was a thunderstorm in the street, everyone trembled. And at the age of fifteen, she resolutely turned around and began to go to church and sing in the kliros. And from fifteen to ninety years old - seventy-five years old - she sang in church. In 1947, that is, at the age of forty-four, she skated with us on the river. We only helped her to fasten the skates to the felt boots.
Dad was also athletic, physically developed - he somehow won first place in the Moscow rowing competitions. He was rowing in the eight, setting the pace. He also did a little boxing, was familiar with Konstantin Gradopolov, the most famous boxer of the twenties. So both parents were athletic people.
– How did your dad come to faith?
“It was an instantaneous act of the grace of God…
My father was born in 1900, that is, his youth just fell on the post-revolutionary years, and under the influence of new trends, he moved away from the Church. And somehow, it was probably in 1922, my mother, my grandmother, asked him to go to church during Great Lent to take communion. She said: “Mish, I will bow at your feet, just go and take communion with fasting.” “Well, mother, I’m going anyway,” he answered and went to the Arbat to the church of St. Nicholas in Plotniki to his father Vladimir Vorobyov (grandfather of the current rector of the PSTGU, Archpriest Vladimir Vorobyov). Mom was very respected in the family, that's why he went. Came to confession. And he had no thoughts about repentance: he stood looking at the girls in the temple. It was his turn to confess, the priest asked: “Well, what do you say, young man?” Dad replies: "I have nothing to say, I don't know what to say." - "Why did you come?" “Mom asked me to.” Then the priest was silent for a while and answered: “It is very good that you listened to your mother,” covered him with an epitrachelion and began to read the permissive prayer. And so he said that he himself did not understand what had happened to him: he sobbed, he felt grace, tears poured down, like water flows from a tap, and when he was walking back, the world suddenly became completely different for him. So the grace of God immediately acted. Perhaps his mother prayed for him.
Since that time, my father began to go to church. In this temple, he met his future wife, my mother. She not only sang in the choir, but later also managed the choir, although she did not study this specifically.
And they began to communicate. And he is also a master of sports, the champion of Moscow in rowing. And his mother, who was sharp-tongued, somehow says to him: “Do you even know how to swim?” A master of water sports - and he can't swim! He thinks: “Wow, what a girl! I will never marry such a woman!” But it turned out that it is better because it is not!
At the same time, I don’t remember my mother saying bad things about someone, condemning someone. Dad used to say: "Tacos by your name and your life." And her name was Love.
- Father, your dad was repressed, tell us more about it.
- Yes, from 1927 to 1931 he was in Solovki, where there was a camp - SLON, and in Kem. The city of Kem is located on a peninsula that juts out into the White Sea, there was also a zone there.
When he was in the camp, he had a vision, as he told us, that another world opened up. Dad began the story like this: “There was a sunset, I looked at the sea ... And then the sky opened and closed. I saw that world. He was more real than ours." This is the testimony of the father, how the Lord gave revelations in those places. The Lord strengthened the believers who were in prison, gave revelations.
And the fact that that world is real, there was a lot of evidence in my life. I have repeatedly told how the Lord vouchsafed me to communicate with Vladimir Petrovich Sedov, a distant relative of Metropolitan Philaret (Drozdov). He once told me: “I have always been a deep believer, and now I don’t believe – I know. After all, as I speak to you, I spoke with a man from the other world for an hour. The fact is that Metropolitan Filaret appeared to him and talked with him. And about specific things. Metropolitan Filaret asked to restore the grave of his mother, Evdokia Nikitichna Drozdova, and said where it was located. Indeed, the grave was located exactly where the metropolitan indicated.
And I often meet such evidence of that world. And the connection between the two worlds is so concrete that you are surprised. As Elena Vladimirovna Apushkina repeated, my mother-in-law, who herself went through years of exile in Kazakhstan, "excession is sent with a test." That is, in parallel with some kind of test, help is going on. It is a fact.
So, my father was sitting in Kem together with the clergyman Bishop Theodosius of Kolomna (Ganitsky), who later died in freedom in 1937. And somehow they had such a dialogue. The Pope asked Vladyka: “What should I do?” “Rely on the will of God.” - "I relied." “Why did you come to me? It's in the best hands." These were the people...
The most amazing thing is that almost eighty years later I participated in the consecration of the throne in these very places where my father sat. It was arranged with the Lord that my father had to marry, and the youngest of his sons had to serve where he was a prisoner.
However, my father almost never told us about the prison. After all, it was very scary. I have already read about the Solovetsky camp, how the prisoners were mocked there, but he never told us anything. Probably so as not to frighten us in advance. As Father John (Krestyankin) said: "Often people are tormented by the expectation of what will be." That is, you suffer only from waiting for events. So dad didn't scare us. Well, and, perhaps, also so that we do not have hatred for the authorities. He did not bring us up to hate the authorities. Never. And he didn't have it.
How did your father become a priest?
“It was predicted to him in prison that he would be a priest. And his wife influenced him. We were three children in the family, my father was forty-nine years old, and in order to become a priest, he had to study. And so he says to his wife: “How can I go to study, and you will stay with three children?” “Ata, don’t worry. I can handle. You go study." She was a very strong woman!
But she married him when he was still in the settlement after prison. They got married on the Solombala Islands, now it is part of Arkhangelsk, and for some time after the wedding they lived there. And then, when he was at war, she wrote a letter: “Remember, wherever you are, whatever happens to you, even without arms, without legs, I will find you and bring you. Go do your duty." And this letter dad carried throughout the war with him.
Mom was very brave. When there was a war, she gave signals to the partisans whether there were Germans or not. She hung out the laundry. If this were revealed, then death would be for our entire family. But she still did it, although she had three children in her arms.
– How did she overcome her fear?
She had a very strong faith. She had a vision that the Orthodox faith would flourish in Russia. And, experiencing years of persecution against the Church, she expected that soon there would be a revival of Orthodoxy.
– Did you live in Zaraysk after the war?
- So we returned to Zaraysk during the war after the occupation, when we were freed, and lost everything. My brother Nikolai and I were born in Zaraysk, first he, then me. After all, my father settled here after his imprisonment, because he did not have the right to live in Moscow. Since my birth, I have been shown the true mercy of God. I was baptized in the Church of the Holy Savior in Zaraysk on Spasskaya Street, and the caretaker of the temple, a freelance priest, Father Mikhail Rozhdestvin, was the recipient. In April 1937 I was baptized, and in the fall of that year he was shot in Butovo. The Lord granted me such mercy - in infancy, the future holy martyr carried me in his arms.
In 1939, my father was offered a place near Volokolamsk, in the village of Ilyinskoye. This is not far from the famous Dubosekovo, somewhere in those parts. And we moved there. Two years passed and the war began. Dad volunteered for the front. But my mother and I stayed and after a while fell into the occupation. The Germans came and burned down the house. We were lying somewhere in the snow. Shooting went on, grenades exploded. But we boys were interested. "Don't raise your head, they'll shoot you!" they shouted to us. After all, there are boys, even if they are five years old, they are still interested in him. Then they played war. But everything was very serious - mines remained in that area after the occupation, they exploded, many people died.
– Please tell us about your family traditions.
- We lived the church life, that is, Christmas, Christmas time, Easter ... We lived on church holidays, we did not have secular holidays.
In general, the foundations in the family were serious. Even my grandfather told my father: “Do not go to the house in which there is a girl whom you are not going to marry.” That is, do not even go to this house, so as not to give the girl a reason to worry and not to cast a shadow on her. I remember one case was in the Urals, where I worked. It was difficult for me to communicate with no one. And there was one family of believers. The owner was an accountant. The family had two daughters and three sons. Their grandmother, Galina Stepanovna, was the wife of a tsarist officer. And her five children died in her arms. One daughter remained. The next husband gave this woman his last name to hide her past in order to avoid trouble. She saw Chaliapin, visited the royal court. Such an interesting old lady. Well, it was interesting for me to communicate, I went there ... I just went and did not think that there could be any consequences. And then somehow everyone gathered for the New Year, and I look, one of the daughters is in tears. I think: “Who offended her? What's happened?" And they say to me: “Don’t you understand, or what?” - "I do not understand". And the girl, apparently, decided that I had intentions towards her ... for her, my visits were more important than for me, she did not care. So I unwittingly made a man suffer. It became a lesson for me, it remained in my soul then.
As for childhood, I especially don’t remember that we celebrated birthdays, for example. We lived very poorly, why celebrate something there? But on the big church holidays - Christmas, Easter, Holy Trinity Day - a lot of people gathered to us, the priests came.
In general, we really appreciated when the family got together. Dad used to sit with us: “How I dreamed when I was at war that I would sit next to my family.” After the war, we lived in Zaraysk, on the banks of the Osetr River - the house was with a thatched roof. A kerosene lamp is on, a blizzard outside the window. And here we are at the table. Where, how did we get the seven-string guitar? Do not know. But I remember my dad played the guitar and sang. And we boys sang romances, Russian songs, spiritual poems. Mom sang along. We had a tradition of singing with the guitar.
Then, when dad left for the seminary, we boys began to gather ourselves and sing. Here Nikolai, my brother, now he is also a priest, mastered the guitar. And then I began to remember the chords, and so, on three chords, like Paganini on one string, I play and sing all my life. That's how we've always been. Such were the traditions.
Parents - Archpriest Mikhail and Lyubov Vladimirovna Krechetov. 1962
– Father, were you brought up in a special way, that you became a priest, fell in love with worship?
- The thing is that we all regularly attended services. When we moved to Zaraysk, at the age of six I began to serve in the church. There were very few people, there were no young people at all. We are several boys, including us, three brothers, and read and sang. And since we sang in the family, we sang in the church. And other boys offended us, because we went to church, they beat us, shouted: “Ah, priests!” teased. And then the priests who came out of prisons and camps served, and young priests - there were such burning ones!
Every Saturday and Sunday, on all holidays, my mother woke me up: "Valyushka, get up." You get up and again - bang, you fall to sleep. She puts on a shirt, I again - bang, sleep. Gradually you start to wake up. Then they are dragged somewhere, especially in winter: through the snow, into a blizzard. In summer, of course, it’s easier, but I didn’t always want to go myself: there was a river nearby, I wanted to swim, run. And then you put on shoes, like shackles, and go to work, you think that this is still necessary. And from there already joyful return. It’s like you’re going there - it’s hard, but from there - the soul rejoices ...
This is how we got used to services from childhood.
And then my mother-in-law, Elena Vladimirovna Apushkina, gave a big school, the spiritual child of first father Alexy Mechev, then his son, father Sergiy Mechev.
– She witnessed the church life of the twenties and thirties of the last century...
- Yes! Of course… She explained a lot to me, told me about Father Sergiy, about the spiritual school that was in that church on Maroseyka. This, of course, brought me a very great, invaluable benefit, especially for understanding the significance of worship.
In fact, our Orthodox worship is so deep, it is so beautiful… Only few people know it in its fullness. There is such beauty!
– Why do you think it happens that we often do not feel the beauty of worship?
– The world opens up to those who travel the world. So it is with worship. You see, you need to live it, and not come to church from time to time.
I talked with Bishop Stefan (Nikitin), who also went to Maroseyka to see Father Alexy and Father Sergius Mechev. They were given a covenant: never go anywhere on holidays, on Sundays, nor arrange anything at home - no holidays, no events. Because they went to church.
After all, in the Church everything has a certain meaning. For example, pre-holiday, preparing for the holiday. And then the holiday passes, but the afterfeast begins. And the person still continues to live this holiday. That is, the holiday is expanding. The larger the feast, the longer the forefeast and afterfeast. The Rule is very wisely drawn up and instructive. Well, I'm not talking about church singing. From some of the chants, the soul just freezes! Here from Lenten - especially.
And the luminary of the feast of the Assumption: “The apostles from the end have copulated here in Gethsemane, and bury my body. And you, my Son and my God, receive my spirit. (Sings.) I remember how Father Sergiy Orlov served this service, who was the rector of our church in Akulovo for almost thirty years. The choir quietly sings the luminary, silence is all around, and I look - Father Sergius has tears running down his cheeks. Very soothing songs.
Why are church tunes drawn out? They give you the opportunity to think, to focus on something higher, you know? One of the fathers said: "If I am more fond of sound than content, I am seriously sinning." Why is reading monotonous? It does not impose anything on anyone, but allows a person to focus on what is closer to him. This is the special meaning of worship.
– And yet: did your parents bring you up in the faith solely by their own example, or did they tell you something, teach you something?
- My dad used to say: "You must not believe in God, but believe in God." Because the whole point is that believing in God, just believing that God exists, is not enough. Demons also believe and tremble. It says, "Have the faith of God." Don't just have faith, but have the faith of God.
It even happens that believing people begin to discuss some issues, and so they judge, and so on, but all from the point of view of earthly knowledge. And so my spiritual father in such cases said: “You agreed to the point that you forgot about God.” And my dad said the same thing, only in different words. Let's start talking about something, and he will notice: “Well! What about God? Have you forgotten about God? Without God, there is nothing and cannot be.
– Perhaps this trust in God can be learned? So your father went through such a path - from a brilliant athlete from a wealthy family to a prisoner of Solovki, then the war, the priesthood ... How can one learn such faith? And in general - is it possible to learn such things? Or is it God?
- You can, you can. God gives, but not everyone learns. At school, everyone is taught, but not everyone is learning - the teacher tells everyone, teaches everyone, but few learn. So it is with faith: God gives, but not everyone learns. But again: for some reason, some are given, while others are not.
- But why?
- And this is the omniscience of God. This is beyond our understanding. The Lord could give to everyone. But many have been given something, but they do not use it. Why give even more if it is not used yet? Therefore, it is not given, there is no sense. You can bestow all the talents, but we don’t develop even one properly.
How to learn faith? One of the psalms of the prophet David contains these words: As if the enemy chased my soul, humbled my belly into the ground; planted me to eat in dark, like dead centuries. And my spirit is in me, my heart is troubled in me. I remembered the days of old; I have learned in all Your works, I have learned in the works of Your hand(Ps. 142:3-5). If you are attentive, you will see how the Lord delivers from such hopeless situations. And learn the faith of God.
– Please tell us in more detail: did you, all three brothers, help in the church, studied at school, then at the institute?
Yes, all three. The eldest, Peter (recently deceased), generally took his duties very seriously. When we, the younger ones, started to indulge like children, he strictly stopped us.
– And why did Peter not become a priest, but you and Father Nikolai did?
You should have asked him, of course. But we all had in mind that each of us needs a profession, father told us: “Priestly service is not a profession. This is service. And they must have a profession. The Apostle Paul made tents, almost all the saints had earthly professions, at the expense of which they lived. Serving God in itself has never been a profession that gave income. When the apostles walked with the Lord, of course, they were fed everywhere, because He is the Teacher, the preacher, and they are His disciples, and this was an expression of respect and gratitude. But in general, the Lord called the apostles from fishing, they were fishermen. And as soon as they buried their Teacher, they again went to fish. One of the first appearances of the Savior was at the apostolic fishing. The Apostle Paul directly writes that he never burdened anyone, he fed on the labors of his own hands. One of the famous world saints, Spyridon Trimifuntsky, shepherded the sheep, even when he was already a bishop.
Such things as education, a profession are necessary, because a person must feel in this life, in an earthly sense, provided with something. If there is no profession, who will you be, in what capacity among people? Only a person who burdens others? Well, in our time, believers were simply imprisoned.
Therefore, the father told us directly: “Are you going to be priests? Get ready for jail." It was necessary to acquire a profession that would be suitable in prison. The first is a doctor, because he is needed everywhere. But then my dad said to me: “Maybe you can’t stand it. It’s too much to cut corpses…” And my brother Nikolai and I entered the Forestry Engineering Institute, because the prisoners were sent to logging - to Siberia, the Far East, the North and other places. And the older brother, Peter, wanted to try himself in the scientific field, to become a physicist. He graduated from high school in 1950. We are five years apart. When we were in occupation, he lost one academic year, he could not study. So, he decided to enter Moscow State University. But he had a naive idea: he wrote in the questionnaire that his father was studying at the seminary. Naturally, he was immediately “cut off”, he did not enter.
We were neither pioneers nor Komsomol members. We went to church, served. He studied well, at school he could get a medal by his diligence, but due to the fact that he was not a Komsomol member, he did not receive it.
– All three of you deliberately did not join the Pioneers and the Komsomol?
- Of course, deliberately. They asked me: “Why are you against joining?” I answered the question with a question: “Maybe one of the pioneers is someone who goes to church?” - "Not". - "So I go, so you can't accept me." And when they asked why I was against it, it was clear that if I expressed some criticism, then my father could be imprisoned again.
- Therefore, you tried to avoid such conversations, but still had your position?
- No, we did not avoid conversations, but we expressed our position on our own behalf, without hiding behind mom, dad, so as not to let anyone down. There was such an upbringing.
– In what other cases have you had to express your opinion?
- Then there was a similar conversation about the Komsomol, first at school, and then at the institute. But it's all over. At the institute, it turned out that I was not a member of the Komsomol when I had already studied for two years. All this time, the Komsomol organizer handed over contributions for me. And then he asks: “What is your Komsomol ticket number?” “But I don’t have it.” - "Like this?" “But I didn’t join the Komsomol.” - "How so?" Well, the main thing is that the money is coming. Though some pennies, but still money.
– Did he pay for you out of his own pocket?
– And I thought you were a member of the Komsomol?
- I was poorly dressed, he thought he was doing me a favor.
And brother Peter entered the Pedagogical Institute at the Faculty of Mathematics. Since there were few men there, he entered, brilliantly, however, passing the exams. And again - at first they accepted, and then missed about his origin. But here he no longer wrote that his father was in the seminary or a priest ... He wrote that he was born in the family of an employee, in a streamlined way.
And when Nikolai and I entered, they wrote that we were born in the family of an accountant. It was true - I was born when my dad worked as an accountant. There was such a time - I had to use diplomacy.
I remember that I was already at school, they ask me: “Thunder - what is it? This is when Elijah the prophet rides in a chariot across the sky? How do you say there, in the church? I answer: “You know, this is the first time I hear this from you. I've never heard anything like this in church." “What are you talking about?” - "Come, listen." “Yes, yes, interesting.” They treated me very well.
– Did your children or teachers ask you these provocative questions?
- Teachers. The kids didn't ask at all. There were those who teased: “Priests, monks,” it was like that, but it was on the street. But still, I studied for ten years, and no one in the class ever laughed at faith in my presence. I didn’t think about why this was so, but when I received a testimonial signed by the class teacher (dad kept it later), I saw that it was written there: “... enjoyed the respect and love of the class.” I didn't realize it.
– So they respected your position?
- Respect when a firm position. The whole city knew. There was one church. Especially since I went with a procession to the river in Jordan, at Easter. Everyone knew. There were only a few of us (besides us brothers, there were also brothers from a believing family). Young people respect true firmness. Then the young had an ideal of courage.
– In general, were you active children? How did you spend your free time? Not only, probably, there was church life, but communication with other children?
- I don’t understand when they put some kind of line: a believer - a non-believer. Besides the fact that we went to church and, of course, we didn’t swear, we didn’t smoke, we didn’t drink, otherwise we were no different from other children. Also participated in all the games. They played towns, bast shoes - outdoor games. We lived poorly in order to play towns, we cut logs from sticks, a bat is an ordinary stick. And we had a lapta - a black ball for twelve people - this is a treasure. We couldn't play football, we just didn't have a soccer ball. If a soccer ball appeared somewhere, it was the elite! When the river was covered with ice, we rode, drove frozen horse manure, played hockey. Oak branches served as clubs. They picked it up, hung it up, they were heavy, of course. It was physical development.
We studied with a kerosene lamp, there was no electricity. So I graduated ten years without electricity. And from spring to autumn they worked in the garden. They dug, planted, it was necessary to water all this, to go to the river for water. A hundred meters to the river. And so we agreed - in order to run, it was necessary first to fulfill the norm. And when you run fifty times for water... I didn't even think about how much it was. Then, when I counted, it turned out that I ran ten kilometers, five of them with full buckets on the yoke. Such was our life.
Everything was so healthy, strong, good-quality that we were physically strengthened. They believed that it was necessary to develop, that a man should be strong. Then they used heated cast-iron irons, we worked with them, as with two dumbbells.
So we, along with all the other children, ran around, except that we didn’t swear, we didn’t smoke.
They lived in poverty. Mom worked as a psalmist in the church, she ran to the service, and we got up, prayed, went to study in different shifts. And even so it was. The elder came, took off his shoes, the second put them on and walked. Two people walked in one pair of shoes. It is now completely incomprehensible to people. I'm used to loose shoes, because my foot is smaller, but the main thing is that it fits. They put a patch on the pants because they were frayed.
– Please tell us about your college years.
- When I entered the institute, at first I got into the group of water workers - the specialty "water transport of the forest." On the one hand, I passed geodesy, taxation, but on the other hand, my dream was to become a mechanic. And after I distinguished myself on the virgin lands, I moved to a group of mechanics. In 1956, as a volunteer from the third year, I went to the virgin lands. After the first course, they were not allowed in yet. I attached myself to the brigade of my older brother, the future father of Nikolai. They took me with them.
At first I was not interested in studying, I even flunked the exam. But then I think: “You still need to study,” and retake it to “good.” I realized that an Orthodox person should be, if possible, a specialist of the highest class. Otherwise, there will be no progress in his life. That is, his specialization, skill, in the end will be required, as I was convinced later. I was the chairman of the metal technology circle, I worked on all the machines. Once I even honed chess for a conference. It is not difficult, the main thing is to make incisors, templates. He was engaged in welding, at the department of draft machines. I have fifty-seven years of driving experience.
I moved to the mechanical department - I passed some exams, I had to lean on my studies. This specialization required mastering all types of transport. I had an internship in the virgin lands, I already had a driver's license.
He also mastered the navigation business - the navigator of the Air Force. It so happened that when I was still growing up, I had a dream to travel. Romance! I imagined that I was a sea captain. These were childhood dreams, because I did not realize that all this was closed to me, because I was not a member of the Komsomol. As a child, I did not associate one with the other. Of course, later I realized that these were empty fantasies, because they would not let me, an Orthodox person, go on any long voyage. This is where the miracle happened. When I entered the institute, as part of my training at the military department, students of my course were trained to become Air Force navigators. And I jumped with a parachute, flew. (Four years ago, at Sheremetyevo Airport, I landed a Boeing on a simulator twice.) The Lord seemed to say to me: “Did you want to be a navigator? You won't swim, you'll fly." I fly now when they say to me: “Is the plane dangerous?” I answer: “The sky is our home. I'm a navigator." And even somehow flew in the cockpit.
And at the institute I went in for sports. Well, since it was necessary to work in the timber industry, and there were all sorts of cadres, including convicts, a man had to be a man. Seriously engaged in boxing, skiing, then acrobatics, even somersaults. I swam a lot as a child. Grew up by the river. They worked with kettlebells every day, as it should be. Father said: "A priest must be strong and hardy." Now I am convinced of this. Exactly.
In a word, the Lord showed me everything, and when I graduated from the institute, I even saw the camps. Although I was a non-party member, the third secretary of the district committee called me and said: “Your candidacy as a specialist has been proposed for a trip to the camps for the purpose of technical inspection.” As a result, I traveled through the zones with a commission. I visited behind barbed wire with sheep dogs. You go in - a click behind you, the door closes, and that's it, you're in the zone. I saw the prisoners face to face. The officer, of course, accompanied me. So I looked at these places when I worked in the Northern Urals.
– Did you get to the Northern Urals after graduation?
Yes, distribution. In practice, I was in the Nizhny Novgorod region, then I worked at a factory in Petrozavodsk. Then - in the Tver region, there were timber industry enterprises, where students were taken. I was distributed to the Northern Urals, for three years on Chusovaya, in the Chusovsky timber industry enterprise, I worked in a design bureau.
– And when did the firm thought come to you to take holy orders?
- I always had a thought, my father told me very simply: “Study, work, if you have a calling, you will still go. And if this desire disappears somewhere, then, apparently, there is no need to go this way.
- But it was important, apparently, to get life experience first?
Of course, experience is needed. When I had already arrived in Moscow, having spent three years in the Urals, I met Vladyka Stefan (Nikitin), and through him, with his confessor Father Sergiy Orlov, who served in Otradnoye. So Father Sergius said to me: "Go." - "I have little experience, father." - "Experience will be - there will be no strength."
- And how old were you then?
- Thirty. I managed to work in Moscow and got married. I came from the Urals, got married right away. He asked Father Kirill (Pavlov): “Which way should I choose?” He was young then, that was fifty years ago. He told me: "The Lord will show you." On the same day, my future wife, Natalya Konstantinovna Apushkina, was brought to me. I was like, “Yes, yes, yes,” and at first I didn’t pay attention to her. And then, at the wedding of my brother, I noticed, I thought: “What a modest girl with braids. There are some more." Then everyone was already shorn.
Then he came to his father Yevgeny Trostin, he was more than ninety years old. The old man was like that. He says, "You need to get married." - "I have no one". “But have you seen anyone just now?” “Yes, I actually saw it.” "Here, marry her." And he baptized me with the icon of St. Nicholas with the words: “With this you will conquer. Go marry her." She turned out to be the daughter of Elena Vladimirovna Apushkina, the spiritual child of Father Alexy Mechev, who served in the church of St. Nicholas in Klenniki. Here St. Nicholas brought. I revered him - I was born in Zaraysk, where the icon of St. Nicholas is revered.
– Father Valerian, who had the strongest influence on you in choosing the priestly path? Surely, first of all, your own father, someone else?
- One of my spiritual mentors was Father Alexei Rezukhin. After the war, he was rector at the Zaraysk church. Mostly old priests served there, and he was young, energetic, active. Here he set an example of a real shepherd, zealous, selfless, fearless. In those days, he walked in a cassock with a cane. He preached sermons, the church filled with people. And out of the corner of my ear, I heard someone from the local authorities say - you can’t build communism with such a priest. After some time he was transferred from us. We parted with tears, of course. He set an example for me as a child.
We had a church of the Annunciation, and there were two chapels in it: the Archangel Michael and St. Sergius. Every service, when I was there, I resorted to the image of the Annunciation, I prayed to the Mother of God that I would be vouchsafed to serve God. Didn't ask for anything more. Only serve God. This is where I serve. From morning to evening.
- How did you meet Father Sergiy Orlov?
– When I began to communicate with my future wife, she asked: “Do you want to meet the bishop?” - "Sure, with pleasure". She brought me to Bishop Stefan (Nikitin). He said, "Make an offer." - "Bless." That is, I have repeatedly received the blessing of marriage.
And Vladyka died in Kaluga. I had visited him there a week before, and he had a very interesting conversation with me. And with the coffin of Vladyka Stefan I came here, to Otradnoye. Here he was buried. And then for the first time I saw Father Sergius. I began to come here to the grave of the bishop and talked with Father Sergius. Since I grew up in the church, read, sang, for me this parish was like a home. I began to help Father Sergius at the service. Then he says to me: “Come serve us. There are plenty of engineers, but there are not enough priests.”
– That is, you walked this path from a psalm reader to a deacon and a priest in this particular church?
- No, you can't say that. I grew up in the church from childhood and all the time somehow participated everywhere. He helped his father in the church when he was a student. He helped in another church, in Pushkino. Once, he even led the choir. That is, I got used to it, I grew up like that, you understand. He graduated from seminary in a year, because he was quite prepared. Knew the statute. I could recite the Six Psalms by heart. When you live in it, it's easy. You see, I lived the church life, it has become my flesh and blood so much that I don’t even think: how else?
And reading in Church Slavonic was a common thing for me. When I was still at school, I began to read both Russian and Slavic at the same time. And I heard the prayers, I knew them by heart. And when they showed me the text, I began to read them and quickly mastered the Church Slavonic language. In literature, we had a teacher who was born in the nineteenth century, her education was pre-revolutionary. She takes the essay from me and says: “Krechetov, you have Slavic turns in your essay.” I could say "yako" or something like that. It's our mother tongue, actually. Now the language is littered with a mass of foreign words that many do not understand, but these words are understandable.
So I grew up with two native languages: Church Slavonic, the language of our ancestors, and the modern literary language. There was no separation at all between church life and ordinary life. The only thing is, I didn’t swear, I didn’t have such a thing. And he did not participate in youth gatherings. But I went to the cinema. Firstly, the cinema was chaste, and secondly, it was interesting to watch all these films: Tarzan, about musketeers, cowboys. It was about serious things, the men were like men. Impressed by what I saw, I threw a lasso on the goat, threw knives, axes, and mangled the doors. I got it. We grew up like boys should grow up.
- And in your family already, at your children had a TV?
– Did not have. This is a conscious position. I grew up without a TV myself. This still needs money, and we lived modestly. And then - why? I grew up quietly without it, and so did my children. Erudite people - father Tikhon, father Fedor. TV is not required. Mankind lived for thousands of years without this machine, and mental development was no worse than modern.
Our family read a lot. Our grandmother, the Kingdom of Heaven to her, used to eat her portion quickly at dinner and, while the guys were sitting there, read something. Dickens, for example. I read to my children and grandchildren.
I myself read very little secular literature. During the period when I was at school, Matrona Mamontovna, a nun from Ukraine, lived with us. In general, her monastic name Mitrofania was tonsured by Father John (Krestyankin) himself. She was a novice until almost the age of eighty. She had excellent spiritual books - Bishop Ignatius (Bryanchaninov). She asked me: "Valyushka, I'm illiterate, won't you read to me?" Well, I'm literate, of course, I read to her. And I read a lot of Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) - "Ascetic experiments", "Patriotic". There is such depth, there is such clarity that after that I could not read anything. I didn’t even really want to read Dostoevsky, there are a lot of passions there. And in the ascetic literature about virtue, about spiritual life, specific things are said.
My dad loved the saying, "Christianity is life." And this is how I called the cycle of my sermons and speeches. It says how the real spiritual life is connected with our daily life. You see, there is an artificial and distorted view of the relationship between spiritual and worldly life. In fact, the spiritual life permeates everything. And you can truly live only by it. And everything else is, as we say, virtuality or just fantasy. Christianity speaks specifically about the state of the human soul, the mind.
– So who, father, blessed you for ordination?
- Father Sergiy Orlov. He told me to go to the bishop. I came to him, he replied that he had great respect for Father Sergius, but they were forbidden to ordain people with higher education. Because the policy was this: the clergy should be illiterate, uneducated, gray. In reality, it was the other way around, of course, but there were some obstacles and restrictions. And then, since Konstantin Efimovich Skurat, professor of the Moscow Theological Academy, was my brother-in-law, I spoke to him about this. He spoke directly. Then - the Kingdom of Heaven - Daniil Andreyevich Ostapov, personal secretary of Patriarch Alexy I, deputy chairman of the economic department of the Moscow Patriarchate, a very wise man, suggested: "Let's take him as an engineer." And I became an engineer at the Patriarchy.
– And what is an engineer under the Patriarchy?
– There was no Sofrino production at that time. But there were workshops under the Patriarchy. The machines were there. In a word, also mechanics. They made all kinds of church utensils, candles, incense. And then, already as an employee of the Patriarchate, I applied for admission to the seminary. Since I was quite thoroughly prepared, I passed four courses at once, I passed right in the subjects.
– Did your mother support you in everything?
- Mother, of course, supported. When I met her, I was already thinking about priestly service, even before talking with Vladyka Stefan, before Father Sergius, I thought about it. I had such a burning that I was ready to go right there, while I was still studying. The times were like that.
And then I met her spiritual father, Nikolai Golubtsov. It was the confessor of the blessed Matronushka of Moscow. He was an amazing man of holy living. I tell him: "I would like to be a priest." - "Get ready." “I have been preparing for this all my life.” He told me: “If you marry her, your first step towards the priesthood will be taken.” I mean, she's definitely a mother. She really is a mother, it was because of her that I became a priest, it was through her that everything worked out.
– You lived rather poorly, and my mother somehow humbly treated this.
- What happened, happened. I grew up in need, and so did my student days. What did they eat? When free bread appeared in the dining room and it could be smeared with mustard, it was already happiness. In over fifty years of marriage, we never had a conversation about money. Never. Moreover, when I was already working as an engineer and we had three children (on the eve of my ordination), I thought, maybe move somewhere, somehow provide? There are not enough funds, the family is growing, and I worked alone. I say: “Maybe move to another place? I have to travel there on business trips, but I will get more.” She says, “No. We'll get along somehow, but we'll be better together." I am grateful to her for this. Indeed, the Lord gave gradually.
Housing conditions were initially cramped. While there were no children, we rented a room. Where my mother lived, three were already registered, and I was registered as the fourth - in a room of 14.8 square meters in a communal apartment. Accordingly, there is a shared kitchen and everything else. Now they don't understand it. Then they gave us a two-room apartment on Trifonovskaya Street - twenty-seven square meters. It was already luxurious. Then our children went. And there are seven of them. And now there are thirty-four grandchildren.
– Have you served in this temple for forty years and never served anywhere else?
- First he served in Peredelkino for a year and a half. This year I serve for the forty-third year. And all in the dignity, from the moment I became a deacon, in November it will be forty-five years. The deacon's consecration was in November 1968, on the Archangel Michael in the Church of the Archangel Gabriel in Moscow.
With mother Natalya Konstantinovna
– Father, how did the circle of your parishioners develop? It's not just local residents, were there many Muscovites? What drew them to the temple?
- I think the point is that Father Sergius was an exceptional personality, one can say that he is a great man. He is from the hereditary priesthood. In 1911 he graduated from the Moscow Seminary and became interested in secular knowledge. He wanted to continue his education, but he was not taken to the university after the seminary, he should have studied at the Theological Academy. Therefore, he entered the University of Warsaw. Then he graduated from the Kiev Polytechnic Institute. He received two higher educations. Pre-revolutionary. After the revolution, he oversaw Western Siberia in agronomy.
By the way, when I mentioned Lenin, he said: “Who is this? It's nobody. I was in the midst of revolutionary events, no one knew this man before he appeared ... ”He knew many high-ranking people. He communed Brother A. Mikoyan, I know that. There were many revolutionaries among the seminarians. The authority of Father Sergius was very high. Therefore, later on, as if from that time, believers came to this temple: the spiritual children of Bishop Arseny (Zhadanovsky); some people from government circles; Father Arseny (this is a real person) sent his spiritual children to Father Sergius. There was a connection with the past. Although they took risks in those days, they were baptized here, they were married slowly.
Archpriest Sergiy Orlov with his family, Fr. Valerian. 1974
– Was it necessary to report on the number of baptisms, weddings to the Soviet representatives?
- In Peredelkino, where I served for a year and a half at the beginning, I openly baptized everyone. At least in the residence of the Patriarch it was officially, as expected, free. So many people went there to be baptized! There were days when I baptized seventy people on Sunday! Because the lists were not submitted anywhere. And people quickly learned about it.
And then, when I was already transferred here, to Otradnoye, they kind of rushed after me. And students and teachers of some institutes came here, for example, Father Tikhon (Shevkunov), being a student, came here to us. There were many students from VGIK, Nikolai Nikolaevich Tretyakov taught there (he died a few years ago). He brought many people here to be baptized, to get married.
– Have you somehow managed to avoid these reporting requirements from the authorities?
“I just did everything little by little. Risked, of course. The commissioner once called me and swore at me with foul language. Well, that's their culture.
I had a special path. I could never have imagined this before. When I served in Peredelkino, I once received a group of members of the government. It included Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov, chairman of the State Security Committee. That was enough. As the accompanying friend said, he was very pleased, and after that no one touched me.
– Did it happen at the beginning of your journey?
- Yes. Then one friend came to me, we talked with him. I say: “You know, I personally have a good attitude towards you, but you are a subordinate person. You will be told and you must follow orders. Will you act in 1937? Well, that's up to you. But I'm still in my place." Then, when another young man tried... He bored me. And I finally told him: "I met with Yuri Vladimirovich." There were no more questions. Of course, he couldn’t say anything more, they didn’t report to him, he could assume anything about me, maybe I have some kind of rank. Of course, I had nothing to do with this, but I was completely calm - the Lord somehow set it up in such a way that he protected me.
- Do you connect your calmness only with this case of Andropov's visit?
– No, I think firmness is important. Normal people there, in the organs, respected the same thing - firmness. They also suggested to me: "You will defend Orthodoxy at the international level." I say: “Do you already have personnel for this?” "No," they say, "that's not it." I answer them: “Because I am what I am not!”
– That is, you just need to be yourself - and you will go through it all?
- Quite right. How did people go through the war, were in various alterations, but the bullet did not touch them? And here - no one can impose anything on you if you speak directly and calmly. When I became a priest, I was called. I'm a reserve officer, and I wrote that I was an officer and changed my occupation, but I should have written: "Reserve officer." We talk, and they: “What are you like here?” Then I had not yet met with Yuri Vladimirovich. I clarify: “Yes, what is it, exactly?” – “How? The state taught you!” - "I worked for three years in distribution, then another five years in Moscow as an engineer, we are even." “Well, why did you change?” “What is it?” - "Well, here you are an engineer, but you became a priest!" I say: “Excuse me, Irina Arkhipova, soloist of the Bolshoi Theater, in my opinion, was an architect. Boris Romanovich Gmyrya, also a people's artist, was a construction engineer. – “Well, what? They went to the artists, and you to the Church!” I say: "But we have freedom, in my opinion." "Liberty?" - "Yes". “What are we talking about then?” So it was… interesting.
– Father, how did you get to Father Nikolai Guryanov? Tell us a little about him.
– Through familiar women parishioners. They went to him, helped there and told me about him. It was about twenty years ago. Batiushka no longer served, he was at rest. I arrived, and my cell-attendant mother asked me: “Batiushka has not received communion for a long time. Communion him?" I'm fine". And Father Nikolai says: “I don’t want to take communion.” Well, I reacted like this: “Won't it? Well, what to do now? So that's it." But of course, then he took communion. It’s just that the elder already knows whether to take communion or not, there is no need to tell the elders, they are not supposed to be taught. Well, I answered: "Good."
Then the second time I came. He asks me: “Why don’t you take communion?” I began to take communion together with him, as he came, we took communion. And somehow it turned out that I began to travel more and more often, the priest received me with love. And somehow I hear him say: "Our father has arrived." So very comforting. It was a special grace of God in my life that I had to communicate with such a person. Being with him is a comfort.
– What attracted you to this person?
- What? Love, simplicity, holiness, of course. Feels like a holy man. Complete innocence. The amazing thing from him remained in my memory ... It’s impossible even to convey, I try to pronounce it, but you can’t pronounce it in any way. I once began to tell him about Catholics, that they fast only twice a year - on Clean Monday and Good Friday. Whoever is pious does not eat meat for half a day. And they have priests who go with the throne to the beach and celebrate Mass there. Liturgy is performed on the European beach!!! For us, this is something absolutely incredible! Batiushka listened, and then he said so quietly: “Well, maybe you shouldn’t do this…” In such a quiet tone, without judgment, without indignation.
– Maybe just regret, right?
- Yes. I can't even convey how it was said, in what tone. He had such an amazing spirit of the world. And also loving everything that surrounds you.
– Father Valerian, you have been in the Church all your life. How do you assess the life of believers in the twentieth century? How is it fundamentally different from today?
- Big difference. Because in those days a person went to the Church seriously. This could put him in all sorts of trouble. And now believers are not in danger, it is even prestigious. I can mentally imagine how pagans came to Christians before the Edict of Milan. Then people walked more consciously, more seriously, more responsibly. In Soviet times, there was a threat, if not to life, then to well-being one hundred percent. But all the same, people were baptized, baptized children, got married. Even various high-ranking persons came to me - a member of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, a member of the Central Committee of trade unions, the head of the ideological department of Literaturnaya Gazeta, the son of the chief of the General Staff ... There were many such cases. They were baptized themselves, baptized their children, got married. Some of them were consciously believers, they took communion, took unction, some I buried. And I came to the hospitals to confess and take communion. For them, it was a big risk.
– And how would you characterize the very appearance of a believer, church person in the twentieth century?
“I was surrounded by people whose roots go back to the nineteenth century. It was in many ways still the royal generation. My father was born in 1900. That is, his youth, when the personality develops, passed under the king. Education was different back then. I had a teacher who was born in the 1880s, you know? Father Sergiy Orlov was born in 1890 and died in 1975. This is almost the end of the twentieth century, and people are still those, pre-revolutionary. Communicating with them, we adopted that spirit, that upbringing. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries cannot be rigidly separated.
– That is, the Church survived at the expense of those people who were rooted in church life in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries?
- Certainly. And after all, when the monasteries were dispersed, priests, monks had to settle somewhere ... Here, a nun lived next to me, I told. “Read to me,” she asked. I read to her, I read all of Ignatius (Bryanchaninov)! Do you imagine? There is atheism all around, and here a child, an elementary school student, is reading Ignatius (Bryanchaninov). How is this possible?
Like this - through a nun, and someone was talking to grandmother, someone was talking to grandfather ... How streams intertwine, intertwine, and then merge into a whole stream.
Father Valerian Krechetov in the village of Akulovo, Odintsovo district, is the rector of the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos.
Writer, confessor, preacher, comforter of the grieving souls of the Orthodox. And these are far from all the titles of Archpriest Valerian Krechetov.
Biography
Archpriest Valerian Krechetov was born on April 14, 1937 in the city of Zaraysk. He had 2 brothers. Valerian graduated from school in 1959.
His mother Lyubov from Korobov was an Old Believer. His father Mikhail was an exiled accountant who served time in a camp on Solovki along with clergymen and metropolitans. During the war, he fought at the front. And after graduation, he studied at the theological seminary and at the age of 54 became a priest.
Education
Krechetov Valerian has both secular and religious higher education.
1959-1962 - study at MLTI. The father always instructed his sons on the true path and prepared them for the priesthood. He said: before ordination, one must acquire a secular education in order to survive in prison. After all, before the clergy were very often persecuted and imprisoned. The brothers chose the forestry institute, because the convicts were sent to logging. Then Valerian volunteered to explore the virgin lands. He became a navigator of the Air Force, but worked as an engineer in a forestry enterprise. Soon he got married. Natalya Konstantinovna Alushkina became the wife of Krechetov Valerian.
1962-1969 - study at MDS. After some time, Krechetov Valerian transferred to work as an engineer in the Patriarchate, from where he entered the seminary. In one year, he was able to pass the exams for four seminary courses as an external student.
consecration
- November 21, 1968 - Deacon's ordination.
- January 12, 1969 . - Deacon Valerian was ordained a priest. The sacrament of consecration was performed by Bishop Filaret of Dmitrov.
- 1969-1973 - study at MDA.
parishes
Father Valerian's first parish was Spaso-Preobrazhensky, where he served for 1.5 years.
The second parish is the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos in the village. Akulovo, where he still serves.
Priority - since 1970.
The arrival of Fr. Valeriana Krechetova
How to get to Father Valerian? The parish where the preacher serves is located in a small village. Akulovo. The Akulovsky temple has not been closed since 1807. During the difficult repressive years, divine services were held in the chapel of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. This temple became at that time a spiritual stronghold, where the persecuted clergymen and many faithful Muscovites found shelter.
Since 1970 Father Valerian has been the rector here. Batiushka is so conducive to himself that people come to him for worship from different parts of Moscow and the Moscow region. The parish flock only increases every year, large families appear, which in full force attend the temple. In addition to pastoral labors in caring for the parishioners, Father Valerian Krechetov carried out diocesan obedience for several decades: he was a diocesan confessor. In 2010, he became a member of the Inter-Council Presence of the Russian Orthodox Church.
landscaping
During the service in the temple of the priest, the church and its territory acquired a well-groomed beautiful appearance. Through the efforts of the abbot, many objects were restored and built. He directed:
- Building a House for Church Workers (parable) . For 200 sq. m located prosphora, refectory, kitchen.
- Improvement of the territory belonging to the Sunday School . In addition, the territory was decorated with a flower garden.
- Restoration External and internal walls, domes, bell towers, basements were restored.
- The construction of a baptistery with a baptistery.
- Landscaping of the Sunday School . In addition to decorating the territory with flower beds, the Sunday school was presented with an exact copy of the Miraculous Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos "The Inexhaustible Chalice".
- Construction and painting of the church, consecrated in honor of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia. The new temple was consecrated on the 200th anniversary of the main temple in 2008. The consecration of the temple
- Asphalting the parking lot and the churchyard.
- Conducting the Sunday school of the central water supply.
Church activity
Father Valerian is not only a "good shepherd of his sheep", a responsible rector, a hardworking builder, he revives missionary, catechetical activity. With his blessing, parishioners are pursuing an active social policy, in particular, they were directly involved in the repair of the Sunday school, visiting the elderly in nursing homes.
Sunday School
At the Sunday school, various circles and sections are opened, for example, children are engaged in hand-to-hand combat, felting wool, art knitting, fine arts, applied needlework, photography, design. They sing in the church choir, put on theatrical performances. Pupils are happy to go on pilgrimage trips.
In 2003, the priest created a Sunday school for adults. They attend Biblical-theological courses to them. Sergius of Radonezh.
The Sunday school has three children's and one adult groups. The total number of children is approximately 80 people, and adults - 50 people.
In the Sunday school, classes are held on Sundays on the Law of God, on the Fundamentals of Orthodox morality, on the Catechism. And adult listeners listen to a course on the Fundamentals of the Orthodox worldview.
Tent camp "Solnyshko"
In the summer, students of the Higher School spend their holidays and gain physical and spiritual strength in the Summer Family Camp "Solnyshko", which is located in a forest in a picturesque place on Lake Seliger in the Tver Region. There are no communications here. While in the camp, children and adults learn in practice the Orthodox way of life on the basis of the gospel commandments. They pray daily, take part in divine services, sing and read at services, observe fasts, participate in recreational, sports, cultural and educational events.
Priests advocate regular missionary and catechetical talks and lectures, for organizing pilgrimages to shrines and historical sites.
Bibliography
What do parishioners say about their spiritual father, who is Archpriest Valerian Krechetov? Reviews are always grateful, kind. In addition to the main service, the miter arch. Valerian is a spiritual writer whose books are sought after with great hype and read with genuine interest, as can be read in reviews and heard from parishioners. Valerian Krechetov's books are addressed to a wide range of Orthodox readers. Some want to receive spiritual comfort, others want advice, and still others want admonition and instruction. Everyone will find what he likes. We present summaries of some of the books.
- "Bring my soul out of prison", 2012
The book is addressed to different categories of people: from beginning Christians to churchgoers. The human soul needs spiritual growth. Each time, overcoming sins and making efforts on ourselves, we rise one step higher on the path to salvation. At the same time, fasting and sincere regular prayer are the main helpers on the path of ascent.
- "How do we equip ourselves?", 2013
In the book, Father Valerian teaches to combine the movement of the mind and heart into a single impulse. Our heart and our mind must simultaneously want what we ask of God. Then we can get what we ask for. The author draws a parallel between our souls and the souls of saints. The souls of the saints are always tuned to the same wave, and we are always drifting somewhere: either to the left or to the right. Parents themselves must take care of their souls and endow their children with pure and bright filling. These are the main ideas in the book.
- "The key to the present is in the past", 2014
The book includes interviews given to the Pokrov magazine and Radonezh radio. Prot. Valerian, answering questions, explains that all our problems and troubles come from the past. Therefore, the key to a happy life can only be found by correcting the mistakes of the past. The priest answers questions about happiness, joy, a worthy change, about the right life in the Church, etc.
- "Martha or Mary?", 2006, 2012
The first book with this title was published in 2006 and was noted by believers as interesting and informative. Therefore, in 2012, a continuation of the first edition of Valerian Krechetov was published. The books deal with complex topics. O. Valerian explains complex things in simple language. At the end of his creation, he recalls Fr. Nikolai Gurianov.
- "To carry our battle to blood and flesh...", 2011
The book contains the sermons of Valerian Krechetov. Spiritual struggle is the main theme of this book. The struggle is not on the material, but on the spiritual level, which is carried out in the hearts of people and is the most difficult. To overcome spiritual warfare is the main task of a Christian.
- "About the most important", 2011
The title of the book speaks eloquently for itself. It really contains the main conversations of the priest. The book touches on important issues: life and death; sin and repentance; the fear of God and the fear of the enemy; family happiness. These and many other topics are covered in this edition.
- "From earthly vanity to true life", 2012
The book contains spiritual conversations that touch on the most pressing issues. Why fast? How to deal with offenders? The frequency of communion and unction. Why is unhappiness necessary? How not to lose spirituality behind secular fuss? What is more important - the temple or the presence of good deeds? These and many other questions are consecrated in this book, after reading which, the reader will be able to find physical and spiritual strength in himself.
- "Reflections before confession", 2014
The new book is intended for people preparing to confess, as well as for those who doubt the need for repentance. Batiushka explains the meaning of this great sacrament in a simple and accessible language. Is it necessary to confess if you have not killed or robbed anyone? Why repent? What to say in confession if you haven't done anything wrong? To these and many other questions about. Valerian gives clear, lively and heartfelt answers. Anyone who reads this book will feel the need for repentance.
Awards
For his services to the matter of the Church, Fr. Valerian has received numerous awards. He was awarded:
- Gaiter.
- Kamilavka.
- Pectoral Cross.
- Received the title of archpriest.
- Mace.
- Pectoral Cross with decorations.
- Order of the 3rd degree of St. Daniel of Moscow.
- Order of the 3rd degree Rev. Sergius of Radonezh.
- Mitra.
- Order of the 2nd degree Rev. Sergius of Radonezh.
- The award, according to which he can serve with open to "Our Father".
During his years of study and pastoral practice, Archpriest Valerian Krechetov communicated with many great spiritual people and gained spiritual and pastoral experience. His interlocutors were Fr. Nikolay Guryanov, and Fr. John Krestyankin.
In 2017, Father Valerian celebrated his 80th birthday. At the moment, the mitred archpriest Valerian is a father and grandfather of many children: he has 7 children and 34 grandchildren.
