Visionary elders of Mordovia. About the confessor and the elders. – How were those monks different from modern ones?
The prophecy of this Athonite elder was remembered quite recently, when the Russian SU-24 airliner was shot down in the skies over Turkey. This Greek monk, who has gained respect throughout the world, has long foreshadowed a military confrontation between Russia and Turkey. Therefore, it is no coincidence that Paisius Athossky’s predictions about Russia 2018 are now of interest to many people in our country.
In fact, this Athonite elder predicted more than one event concerning our state, which has already come true:
A little history
Paisiy was born on July 25, 1924 in Greece. After graduating from school, he, like an ordinary guy, went to serve in the army. In 1950, he became interested in religion and went to the Kutlumush Monastery. Here he lived almost his entire life, engaged in religious practice. In May 1978, the monk moved to the Athonite cell, where he began to receive a huge number of people. He died near Thessaloniki in 1994. Orthodox Christians all over the world continue to come to the grave of this famous elder, which is located in the Theological Monastery. In 2015, the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate canonized Paisius the Holy Mountain. At the same time, the reverend monk was included in the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Terrible predictions for Russia
The Elder's prophecy regarding the Middle East looks quite frightening. With his words, he did not try to intimidate anyone, but only indicated what consequences await humanity that has forgotten God. The immorality of people, the cynicism of politicians and the selfishness of the West will lead to unprecedented bloodshed in the East. His prophecy literally goes like this:
“When the Turks block the Euphrates, wait for the arrival of an army of two hundred million at sunrise.”
Until recently, these words seemed like fiction. Today, the predictions of Paisius of Athos are already coming true. Turkey is indeed building a dam on the Euphrates River, and its commissioning is scheduled for 2018. According to a further prediction that Svyatogorets made back in the nineties of the last century, a terrible war will begin between Russia and Turkey. As a result of this confrontation between Christians and Muslims, a third of the Turks will convert to Christianity, another third of the Turkish population will die, and the rest will be forced to leave their homeland. Back in 1991, Paisius mentioned the fall of Constantinople and the destruction of the Turkish state. The bloodshed will be so large-scale that three-year-old bulls will “swim” in a sea of blood. Schemamonk said the following verbatim about these events:
“During the battle, the Mosque of Omar will be destroyed, which will be the beginning of the restoration of Solomon’s Temple. China's army of two hundred million will cross the Euphrates and come to Jerusalem."
Western European countries will also take part in the war, but they will oppose Russia. Constantinople will be handed over to the rightful owner of this city - Greece, although it will not fight.
The events of recent times indicate that the elder’s words are already coming true. The Russian Federation is already fighting the Islamic State in Syria. Türkiye is also indirectly present in this conflict. The situation in this country is quite tense and it is unclear what it will lead to, especially after the strengthening of the power of leader R. Erdogan after the attempted military coup. Western countries, Israel and the United States also do not remain aloof from the flaring fire of war. Everything suggests that the Third World War may begin in this region. Soon a new redistribution of the world will begin.
What awaits Russia in the future?
The Athonite elder predicted that Russia would become the leader in the defense of Orthodoxy and the Russian-speaking population. He is echoed by other elders of Athos, who claimed the beginning of a new era. In this new time, a new leader must appear on the territory of the Russian Federation, sent by God to save the world from destruction.
Other predictors of the world also spoke about the appearance of the savior of mankind, such as:
- Nostradamus;
- Edgar Cayce;
- Vanga.
Approximately identical forecasts regarding the emergence of a new world leader can be explained quite simply. To obtain the necessary information, the media use various practices:
- prayer;
- meditation;
- immersion in trance.
Thus, a slowdown in human brain oscillations is achieved, and he gains access to the Earth’s Noosphere. In a state of altered consciousness, various information comes to him from the information field depending on the request.
It is also worth noting that almost all the Athonite elders, speaking about the new leader, mentioned joint prayer and repentance. That is, we all must admit to the collective unconscious (God) that we are not able to find a worthy leader and ask him to be revealed from above. It is necessary that a psychologically significant image understand our request and give the new ruler the strength to restore order throughout the world.
Athonite elders about Ukraine
At one time, Paisius of Athos spoke about the confrontation between two fraternal peoples. He also mentioned attacks in Ukraine on the Russian Orthodox Church.
Many monks from Mount Athos also predicted the development of events in Ukraine. They warned this country about the dangers of its choice. So Elder Parfeniy did not stop talking about the insincerity of the European Union. He argued that Ukraine would plunge into crisis and the situation would be much worse than in Greece. The hardworking and sincere Ukrainian people are alien to the sins of Sodom, which are legalized in Europe.
Elder Tikhon, who lived in the Trinity Monastery fifty years ago, predicted a conflict in Ukraine. The cause of the war, in his opinion, will be overseas forces. Those who unleashed the bloodshed in Ukraine will ultimately be the losers. Soon there will be a renewal of power in Russia and the conflict in Donbass will end quickly.
The Greek elders are confident that Ukraine will cope with all problems and get out of this situation if it builds its future together with its Slavic brothers - the Russian and Belarusian peoples.
Video:
Another excerpt from "Confession of a former novice"
about the spirit-bearing and God-bearing elder
the most recent times of Nahum-Cenrique.
“One of my friends, Ekaterina, advised me to go to “a perspicacious old man who can answer any question.” We went together to the Lavra to see Elder Naum, she also wanted to ask him something about her future marriage. We left Moscow for 3 in the morning, it was still completely dark. I didn’t sleep all that night, worried about what the elder would tell me, and prayed that the Lord would send me the strength to do what he told me because this elder really knows the will of God. , I didn’t even doubt it, although I had never seen him before. From five in the morning there were already a lot of people in the old man’s house, everyone with their own questions. Many had been coming here for several days, but they couldn’t get to the reception. , whose daughter was seriously ill, had been trying to get to the elder for a week. Every day from five in the morning, she was in line, but everyone did not invite her. On this day, she stood with a bag of freshly salted sturgeon, as they told her that “father loves fish.” She managed to sell this package to M. Pelageya, who accepted it and promised to help. I thought that I had nothing with me, it became awkward to show up to the old man empty-handed, the rest were standing around with nothing. I thought I'd just donate money since I didn't buy a gift. Even though it was only November, there was already snow on the ground, and it was very cold, there was a thick layer of frost on the walls of the veranda in front of the old man’s house, and everyone crowded on the stairs leading to the cell where he received, it was a little warmer there. Sometimes the elder’s cell attendant, nun Pelageya, and his assistant, Hieromonk Averky, came to us and asked who was coming to the elder on what issue. I said that I had a question related to monasticism, and Katya said that she wanted to ask about her fiancé. As soon as I voiced my question, Father Averky invited me inside without any queue, to the reception area. There were also some people waiting there, mostly women. Father Averky asked me if it was true that I wanted to enter a monastery, I replied that I didn’t know yet, I wanted to ask the elder if this was God’s will. He immediately, again without a queue, led me to a small cell, filled almost to the ceiling with books, boxes with all sorts of food and gifts, where Elder Naum sat in a corner on an armchair in a cassock and stole. The priest seemed to be dozing or just sitting with his eyes closed. Near the chair, among the boxes, there was a small rug, which M. Pelageya pointed out to me; I should kneel on it. I knelt on this rug, out of excitement, not knowing how to start. M. Pelageya voiced my question:
Well, Father, she wants to go to the monastery.
Father Naum opened his eyes and immediately began asking me about my sins. He simply named sins, and I had to say whether I had sinned in this or not. And for some reason these were mostly prodigal sins. Before I started going to church, I didn’t really understand the difference between love and fornication, so by the age of twenty-eight I had already sinned quite a bit. It was necessary to tell the elder about everything in order: when, where, with whom and how. The door to the cell was half open, boxes prevented it from being closed, and in the passage and on the stairs there were people waiting for their turn, they could hear our every word. The elder listened attentively and asked leading questions; the people on the stairs also stood quietly. I was terribly ashamed, and I didn’t want to discuss my personal life in detail in front of everyone. I said that I had already confessed all these sins to the priest in church, but the elder seemed not to hear and continued to interrogate me. M. Pelageya tugged at my sleeve: “Don’t be rude to the priest! He knows what to ask." I had to humble myself and answer all his questions, many of which were strange and even offensive. I thought that it was only I who received such a test for my sins, but then, much later, I found out that he interrogates everyone like this, it’s called “deep confession with the elder.” He interrogated young girls who had no real experience of sexual life about their thoughts and dreams, asking piquant leading questions. Some, after such a confession, learned a lot of new things about themselves that they could not learn even from films and the Internet. At the end of the procedure he asked:
Will you go to Shubinka?
I answered:
- I'll go. Where is it?
It turned out that it was in the Novosibirsk region, as M. Pelageya explained to me. This was the birthplace of Father Naum himself, and there, with his blessing, the nunnery of St. Archangel Michael was founded under the leadership of Abbess Maria Seropian. The monastery was just a monastery for girls; only young girls were accepted there. How I got there, especially after my confession, remained a mystery to me. M. Pelageya congratulated me on the fact that the priest blessed me to become a monk, although we never talked about this. She immediately introduced me to Abbess Maria, who was in the Lavra at that time; she came from Siberia for treatment. I liked my mother: young, about 45, very calm in appearance, with a quiet voice and large, slightly tired eyes. We talked to her, she told me that the elder’s blessing now needs to be fulfilled, and I promised that I would definitely come to them in Siberia.”
Sometimes a person feels literally driven into a corner and does not know how to live further. A spiritually experienced elder, endowed by God with the gift of clairvoyance, can come to his aid.
Who are they?
Elders are ordinary people, just like us. Only by virtue of their exploits for the sake of the Lord did they receive various gifts from Him - miracles, clairvoyance, healing. Elders. That's what the Orthodox call them. They can see the future as the present, and you can turn to them for advice in a difficult situation.
The very definition of old age is ambiguous. This can be used to designate the entire clergy of the Church, since from Greek “presbyter” (priest) is translated as “elder”, “elder”. An elder is a person with spiritual authority, a person who has received from God the gift of special spiritual guidance for Christians.
Among the miracle workers of the last days, our contemporaries, Father John (Krestyankin) and Father Nikolai (Guryanov) stand out.
Father John
Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) was the confessor of the Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery. Born in 1910 into a family of Oryol townspeople, he served in the church from childhood. After school, he received professional education in accounting courses. He worked in his specialty, first in Orel, then in Moscow, while visiting the temple.
In 1945, while celibate, he was ordained to the rank of deacon, then to the priesthood. For his gift of preaching and fatherly care, he enjoyed the love of parishioners. His candidate's work (at the end of the Moscow Theological Seminary and Academy) on Saint Seraphim of Sarov remained unfinished - in 1950 he was arrested for seven years for “anti-Soviet agitation” and sent to Kargopol Lag in the Arkhangelsk region. His fellow prisoners recalled: “When he spoke to you, his eyes, his whole face radiated love and kindness. And in what he said there was attention and participation; there could also be a fatherly instruction, brightened up with gentle humor.”
After his release in 1955, Father John continued his ministry in various churches in the Pskov and Ryazan regions, and then in the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery. Almost immediately after Father John settled in the monastery, rumors about him spread throughout the Soviet Union. Thousands of people came to him for advice and blessings.
Fast train with all stops
At the monastery, Father John was sometimes jokingly called “an express train with all the stops.” He did not walk, but glided like a light ray, elusively, smoothly and quickly. If he was in a hurry to perform some obedience, he would run past the hands stretched out to him for a blessing. But, having run, he often returned just as quickly and quickly asked: “Well, what have you got there?” And he immediately began to answer the still unasked question, revealing his innermost knowledge about a person’s life. Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) recalls that once, while still a novice in Pechory, he witnessed the following picture: Father John, surrounded by pilgrims, was hurrying through the monastery courtyard to the church. Suddenly a tearful woman rushed to him with a three-year-old child in her arms: “Father, bless him for the operation, the doctors require it urgently, in Moscow.” Father John stopped and firmly told the woman: “No way. He will die on the operating table. Pray, treat him, but do not perform surgery under any circumstances. He will recover." And he baptized the baby.
Then they, the novices, were horrified by reflection, wondering: what if Father John was mistaken? What if the child dies? What will his mother do to him if this happens? One cannot suspect the elder of vulgar opposition to medicine: there are many known cases when Father John both blessed and insisted on an operation. Among his spiritual children there were many doctors. What will be next? Will the grief-stricken mother come to the monastery and start a monstrous scandal, or will nothing like that happen, will the child recover, as Father John predicted?
But Father John still continued to “ply” between the temple and his cell, surrounded by pilgrims filled with hope and gratitude, which indicated a positive outcome of the matter.
Father John did not like being called an elder. He said: “Don’t confuse the elder and the old man. And there are different old people, some are 80 years old, some are 70, like me, who are 60, there are old people and young people. But the elders are God’s blessing to people. And we no longer have elders. An old man is running around the monastery, and we are following him.” Humility was one of his many spiritual qualities.
Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) died at the age of 95. He was buried in the caves of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery.
“You love vodka, but you don’t love God”
An elder, if he is truly from God, will never impose his opinion, demanding unquestioning fulfillment of all instructions and worship of himself. Archpriest Nikolai Guryanov from Zalit Island, hiding his spiritual gift, said during his lifetime: “Contact first of all not to me, but to the Lord!” Father Nikolai was distinguished by his simplicity in conversation, often sang something folk, and loved proverbs: “Live simply and you will live to be a hundred.” Some choir director arrives, and Father Nikolai from the doorway says, “Si-sol-re-sol” and smiles. Father was most often joyful. He literally gave out love to everyone. He easily explained complex life situations, like a ball of tangled threads. And he did this not only with words, but also with actions. To enlighten some, he spoke allegorically. I always asked only for prayers for myself.
One day, an unbeliever came to the island in the morning on his business. Having free time, he looked into the church, where Father Nikolai drew attention to him - suddenly he quickly approached him and said: “You love vodka, but you don’t love God.” Then he went to the altar. This man, who really loved to drink, was puzzled by this providence of an unfamiliar priest and defended the entire Liturgy. After the service, Father Nikolai approached him again. But at the same time he already said: “Well, now you love God, but you don’t like vodka.” From that time on, that man completely stopped drinking.
One of Father Nikolai’s spiritual children wrote that in December 1999, she and her future husband went to the priest to ask for blessings for marriage. The situation was not easy, since both were seriously ill before marriage. The elder practically did not accept at that time. There was a notice on the gate: “Do not disturb Father Nikolai!” They decided to deliver the letter through the cell attendant. Unsuccessfully - the cell attendant guards the health and peace of the elder! Gone. My heart is heavy and sad. And suddenly, completely unexpectedly, the cell attendant runs out with the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” and says: “Father blesses you for your marriage.” But they didn’t even express their request to the elder!
The spiritual gifts of Father Nikolai Guryanov were manifested in many ways: he helped change the lives of people who had lost hope, he could call strangers by name, he warned of possible danger, he begged for the seriously ill. At the same time, regardless of ranks and titles, he could, according to some spiritual vision of his, send the guests home. Behind this was not a desire to offend a person, but a desire to provide an opportunity to comprehend one’s past life and return back with repentant feelings.
Blessed darling
Elder Lyubov Ivanovna Lazareva was born on September 17, 1912 in the village of Kolodezi, Kaluga province. Her family was very religious: her father was the headman of a village temple, her mother raised the children. Left an orphan, the girl was taken in by a close relative. At the age of 18, Lyubushka went to Leningrad to visit her brother, who helped her get a job at the Red Triangle factory. But soon Lyubushka decided to become a wanderer. She visited many monasteries, but the most dear place for her was Vyritsa, where she prayed for hours at the grave of her spiritual father, Hieromonk Seraphim. The small, dry old woman always stood out for her meekness and prayerfulness. Many people noted her insight and gift of miracles.
The blessed one’s spiritual daughter, Valentina, recalled: “One day my grandson George fell ill: pus was oozing, staphylococcus... I went to Lyubushka: “George is dying!” She prayed and said: “He will live.” And everything worked out. Then my daughter fell ill with rubella, and again, through Lyubushka’s prayers, the disease went away.”
The old woman was also known for “building temples,” that is, she begged the Lord for the appearance of new or the revival of destroyed churches. One of them was the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
These were the true elders who help people even after their death. It’s good for those who had such mentors in their spiritual guidance, you say. But what to do if there is no elder nearby?
Pious pilgrims, preparing to visit a particular monastery, try to find out whether there are spiritually experienced mentors there to whom they can open their hearts and seek advice. The Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, Optina Pustyn, the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery have always been a storehouse of true wisdom, passed on from one elder to another, and that is why people flock there seeking spiritual guidance and help.
