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Schieeromonk Theodosius of the Caucasus (in the world Theodore Kashin). Today, August 8, is the day of the Blessed Death of the Elder.

Photo from the grave of St. Feodosia - Pillar of Fire.

Born May 3, 1841 in the Perm province. The archive of the Mineralnye Vody registry office made the necessary inquiries and established the exact date of birth of Theodore Kashin, a native of the Perm province, later Schieeromonk Theodosius. It is quite natural that the birth certificate of the Elder was issued by this very body, which did the necessary work to establish his date of birth - May 3/16, 1841, but not, as previously thought, May 3/16, 1800 *
His parents Theodore and Catherine were pious and deeply believing Christians. Even at the birth of Theodore, the midwife said words that later became prophetic: ""He will be a great priest - he was born in a monastic kamilavochka."

The Lord, from the womb of the mother, chose him as His servant and vouchsafed special grace-filled gifts. Already in infancy, he, as an adult, went to the forest to pray. There was a large stone in the forest, to which little Theodore came, climbed on it and prayed fervently for a long time, like a child. Once, during a prayer, he had a voice: "The stone on which you pray, Raev ...". So he called it "Raev Stone".
The family in which Theodore grew up was large and they usually gathered together when it was dinner time. Once, when everyone gathered for dinner and sat down at the table, from the Holy Corner, right from the icons, a dove flew out. Having circled, he sat on the arm of Theodore, who stroked him lovingly. But his mother told him to go away. Then Theodore lifted the dove on the handle as far as he could to the top, the dove rose from the child’s hand and disappeared behind the icons: everyone was very surprised at such a wonderful guest and rejoiced, and many years later the mother realized what a wonderful visit it was.
According to some reports, Theodore came to Mount Athos at the age of three, joining a group of pilgrims, according to others (unprinted) 8-5 years old.
When the pilgrims went to the monastery of the Position of the Belt of Our Lady. According to legend, it was founded near the area of ​​the monastery of Magula by the great hesychast monks: Kallistos, Gregory of Sinai and Gregory Palamas.**
Approaching the gates of the monastery, at which the gatekeeper was standing, the boy bowed to the ground and asked to call the hegumen. The abbot, going out to the gate, was amazed at the miraculous image of the baby, who fell at his feet and said: "Take me to yourself, I will pray to God and I will do everything."
Having learned from the pilgrims that Theodore was traveling on a steamer like an orphan, he was even more surprised and seeing with his Spiritual eyes the Providence of God, arranged for him to live. There he grew up, studied literacy and was in obedience until the age of twelve. Seeing him as diligent, capable, and zealous in prayer, the Abbot took him on as a novice, singled out a cell where he prayed earnestly, tirelessly made many obeisances, and the Jesus Prayer was always on his lips, in his mind and heart. He spoke only when necessary: ​​if you need to ask or answer. But the enemy did not tolerate such humility and zeal in everything, rebelled against him, burning hatred for him in the brethren.
He was beaten, his teeth were knocked out, he was oppressed in every possible way, but he rejoiced at this, and prayed for those who offended him, fearing to lose the reward for humility.
When Theodore was 14 years old, Athos was visited by a Russian general with his wife, possessed by an unclean spirit, who was told in a dream that she would receive healing on Athos. Since no woman had set foot on Mount Athos, she remained on the ship, while the General went up to the Abbot. Explaining the purpose of his visit, he added that in a dream his wife saw a young monk who would heal her. Then the Abbot sent all the monks to the pier (only Theodore did not go).
The woman examined everyone, but did not find the one who was shown to her in a vision. Then the brethren said that among them there was no "fuzzy" Theodore (that was his name in the monastery).
The abbot ordered to call Theodore, and when he approached, the woman shouted in a bullish voice: "This one will drive me out." Everyone was surprised, because they considered him the last among the brethren. The abbot asked him: “To whom do you pray that your prayer is so strong?” - To the Queen of Heaven and Earth, the young man answered. Take the icon Mother of God, fields some water and bring it to me," said the Abbot.
“Father, give me three days to fast,” Theodore asked. Having received a blessing for the fast, and after it had passed, Theodore sprinkled the icon of the Kazan Mother of God, prayed fervently, and with the Abbot brought water to the steamer.
The obsessed woman, seeing those coming with Holy Water, began to shout loudly: "Where are you driving me?" having served a prayer service, sprinkling and giving her water to drink, she was healed. The general wanted to reward Theodore, but received an answer:
- I am a great sinner, and I am not worthy of such a reward, for the Healer of our souls and bodies Himself, through His Most Pure Mother, helped the patient to get rid of her illness. Thank them. This was the first miracle performed by the novice Theodore.
The time for tonsure was approaching, and it was revealed to the hegumen that Theodore had parents and where they were.
Returning to Perm, and having received the blessing of his father and mother, already with with a pure heart, Theodore again departed for Athos.
The year 1859 came and at the age of 18 Fyodor was tonsured a monk with the name Theodosius. The same name was given to the Monk Theodosius of the Caves, whose memory is celebrated on his birthday. Then he was ordained a hierodeacon, and then a hieromonk. But the brethren became more and more embittered at the monk and wrote a denunciation to the Tsar in Constantinople - a letter, allegedly Theodosius, under the guise of a monk, led a woman into his cell.
The king indignantly put him in shackles and sent him to the Constantinople dungeon. Three times in a dream the Angel of the Lord appeared to the King with a command to release the innocent servant of the Lord. The king, realizing that he was going against the will of God, appointed him a priest in the Royal Temple. For him, they determined a room for the reception of the poor and the poor - "The Russian Hospice House of the Position of the Belt of the Mother of God." It was located on the same line with the courtyard of the skete of St. Andrew the First-Called. Father Theodosius lived in Constantinople for five years, after which he went to Jerusalem, where he labored and even was honored to pray at the burial place of the Savior in Cuvuklia.
When Father Theodosius was 38 years old, he again returned to the monastery, where he began his spiritual feat. The cell of the Position of the Belt of the Mother of God was still headed by Abbot Ioanniky, who lived on Athos for 45 years. During the time of monastic and pastoral labors, he built six churches in different places of the Holy Mountain and renewed the skete of St. Basil the Great.
Since ancient times, there was a tradition on Mount Athos to transfer cells by will from an elder to a student, and Fr. Theodosius, by succession, inherited the management of the monastery. "The current rector, Hieromonk Theodosius, a native of the Perm province, arrived on Athos twenty years ago, where he lives without a break in the monastery of the Position of the Belt of the Mother of God, here he took tonsure and is currently rector."***
However, Father Theodosius was weighed down by the cares of the abbot and soon laid them aside. He returned to Jerusalem, where he received the schema with the same name.
Later, Schieeromonk Theodosius began to be called "Elder Theodosius of Jerusalem."
There is evidence that at the beginning of the century a retired general, a landowner from the village of Platnirovka, arrived in Jerusalem to bow to the Holy Sepulcher. Having met Father Theodosius, he took upon himself the trouble of returning him to his homeland and soon received permission for the elder to leave for Russia. The nun Tatiana also came with them from Jerusalem.
With a document issued in the monastery of the Position of the Belt of Our Lady, Father Theodosius arrived in Russia, presenting it everywhere as an identity card.
The good Goalkeeper led Schieeromonk Theodosius to the Second Athos Dormition Skete, which was founded by the followers of the righteous John of Kronstadt, the Athogorsk monks.
In order to visit native graves in the South Urals, Fr. Theodosius in 1906 certified a document from Athos at the Chelyabinsk notary P.F. Turkina. The document stated that Hieromonk Theodosius was a resident of the Staroafonsky Iversky Monastery and temporarily resides in Chelyabinsk at the women's monastery.
What brought here about. Theodosius, why did he leave the blessed places of Communion and come to suffering Russia?

Apparently, he visited Chelyabinsk on the affairs of the Palestinian society, opened at the suggestion of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich in the Orenburg diocese. Because o. Theodosius knew for certain the life and problems of Russian pilgrims visiting Jerusalem, the help of the elder could be very significant in organizing a new business.
The elder spent a long time in prayer in these places. But years passed, and the Lord called the elder to serve in the Kuban. And already on July 6, 1912, Father Theodosius received a copy of the Athos document on the priesthood and clergy, certified by the notary I.I. Prostoserdov, in which it was testified that the father of Theodosius from the Iberian Athos monastery temporarily resides at the Kavkazskaya station, which was located between Rostov and Armavir.
Not far from this station was the Caucasian Nikolaevsky missionary monastery, where about a hundred inhabitants lived. Ekaterino-Lebyazhskaya Hermitage was assigned to this monastery, where, apparently, Father Theodosius lived, although there is no authentic information on this subject.
But here the priest did not have enough solitude for a deeper immersion in prayer, and it was revealed to him that he should settle in the vicinity of the Gorny monastery, Temnye Buki, 27 km from Krymsk, where the Gorny village is now.
This monastery got its name from the fact that it was located in a large beech forest. This monastery was formed in 1904 from the Pokrovskaya community, according to the determination of the Holy Synod. Not far from him. Theodosius made himself a desert.
While Father Theodosius was in Platnirovka, the rumor about him quickly
spread and many began to come to him for blessing and advice, since people saw in him at once - a true servant of God and a prayer book to God for the needs of people. Possessing the Gift Spiritual insight; he denounced many, healed others from illnesses, healed others with a word, treated everyone sensitively and with participation, directing them to the path of salvation.
In 1925, two days before Easter, Father Theodosius was arrested, he was taken to Novorossiysk, and a month later he was sent into exile.
In 1931, Father Theodosius was released, and he arrives in Mineralnye Vody. Upon arrival, he acquires a hut and takes on the feat of foolishness: he walked the streets dressed in a colored shirt, played with the children, who called him "Grandfather Kuzyuka".
Often Father Theodosius taught that the Jesus Prayer be read and said: "If people knew what awaits them after death, then they would pray to God day and night."
During the war of 1941 - 1945, Father Theodosius showed himself to be one of the most zealous prayer books for Russia, serving memorial services for the dead soldiers, especially since the Lord revealed to him the names of some of them. Using his position as a holy fool, he boldly preached, edifying people, and again performed miracles of extraordinary power.
According to the memoirs of Archbishop Lazar (Zhurbenko), from 1945 to 1948, he went to the true Orthodox elder Theodosius, and traveled often, drove people. This catacomb priest accepted everyone who turned, he was very merciful, he was very loving, he pitied all people, just like Father Seraphim of Sarov, he healed the sick, the possessed. He will always say at least a short, but instruction, he did not deliver long sermons. Some wrote postcards.
In 1947, he secretly tonsured him to the monastic rank (with the name Theodosius), blessing him not to reveal this to the outside and to carry the secret feat in the world. This happened on September 4/17, when the Holy Church celebrates the icon of the Mother of God “The Burning Bush” and honors the memory of the prophet Moses the God-seer. It was through an invisible spiritual connection with the elder Theodosius that already in the 60s. The secret monk Theodosius (Zhurbenko), by the Providence of God, established through correspondence a connection with the elder’s companion, Archimandrite Yevgeny (Zhukov) of Athos, and through him with ROCOR Archbishop Leonty (Filipovich) of Chile, who blessed him in writing to accept the priesthood and tonsured him into the mantle with the name Lazarus. Through these same ascetics of True Orthodoxy, communion was established between the Catacomb Church in the Motherland and the Russian Church Abroad****.
The grateful people's memory collected many reliable examples and wrote them down in a book that is still passed from hand to hand, from mouth to mouth. And on his grave day and night an unquenchable lamp is burning, people with candles in their hands serve requiems and read the Akathist.
In 1993, after a year-long transition of St. Olginsky Church in Zheleznovodsk under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Free Church, the clergy of our Church collected the necessary documents and information about the life, miracles and veneration of the elder Theodosius.
They came to the conclusion that Schieeromonk Theodosius did not belong to the apostates from the MP, as well as about the petition to the Holy Synod of the ROAC to classify the Elder Theodosius of Jerusalem (Caucasus) as a revered saint.
But wolves in sheep's clothing informed M. Gideon (Dokukin) of our intentions, and in December 1994, M. Gideon raised the issue before the diocesan commission for the canonization of the Saints, about the canonization of Elder Theodosius among the Saints in the bosom of the ROC MP. However, the Synodal Commission for Canonization, chaired by Metropolitan Juvenaly of Kolomna, having studied the documents 5 times, denied the Stavropol diocese the general church canonization of Theodosius and even the veneration of him as a locally revered saint, finding no grounds for such.

Praise Motivation*****.
1. According to the testimony of Bishop Gideon himself (Metr. Gideon. “I sing to my God.” Selected Works. Stavropol, 1999, p. 362; video film “St. Theodosius of the Caucasus”), he was struck by the fact that he, young priest, who served a memorial service at the grave of Father Theodosius during the "Khrushchev thaw", was not subjected to any ban by the commissioner. This became for him “the first visible miracle”, speaking about the need for canonization (Metr. Gideon, Selected Works, p. 362).
2. Theodosius of the Caucasus was revered by the Novakovsky schismatics, who joined the former bishop. Suzdal Valentine(Rusantsov). The Novakovskys - his pupils in Makhachkala - served in Zheleznovodsk, where they caused a split, and wanted to transfer the relics of Theodosius from the city cemetery to themselves. Vladyka Gideon, in order to prevent desecration of the shrine, initially decided to rebury the remains of Theodosius somewhere in the fence Orthodox church, but this intention ended with the "glorification" of Theodosius as a saint.

Attitude towards Theodosius of his contemporaries ******.
1. Archimandrite John (Miroshnikov) (born before the revolution, served in Astrakhan, Khasavyurt, buried in the fence of the Intercession Church in Pyatigorsk) remembered that Fr. Theodosius did not recognize the Church, was against Patriarch Sergius.
2. Schieromonk Stefan (Ignatenko) (Biography of Elder Schieromonk Stefan (Ignatenko). M .: “ A new book”,“ The Ark ”, 1999 (he served all his life in the North Caucasus, most recently in the Panteleimon Church in Kislovodsk, buried in the city cemetery) - categorically forbade communication with Father Theodosius.
3. Prot. Vladimir Znamensky (d. did not bless to go to his grave.
4. O. John Meshalkin (served in the Church of the Assumption in Pyatigorsk) also did not mention Theodosius.
5. Residents of Mineralnye Vody spoke unflatteringly: Theodosius did not go to the temple.
6. Theodosius of the Caucasus He was not friends with any of the fathers, did not communicate.

And so on April 11, Tuesday of the 6th Week of Great Lent, the Diocesan Commission of the Stavropol Diocese of the MP, headed by Archpriest. Pavel Rozhkov, with representatives of the administration of the city of Mineralnye Vody, began a real blasphemy. All roads leading to the cemetery were cordoned off by riot police within a radius of 8-10 km. Only those who had a special pass were allowed. The relics were examined by a forensic doctor.
At that time, the shrine with the relics of the Jerusalem Elder was installed in the Temple of the Archangel Michael of God, after the construction of the Intercession Cathedral was completed, in the city of Mineralnye Vody, transferred to it and placed on the left side of the Cathedral at the Altar. In this case, as it always happens, the MP takes everything that does not belong to her illegally, impudently, with her inherent vanity and arrogance.
By the time the remains were opened, the Akathist and the life of the Elder had already been compiled (with many inaccuracies). Icon-painting images, a troparion, a kontakion and a prayer were made.
After being appointed to the Stavropol department, ep. Feofan (Ashurkov), who, according to him, would not tolerate the presence of a “corpse” in the temple, the relics of the Elder, on his instructions, were taken out of the Temple, but, fearing the unrest of the people, they were placed in the left corner of the Porch.
As before, people from all over Russia and neighboring countries come to visit the grave of the Elder, trying to stand at the grave day and night, bring their sins and passions to heal souls and bodies, and by their faith they receive the help of Schieeromonk Theodosius of Jerusalem (Caucasian).

The archive has preserved a document addressed to Hieromonk Theodosius (Kashin), which says:
“At the written invitation of the venerable elected Elders of the Holy Iberian Monastery, we went to the cell (Chestny Belt) of a Russian native, Hieromonk Ioannikius, subordinate to the Monastery: Church rank, in accordance with the Divine and Sacred rules of the Mother - our Church, and with prior written evidence and approval for the elevation to such a rank of the Spiritual Elder Ioannikius as a reader, deacon, priest of a Russian native, novice of the named Elder, the Monk Theodosius, Orthodox teaching and leading a blameless life and recognized by all as such. And since the aforementioned priest has all the qualities required for a confessor, therefore we give him permission to confess the thoughts of those who wish to begin confession and so, with spiritual supervision, arrange repentance and salvation for them, in proportion to the strength of each, elevated to the rank of priesthood, he is obliged to test and follow circumstances, as required by the Apostolic and Catholic Law. It is allowed for him to tonsure and become monks, with their test and be their godfather. In satisfaction of the reality of his priesthood, we issued a real testimony to him to the aforementioned hieromonk Theodosius on the Holy Mount Athos, December 14, 1897.
(Metropolitan Nil, former Carpathian and Kassky. No. 2496. True. Constantinople; July 10, 1901 N. D. Dragoman, Russian Consulate, Consul General).

The Monk Theodosius of the Caucasus is venerated in the Belarusian Orthodox Church and on Mount Athos. In each cell of the St. Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos there is an icon of St. Theodosius. The confessor of the monastery, Archimandrite Macarius, once said: “This is our holy Russian Athos monk, he is very close to us, we especially revere him and pray to him”*******.

St. Theodosius readings are being held in the Belarusian Orthodox Church!

"Saint Theodosius of the Caucasus is well known and deeply revered in the Belarusian Orthodox Church. Establishing the ideals of Holy Orthodoxy in times of persecution of faith in his Fatherland, he sought such ways and means of serving God and people who discovered the gifts of the Lord, which he acquired with his feat deep faith and the ability of those around him to receive the word of God into their hearts. And therefore, the image of courage and steadfastness in Christ, revealed by the Monk Theodosius, not only has not lost its meaning, but still inspires modern Christians in carrying their cross. "Minsk.

(From the address of the Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus,
Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk FILARET to the participants
St. Theodosius Readings).
"theft, covetousness, malice, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness" (Mk. 7; 22). These words of the Evangelist Mark can be accurately attributed to the representatives of the ROC MP, who, as always, seize Shrines, Temples, property, community lands and everything that does not belong to them, and has never belonged to them with their inherent impudence, treachery, trusting not in God, but only to the aid of those in power. In essence, the Elder Theodosius, (not canonized in the MP), became for them another means of profit. Books, icons, a zemlenko from a grave, photo and video materials - this is all that can be distributed throughout Russia as amulets or amulets, but in your soul you do not have faith in his intercession at the Throne of the Lord and intercession for us sinners. Capturing our Shrines, they think that by this lawlessness they will add “holiness” to their apostasy organization. “But God is mocked; it does not happen” (Gal. 6:7).

“GOD WONDERFUL IN HIS SAINTS…” (Prokeimenon, tone 4).

Rector of the Parish of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles
Grand Duchess Olga of Zheleznovodsk
Suzdal diocese of the ROAC
Archpriest Roman Novakovsky.
02/08/2008

USED ​​BOOKS:

* Archive of the Mineralnye Vody registry office.
** Hegumen Peter Pigol: "Reverend Gregory of Sinai and his spiritual successors"
(M.1999 p., 36 - 38).
*** A. A. Pavlovsky. Companion of a Russian pilgrim on Mount Athos. M., 1905. S. 141.
The name of Hieromonk Theodosius, as rector of the Russian cell of the Position of the Belt of the Mother of God, is also indicated in the fundamental work of Varsonofy (Sudakov), Bishop of Saransk and Mordovia, “Athos in the life of the Russian Orthodox Church in the late XIX - early XX centuries.” Saransk, 1995. T. 3. S. 143.
**** The mysterious disappearance of the relics of the catacomb elder Theodosius (Kashin) of the Caucasus, according to "Krasnodar Courier" No. 27 (78) of July 7, 2004. This fact was also confirmed by the online publications "Sedmitsa", "Russian Line", "Sobkor"
***** Is the Monk Theodosius of the Caucasus Reverend? Vakhrushinkin Stepan Yurievich.
http://www.cirota.ru/forum/view.php?subj=6321&order=asc&fullview=&pg=
****** There.
******* Ibid.

APPENDIX:
________________________________________ ________________________________________ _________________

1. APPLICATION to Alexy II from the zealots and parishioners of the Stavropol diocese of the All-Russian glorification of St. pr. Theodosius of the Caucasus, August 2007 from R.H.

In 1932, a strange old man appeared in the city of Mineralnye Vody in southern Russia. He was already over ninety years old, and he walked barefoot, dressed in a colored shirt with bright colors, and under the mocking glances of passers-by played with children, responding to the nickname Kuzyuk. Many knew that this old man had returned from prison; almost everyone thought he was crazy. But few people knew that under the guise of a holy fool, the famous elder hieroschemamonk Theodosius Kashin, one of the leaders of the Union of the Russian People, rector of the monastery of the Position of the Belt of Our Lady on Athos, a learned monk who spoke fourteen languages ​​fluently, was hiding.

With the alms that were given to him, the holy fool bought sweets and distributed them to children. He fed the birds with bread, saying sternly: "Sing, only know God." He could also pour crumbs to cats: "Eat, only with prayer." Looking at this, people just shook their heads: "The old man is completely out of his mind."

The year 1941 came and the war began. The Germans approached Minvody. Once Kuzyuka, in his colored shirt, ran up to the kindergarten and shouted: "Gulu-ghul, children, run after me, run" - and ran to the side, lifting his legs high. The children rushed after him, laughing; to return them, the educators ran out. A minute later there was an explosion: a German shell hit the kindergarten building. But no one was hurt, the holy fool saved everyone.

Hieroschemamonk Theodosius of the Caucasus, a holy fool for Christ, who died in the city of Mineralnye Vody in 1948, lived one hundred and seven years! He was born on May 3 (16), 1841 in Perm, into a poor peasant family, the Kashins. The boy was named Fedor. From a young age, he was interested in worship, loved to pray and listened with delight to the lives of the saints. Little Fedya retired to the forest, where there was a large stone, climbed on it and prayed, imitating the great saints.

Very early, Fedor felt called to the monastic life. As a boy, he left home, somehow ended up in Greece. There he appeared at the Athos Monastery of the Position of the Belt of the Mother of God and asked to be received. The young novice amazed everyone with his seriousness and deep concentration on prayer.

At first, the brethren of the monastery greatly oppressed him. Father Sophrony Sakharov wrote that on Athos the monks were subjected to one strong temptation. "All these people made a sacrifice, whose name is:" the world was crucified to me, and I to the world "(Gal. 6, 14). After this sacrifice, not reaching the desired, the monk is subjected to a special temptation - spiritual envy, just like Cain, seeing that the brother’s sacrifice was accepted by God, but his was rejected, went from envy to fratricide, and the monks, if they do not kill their brother physically, then often create extremely difficult spiritual conditions for him.

It must have been difficult for the monks of the monastery to see how the young novice quickly succeeds in prayer and other spiritual activities. At the age of fourteen, he performed the first miracle - he healed the wife of an important Russian official from the disease of possession. With the icon of the Kazan Mother of God, the young man went to the ship, where the patient was. Through his prayers, the demon came out of her. Fedor refused the reward.

In 1859, at the age of eighteen, Fedor was tonsured a monk with the name Theodosius. After some time, the young monk ended up in Constantinople. Five years later, he arrived in Jerusalem to help thousands of Russian pilgrims there.

In 1879 he returned to Athos. In 1901, Theodosius took over the duties of hegumen of the monastery. However, he was weary of the duties of the abbot and six years later returned to Jerusalem, where he received the schema, and then returned to Russia.

Father Theodosius settled in the south of Russia in the Krasnodar Territory. Here he founded a hermitage (a small monastery) and built a small church. The hermitage had its own farm, goats, and an apiary. Many people came to him - he talked to everyone in their native language. Several times he silently passed by standing pilgrims. Then he began to speak, in turn answering each unspoken question: "You will, you will be in the monastery," or: "I bless you to get married," or: "Thinking about marriage? Forget it. You live alone, and you will die."

First time at Soviet power the little monastery lived quietly. But in 1925, consecrating the water at Epiphany, Father Theodosius suddenly said sadly, looking into the water: "There are so many fish here, but only four will remain." What this meant became clear after a few months: the elder was arrested, his spiritual children dispersed in all directions, and only four women remained in the hermitage. Details of the elder's life in prison are unknown.

After prison, he returned to Mineralnye Vody. During the war, a woman named Elena worked as a nurse in Minvody. The time has come when life became completely unbearable for her: there is nothing to eat, two children, a disabled sister and an elderly mother. The woman had already begun to think about how to save herself and her family from unnecessary torment ... And suddenly there was a knock on the window. Opens - there is a holy fool. He holds out sweets: "That's it for now. And you will have bread." Elena did not sleep all night, and the next day she came to the elder's house. “What did you think up, to destroy four people?” Father Feodosia met the woman. “They would be in paradise, but where would your soul go?” He told her to work and pray. Then he said goodbye and said that now she would always have bread. Soon the old man's words began to come true. A job was found for Elena, she was given bread, and now her family was always full.

One day Feodosia's father ran to the station shouting: "Let's go to the coal warehouse, hurry, hurry!" It turned out that at that very moment, in the warehouse, the suicide had already prepared a noose for himself. A few more minutes and it would have been too late.

In the elder's house, one room was a living room, and the other was a home church. In his church, grandfather Kuzyuk turned into a strict old man. The elder did not impose penance on his spiritual children, he explained how sins differ in their severity. “There is sin by nature, but there is through nature,” he said. “By nature, it’s as if by chance, if you condemned someone, offended. In the evening, read Our Father,” “Theotokos,” “I Believe,” and the Lord will forgive. And through nature - this is theft, murder, adultery and other grave sins, they must be confessed to the priest.

In 1948, the priest invited Elder Theodosius to inspect the newly restored Church of the Intercession. It was winter. The elder, who was already one hundred and seven years old, was walking, carrying a sledge behind him. Near the temple, he slipped, fell - he was taken home on the same sled.

On August 8, 1948, the elder asked to wash his hands Epiphany water He blessed everyone and quietly departed to the Lord. Hundreds of people came to see off Hieroschemamonk Theodosius. They buried the priest on the outskirts of the city of Mineralnye Vody, in the cemetery of the village of Krasny Uzel. Many of those present at the funeral clearly saw the radiance emanating from the coffin ...

The Monk Theodosius, who took upon himself three feats at once - monasticism, eldership and foolishness, was endowed with a great gift of miracles. People remember that once, through his prayer, during a hot drought, the long-awaited rain came.

Many feats and miracles performed by Father Theodosius are hidden from us. But one of them is still well remembered. This happened in the early years of the war. In Mineralnye Vody, the hospital was located next to the railway. Once, during a German air raid, they saw Father Theodosius, who ran along the sleepers with a cross in his hand. He ran up to a tanker of gasoline standing on the rails, overshadowed it sign of the cross and leaned in, trying to move the wagons, And then the workers saw with amazement that the wagons had started and rolled along the tracks! Theodosia's father rolled them on and on. There was an explosion. On the tracks where the cistern stood, a large shell crater appeared. It's hard to even imagine what would have happened if the shell had hit the tank...

After the death of Father Theodosius, people often witnessed such unusual phenomena as the light from the grave of the elder and the subtle fragrance emanating from it. The sick would recover by kissing the elder's grave, anointing the sore spot with oil from a lamp burning at the relics, and reading an akathist to the saint. People were also healed in the spring of St. Theodosius.

On April 11, 1995, a litiya was served at the grave of Elder Theodosius, after which they began to open the grave. A few hours later, the relics of the saint were found - in the bones. A headdress, a monastic kamilavka, has been preserved on the head of the saint.

Cancer with the relics of St. Theodosius of the Caucasus in the Holy Intercession Church of the city of Mineralnye Vody

Now the relics of St. Theodosius of the Caucasus are in the Holy Intercession Church in the city of Mineralnye Vody. Many pilgrims come to the elder every day. Miracles through prayer Saint Theodosius are happening constantly.

***

Prayer to the Monk Theodosius of the Caucasus:

• Prayer to the Monk Theodosius of the Caucasus. At the age of eighteen he became a monk on Mount Athos, after the revolution he took upon himself the cross of foolishness. The "mad" old man Kuzyuk repeatedly showed his foresight, saved many people from imminent death, directed even more people to truth and faith, and healed the sick. They turn to St. Theodosius of the Caucasus for prayer for help in illnesses, desperate situations, imprisonment, for admonishing those who wish to commit suicide, for the gift of faith and patience, and deliverance from cowardice.

Akathist to St. Theodosius of the Caucasus:

Canon to the Monk Theodosius of the Caucasus:

• Canon to the Monk Theodosius of the Caucasus

Hagiographic and scientific-historical literature about St. Theodosius of the Caucasus:

• - Orthodox Forum "Brothers and Sisters"

Few people in those 1930-1940s knew that under the guise of a holy fool, the famous elder Hieroschemamonk Theodosius (Kashin), one of the leaders of the Union of the Russian People, the former rector of the monastery of the Position of the Belt of Our Lady on Athos, a learned monk who spoke fourteen languages ​​fluently, was hiding ...

The Monk Theodosius, who took upon himself three feats at once - monasticism, eldership and foolishness, was endowed with a great gift of miracles. Hundreds of people through the prayers of the elder came to Orthodoxy. Today, people from all over Russia come to the holy relics of the righteous, which rest in the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God in Mineralnye Vody.

Elder Theodosius was born on May 3 (16), 1841 in the Perm region into a pious poor peasant family. At baptism, the boy, like his father, was given the name Theodore.

From early childhood, he was already interested in worship, loved to pray and listened with delight to the lives of the saints. Little Fedya retired to the forest, where there was a large stone, climbed on it and prayed, imitating the great saints.

After the age of three, it happened to him to go to the bank of the river; there he saw a barge on which cargo was being brought in and passengers were entering. Fyodor also entered with them on deck; no one paid any attention to him. Like an adult, not bothering anyone, he sat silently, deepening in himself.

Only two days later, when the barge was far from home, they noticed him and began to ask where his parents were.

He replied that he had no parents. Then the boy was asked:

Where are you going?

“To Athos, to the holy monastery,” he replied.

Everyone was surprised by his answer: baby, but gives such a smart answer. It turned out that among the passengers were pilgrims on their way to holy places, and since the boy was quiet and meek, no one could push him away; so he, along with the pilgrims, came to Athos as an orphan.

When the pilgrims approached the gates of the Monastery of the Belt of the Virgin, the boy fell at the gatekeeper's feet and asked to call the hegumen.

The gatekeeper reported:

Some small wonderful child asks to call the abbot.

The abbot was surprised and went up to the gate: there were several men standing there and with them a boy who bowed to him and said:

Take me to your place, I will pray to God and I will do everything for you.

The abbot turned to the men with a question, whose boy was this, they told about him. The abbot was even more surprised and, seeing the Providence of God, accepted Fedor into the monastery.

So the boy grew up, learned to read and write and was obedient. Life in the monastery was harsh, but Fedor endured all hardships with love and humility.

When he was 14 years old, Athos was visited by a Russian general. He brought his sick wife, possessed by an unclean spirit, to receive healing, since the patient was told in a dream that she would receive it on Athos.

Women are not allowed to enter Athos, and she was on a steamer. And the general went to the monastery to the abbot, told him his story and asked for help, saying that in a dream his wife saw a young monk who should heal her.

The abbot ordered all the brethren, except for Fedor, to go to the steamer. But among them, the woman did not find the one who was shown to her in a vision: she explained that she had seen a very young monk.

Then the abbot ordered to call Fyodor. When he appeared, the woman saw him and cried out in a bullish voice:

This one will drive me away!

Everyone was very surprised, because they considered Fedor to be the last among the brethren. The abbot asked him:

To whom do you pray that your prayer is so strong?

- Golden Mother of God!

The abbot ordered Fyodor to take the icon of the Mother of God, pour water on it and bring this water to him.

Father, let me fast for three days,” Fyodor asked.

The abbot blessed for a three-day fast, and after it, Fedor took the icon of the Kazan Mother of God, poured water on it, prayed fervently, and with the abbot brought this water to the ship to the sick woman. As soon as she saw them going to the steamer with water, she began to shout loudly:

Where are you taking me?!

They served a prayer service for the sick woman, sprinkled her with water, gave her a drink, and she was healed. The general, in gratitude for the healing of his wife, gave Fedor a large amount of money, but he did not take it, but said:

Give this to the abbot, to the holy monastery, and I am a great sinner, unworthy of such a reward, for the Healer of our souls and bodies through his Most Pure Mother helped the patient get rid of her illness, and thank them.

This was the first miracle performed by the future elder.

In 1859, at the age of eighteen, Fedor was to take tonsure, and it was revealed to the abbot that he had parents, so the young man should take their blessing.

The abbot called Fedor, told him what was revealed in the vision, and, having blessed, let him go to his parents. And Fedor went to distant Perm in search of his parents.

Having found a place where, according to the vision of the abbot, his parents should live, after asking the locals, he approached his home and with reverent awe and excitement in his chest, like a wanderer, asked for an overnight stay.

His mother met him and, at the request for an overnight stay, let him into the house. She herself sat down on a bench by the window, where she always spun yarn, and began to ask where he was from and on what business.

Having coped with his excitement, Fyodor briefly spoke about himself and, in turn, began to ask her about their life.

The mother named everyone, told about everyone, and then with tears she began to tell how their young child had disappeared in the forest and that she was sad and did not know how to remember him. Many years have passed, but the mother's heart does not want to calm down and there is no end to grief.

Fyodor asked with participation about the boy, asked what signs he had. His mother said that he had a large mole behind his right ear.

Then Fyodor, unable to withstand the surging excitement, with his hand threw a lock of hair on the right side and showed a large mole behind his right ear.

The mother, seeing the mole and peering into his face, with tears of joy and excitement, clung to the chest of her found son!

Parents blessed Fedor with the icon of the Kazan Mother of God, and he, joyful and happy, with the blessing of his parents, departed again for Athos to his monastery.

Upon arrival, he was tonsured a monk with the name Theodosius. After a short time, he was ordained a hierodeacon, and then a hieromonk.

Some time later, the young monk went to Constantinople. Five years later, he arrived in Jerusalem to help thousands of Russian pilgrims there. Served in the Holy Land at the Holy Sepulcher,

In 1879 he returned to Athos. In 1901, Theodosius was assigned the duties of hegumen of the monastery, but he was weary of them and six years later returned to Jerusalem, where he received the schema.

In 1908 he returned to Russia. It was a mournful year for our Fatherland: one of the greatest Russian saints passed away to the Lord - Righteous John Kronstadt.

Undoubtedly, the Providence of God brought Father Theodosius to Russia precisely at the time when she lost the earthly prayer of the great ascetic and intercessor, the seer who so accurately predicted to the Russian people all their imminent innumerable disasters.

Elder Theodosius settled in the south of Russia, in the Krasnodar Territory, not far from Novorossiysk, near the Gornensky monastery Temnye Buki.

Here he built a church. It was so. For seven days and nights, without eating, the priest prayed, like Seraphim of Sarov, standing on a large stone, and saw the Most Holy Theotokos pointing him to a small clearing, where, as soon as the Most Pure One had disappeared, blue periwinkle flowers flared up. The whole world built a temple - father Theodosius was helped by peasants from the surrounding villages.

The rumor about the extraordinary old man spread instantly: people began to come to him for blessing and advice. Several times he silently passed by standing pilgrims. Then he began to speak, in turn answering each unspoken question:

You will, you will be in the monastery!

I bless you to get married!

Are you thinking about marriage? Forget. You live alone, you die alone...

Every day he received up to five hundred people. He denounced some, healed others from illnesses, directing everyone on the path of salvation.

And his prayers repeated another feat of Seraphim of Sarov - near his hermitage, a healing spring gushed out of the ground, which helped even the hopelessly ill. Doctors' testimonies have also been preserved.

At first, under Soviet rule, his hermitage lived calmly. Homeless children, lonely old people who found shelter here were not a burden: pilgrims always came with food.

In 1925, while consecrating water at Baptism, Elder Theodosius suddenly said sadly, looking at her:

There are so many fish here, and only four will remain ...

Before Easter, the elder blessed his spiritual children to bake Easter cakes and paint eggs, consecrated everything and said:

You will break the fast, but I will not be with you.

At that moment there was a knock. Outside the threshold stood three in uniform:

Come visit your father.

I have been waiting for you for a long time,” the old man bowed.

The authorities, frightened by the elder's immense popularity, decided to isolate him. Sent for six years - first to Solovki, then into exile in Kazakhstan.

When the elder was arrested, his spiritual children, who only now understood his words on Baptism, dispersed in all directions, and only four women remained in the hermitage.

In 1931, a strange old man appeared in Minvody. He was already over ninety years old, and he walked all year round barefoot, in a colored peasant shirt and with a wooden priestly cross on his chest. Under the mocking glances of passers-by, he played with children, responding to the nickname grandfather Kuzyuk.

According to rumors, this old man returned from prison. Almost everyone thought he was crazy.

But few people knew that under the guise of a holy fool was the famous elder Hieroschemamonk Theodosius (Kashin), one of the leaders of the Union of the Russian People, the former rector of the monastery of the Position of the Belt of Our Lady on Athos, a learned monk who spoke fourteen languages ​​fluently.

The children loved the kind old man who always had candies hidden for them. He joked and joked, told them mysterious parables, often talked to himself. With the alms that were given to him, the holy fool bought not only sweets for the children. He fed the birds with bread, saying sternly:

Sing, only know God!

Could also pour crumbs to cats:

Eat with prayer!

Looking at this, the people around just shook their heads:

The old man is completely out of his mind...

And the elder Theodosius, who accepted the feat of foolishness, meanwhile preached, edified, with unusual speeches lifted the veil of the future, worked miracles. After all, he understood that now, in the darkest, atheistic time, he would no longer be allowed to build a church anywhere.

A woman lived a few yards from the old man. She served several years in prison, and her daughter was in an orphanage. Returning from prison, she took her daughter, but there was nothing to live with. A few yards away, soldiers were standing in the apartment. And so the woman planned to bring her young daughter there, so that she could earn her livelihood through fornication.

Late in the evening, this woman was taking water from the well and saw that grandfather Kuzyuk threw something at her door - some kind of bundle. She came up, took the bundle, and there was a lot of money. The woman thought that the old man was out of his mind, confused his yard with her yard and mistakenly threw the money away, as if he hid it.

In the morning she went to him with this bundle and said:

Grandpa, yesterday you brought me a bundle of money by mistake, take it.

When the devil puts bad thoughts into his mind, the Lord speaks to my uncle (as he always spoke of himself) and sends him to that house to avert evil and death of the soul, the elder answered her.

The woman did not understand that he was talking about himself, and said to him:

But I didn’t see any uncle, but I saw you, grandfather, how you threw this bundle into my senets.

Take this money, the Lord sent you help so that you would not plunge your daughter into evil.

Then the woman realized that her thoughts were known to him, fell to her knees and with tears thanked God and His mercy.

He lifted her up and said:

Thank the Lord and His Most Pure Mother for Their infinite mercy towards us sinners, pray to God and grow your daughter in piety. The daughter of this woman really grew up pious and humble, married good man, they had three children, whom she raised as honest, respectable people.

The Lord alone knows where the elder got such a large amount of money from, because he was a fool, he himself lived poorly, had nothing, sometimes he didn’t have a piece of bread for the whole day, and then suddenly such wealth, and he didn’t leave a single piece of paper for himself.

Those who found the strength not to depart from Orthodoxy knew that at night in his house, in front of the holy icons, the elder prayed for hours for the salvation of the Fatherland and the Russian people, just as before, he received the suffering, confessed, took communion.

In the old man's house, one room was a living room. In the other, there was a home church, where grandfather Kuzyuk turned into a strict old man.

The elder did not impose penance on his spiritual children. He explained how sins differ in severity.

There is sin by nature, and there is through nature, he said. - By nature - it's as if by chance, if someone condemned, offended. In the evening, read "Our Father", "Theotokos", "I Believe", and the Lord will forgive. And through nature - this is theft, murder, adultery and other grave sins, they must be confessed to a priest.

From the memoirs of A.P. Donchenko:

Once seven women came to Father Theodosius from Rostov. He received six of them, confessed, communed, and the seventh said: “Go home, give your husband to your wife, and father to your children. If you repent before God, if you come, I will accept it.”

Father Theodosius always said: “Read the Jesus Prayer, whether you are walking or sitting, you need to withdraw your mind and attention from everything worldly, not to have any thought other than prayerful words: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!”

From the memoirs of N.D. Zhuchenko:

Already after the exile, Father Theodosius lived with the novices in a small hut, it was damp there, the ceilings were low. Batiushka taught to be baptized not only with the cross, but with an intelligent prayer on his lips. The gospel knew by heart. Before his death, the elder often said: “Whoever remembers me, I will always be with him.”

And they walked, and walked, and walked to him suffering, flocked already from all over Russia, for there were few places left on it where an Orthodox could bow his head to the altar and confess.

He predicted the Great Patriotic War, saying to his spiritual children:

There will be a war, as terrible as Last Judgment. A great many people will perish - they have become so inexpensive for God, they have completely forgotten about Him ... Pray to God and ask Him for death with repentance, for horrors are inevitable ...

There is evidence that on the eve of the war, the elder consecrated the land and ordered his novices to scatter it near Novorossiysk in those places where the most fierce battles subsequently took place.

During the Great Patriotic War, he performed miracles especially often.

Once a holy fool ran up to the kindergarten and shouted:

Ghouls, ghouls, follow me, little children, run after me!

He ran to the side, kicking his legs high. The children rushed after him, laughing; to return them, the educators ran out. When all of them had moved away from the building at a fair distance, there was a terrible explosion: this is in Kindergarten hit by a German shell. By the grace of God no one died.

Many deeds and miracles performed by the elder are hidden from us. But one of them is still well remembered.

This happened in the early years of the war. In Mineralnye Vody, the hospital was then located next to the railway.

From the memoirs of a railroad worker:

There were three wagons with shells on the rails. Grandfather Kuzyuk is walking, clutching a cross with one hand, pushing the wagons with the other. I thought: “Well, wonderful grandfather, should he move such a colossus ?!”

And suddenly he could not believe his eyes: the carriages moved like toys. A little later, a bomb fell on the place where they had previously stood, without causing any harm to the hospital.

During the war, a woman named Elena worked as a nurse in Minvody. The time has come when life became completely unbearable for her: there is nothing to eat, two children, a disabled sister and an elderly mother. The woman has already begun to think about how to save herself and her family from unnecessary torment ...

And suddenly there is a knock on the window. Opens - there is a holy fool. Hands out candy

Here for now. And you will have bread...

Elena did not sleep all night, and the next day she came to the elder's house.

What do you think, kill four people? he reproached the woman affectionately. - They would be in paradise, but where would your soul go?

The elder told her to pray. At parting he said:

And now you will always have bread ...

Soon his words began to come true. A job was found for Elena, she was given bread, and her family was full.

During the Great Patriotic War, Elder Theodosius was one of the most zealous prayer books for the victory of our country over fascism, constantly praying for the health of the defenders of the Fatherland and for the repose of the fallen soldiers, especially since the Lord revealed to him the names of some of them.

Like most Orthodox ascetics, Elder Theodosius foresaw his death. About a month before her, he (already in weakness) asked to be taken to the newly restored Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God. Entering the temple without outside help, the elder was transformed: his eyes shone, he was filled with strength, he prayed for several hours for the strengthening and prosperity of the Russian Orthodox Church. He came out in tears ... After that memorial day repeated over and over again:

The Orthodox Church will not be deprived of Grace as long as the bloodless sacrifice is offered and the Eucharist is celebrated without deviation.

However, the elder predicted:

AT end times people will be baptized who are not properly prepared for the Sacrament of Baptism, and few will properly prepare for the Holy Mystery of Communion.

The day before his death, he suddenly got up, as if completely healthy, went out into the street, gathered the children with whom he loved to play so much, and ran all day with a noisy gang, joking, as before. Then he returned to his house, fell ill and did not get up. He said to the followers:

I will hide for a short time, as God pleases now, but when the Lord comes in His glory, you won’t believe your eyes WHERE I will be ...

On August 8, 1948, the elder asked to wash his hands with baptismal water, blessed everyone, and quietly departed to the Lord.

Before being taken to the cemetery, people asked to photograph the elder, but they could not do this, because such a radiance emanated from the coffin that it was impossible to photograph.

Then the photographer said:

Who was this person? Such a glow around him!

Hundreds of people came to see off Hieroschemamonk Theodosius. They buried the priest on the outskirts of the city of Mineralnye Vody, in the cemetery of the village of Krasny Uzel.

On the way to the cemetery, the men carrying the coffin with the body of Father Theodosius were approached by four young men in long white shirts and black silk trousers, blond, looking like twin brothers, and asked to let them carry the coffin further. They carried it easily, as if they did not feel heavy.

Next to them walked and prayed a middle-aged man, with an iconic and stern face, in long black robes, with his hair caught up in a black ribbon. At the cemetery, he spent a long time reading the burial service of the elder, reading Holy Bible by heart. This struck even the church people.

They wanted to invite a man and a young man, like everyone else, to a memorial dinner. But they didn’t find it: meanwhile, the cemetery was in an open field, everything around was visible for more than one mile ... Later, one of the novices of the elder Theodosius told others about the revelation revealed to her: - The amazing young men who carried the coffin were the Angels of God, the funeral ceremony done by John the Baptist.

The elder’s instructions were remembered by his spiritual children for the rest of their lives:

Salvation is given only through the realization of sins and heartfelt repentance, as well as through the patience of sorrows. Whatever happens, accept it with humility and love. Save your neighbors as much as you can - those who can still hear. Do not disdain either the old or the young - even a drop of holiness shed into the soul of your neighbor will give you a reward.

If people knew what awaits them after death, they would pray to God day and night, otherwise they think - he died, and the end of everything. Our life after earthly death is just beginning - by earthly suffering we earn Eternity. Who knows God, he endures everything.

Whoever says no more than seven words a day will be saved. Silence protects from all evil...

After the blessed death of the elder, people often witnessed such unusual phenomena as the light from the grave of the elder and the subtle fragrance emanating from it. The sick would recover by kissing the grave, anointing the sore spot with oil from the icon lamp burning at the relics, reading the akathist to the saint already marked by the Lord, but not yet glorified on earth.

People were healed in the holy spring. The Monk Theodosius of the Caucasus discovered at one time the source of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. It is located near the village of Tatarka, two kilometers from the regional center. Many pilgrims come here on weekdays and on holidays - they pray here at a small iconostasis and take a bath with spring water. They say that it cures many diseases, brings peace and tranquility to the soul.

Elder Theodosius always shied away from human glorification, but God Himself glorified the one glorifying Him both on Earth before people with all sorts of miracles, and in heaven before His Angels. The Lord continues to glorify the elder in our days, granting us in his person a great prayer book and intercessor.

In December 1994, in the Stavropol diocesan administration, at a meeting of the diocesan council chaired by His Eminence Gideon, the issue of studying the life and work of Father Theodosius and glorifying him nationwide was raised.

To the saint of God and the prayer book for the Russian Land compiled short life, written akathist, troparion, kontakion, icon.

On April 11, 1995, at the grave of Elder Theodosius, a diocesan commission headed by the chairman, the mitered archpriest Father Pavel Rozhkov, and the clergy of the Mineral Breeding Deanery gathered.

After a litia about the deceased, his grave was opened. The head of the elder had long hair, a beard and a headdress - like a kamilavka. Surprisingly, according to the midwife, future elder was born in a monastic kamilavka, in which he was discovered during the uncovering of relics.

In the coffin lay a small icon and a funeral cross, in the hand of the elder was a note of the novices with their names with a request to pray for the servants of God.

The procession with the honest remains of the Monk Theodosius followed to St. Michael's Church in the village of Krasny Uzel.

Vladyka Gideon blessed the local veneration of Hieroschemamonk Theodosius as a patron and zealous prayer book of the Caucasian land. A blessing has been given to consider the honest remains of the elder as relics. Since that time, in all the churches of the Stavropol Territory, Elder Theodosius has been revered by the service of prayers, before his holy icon, an akathist to the Monk Theodosius of the Caucasus is read.

It is significant that the glorification of the Caucasian miracle worker happened on the day of the celebration of the icon of the Iberian Mother of God. Under the protection of the Heavenly Goalkeeper for many years, Elder Theodosius labored on Athos

In 1948, Father Theodosius of the Caucasus died in Mineralnye Vody. The life and death of this man was associated with many miracles, some of them are documented, but most are preserved in the form of legends and folk rumor. In our time, the Monk Theodosius of the Caucasus is considered the patron of the city of Mineralnye Vody and the entire Caucasus as a whole. Pilgrims in Minvody visit two places at once - a chapel on the site of the grave of Theodosius and a temple in which his relics are located.

Venerable Theodosius of the Caucasus

The biography of the Monk Theodosius of Jerusalem (Caucasus) claims that he lived for 148 years. Theodosius was born in 1800 near Perm, his name was Kashin Fedor Fedorovich - one of the children in a large peasant family. Escaped from the age of 3 parental home Athos in Greece, having said that he was an orphan, he served there as a novice until the age of 14. Then he was tonsured a monk and received the name Theodosius.

Although miracles accompanied Theodosius from birth, his fate was not easy. In 1907, he arrived from Athos in Jerusalem and accepted the schema. Then he returned to Russia, lived and served in the Caucasus until 1925. After he was exiled to Solovki, where he spent 6 years. After the link about Theodosius came to Minvody and lived here until his death, playing the fool and begging. The Monk Feofan did not accept the official "Soviet" church and performed services in the catacombs. Over the years, Theophan saved many lives, healed and set hundreds of people on the true path, and after his death, people were healed at Theophan's grave.

Cathedral of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin

For 5 years - from 1992 to 1997 - the Cathedral of the Intercession, striking in its size, grandeur and original architecture, was built in Mineralnye Vody Holy Mother of God. The author of the project of the temple is an Orthodox Ossetian, Koerbek Makheev. The cathedral was consecrated on October 14, 1997, and in August 1998 a solemn procession led by His Eminence Gideon, Metropolitan of Stavropol and Vladikavkaz, the relics of St. Theodosius of the Caucasus were transferred.

Massive stone gates with an arched entrance, made in the best traditions of Russian architecture, lead to the Temple. The large yard is beautiful due to the variety of greenery and flowers. The Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos consists of several buildings - the temple itself, an administrative building and cells for pilgrims visiting the temple. The Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos itself has restrained, almost canonical forms. It is based on an equal cross, the temple is crowned with 9 domes. There are 8 bells in the belfry, they were tuned by the main bell-ringer of Russia Igor Konovalov.

Inside the temple has an amazingly beautiful, but at the same time almost academic and corresponding to all canons, painting. The four-tiered iconostasis impresses with its decoration. But most often pilgrims come and go here to bow to the relics of St. Theodosius of the Caucasus. They say that whatever you ask the Holy Wonderworker comes true, people are healed of illnesses and find happiness.

The temple is located in Mineralnye Vody, on Pyatigorskaya Street, 35.

Chapel of St. Theodosius the Wonderworker

In the cemetery where Theodosius was buried, or rather, on the site of his grave, a chapel was erected in 1998. A white stone building with a classic architecture for chapels, which is crowned with a golden dome with a cross, is noticeable from afar and is a place of pilgrimage. Inside, in a tiny space, parishioners see a headstone made of white marble with Orthodox cross at the head. At the grave there are always flowers and candles are burning.

Finding the chapel is easy. It stands on the territory of the cemetery in the village of Leninsky, you can get there from the Mineralnye Vody by train to the station "3rd kilometer" or by taxi No. 103 from the Mineralnye Vody railway station.

The Life and Miracles of St. Theodosius of the Caucasus

The future reverend was born into a poor peasant family in the Perm province. The year of his birth is disputed - either the 1800th or 1841st (May 16, N.S.). The saint's parents, Fedor and Ekaterina Kashin, named the boy Theodore. According to legend, the midwife predicted the fate of the great priest to the newborn when she saw him in the “monastic kamilavka”. And indeed - from childhood, Fedya fell in love with prayer. As a child, he retired to the forest, where he spent time alone with God, praying on a large stone. He even had a voice: "The stone on which you pray is called Raev." There was another case indicating that the boy was marked by God. Once a dove flew out of the red corner, sat on his arm, and then, fluttering and describing a circle, disappeared behind the icons.

Tradition says that while still very young, Fedya left the house and got with the pilgrims to Athos. There, at the gates of the monastery of the Position of the Belt of the Mother of God, he asked to enter: "Take me to yourself, I will pray to God and I will do everything for you." The boy was allowed in, and the hegumen even took him into his cells. His path was thorny. At the age of fourteen, the youth healed the general's wife possessed by a demon. When asked who he was praying to, Fyodor answered: "To the Golden Mother of God." To fulfill his military duty, the abbot sent him to his homeland. But Fyodor was declared unfit for military service and he returned to the monastery. And in 1859, the young novice was tonsured a monk with the name Theodosius.

For five years he served in Tsargrad (Constantinople) in the Athos compound, called the "Russian hospitable house of the Position of the Belt of the Mother of God." Then, according to legend, the saint served in Jerusalem. In 1879 - return to Athos. In 1901, after the death of hegumen Ioannikius, Theodosius became the head of the monastery. However, soon resigning from his duties as abbot, he returned to Jerusalem, where he accepted the schema with the same name. From there, together with his spiritual daughter, nun Tatiana, the elder returned to Russia, bringing with him precious holy things.

Father Theodosius settled down 27 kilometers from the village of Krymskaya, where the village of Gorny is now located, built a small church, cells around it, started a farm - goats, an apiary. From the bowels of the earth, in a previously dry place, a spring gushed. The novices were drawn into the hermitage, among whom were many children, in particular, Lyuba and two Annas. One Anna's parents refused to let her go to the elder. Father Theodosius gave her mother an egg: "Petka is on you, he will sing how Peter denied the Lord." A pugnacious cockerel hatched from an egg. Indeed, Anna married Peter, a fighter and a drunkard, gave birth to two cripples from him.

The perspicacious old man also foresaw his arrest. "You will break the fast, but I will not be with you. Go to Minvody, live there," he said. In 1927, on Epiphany, many wonderful fish appeared in the water, about which Father Theodosius said that only four would remain. (After his arrest, only four novices remained in the hermitage). The elder who came to arrest him washed his feet and fed him. He was sent into exile, where Lyuba followed him. Other novices, m. Tabitha and m. Natalia, moved to Minvody, where they bought a small house. He also returned there after exile, and Fr. Theodosius. There he lived until his death, and there he received people who came to him. He communed, healed, gave advice, tonsured some as monks. Visitors brought gifts, but the monk did not take from everyone. "Did you come to God?" - the old man asked the visitors and him.

Once he saved a man from suicide, from whom his wife left. The wife is back. Vassa, the wife of the Rostov commandant, was healed by a severed finger. And his admirer Antonina Porfirievna Donchenko (in the schema - Angelina) with her daughter Larisa fed an unusual pilaf. "But here's a wonderful marvel, we take and take with spoons, but the food does not decrease," she recalled. During one of her visits, Antonina could not concentrate on the elder's words. Then he took the cross and began to walk around the room, baptizing every corner. He drove out the demon, then she immediately understood what the monk was talking about: what gardens in the sky, rivers of milk, rivers of honey, what big fruits, what fragrant flowers shake their heads without wind, and Angels fly and cling to flowers with their legs.

Father Theodosius cured Antonina's sister, Yulia, of tuberculosis, predicting a bitter life for her in marriage. Paraskeva, their mother, he even wanted to give tonsure, but she did not have time to arrive and froze in the forest.

Many the elder tonsured secretly. Gregory, the military commissar of the Caucasian Mineral Waters, he tonsured together with his family, having previously married his wife and baptized their daughter Zoya. They lived quietly, observing the monastic rule as a family community. Monk Michael - he received such a name in his tonsure as a military commissar - and in the world was an example of Christian virtue. Sixteen-year-old Fedya, the future Bishop Lazarus, was tonsured to the monastic rank by the saint, saying: "Perhaps I'll attach wings to you, Fedya." The nun Mariamna (in the world - Mary) was also tonsured by Father Theodosius. The Lord gave her the understanding of the Slavic literacy. The venerable Vera Afanasievna Moza was given the name in honor of the Great Martyr Barbara in tonsure and often said that when he died, he would leave his flock to her. She came to the Lord in 1961 and was buried not far from the grave of the elder.

Known as Fr. Theodosius saved the children during the war. Running into the school, grandfather Kuzyuk (as the reverend was also called), jokingly took the children away with him, and then a bomb fell on the place of the school. Or else - the car is standing on the rails, and the elder is pushing it, saying: "Lord, bless." A patrol approached: "What are you doing, grandfather?" - "So God commanded." Father Theodosius left, and after a while a bomb hit the place where the car was standing, and there were shells in the car. If the bomb hit the car, there would be nothing left of the city. The elder predicted the coming famine to Antonina Porfirievna, and told those who lost their relatives during the war whether they were alive.

He allegorically called himself "my uncle" (for the last seventeen years of his life he carried the feat of foolishness): "When my children stand, my uncle rests. And when my children fall, my uncle prays for them day and night."

“We, the children, were told: don’t call him father, he is Grandfather,” recalled Alexandra, a novice of Father Theodosius. Mary, one of his admirers, the monk once asked: "How old do you think I am?" "God alone knows, I don't know." “Truly I say to you and not falsely, the Lord is my witness, I am a thousand years old.” Then he says again: "How old do you think I am?" "God knows, I don't know." “Truly I say and not falsely, the Lord is my witness, I am six hundred years old.” Hesitating a little, he asks for the third time: "What do you think, Maria, how old am I?" "God alone knows, I don't know." - "Truly, without falsehood, I say, the Lord is my witness, I am four hundred years old." He communed the Holy Mysteries of Christ with Father Eugene, also an Athos monk, at the Caucasian station.

Once in the winter Last year of his life, Elder Theodosius fell and was badly hurt. They took him home on a sled.

The saint foresaw his own death. Three days before his death, he said: "In three days the end of the world." And again: "When the owner leaves, all the animals will cry: both the cow and the hen." And so it came true - a cow roared, hens clucked, a cat mewed plaintively. One woman, shortly before his death, saw a cloud, and in it the Lord holds the soul of the reverend. “I was already dead, but I begged God to leave me to live a little longer,” the elder confessed.

In the summer of 1948 he died. They buried without music, knowing that Grandfather did not like it. There was such a glow from the coffin that it was difficult for the photographer to shoot. When the coffin was carried to the outskirts of the city, four handsome young men approached, with shoulder-length hair, white long-sleeved shirts, black trousers and light boots. They lifted the coffin and carried it without a break all the way to the cemetery. When they began to call memorial meal It turned out that the young men had disappeared.

Elder Theodosius often said to his spiritual children: "Whoever calls me, I will always be with him."