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When I was asked why I decided to go to the Russian elder Veniamin for a cell, how I got to this point, I answered that I was simply tired of hanging around the Holy Mountain as an orphan *. Who wandered through the mountain, at least for a year, will understand what I'm talking about.

Of course, the siromahi support themselves with the proud thought that they are the coolest, most powerful ascetics of the Holy Mountain, but in reality, they are ordinary vagabonds. What perishing there asceticism! When you sleep at random, pray at random, and eat at random, your asceticism is purely nominal and your soul is polluted with various nonsense.

Perhaps, as a stage in spiritual development, orphanage is great, but, as I understand from my own experience, hanging around Athos for more than a year is not spiritually beneficial.
Then, realizing the perniciousness of "spiritual vagrancy", I went to Father Benjamin. He was, as everyone knew, of course, an intelligent, but extremely wild, in terms of communication, man. To insult someone, for him it was easier than a steamed turnip. It seemed that Father Benjamin did not even have any spiritual hesitation on this score. He insulted as naturally as he breathed.

It was an honor to stay with him for a month, for any siromaha, and I have already lived with him whole year. Everyone was surprised and asked to tell how I manage to do it. I did not hide anything and answered that I kept with him, because I thought that my elder is a holy life monk. Everyone laughed and laughs, until now, at my words as if they were a good Svyatogorsk joke. But really, I really think so.

&mnsp;
The realization of this came to me after one incident, which I want to describe to you.
On that significant day, or rather, on a warm May night, when this event happened, Father Benjamin unexpectedly raised me to prayer:

"Wake up, you bastard!" You are such a parasite, a lazybones and a fool of the King of Heaven, don’t you know that we monks should pray to God more at night than during the day. And work during the day, not be lazy. work, you know?

I, hiding the undulating growing irritation, stood up and combed my tangled hair:
- I'm going! I'm coming! I answered the rough cries of the old man.

He had had similar "attacks of asceticism" before, when he was seized by a passion to become like himself. Joseph the Hesychast "lessons of humility" **. To give you a simple idea of ​​this difficult technique, I will only say that the number of insults inflicted on the novice these days increased significantly, which, given the lack of sleep and strict fasting without [lean] oil **, was very painful for my soul. In those mournful days, the only consolation was that this pious aspiration usually passed with Father Benjamin in a week, or even less.

That night, after my painful awakening, we went to the temple, and the elder gave an exclamation to the Midnight Office. In a hoarse baritone voice, I began to read the kathisma:
“Blessed are the undefiled on the way, who walk in the law of the Lord…

- Oh, Kolya. Quiet! Quiet! - The elder came out of the altar in stole and in handrails. He looked very strange. His burning eyes immediately awakened my old smoldering doubts about the adequacy and mental health of my elder.
- Listen, Kolya! Shh! - he raised a hardened finger to his lips, showing that now, with all his might, it is worth remaining silent and even breathing as quietly as possible.
- BUT? What is it like for you?! BUT? What do you hear?

I, straining like a string, listened to the silence of the night, but could not make out anything - only the wind and the croaking of a lone frog. Shaking my head, I cautiously noticed. - Geronta, everything is quiet.

- What?! He blushed with anger, but contrary to his custom, this time he did not burst into insults.
- Listen better, deaf grouse, can't you hear her? Pay attention, hold your breath, oh, I haven't heard these for a long time demonic rituals.

I again listened to the silence of the night and blushed with fear. Now it dawned on me that the elder meant the croaking of some frog.
– Eeh! Tomorrow morning, I will go up the mountain again. It's better to be a wanderer than to live next to a madman, - I thought, and I myself looked timidly at the old man: - Father Benjamin, do you mean ... a frog?

- What?! Did you say frog?!
For a moment it seemed to me that the old man would hit me.
“It’s not a frog, you understand? It's the devil himself!

- Wow, where enough! - My thoughts sprouted on my face in a bewildered and, for the sake of Jewish ***, obsequious grimace. - I, frightened by the sudden unpredictable madness of the elder, wanted to leave the cell immediately, but then I decided to wait for the morning anyway and only then return to the ranks of the Athos orphans.
- Frog! What do you even know about it?

The old man suddenly became extremely serious. - This is the first enemy of my prayer. I have been in this cell for fifteen years. And on that first night, when I, another one, began my wilderness work, the devil appeared to tempt me in the form of this, as you say, frog. As soon as I focused on the words of the psalmist, she began to sing her demonic hymns. - O! If you knew about my pain, my dear novice. This is the real fiend
satan child,
antichrist cat,
green death,
prayer choke,
cunning jumping beast,
ruin guard,
preacher of iniquity,
servant of thieves
friend of the night demons,
patron of fornicators,
container of poison
incarnate ugliness,
heir of darkness
spawning goggle-eyed croaking night.

The elder narrowed his eyes contemptuously: “I can blaspheme her all night long without stopping. Cursing her, I do not get tired, but on the contrary, I gain strength.

So you're saying it's just a frog? No, Kolya, this is not a simple amphibian. Not a creature of God. This is not a reptile moving in the waters, this is the serpent itself, it was created by swearing at him ****. it night demon, which is molded by the devil from the remnants of his burnt wings, specifically to tempt the monks in order to knock them out of prayer.

O! Swamp kikimora,
goblin's widow,
mermaid grandmother, luring travelers into a whirlpool,
death predictor,
night stargazer,
the nightingale of the false prophet,
ascetic of demonic cults,
a creature that inflames passions,
that in which there is not a drop of good,
darkness, without a grain of light,
image of hell
cerberus tartar,
rivers of evil flow from it.
Frog!

I didn't know what to say to the elder's rhetorical accusations.
And he, meanwhile, did not let up, and became more and more inflamed with anger.

Have you ever seen this frog? This is the most real prototype of meanness and ugliness. The very vile disgusting appearance of it speaks of the presence in the world of a hostile spiritual force that prevents the formation of world harmony.

- Frog! The Russian language does not at all reflect the ominous taste of death and evil that is concentrated in this evil creature. The language simply conveys it as kicking: -drying, -fly, -pillow, -darling, - something harmless and ugly, something that we despise and regret at the same time.

Well, ha ha! I, too, Kolya, paid tribute to this stupid understanding. And now, after years of struggling with this, in truth, - the fiend of hell, his great creation and the image of death itself, I finally understood who I was dealing with. Don't you dare call that vessel of abomination a frog again, got it?

I assessed the situation. On the one hand, it was not bad that the elder's anger went to the dumb creature, past me. On the other hand, it is scary to live with a person who considers a small swamp creature to be a great monster.

“Understood, Father Benjamin! But what should I call her then?
– It! No other way than it!
- It?
- Yes Yes! - It!

- Horror of deserts,
poisonous breath of the evil one!
It is the cruelest temptation
king among the tempters,
rusty prayers,
antichrist cat.
Ah, I have already used this epithet... The elder scratched his gray beard and continued: - It is self-expression,
the incarnation of the devil himself,
curse of nature
it…

– Is this possible? - I cried, unable to bear such an attitude towards some frog: - It's la ... - It's just a beast, a pitiful senseless amphibian! Is it possible to harbor hatred towards him? Forgive me, geronta, you can expel me, your right, but I will say my word: to think and count like that is simply blasphemy!

- Blasphemy? The elder smiled unexpectedly: “It has encircled you, my son, how can I drive you out now that you are captivated by darkness?” Ha ha ha! – The elder laughed loudly and even, I would say, defiantly: – It has been stealing my prayer for more than fifteen years! I'm not talking about spiritual peace and concentration of the spirit, psalmody and silence. Why do you think I changed the silence to "lessons of humility"**?
“Is it because of…him?”

Father Benjamin smiled a broad smile, which I saw him for the first time, and firmly, with both hands, took me by the shoulders: “Take a flashlight and a chopper, the one with which we weed squash, my brave warrior of Christ.” It's high time to end this! Let's strike the darkness! We will destroy it!
- Shall we destroy it?
- Yes! Yes! I have made many attempts to find this monster, but it has always eluded me. But now, my aching heart senses, that together with you, my glorious ascetic, we will find and destroy the thief who is plundering the peace of our cell. Forward, Nicholas, servant of God. And God help us!

In the last words of Father Benjamin there were so many flattering comparisons, which the elder did not reward me during the entire time of our acquaintance, that I immediately melted, like the January snow that occasionally falls in Greece*****. I found a flashlight and a chopper to destroy the “first enemy of prayer” and went out to the elder, who was already assembled and pulled up as never before.

- Let's go! Create for yourself Jesus Prayer******, understood?
I confidently shook my head in agreement, but uncertainly shook the chopper in my hands:
“Yes, father, but I don’t know if I can kill this animal?”
- An animal?
- Yes.
Father Benjamin thought seriously. “Whether it is a diabolical vessel or an independent force… animal, I will destroy it anyway. It's disgusting, anyway!
- Yes, but...
- No buts! Go straight to her devilish singing, but don't miss the prayer, do you hear? The main thing is to find it, and I myself will see to it that it is silent for all eternity. Don't miss a prayer, do you hear?
“I understand, geronta.

We left the cell and, stealthily, went to the croaking of the poor frog. I read a prayer to myself, pitying my old man, who was inflamed with hatred for some poor frog. However, I have not yet understood what he means - some specific creature, or frogs as a species?

• If he thinks that the devil is depriving him of his prayers through the croaking of frogs, then there was no point in staying in this cell anymore. Just look, the elder will force all the frogs in the area to be beaten, and the area near the cell was quite damp.
• If he is looking for some mythical creature, such as a dragon, unicorn, leviathan or basilisk, then, perhaps, having killed one frog, he will decide that he has struck the devil himself and will calm down for a long time.

- Shh! - Father Benjamin, taking exceptional precautions, made his way to the thorny bush (we did not turn on the lights yet, so as not to frighten away the amphibian).
“Kolya,” he said in a barely audible whisper, “come in from the left, it’s here.” As soon as I turn on the flashlight, turn on yours. The main thing is not to miss the monster. The utmost attention, Kolya, I hope for you. I come from the center, hit her in the forehead.

He took the chopper from me, and we slowly began to surround the frog.
Finally, like a kind of calm before the storm, there was complete silence, in which the solo of the poor green frog sounded loud.

With a shudder of my heart, I imagined how the old man was hitting a small defenseless creature with a hoe for weeding zucchini, and I shook nervously. Killing the frog, which would free the sick spirit of the old man, would be a bloody stain on my conscience. Can I, without prejudice to my own soul, indulge the monstrous whims of an old man? This prolonged pause, before the alleged death of the frog, was for me the moment of truth. After hesitating for a few seconds, I abruptly turned on the lantern and hissed, wanting to frighten off the beast and thereby save her miserable life, and my conscience from demonic reproach: - Kshsh, kshsh!

– The elder yelled: – Madman, what are you doing?! What a delusion, God help you!

He also turned on his lantern and pointed it at the thorn bush. A beam of light illuminated a large boulder, on which, as if nothing had happened, a large green frog was sitting. The creature did not think to run away anywhere. The frog, as if not noticing our presence, continued to croak, inflating a green bubble around its neck. Her front paws were crossed together and her hind legs relaxed, not tense for a jump. The amphibian was about half the size of the palm of an old man, who was already rapaciously leaning over the animal, raising his large hand over it in order to slap the poor fellow.

Father Benjamin, come to your senses! What are you doing? – I appealed to the elder: – Do not be mad, remember your calling and rank. Don't dishonor your schema. How can you harbor such great malice towards this dumb being?

– Ha-ha-ha! – The old man, throwing his head back, laughed again with a booming thick laugh. Now he looked like a deceived monk who had been removed from the Holy Mountain not so long ago. That monk also laughed madly and claimed that he begged Judas out of hell. Is my poor old man also delusional? Everything pointed to...

The old monk laughed to his heart's content and looked at me kindly. Do you see Kolya? It is not even afraid of us,” Father Benjamin pointed his finger at the imperturbable creature: “Have you ever seen frogs behave like this? Nikolai, finally see it - it is not afraid of us at all. Not a drop! It doesn't believe we can destroy it.

Actually, it was really strange, "the first enemy of prayer" croaked intently, completely oblivious to our aggressive presence, as if the frog had absolutely no instinct for self-preservation inherent in any terrestrial.
But, perhaps, "it" was simply in a state of shock caused by our unexpected appearance and the abundance of light in the night.
“Father Benjamin, the animal was simply afraid of us and nothing more. Even now I'm afraid of you.

- My son! If it were afraid of us, it would not croak so calmly, with such contempt, as if we did not exist at all, - and the old man raised a chopper over the frog.
“But I will put an end to these diabolical litanies—once and for all.
- O! I beg you, stop this madness.

The old man, who thought that it was I who was crazy here, only smiled and shook the chopper like a good hockey stick. Togo and look yell now. - Goal!

But the old man continued in his own style: - Oh, a hotbed of evil, a demon lurking under the mask of innocence! You can fool the whole world, but not me. From the depths of my soul, I will strike your image! Damn the devil and his green idol! Get it, bastard!

I closed my eyes, not wanting to see the murder of an innocent creature, and confirmed the thought of leaving the cell immediately, without waiting for the morning.

... And then, when our hunt was almost over, something happened that was so contradictory common sense, which equally unsettled both the elder and myself, and made us stand in perfect silence with our mouths open for more than a minute.

The frog, a moment before the crushing blow of the chopper, croaked in a clear, human, so to speak, voice:
– Hallelujah !

I, of course, read in pateriks ( the lives of the saints) something similar, but I didn’t think it’s so simple - to hear it myself.
If I were alone, I would have thought that this was an auditory hallucination from lack of sleep and poor nutrition, and, most of all, from mental overwork caused by the elder’s constant attacks and insults, but Father Benjamin was also in amazement, almost more than than myself.

The frog, meanwhile, returned to its rank of amphibians and, deftly pushing off the boulder with its hind legs, disappeared into the bush.

A minute later, having come to his senses, the stunned old man looked mournfully at me:
- What a crazy, it turns out, I'm an old man, Nikolai! After all, it is written in Scripture: "every breath praises the Lord" !
It seemed that he was about to cry from the grief that overwhelmed his heart.

“It just glorified its Creator, and I resented it. It…
“She is a sinless creature of God, and the devil taught me for so many years to hate her. For fifteen years I thought that I was serving and praying to God, and it was she who was praying ... a frog.

Father Benjamin grabbed his head with his hands and slowly settled down on this boulder.

This is the first time I've seen him like this. He was inconsolable and would have sat like that on the boulder for an indefinitely long time if I had not taken him by the arms and led him to his cell.

After this incident, the elder resigned himself greatly. Of course, I still got it regularly and a lot from him, but there were already much fewer insults than before, and for the most harsh words, Father Benjamin, when he recovered from anger, even asked me for forgiveness. He blessed, until the time, not to tell anyone about this case, and I have been silent until now.

True, he also had another extreme, which, of course, did not carry such harm as the first (hatred of the frog), - now Father Benjamin began to compare the time of our prayer with her croaking ...

If, as was customary from the good old times, most of the monasteries and cells of the Holy Mountain lived on Byzantine time, and the monks began Compline at sunset, then we checked our time with the croaking of a frog - instead of the sun. The only difference was that she woke us up for Midnight Office, not Compline. If, on any given day, the amphibian was silent for some reason, we began the midnight office only at dawn.

The elder, as it were, with his unusual behavior, asked the frog for forgiveness for his many years of chronic malice and, naturally, cut off his will in front of her, as before his elder.

Of course, I internally laughed at Father Benjamin's eccentricities, but, to be honest, I was surprised by his sincerity, both in hatred and in repentance. For this alone, I loved and respected my elder.

When he considered her, the frog, a vessel of hatred, there was nothing stronger than his anger. When he saw the light and realized that - Every breath praises the Lord , Father Benjamin began to sincerely try to make amends for his guilt, not being afraid that he would be considered a madman.

I myself, of course, not only thanked God for such enlightenment, but also, from that day on, I looked more attentively under my feet so that, inadvertently, I would not step on some creature of God ...

* Siromahi, Siromahi - in Russian "poor wanderers". In contrast to the vagabonds, "homeless", they are inspired by the religious idea of ​​becoming like Christ, who did not have "where to lay his head" on earth. Accordingly, among them there are real holy fools. Others, while retaining some more religious touch, gradually become ordinary vagabonds living one day: where to sleep today and what God sends to refresh themselves physically. However, this kind of life also has merit, if only the vagrant orphan does not fall into pride and exaltation, but has a humble disposition.
Around the 3rd-5th century, I don’t remember exactly, in Syria this way of life was extremely common. They were called "waxes", lived in deserts, and loved Christ very much. (Approx. Pilgrim, and further too)

** be like yourself Joseph the Hesychast. Then he introduced his charter into his cell, except for silence. It was replaced by the spiritual technique of Father Benjamin himself, who called it "lessons of humility" - And the Great Elder Joseph the Hesychast practiced constant insults to his novices, dissolved, however, by great love. His spiritual son, the now deceased Elder Joseph, wrote about this in his book "Elder Joseph the Hesychast".

** strict fasting without [lean] oil - All Athonites strictly observe the charter Orthodox Church ordering to refrain from vegetable oil in fast days. AT this case, apparently, the fast extended to other days (as Elder Joseph the Hesychast recommended that all days be the same and not distract from prayer - read the deepest book of his letters, useful to everyone: "An account of the monastic experience").

*** fear for the Jews - A phrase from the Gospel that has become a proverb. This refers to the fear of the disciples of Christ - persecution from the Jews, who eventually seized their Teacher and God. The disciples hid in every possible way that they were related to Jesus, and the apostle Peter even betrayed Christ by denial. So the original "worthy" meaning of "courageous" fear has shifted towards cowardice-fear, which made this phrase very capacious, multifaceted and vital.

****"This serpent, you created it, curse him". (Ps. 104:26) - Serpent (Satan) - produced not for anything else, but for the sole purpose of swear to him (Interpretations on the Psalms of St. Athanasius the Great).

***** snow, which occasionally falls out in Greece - I even heard a Greek proverb "the snow fell and does not melt"(they say - "a miracle of miracles"). On Mount Athos, above a height of 500 - 700 m, snow lies (and does not melt) from the end of December to February - about two months.

****** Jesus Prayer - "Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us", "Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me", "Kirie, Jesus Christ, elaison imas", "Kirie, Jesus Christ, elaisonme" - the most common among monks short forms Jesus Prayer. The full forms of the Jesus Prayer are, for example: “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”, “Kirie, Jesus Christ, ye tu Feu, eleison ke soson imas” (Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy and save us).

Stanislav Leonidovich Senkin, the story "The First Enemy of Prayer" from the second collection of Athonite stories "Repentance of Ahasuerus", Moscow, 2008
“Lessons of humility” of the charter of Joseph the Hesychast - Let every breath praise the Lord!

Comments

Ask a question or express your humble opinion:

21.01.11 Fri 18:24 - `Iva Kosteva`

Great! start reading and

Great! you start reading and it’s impossible to tear yourself away! There is so much humor and at the same time tragedy behind the described events that if you laugh, your heart shrinks from compassion ... (not to a frog))), but to life and the acceptance of such feats. To me I really, really liked this story! Write more! Write!

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Prot. Dimitri Smirnov: Actually, to be honest, there is “let him praise the Lord”, but the meaning does not change from this, because our Lord is our God. “Every breath” refers to every creation of God. All the creatures of God that breathe - both birds and amphibians, and animals, and plants, because everything that God created, He created for His glory. God for us, His creations, is absolutely invisible and incomprehensible, which is expressed in the following words: “No one can see God anywhere” (John 1:18). But we can observe the greatness of God in His creation. We see a titmouse, its beauty - and we praise God. And the tit, chirping, praises God. And so is every living being. A beautiful shell glorifies its Creator, because the mollusk does not have a developed brain, he could not create such a structure himself. This is the Lord. Or the structure of a hive - an insect, a bee, cannot create it, God created it. And the bee hive with its most intelligent arrangement glorifies God. Praise God and all fish, and all animals. Every breath with its existence glorifies the Lord. And it is pleasing to God that a person who has been given a great gift of reason, words, marriage, the ability to know God, through religion, which God also gave to man, glorifies God through shame and conscience. This is a call to all creation. But, of course, not only creatures that are living beings glorify God. Praise God and the mountains, as it is said, and the rivers, and the seas. So everything created by God praises Him. The universe especially praises God. Everyone who looks at the sky can feel it, seeing its bottomless size and completely divine beauty - especially in our nature and the strip, this is the August night, which shows us the greatness of God the Creator. I remember me, a small child of about five years old, the sight of the sky brought me to such a state that I still remember this event when I paid attention to it. Since then, I have been under this impression, and when I find myself in front of a clear sky dotted with stars, I remember this childhood impression, and it continues to act on me. Praise God and volcanoes, now Etna is erupting. What energy power is concentrated inside our planet, and how did the Lord arrange that the earth's crust retains this power in itself, and only at certain points shows us what is inside there - such temperatures that we can reproduce only for some seconds with the help of our technology. And for God, this is not something transcendental. The real plasma is very close, and the Lord preserves us.

Prot. Alexander Berezovsky: And the highest creation of God - man - falls out of this common orchestra.

Prot. Dimitri Smirnov: Yes, man has a way to go. He must use the precious gift of freedom to also glorify God with his life. So that people see the good deeds of man and glorify the Heavenly Father.
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Answer: Father Dimitry Smirnov

The Church remembers the commandment given by God man: “Dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the beasts, and over the birds of the air, and over every livestock…” (Genesis 1:28). Many Orthodox monasteries they breed animals and birds, which serve not only as an adornment of the monastery, but also as a consolation to man. With details - Deacon Fyodor KOTRELEV.

Novosibirsk: deer, peacock, squirrels…
Spotted deer, squirrels, peacocks, crayfish and fish live in the Novosibirsk monastery in the name of the holy martyr Eugene. As Abbot Philip (Novikov), the abbot of the monastery, told NS, the living corner began with one squirrel, which he was presented with at the Novosibirsk Zoo when he brought orphans from the orphanage there on a tour. A small house was built for the squirrel in the courtyard of the temple. Then one of the parishioners donated two more squirrels to the temple. The squirrel cage stands in the most prominent place of the churchyard, causing constant interest among the parishioners and visitors of the monastery.

Seeing such popularity of the "living corner", rabbits, pigeons were brought in the monastery, a small pool was dug, where fish and crayfish live in summer. And at the end of last year, the monastery zoo replenished with sika deer. The deer, brought from Altai, was presented to the monastery by the archbishop of Novosibirsk and Berdsk Tikhon. “At first we were very worried: after all, it is one thing to look after small animals, and another thing is to take care of a deer. How to feed him, how to support him - no one had a clue, - says the abbot of the monastery, hegumen Philip. “I had to send one of the novices to specially study with specialists.” The deer was named Yasha - that was the decision of the students Sunday school. Yasha lives in an aviary specially built for him. The aviary is small, but, according to Father Philip, “if the aviary is made bigger, he can scatter, jump over the fence and run away.” In the "living corner" of the monastery there are a few more rabbits, budgerigars, pigeons and a peacock. According to the rector, the presence of animals at the temple can play a missionary role: “Sometimes a person cannot immediately come to the temple. But then he comes here to the territory, sees how beautiful everything is here - squirrels, deer. And people think: how wonderful everything is, so why not go to the temple?

Live in Russian monasteries and ostriches (St. Nicholas Monastery in Kolomna). Photo by ITAR-TASS/Vladimir Smirnov

Serpukhov: peacocks
Peacocks are bred in the Vvedensky Bishop's Women's Monastery near Moscow Serpukhov. This tradition has been going on for more than 300 years: at the end of the 17th century, the Vvedensky Monastery was presented with “... a nest of cranes, a peacock and a peahen”. Peacocks were bred not only as decorative birds, but also as an ancient Christian symbol of immortality. The breeding of peacocks in the monastery turned out to be so successful that when the issue of the coat of arms of Serpukhov was decided at the end of the 18th century, it was decided to place the image of a peacock on it. It is interesting that even the Soviet version of the Serpukhov emblem contained a peacock - along with a tractor gear and an atomic ring. With the revival of the monastery, peacock breeding also returned. Now there are a dozen and a half peacocks in the monastery.

Trinity-Sergius Lavra: cats are safe

Photo by Evgeny Poznyak

At the end of October last year, the online community of animal advocates was shocked by the terrible news. According to one of the LiveJournal users, 30 cats living on the territory of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra were taken out of the city in sealed bags and allegedly thrown into a pond next to the landfill. Information began to rapidly acquire new "facts". As if the cats were with kittens, and activists of the Cat and Dog community, who urgently arrived at the site of the "tragedy", managed to save ten animals. Someone even reported that the kittens had gouged out eyes (but then this information was refuted on the same forum). Needless to say, all the messages literally burned with righteous anger against the monastic brethren, but the speakers did not cite any facts confirming the killing of cats. What actually happened? As NS was informed in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, a large number of homeless cats accumulate on the territory during the year. Some animals are tossed, others come by themselves, they breed, and their numbers grow steadily in the absence of dogs. In addition, compassionate people in the Lavra feed the animals, and the cats live quite well here. However, there is no veterinary clinic on the territory of the Lavra, and such an accumulation of homeless animals is not safe. In order to protect the brethren and visitors of the monastery from possible diseases that cats can spread, every year at the end of October, stray cats are collected and taken to a wasteland outside Sergiev Posad. There, the animals are set free (some of them, by the way, return to the Lavra again), there can be no question of any killing of cats. Unfortunately, the monastery does not yet have other means of solving the topical problem of homeless animals.

Cat Monastery in Cyprus
Ten kilometers from the Cypriot city of Limassol is located convent Saint Nicholas Koshatnik. According to tradition, several dozen cats live within its walls. According to legend, in 327 A.D. Cyprus was visited by St. queen Elena. Having learned that an unprecedented number of snakes had bred on the island, which suffered from a terrible drought in those years, she ordered about a thousand cats to be brought here. A few years later, the snakes were done away with. Not far from the place where Helena went ashore, a monastery St. Nicholas, which has become a refuge for cats brought to the island. A Venetian monk who visited the island in 1484 wrote in his notes that cats came running to dinner at the sound of the monastery bell. Satisfied, they again proceeded to their direct duties - hunting for snakes. Sources say that when the adjacent lands were donated to the monastery in the 16th century, a condition was set: the brothers must look after at least a hundred cats, supplying them with food twice a day. After the capture of Cyprus by the Turks in the 16th century, the monastery fell into disrepair and was revived only in the 80s of the 20th century - already as a female monastery. The nuns have revived the tradition of keeping cats. Now the monastery has five nuns and about 70 cats. Every day of the nuns begins at about three in the morning: first they prepare food for the cats, then they go to the temple for service. After the service - breakfast, feeding cats, cleaning the yard and other obediences. In addition to caring for cats, Orthodox nuns are engaged in icon painting.

Photo by Ekaterina Stepanova

"Let every breath praise the Lord"

Dedicated to Valentina Yakovlevna Starikova

Light in the window

“God rest the soul of the deceased servant Valentina and forgive her all the sins of free and involuntary…” - I begin to read a prayer in front of the memorial candle in the temple and remember my dear person: grandmother Valya, who has not been with us for three and a half years. But she lives on in our hearts. For many, grandmother Valya was a life guide, a light in the window. My heart is filled with warmth and love for her, because she brought a lot of useful and interesting things to my life, but most importantly, she gave my soul the most priceless treasure. This treasure is the love of God. Grandmother Valya was a beacon in the ocean of life for lost ships, she showed them the right path so that they would not stray from the right course. She was a well-read person. I remember when you come to visit her, she reads either the lives of the saints, or stories about Christ, or other Orthodox literature, ponders for a long time on what she has read, then she will definitely give some book or give it to read. And she was very strict and serious in everything that concerned the Orthodox faith. I remember myself as a student when I studied at the institute and studied the works of Nietzsche and Spinoza in philosophy, how I got infected with this nonsense and did not notice that I had begun to move away from God. It began to seem to me that the world was not created by the Lord, but that the Universe was born out of chaos. My views confused the spiritual state of grandmother Valya, and we quarreled, did not communicate for a long time. The light in the window of her room went out for me at once. Now I remember this moment in my life as the most stupid, because I could lose forever communication with my loved one. But the Lord had mercy on me, and I saw the light again in her window. And my soul longed for this world, and I came to visit my grandmother with forgiveness. As in the parable of the prodigal son, God the Father hugs his erring son, so Grandma Valya hugged me, she was very happy about my return. I understand it's a miracle spiritual insight happened not without her help, now I know how much she prayed for me, especially for all her loved ones.

Song to God.

“... and grant them the Kingdom and the eternal communion of Your good and Your endless and blissful life of pleasure ...”, I continue to read, and bright moments from my life associated with my grandmother Valentina again emerge before me. A person who comes to God tries to praise him as best he can. Grandmother Valya told me that she used to be an unbeliever, but then the Lord opened her eyes to his existence, and her whole life was filled with bright colors, acquired meaning. There was no temple in my native village, and so she and another grandmother walked to the neighboring village to pray, and the path was not easy ... I remember how I didn’t want to get up at 7 in the morning so as not to be late for the morning service, but grandmother Valya, already then she walked with a cane (her legs hurt a lot), waited for me at the entrance, and together we went to the temple. Most often in the Znamensky Monastery to St. Innokenty of Irkutsk. She always tried to bless me on the road, make the sign of the cross, taught me to pray, because I considered this the most important thing in life. Prayer is a song to God, without it one cannot go anywhere, or start any business, otherwise nothing will come of it. If on Sunday you start to do something, she scolded, taught to honor the day of the Lord. Now I am collecting these grains into one kind of picture and I understand how little I sing to God myself. After all, he needs to sing constantly, praise always and for everything that he sends down ...

Forgiveness Sunday

“What will I bring to Thee, or what will I repay Thee, the most gifted Immortal Tsar, more generous and philanthropic Lord…” I read the prayer of Macarius the Great and again I remember the unforgettable thing that remains in my memory. I remember how Grandma Valya puts a hearing aid on her ear and starts listening to me, and then she herself will tell something interesting. Once she told me how long ago, in the years of her youth, she worked as a cashier in a store, and how some bandits committed a robbery attack on the store. Grandmother Valya was badly hurt (Thank God that she survived!), and since then she has become deaf due to a head injury. It happened that she would not hear to the end, she would not understand in the right way, because of this some misunderstandings came out. But every time before Great Lent, on Forgiveness Sunday, he will come to visit us, hug everyone, kiss and begin to ask everyone for forgiveness. This moment was perhaps the most touching in my life. And so we sit, cry and ask each other for forgiveness. Now I understand what is Orthodox faith everything that the Lord spoke about exists. The power of love and faith in the Lord lies in the forgiveness of each other's sins. It brings you so much closer that each time you realize your insignificance and sinfulness and see the beauty of another person. The Lord Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross, the son of God suffered for the sins of people, but his love for us was so great that he forgave us our sins and forgives them every time we ask him for forgiveness. So Grandma Valya every time reminded us of the Power of God's Love and often said that if you are offended, then you should not harbor anger and revenge on your enemy. This lesson of life is still before my eyes, and I am grateful to the Lord that through my grandmother Valya He shed the Light of His Love on me too.

Thank God for everything!

“Lord, our God, I thank You for everything that You sent down to me, because You love me more than I love “You” ...” Grandmother Valya taught me to thank the Lord always, everywhere and in everything. I remember how she came to visit us after the morning service in the Znamensky Monastery ... And she told me that she heard the singing of angels. She, almost deaf, managed to hear the Divine song. And she sang one song very beautifully, which I still like more than others:

1. Somewhere far away, once upon a time there lived a wise and experienced old man. He always said, incessantly repeated: "Glory to God for sorrow and for joy." Chorus: Glory to God for everything Glory to God for sorrow and joy.

2. If someone said something rude to you Or treated you badly, Know about it, my friend, the will of God is here, We must always put up with this. Chorus: Glory to God for everything Glory to God for sorrow and joy.

3. If someone slandered and grumbled at you, Then there is no need to be embarrassed about this either. The Lord Himself gave it to you for salvation, - We must love and humble everyone here. Chorus: Glory to God for everything (2 times) Glory to God for sorrow and joy (2 times)

4. If you fell ill, fell seriously ill And you can’t get out of bed, So it’s destined, it’s given to us according to sins, And there’s no need to grumble and be afraid. Chorus: Glory to God for everything Glory to God for sorrow and joy.

5. If someone offended you with something here, Do not try to justify yourself before him. But at the same time, with everything, humble yourself and know that the Lord helps to be saved. Chorus: Glory to God for everything Glory to God for sorrow and joy.

6. If it may seem, your cross is heavy, It was not possible for you to give it here, Know! The Lord would not have sent you beyond your strength, Do not grumble, but love and humble yourself. Chorus: Glory to God for everything Glory to God for sorrow and joy.

7. Learn to do the will of God always. Maybe we will be persecuted, And with a bag on our shoulders, with tears in our eyes, And we will not be loved by our relatives. Chorus: Glory to God for everything Glory to God for sorrow and joy.

8. If there is sadness and illness, and sorrow, If we have to suffer in some way, Never blame, but always say: "Everything is given to us sinners from God." Chorus: Glory to God for everything Glory to God for sorrow and joy.

9. Teach me, Lord, to praise You, Teach me, O God, to pray. Teach me to do Your will by loving, Give me the strength to work for the good.

10. Let me shake off my sinful burden, Let me cry out everything before You. Give me help holy name Yours, I can't manage without You. Chorus: Glory to God for everything Glory to God for sorrow and joy.

11. Sweetest Jesus, have mercy on me, as the Creator, have mercy on the creation. As a Savior, save from the hyena of fire, And, as a Doctor, do not shun my wounds. Chorus: Glory to God for everything Glory to God for sorrow and joy.

12. Heal my soul, Jesus, quickly, Accept repentance for sins. And hear, my God, I am here at the door of Your mercy waiting for alms. Chorus: Glory to God for everything Glory to God for sorrow and joy.

And I remember when my grandmother already knew that the end of her life was near, she badly injured her leg and was ill with an incurable disease, in her sad eyes I did not even see a shadow of doubt and grumbling. She spoke softly, with difficulty, and was very calm. Her gaze was bright and clear. “Glory to God for sorrow and joy!” And just in July, a lot of irises bloomed in our garden like never before, we plucked them all. A whole armful was brought to grandmother Valya, they stood in a vase on the windowsill, opposite her bed - grandmother deserved much more, but these flowers consoled her, because she always loved them. And I think that the gardener - the Lord with great joy accepted into his garden a wonderful flower, which was Grandma Valya ...

Saint Nicholas

“Rejoice, firm strengthening of Orthodoxy ... Rejoice, as your faith is affirmed; Rejoice, as heresy is overthrown by you Rejoice Nicholas, the Great Wonderworker! I remember how grandmother Valya read these words from an akathist to St. Nicholas, vivid images pop up before me - here the saint helps lost ships find the right path, here he saves sailors during a storm, here he drives away misfortunes from the huntsman in the forest ... Saint Nicholas was alone of the beloved saints and especially revered by grandmother Valya. The first icon she gave me was, of course, an icon depicting Nicholas the Wonderworker. Every year, on December 19 and May 22, my family glorifies the saint - we set the table, read an akathist to Nicholas the Wonderworker, but without Grandma Valya. She used to set the table and wait for us to visit. She herself read the entire akathist (no one had the right to sit at the table), then she crosses the food, blesses, and you can proceed to the treat. Most often it was delicious fried fish, because December 19 falls on the Christmas fast. And in May it was already possible to set the table richer - the first fruits and greens from the garden. Be sure to tell incredible true stories, difficult life situations in which Nicholas the Wonderworker helped. We have kept this custom in our family. When grandmother Valya fell ill and it became difficult for her to cook, she came to visit us, and together we praised the saint.

The road is a moment long.

In our life, we have passed a lot of roads and paths, and how many more there will be, but there is the most important one, which we will pass only once and will never come back here again. This road is a moment long, but it is the most difficult, the most responsible, and you need to prepare for it for the rest of your life. After all, you can’t go camping and forget, for example, a bowler hat, matches or a compass. The journey can turn into the strongest test ... So, for this road, you need to prepare so that the All-Merciful Lord will accept us in his arms with joy. At the memorial table, on August 10, 2010, Father Dimitry (from the village of Urik, he buried his grandmother) said very important words: “At the end, the whole life of a person is visible.” Grandmother Valentina was honored with a good death: she took unction, confessed, took communion. She went to the Lord quietly and calmly, despite the severe pain that she experienced due to an incurable illness.

May God grant that we also deserve such an end...

With a low bow and with love, Irina Mokova.

Alleluia, Alleluia. And this is a victory song; but the knowledge of God predicts the future of all people.

. Praise God in His holiness, praise Him in the firmament of His might.

"Praise God in His Saints". This is enough motivation to chant. If we are commanded to take plants, animals, and reptiles as an occasion for thanksgiving; how much more just to look upon the Saints, and hymn their God. For who, studying the deeds of the blessed Paul, or the divinely wise Peter, or the divine John, or the other Apostles, or the victorious martyrs, or those who are now striving in virtue, will not stir up his tongue to the hymn of Him who bestowed on people such an abundance of blessings?

"Praise Him in the confirmation of His power." And Symmachus translated thus: Praise Him in His impregnable stronghold; because one has a firm, indestructible, eternal power.

. Praise Him according to His might, praise Him according to the multitude of His greatness.

"Praise Him in His Power"; for inexpressible are the feats which are unceasingly accomplished by His Saints.

"Praise him according to the multitude of his majesty." This is similar to what we have already interpreted, namely: "His majesty has no end"(). His greatness, says the Prophet, is infinite, His power is immeasurable. Therefore, do not cease to praise Him for everything.

. Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet, praise Him on the psalter and the harp.

. Praise Him with timbrel and lyric, praise Him on strings and organ.

. Praise Him with loud cymbals, praise Him with loud cymbals.

"Praise Him with a Trumpet". This instrument was priestly; because the priests used trumpets, in remembrance of those trumpets that were heard on Mount Sinai.

"Praise Him in the psalter and the harp:" "Praise Him in tambourine and face, praise Him in strings and organ": "Praise Him with cymbals of kindness, praise Him with cymbals of exclamation". These tools were used by the Levites of old, in the divine temple, singing songs to God, not because God delighted in their sound, but because the intention with which this was done was pleasing to Him.

. All that breathes praise the Lord! Alleluia.

"Let every breath praise the Lord". Let not only Jews praise, but all people; because, as he says divine Apostle, not "The God of the Jews, not only but also of tongues"(). Therefore, in Psalm 144, the Prophet said: "May all flesh bless His Holy Name"() and here it says: "Let every breath praise the Lord". But even there he understood more than one flesh, and here he understands more than one breath, but on the contrary, both in one and the other, both in body and soul, he commands to hymn the God of all. Worthy of wonder is this end of the whole creation, and he agrees with the purpose of the prophecy. For prophecy preaches salvation to the Gentiles, and the end of prophecy commands those who have received salvation to hymn the Benefactor. But we do not only hear words, but see the very deeds here. For in every city, in every village, in the fields, in solitudes, on mountains and hills, in places uninhabited and completely deserted, the God of all is hymned.

And I ask those who read this book, if it seems to be interpreted well and successfully, to reap the benefits from this, and if where we have not comprehended the innermost mysteries of the Spirit, do not reproach us too much. For whatever they could find, they offered to everyone without stint; what they themselves learned from their fathers, they took pains to communicate to posterity. We have endured the labor, and we bring to others the benefit that can be easily drawn, and I implore them to reward this labor with prayers, so that we, reinforced by them, add deeds to words, and gain satisfaction for both. For it is said: “whoever does and teaches, this great one will be called in the kingdom of heaven”(). May God grant this Kingdom to all of us in Christ Jesus our Lord, with whom be glory to the Father with the Holy Spirit forever! Amen.