Archimandrite Alipy (Voronov) was in fact a “bloodless martyr.” It fell to his lot to fight to ensure that the monastery continued to be, with the Soviet state machine.
More than once those in power tried to close the Pskov-Pechersk monastery; similar orders came from Khrushchev himself, who sought to “show the country the last priest.” But thanks to the endurance of Archimandrite Alypius, the monastery continued to live and carry out its ministry. Against any attacks from the authorities, the archimandrite found compelling arguments, the right word, while trying to get out of a difficult situation with his characteristic ingenuity.
Below are the “stamps of the life” of Alypius (Voronov), captured by V. Nartsisov, S. Yamshchikov, V. Kurbatov, Arch. Nathanael.
Guests from Finland
Once upon a time, guests from Finland came to the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery. They are given a tour, told about all the shrines of the monastery, fed lunch, and given monastic kvass to drink. Everyone is happy. And suddenly one Finnish comrade, grinning triumphantly, says: “The astronauts flew to heaven, but they didn’t find God.” Father Archimandrite answers him: “Such a misfortune can happen to you: you’ve been to Helsinki, but you haven’t seen the president.”
Monastery Road
A complaint comes to the monastery from the Pachkovsky village council that, they say, there is a terrible road leading to the economic gates of the monastery: people fall, get hurt, animals break their legs.
Archimandrite Alypiy writes the answer: “No one walks along that road except monks and monastery cows, so thank you for your touching concern for us. We will be glad to fix the road. Only in winter such work is not carried out, but in the spring send an estimate - what to do: dirt, cobblestone, asphalt. But first, let them register these lands as monastic lands, otherwise they have been taken away. In general, we do not refuse to contribute our work to the cause of social construction and build a convenient road to the monastery. But how dare we contradict the editor-in-chief of the Pechora Pravda newspaper, Kostomarov, who constantly calls for no one to come close to the monastery?”
They didn’t remember that road anymore.
All communists - come visit us!
Archimandrite Alipy's phone rings. The serious voice of the big boss is heard from the receiver: “Ivan Mikhailovich (as he called Father Alypius), we can no longer provide the monastery with pastures that belong to the people. Graze your cows wherever you want."
A few days later the call came again. The same voice says to Father Alypiy: “A large delegation has arrived - communists from all over the world. The monastery is the face of Pechory. You need to give a tour, show the Caves, then feed them, treat them to kvass - you know. I hope for your understanding".
And after a hearty lunch, the guests stroll around the monastery. Archimandrite Alypiy gives the order to release all the cows and bulls inside the monastery to the flower beds. This comes as a complete surprise to distinguished figures of the proletarian movement, many of whom encounter such animals for the first time. One elderly French communist woman climbs out of fear onto the guard booth. An old Nicaraguan Marxist is attacked by a breeding bull.
Archimandrite Alypiy's phone is ringing off the hook. The same voice shouts indignantly: “What a disgrace this is. Ivan Mikhailovich? What kind of public slap in the face is this to the communist movement?” Father Alypiy calmly replies: “What slap in the face? You know it yourself - animals can get sick. So we decided that since there was no other way out, we would herd them inside the monastery.”
On the same day, all pastures were returned to the monastery.
Soviet scientists were very concerned about the lack of odor from burials in the monastery Caves. They said this: “The monks are deceiving the people as if there is no smell. Soviet science discovered that this smell is absorbed by sand! Meanwhile, world science knows that quartz - and in the Caves quartz sandstone - does not enter into chemical reactions.
Then Soviet scientists conducted a scientific experiment in the Moscow region: they found a similar sandstone, dug a cave, and placed a coffin with a body in it. A few days later, scientists, workers, and the world community were invited to that cave for a symposium. However, the symposium did not take place: there was such a stench in the cave that no one could even enter there.
A high commander calls Archimandrite Alypius.
- What is this? They say that your monks each have three women in their cells. Why was it allowed?
- How? Haven't you heard about the moral character of the builder of communism?
- Why, I heard, I know.
- Why then do you slander Soviet women? Not a single Soviet woman, unlike the decaying West, will allow herself to enter into an illicit relationship, especially with some obscurantist monk. And you don’t give visas to foreigners. So it's impossible.
- Certainly. This means that they are correct in saying that your woman is humiliated.
- How humiliated? Look, our women even take part in the service: they sing in the choir, they decorate churches, they take care of the vestments... It’s in your military registration and enlistment office that they are humiliated - you only hire men.
“For the sake of the Tsar we will raise everyone”
The Pechora District Executive Committee receives a secret report. It reports that the monks want to raise a king in the Caves.
However, after a thorough study, it turned out that the informant misunderstood the words of the Liturgy: “For the King we will raise everyone.”
“What, the pioneers are not people?”
One day the Caves in the monastery were closed for a while. And suddenly important guests arrive - high-ranking party leaders. Of course, they were immediately fed, treated to kvass, and taken to the Caves. As soon as they opened the door, the pioneers approached: can we have a look too?
“Of course it is possible,” says Archimandrite Irenaeus. Party members began to protest. “What, the pioneers are not people?” - the proletarian conscience was struck by this question.
Let's raise our voices against untruths
The Pechersk hieromonk gave a tour of the monastery for Italian guests. One Italian constantly interrupts him, asks sarcastic questions, and behaves defiantly. Finally, the hieromonk can’t stand it and loudly reprimands him. The Italian takes on the appearance of wounded pride, looks around indignantly and exclaims: “How? Have you raised your voice? “Yes,” the hieromonk answers, “all our newspapers call on us to raise our voices against all untruths!”
Kvass in the “den of counter-revolution”
One day a general comes to the monastery. They gave him a tour, showed him the Caves, then they fed him, gave him monastery kvass to drink, and took him to the Holy Hill. There the general expressed a desire to relax with his father, the archimandrite. We sat down in the gazebo.
- Everything is good in your monastery, only one thing is bad. You collaborated with the Germans during the war.
- Can't be! You slander the Soviet government!?
- How?
- Would it allow the enemy of the Fatherland to go unpunished? Or do you think that the valiant Soviet intelligence missed such a blatant crime?
- This is, of course, impossible...
- But you are slandering yourself too!
- How?
- Could you communicate with enemies of the people? Would you drink kvass in the lair of counter-revolutionaries?
With the last argument, the general was completely broken. The kvass seemed too sweet to him.
Saint Nicholas
Feast of St. Nicholas in the monastery. Father Alypius preaches at the service: “Recently, Pechora Truth, referring to Eusebius of Samosata, wrote that St. Nicholas never existed. Question: who in the Pechora region has the books of the above-mentioned Eusebius to verify this statement? Further, if a historian does not write about someone, this does not mean that this person did not exist. It is known that Eusebius of Samosata was an Arian. Meanwhile, at the Ecumenical Council, Saint Nicholas slapped Arius in the face. Will Eusebius write about him? I doubt. I think the whole point is that Saint Nicholas did not come to the Pachkovsky village council to register and did not register with the Pechora City Executive Committee. However, we know confirmation that St. Nicholas was and is.
Once in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, after restoration work, I met and talked with one military commander. He told me this: “I don’t know whether there is a God, but that St. Nicholas exists, that’s for sure.” And he told the following story: “During the war, our ship was hit in the Black Sea, and it began to sink. We see that things are bad. However, atheistic fear did not allow him to pray. And suddenly one of our sailors suggests praying to St. Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors. Everyone agreed: they knelt down and asked him for help as best they could. And then our ship righted itself and sailed as if nothing had happened. So he brought us - with a hole - straight to the shore. And it’s wonderful to say that before I even had time to give the order, the whole team rushed to the church to light a candle for St. Nicholas.”
This is what the military commander told me - this is not Eusebius of Samosata.”
“I’d rather die a martyr, but I won’t close the monastery”
Winter. Freezing. Archimandrite Alypiy is warming himself in his cell by the fireplace. The cell attendant comes: “You have guests.” Two people in civilian clothes enter. They hand over the paper. Father Alypius is ordered to announce at a fraternal meal the closure of the monastery and the dissolution of the brethren. It bears Khrushchev's signature. Father Alypiy tears up the paper and throws it into the fireplace. The two in civilian clothes turn white as a sheet: “What did you do?” Father Alypius stands up: “I would rather go to martyrdom than close the monastery.”
The monastery was never closed.
How many believers are there in Russia?
Once there was a large reception at the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery, arranged especially for representatives of the foreign press. About 150 correspondents from various newspapers, magazines, and television arrived. A festive table was laid in the refectory of the monastery, at the head of which sat Father Alypius and his assistants.
The most lively correspondent of one American newspaper immediately jumped up and asked in fairly decent Russian:
- Hegumen, tell me, how many believers do you have in your country?
Alypiy calmly turned to one of the assistants and asked:
- Tell me, how much is the population in our country?
- About 230 million.
“That’s how many believers we have in our country,” answered Alypiy.
- How! You have an atheistic country?!
- Faith is learned in difficult years. When the war began, Stalin, in his first address to the people, said: “Brothers and sisters” (not sisters -!). This is how I start my sermons every day. This means that in difficult times everyone believes, that means everyone is a believer.
"People's" control
Somehow, people's control decided to check the financial activities of the monastery.
“Tell me, who sent you,” asked Alypiy.
- Here we are, financial...
- No, I have only one boss. This is the Bishop of Pskov, Bishop John. Go to him for permission, and then I will allow you to see my financial papers.
The people's inspectors left, and a couple of hours later John called Alypiy and asked to allow the inspectors to come in for an inspection.
“You can’t add a call to business, send me a telegram,” answered Alypiy.
The telegram arrived an hour later, and another hour later the delegation arrived, and then Alypiy, holding the telegram in his hands, asked:
- Tell me, are you all communists?
- Yes, mostly communists...
- And received a blessing from your spiritual father??? At the Lord of Pskov??? Well, I’ll now send this telegram to the regional party committee...
This is where the story of the financial audit of the monastery ended.
Elections in Pechersk
As you know, in stagnant years everyone had to take part in elections. Not excluding the monks of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery. Usually the box was brought directly to the monastery, where the voting ceremony took place. But the new secretary of the regional committee, outraged by the honor inappropriate for the Chernets, ordered to “stop the disgrace.” “Let them come and vote themselves.”
“Wonderful,” said Archimandrite Alypiy, the abbot of the monastery, upon learning about this. And then Sunday came, the long-awaited election day. After the liturgy and fraternal meal, the monks lined up in twos and, with spiritual chants, went through the entire city to the polling station. One can imagine the state of peaceful Soviet citizens who observed such a spectacle. When, to top it all off, the monks began to serve a prayer service right at the polling station, officials tried to protest. “It’s how it’s supposed to be with us,” answered Father Alypiy. Having voted, the monks just as decorously returned through the whole city to the monastery. Later, the ballot box began to be brought back to its place.
"Scientific scammers"
Father Alypiy was very fond of conducting excursions through the monastery caves himself. One day a delegation of fairly high-ranking officials arrived at the monastery, and Alypius led them into the caves.
Before the excursion, he always asked his cell attendant to soak his handkerchief in the scent of lilac. During a tour of the caves, grins almost always began to be heard. And then Alypius, turning to the mocker, said:
Here you are, a young man with a secondary education, not a fool, as I heard. Explain to me - here, a step away from us, lies, in fact, the decomposing body of a monk. And you stick your nose in and smell it - is there a smell of decay?
The young man begins to vaguely explain something about the special properties of the gorge and caves.
“Okay,” retorts Alypiy, “now take a handkerchief and smell it.” Do you recognize the perfume? Now smell the standing fresh flowers. Do you recognize? Like this. If only you scoundrels were objective. We are dispossessed, we have nothing... And you, you are not scientific atheists, but scientific swindlers.
State beggars
Archimandrite Alypius, being the governor, could answer anyone with a sharp word. The city authorities once called him:
- Why can’t you put things in order? After all, you have beggars in the monastery!
“Forgive me,” Father Alipy answers, “but the beggars are not with me, but with you.”
- How is it with us?
- It’s very simple. The land, if you remember, was taken from the monastery at the Holy Gate. The beggars stand on which side of the gate, on the outside or on the inside?
- From the outside.
- So I say that you have them. And in my monastery all the brethren are watered, fed, clothed and shod. And if you really don’t like beggars so much, then you pay them a pension of 500 rubles. And if after that someone asks for alms, I think they can be punished by law. But I have no beggars.
"Monastery Plague"
One of the most interesting oddities is still remembered in the monastery. Before the arrival of the next state commission to close the monastery, Archimandrite Alypius posted a notice on the Holy Gates that there was a plague in the monastery and because of this he could not allow the commission into the territory of the monastery. The commission was headed by the chairman of the Culture Committee A.I. Medvedeva. It was to her that Father Alypiy addressed:
I don’t feel sorry for my monks, fools, excuse me, because they are still registered in the Kingdom of Heaven. But I can’t let you, Anna Ivanovna, and your bosses in. I can’t even find the words to answer for you and your bosses at the Last Judgment. So forgive me, I won’t open the gates for you.
And he himself once again boarded the plane and went to Moscow. And again to work hard, beat the thresholds, and once again win.
Monastic songs
When Father Alypius was asked by civilian visitors (excursionists) how the monks lived, he drew their attention to the Divine service that was performed in the Assumption Church.
“Do you hear,” asked Alypiy.
“We hear,” the visitors answered.
- What do you hear?
- The monks are singing.
“Well, if the monks lived poorly, they would not have started singing,” Father Alypiy summed up.
Free labor
Once seeing how the believers in the monastery were cutting up flower beds and decorating flower beds, one of the representatives of the Pechora authorities asked:
-Who works in your monastery and on what basis?
“It is the master people who work on their own land,” answered Alypius.
There were no more questions.
“The one who goes on the offensive wins”
“The one who goes on the offensive wins,” - Father Alypius brought this principle from worldly life, from the terrible times of the Great Patriotic War. However, he always followed it, especially when the question of unjust oppression of the monastery and believers arose.
During the foot-and-mouth disease epidemic, Father Alypiy explained to the authorities that the service in the temple would not stop, because “cows don’t go to the temple, and not a single institution stops its work on the occasion of foot-and-mouth disease.”
When Father Alypiy burned the paper about the closure of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery in front of the “sovereign envoys,” he turned to them and said:
“I’d rather accept martyrdom, but I won’t close the monastery.”
When they came to take away the keys to the caves, he commanded his cell attendant:
- Father Cornelius, give me an ax here, we’ll chop off heads!
After these words, seeing the determination in the eyes of Father Alypius, those who came fled.
“The demon will find an empty temple”
Father Alypius instructed the pastors of the church arriving at the monastery to diligently serve in his church.
- Here you are, father, you have left your temple, and the demon will serve in your temple.
- How so?
“The demon will find an empty temple,” Father Alypius answered in the Gospel.
A Archimandrite Alypiy (in the world Ivan Mikhailovich Voronov) was born in 1914 into the family of a poor peasant in the village of Tarchikha near Moscow. In 1927 he moved to Moscow, where he graduated from high school in 1931, but often returned to the village to help his sick mother. Since 1933, he worked as a worker on the construction of the metro and at the same time studied in an art studio at the Moscow Union of Artists.
Then, after serving in the army in 1935, he graduated from the art studio at the All-Russian Central Council of Trade Unions in 1941.
From 1942 to 1945 he was in the active army and had a number of awards.
After the war he was accepted into the Union of Moscow Artists.
These dry facts of life help to more fully understand the characteristic personality traits of the future Archimandrite Alypius, the builder and restorer of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery, a worthy successor to those builders whom we know from the history of the monastery.
More recently, one of the Pskov-Pechersky leaflets spoke about preparations for the closure of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery during the Khrushchev persecution of the Church. The abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Alipius, openly and confessionally opposed this when proposing to sign the decree. In front of the taken aback representative of the atheistic authorities, he took the decree in his hands and threw it into the blazing fireplace... And the monastery was not closed!
Truly a man of strength and reason, an integral, selfless person, was Archimandrite Alypius in all manifestations of his Christian service. A clear assessment of his character are his own words: “The one who goes on the offensive wins. It’s not enough to defend, you have to go on the offensive.”
Exactly a week separates the day of remembrance of the death of Archimandrite Alypius - February 27 (dates according to the church calendar) - from the day of remembrance of the most outstanding ruler of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery - Abbot Cornelius. Archimandrite Alipius was a worthy follower of the Monk Cornelius; he was also a builder, icon painter, an energetic, active, versatile personality. Archimandrite Alypiy managed to restore the walls enclosing the monastery from almost ruins, carried out many other restoration and restoration works, paid attention to maintaining the icon-painting tradition of the monastery, and painted icons himself.
Let us dwell on some facts of the life of Archimandrite Alypius. From a young age, Ivan Voronov had deep faith and wanted to express it in service to the Church. On February 27, 1950, he entered the Trinity-Sergius Lavra as a novice. On August 15 of the same year, he was tonsured a monk by the governor of the Lavra, Archimandrite John (later Metropolitan of Pskov and Porkhov) with the name Alipius, in honor of the Monk Alipius, the icon painter of Pechersk. On September 12, 1950, Patriarch Alexy ordained him a hierodeacon, and on October 1, on the Feast of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, he was ordained a hieromonk with the appointment of sacristan of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. In 1952, Father Alypiy was awarded a pectoral cross, and by Easter 1953 he was elevated to the rank of abbot. Along with carrying out the obedience of the sacristan, he was entrusted with leading the artists and craftsmen who carried out restoration work in the Lavra. Then, until 1959, he took part in the restoration and decoration of a number of Moscow churches.
By decree of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy of July 15 (July 28), 1959, Abbot Alypiy was appointed abbot of the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery.
In 1961, Abbot Alypius was elevated to the rank of archimandrite. In 1963, he was awarded the Patriarchal Certificate for his hard work in restoring the Pskov-Pechersk monastery. In 1965, on the patronal day of the monastery - the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, he was awarded a second cross with decorations, later he was awarded the Order of St. Prince Vladimir III and II degrees, and was also awarded by His Beatitude Patriarch of Antioch and the whole East Theodosius VI with the Order of Christ the Savior and a cross of the II degree .
Father Alypius often preached, especially about Christian love, saying: “Christ, who suffered on the Cross, commanded us: “Love one another!” And therefore, in order to get rid of evil, you need only one thing: to fulfill this last commandment of the Lord.”
Archimandrite Alypius died on February 27 (March 12), 1975, having served the Lord in the monastic rank, exactly 25 years from the day he entered the Lavra as a novice. Early in the morning on Wednesday of Cheese Week, having asked forgiveness from everyone and forgiven everyone, he peacefully and quietly departed to the Lord.
From the Word spoken by Archimandrite Nathanael (Pospelov) on the 20th anniversary of the death of Archimandrite Alypiy (Voronov):
In 1959, Father Alypiy was appointed to the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery, who arrived in Pechory for the patronal feast day in honor of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. His pastoral zeal for the good of our Holy Monastery, his zeal for service, his talents immediately aroused special love for him from the brethren of the monastery, the believing Pecherians, Pskovites and pilgrims. Their diligent prayers and intercessions helped to overcome all difficulties towards the confirmation of Father Alypius as abbot of our monastery.
The monastery's confessor, Hieroschemamonk Simeon (Zhelnin), inspired him to undertake the feat ahead: “Act, nothing will happen to you!”
Father Alipy had the gift of words: more than once I heard from pilgrims: “Let’s live another week, maybe we’ll hear Father Alipy’s sermon.” In his teachings, he supported the despondent and consoled the faint-hearted: “Brothers and sisters, you have heard calls to intensify anti-religious propaganda, don’t hang your heads, don’t be discouraged, this means that things have become difficult for them.” - “It’s a terrible thing to join the crowd. Today they shout: “Hosanna!” 4 days later: “Take, take, crucify Him!” Therefore, where it is not true, don’t shout “hurray”, don’t clap your hands. And if they will ask: “Why?” - Answer: “Because you have a lie.” - “Why?” - “Because my conscience tells me.” - “How can I recognize Judas?” - “Whoever dips his hand in salt will betray Me.” ", - said the Savior at the Last Supper. A daring student who wants to be on par with the teacher, with the boss, to take first place, to be the first to take up the decanter. The elders have not yet had breakfast, but the baby is already licking his lips, has already eaten. The future Judas is growing. At 12 - one Judas. If the elders did not sit down at the table, and you do not sit down. The elders sat down, sit down through prayer, and you too. The elders did not take the spoon, do not take it either. The elders took the spoon, then you take it too. The elders began to eat, then you start too ".
This is what Fr. taught in his sermons. Alipius. If at prayer in church with Fr. Alipius began to hear sighs and tears, then sighs and tears were immediately heard from those praying with him. Such was his fortitude.
Father Alypiy always helped those in need, gave out alms, and many who asked received help from him. For this, Father Alypius had to endure a lot. He defended himself with the words of Holy Scripture about the need to provide works of mercy and argued that works of mercy cannot be prohibited; they are an integral part of the life of the Holy Orthodox Church. Whoever prohibits works of mercy infringes on the Church of Christ, does not allow her to live the life inherent in her.
As an icon painter and restorer, he took care to restore the bronzed dark iconostasis of the Assumption Church, the interior painting of St. Michael's Cathedral, St. Nicholas Church (he restored the tyablo iconostasis, restored the icon of the Saint, expanded the temple with a tower, strengthened the walls, restored the stylish dome (stylish - from the word "style" - a set of features characteristic of art of a certain time and direction (in this case, the Pskov school of architecture of the 15th-16th centuries).
The fortress wall with battle towers and passages was restored, and their coverings were restored. The six icons of the Mother of God in the St. Nicholas Chapel were painted with his participation and guidance. On the feast of the Mother of God on July 8 and October 22, we place on our lectern the Kazan Icon, the cell icon of Father Alypius, painted by him.
He used his talents as a builder of the Moscow metro in constructing a bridge across the Kamenets stream, opposite the Assumption Church.
Father Alypiy was distinguished by his special determination and fortitude. When he burned the paper about the closure of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery in front of the envoys, he turned to them and said: “It would be better for me to accept martyrdom, but I will not close the monastery.” When they came to take away the keys to the caves, he commanded his cell attendant: “Father Cornelius, give me an ax here, we’ll chop off heads!” Those who came fled.
Father Alypiy more than once wrote criticism of lies about the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery and wrote an article about St. Cornelius in the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate (1970, Nos. 2 and 3) so that history would not be distorted.
Father Alypiy defended believers before the powers that be and took care of getting them jobs. He wrote that the whole guilt of these people lies only in the fact that they believe in God.
Father Alypiy was friendly and sociable, he received visitors with love, shared his talents, and gave wise answers.
When civilian visitors asked him how the monks lived, he drew their attention to the Divine service that took place in the Assumption Church. "Do you hear that?" - he asked. The visitors replied: “We hear.” - “What do you hear?” - "The monks are singing." - “Well, if the monks lived poorly, they would not have started singing.”
When the believers were cutting up flower beds in the monastery, the authorities asked: “Who works for you and on what basis?” Father Alipius replied: “It is the master people who work on their own land.” And there were no more questions.
He instructed the pastors of the church arriving at the monastery to be diligent in serving in his church.
“Here, you, father, have left your temple, and a demon will serve in your temple.” - “How so?” - they objected to him. Father Alypiy answered in the Gospel: “The demon will find an empty temple...”
During the foot-and-mouth disease epidemic, he explained that services in temples should not stop, since cows do not go to temples, and not a single institution stops its work on the occasion of foot-and-mouth disease.
When they were not allowed to visit the caves, Father Alypiy blessed every morning, at 7 o’clock, to serve a memorial service in the caves, so that believers would have the opportunity to visit the caves and remember their relatives and friends, especially those who died in the Great Patriotic War. A decree was sent that funeral services should not be held in the caves. The funeral services continued to serve with the blessing of Father Alypius. When Father Alypy asked whether he had received the decree, Father Alypy answered that he had received it. “Why don’t you do it?” - followed the question. Father Alypiy replied that this decree was written under pressure due to weakness of spirit, “I don’t listen to the weak in spirit, I listen only to the strong in spirit.” And the service of memorial services in the caves was not interrupted.
Father Alipy never went on vacation. And even, as he himself wrote, he did not leave the monastery gates of his own free will, but was diligently diligent in fulfilling his monastic vows. And he answered the accusers that if worldly evil spirits flow from the world into the monastery into the clean monastery courtyard, then it is not our fault.
At the beginning of 1975, Father Alypiy had a third heart attack. He had mortal memory in advance. A coffin was made for him in advance with his blessing and stood in his corridor. And when they asked him: “Where is your cell?” - he pointed to the coffin and said: “Here is my cell.” In the last days of his life, Hieromonk Father Theodorit was with him; he gave Holy Communion to Father Alypius every day and, as a paramedic, provided him with medical care. On March 12, 1975, at 2 o’clock in the morning, Father Alypiy said: “The Mother of God has come, how beautiful She is, let’s paint, let’s paint.” The paints were applied, but his hands could no longer operate, how many heavy shells he dragged with these hands to the front line in the Great Patriotic War. At 4 o'clock in the morning, Archimandrite Alypiy died quietly and peacefully.
His funeral service was conducted by Metropolitan John with a congregation of monastery and visiting clergy. Even civilian leaders felt the loss deeply. People were not happy about the joy of Shrovetide week, which was followed by the death of Father Alypius.
Until his death, he taught a blessing for every monastic service and activity and did not abandon his obedience.
And today, expressing our love for Father Alipius, we commemorate the day of his memory, the day when he completed his voluntary bloodless martyrdom, and again we remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the apostolic words: Remember the good shepherd, the deceased mentor of Father Archimandrite Alipius and , looking at the end of his residence, imitate his faith. Amen.
Father Alypiy
PSKOVO-PECHERSKY SYATO-USPENSKY MONASTERY
The Pskov-Pechersky Monastery was built in the 15th century. The monks located it in a very original way, on the Kamenets stream. But the stream itself flows in a deep ravine, something like a canyon. The very word “pechery” is nothing more than caves. It was in the form of caves that the monks built their monastery in those ancient times.
The monastery was also a fortress that stood at the defense of the borders of the Russian state.
The outside of the caves was reinforced with stone, and this created the front side of each building, each church. The temples themselves are located in caves.
How did it happen that the Holy Monastery was built so unusually?
This is what the legend says about this.
At the end of the 14th century, Izborsk hunters were attracted by the beautiful singing of birds, emanating as if from underground, in the area of the ravine where the Kamenets stream flowed. Later, peasants settled in this area, and this land with a ravine went to Ivan Dementyev. Once, while cutting down trees, one of them, falling, caught another and under the roots of the fallen one, a cave was discovered. Above the entrance it was clearly read: “Caves created by God.” (God given). This legend dates back to 1392.
The monastery was founded in 1473 and its founder is considered to be its first abbot, Reverend Jonah, who began the construction of the first cave Assumption Church.
Jonah arrived in these places with his wife Mary and children. However, before finishing the temple, his wife became seriously ill and took monastic vows before her death. Thus, Mary became the first tonsure of the monastery.
Then miracles begin again. A believer perceives them unambiguously, an atheist, as always, doubts. But this is what has survived in the chronicles to this day. Jonah performed a funeral service and buried his wife, but the next morning she found herself on the surface of the earth. Jonah thought that he had messed up something in his prayer - he sang Mary again and buried her. But the next morning everything happened again, and the abbot realized that this was a sign from above. Jonah buried his Mary in a cave, placing her in a niche. After this incident, all monks, priests and fallen soldiers began to be buried in the same way. And here is another miracle that we, today’s people, can observe - no decay occurs in the caves, all the deceased are mummified after a few years.
The monastery has a glorious and modern history even today. Our country is grateful to the monastery, or rather its monks, for the victory at Kursk, to which the novices also contributed.
This digression will lead somewhat away from the main topic, but the story is interesting. History shows that the Russian people in difficult years can unite their forces with seemingly incompatible associations during the Soviet period.
Before the war, Bishop Vasily Ratmirov lived in Moscow. The church treated him differently. He was a renovationist and this was not welcomed. It was believed that the bishop had become friendly with the authorities and was almost leading the church to a schism. They even considered him an agent of the OGPU. In fact, the bishop sought to preserve the church and therefore agreed to such cooperation.
And then the hard times came, June 22, 1941 came and the bishop, not yet an old man, came to the military registration and enlistment office with a request to send him to the front. Our special agencies were interested in this and they understood what could be learned from such a proposal. The legend of our intelligence service, General Pavel Sudoplatov, became interested. They invited the bishop to the appropriate office on Lubyanka, to the office of P. Sudoplatov, and they also summoned two of their employees, Lieutenant Colonel V.M. Ivanov and Sergeant I.I. Mikheeva.
All three were given, frankly speaking, an unusual task. They taught the bishop some professional intelligence skills, and their own employees, dressed as monks, taught them church canons and services, right in P. Sudoplatov’s office, having previously brought icons, banners and other church property to the office. The task was simple - all three go to Kalinin (now Tver), gain the trust of the German command and engage in reconnaissance. What was done beautifully by Bishop Vasily.
During the retreat of the German troops, Vasily was offered to go with the Germans, but he, citing health, asked to leave him with his flock. By this he cast a shadow over himself - was he recruited by the Abwehr?
So, the bishop stayed, and our two monastic scouts, preparing to take monastic orders, having perfectly mastered all the church canons, went with the Germans and ended up in the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery. Radio operator Vera was also in the monastery with them. In Moscow, this operation was called “Operation Novices.”
The rector of the monastery at that time was Metropolitan Sergius Voznesensky, who knew everything that was happening in the monastery and was actively involved in such an invisible struggle against the fascists for his Orthodox Motherland.
There are disagreements about Voznesensky even today. Why? Yes, because he had to meet and shake hands with the traitor Vlasov, and proclaim greetings to the German soldiers. How could it be otherwise if you are a scout? They said that Stalin himself allowed him to speak out in sermons against the Soviet regime. It is also not clear from whom Sergius died. There is an assumption that he was shot right in the car by German special services.
What kind of help our “monks” provided to our army. Both Ivanov and Mikheev, and Voznesensky himself, managed to convince the Germans that in the city of Kuibyshev there was an underground working against the authorities. The Germans threw trained Russian traitors there, who were immediately caught and even recruited. Next came a radio game with German intelligence. “Valuable” messages were made to the Germans that Stalin had concentrated all his forces near Moscow and was awaiting a second German strike in this direction. And the Germans believed in this, preparing to strike near Kursk. But the game was not to draw attention to the preparation of our forces in the Kursk area. There is no need to describe further how things happened. Next comes the Battle of Kursk-Oryol and the final turning point in the war. This is where the Germans became suspicious of Voznesensky.
And our scouts and partisans also looked into the monastery, who were hidden in caves and even in church domes.
It must be recalled that monks throughout our history have been glorious warriors. Remember the Black Hundred on the Kulikovo Field, which turned the entire tide of the battle.
The tradition of the monastery preserves the memory of the “guardian angel” of Soviet intelligence officers - elder Simeon Zhelnin, now glorified as a saint. It was the Monk Simeon who helped the Soviet radio operator hide in the deep caves of the monastery, keeping the true goals of the arriving “novices” in deep secrecy. Unfortunately, nothing is known about the fate of radio operator Vera. As for Ivanov and Mikheev, they lived to see victory. After the war, Mikheev, who became a colonel, became a monk. Hegumen Pavel Gorshkov also served in the monastery during the war. During the difficult years of occupation, he saved dozens of prisoners of war from hunger and death and instilled faith in desperate and exhausted people. However, after the expulsion of the Nazis, Pavel was arrested in 1944 as an accomplice of the Germans. But Paul knew perfectly well what was happening and who was hiding in the monastery and helped them. It must be said that until now the personal file of Metropolitan Sergius Voznesensky is kept in the archives of the FSB and is strictly classified. For what? Was it not after such events that Stalin realized that it was possible to win by uniting all the forces of the people, the party, and the church, allowing the opening of the Patrarchate in the country of the Soviets?
But it’s time to return to the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery of our days. When visiting the monastery, you see an unusual and beautiful picture of churches harmoniously integrated into the ravine. At the top of the ravine-monastery, there is an orchard with a hint of Eden. Mere mortals are not allowed into the garden. Only monks and priests work in the garden and visit it. This slope with the garden began to be called the Holy Mountain.
There is access to the monastery. Excursions come there. They are also allowed into the caves, but strictly at certain times and on certain days. The monks strictly observe this regime. However, as before, according to the ancient procedure, no one is allowed into the garden.
Once upon a time, in the post-war years, the abbot of the monastery was Father Alypius. During the war, Alypiy fought against the Nazis, like all our people, and had the rank of officer.
One day, near Kursk, his battalion was surrounded, the Germans were pressing from all sides. The battle ensued fiercely. The battalion was caught in the crossfire. Few survived.
It was then that the warrior remembered the soul and God, although he had been drawn to it since childhood.
The officer swore: if he remained alive, after the war he would go to a monastery and devote his life to serving the Almighty.
And he remained alive and went to the Alypius monastery. And from a simple monk he grew to become the abbot of the monastery, this very Pskov-Pechersk monastery.
It must be said that Father Alypius was an excellent artist. He painted many icons in the monastery. Many of the paintings were restored by his hand.
Archimandrite Alypiy was born in 1914 into the family of a poor peasant in the village of Tarchikha near Moscow.
In 1927 he moved to Moscow, where he graduated from high school in 1931, but often returned to the village to help his sick mother.
Since 1933, he worked as a worker on the construction of the metro and at the same time studied in an art studio at the Moscow Union of Artists.
Even then, from a young age, he had deep faith and wanted to express it, once in the service of the Church.
The war helped him make his choice and realize his dream.
On February 27, 1950, he entered the Trinity-Sergius Lavra as a novice.
On August 15 of the same year, he was tonsured a monk by the governor of the Lavra, Archimandrite John, with the name Alipius, in honor of the Monk Alipius, the icon painter of Pechersk.
On September 12, 1950, Patriarch Alexy I ordained him a hierodeacon, and on October 1, on the Feast of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, he was ordained a hieromonk with the appointment of a sacristan of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.
In 1952, Father Alypiy was awarded the pectoral cross, and by Easter 1953 he was elevated to the rank of abbot. Along with carrying out the obedience of the sacristan, he is entrusted with leading the artists and craftsmen who carried out restoration work in the Sergius Lavra.
Then, until 1959, he took part in the restoration and decoration of a number of Moscow churches.
By decree of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy I of July 15, 1959, Abbot Alypiy was appointed abbot of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery.
In 1961, Abbot Alypius was elevated to the rank of archimandrite.
In 1963, he was awarded the Patriarchal Certificate for his diligent work in restoring the Pskov-Pechersk monastery.
In 1965, on the patronal day of the monastery - the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, he was awarded a second cross with decorations.
Subsequently, he was awarded the Order of Saint Prince Vladimir - III and II degrees, and was awarded by His Beatitude the Patriarch of Antioch and the whole East - Theodosius VI - the Order of Christ the Savior and the cross of the II degree.
On March 12, 1975 at 2 a.m. Father Alypiy said:
– The Mother of God has come, how beautiful She is, let’s paint, let’s draw.
The paints were applied, but his hands could no longer function.
How many heavy shells did he drag with these hands to the gun during the Great Patriotic War?
At 4 o'clock in the morning, Archimandrite Alypiy died quietly and peacefully.
This is how the abbot of the monastery, Father Alypius, was. This is how he ended his life.
Next I would like to tell another story, also similar to the legend. One day, a friend of mine, a very talented Lenfilm documentarian, Eduard, came to the monastery. I forgot his last name.
They instructed him to make a film about the monastery. As always, little time was allocated for this; we had to hurry. Eduard received permission to film. But when it came to the garden, the monks stood up like a wall - they wouldn’t let me in. Go, they say, and ask for special permission from Father Alypius.
Edward went to the abbot's house.
Alypius was informed about the alien. Father Alypiy looked out the window to find out what the visitor needed. Edward stated his request. Alypy thought for a long time. After deliberation, he gave his consent to filming. It must be said that the monks took this without enthusiasm. Alypius said: go, but not for long, and remember that you will be second after Peter I in this garden.
Edward was interested in this. He asked the monk about this and heard a most interesting story.
Peter waged a fierce war with the Swedes. There was not enough copper for the cannons. The ships were intensively built, they had to be armed. So Peter ordered to take bells from churches for the duration of the war. Well, it looks like Peter, the king was cool and decisive. Peter arrived at the monastery and demanded a bell. The abbot of the monastery said that this was not supposed to be done. This requires permission from the Almighty.
– Where do they ask permission from the Almighty? – asked Peter.
– To do this, you need to spend the night in the garden and have a dream; the Almighty will come in a dream and tell you his decision.
This is what Peter did. In the morning he descends from the garden and goes to the abbot.
“Well, what did you dream about, what did the Almighty say?” the abbot asked Peter.
What could Peter answer? It would not be Peter if he said something else:
- Yes, yes, the Almighty came to me in a dream and gave permission to remove the bells.
What can you do, the Almighty himself gave the go-ahead. Do not doubt the veracity of the words of the Tsar of All Rus'.
They gave the bells to Peter. But Peter kept his word. After the victory, new bells were cast for the monastery, which still ring over the monastery to this day.
As for the film, it turned out well. Thanks to Father Alypius.
All of the above was told to me by Eduard and the books, but...
Ten years have passed and the author of this story finally got ready to visit the Holy Monastery.
By this time, the worldly name of Father Alypius became clear - this is Ivan Mikhailovich Voronov.
The monastery amazed me with its indescribable beauty. Going down, where the monastery is unusually located, you completely forget that this is a ravine where a stream once flowed. The grandeur of the buildings elevates the monastery so much that it gives the impression of sublimity.
They are still not allowed into the garden, but exceptions are made and there are many more of them than before. It is necessary to seek permission from the abbot in advance. And permission for excursions is given, but this still does not happen often.
I stood at the house of the abbot of the monastery. I looked at the window from where Alipy was talking with my friend Eduard.
Alipius is no longer there and he is buried in one of the niches of the cave, where many monks, warriors and saints of the Russian land are buried.
I also bowed to Alypius and Jonah.
Finally the dream has come true.
I'm reading a wonderful book. More precisely, I’m re-reading “Unholy Saints.” I recommend to everyone. Very interesting. I personally have some experience of contacts with the monastic brethren and I know some aspects of life from the inside. Monks are strong people, they were and will be. Always.
Here is one example. The author of the book, Tikhon Shevkunov, talks about the rector of the Pskov-Pechora Lavra, a participant in the Great Patriotic War, Alipie (Ivan Voronov). The monks were then under pressure, Khrushchev even promised to show the last priest. At that time there were only two monasteries. The Trinity-Sergius Lavra, which was preserved as a picture, and the Pskov-Pechora Lavra, which they always wanted to close. Even Furtseva.... I will give an excerpt from the book, giving an idea of the toughness and courage of the monks.
* * *
Once, the Pskov region was visited by a dignitary and very influential lady - Minister of Culture Furtseva with a retinue of capital and regional officials. Many people, and not only cultural figures, were in awe of this lady in those years. As usual, she was given a visit to the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery. But Father Alypiy, knowing about her activities from his artist friends and about the minister’s pathological hatred of the Church, did not even come out to meet her - Father Nathanael led the excursion.
The high-ranking delegation was already heading towards the exit when Furtseva saw the governor standing on the balcony and talking with the people gathered below. The lady decided to teach a lesson to this monk who dared not come out to meet her. And at the same time, teach the regional leadership an object lesson on how to resolutely implement the policy of the party and government in the field of countering religious intoxication. Coming closer, she, interrupting everyone, shouted:
- Ivan Mikhailovich! Can I ask you a question?
Father Alypiy looked at her annoyed, but still answered:
- Well, ask.
- Tell me, how could you, an educated person, an artist, end up here, in the company of these obscurantists?
Father Alypiy was very patient. But when they began to insult the monks in his presence, he never left it unanswered.
- Why am I here? - asked Father Alypiy. And he looked at the dignitary guest the way private artilleryman Ivan Voronov once peered into the sights of a guard gun. - Okay, I'll tell you... Did you hear that I was in the war?
- Well, let’s say I heard it.
— Did you hear that I reached Berlin? - the father governor asked again.
- And they told me about this. Although I don't understand what this has to do with my question. It is all the more surprising that you, a Soviet man, having gone through the war...
“So,” the father governor continued slowly. “The fact is that near Berlin... I was blown away... (here Ivan Mikhailovich Voronov spoke extremely rudely). So there was nothing left to do but go to the monastery.
After a terrible silence, a woman’s squeal was heard, then indignant exclamations, screams, threats, and members of the delegation, led by an important lady, rushed towards the monastery gates.
An hour later the governor was already called to Moscow. This time the matter smelled of serious problems. But Father Alypiy answered all questions calmly and thoroughly:
"Unholy Saints" and other stories
— I was asked a specific question. And I answered it just as specifically and clearly - so that our guest would certainly understand.
One way or another, but this time everything worked out. This was the only case when Father Alypius considered it possible to use such a weapon.
This famous and, to put it mildly, non-trivial answer later became the cause of all sorts of gossip and speculation. Savva Yamshchikov, a famous restorer and art critic who enjoyed the goodwill of Father Alypiy, said:
“They asked me: why did such a handsome man go to a monastery? So, they say, he was seriously wounded, lost the opportunity to procreate... Once he himself touched on this topic and told me: “Savva, this is all empty talk. It’s just that the war was so monstrous, so terrible, that I gave my word to God: if I survive this terrible battle, I will definitely go to a monastery. Imagine: there is a fierce battle going on, German tanks are crawling onto our front line, crushing everything in their path, and in this utter hell I suddenly see how our battalion commissar tore his helmet off his head, fell to his knees and began... to pray. Yes, yes, crying, he muttered words of prayer half-forgotten from childhood, asking the Almighty, Whom he had bullied just yesterday, for mercy and salvation. And then I realized: every person has God in his soul, to whom he will someday come...”
On March 12, 1975, Archimandrite Alipiy (Voronov), the abbot of the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery, reposed in the Lord, through whose labors and courage the monastery was not only saved from closure, but also adorned with the color of eldership, not to mention its remarkable external splendor. Below we publish the story of Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) from book "Unholy Saints" dedicated to this great man.
In the early sixties, members of the regional commission arrived at the monastery with the task of finding a reason to close the monastery. Walking around the monastery, they saw pilgrims cultivating the beds and flower beds, and immediately approached Father Alypius:
On what basis do these people work here?
The Soviet archimandrite answered them:
These are the master people working on their land!
There were no more questions.
Another time, another - now financial - commission of people's control was sent from Pskov with the same goals. The governor inquired who authorized the arriving persons.
We represent the financial authority that...
Father Alipius interrupted them.
I have only one boss - Bishop John of Pskov. Go to him for permission. Without this, I will not allow you access to financial documents.
The inspectors left, and a few hours later the Pskov bishop called Father Alypiy and embarrassedly asked to allow the inspectors to check.
You can’t attach a call to business, Vladyko. Send me a telegram,” answered Father Alypiy.
Soon a telegram arrived. When the people's controllers again appeared before the father governor, he, holding a telegram in his hands, asked:
Tell me, are you communists?
Yes, mostly communists...
And received a blessing from the bishop?
The Lord of Pskov? Well... I'll send this telegram to the regional party committee now...
At this point, the financial audit of the monastery was completed.
Ivan Mikhailovich Voronov - that was the name of Archimandrite Alypiy before he was tonsured - fought on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War for four years and went from Moscow to Berlin. And then for another thirteen years he held the defense of the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery, protecting it from the state for which he once shed blood.
In both wars, Father Alypius had to fight to the death. The then First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Nikita Khrushchev, needed a great victory at all costs. No less than the Victory of his predecessor, whose glory he was painfully jealous of. For his triumph in the coming battles, Khrushchev chose the thousand-year-old Russian Church and, declaring war on it, solemnly promised before the whole world that he would soon show the last Russian priest on television.
Soon thousands of cathedrals and temples were blown up, closed, and converted into warehouses and machine-tractor stations. Most of the higher religious educational institutions were abolished. Almost all monasteries were dispersed. Many priests ended up in prison. On the territory of Russia, only two monasteries remained active - the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, which was forced by the authorities as a church reservation for showing to foreigners, and the provincial one. Here the Great Viceroy spoke out against the powerful force of the atheistic state. And, best of all, he won!
In those years, the entire persecuted Russian Church watched the outcome of this unequal duel. News from Pechory was passed on orally, and later participants and eyewitnesses of those events recorded their testimonies.
Here are just some chronicles of these long-standing battles.
On a winter evening, several people in civilian clothes entered Father Alypiy’s office and handed over an official decree: the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery was declared closed. The governor was ordered to notify the brethren about this. Having familiarized himself with the document, Father Alypiy, in front of the officials, threw the papers into the hotly blazing fireplace. He calmly explained to the dumbfounded visitors:
I’d rather accept martyrdom, but I won’t close the monastery.
By the way, the burned document was a decree of the USSR Government and it was signed by N.S. Khrushchev.
This story was described by an eyewitness - a devoted student of the Great Viceroy, Archimandrite Nathanael.
I myself did not find Father Alypius alive. But it is simply impossible to talk about the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery without mentioning it.
I was lucky - I found many monks who lived under the Great Viceroy. And also famous artists, writers, scientists, restorers from Moscow, Leningrad, Riga, who gathered in his hospitable home in those years. For them, he forever remained an example of a fearless spiritual monk-warrior, the ideal of a demanding and loving father.
Despite all the pragmatism and even emphasized down-to-earthness of Father Alypius, his strong practical acumen, brilliant, often very sharp wit, amazing resourcefulness, many contemporaries (including monks of high ascetic life) revered him as a saint. Archimandrite Seraphim, who had unconditional authority in the monastery, after the death of Father Alypius, was sincerely surprised by the monks who dreamed of distant pilgrimages to the places of the exploits of great saints: “Why travel far? - he was perplexed. “Go to the caves, there are the relics of Father Alypius.”
The Lord does not love the fearful. This spiritual law was once revealed to me by Father Raphael. And he, in turn, was told about him by Father Alypius. In one of his sermons, he said: “I had to witness how in war some, fearing starvation, took sacks of breadcrumbs with them on their backs in order to prolong their lives rather than fight the enemy; and these people died with their breadcrumbs and were not seen for many days. And those who took off their tunics and fought the enemy remained alive.”
When they came to take away the keys to the monastery caves, Father Alypiy commanded his cell attendant:
Father Cornelius, give me an ax here, we’ll chop off heads!
The officials fled: who knows what is on the minds of these fanatics and obscurantists?!
The governor himself knew that he was not giving such orders out of thin air. One day, when they once again came to demand the closure of the monastery, he bluntly announced:
Half of my brothers are front-line soldiers. We are armed, we will fight to the last bullet. Look at the monastery - what a dislocation there is. Tanks won't get through. You can only take us from the sky, by air. But as soon as the first plane appears over the monastery, in a few minutes it will be told to the whole world via the Voice of America. So think for yourself!
I cannot say what arsenals were kept in the monastery. Most likely, this was a military trick of the Great Viceroy, his next formidable joke. But, as they say, there is a grain of humor in every joke. In those years, the brethren of the monastery undoubtedly presented a special spectacle - more than half of the monks were order bearers and veterans of the Great Patriotic War. Another part - and also a considerable one - went through Stalin’s camps.
Still others have experienced both.
“The one who goes on the offensive wins,” said Father Alypiy, and he himself followed this strategy exactly. It was in those years, fighting every day for the monastery, that the governor restored the mighty fortress walls from ruins, restored churches that were in disrepair, flawlessly professionally unveiled ancient frescoes, and brought the abbot’s and fraternal buildings into proper shape. Being an artist himself, he saved works of Russian and foreign painters from being sold abroad. His huge collection included Levitan and Polenov. Before his death, Father Alypiy donated these masterpieces to the Russian Museum. Finally, he planted such marvelous gardens, flower beds and vertograds throughout the monastery that the monastery turned into one of the most beautiful places in Russia. For a person who found himself in Pechory for the first time - regardless of whether he was a pilgrim or an excursionist - the monastery appeared as a wondrous, delightful world, something completely unreal, surrounded by unsightly Soviet reality.
But the main feat of Father Alypius was the establishment of eldership in the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery.
Eldership is an amazing phenomenon also because it does not reside in one place, say, in a particular monastery. It wanders across the earth, unexpectedly blooming in the Trans-Volga monasteries of Northern Thebaid, then in the Beloberezh desert in the Bryansk forests, then in Sarov, then in Optina. And in the middle of the 20th century it found shelter in the Pskov-Pechersk monastery. And Father Alypiy sensitively grasped this mysterious path. Like the most precious treasure, he cherished and increased the eldership in his monastery. The governor managed to obtain permission for the great Valaam elders to move to Pechory from Finland. He received the disgraced hieromonk John (Krestyankin) after prison and exile - he was then secretly brought to the monastery by Bishop Pitirim (Nechaev). He sheltered Father Adrian, who was forced to leave the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Under Father Alipia, a whole generation of spiritual elders grew up, some of whom are described in this book. At that time, creating and maintaining something like this was a real feat.
In those years of frenzied anti-religious propaganda, the majority of our fellow citizens had completely wild ideas about monasteries. Therefore, Father Alypiy was not surprised when he was asked the most absurd questions. With good-natured humor and irresistibly intelligible, he revealed to people their innocence and unreasonable trust in dirty lies and absurd fabrications.
Once a group of excursionists, sincere Soviet people, stopped Father Alypiy on the threshold of the temple. In a fit of righteous anger, they demanded to tell the truth about the exploitation of ordinary monks by the higher clergy, about oppression and, in general, about the horrors of monastic life that they had read from newspapers. Instead of answering, Father Alypiy mysteriously asked:
Do you hear?
What do you hear? - the tourists were surprised.
Do you hear anything?
We hear the monks singing.
Here you go! If we lived poorly, we wouldn’t sing.
A communist, a guest from Finland, in the presence of his Soviet friends, asked Father Alypiy the signature question of atheists of that time:
Could you explain why the astronauts flew into space but did not see God?
Father Archimandrite sympathetically remarked to him:
Such a misfortune can happen to you: you’ve been to Helsinki, but haven’t seen the president.
Those who had a chance to visit Pechory in those years especially remember the famous appearances of the Great Viceroy on the balcony of his abbot’s building. These appearances could be very different. Sometimes, especially in the spring, jackdaws and crows annoyed Father Alypius so much with their heart-rending screams that he went out onto the balcony with a pistol and fired at the birds until they flew away in panic. The pistol was, of course, not a combat pistol, just a skillfully made scarecrow. But the whole picture - a sunny morning in the monastery, the father governor on the balcony, aiming with an impressively sized pistol with a well-placed hand - all this made an indelible impression on the audience.
But of course, this was not the only thing that made the Great Viceroy’s exits to his favorite balcony memorable. Even deeper sensations arose among visitors to the monastery if they witnessed the conversations of Father Alypius, when he, hanging over the railing, talked with the people gathered below.
The balcony faced the monastery square. From there, the father governor could admire his monastery on a fine day, communicate with the people, and at the same time keep an eye on order.
A crowd of pilgrims, sightseers and residents of Pechory immediately gathered in the square below. Discussions about faith or simply communication with Father Alypius could last for hours. Each time, the governor did not miss the opportunity to help those who turned to him with everyday requests. And although at that time there was a categorical ban on what was called church charity, Father Alypius acted in this matter only as he considered necessary.
This is what Archimandrite Nathanael recalls:
“he always helped those in need, gave out alms, and many who asked received help from him. For this he had to endure a lot. Father Alypius defended himself with the words of Holy Scripture about the need to provide works of mercy and argued that works of mercy cannot be prohibited; they are an integral part of the life of the Holy Orthodox Church.”
And here are the memories of Deacon Georgy Malkov, then a young philologist who often came to Pechory: “Archimandrite Alypiy sought to fulfill the commandment of love for one’s neighbor in his own life. Many sick, poor people, as well as those who suffered financially in some way, often received all possible, and sometimes considerable, help from him.
Under the balcony of his governor's house, cripples, wretched people, and all kinds of people neglected by fate were often seen. And the governor, despite the constant prohibitions of the authorities, helped them in any way he could: he fed whom he fed, whom he treated, who he helped with money, and when they were not at hand, he joked: “They are not ready yet - they are drying up! Come tomorrow, servant of God!”
In some cases, the amount of assistance was quite significant: the governor helped a fire victim rebuild his life, and when livestock died, he gave money to buy a cow. Having learned one day that nearby, in Izborsk, the famous local artist P. D. Melnikov’s house had burned down by accident, he sent him a rather large money transfer for those times: “At least for the first time.”“Father Alypiy had an amazing gift of speech,” recalled Father Nathanael. - More than once I heard from pilgrims: “Let’s live another week, maybe we’ll hear the sermon of Father Alypius.” In his teachings, he supported the despondent, consoled the faint-hearted: “Brothers and sisters, you have heard calls to intensify anti-religious propaganda, don’t hang your heads, don’t be discouraged, this means that things have become difficult for them”; “It’s a scary thing to join the crowd. Today she shouts: “Hosanna!” Four days later: “Take, take, crucify Him!” Therefore, where there is untruth, do not shout “hurray”, do not clap your hands. And if they ask why, answer: “Because your story is not true.” - “Why?” - “Because my conscience tells me.” - “How can you recognize Judas?” - “He who dips his hand in salt will betray Me,” said the Savior at the Last Supper. A daring student who wants to be on par with the teacher, with the boss, to take first place, to be the first to handle the decanter. The elders haven’t had breakfast yet, but the baby is already licking his lips, already full. The future Judas is growing. For twelve there is one Judas. If the elders don’t sit down at the table, don’t sit down either. The elders sat down, sit down and pray. The elders didn’t take the spoon, so don’t you either. The elders took the spoon, then take it too. The elders have started to eat, then you should start too.”
But not all conversations near the balcony were so peaceful and touching.
Once the Pskov region was visited by a dignitary and very influential lady - Minister of Culture Furtseva with a retinue of capital and regional officials. Many people, and not only cultural figures, were in awe of this lady in those years. As usual, she was given a visit to the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery. But Father Alypiy, knowing about her activities from his artist friends and about the minister’s pathological hatred of the Church, did not even come out to meet her - Father Nathanael led the excursion.
The high-ranking delegation was already heading towards the exit when Furtseva saw the governor standing on the balcony and talking with the people gathered below. The lady decided to teach a lesson to this monk who dared not come out to meet her. And at the same time, to teach the regional leadership an object lesson on how to resolutely implement the policy of the party and government in the field of countering religious intoxication. Coming closer, she, interrupting everyone, shouted:
Ivan Mikhailovich! Can I ask you a question?
Father Alypiy looked at her annoyed, but still answered:
Well, ask away.
Tell me, how could you, an educated person, an artist, end up here, in the company of these obscurantists?
Father Alypiy was very patient. But when they began to insult the monks in his presence, he never left it unanswered.
Why am I here? - asked Father Alypiy. And he looked at the dignitary guest the way private artilleryman Ivan Voronov once peered into the sights of a guard gun. - Okay, I'll tell you... Did you hear that I was in the war?
Well, let's say I heard it.
Did you hear that I made it to Berlin? - the father governor asked again.
And they told me about this. Although I don't understand what this has to do with my question. It is all the more surprising that you, a Soviet man, having gone through the war...
So,” the father governor continued slowly. “The fact is that near Berlin... I was blown away... (here Ivan Mikhailovich Voronov spoke extremely rudely). So there was nothing left to do but go to the monastery.
After a terrible silence, a woman’s squeal was heard, then indignant exclamations, screams, threats, and members of the delegation, led by an important lady, rushed towards the monastery gates.
An hour later the governor was already called to Moscow. This time the matter smelled of serious problems. But Father Alypiy answered all questions calmly and thoroughly:
I was asked a specific question. And I answered it just as specifically and clearly - so that our guest would surely understand.
One way or another, but this time everything worked out. This was the only case when Father Alypius considered it possible to use such a weapon.
This famous and, to put it mildly, non-trivial answer later became the cause of all sorts of gossip and speculation. Savva Yamshchikov, a famous restorer and art critic who enjoyed the goodwill of Father Alypiy, said:
“They asked me: why did such a handsome man go to a monastery? So, they say, he was seriously wounded, lost the opportunity to procreate... Once he himself touched on this topic and told me: “Savva, this is all empty talk. It’s just that the war was so monstrous, so terrible, that I gave my word to God: if I survive this terrible battle, I will definitely go to a monastery. Imagine: there is a fierce battle going on, German tanks are crawling onto our front line, crushing everything in their path, and in this utter hell I suddenly see how our battalion commissar tore his helmet off his head, fell to his knees and began... to pray. Yes, yes, crying, he muttered words of prayer half-forgotten from childhood, asking the Almighty, Whom he had bullied just yesterday, for mercy and salvation. And then I realized: every person has God in his soul, to whom he will someday come...”
The authorities tried their best to destroy the monastery by any means possible. Once, by decision of the Pechersk Council, all agricultural lands, including pastures, were taken away from the monastery in one day. It was the beginning of summer. The cows had just been turned out to graze, but now the unfortunate cattle had to be returned to the stalls again.
On those same days, by order from Moscow, regional committee workers brought a large delegation of representatives of fraternal communist parties to the monastery. Treat yourself to what is called Russian antiquity. At first everything went calmly. But when the “children of different nations”, touched by the silence and beauty of the monastery, wandered between the flower beds with blooming roses, suddenly the farm gates opened with a creak and from there, all thirty monastery cows and a huge bull, crazy with freedom, flew out with a roar: Father Alypius gave a command to the previously prepared operations.
Mooing animals, with their tails raised, crazy with freedom, rushed to the flower beds, devouring grass and flowers, and representatives of the international communist movement, filling the monastery with cries in different languages, hid in all directions. Regional committee workers rushed to Father Alypiy.
“Don’t demand it,” the father governor told them, sighing. - I really feel sorry for the beast! Now we have no other pastures, so we have to graze them inside the monastery.
On the same day, all pastures were returned to the monastery.
He recalled the day when a decree was sent to the monastery prohibiting the service of memorial services in caves as one of the most difficult trials. This meant the cessation of access to the caves, and then the closure of the monastery. The decree was signed by the Bishop of Pskov. But, despite this, Father Alypiy ordered the requiem service to be served as before.
Having learned about this, the city authorities rushed to the monastery and inquired whether Father Alypius had received a decree from his ruling bishop. Father Alypiy answered in the affirmative.
Why don't you do it? - the officials asked indignantly.
To this, Father Alypiy replied that he did not comply with the decree because it was written under pressure and out of weakness of spirit.
“But I don’t listen to the weak in spirit,” he concluded. “I listen only to the strong in spirit.”
The service of memorial services in the caves was not interrupted.
The war against the monastery did not stop for a day. Pskov writer Valentin Kurbatov recalled: “For the arrival of the next state commission to close the monastery, Archimandrite Alypiy posted a notice on the Holy Gates that there was a plague in the monastery and because of this he could not allow the commission into the territory of the monastery. The commission was headed by the chairman of the regional Committee on Culture, Anna Ivanovna Medvedeva. It was to her that Father Alypiy addressed:
I don’t feel sorry for my monks, fools, sorry. Because they are still registered in the Kingdom of Heaven. But I can’t let you, Anna Ivanovna, or your bosses in. After all, at the Last Judgment I won’t even find the words to answer for you. So forgive me, I won’t open the gates for you.
And he himself once again boarded a plane and went to Moscow. And again, work hard, hit the thresholds and win again.”
Just as a true warrior always unmistakably identifies his enemies, so Father Alypius was irreconcilable with conscious destroyers. But with ordinary people he behaved completely differently, even if they, through foolishness, did not know what they were doing.
This may seem strange after the stories told here, but the main thing in the life of Father Alypius, in his own words, was love. She was his invincible and incomprehensible weapon for the world.
“Love,” said the Great Viceroy, “is the highest prayer. If prayer is the queen of virtues, then Christian love is God, for God is Love... Look at the world only through the prism of love, and all your problems will go away: within yourself you will see the Kingdom of God, in man - an icon, in earthly beauty - shadow of heavenly life. You will object that it is impossible to love your enemies. Remember what Jesus Christ told us: “Whatever you did to men, you did to Me.” Write these words in golden letters on the tablets of your hearts, write them down and hang them next to the icon and read them every day.”
One evening, when the monastery gates had long been closed, a frightened watchman came running to the father governor and reported that drunken military men were breaking into the monastery. (Later it turned out that these were graduates of the Pskov Airborne School, who were vigorously celebrating the end of their native educational institution.) Despite the late hour, the young lieutenants demanded that all the churches of the monastery be immediately opened to them, given a tour and let them figure out where the priests entrenched here were hiding their nuns. The watchman said with horror that the drunken officers had already obtained a huge log and at that moment, using it as a battering ram, they were breaking down the gate.
Father Alypiy retired to his chambers and returned wearing a military jacket with rows of military orders and medals draped over his cassock. Wrapping himself in a monastic robe over his uniform so that his regalia was not visible, he headed with the guard to the Holy Gate.
From afar, the governor heard that the monastery was being stormed in earnest. Approaching, he ordered the watchman to open the bolts. A moment later, a crowd of excited lieutenants, about ten people, flew into the monastery. They huddled menacingly around an old monk wrapped in a black robe, vying with each other to demand to see the monastery, not to establish their own church laws on Soviet soil, and not to hide the national museum property from future heroes.
Father Alypius, bowing his head, listened to them. And then he looked up and took off his robe... The lieutenants stood up and were speechless. Father Alipy looked at everyone menacingly and demanded his cap from a nearby officer. He obediently gave it to the monk. Father Alypiy made sure that on the inside of the band, as expected, the officer’s name was written in ink, and, turning around, headed towards his chambers.The sobered lieutenants trudged after him. They muttered apologies and asked for the cap back. The young people were already beginning to realize that they had serious trouble ahead. But Father Alypiy did not answer. So the young officers reached the governor’s house and stopped indecisively. The viceroy opened the door and motioned for everyone to enter.
That evening he sat up late with them. He treated him as only the Great Viceroy could treat him. He himself took the lieutenants through the monastery, showing ancient shrines and talking about the glorious past and amazing present of the monastery. Finally, he hugged everyone like a father and gave a generous hand to the young people. They embarrassedly refused. But Father Alypiy said that it was this money, collected by their grandmothers, grandfathers and mothers, that would benefit them.
This was, of course, a special case, but by no means an isolated one. Father Alypius never lost faith in the power of God to transform people, no matter who they were. From his own experience, he knew how many of yesterday’s persecutors of the Church became secret, and even open Christians - perhaps precisely thanks to the formidable words of truth and reproof that they had to hear from the father governor.
After months, and sometimes even years, yesterday’s enemies returned to Father Alypius, no longer for the sake of oppressing the monastery, but to see in the Great Viceroy a witness of another world, a wise shepherd and confessor. After all, the truth spoken without fear, no matter how bitter and incomprehensible it may seem at first, remains forever in a person’s memory. And she will reprove him until he accepts her or rejects her forever. Both are in the complete power of everyone.
In his letters to Bishop John of Pskov, Archimandrite Alypius reported: “Newspaper articles are filled with undeserved insults and slander against honest, kind and good people, insults to the mothers and widows of fallen soldiers. This is their “ideological struggle” - the expulsion of hundreds and thousands of priests and clergy, and the best ones at that. How many of them come to us with tears that they cannot even get a secular job anywhere. Their wives and children have nothing to live on.”
Here are the headlines of the central and local publications of that time: “The Pskov-Pechersky Monastery is a hotbed of religious obscurantism”, “Hallelujah squatting”, “Freeloaders in robes”, “Hypocrites in robes”.
And here is another message to the Bishop of Pskov. In it, Father Alypiy describes another incident:
“On Tuesday, May 14 of this 1963, the housekeeper, Abbot Irenei, organized, as in all previous years of monastic life, the watering and spraying of the monastery garden with rain and snow water, which we collect thanks to the dam we made near the gazebo behind the fortress wall. As our men were working, six men approached them, then two more; one of them had in his hands a measure with which they divided the former monastery garden land. He began to swear at the workers and forbid them to pump water, saying that the water was not yours, and ordered them to stop pumping. Our people tried to continue working, but he ran up to them, grabbed the hose and began to pull it out, another - with a camera - began to photograph our people...
The steward told these unknown people that the governor had come, go and explain everything to him. One of them came up. The others stood at a distance, taking photographs of us; there are three of them left.
Who are you and what do you require from us? - I asked them.
You don’t dare breathe the air and you don’t dare bask in the sun, because the sun and the air and the water are all yours, but where is ours? - And he asked him again: - Who are you and why did you come?
He didn't say his name.
I told him:
I, Ivan Mikhailovich Voronov, a citizen of the Soviet Union, a participant in the Great Patriotic War, and my comrades who live behind this wall, veterans and disabled people of the Patriotic War, many who lost arms and legs, received severe wounds and concussions, watered this land with our blood, cleared this air of fascist evil spirits; and also my comrades living here, workers of factories, factories and fields, old disabled people and pensioners, old fathers who lost their sons in the battles for the liberation of this land and this water, and all of us who shed our blood and gave our lives, do not have the right to use their land, water, air and sun - all that they snatched from the Nazis for themselves, for their people? Who you are? - I asked again. “And on whose behalf are you acting?”
They began to babble, calling district committees, regional committees, etc.
Walking away from us sideways, the man in the hat said: “Eh... father!”
I replied that Father I am for those people over there, but for you I am the Russian Ivan, who still has the power to crush bedbugs, fleas, fascists and all sorts of evil spirits in general.”
“At the beginning of 1975, Father Alypius had a third heart attack,” Archimandrite Nathanael said at a sermon on the anniversary of the memory of the Great Vicar. “He had mortal memory in advance. A coffin was made for him in advance, with his blessing, and stood in his corridor. And when they asked him: “Where is your cell?” - he pointed to the coffin and said: “Here is my cell.” In the last days of his life, hieromonk Father Theodorit was with him; he gave Holy Communion to Father Alypius every day and, as a paramedic, provided him with medical care. On March 12, 1975, at two o’clock in the morning, Father Alypiy said: “The Mother of God has come, How beautiful She is, let’s paint, let’s paint.” The paints were applied, but his hands could no longer operate, how many heavy shells he dragged with these hands to the front line in the Great Patriotic War. At four o’clock in the morning, Archimandrite Alypius died quietly and peacefully.”
In those years, many artists, scientists, politicians, and writers came to Father Alypius, the Soviet archimandrite, who had faithful and devoted assistants both in military circles and in high government offices. In the lives of some of them, he took a very active part - and not only materially, but primarily as a priest, a spiritual shepherd. But they - people of very different, great and ordinary destinies - also spiritually strengthened him. The archives of Archimandrite Alypiy in the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery contain a fragment of the manuscript of A. I. Solzhenitsyn. This is a small prayer and a principle of life that the Great Viceroy himself has always followed:
How easy it is for me to live with You, Lord!
How easy it is for me to believe in You!
When he parted in bewilderment
or my mind fades,
when the smartest people
don't see beyond tonight
and don’t know what to do tomorrow, -
You send me clear confidence,
that You exist and You will take care,
so that not all paths to good are closed.
On the ridge of earthly glory
I look back in surprise on that path,
which I could never invent myself, -
an amazing path through hopelessness,
where could I
send to humanity a reflection of Your rays.
And how long will it take for me to reflect them again, -
You give it to me.
And no matter how much I don’t have time, it means
You defined it to others.
