Priest Nikolay Guryanov. Blessed Elder Nikolay Guryanov

The instructions of the elder Nikolai Guryanov. Today, the name of Elder Nikolai Guryanov is known to thousands of people in Russia and abroad. He is one of the most beloved, most revered spiritual mentors of the Russian Orthodox Church XX century, who supported Her in a difficult time of open persecution of Orthodoxy.

But once everything was different: the priest belonged to the generation of confessors who suffered harassment from the authorities, prison and camp imprisonment and exile for their faith and devotion to God. And after his release, he spent whole years in obscurity, labor and prayer on a remote fishing island. Father Nikolai did not leave an extensive spiritual heritage, works on asceticism or theology, but his brief words and simple instructions equally touch the hearts of "simple" and "wise men." For many, many, he became the person from whom the path to God begins.

Fragment of the film "Islands of Orthodoxy" by S. Alexandrov. FILM STUDIO RADONEZH.

Elder Nikolai Guryanov

Years will pass, and he will be among those who miraculously survived in the 20s and 30s. Orthodox priests. Schema-Archimandrite Zakharia from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and Schema-Archbishop Anthony (Abashidze) from the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, Moscow elder - saint righteous Alexy Mechev and Archimandrite Seraphim (Tyapochkin), the Monk Martyr Amphilochius of Pochaev and the recently deceased Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) are just the most famous of them.

All of them shared the lot of confessors and were rewarded by God with high spiritual gifts. Their foresight - the ability to predict the events of a future life, and sometimes - knowledge of the past of people and the mistakes they made, the gift of healing and expelling unclean spirits - attracted believers from all over Russia to them.

"Between Faith and Prosperity"

There is evidence that in his youth Nikolai Guryanov was quite different strong character, and it took him an effort to learn to control himself. But it was on him that the gaze of his father once stopped, suddenly turning to his mother with the words: “Ekaterinushka, like these (older children) - I don’t know, but this one will watch you”. Nikolai Guryanov's father died young, all the brothers died during the Great Patriotic War. He also faced the path of the priesthood and taking care not only of an elderly mother, but also of dozens of spiritual children, and hundreds of pilgrims who came to him from afar.

Nikolai's personal choice between faith and the relative calm that the Stalinist state system promised to those who were ready to follow the established norms took place even before the start of mass repression - when he was a student at the Leningrad Pedagogical Institute. In 1929, student Guryanov was expelled from his first year for allowing himself to speak out against the closure of one of the churches.

The path to higher education was thus closed to him, despite the fact that he successfully graduated in 1928 from the Gatchina Pedagogical College. Returning to his homeland, Nikolai served as a psalm reader in the church, taught mathematics, physics and biology at school. Arrest followed in the 1930s. Conclusion in the "Crosses", exile to a camp near Kiev, and then - to a settlement in Syktyvkar - were the main milestones of his confessional path. The conditions of the prisoners were monstrous.

In the Arctic, Nikolai was among those who laid railway. Years later, the priest recalled that night when he had to stand for long hours in the water and in the ice crumble along with other prisoners. This night of suffering seemed endless. Prayer supported him. And the next morning, the guards who came found that he was the only one left alive.

Due to illness of the legs, damaged in custody, Nikolai Alekseevich was not mobilized during the war years. After the camp, he taught in the schools of the Tosnensky region, and after the occupation of the Gdovsky region, he was moved to the Baltic. During the war years, an event took place in his life that determined his entire subsequent fate. - Prepared by the trials he had gone through for the “close path” of a servant of the Church, on February 15, 1942 in Riga, on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, he received the priesthood.

At first, he served in the churches and monasteries of the Baltic states, and in 1958, at the revelation of one of the elders who indicated to him the place of his future service, he petitioned for a transfer to the secluded fishing island of Talabsk (better known as the fishing collective farm named after Zalit). Here Father Nikolai spent forty years of his life and pastoral ministry.

God and soul

Arriving here as an unknown priest who aroused the suspicions of the unbelieving population, in a few years he won the sincere and deep respect of the fishermen. Having settled with his mother in the tiniest house on the outskirts of the village, he served alone, repaired the church on his own, patched and covered the roof, baked prosphora, and in his free time, without waiting for a request for help, appeared on the threshold of the homes of those who needed it most. in support. Families of fishermen were left without breadwinners for a long time.

Gentle and meek, the priest did housework, stayed with the children, helped the elderly and the infirm. Many later recalled with gratitude his care for the families where the owner drank. Father Nikolai could, for example, take a bottle from a staggering peasant and immediately break it: his quiet word was dutifully accepted by people who seemed hopelessly downcast.

The first years were hard. At times, despondency approached: for years he served in an empty church. The thought also came to leave this heavy land. But one day, when the things were already packed, a child's voice stopped him - a tiny child, sensing his sadness, suddenly ardently asked him not to leave. The father accepted the children's words as an expression of the will of God and a reminder of the instruction to serve here, given to him through the elder. Time passed - Father Nikolai patiently continued to carry his cross.

A few decades later, Talabsk, which at the time of his arrival was a deserted island, was covered with gardens and islands of greenery, which the priest planted and carefully maintained, dragging hundreds of buckets of water from the lake. Landscaping the island was his special feat. From the mainland and from pilgrimages, he brought seedlings that made up the famous "garden of memory", reminding him of the places of his imprisonment. He hardly slept: during the day he served and worked, and at night he prayed.

Finally, the "dry soil" sprouted. The attitude of the fishermen towards the priest was revealed by the following episode: when one resident of the village, under pressure from the commissioners, wrote a denunciation against Father Nikolai, threatening him with a new conclusion, the fishermen unanimously reprimanded her - none of those who returned from fishing did not put fish on her plate according to custom. Since that time, people have been drawn to the church.

Then, in the 60s, during the intensification of the persecution of churches, representatives of the local authorities came to Father Nikolai, speaking very rudely and promising to return for him the next day. Batiushka stood all night praying, and in the morning a terrible storm arose on the lake, which did not subside for three days. Talabsk became inaccessible. After the storm subsided, Father Nikolai was somehow forgotten and no longer touched.

eldership

In the 70s, people from all over the country began to come to Father Nikolai on the island - they began to revere him as an old man. Not only church people were drawn to him, but also fallen souls, feeling the warmth of his heart. Once forgotten by everyone, at times, he did not know a minute of peace from visitors, and alien to worldly glory, he only quietly complained: “Oh, if only you ran to church as you run after me!”. His spiritual gifts could not go unnoticed: he called strangers by name, revealed forgotten sins, warned of possible dangers, instructed, helped change life, arrange it on a Christian basis, begged for the seriously ill.

Evidence has been preserved that, through the prayers of the priest, the fate of the missing people was revealed to him. In the 90s. the well-known throughout the country, the Pechersk elder - Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) testified about Father Nicholas that he is “the only, truly, perspicacious elder in the territory former USSR". He knew the will of God about man, he guided many along the shortest path leading to salvation.

Batiushka was a stranger to man-pleasing. Didn't accept everyone. Some he unfolded with the words: “Why did you come here?”. Even venerable priests were afraid to visit him. Father Nikolai denounced. There is a known case when two guests in expensive vestments, who had a very impressive appearance, came to him. Okad them with the words:

"I'm sitting on the barrel (on the barrel),

And under the barrel mouse.

My darling is a Komsomol member,

And I'm a communist ... "

The elder imperturbably continued his service. Sometimes he quite tangibly tapped those who came to him on the cheek or on the forehead: in this way, he drove away the unclean spirits, which he was given to see with his own eyes. But when he “beat”, no one was offended by him, because love was felt in everything. Batiushka taught people to watch themselves, their thoughts, checking themselves: are you in the faith? When asked how to live, he answered: "Live like you're going to die tomorrow".

Instructions of Elder Nikolai Guryanov

How, in what form, what was hidden was revealed to him - the mystery of God, but there were such cases. Mother K., who came to him from afar, from the Urals, went to the old man with trepidation - after the injury she suffered from headaches, so much so that she was afraid to lose her mind. What will the father say? What is it preparing for? How long is left to live? And the elder looked at her attentively, affectionately, took her by the shoulders and said: “You’re still wearing a dress, you’re vilifying ...”. By simplicity, I did not immediately understand the meaning of the words, only, like a child, I responded to affection and encouragement. And when o. Nikolai anointed his forehead with oil, blessed him on the road, on the way back he guessed: they say, “It’s too early to say goodbye to the body. You will still live."

His blessings were also amazing. Either in barely familiar companions, he saw the future husband and wife, then in the “spiritual baby” - the future nun. Once a woman came to the elder, through the “windbreaks” and “potholes” brought by God to the temple with suffering, miraculously raised from her bed of illness. And everything that she knew then about life in Christ, she learned from several books, among which was a book about the ascetics of the Caucasus. In the soul - "paradise" from the consciousness of God's mercy to her, and the exact knowledge of where, in which direction to go - to the Lord, to the Church - there was a "lost coin".

And there are tears in my eyes, and the word "monasticism" is terrible to utter because of my unworthiness. And her father: "Well, go to the Caucasus, live in the mountains, look." She stood as if she had received the sun in her hands. The cell attendants followed her: “Kiss the gate. Batiushka has never given such a blessing in all the years!

Monks do not bless there!” And to the last, until her departure from her temporary life already in a monastic robe, she recalled how everything turned out - and God sent money, and fellow travelers, and a guide. And there was no such prayer as there, in the mountains, as she said. Orthodox "childhood" - joy, when the Lord strengthens, supports at every step, was associated for her with Fr. Nikolai Guryanov and his blessing.

... The simple instructions of the elder that one must work, beware of idleness, avoid addiction to wine, love neighbors and according to the commandment, be everything like a servant, even reached the hearts of people who were entangled in life circumstances and hardened. Prayers and akathists, which the priest sang in a thin, weak voice, which were sold in the records, the memories of his spiritual children, his photographs, even today remind of this wonderful priest who carried the cross of his ministry to the very end.

Already seriously ill, he flatly refused to leave the place of his ministry and go to rest in one of the monasteries, for the sake of thousands of people who came to him. Perhaps one of the most famous was one of the last parting words to Orthodox Christians: “A believing person, he must lovingly treat everything that surrounds him. Lovely!"
INSTRUCTIONS OF THE OLD FATER NICHOLAS (GURYANOV), 1909-2002

1.Our life is blessed... The gift of God... We have a treasure in ourselves - the soul. If we save it in this temporary world where we came as strangers, we will inherit Eternal Life.

2. Seek purity. Do not listen to bad and dirty things about anyone... Do not dwell on an unkind thought... Flee from falsehood... Never be afraid to speak the truth, only with prayer and, first, ask the Lord for blessings.

3. You need to live not only for yourself ... Try to quietly pray for everyone ... Do not push or humiliate anyone.

4. Our thoughts and words have great power on the world. Pray with tears for everyone - the sick, the weak, sinners, for those for whom there is no one to pray for.
5. Don't be too strict. Excessive severity is dangerous. It stops the soul only at an external feat, without giving depth. Be gentle, don't chase external rules. Mentally talk with the Lord and the saints. Try not to teach, but gently prompt each other, correct.
Be simple and sincere. After all, the world is such a God's... Look around - all creation thanks the Lord. And that's how you live - in peace with God.

6. Obedience…It starts at early childhood. With obedience to parents. These are our first lessons from the Lord.

7. Remember that all people are weak and sometimes unfair. Learn to forgive, not be offended. It is better to move away from those who harm you - you will not be forced to be nice ... Do not look for friends among people. Look for them in Heaven - among the saints. They will never leave or betray.

8. Believe in the Lord, without a doubt. The Lord Himself lives in our heart and there is no need to look for Him somewhere… far away.

According to the book of schema nun Nikolai "The Royal Bird calls to God", 2009

THE MIRACLE OF OLD NICHOLAS:

AFTER FOUR HOURS AFTER THE BLESSED DEATH WHEN ROBED

HIMSELF TAKEN THE CROSS AND THE GOSPEL

Righteous Dormition of dear Father Nikolai (Guryanov). 05/24/1909 + 08/24/2002. The photo was taken on the porch of the Smolensk chapel of the St. Nicholas Church on Talabsk Island after the Funeral Liturgy on August 26, 2002... Bishop Eusebius of Pskov blessed to open the face so that the clergy could say goodbye to the ascetic. How firmly the blessed Elder holds the Cross and the Gospel, which he HIMSELF TAKEN while putting on in his hands AFTER the soul left the body ... Four hours later ... During the funeral procession from the Temple to the cemetery, the clergymen carried the coffin in their hands. According to the tradition of the islanders, the coffin with the body of the deceased is raised on outstretched arms and they cross over the house where the person lived. And this is the cell of the Elder and the Temple, where he prayed… During the raising of the coffin, it was strongly shaken. But the holy righteous man never let go of the Cross and the Gospel.

When the Elder felt the presence of God.

There was always a miracle and a mystery next to Batiushka… Because he was from God. That's right... With the Elder, we felt the presence of God. Thirteen years have already passed since dear father passed away into Eternity. Over time, the holy image of the ascetic opens up more and more. And he does not fit into words. For the Spirit cannot be expressed in words. Living next to the Elder, we, of course, could not comprehend his spiritual height and depth of thoughts. Probably because he belittled himself and in his humility did not rise above anyone ... Not a single person. He revealed his high spirituality only when it was necessary to determine and correct the inner state of a person and name the passion that is destructive for the soul, for salvation ... Then his piercing insight and life in the Spirit were revealed instantly and the person was transformed. He understood that in front of him was a saint who could see all the nooks and crannies of your soul. Not only deeds are visible, but also thoughts. And most importantly, it can help cleanse the heart. If you are looking for transformation. Once a man was just eager to talk to Batiushka. He was already ready to enter the house, but, colliding in the corridor with a previous visitor with a lost face, he changed his mind. From what? - I was frightened when I heard a frank confession: “I am a colonel. I asked him for prayers to give me a general. And Father replied: “What kind of general are you, son, you are a thief!” And surprisingly, this man was not offended. Only exhaling, he admitted: "It's true" ... God endowed Father Nikolai with grace-filled gifts. The power of his prayer protected the lives and destinies of many people. Very many. The people went to him also because he did not take money for the Church Sacraments. Never. This was his specialty. As with Father Pavel Adelgem, who was killed for Christ, who did not take a penny from the parishioners for trebes: “This is my duty, not a privilege,” he said. The spiritual strength of such shepherds is in Love. Until martyrdom. They are citizens of the City of God. Father Nikolai, like Father Pavel, were true confessors. “It is enough for him to look at me - and everything is clear to me” - such words were uttered by Vladyka Pavel, now Metropolitan of Minsk and Zaslavl, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus (Ponomarev), in 1988-1992 viceroy Pskov-Caves Monastery and having the joy of fellowship with the Elder. In one of the radio broadcasts, he told the following story - Nikolai Borisov, the curator of the Church of the Royal Martyrs on the territory of the former Nikolskaya almshouse in Ryazan, told from his words. Two Miraculous images were found there - the Myrrh-streaming Martyr Tsar and the Bleeding Royal Family:
“A youth turned to him with a question: “Vladyka, what is the difference between a priest and an elder priest? And Vladyka answered: “As a Bishop, I can convince, speak and doubt for an hour, whether I convinced or not, whether I found the right words for the interlocutor or not. But Elder Nikolai - he just needs to look at me, and everything is already clear to me, and not even to look, but to pass by. That's who the Elder is! And I know such an Elder - Father Nikolai Guryanov ... There is no one like him! ”His presence, only his very presence, exuded Grace. Tangible. She had regal majesty. Many said so: “It was enough for me to see Father, and I realized that I didn’t live like that.” Some lost questions with which they went for permission. Problems disappeared. Sadness. Fear. Irritability and anger… But why? After all, he didn’t even say a word to many, but only blessed and anointed with oil? – All because such was the supernatural testimony of the Spirit of God that dwelt in the Talab righteous man.

May 21, 2002. Father at his beloved Cross Tree, which has grown miraculously from a dried sprig of thuja. She was in a garland with flowers, which was decorated for the Exaltation of the Cross in the Vilnius Mary Magdalene Monastery. whole year she lay with a nun who forgot to send a shoot right after the holiday, as Father Nikolai asked her: “Send me a thuja sprig from the Cross.” In fulfillment of obedience, the nun nevertheless sent a twig belatedly, with the words: “Forgive me, a sinner, I have become old, and I forget everything.” From the withered, yellowed and thuja paws that had lost their vital juices, the priest grew a huge, as he said, "God Tree of Obedience." At one time, with small shoots from it, he anointed everyone with his Jerusalem oil ... “To protect the shrine ... Otherwise, a lot of oil is spent with a brush, and less with a thin twig, and that’s enough for everyone,” dear father said.

"Perfume is the Name of Christ"

IN last years The father fasted very hard. He had bodily feats similar to the ancient fathers. As an example, for the last five years before his assumption (since 1997), he never washed. Despite this, there was no discomfort. A subtle fragrance emanated from him. Both on the street and in the cell… It was especially noticeable near the chair on which the Elder always sat in the kitchen. It was the scent of prayer. For, as the Monk Elder Joseph the Hesychast said, "Perfume is the Name of Christ." From the Jesus Prayer. This is how the saints see the world with their spiritual eyes. They argue that not only the person himself is fragrant from prayer, but also the place on which he stands. And we are witnesses to what has been said. It was unbelievable and supernatural for many... The doctors who expected a bad smell from a person at that age were most surprised. Unprecedented! - More than ninety years old, in a small cell there are no amenities, except for a washstand, "and he is as clean as a baby" - they were amazed. Only occasionally did Father allow himself to be wiped with a cotton swab with spirit. And then, because of the bites... After all, he did not kill mosquitoes, any other living creatures... A special fragrance was felt near the prayer corner. At the Images before which the Elder prayed. He was a man who truly and always prayed. “I do not live without prayer,” he said. People came and asked: "Father, pray." And they knew that Father would pray. He always had piles of notes, mountains of letters. Some of the letters he printed and others he didn't. I saw with my spirit what was written in them.

Our happy life… In simplicity, love and trust. Two assistants, cell attendants, spiritual daughters of the father - schema nun John (Valentina Vasilyevna Poleshchuk) - with her beloved Lipa in her arms - and schema nun Nikolai (Tatiana Ivanovna Groyan) with the Life of the Martyr Grigory Efimovich Rasputin-New written according to the word and blessing of the Elder

View of the Elder's cell after the Assumption. So far, everything is as it was with him… Only he himself is not with us… The place of the humble prayer deed of the Talab hermit. Favorite Icons and Images. Among them - the Wonderworker John of Kronstadt, Reverend Sergius, the Royal Martyrs, the Blessed Tsar-Martyr John the Terrible, the Man of God, the Tsar’s Friend Gregory… Here Batiushka and I read our monastic rule. Sometimes he was on his knees, leaning on his chair... We read notes and letters to him... We talked a lot... And this "simple" chair of the Elder. In recent years, he mostly sat on it, because his legs "were badly held." And he accepted the people... How many tears and petitions for everyone... How many confessions that purify the soul... A samovar and a sugar bowl... The Elder healed with "Sugarcom": - he invariably said, carefully overshadowing everyone with the sign of the cross.

January 2001 ... During a conversation about the Tsar's Prophet Martyr Grigory Efimovich Rasputin. The dear Father has just said: “We must pray to the Tsar-Martyr. Trouble over Russia… The Sovereign can fix everything if we ask Him… After all, the Royal Family had great sorrows for us… Really?”

And this marvelous photo… You can’t see it here, but here Batiushka is holding a whole pile of memorial notes – about health, repose… And he will pray for all of us until the very end of his earthly journey… And beyond the threshold of life he will not leave his obedience to God – boldly ask: "Help EVERYONE, Lord ... Have mercy and save EVERYONE" ... This was our Father ...

The spiritual ladder along which Father Nikolai swiftly ascended to God and rested in the Kingdom of Light

“A miracle is wonderful and worthy of memory”

The power of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord exalted Father Nicholas, the Church Luminary during his lifetime, and even more crowned him after his blessed death, when he showed us a miracle, like the holy fathers. Like John Chrysostom, who, during the transfer of honest relics from Koman to Constantinople, after thirty years after his assumption, when he was brought into the Temple of the Twelve Apostles and the coffin was placed in the place where his pulpit was located, did something unprecedented. As soon as the Church kneeled to ask for forgiveness from the persecuted Saint, saying: Accept thy Throne, Father,- the saint of God, who was in the relics, raised his right hand and blessed the people with the words: "Peace to all!"

Transfer of the relics of John Chrysostom from Koman to Constantinople

This is possible only when the soul sees God. “The main goal of human life is to come to your senses and establish a connection with God. And if he finds himself in relation to the Lord, he can find himself in relation to the world. Light will come - and a person will be able to judge others without making false and hasty conclusions about them, - says Elder Luke of Philotheus. - If we do not recognize God, do not receive Light from him, how can we draw correct conclusions about others? A passionate person judges others through the prism of his own sins. He condemns others in order to justify himself. When a person comes to God, repents, frees himself from passions, he uses his undamaged natural vision. That is, he looks at the world with the eyes of Love.” With such eyes of Love Father Nikolai looked at the world.

“Let's turn to the lives of the saints,” Abba Philotheus continues to think. How many and how many martyrs who suffered for Christ prayed for their tormentors. There are countless examples when this prayer was heard, and the tormentors repented and came to God themselves. Why? Because the saints prayed with all their hearts, they really sympathized with their persecutors and sincerely asked the Lord to lead them to the path of Truth. The Saints even loved their tormentors, to say nothing of the rest of their neighbors. You ask: is it possible to love your enemies? For those who have found the love of Christ, everything is possible. We should strive to be Christians and not just bear that name. "By their deeds you will know them." Orthodox cannot live and behave like everyone else”…

Everyone saw in Batyushka a true Christian and a true clergyman. For his business. They recognized him as a saint. And the death of the Elder revealed and confirmed this with extraordinary power and beauty. Everything is as of old in our Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church...

We see a similar miracle of the manifestation of life in the body of the deceased in the Life of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky. His trip to Saray in 1262 was his last. On the way back, before reaching Vladimir, in Gorodets, in the monastery, the 43-year-old Prince-ascetic gave his spirit to the Lord on November 14, 1263, completing his difficult life path by accepting the monastic schema with the name Alexy. When Metropolitan Kirill announced the death of Alexander Nevsky during the Liturgy: “My dear child, know that the sun of the Russian Land has set!” – then all the people cried out in one voice in despair: “We are perishing!” His body was carried to Vladimir, the journey lasted nine days, and it remained incorruptible. On November 23, during the burial in the Nativity Monastery, God revealed "a marvelous miracle and worthy of memory." Contemporaries say that during the funeral, the deceased Prince Himself, as if alive, extended his hand and accepted a letter with a permissive prayer from the hands of the metropolitan. This day was established to honor his memory.

A fresco from the Cathedral of the Holy Martyr Panteleimon in the New Athos Monastery, where we see how the saint of God, Schemamonk Alexy, stretches out his right hand for permissive prayer. Just like that, with the same movement of his hand, four hours after his death, Father Nikolai extended his right hand and took the Cross from my hands, and then slightly opened left palm- and we put the Gospel into it ... When I was on New Athos and saw this fresco, I was amazed at how the Lord is the same yesterday and today ... And we cannot but remember that the young lad Nicholas began his service to God in the Archangel Church one and a half kilometers from which the historical Battle of the Ice took place ... Where Grand Duke Alexander accomplished the salvation of Russia ...

The favorite image of the Father is the Icon of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky, in the schema Alexy. The elder believed that it was more correct to paint the Icons of the Prince already as a schemer. And pray to Him, as the schema-monk Alexy. But he did not impose his opinion on anyone... According to Father Nikolai, we know that he was a secret bishop who was appointed Bishop during the persecution of the Church. To the open episcopal ministry didn't come out. He accepted the schema with the name Nectarios. When Hieromonk Nestor (Kumysh), compiler brief biography An elder from the Pskov Metropolis, asked a friend of Father Nikolai, a resident of the Holy Spirit Monastery of the Vilna Archimandrite Predislav (Kamenyak), whether Batiushka was a monk and how to pray for him, the father archimandrite answered in the affirmative that Batyushka was a monk and a bishop, and cited the Blessed Prince as an example : “We pray to him, as to the Blessed Prince Alexander, although He is schemamonk Alexy ... And you can also pray for the Batushka: both as the righteous Elder Nicholas, and as Schiebishop Nectarius ... God hears everything and accepts all prayers. The main thing is to pray."

He himself took the Cross and the Gospel

During the vestment of the honorable body of the unforgettable Father, a wondrous miracle occurred, similar to what happened to Grand Duke Alexander. For me, who saw so many healings and miracles from the ascetic, it was a natural continuation of his holy life. When we brought him the altar Cross and the Gospel, in order to put them in our hands, he carefully and reverently raised right hand, stretched it out, and took the cross- the way he always kept it in life. Batiushka, holding the Cross, always watched carefully so that his fingers would not obscure the Crucified Savior... Already from Eternity, he sent us a message that there is no death, but there is Immortal life in Christ. The Elder opened his left hand, and we put into it holy gospel. Then he quietly laid his fingers on top of him, while slightly lifting left shoulder. Because the gospel was heavy, in a silver frame. And in this miraculous phenomenon for the world, Father Nikolai became like his “brother and favorite”, friend, companion, prayer partner, with whom they “wept for Russia” - Father Seraphim of Sarov ... prayer, then she herself unclipped and accepted the prayer ...

From here the Lord called our unforgettable Father into Eternity. During the Sunday Vigil, on Saturday 24 August. We sang along with dear father Kanon to the exodus of the soul... The saints, looking from icons and photographs, rejoiced at his painless and quiet transition into re-existence... The same blanket... Light and warm... It kept him warm for a long time... But the bed was orphaned...

So it was with us… In the quiet and humble cell of the Father… By his blissful body, resting from all earthly worries… We were strengthened by the Queen of Heaven Herself. Barely audible, we cried out to the indestructible and eternal, brought to earth by the Angels: “Virgin Mother of God, rejoice, Blessed Mary, the Lord is with you” ... And there was no feeling of separation in the heart. After all, my father was nearby ... And it remains, no matter what happens to us in this and another life.

Stamp of the Hagiographic Icon of the Elder, painted in 2007 by the diligence of the icon painter Stefan. A miracle is captured here when the Elder himself takes the Cross from our hands. “Grace from God received and glorification in the fragrant departure of your soul from the earth: after the assumption of the Holy Cross and the Gospel in your hand, you yourself did not participate in death, rejoicing from the Angels: Christ is Risen! Don't lose the Easter Joy!"

Resurrection of Christ. Painting on the wall of the Resurrection Church of the Rostov Kremlin ... The last words of the Father in earthly life were a bright blessing and commandment: “Christ is Risen! Don't lose the Easter Joy!" - and his soul soared from us ... Almost seventy years of the priestly service of Father Nikolai are years of sorrows, hardships, persecutions, labors, but also Joy. That, the highest, perfect, penetrating his whole life. Possible only in a salvific standing before God.

Batiushka's blessed grave: Righteous Elder Nikolai rests here

“I took it myself - and I keep it!”

Several years passed before I read about how the holy hermit Blessed Elder Vitaly (Sidorenko) was buried in Tbilisi. He and our Father are twins in foolishness and spiritual strength even in the body, while still alive, to find themselves where there is mortal danger and where they prayed and asked with hope and faith for help. And they - our spiritual fathers - heard and rushed to save. The unbeliever cannot be understood or believed... Father Vitaly, being in a house in Tbilisi, found himself many miles away from the city, in a family where people are dying of hunger, and helped... Father Nikolai, being in a cell on the Island, hears a cry for help from his child from Moscow. The kid, granddaughter, jumped out onto the road and almost got hit by a car. Grandmother prayed for salvation. And the Elder miraculously appeared in the body on Lomonosovsky Prospekt, stopped the car and saved the child ... Faithful and grateful people wrote the Image of two holy fools who had a crushing prayer against the spirits of malice - demons, and hurrying to help those who have Faith, like a mustard seed ...

The image of the blessed fathers of our time revered by the people - the Righteous Elder Nicholas, the secret bishop in schema Nectarius, and the Monk Schema-Archimandrite Vitaly (Sidorenko). Written in 2006 in the God-saved city of Tula

So, the priest Pavel Kosach told us about the miraculous sign of our days, which occurred during the funeral service of the Glinsky Hermit Elder Father Vitaly (Sidorenko), the prayer book of Father Nikolai. They also saw him in the mountains of the Caucasus: “Patriarch Elijah read a permissive prayer and handed it to me to put into the hand of Father Vitaly. At that time thumb on his hand is bent, I put a leaf with a prayer in my palm - and the hand closes. Itself. I was so shocked that I cried out in surprise: “I took it myself!” - and only later realized this as a matter of course - after all, this man was not of this world. "I took it myself!" - Archpriest Mikhail Didenko, who was standing nearby, confirmed. His Holiness the Patriarch silently, affirmatively nodded his head and continued the service. This miracle, perceived by those who saw him with reverence and fear, became an obvious confirmation of the God's chosenness of this righteous man, which had long been revealed to his close spiritual children...

One Bishop doubted whether Father Vitaly was such a great ascetic? And now he sees in a dream: the holy Prophet John the Baptist and the Monk Seraphim of Sarov are standing at the Throne of God and they say: “Call Father Vitaly! He needs to serve God with us." And to one servant of God, who had very doubts about how a dead person could take a sheet of prayer in his hand, Father Vitaly appeared in a dream with a permissive prayer in his hand and said: “And so I took it and hold it.” - This indicates that our Russia is alive, as the unforgettable Father Nikolai predicted: “But she didn’t die!” - Different times, different places, but one Holy Spirit, acting in the saints, and one Holy Orthodoxy.

Blessed Fool-for-Christ for the sake of the Reverend Elder Vitaly (Sidorenko),

the spiritual flower of the Glinskaya desert ... And the hermit is real and marvelous

“The body of the Elder was like holy relics”

In the minds of the Faithful, the spiritual feat of Father Nicholas is undeniable. In what way did Father's holiness manifest itself? - In everything: in gifts from Above, and in a highly virtuous life, and in the labors incurred, and in the most obvious: Immediately after his repose, the main form of church veneration appeared - a prayer appeal to Father Nikolai as an intercessor before God. In the three days since his death, the body of the Elder did not begin to decompose, did not become stiff, despite the strong summer heat. The skin did not acquire a gray-bluish tint, but remained warm, soft, as evidenced by hundreds of people who came to say goodbye to Batiushka. We constantly publish their testimonies in all publications: “ The Elder's body was like holy relics"- these are the words of eyewitnesses who considered this a manifestation of the Grace of God. As you know, incorruptibility has long been considered in the Orthodox Church as a sign of holiness. The whole appearance of the Elder, who rested in blissful sleep, testified to the victory over death and corruption. The words of St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) can be fully attributed to Father Nicholas: “Have you ever seen the body of the deceased righteous man? It does not stink, they approach it without fear. And at the funeral, sorrow dissolves into inexplicable joy. This is a sign that the soul of the deceased has acquired the Mercy and Grace of God. All this is the fruit of true holiness - and we saw and felt it, like the fragrance of a wondrous color, quietly and imperceptibly growing in the crevices of the rocks, like a lily among thorns. Here is the testimony of a priest from Pskov, Alexy Nikolin, who took part in the cathedral funeral: “There were already a lot of people. The coffin was carried to the platform in front of the Temple. Father Nikolai had a very calm face, as if sleeping, only much stricter. The hands were soft and slightly cool. We believe that now Father Nikolai is praying for Russia before the Face of our Lord in Heaven. A new Lamp of God's Grace was kindled, because Holy Russia will never perish. O wondrous wonder! In the era of pitch darkness, the Lord made us worthy to live among the saints and behold them”... Thirteen years have passed, and we see how the prophetic word of the Father comes true: “ When I leave, you will come to me on the Island, as before. The pilgrimage to his relics and the miraculous Calvary Cross does not stop, as before, people receive healing from the “Jerusalem oil”, which they anoint directly from the lamp on the grave. Father did not leave us. He continues to keep the Church (as an earthly organization of believers headed by a hierarchy) from decay from within, he prays for Her and suffers, as Fr. (Kosorotikhina) Ryazan, for decades immovable in body, but burning in spirit. As the Hieromartyr Father Paul Adelheim confessed with his whole righteous life of Christ. And when a person runs out of strength to hear representatives of “fake religiosity”, who, with their “instructions”, only harm the soul and turn the flock into spiritual monsters, the Angel reminds: there were, are and will be on earth the Saints of God, free from lies and deceit, hearing the voice of God and belonging to the Church Suffering +47 23

I already knew that there was such an elder, I knew that there were several elders, but this is The elder.

Indeed, everyone said, “Of all the elders, this is the most extraordinary.”

When we were driving, I admonished Lesha like this, saying: “Be aware, old man, they go to him to find out the will of God, their way. What if he tells you, Lyoshka, to the monastery? He says: "I'm ready!", I think "Oh, li! Ask something else that you're not ready for!" That's how it happened.

They went into Father Nikolai's cell together.

Well, I saw Seraphim of Sarov. Here's what I imagined from what I read.

Suddenly he looks like this and says:

Your wife?

Is your husband?

And you get married!

As they rushed in different directions, the priest laughed.

Olga and Alexey got married a few months later. A year later, their daughter was born. On Zalita, now Kormukhina and Belov now have their own house and family paradise. After all, they are convinced that the saint, Father Nikolai Guryanov, lived here.

When you come to the airport, there is a place where everyone is forced to take off their shoes and go through a scanner. You understand that you cannot hide any iron thing, everything will be shown on the screen. This is how the soul tells you that his gaze, father, he looks not from the earth, but from the sky at you. He stands on the ground, but looks at you from the sky. And everything is open.

A person was brought in a blanket, sometimes heavy, dying. It can be said that they were brought to bless him for death, to pray for his afterlife. And the man went back with his feet. It wasn't the main thing, it wasn't the shock. It was amazing how people changed. How in one day a person could completely change internally.

The meeting with the elder changed both Olga herself and her whole life. When she gives concerts in Pskov, flowers from fans are brought to the island, to the grave of her confessor.

Our father was called "The Walking Gospel". And everyone with whom we did not talk, everyone had the same impression when you first saw him, there was one thought: “So this is all true! Everything that the Gospel writes is all true!”

And indeed, as the Lord says: "You will do as I do and more and more than me."

May God's mercy keep you all for many years to come. I ask holy prayers and pray for me, a sinner.

Everyone who lives on the Pskov-Chuyskoye Lake has their own incredible story from Zalit Island.

He leaves for service from his cell. He comes out, the doves rise, sit on his head, on his shoulders, on his hands. And this whole flock flies from his cell to here. He comes here, to the porch, they fly off from him, sit on the porch and wait for him to serve. He will serve - the same system, this whole flock on his head, on his shoulders, on his arms, and with him to his cell. It was a miracle.

A peasant used to tell us: “Father has gone crazy!”, I say what? And he:

I, - he says, - go, and the father:

Wait, you say hello to your mother.

I say:

What mother, she died. What hello?

He then died 3 days later.

The fishermen of Zalit Island are lucky to live next door to a miracle. Those who needed it got here on a motorboat in a storm and along thin ice. Georgy Sheptunov, a graduate of VGIK, first visited the extraordinary old man back in the mid-80s.

He predicted to me that I would be a monk when I simply did not even think about it.

The aspiring screenwriter was then just about to get married, and the words of the elder about monasticism only made him laugh. But, after a couple of years, the scenario of his own life only confirmed the correctness of Father Nikolai.

Father Nicholas was such a worker of Christ and a prayer book. As the Lord for earthly people, often spoke in parables, so Father Nikolai also very often spoke in parables, some kind of rhyme. Sometimes some jokes that you only understand later.

Goodbye my age, like yesterday,

Like smoke, my life rushed by

And the doors of death are terribly heavy,

Already not far from me.

Olga Kormukhina, on the contrary, asked for blessings for monastic vows. But her father Nikolai did not order her to leave the stage.

Straight out of the cell and "to, re, mi, fa, salt, la, si" and shows me. I sang "fa, salt, la, si, do". He stroked me so gently, as my mother never stroked, and says:

What kind of singer will you be! Oh, what kind of singer you will be!

Rock musician Alexei Belov first came to Zalit as a successful immigrant. Together with his group "Gorky Park", he made a career in America.

Our house hung right above the cliff. And opposite, across the hollow, was the home of the Madonna.

After meeting with the old man, he never returned to Hollywood.

I saw a man who, probably in the most important business of life, has reached perfection. And I wanted to live there. Where are these people born? What was the use of staying in this Hollywood, after all. And I have lived in this place for more than 10 years, and I have not seen anything new and interesting for myself there. And here the whole universe opened up.

Together with Olga Kormukhina, whom Father Nikolai named him as his wife, they became frequent guests on the island.

We went to the elder all the time, all the time. We could probably visit him twice a week. Well, I wanted so much, because next to him there was such grace, as if, well, in Christ's bosom.

For a married couple of rock stars, the elder served as a guiding star in spiritual ascent.

Your own strength is not enough. It's all the same what a man wants on their own climb Everest, and he will refuse the services of a guide. I think that he will die very quickly, probably not even a quarter of the way. BUT spiritual path it is much more difficult and dangerous than climbing Everest.

And 10 years after the death of the local miracle worker, pilgrims visit Zalit Island. They do not disturb the silence of measured village life. And once in the 90s, at the peak of the elder's popularity, hundreds of visitors crowded around his house.

Happy Holidays, my precious ones. May the mercy of God keep you all for many many years. Save you, Lord. I will anoint you.

Here, in the courtyard, along with answers to insoluble questions, the pilgrims received from the priest a charge of divine love and human warmth.

My precious ones, you use what is needed in bliss. The truth given to you, which is necessary for salvation.

At the same time, Father Nikolai often played the fool, joked, and even handed out slaps.

He always told us, “You don't grieve. The grace of God always runs ahead of us. Just pray to God and don't sin. And God's mercy always runs ahead of us. And then we hobble after her ”and began to show how we hobble.

It was not such a holy fool, as, for example, St. Basil the Blessed. When he saw that people would not listen to him anyway, or, in any case, did not want to hear him, but wanted to get the answer they needed, well, he often clothed his answers in such a light foolishness. Didn't take it seriously. Wasted no time or energy, but pretended to be a bit of a fool.

Angel peacefully, faithful mentor, and Guardian. Way back to you. Help you Lord. Just walk carefully, by the sea. Go, there is no one to bury.

Crowds of suffering, came here not in vain. It seemed that nothing was impossible for the elder's prayer.

They celebrated his anniversary, I don’t remember now, he was probably 80 years old then. And, behold, our Lord brought him a reward. And the ride was very strong wind, a big wave and there was no way out. He called the island, our old age. Go to the priest, they say, we are going to him, to congratulate him, to reward him. Let him pray for good weather. So, he prayed, everything calmed down, the lake, they arrived. Yes, and the sun came out. They did everything, so they left. We reached Pskov and got off. The wind began, and such a storm.

Elena Abramicheva can always be found in the church where Father Nikolai served. Today, she is the only free and trouble-free guide on the island.

Our elder went to church for 40 years. As they say, even flew. And all of us, skipping after him, ran to receive blessings, consolation, answers to questions.

Unlike most of the local residents, Elena is not a native islander. Once upon a time, having learned about a unique priest, she came to him from St. Petersburg for advice.

He walks around the temple, towards me, so that’s how he comes out, and speaks so loudly to me, to the whole temple, because the acoustics here are good, he says: “Sinner, harlot, slap me on the forehead. I blushed, I think it's not me. And he tells me, “I’ve been married and not married for so many years.”

Struck by the foresight and strictness of the elder, Elena began to look closely at him.

Near the house, he stands there talking to people, and I stand and think6 that the priest is very old, he will probably die soon. Where then to look for this? And as soon as I thought this, he stops talking to those people, turns to me, waves his hand and says: “I’ll live, I’ll live, you know!”

Elena suddenly left everything, the prestigious work of a photo artist, two sons, city life, in order to settle forever here, in a fishing village, on an island.

Everything was fine with me, my own photo workshop, equipment, everything was preserved. And I have a lot of experience, but I already realized that that's it, I'm a prisoner. I am a prisoner of his love, but free and happy.

Lyudmila Azarkina also moved to the island from St. Petersburg. Her acquaintance with the elder also began with an ordinary miracle.

He kicked me like this in the chest and said: “Where is the cross?” On the train, the chain broke and I put the cross in my pocket. And the priest, not seeing him, saw all this, so to speak, through my clothes and said: “You don’t wear a cross like that.”

For the last 8 years, Lyudmila has been collecting and recording memories of her father, Nikolai Guryanov. The first volume, 600 pages, has already been published. The second one is being prepared now. Becoming a biographer of the elder, she was amazed at how many trials from his youth fell to his lot.

He spent three years in camps on the construction of a railway in the Arctic.

His accusation was “counter-revolutionary activity”, which, of course, the priest never engaged in. He just confessed his faith in front of people. During construction, an iron beam fell on his foot and he crawled. He went to work, told one mother, she says:

Why did you crawl? Couldn't lie down in the medical unit, somewhere?

And he says:

No, stews would not be given.

In the Baltic occupied by the Germans, in 1942, he took holy orders and served in parishes. And then he returned to his homeland, risking being arrested again.

The Orthodox faith always saved him. He served people so much that it was simply unbelievable to catch him somewhere in other cases.

On the island of Zalit, Father Nikolai lived for more than 40 years. And even for the builders of communism, he has always been the main authority.

Father Nikolai, in fact, corresponded with many people. He had an acquaintance with such people, well, like Kosygin, for example,

Elections have begun in the region. Until he blesses, we did not start the elections without him. The man always sat and waited until Father Nikolai came and voted first.

The locals were very fond of the active father, because it was he who planted trees and shrubs on the entire island of Zalit.

This is all that is planted, this is all with him. Here and here and in that cemetery - that's all he is. The hunger was acute.

He himself made censers, lamps and all kinds of liturgical utensils.

Often made candlesticks, made from samovars. You see how nailed, with love. And this is probably from the chandelier details. You see, everything is soldered, everything is done by hand.

And most importantly, he always prayed for the inhabitants of the island, for the fishermen who go fishing in any bad weather, and he knew everyone by name.

I remember how he served the liturgy amazingly. He had boxes with memorials, and in a cold temple, often alone, he commemorated all those inhabitants of the island whom he baptized and buried. These were simply commemorative boxes. This went on for hours. He stood and remembered them.

You are on the porch, do not drink vodka. Water does not like vodka - there are fishermen here, they are all connected with vodka, because it is cold, the work is hard. So, he will talk to a person, you know, he doesn’t drink, yes!

In the late 1980s, mother George Shchukin, then still a simple nun, received a guest, dear Father Nikolai, in the Pukhtets Monastery. She had lived there for two decades and did not intend to leave Estonia anywhere. And several of her sisters, nuns, were just preparing to move to the Jerusalem monastery.

Sisters, here is a group of these Jerusalem ones, they say:

Batiushka, what about us, they send us there, but Mother Superior is not there! How is it without a mother?

And he acted like a fool a little, and even with his finger:

What are you saying, what are you saying! How is there no abbess? - and I go there, open one room, a cell, - there is Pyukhtetskaya, Pyukhtetskaya abbess there! And you say no to the abbess! - like that to her.

And she says:

So no, father, there is Pukhtets!

So it will be, it will be, - and he points at me from behind, I don’t see it, - Georgiyushka, Georgiyushka!

So the elder predicted to Mother George that she would become abbess of the Gorninsky Monastery in the Holy Land, several years before this appointment.

A month before he appoints me here, he sends me an envelope. And it was written “abbot George” when none of this happened. I imagined so, well, I think, the priest, being a fool, came up with something there. And a month later, His Holiness calls me: “Now, Mother George, I need to work hard in the Mountain Monastery in Jerusalem.” I almost dropped my tube.

I met the priest at the cinema, that is, somewhere in the mid-80s, already at the end of Soviet power. Suddenly, a film called "The Temple" was released. And one story was, just, dedicated to the priest. I kind of fell in love with him right away.

“Would you like to have a drink? Please! Drink up, drink up! Don't be shy, it's already cold."

The research assistant of the historical library, Leonid Grilehis, first became a regular in the island cell, and then, under the influence of the elder, he himself took the holy orders.

“I'm just created there by an angel. Simplicity. And where it’s tricky, there’s not one.”

When you return, you float on a boat, and suddenly you feel that you are like that, and not that. What, something new, bright appeared in you, as if someone cleaned you from the inside. Here. And this was, of course, the biggest miracle of some kind.

It is surprising that the island also became the place of service of Father Leonid. This is the name of the village near Moscow, where his temple stands. An appointment to this parish, the elder once predicted to him.

I then served in Podolsk. And so, he himself turned to me and said: “And I tell you that you will serve on the island,” - well, then for me the island, it was like Zalit Island. well. So, as it turned out, I have been rector in the village of Ostrov for 21 years.

"Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner..."

The feature film "The Island" was released already in the middle of the 2000s. The image of the holy fool, performed by Peter Mamonov, is complemented by spiritual chants. Few people know that they belong to the pen of Father Nikolai Guryanov.

"Lord have mercy! Lord, forgive me! Help me, God, on my way!"

Father Nikolai composed poetry and music, sang and accompanied himself. The harmonium in the senile cell invariably amazed the guests.

Sergei Miroshnichenko, a well-known documentary filmmaker, saw him like this for the first time. On Zalit, he chose nature. The village council did not give us permission to shoot without the permission of Father Nikolai.

You know, guys, we don't understand anything about your film business. Here, go, Father Nikolai is here. You will talk to him, and then return to us.

That conversation with the old man, the director remembered forever. Living as a hermit in a lost land, the priest knew better than many about what was happening in the capital and in the country.

You know, there you have such a director, Tarkovsky Andrey Arsenievich, he is now shooting a very serious philosophical picture, about how modern people cannot believe in anything. About the lack of faith within a person, which leads humanity to death.

Then, six months later, there was a premiere at VGIK, the first showing of Stalker, and when I watched it, I immediately remembered that film.

“Where did you get the idea that this miracle really exists? Who told you that wishes really come true here?”

Zalitsky Nicholas the Wonderworker revived faith in a person, called him to love and never tired of reminding him of the main thing - the salvation of the soul. He often showed visually, on the icon, where to strive.

“What happiness we have with you. What awaits us, look. This is where, not here."

Although, even the icon could not display more than what people saw in Father Nicholas himself. Radiant height of spirit and living righteousness.

“How good we are, glory to you, Lord! Heavenly Father does not leave us!”

Well, how can you tell God? How can faith be expressed in words? And father, it was an incarnation, it was a reverend. What does it mean? This is the highest degree of likeness to God!

As once to the father's house, today pilgrims flock to his grave. Without waiting for official canonization, believers turn to Father Nikolai Guryanov, in prayers, as to a holy elder.

The elder said to thank God for everything. Even in the darkest lives of your life, don't get tired of thanking God! He expects this from you. He put it in his heart. Here, you want, but you will never get rid of it. Because when you follow this path, you receive such unearthly joy and grace that nothing can compare with. And this is not some, you know, temporary joy, or some kind of inspiration, you know, some kind of temporary feeling. And this is a feeling that is with you all the time. It can be quieter, like fire, quieter, brighter, and it is with you all the time.

Nikolai Alekseevich Guryanov(May 24, the village of Chudsky Zakhody, St. Petersburg province - August 24, Zalit, Pskov region) - archpriest. One of the most revered elders of the Russian Orthodox Church of the late XX - early XXI centuries.

Encyclopedic YouTube

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✪ "Where it is simple, there are a hundred Angels" Elder Nikolai

✪ About the prayer "Lord, have mercy."

✪ MONK'S CELL. TRIO "YABLONKA"

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Biography

Family and childhood

Born into a peasant family. Father, Alexei Ivanovich Guryanov, was the regent of the church choir, died in. The elder brother, Mikhail Alekseevich Guryanov, taught at the St. Petersburg Conservatory; younger brothers, Peter and Anatoly, also had musical abilities. All three brothers died in the war. Mother, Ekaterina Stepanovna Guryanova, long years helped her son in his labors, died on May 23, was buried in the cemetery of the island of Zalit.

From childhood, Nicholas served at the altar in the church of Michael the Archangel. As a child, Metropolitan Veniamin  (Kazan) visited the parish. Father Nikolai recalled this event in the following way: “I was still a boy. Vladyka served, and I held his staff. Then he hugged me, kissed me and said: “How happy you are that you are with the Lord ...“.

teacher, prisoner, priest

He graduated from the Gatchina Pedagogical College, studied at the Leningrad Pedagogical Institute, from where he was expelled for speaking out against the closure of one of the churches [ ] . V - served as a psalm reader in Tosno, moonlighting as a tutor in mathematics, physics and biology. Then he was a psalm reader at the St. Nicholas Church in the village of Remda, Seredkinsky District, Leningrad (now Pskov) Region. He was arrested, was in the Leningrad prison "Crosses", was serving a sentence in a camp in Syktyvkar of the Komi ASSR [ ] . After his release, he could not get a residence permit in Leningrad and taught in rural schools in the Tosnensky district of the Leningrad region.

Service in Lithuania

"Talab elder"

From 1958 he served in the Pskov diocese, was appointed rector of the church of St. Nicholas on the island of Talabsk (Zalita) on Lake Pskov, he was invariably until his death. B was awarded a miter and the right to serve with the Royal Doors open up to the “Cherubim”. He was awarded the right to serve the liturgy with the Royal Doors open until the Lord's Prayer - the highest church distinction for an archpriest (excluding the extremely rare rank of protopresbyter). For many years, Fr. Orthodox believers from different regions country. The Zalit priest had a reputation as a wise old man. It was called "Talabsky" or "Zalitsky" (according to the former name of the island, which was renamed to Soviet time in memory of the Bolshevik activist Zalit) an old man.

The island of Orthodoxy was called a small, barely distinguishable even on a large-scale map, the island of Talabsk (Zalita), washed by the waters of Lake Pskov. Here, on this tiny part of the land, for many years ships and boats of carriers delivered pilgrims from all over the Orthodox world. The route never changed: the mainland - the island - the house of Archpriest Nikolai Guryanov ... But it was here, in the cell, that the island of Orthodoxy actually began, it began with him, the Zalit elder father Nikolai. He was this fertile island; an island standing unshakably in the midst of the raging sea of ​​life; an island and at the same time a ship sailing the most convenient route to blissful eternity.

Hieromonk Nestor (Kumysh) recalled Fr. Nicholas:

He clearly saw the past, present and future life of his children, their inner disposition. But how carefully he handled the knowledge about man that the Lord gave him as His faithful servant! Knowing the whole truth about a person, he did not allow a single hint that could hurt or hurt his pride. In what a soft form did he clothe his edifications! “You take it easy,” he met with such advice to my acquaintance, who had not yet had time to say two words, who had learned a somewhat harsh manner of treating his wife. This happened often and with many people: arriving for one purpose, a person left him with that revelation about himself and with that lesson that he did not expect to hear and receive at all.

There is a story that Fr. Nikolai was asked: “Thousands of people have come to you in your life, you have peered attentively into their souls. Tell me what worries you the most in the souls modern people- what sin, what passion? What is the most dangerous for us now? To this he replied: “Unbelief”, and to a clarifying question - “Even among Christians” - he answered: “Yes, even among Orthodox Christians. To whom the Church is not the Mother, God is not the Father.” According to Fr. Nicholas, a believer should treat everything that surrounds him lovingly.

At the funeral of Nicholas on the island of Talabsk  (Zalit) was attended by more than three thousand Orthodox believers. Many admirers visit the grave of the elder. The Society of Zealots for the Memory of the Righteous Nicholas of Pskovoezersky (Nikolai Guryanov) was established.

Not far from Pskov on the lake there is an island named Talabsk. It is also called Zalit Island, because earlier the collective farm named after Ivan (Yan) Zalit was located on it. For forty years, Father Nikolai Guryanov, an archpriest, one of the most revered elders of the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, served in the church on this island.

Childhood and youth

May 24, 1909 in the village of Chudskiye Zakhody near Gdov in the usual Orthodox family a child was born. They named the baby at baptism Nicholas, in honor of the Saint. His father Alexei Stepanovich Guryanov, the church choir director, died quite young, in 1914. And on the shoulders of mother Ekaterina Stepanovna lay the care of four sons. All the brothers of Nikolai went to their father - they had an ear for music. The elder Mikhail even taught at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. And the war took them all away.

The mother left only Nikolai, and he happened to take care of his mother, who, as best she could, helped her son in his service to God until her death in 1969. Such a development of events was foreseen by the father, who once told his wife that it was this son who would “look after” her in old age. In his youth, Nikolai Guryanov, who had a sharp character, made a lot of efforts to learn not to flare up over a trifle.

There is no doubt that faith helped in this young man. From an early age, Nikolai was brought up according to Orthodox traditions, served at the altar of the local temple, sometimes went with pilgrims on pilgrimages to holy places. So, even in his youth, he visited the island of Talabsk, where he lived for so many years.

Nikolai graduated from the Pedagogical College in Gatchina, entered the Leningrad pedagogical institute, and then he faced a choice between faith and a more or less quiet life in a country that denied God. In 1929, Guryanov was expelled from the first year of the university, because he opposed the closure of a certain temple.

This performance did not prevent the closure of the temple, but at the same time closed the young man's way to a university diploma. And, of course, the NKVD drew on the champion of the faith close attention. Nikolai returned to his native village, served as a psalmist and at the same time taught children mathematics, physics and biology.

life

Communist persecution of the church was expressed not only in the closure of churches, but also in the repression of clergy. Many ended up in the camps, including Nikolai Guryanov. He was arrested for religious propaganda. Before the trial, the future Talab elder spent several months in the infamous Leningrad “Crosses”, and after the verdict was announced, he served time in Syktyvkar, in one of the “islands” of the terrible “Gulag archipelago”. There, prisoners built a railway in inhuman conditions, Nikolai became disabled - both of his legs were crippled.

According to some sources, he was released in 1937, and according to others - in 1942. After his release, Nikolai, as a repressed man, was unable to obtain a residence permit in Leningrad. I had to settle in the Tosnensky district. There Guryanov was lucky - there were not enough teachers in rural schools, and he got a job, despite the fact that he did not have higher education, and the conviction, on the contrary, was.

When did the Great Patriotic War, disabled teachers were not taken into the army. In addition, then they remembered about his criminal record. When Leningrad was taken into the blockade ring, Nikolai ended up in the territory occupied by the Nazis, and was forcibly deported to the Baltic states.

It was during the occupation that Guryanov finally dedicated himself to God. On February 8, 1942, he was ordained a deacon. Metropolitan Sergius (Voskresensky) performed the rite of ordination. Simultaneously with the dignity, Nicholas took celibacy - a vow of celibacy until the end of his life. And already on February 15, 1942 he received the holy dignity. After graduating from theological courses, Nikolai left for Riga, where he served as a priest in the convent of the Holy Trinity. Then, for almost a year, he worked as a tutor at the Holy Spirit Monastery in Vilnius.

Since 1943, Guryanov was the rector of the church of St. Nicholas in the village of Gegobrosti in Lithuania. In 1956, Father Nikolai received the rank of archpriest. According to the memoirs of his parishioner Rimma Orlova, Father Nikolai was distinguished by his kindness and friendliness, he served with inspiration, shining, involving all the parishioners in the act of worship.

Not a monk, he led a more austere life than a monastic one. He observed asceticism in everything - in prayer, fasting, human relations. And selflessly served God, setting an example for everyone around. No wonder his parish was called "an oasis of Orthodox piety" in the middle of Catholic Lithuania.

Fr Nikolai combined his ministry with his studies – in 1951 he received a diploma from the Vilna Theological Seminary, then studied in absentia at the Leningrad Theological Academy. And in 1958 he left to serve God on the island of Talabsk, linking his biography with him forever. People who knew Guryanov closely recalled that the name of the place of service was given to Father Nikolai by a certain elder, to whom he went.

The late 1950s and early 1960s were the time of Khrushchev's anti-religious campaign, when the authorities announced a close victory over obscurantism, referring to Orthodoxy. Therefore, in Talabsk, Nikolai and his mother were greeted with suspicion. But the benevolence, meekness and patience of the priest helped to establish good relations with the locals.

With his own hands, Father Nikolai restored his dilapidated temple - he painted the walls, re-roofed the roof. He himself, without the help of the diocese, was looking for funds for materials for repairs. He baked prosvirki with his own hands, when services had already begun in the church. And also - he helped everyone he could, looked after the elderly, nursed children, planted trees on the island.

In the early years, having already established good-neighbourly relations with the inhabitants of Talabsk, Nikolai often led divine services without a flock - people did not go to church under the influence of anti-religious propaganda. One of the villagers even wrote a denunciation of the priest. A representative of the authorities came to the island, got nasty, rude and said that tomorrow he would take the archpriest.

All night Father Nikolai prayed, and in the morning miracles began, or a combination of circumstances, as one prefers to consider. A storm began on the lake, and for three days it was impossible to get from the mainland to the island. And then the authorities seemed to have forgotten about Guryanov.

In the 1970s, Nikolai Guryanov, who was already called Elder Nikolai, gained unprecedented fame. His prophecies came true, and therefore people went to him from all over the Soviet Union. The elder unmistakably called strangers by name, warned them of the dangers threatening them, and told them how to avoid them.

He took pity on the possessed, performed the rite of exorcism, begged God for healing from incurable diseases. Nikolai Guryanov, among other things, was very tactful in his sermons and statements, he gave instructions without degrading the dignity of the person who asked for help.

In 1988, the elder was honored with a miter and the right to serve with the Royal Doors open up to the Cherubic Door, and in 1992, the right to serve the liturgy with the Royal Doors open up to the Our Father. This is the highest church distinction for an archpriest. There were rumors that Nikolai Guryanov was secretly ordained to the rank of bishop, but then these awards are called into question, because the episcopal dignity in itself gives such rights.

In the late Soviet and post-Soviet periods, when the church began to receive state support, the number of admirers of Elder Nicholas grew both among Russians and among Orthodox abroad. In Canada, with his blessing, a monastery was founded.

Other well-known people came to the elder for a blessing. creative people. In addition, in the late 1990s, the elder predicted the future of Russia, and the true meaning of these prophecies is disputed to this day.

As Igor Izbortsev, the author of the book about the elder, wrote, the island of Talabsk was called the island of Orthodoxy. Actually, Father Nikolai was a “fertile island” for believers. In one interview, the elder was asked what worries him about his contemporaries. And he answered: "Unbelief."

“Go to the temple and believe in the Lord. To whom the Church is not a mother, God is not the Father” - this quote from Elder Nicholas should be remembered by every Orthodox Christian.

Death

The life of Father Nikolai Guryanov ended with his death on August 24, 2002 on the island of Talabsk. There he is buried.

More than 3,000 believers gathered at the elder's funeral. Pilgrims to this day come to the grave of the elder.

Memory

The film "The Word of Truth", filmed in 2003, tells that the elder supported the royal god and called for canonization and. But, according to the fans of Nikolai Guryanov, in recent years, the old man, due to his weakness, depended on the environment, which began to pass off all sorts of speculation as the speeches of the priest. Their opinion is confirmed by an article by Yuri Maksimov in the journal "Blessed Fire". But the fact that Father Nikolai respectfully spoke about royal family still seems to be true.

The Society of Zealots for the Memory of the Righteous Nicholas of Pskovoezersky (Nikolai Guryanov) was created. There is an icon, as well as the Akathist and the Canon of the Holy Father, our Righteous Nicholas of Pskovoezersky, Bishop of God.

The book "Archpriest Nikolai Guryanov" was published in the series "People of God" by the publishing house of the Sretensky Monastery. Any Internet user has access to the old man's photos.