Exactly 4 years ago, the Holy Synod appointed Bishop Kirill to care for the flock of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Sverdlovsk region, and less than two months later, the Eminence was appointed head of the newly formed Ekaterinburg Metropolis (with elevation to the rank of metropolitan) and rector of the Ekaterinburg Theological Seminary. In addition, from December 2011 to March 2012 and from May 2013 to January 2014, Metropolitan Kirill headed the Kamensk diocese as a temporary administrator. UPmonitor presents: how Metropolitan Kirill’s “pastoral quadrennial” was reflected in the mirror of off-line media.
Mentions of Metropolitan Kirill of Yekaterinburg and Verkhtura
in off-line media from 07/27/2011 to 07/27/2014
According to UPmonitor (YUPImonitor)
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27.07.2011-27.07.2012 |
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27.07.2012-27.07.2013 |
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27.07.2013-27.07.2014 |
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27.07.2014-27.07.2015 |
In the land of freethinking and self-sufficiency
In short, the first year of Cyril’s reign turned out to be very eventful in terms of administrative, economic and managerial affairs. But the activity of the new bishop was of a more intra-church nature, rarely manifesting itself in mundane matters related to events and people that catch the attention of journalists “by default.” Apparently, this is why the name of Metropolitan Kirill in the first year of his ministry and administration rarely came to the attention of secular off-line media. Suffice it to say that the very topic of transforming the diocese into a metropolis practically did not make it onto the media agenda.
And the first mention of the new head of the Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye Metropolis was scant information that appeared only three months after his appointment to the Urals. The media reported that by decree of the governor of the Sverdlovsk region, Alexander Misharin, Metropolitan Kirill was included in the regional Public Chamber in connection with the termination of the powers of his predecessor (Archbishop Vincent, as Metropolitan of Central Asia, left for Tashkent and vacated his place in the OP).
And in the future, references to the new ruler or the events associated with him were stingy, restrained, or on the verge of mild, “biting” criticism. To be fair, it must be said that these “biting” were not associated with the personality of the Metropolitan himself, but rather a tribute to tradition - testing a new person “for strength.” So, for example, the Belts of the Virgin Mary in Yekaterinburg, both the disturbances in the queue to the relic and the most favored nation regime created by the metropolis for VIP believers are mentioned.
It is interesting to note that the press service of the Yekaterinburg Metropolitanate confirmed and explained the fact of distributing special passes to officials. “The elderly, pregnant women, mothers with children and the disabled passed through the side entrance (of the Holy Trinity Cathedral - UPmonitor’s note). The organizers and employees of the temple, who had a huge workload these days, entered from the southern entrance. Yes, there were special passes that went to officials from the city and regional administrations. They were held this way because officials are not allowed to stand in line the entire working day. Otherwise, they will be scolded even more,” an employee of the press service of the metropolitan media was quoted as saying. This policy of reasonable openness to the media and, accordingly, to secular society did not begin under Kirill, but continued under him. And this gradually changed the degree of relations towards the “new guy”.
And in early December, the governor of the Sverdlovsk region gets into a traffic accident and ends up in a hospital bed. And the media report about prayers for the health of the governor, announced in Orthodox churches, and quote the words of Metropolitan Kirill: “Human life is a constant danger. Everyone walks under God. “I hope that these prayers of the church will be heard and Alexander Sergeevich will return to his previous activities in health and well-being.”
In general, from the very beginning of his ministry, Bishop Kirill did not shy away from expressing his own opinion on topical issues, but not as a politician or a private person, but precisely as a shepherd of the Orthodox. And this opinion was formulated clearly and unambiguously, without making allowances for the political situation or the distribution of opinions in influence groups. Thus, the ruling metropolitan has repeatedly and consistently supported the proposal to rename the central streets of Yekaterinburg. “Today I walked in a religious procession through the streets of our city - a beautiful city, how many ancient buildings have been preserved! We walk in religious processions along Rosa Luxemburg Street, Karl Liebknecht Street, cross Karl Marx Street, walk along Lenin Avenue - and we can list more. The names of bloodsuckers, blasphemers and terrorists should not “decorate” our streets - this is clear,” - He expressed the same views in different forms later. And with this manner of behavior he also resonated with the residents of the region, regardless of their religion.
Comparing the flock in the place of his former ministry, in the Yaroslavl diocese, with the Urals, the Metropolitan notes the internal freedom of the residents of the Sverdlovsk region, their willingness to defend their opinions and judgments: “Here people are more free-thinking, less fixated on some standard things, self-sufficient in large part . That’s why they live the way they often declare themselves to be.” Bishop Kirill himself behaves in accordance with his judgment about his flock: he accompanies bikers to the religious procession and considers it unacceptable to release the blasphemers from the Pussy Riot group from punishment. “I believe that if they are kept for so long, then there is a reason for this. In my opinion, it’s safer for them to be there, because people are different and can react differently to such actions.”
Building temples, building relationships
The elites of the Sverdlovsk region, both under the first governor and under subsequent ones, were not just loyal, but even actively and benevolently disposed towards the Russian Orthodox Church. But without contacts on a personal level, supported by mutual trust and interest in the success of a partner, you cannot build a shed in the Sverdlovsk region, much less a new temple. The second year of Metropolitan Kirill’s reign was marked by significant events, which served as confirmation for a qualified observer that the Bishop’s integration into the regional establishment had taken place.
In January 2013, Metropolitan Kirill consecrated the “chapel of children’s souls.” The first church in the Urals, built at the expense of Orthodox Christian women who lost their children. “A unique chapel for the Sverdlovsk region has appeared in Yekaterinburg - the “chapel of children’s souls,” as it is already popularly called. It was erected in honor of the Bethlehem babies killed by King Herod after the birth of Christ. Here, those who repent of abortions, mothers in crisis situations will be able to pray, and victims of post-abortion syndrome will receive help,” media reports.
In February, the sound of bells at the intersection of 8 Marta-Malysheva streets in Yekaterinburg announced the opening of the Maximilian Church, better known as “Big Chrysostom.” In 1930, the Bolsheviks blew up the temple. 76 years later, in 2006, its restoration began. Externally, this temple is an exact copy of the one that was destroyed on this site.
And the first temple built from scratch under the new ruler was the wooden Boris and Gleb Church on the edge of the Pionersky village. And this is also symbolic. The ruler and benefactors dream of a luxurious temple complex in the name of the holy Russian princes, and they start with small things - for which God has so far given the strength. At the same time, the very emergence of a new church (in the area where the nearest church is the All Saints Cemetery) became a logical continuation of the quiet but great charitable activities carried out by the metropolitan’s associates.
At the same time, the diocese states that the idea of restoring another landmark object for the city - the Church of St. Catherine - remains relevant. They wanted to start restoration back in 2010, but some townspeople were hostile to the idea, and the “collective Chernetsky” even inspired protests. (Much later, oligarch Andrei Kozitsyn, one of the most prominent benefactors of the Russian Orthodox Church, aptly called the anti-clerical activity of the pro-mayor part of the elite: “they are walking around a rusty fountain”). Metropolitan Kirill, having publicly voiced at a press conference the point of view of the Russian Orthodox Church, still admits that the topic of construction on Labor Square has become a kind of “bone of discord.” The diocese sees its task as preparing public opinion in order to exclude splits and protest movements on the part of the townspeople, he said.
In the summer of 2013, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' visits Yekaterinburg. And the question of the construction of churches in Yekaterinburg for the first time: “The topic of increasing the number of Orthodox churches did not pass over Yekaterinburg, which Patriarch Kirill visited this week. It is reported that 14 temples are planned to be built in the city. The proposal to build churches has already been sent to the city administration. According to Metropolitan Kirill (Nakonechny) of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye, the 32 churches existing in the city are not enough. Meanwhile, the increase in the number of churches alone is causing concern among representatives of other religious traditions. In particular, construction of the mosque was suspended several years ago,” national media reported.
However, at the regional level, no concern was noticed on the part of representatives of other faiths. And the decision of the regional authorities to transfer the Church on the Blood to the diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church did not cause any particular stir among Muslims, Jews, or representatives of other Christian denominations. The decision only reinforced the image of the Sverdlovsk region as a territory of religious tolerance and cooperation of believers in the presence of a strong position of the diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church and its leader.
The secular offline even commented with some relief on the fact of the transfer, saying that the object would finally pass into the hands of those to whom it should belong. Agree, it would be strange if, for example, the governor’s residence was maintained by the diocese. They remembered, of course, how much money from the governor’s initiative fund (there was one under Eduard Rossel) was spent on the temple (according to some estimates, up to 150 million rubles). Like the annual burden on the regional budget, the maintenance of the temple cost almost 5 million rubles. Now the church had to find the money. Bishop Kirill commented on the “transfer” resolution of the Legislative Assembly of the Sverdlovsk Region in a manner characteristic only of him: “People are helping us, with God’s help everything will be fine. This is not an economic issue, but a spiritual one.”
By the way, Patriarch Kirill hinted at the fact that the confrontation between city and regional authorities is no longer a political issue, but also a spiritual one, during a closed reception at the Sevostyanov House. Eyewitnesses say that the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church dropped a couple of quite transparent hints to the city manager Alexander Yakob and the then head of Yekaterinburg, Evgeniy Porunov, who were present. But then it was pre-election time in Yekaterinburg - Bishop Kirill would make a smart political move in a year, which will be discussed below.
If we continue to speak in the language of numbers, then the number of references to Metropolitan Kirill in the second year of his ministry increased 5 times. And, as subsequent events showed, this was not the limit.
Hand in hand, but sometimes across
Spiritual and secular authorities are doomed to interact. And if not for mutual understanding, then at least for neutrality, otherwise society will be split, and civil-religious wars are not at all what Russia needs today. However, in the Sverdlovsk region there was not even a shadow of the possibility of such a scenario developing, no, and is not expected. Bishop Kirill, as the main feeder of Orthodox Christians in the region, does not always agree with the actions of the secular authorities one hundred percent, but loyalty to his statements, which is rare among representatives of the ruling elites, inspires respect.
Take, for example, the high-profile “Malenkin case.” The vice-president of the Drug-Free City Foundation was detained under a “severe” charge (which later stood up in court and resulted in a real prison term). As expected, the head of Yekaterinburg and the founder of the foundation, Evgeny Roizman, spoke in defense of his comrade-in-arms. And - Metropolitan Kirill. The clergyman said that he was confident in the innocence of the suspect Malenkin even then and did not take back his words either then or later. But with what fury the anti-clericals rushed at the Orthodox ruler from behind Truda Square, with the same degree the completely loyal media latched on to the hierarch for visiting his comrade Roizman in prison. To the perplexed pool of editors-in-chief of leading media outlets (“Why did His Eminence go to prison to see Malenkin?!”), those surrounded by the Metropolitan were answered humbly and with humor: “The Bishop is a Christian, partly.” An excellent sense of humor is another distinctive feature of Bishop Kirill. His predecessor seemed stern and unsociable. The Ekaterinburg Metropolitan, although born in the Perm region, served all his life in central Russia - Vladimir, Tula, Yaroslavl. Having moved to the Urals, he charmed the local nobility as an excellent communicator, a friendly negotiator, a hospitable host and a subtle toastmaster. They gossip that the Metropolitan is touchy (but easy-going), don’t feed the local Internet tabloids bread - let them savor how the Bishop either “quarreled with the governor” or “made peace with the governor.” But, as an experienced leader (in the secular sense of the word), Metropolitan Kirill ultimately cares about the main thing: that the church (in the semiotic sense of the word) is built.
And to the credit of off-line media journalists, quiet, non-pretentious projects do not go unnoticed, complementing the modern image of the Russian Orthodox Church and Metropolitan Kirill in the media mirror.
This is not a complete list of what has been done for the city and region over the past two years (this does not take into account the rich charitable traditions - both those laid down under Vincent and those that originated under Kirill). A pilgrimage center has opened in the Ganina Yama temple complex. There is a place to spend the night, a place to stay, a place to eat, so that you have more time to give to God. For believers, the hotel complex has single, double and triple rooms, a conference room. The refectory will be open soon. At the same time, free placement is also maintained.
Migrants in the Sverdlovsk region began to be introduced to Orthodox traditions and norms of behavior in Russian society. The regional division of the Federal Migration Service entered into an agreement with the diocese. According to the document, the parties intend to promote “the development of mutual understanding between the local population and migrants,” as well as work to prevent interethnic conflicts.
For their part, the regional authorities are ready. And again an agreement, this time with MUGISO. 28 churches in the Sverdlovsk region were transferred to the balance of the Ekaterinburg diocese. “Now the regional authorities and members of the Sverdlovsk clergy will jointly restore the cultural heritage sites of the region. Some of them require restoration and closer attention, both from the state and the diocese. Let us note that this agreement will allow for the revival of many Orthodox shrines in the Sverdlovsk region, as Governor Evgeny Kuyvashev has repeatedly said,” media reports.
By the way, this agreement also stops possible protest sentiments on the part of defenders of ancient monuments. Objects will receive passports for the proper execution of repair work in order to comply in advance with all the subtleties of legal requirements regarding monuments.
In March 2014, the first baby box appeared in the Urals. And not just anywhere, but in a specially designated room at the Church of St. Innocent of Moscow in the very center of Yekaterinburg. Funds for the manufacture of equipment, delivery and installation were collected by caring residents of the regional center and other cities of Russia, who supported the project of the Center for the Protection of Motherhood “Cradle” under the department of social ministry of the Ekaterinburg diocese.
“On the opening day of the baby box, a prayer service will be held, led by Metropolitan Kirill of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye,” the media reported. This first baby box is a clear confirmation of the thesis that faith without works is dead. And along with the “children's soul chapel,” where mothers can pray for aborted children, there is a box in the temple where one can give an unwanted, but still not aborted, child.
Against this informational background, the fact that in the Sverdlovsk region secular and religious authorities go hand in hand looks like a statement of fact, and not an election slogan.
According to the governor, one of the visible symbols of the new union of church and state was a unique project to revive Orthodox shrines in the city of Verkhoturye, the oldest city in the Middle Urals. “I am glad that in the Sverdlovsk region Orthodoxy and government go hand in hand and help each other. “I want to tell everyone and you, Vladyka, never, under any circumstances, our government, at least while Governor Kuyvashev is here, will never be in conflict with the Orthodox Church,” said the head of the region.
At the same time, the Metropolitan of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye very subtly senses the line between the competencies of the Russian Orthodox Church and the functionality of secular power, he himself tries not to succumb to the temptation of speculative politicking and shortchanges others. Take, for example, the sore subject of events in Ukraine. In March 2014, a large one took place in Yekaterinburg, which amazed even the clergy themselves.
More than 3 thousand believers walked past the Ukrainian consulate so that the prayer for peace could be heard there too. However, the participants in the march refused any posters or slogans; they carried only Orthodox banners. And, as Bishop Kirill emphasized, “these are not political events, this is not politics, this is life! Relatives, brothers, sisters live there. This is a problem that doesn't end at the border."
But when one of the clergy of the diocese could not restrain himself and made political statements, the bishop reacted instantly: he disavowed the statements and punished the priest. Archpriest Vladimir Zaitsev, escorting a company of Ural volunteers to Ukraine, called on them to “beat the fascist scum.” And he was immediately dismissed from ministry and sent to repentance in a monastery. However, the bishop released the archpriest ahead of schedule - due to active repentance. Metropolitan Kirill explained why he punished and forgave the priest: “Father Vladimir is a good man, smart and caring, but this does not mean that he cannot make a mistake,” the media quoted the bishop. The position of the Church regarding the conflict in Ukraine, the Metropolitan recalled, remains the same: “priests do not approve of violence” and pray for “the bloody internecine war to end.”
Not a bloody one, thank God, but quite an internecine war between the authorities of Yekaterinburg and the Sverdlovsk region will probably never end. For the ruler, such a political architecture of the region was obviously a novelty. It took him almost four years to get used to it. Regional leaders go to church, to diocesan events, and to visit the metropolitan. And the Orthodox hierarch judged about the cities, probably based on the proverb about the mountain and Mohammed - and (for the first time in history) personally came to the Duma of Yekaterinburg, spoke there and answered questions. That's a great move! Naturally, people asked about the “temple-fountain” paradigm. How not to ask if the chairman of the City Duma, Yevgeny Roizman, cannot decide himself: either he is Orthodox, or he is not baptized; either he is for the temple, or for a referendum on its restoration. In his communication with the deputies, judging by the reflection in the off-line media, the shepherd was kind, but when it came to the fact that there was no need to restore the city-forming church of St. Catherine, reacted harshly: then let’s rename Yekaterinburg back to Sverdlovsk and close the issue!
It is worth noting one more feature of Metropolitan Kirill as a newsmaker: he is a traditionalist in the good sense of the word. Such a church-secular event as the Tsar's Days, for example, is held year after year in the Sverdlovsk region, attracting not only believers, but also simply tourists to the region. This year, according to the diocese, the religious procession alone attracted about 60 thousand participants, pilgrims came from 10 countries, and the most prominent was the delegation of Japanese samurai.
“They walked the whole way in a common column. The Japanese came from the Satsuma region, where their ancestors received the future Emperor Nicholas II 110 years ago. The Japanese fulfilled the promise given to the crown prince by the Satsuma prince and personally came to honor the memory of the emperor,” the diocese reported. It should be noted that for the first time the Tsar’s Days received widespread coverage on federal television channels. Of course, this coincided with an attempt to revive the monarchical theme on the national agenda (here are fake heirs to the throne with a fake appeal to the Kremlin, and Crimean prosecutor Poklonskaya with research on the legality of Nicholas II’s abdication). But, you see, the commemoration of the Romanov family in Yekaterinburg has become so large-scale that even without these motives the federal media can no longer ignore it.
The samurai had to get to Yekaterinburg for more than a hundred years. It took Metropolitan Kirill of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye only four years to move from isolated mentions in off-line media to the category of persons consistently included in the top 100 (according to UPmonitor). And this is in a region where, as the ruler himself admits, “people are more free-thinking, less fixated on some standard things, self-sufficient to a large extent” and live as they declare themselves to be - an excellent result.
You just reminded me of a conversation that is passed down orally in church tradition. They ask: “Father, how long have you served?” - “Yes, for a whole year!” And they ask the nun: “And you, mother, how long are you in the monastery?” - “Yes, it’s only 10 years.” This is the difference between “already” and “still”.
In fact, no time is enough to perceive the mighty volume that Orthodox life represents, no matter in what corner it takes place - in the Yekaterinburg diocese or in any other.
But, probably, any priest, any thinking Christian always has a double impression when he sees something powerful, new in church life: on the one hand, he admires, and on the other, he understands: no matter what we do, everything will happen not enough.
So today, on the one hand, I am immersed in this enormous work that is being carried out here, and on the other hand, I see that my life is not enough to turn people’s consciousness around, so that people return to their roots, to their true Orthodox existence .
But this didn’t happen until the end - that’s why we have a lot of destroyed churches, and there are people who not only don’t know God, but also don’t want to know Him.
- What is the first task you set for the diocese?
I believe that for any diocese - not only ours, but for any other - there is only one task in the Church: the salvation of human souls. All the rest should be a help for this - the main - task. Therefore, whatever we do now, we strive only for people to know Christ as much as possible.
And at the same time, unfortunately, we are dealing with those sorrowful responsibilities that fall to our lot: restoration, constant construction, repairs...
Involving more and more people in the life of the Church - this, I think, is very significant today. You see how huge the Verkhoturye Monastery is and how many worries there are. Come here and you don’t have to leave: rake and rake, build and build.But the most important thing, probably, today, the main thing that I see for myself is that those who preach the word of God, that is, future priests, should themselves be bearers of this lofty idea. So that during their training - even if someone came to the seminary not entirely consciously - this awareness entered their lives, so that they understood what a wonderful road they had embarked on and how much it would require of them.
Do you plan to somehow develop the educational process for future priests - a seminary, a theological school? How do you see the process of development of theological schools in the Yekaterinburg diocese?
We are now moving the seminary from the Uralmash district in Yekaterinburg to the city center - to the Trinity Cathedral, to the building there. We want the clergy to be at the center of life - not only in the sacramental sense, but also in the literal sense. We want priests and seminarians to be models of their service, and we think that when they participate more actively in this life, when they begin to feel the taste of a pastoral calling, then it will become easier for them to fulfill what they came to the church for. .
Therefore, the development of the Yekaterinburg seminary should for some time focus on ensuring that this seminary feels the taste of its existence, the beauty of church students. So that this period of time - very short, but so beautiful and bright - would be marked for seminarians with the best events in their lives. So that when they go further into service, they have a solid foundation for their worldview and spiritual view.
What do you think is the main core - not even of a seminary student, but already of a cleric - a cleric of the Yekaterinburg diocese? What should it be built on? this house of the soul?
The house of the soul is a very serious topic. But I think that today a priest, as a son of his people, must take care of this people every moment. Because if we conduct even a small analysis of the current state of affairs, we will see that in almost all cities of our country, and even more so in villages and towns, the population is becoming smaller and smaller.
And if we want our nation to be alive and Orthodox, then the clergy must truly be a real example. Priests must care with their souls for the people, for their small people, that small flock where they become priests. So that by the power of their example, by the power of their spirit, they could unite people, keep them from this rapid decline into which we are now heading - because the country is being destroyed before our eyes, and it is being destroyed not by some external signs, but from the inside. People have no enthusiasm, no thirst for life. People have no perspective.And the priest should strive to involve the people in the beauty of life given to us by God, so that people would perk up and be able to somehow perform their earthly ministry more soberly, meaningfully and with love. This is why a priest, a guide, is extremely necessary now. Very necessary. He must lead the attack. Don't bury yourself in trenches.
God bless you, sir. On the feast of the holy righteous Simeon, so important both for the Yekaterinburg diocese and for our entire Russian Orthodox Church, say a few words for our portal, a few wishes.
I was born in the Urals and grew up with the name of the righteous Simeon of Verkhoturye, and I have a very touching state now, when, being already at a fairly mature age, I feel how, from somewhere deep in my soul, images of childhood and memories of those people who so We loved this memory, this saint, tenderly and reverently.
In fact, the righteous Simeon of Verkhoturye is a kind of example of what we came to Siberia with. Despite the fact that he is a Ural saint, glorified as a Siberian saint, for the people of that time there was probably no difference, the Urals or Siberia, but entering Siberia, people had their own saint, just like that - meek, kind, very good-natured, very doing a lot of useful things in your life. And this was a symbol of Christianity and enlightenment of Siberia.Therefore, today I would like to wish everyone that we remember our origins, that truly Christian values must be returned to our lives, which, unfortunately, are becoming less and less within our Christian life: namely, those qualities that the righteous Simeon of Verkhoturye gave us. And by absorbing them into ourselves, we will know that the Lord will give us the strength and opportunity to carry out our ministry further.
On August 9, 2011, a new Ruling Bishop, Archbishop Kirill, arrived in Yekaterinburg. Today “Orthodox Messenger” has the honor to introduce Vladyka to our readers.
– Vladyka, you took monastic vows at the age of 19. It was 1970. How did it happen that a Soviet youth found God and chose the persecuted Orthodox Church? Did you have believing parents?
– Yes, the family was a believer. I have five older brothers - everyone always went to church, no one was a Komsomol member (at least before the army). And, probably, this is what got them so fed up with the system that when it came to me, the youngest, my parents had very strong problems - both my father and my mother. They suffered a lot because of me, my parents.
– How did your parents instill faith in you?
- They didn’t vaccinate on purpose. This was the norm, a natural state.
– I’m not asking out of curiosity. Today there is a problem: church-going mothers sometimes, with their activity and unhealthy “piety,” kill the vitality of faith in their children. And in adolescence, rebellion begins.
– The vitality of faith is killed, that’s for sure, if you are driven into heaven with an iron fist, if you can’t take a step either to the right or to the left... But everyone experiences adolescence, it can happen in any age group. And at some point I was in a protest mood.
- How was it?
“Mom called me to the temple, I answered: “I won’t go.” - “Why don’t you want to go to the temple?” - "Do not want and that's it. What should we do with these money of yours? Will not go". Mom cried and was upset. My older brother, a deacon, also persuaded me to go to church, and I replied that being there, among grandmothers, was not a man’s business.
And then life brought me to the understanding that it is impossible to live without the Church. You go through a period of searching, and in the end you are left with the most important thing. By the age of 18, I no longer had any doubts; the choice was made absolutely consciously.
– As a person with experience, what would you advise today’s Christian schoolchildren, who sometimes have to deal with views and traditions at school that are contrary to Christianity? You've probably had situations like this? What is worth fighting for, and what can you simply ignore?
– The name of God should never be mocked. If they scold you, you have to endure it. I was also beaten at school. If they make fun of you, it's okay. But the Lord cannot be given over to ridicule; it is worth fighting for - for God, for the Church, for parents, for the Motherland. There are concepts that are higher than us, higher and more expensive.
The situation of choice always exists. But during my studies, the system itself obliged teachers to pursue an atheistic line, although many actually did not think so. I will never forget that the party organizer of the school stood up for me, who could have lost not only her party card, but also her job.
I remember the late school director, who was also sympathetic to my position. I remember teachers who have always been family and friends for me, whom I loved and respected, regardless of their attitude towards me, and now I love and respect. And I was always friends with my classmates, and we still communicate.
As for the current situation in schools, for example, I don’t understand why the administration sometimes insists so much on the same Halloween, but does not allow priests into classes. Are they afraid of the notorious clericalization of society and are trying in this way to distract people from God?..
It seems that school is now very difficult for both students and teachers. Those who become teachers today are ascetics. We could be punished for long hair, for an unshaven mustache, for dirty shoes, but now students smoke and walk around in an unknown form - and it is difficult for teachers to understand how to work with them.
Therefore, I understand parents who choose home education for their children, I understand those who keep their children away from the computer and television as much as possible: a person is weak, and this can have a corrupting effect on the child. But I don’t understand parents who protect their child from literally everything, because time will pass - he will grow up and attack everything that was previously forbidden with such zeal that the latter can be much worse than the first.
– Vladyka, here is another church problem of our time. Orthodoxy is one thing. Christ is one. And everyone must serve God with their gift, and we all, so different, make up one Church. But Orthodox Christians today are very easily divided due to differences in views; conflicts between parishes and various Christian societies can arise “out of the blue.” What is the reason for this phenomenon, and how is this disease treated?
– There are many parishes in our Church. And each parish is a small church, but this does not mean that it is on an autonomous voyage and is saved separately from the whole world.
I think a lot happens due to the lack of Orthodox roots. The problem is that, having come to Church as an adult, a person very quickly forgets that he is a baby in church life. And he begins to bring everything that has been developed behind the fence of the Church into church life - from here a lot of confusion arises. He considers himself smart, educated, capable, a believer, and considers his experience to be the most important thing in the life of the Church. But in fact, he has not yet gone through the very basics.
In my youth, I was always amazed by what I read in the lives of saints and spiritual literature: how the Church humbled people with education. If someone smart came to the monastery, they would definitely put him in charge of cleaning toilets and shoveling manure heaps. Why, if it can be useful in another way?
But then, you have to go through everything. Because a person who has gone through the lower classes begins to see the Church with different eyes. And if he doesn’t pass, he acts on the principle “I haven’t studied anywhere, I teach myself.” Such people bring divisions into the internal church life.
Both Orthodox and liberal Orthodox were overwhelmingly born as believers 20 years ago; they were not brought up in a church environment, they did not experience much of the oppression that our parents went through. They came to the Church, where they can go to Orthodox school, publish spiritual literature, and create a church television channel. They don't appreciate it, so they allow themselves to be divided. If they were valued, these divisions would not exist.
Today, many people are extremely harsh in their judgments and tend to condemn any person; and disrespect for superiors - spiritual or temporal - is considered a national virtue. If you do not condemn or denounce anyone, you are not interesting to society. You must be a prophet with a fiery sword and cut everyone right and left, including your neighbors in the parishes. This trouble comes from lack of churching, in my opinion. Because people who have experienced a lot in the Church will never be inclined to such drastic actions. They are much more tolerant. There is a field of activity for everyone. If you don’t like this parish, go to another one, find yourself there and work according to your soul. And if you have a soul that is not satisfied with everything, you will rush around everywhere and will not join anything.
– What should we do about it?
– Once the Monk Pimen the Great was asked: “What to do if a brother sins?” He replied: “Close your eyes.” “But he’s sinning! The Lord will call me to judgment and say: your brother sinned, but you did not oppose him! What will I answer Him? - “You will answer: Lord, I took the plank out of my own eye before I dealt with the speck in the eye of another.”
– Vladyka, let’s talk about the difference in views. Each of us has our own talents, our own calling, our own character. Depending on this, everyone finds for themselves in the Gospel, in the Church, something that is closest to them and it is with this that they primarily associate the Orthodox faith. Some people focus on asceticism, some rejoice at God’s mercy, some see signs of the Apocalypse everywhere... What is your Orthodoxy like?
– I always remember one priest who, under Soviet rule, was imprisoned twice for ideological reasons, did not change his convictions, but for all that, was a completely joyful person. And he always told us, who expected the end of the world from minute to minute or by the evening of the current day: “Look at life! You all think of God as a terrible Judge, but you do not try to perceive God as a humane Father. The world was created for man - so find joy in it! This will not prevent you from realizing your unworthiness before the Creator.” Thank God this priest is still alive. He influenced our restless and constantly protesting souls with his abundance of love. Moreover, he did not speak theoretically, but had experienced a lot in life.
In addition, I really love divine services, and the service, if it goes as it should, brings me great joy. When you come to church, inhale the church smell, enter this environment - the joy is inexplicable. That’s why I don’t understand priests who don’t like to serve. They have a service - as if by the way. They love to preach or something else, but worship is not the main thing for them: they serve because they need to. But how can you not serve the Divine Liturgy on Sunday and replace it even with some church affairs?
There is very little love for worship in the Church today. Hence there are a lot of questions about the beauty of the service: they don’t read well, the Church Slavonic language is not understandable... Stand in the choir for two months with a good reader and singer - you will understand not only the language, you will understand the essence, beauty, depth of theological thought, which cannot be expressed in Russian - the language we speak now.
Therefore, Orthodoxy for me is an inexplicable depth, and the further you live, the more it delights you, pleases you, and fills you with a special feeling. At the same time, you understand that you are nobody, an unhappy grain of sand - that’s all. But this treasure has been given to you.
– Vladyka, what was your reaction to the news of the transfer to the Yekaterinburg See?
- This can’t be!
– In a bad or good way?
- In good! Because the Yekaterinburg diocese is far from the last diocese in our Church. It is very developed, a lot has been done here, and there are very great prospects. And the people who work here must correspond to this. But in any case, you do not correspond to either Yaroslavl or Yekaterinburg.
By your inner feeling you understand that the depth of holiness and responsibility of service far exceeds your human capabilities... Before the Yaroslavl department I had Tula, before it - Moldova, and even earlier - Vladimir. As a bishop, I changed several departments, and I was mentally prepared for a change in my place of service. Another thing is that with age it becomes a little more difficult. But you understand perfectly well that you can’t get attached to anything. This makes it possible not to relate oneself to a specific place. But I never thought about Yekaterinburg, it never even occurred to me.
– Vladyka, what did you primarily associate Yekaterinburg with in the past, and what are your current impressions? Please share your impressions of the diocese, which you have been heading for more than a month.
– Ekaterinburg is power, flourishing, it is the Church on the Blood, it is the SOYUZ TV channel, which everyone knows - however, everyone has long forgotten that it is from Ekaterinburg - everyone perceives it as a church-wide channel, which is watched by millions, and so it is.
And one more thing: the church people here are very kind, and this is something indescribable. I haven’t felt this way in a long time—like the church I grew up in. When I came to church as a little boy, I had a clear feeling that they were really waiting for me there, that they were waiting for me there. Everyone is glad you came. It is clear that this did not happen in the literal sense, but I grew up with this feeling. I went to church with joy, because the priest there is so good, and the people are so good, and they are all waiting for you without fail. And if you don't show up for service, they'll be upset. I want to sleep, but I definitely have to go.
By the way, returning to childhood: in order to come to the beginning of the service, you had to leave the house at 3 am. Because the service began at five-thirty in the morning, and we lived on the other side of the river, it was 9 km to the temple. Everyone came to the village church only on Sundays, and the priest served Vespers in the evening, and began the entire service in the morning, and it lasted until 2 o’clock in the afternoon.
That’s why there were problems in adolescence: you want to play football, go hiking, but you have to go to church - then there was a surge of discontent, but it passed very quickly.
Today I see people here who are very similar to the church people of my childhood. And this is incomparable with anything. – Yekaterinburg today is a clear reflection of the principle “Action is equal to reaction.” The more successfully a diocese develops, the more active and even aggressive atheists manifest themselves, and this creates conflict situations. How should we behave?
– If I knew how to behave... The only thing is that I believe that our preaching, our actions should not be intrusive. We must preach, we must carry the word of God, but it is impossible to impose the word of God on someone who does not want to accept it.
They live here and we live here. They are forced to tolerate us - and we are forced to understand that such a worldview exists. Let us live with the understanding that Christ came to earth not only for you and me, but for them too. For the sake of these people, He shed the Divine Blood, accepted the suffering of the cross - including for the sake of each of them, no matter how they themselves felt about it. Maybe the Lord will bring someone to Himself through our example. Therefore, we must try to be a role model as much as possible. And do your thing. There is nothing else left.
– Vladyka, please say a few words to the readers of our magazine.
– Live with God. The greatest sorrow in a person’s life is the feeling of being abandoned by God. This is the worst thing. And the greatest joy is when you feel the presence of God in any circumstances. This feeling of the presence of God in our lives should never leave us. You must always feel yourself before the eyes of God, and then it will be easier. And with God’s help all issues will be resolved.
– Vladyka, thank you for this conversation. May your good feeling from childhood here in Yekaterinburg remain for many, many years.
Interviewed by Svetlana Ladina
Kirill, Metropolitan of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye (Mikhail Vasilievich Nakonechny)
Date of Birth:
Ordination date:
Date of tonsure:
Day Angel:
A country:
Biography:
Born on May 15, 1961 in the village of Verkhnechusovskie Gorodki, Chusovsky district, Perm region, into a working-class family.
In 1978 he graduated from high school.
On October 25, 1980, the rector of the Holy Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir, Archimandrite Alexy (Kutepov, now Metropolitan of Tula and Efremov) was tonsured a monk with the name Kirill.
On October 26, 1980, Archbishop Serapion (Fadeev) of Vladimir and Suzdal ordained him a hierodeacon, and on May 6, 1981, he was ordained a hieromonk.
In 1986 he graduated from the Moscow Theological Seminary in the correspondence education sector.
From October 26, 1980 to May 6, 1981, he served in the rank of hierodeacon at the Holy Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir. From May 6, 1981 to June 1, 1982 - cleric of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Alexandrov, Vladimir Region. From June 1, 1982 to March 19, 1984 - rector of St. Nicholas Church in Kirzhach, dean of churches in the Kirzhach district.
On April 7, 1984, Archbishop Serapion (Fadeev) of Vladimir and Suzdal elevated him to the rank of archimandrite at the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir.
From March 19, 1984 to June 10, 1987 - rector of the Holy Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir, secretary of the Archbishop of Vladimir and Suzdal, dean of churches in the Vladimir district.
From June 10, 1987 to July 7, 1989 - rector of the Theodoro-Tironovsky Cathedral in Chisinau, secretary of the Metropolitan of Chisinau and Moldova, dean of churches in the Chisinau district.
Member of Local Councils 1988 and 1990.
From July 7, 1989 to October 9, 1995 - cleric of the Tula diocese, secretary of the Metropolitan of Tula and Belevsky, dean of the churches of the Tula city district. From October 9, 1995 to January 1, 2000 - rector of St. Nicholas Church (on Rzhavets) in Tula. From March 15, 1999 to March 15, 2000 - rector of the All Saints Cathedral in Tula.
Since October 1, 1998 - rector of pastoral courses at the Tula diocesan administration; on March 7, 2000, pastoral courses were transformed into the Tula Theological School, and on October 6, 2001, the school was transformed into the Tula Theological Seminary with a 5-year term of study.
On February 26, 1998, by decision of the Holy Synod, he was elected Bishop of Bogoroditsky, vicar of the Tula diocese.
By the decision of the Holy Synod of July 27, 2011 (journal No. 68), he was appointed His Eminence of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye.
By the decision of the Holy Synod of October 5-6, 2011 (magazine No. 132), he was appointed head of the newly formed Ekaterinburg Metropolis. Also, by the definition of the Synod (journal No. 120), he was relieved of the post of rector of the Yaroslavl Theological Seminary and appointed rector of the Yekaterinburg Theological Seminary.
From December 2011 to March 2012 and from May 2013 to January 2014 - temporary administrator of the Kamensk diocese.
Education:
1986 - Moscow Theological Seminary.
Diocese:
Ekaterinburg diocese
(Ruling Bishop)
Place of work:
Ekaterinburg Metropolis
(Head of the Metropolis)
Awards:
Church:
- 1. 2010 - Order of St. Seraphim of Sarov I st.
- 2. Order of St. equal to book Vladimir I-III century.
- 3. Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh II Art.
- 4. Order of St. blgv. book Daniel of Moscow II Art.
- 5. Order of St. Seraphim of Sarov II Art.
- 6. Order of St. ap. Stamp of the Alexandrian Orthodox Church.
Secular:
- 1. 2011 - Order of Honor
- 2. Order of Friendship.
Komsomolskaya Pravda, May 7, 1999
The Bishop's Actions Yekaterinburg and Verkhotursky resulted in a scandal that spread far beyond the church fence A GROUP of Ural priests made a statement: they have been ruled by a homosexual bishop for five years now.“Our bishop is a homosexual!” A month ago, angry believers stood outside one of the churches in Nizhny Tagil with such posters. The culprit of the events - Bishop Nikon - was supposed to come to the service. “Nikon is a sodomite! - the demonstrators chanted. “We won’t let the goat into the temple!” In church tradition, homosexuals are called sodomites. From the biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Their inhabitants were addicted to sodomy, and the Lord drowned them at the bottom of the Dead Sea. The Bishop was informed about the disturbances halfway there. He turned around and left for Yekaterinburg.
Nikon appeared in Yekaterinburg in 1994 and liked it at first. Then they began to notice something was wrong. One day, the bishop stole an antique church vestment from the 17th century. The rector of the Nizhny Tagil Church of Alexander Nevsky, Father Gennady Vedernikov, begged for a robe embroidered with gold from the local history museum for one day. The Lord saw: “Give it back!” For a long time the priest lay at the feet of the museum director, asking him to forgive the debt...Drunk to death, Nikon beat the priests. Once, during a visit to one of the monasteries, he completely slapped the representative of the governor of the Sverdlovsk region for Verkhoturye, Alexander Kapustin. He didn’t know what to do.
In the refectory, the highest ranks of the region drank vodka with Nikon and belted out worldly songs to the accompaniment of a guitar. One day, the bishop tore off the order from the chairman of the regional government, dipped it into a glass of vodka and demanded: “Take it out with your teeth.” And then he splashed vodka into the sky and asked God: “Who are you? And I am a bishop!”
But worst of all were the rumors about Nikon's sexual inclinations...
From the “KP” dossier
The Orthodox clergy is divided into black and white. White priests can marry. Blacks must live in absolute celibacy - they make up the top of the church nomenklatura. But, alas, there are also “blue” priests.A twenty-five-year-old young man with a black eye is sitting in front of me. Sergei Mordovtsev was a servant in the Verkhoturye monastery.
“Our bishop,” Seryoga sticks out his thumb, “is such a girl.” In terms of oral sex, no woman has ever satisfied me so much.Not at all embarrassed, the guy tells how a certain hieromonk called him: “Can you please the bishop?” "In terms of?" - “Fuck him.” Seryoga did not suffer from chastity. “For money - no problem.”
Every time Nikon came to Verkhoturye, Seryoga royally allowed the bishop to give himself a blowjob. For five times of unearthly bliss, Mordovtsev received six million old.
Nobody blames Sergei here. By going to bed with a fat man, he saved the entire brethren from dishonor. Before Mordvinov agreed to work as a prostitute, Nikon extorted virgin and chaste monks into his bed.
Here is the story of the abbot of the monastery. “In October 1995, Bishop Nikon came to us. I went up to his chambers for a blessing; the bishop was in shorts, my brother, priest Oleg Fedotov, stood next to him. Vladyka was pretty drunk. Lying down, he said. “Pimen, let your brother love me, and I I will be his wife.”
The abbot refused to give up his brother, and the bishop lowered his demands." “Bring some monk to me.” The unfortunate Pimen had to convince the bishop for a long time that everyone had gone to work. Then Nikon pulled down his trousers and climbed towards him himself.
From that day on, the bishop began to demand comfort boys from the rector.For reference: the system of subordination in the church is stricter than even in the army. Disobeying an order is a terrible sin. For which severe sanctions follow.
The diocese learned what a “career with legs spread” is. The bishop hated married priests (as well as women in general). He appointed “his own people” to leadership positions. The diocese was shocked by the incident when Archimandrite Claudian was appointed rector of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery in the city of Kamensk-Uralsk. The 25-year-old young man received the monastery on the day .... he was tonsured - without having spent a day as a monk. He admitted, that he was Nikon's lover. The priests call him "Klavdia Ivanovna."
The Yekaterinburg Diocesan Theological School became the FORGE of personnel for Nikon. I was able to meet his former listeners. Both entered there at the age of 17, dreaming of “serving the Mother Church.” Both were harassed by the ruler. Lesha happily avoided such a fate. Sasha couldn't.
There were no entrance exams. They selected me based on appearance: height, weight, face... They gave me a test: four hundred questions.
“Do you like to look at your genitals in the mirror? Do you like to touch them? Do you use cosmetics?”
The young men were not selected for study. This was not required of them at all.They said: “You are our poor things. So busy!” - In the fourth year, we passed the “tails” for the first year. And received certificates “For excellent study”!
A month later, Lekha and Sasha were taken to Nikon’s dacha.
We were told you will work. Us: let's take a rake. And they bought thirteen bottles of vodka and two cases of beer.
While still in the car, they started giving the guys something to drink. They were driving, clearly confusing the road. At the dacha, the “seminarians” were amazed by the luxury - a bathhouse with a swimming pool, a “sexdrome” five by five meters. Lech understood in time what he was here for and managed to “get out of it.” Sasha was drunk almost to the point of losing consciousness.
“I go into the bathhouse,” he says, “and I see Nikon sitting naked. I was so stunned that I sobered up. The church seemed pink to me then. I could have thought about anyone - just not the bishop.
Nikon asked me to steam his back. And he poured more for the guy.
They put me, almost unconscious, in bed with Nikon...
Having sobered up, the guy could not look at the priests.
“When I go out to bless the people in the temple and see a handsome boy, everything stops me and I can’t help it...”The boys ran away from school. Some time later at night a car came for Sasha. Nikon was waiting in the temple. He raised his hand to the altar: “I swear, if you tell anyone, you will be buried under a dead man’s coffin. No one will find your body."
Even now, a year later, the boy’s condition is close to hysteria. He drinks glasses of valerian and eats tranquilizers. Hiding, doesn't live at home...
Maybe it was his fate that overflowed the cup of patience. In the summer of 1998, 52 priests (exactly half of the diocese) complained to the Patriarch about Nikon. They presented all the facts in ninety reports. A delegation of five priests took them to Moscow.
The commission arrived in January. Based on the results of its work, on April 1, the Holy Synod issued a resolution: to release the most active troublemaker fathers from their positions. Bishop Nikon should be reprimanded... for failing to provide leadership. That is, to punish the priests for daring to complain!
The priests were shocked. According to church laws, you can repent of murder - you will be forgiven. But anyone convicted of homosexuality is excommunicated from the church for 15 years. A pederast not only cannot be a bishop. He is not a Christian at all!
The center of resistance was located in Nizhny Tagil. The ideological leaders - Father Gennady Vedernikov and the dean of all zones of the city, Father Foma Abel (he professes prisoners, including the legendary ITK-13 - the “Kozlenok” zone, where Dima Yakubovsky was imprisoned) - launched a campaign. For two days, fifty women believers captured one of the monasteries. They demanded a bishop. It’s interesting that the monastery was for men.
BELIEVERS are in confusion. Some believe in Nikon’s depravity, others believe that this is slander. Many have stopped going to churches - they are afraid to kiss the hand of a pederast priest.
The state of the “rebellious” fathers is also close to a nervous breakdown. The diocese took the position of “the dog barks, the wind blows” towards them. She doesn't give any comments. Father Thomas Abel sadly jokes: “If I had said in the zone, “Your brothers are a rooster!” - it was torn apart would apart..."
Nikon promised to put both fathers behind bars. Every day they expect that drugs or ammunition will be “accidentally” found on them. It's easy to throw them in. A few days ago, a “thief” visited Gennady’s father’s house. He defiantly stole the smallest amount. The priest's youngest daughter said it was a monk. The priest can tell the difference between a cleric and a criminal...But the priests do not give up.
“I am an extremist,” says Father Gennady, driven to the brink, “if they try to defrock me, I will gather a detachment of Cossacks (the priest “spiritually nourishes” the Cossack military district. -U.S.) and will go to destroy the churches where the sodomites have settled! We will throw them out of God's temples!
My father was already offered help by the Tagil riot police, whom he had once escorted to Chechnya. The priests had their last hope - the Patriarch.
Ulyana SKOYBEDA
Moscow - Nizhny Tagil.
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