Funeral service and funeral of Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov. Kirill Pavlov

15.09.2024

Russia said goodbye to the All-Russian Elder, Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov February 23rd, 2017

This day, February 20, 2017, will go down in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church as a year of great loss. Russia lost its all-Russian elder, Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov), the spiritual father of the monks of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and the confessor of three patriarchs: Alexy 1 (Simansky), Pimen (Izvekov) and Alexy 2 (Ridiger) At the 98th year of his life, after a serious illness , the elder died. Until 2003, the strict and righteous elder monk sent more than 5,000 thousand letters a year, postcards and telegrams to his spiritual children, the priesthood throughout the country, to everyone who needed his help and consolation. He cared for young monks in the monastery and instructed them, and was active in preaching activities - his sermons and books were published in huge editions and went to the people. The elder’s most resonant statement about not accepting the Taxpayer Identification Number actually became his spiritual testament.

Something incredible happened in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra tonight. The monastery was open around the clock. We finally took off unexpectedly and went to say goodbye to Father Kirill. During his active life until 2003, we had practically no chance to meet Bishop Kirill at the Lavra, or to get to a reception. Therefore, to go and pay our last respects after his death became our goal.

Not all the photos turned out clearly; the haze from the candles gave the effect of a foggy haze and glow around. But all the pictures are equally dear to me

Despite the fact that the monastery was open around the clock, on some sites (this cannot be called misinformation) it was stated that farewell would only take place until February 22, until 00:00. Although the abbot of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra took an unprecedented step, opening the doors of the monastery to pilgrims from all over the world all night. When we learned that the farewell would last until the morning, it was already midnight. We immediately began to get ready, but still, we managed to leave no earlier than two in the morning. We reached the monastery of St. Sergius of Radonezh in record time; already at 4 am we entered the cathedral, where farewell to the priest took place. Around the clock, people walked and walked to the Lavra, carried flowers, walked around the territory and waited for the funeral service for Father Kirill, spent the night on the floor in the temple and sat on chairs in the Assumption Cathedral. Despite the night time, the temple was crowded and hot. I dressed so that it wouldn’t be cold standing in line outside, but we were lucky and all the pilgrims fit inside the cathedral. But I had to come to terms with the fact that “steam doesn’t break my bones.” Another manifestation of love for the mourning Orthodox Christians is permission to freely take photographs in the church and take photos and videos of the farewell to Father Kirill.

Thank you very much, without this permission we would not have dared to take photographs.

Ivan Dmitrievich Pavlov was born on September 8, 1919 in the village of Makovskie Vyselki, Ryazan province. In 1941, before becoming first a novice, then a monk, priest and All-Russian elder, Father Kirill went through the Great Patriotic War. He commanded a platoon and was wounded twice. He felt all the hell of the Battle of Stalingrad himself. The house of Lieutenant Pavlov, which became a symbol of fortitude and unbending courage, was defended by him, Lieutenant Pavlov. The Hero of the Soviet Union, who entered a monastery and became a priest, did not fit well into the ideological framework of an atheistic society. Therefore, the name was changed, and Yakov Pavlov became the defender of the house. It is significant that Yakov wisely avoided meeting fellow soldiers. But those who served with Lieutenant Pavlov in Stalingrad periodically appeared in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Numerous sources reported about some kind of unspoken agreement between Khrushchev’s ideologists, who promised to show the world the “last priest,” and the monk Kirill. He refuses the fact of protecting Pavlov’s house, and they leave him alone and do not touch the front-line soldier who became a priest.

Even during the war, while on guard duty, Lieutenant Pavlov found a Gospel scattered across the pages in the ruins of a house. I collected the pages, began to read and, according to him, found in it answers to the questions that tormented me.

« I began to read it and felt something so dear to my soul. This was the Gospel. I found such a treasure for myself, such a consolation!.. I collected all the leaves together - the book was broken, and that Gospel remained with me all the time. Before this there was such confusion: why the war? Why are we fighting? There was a lot of incomprehensible things, because there was complete atheism in the country, lies, you won’t know the truth... I walked with the Gospel and was not afraid. Never. It was such inspiration! The Lord was just next to me, and I was not afraid of anything" - Bishop Kirill spoke about the first step towards his faith.

« In 1946, I was demobilized from Hungary. I arrived in Moscow and asked at the Yelokhovsky Cathedral: do we have any spiritual institution? “There is,” they say, “a theological seminary has been opened in the Novodevichy Convent.” I went there straight in military uniform. I remember that the vice-rector, Father Sergius Savinskikh, warmly welcomed me and gave me a test program“- Father Kirill spoke briefly and artlessly about the six years after the war, which divided his life into before and after tonsure.

At 4 am the brethren of the monastery had already gathered in the altar, no one was sleeping, neither the regency classes, nor the seminarians of the Lavra. The last, true elder, left us, with his life, as if linking the era of the fight against God and the new, abundant time, when churches were again opened and decorated in a way that Byzantium had never dreamed of in its heyday. Archimandrite Kirill is the era and face of modern orthodoxy. Is such abundance without restrictions good for today's Orthodox? Time will show.

The Assumption Cathedral is surrounded by flowers. People carry and carry...

To speed up the agonizing wait, the queue and farewells come from both sides at once

Inside, the feeling of unreality is enhanced by the heat of candles, floral spirit and haze

Bishop Onuphry arrived to serve the early liturgy and quickly rushed into the temple. But on the porch he was still surrounded by a crowd of pilgrims

The ancient temple fascinated with its splendor, the laurel at night was mysterious and beautiful so that it took your breath away.

We decided that when we said goodbye to Father Kirill, we would definitely walk through the monastery and take a photo as a souvenir.

One of the most revered elders of Russia of our time, the confessor of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, the spiritual father of three Russian patriarchs, has died. His death was reported by nun Theodora (Lapkovskaya), an employee of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Archimandrite Kirill (in the world Ivan Dmitrievich Pavlov) was born on September 8, 1919 in the village of Makovskie Vyselki into a devout peasant family. From the age of 12 he lived with an unbelieving brother, and under the influence of his environment he left religion. After graduating from college, he worked as a technologist at a metallurgical plant. After the war, having taken monastic vows, every year Fr. During the Easter period, Kirill visited his native village and the village of Makovo, 12 km from Mikhailov, where his parents, brother and sisters are buried. In the village he helped restore the bell tower and the temple, which had not been closed throughout Soviet history.

He was drafted into the Red Army and served in the Far East. Participant of the Great Patriotic War with the rank of lieutenant, participated in the defense of Stalingrad (commanded a platoon), in battles near Lake Balaton in Hungary, ended the war in Austria. Demobilized in 1946.

During the war, Ivan Pavlov turned to faith. He recalled that while on guard duty in the destroyed Stalingrad in April 1943, he found the Gospel among the ruins of a house.

“I began to read it and felt something so dear to my soul. This was the Gospel. I found such a treasure for myself, such a consolation!.. I collected all the leaves together - the book was broken, and that Gospel remained with me all the time. Before this there was such confusion: why the war? Why are we fighting? There was a lot of incomprehensible things, because there was complete atheism in the country, lies, you won’t know the truth... I walked with the Gospel and was not afraid. Never. It was such inspiration! The Lord was simply next to me, and I was not afraid of anything” (Archimandrite Kirill).

Immediately after the army I entered the seminary: “In 1946, I was demobilized from Hungary. I arrived in Moscow and asked at the Yelokhovsky Cathedral: do we have any spiritual institution? “There is,” they say, “a theological seminary has been opened in the Novodevichy Convent.” I went there straight in military uniform. I remember that the vice-rector, Father Sergius Savinskikh, warmly welcomed me and gave me a test program.” After graduating from the Moscow Theological Seminary, he entered the Moscow Theological Academy, from which he graduated in 1954.

On August 25, 1954, he was tonsured a monk at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. At first he was a sexton. In 1970 he became treasurer, and since 1965 - confessor of the monastic brethren. He was elevated to the rank of archimandrite. According to contemporaries, Patriarchs Alexy I and Pimen confessed to him at one time.

Appointed confessor of Patriarch Alexy II, in connection with this he moved to Peredelkino (where the Patriarchal residence is located), continuing to spiritually care for the monks of the Lavra. He was awarded the church orders of St. Sergius of Radonezh and St. Prince Vladimir. Author of numerous sermons and teachings. Mentor of young monks who took monastic vows at the Lavra. He wrote a lot in the epistolary genre; every year Archimandrite Kirill sent up to 5,000 letters with congratulations, instructions and edifications to bishops, priests, laity, spiritual children and even unfamiliar people.

In the mid-2000s, he suffered a stroke, which deprived the old man of the ability to move and communicate with the outside world.

For more than 12 years, Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov) remained in bodily weakness, carrying out the feat of prayer and martyrdom. And so, the Lord took him to His Heavenly Abodes. Eternal memory! Rest in peace, Lord, Your servant, the newly departed Archimandrite Kirill!

Documentary film “ELDERS. Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov"

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Chapter 1. “Requiem service.” Time has sped up. And everything continues to speed up. They say that soon it will completely “shrink” and we will no longer notice it. But for now the writer must “fix” it with all precision. It seems that we have just said goodbye to Father Kirill, but soon it will be the forties... On the day of his funeral service, I wrote: I can imagine what is happening in the Lavra today. There was information on the Internet on the Pravoslavie.Ru website that “the memorial service for Father Kirill (Pavlov) will be served on Thursday, February 23, in the Assumption Cathedral. It will be headed by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'.”

Our banner bearers have gone. Valery Aleksandrovich took the train from Balashikha. I went on the train from Moscow - Stepan. Alexander Valerievich went by train, also from Moscow, taking Vladislav’s video camera. Alexey Grigorievich Manukhin, the only one in a car, drove from Sergiev Posad itself. I was unable to go due to health reasons. Tatyana Viktorovna was really eager to go, she even almost agreed with Irina Gorskaya, but after she fell and sprained her ligaments, I didn’t let her in. Now she is very worried and crying:

We didn’t say goodbye to Father! The hand hasn't been kissed for the last time!

Lyudmila, who did go, later said:

There were still few people there on Wednesday. We said goodbye freely. They kissed Father's hand. His hand was still quite warm...

But I think that she, the “handle”, did not “was”, but now she will always be warm.

That's all we, the Banner Bearers, could do. Yes, we are tired from 30 years of war and spiritual warfare...

Yesterday I was walking along the still snow-covered Izmailovo, along Fortunatovskaya Street, and instead of it I suddenly saw brightly and visibly before my eyes - Father Kirill was standing. In a golden, seemingly luminous vestment and a golden miter. He stands and looks attentively and sternly somewhere. The vision was very bright and clear. And then he was replaced by father Nikolai Guryanov. He looked at me so quietly and searchingly. And behind him is Vladyka John (Snychev). I asked everyone to give me the strength to finish my “Novel”, my “Chronicle of the Last Times” to the end, and write until my last breath, until my last, as they say, gasp. And don’t leave, don’t give up. So I prayed to all three great people of the Russian Church and the Russian Patriotic Movement.

It’s a pity, of course, that I couldn’t go. I can imagine what's going on there. After all, all of Holy Rus' is there in the Lavra today. And the Lavra itself is seeing off its father - its Confessor of all the monks, who loved them all deeply like a father, and even somehow like a mother, as one monk said, loved them. I can imagine what kind of pictures the chronicler artist would have seen there. What pictures and what images, what faces and figures. What kind of lighting and what kind of shadows. The words and sad melody of the Orthodox requiem always brought tears to my eyes:

Where there is no illness, no sadness, no sighing, but life without any...

And now the monks, all dressed in black, stand over the coffin of Father Kirill and sing sadly and soulfully... Yes, sadly and soulfully. That's how I see this picture. And they are presided over by a tall, dark-haired, dark-eyed, pale monk in a black hood and black robe... And the whole choir stands, as it were, somewhat in the shadows, only pale faces stand out, singing, and everyone’s eyes are so serious... And candles, candles are burning all around and tremble...

Yes, I remember in the same way, in the same Assumption Cathedral I attended the funeral service of His Holiness Patriarch Pimen. I went there on a university bus with Natalia Maslennikova. We arrived and entered the cathedral. And it is huge, both from above, and from the walls and from the columns, everyone is looking at us searchingly, so attentively, all our holy kings and warriors. And below, in the middle of the temple, there is a coffin, and Patriarch Pimen is in it. I remember I kissed his hand, “kissed his hand,” as Tatyana Viktorovna says. And the hand was also warm... I was still pierced: “Just like alive! Maybe he didn’t die?!” It pierced and shocked me. It was here that I first encountered the eternal mystery of Death...

Now, while I’m writing this, Tatyana Viktorovna comes in and says that the funeral of Igor Shafarevich at the Troekurovsky cemetery was shown on television. Poor. There are very few people. Somehow modest and pathetic. No more than fifty people. And for some reason there is no priest...

Shafarevich was Orthodox,” I answered, “But his relatives may not be Orthodox... Who knows.” And there weren’t many people because the relatives said that only they would do the burial. There will be no one else...

I wonder how the funeral service took place at Sretensky Monastery? After all, there was a funeral service for Igor Rostislavovich. In the same place as Klykova.

And the fact that Shafarevich’s funeral was “poor” is good. And Mozart’s funeral was “poor.” And Pushkin was taken away from St. Petersburg almost on a cart... That’s what I see. Night. Blizzard. Skinny horse. And a coffin tied with a rope... And Turgenev in Doha sits in a sleigh next to the coffin...

Russia, poor Russia,

I want your old huts,

Your miles are great for me,

Like the first tears of love!

Yes, brothers and sisters, we do not live in Europe. In Russia. I can only say one thing: today, with these three deaths: Diplomat Vitaly Churkin, Academician Igor Shafarevich and Spiritual Father of All Rus' - Father Kirill, a new time has begun - the Time of War. Opened the Internet: “In Donbass, fighting broke out along the entire front line”, “Sputnik and Pogrom: battle again, report on February 23, fierce battles, shelling and provocations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces along the entire line of contact on Defender of the Fatherland Day...”.

Father Kirill said so: “When I die, the war will begin...”.

But the Grace of God is spilled in the air. The snow is again lying on the branches outside the window. And the strong breath of Grace is felt - it is Father Kirill who blesses us for the war and battle with our eternal cruel “Russophobic” enemy...

Holy Father Kirill, give me strength to write to the end!...

Chapter 2. Exclusively Russian story. So, on February 23, 2017, on Thursday, the banner bearers went to the Lavra for the funeral service and funeral of Elder Kirill (Pavlov). This time there were great difficulties. There were no cars. Aleksey went with his family to a dacha near Sergiev Posad on the 22nd, and went straight from there to the funeral service. Valera got up at 04.30 and by 07.00 was already in the Lavra. And Pavel Burakov arrived on the afternoon of the 22nd, spent the night there somewhere and celebrated, as he told Valery Alexandrovich, three Liturgies. As he previously told me, he went to film the funeral service with the blessing of the abbot of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Metropolitan Theognostus. So, even though everyone was traveling separately this time, there were ten people gathered together. The others couldn't. I am due to health reasons. Igor Igorevich is opening a personal exhibition of graphics entitled “The Mysticism of the “Russian Symbol””. Maxim left for St. Petersburg even earlier. Well, and so on and so forth.

Valera arrived and the first thing he did, since they were not yet allowed into the Assumption Cathedral where the coffin stood, was to go to the kiosk to purchase the “Sovereign” icon of the Mother of God. In the icon shop they told him that just before him, the Sovereign had already been taken. He found another, it seemed, bookstall, there was a Derzhavnaya there - and he bought it. And then he carried it open in his arms all the time. After some time, a hefty man approached him and said that it was forbidden to walk around the territory of the Lavra with icons.

Forbidden!

Why is it prohibited?! This is Sovereign. And I just bought it at the kiosk.

Forbidden!

Who are you?

I am the head of the Lavra security...

So they argued for a long time, and in the end Valera simply left the law enforcement officer. But after some time, another approached him and also demanded that the icon be removed. But Valery Alexandrovich did not want to clean up. Again there was some bickering and finally the guard said:

People like you will never obey! I see you won’t be hit! - and this time he left on his own.

Then they began to let people into the Temple. Valera stood in line and after some time was in the Assumption Cathedral. The service has already begun there. There were not many people, but there were many bishops. All in white and silver vestments. The funeral service was led by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. Here, dressed in white and silver vestments, is already reading the Gospel and delivering a sermon. All this could be seen on the Internet on YouTube and on TV on the Spas channel.

In his sermon, the Patriarch said that when he was still young, having once arrived at the Lavra, he asked his spiritual leader, Metropolitan Nicodemus, which of the Lavra monks he should go to confession to. And Metropolitan Nikodim answered him - go to Father Kirill.

Thus, in his farewell speech, the Patriarch connected two lines in the Church, the line of Metropolitan Nicodemus and the line of Elder Kirill. He himself, having united them, now represents both.

In general, I will tell you that all these “unifications” are all very important spiritual signs of our pre-apocalyptic times, the chronicle of which is this exclusively Russian story...

Chapter 3. Russian blizzard. Yes, that’s how the funeral service of the last Great Old Man of All Rus' took place in difficult winter conditions.

As Valery Alexandrovich, who came to see me in the evening, later told me, the people had to stand in the cold and wind for several hours while the bishops served and said goodbye to Father Kirill. Then they let all the people in. They hurried to say goodbye and give Father Kirill their last kiss.

Then, again, as Valery Alexandrovich said, the hierarchy went to the refectory of the Temple for a farewell memorial meal, and the Lavra monks lifted the coffin onto their shoulders, carried it around the Assumption Cathedral and went to the already dug and prepared grave at the altar of the Temple of the Holy Spirit. The people followed them. And then the words of the Russian memorial service were heard again.

Where there is no pain, no sadness, but life is impassable... And the coffin was lowered into the grave. But then the monk suddenly exclaimed:

Christ is Risen!

Truly He is Risen! - the people responded.

Christ is Risen!! - the monk exclaimed louder.

Truly He is Risen!! - the people responded louder.

Christ is Risen!!! - the monk exclaimed even louder.

He is truly Risen!!! - the people exclaimed even louder and more joyfully.

At that moment, the wind blew again, and large snowflakes flew, spinning.

Our usual Russian blizzard has begun. Remember:

It began to snow, and suddenly fell in flakes.

A strong wind blew, it became dark all around, and only the wind howled, and waves of snow rushed one after another...

- Trouble, master, snowstorm - the coachman shouted - nothing is visible. No way, no road. Where to go?

- So it is with us now. So we buried our main elder, an absolutely legendary man, a martyr and a saint during his lifetime. And we were completely orphaned. We have no one else. Neither Vladyka John, nor Father Nicholas of Pskovozersky, nor, now, nor our main elder Kirill. Neither Father John the Peasant, nor Father Hieronomachus Jerome of Sanaksar, nor Father Vissarion of Lavra. Only Father Adrian remained in the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery - and he is almost in seclusion...

Only darkness all around, darkness engulfing Russia. And the snow flies in flakes, and the wind howls, mourning our losses. People leave, somehow at once and one after another. The war is on Russian soil. Sergei Fomin wrote correctly and precisely - “Karpets untied a bag like a sack...”. And indeed, our ambassador in Turkey was killed at point-blank range, then four more, it seems, ambassadors, in Athens, in India, and somewhere else, and at the same time, a little earlier, in Danbass, Batman, Ishchenko, Dremov, Mozgovoy , Motorola, Givi - and not all in a fair fight, but meanly, explosively, unexpectedly. Dremov actually went to his bride at his own wedding. Motorola only recently got married... Then our great scientist Igor Rostislavovich Shafarevich, then right after him, and all in a week about the Last Judgment! - The Elder of All Rus' Kirill (Pavlov), then immediately behind him is the actor Alexey Petrenko. The latter wanted to be a priest in his youth, but fate turned out differently. He played Rasputin in the blasphemous film of the atheist, king-fighter and Russo-fighter Elem (from Engels - Lenin) Klimov. Then he was very sick and repented greatly. The people felt sincerity and truth. And he loved him very much. So, one after another the Russian people leave. Warriors, diplomats, priests, monks, elders, artists...

They leave to help us from there, from Heaven, praying for us, now there, at the throne of the Lord, and our Lord, the Crucified and Risen One, accepted them all as our martyrs and heroes, so that, praying to Him, they would still wage the same spiritual warfare with our enemies, now there in Heaven, in the Kingdom of God.

Now the wind blew stronger, a shroud of snow completely covered the sky, and in the middle of the Lavra, in this snow storm, the Orthodox stood at the grave of the main Russian elder, and only the echo was heard:

Christ is Risen!

Truly He is Risen!

Truly Risen, Christ!

Over the Lavra, over Sergiev Posad, over Shamardino, over Moscow, over all of boundless Russia - it flew and hummed, and cried, and sang the words of the Russian Orthodox Memorial Service - dear, and painfully familiar to all of us from childhood - the Russian blizzard...

Lord save Russia!

Chapter 4. Week of the Last Judgment. Yes, that’s how the funeral service and funeral of Father Kirill (Pavlov) went...

I am glad that the Banner Bearers, led by Valery Alexandrovich, were able to take part in them. I am glad that Valery Alexandrovich acquired on this day in the Lavra the Icon of the Sovereign Mother of God, and placed it and the Banner of the Last Times with five angel copies of the spirit beating the Dragon” - into the hands of our Great Elder. Now this Icon and this Banner are blessed by Father Kirill...

And after his death, truly the Last Times are coming, have already arrived. We have been given a clear sign that these Last Times have come. The murder of the entire brilliant Song and Dance Ensemble of our valiant army named after Alexandrov, and with them Dr. Lisa. The murder of our heroes Batman, Ishchenko, Dremov, Mozgovoy, Motorola, Gubarev, Givi in the Donbass, the murder of our ambassador in Turkey, the murder of our ambassadors in Greece and India, the murder of our representative to the UN Vitaly Churkin... all this is not just “links” "one tragic chain, but clear mystical "signs" that not even a large-scale, but an all-out terrorist operation has been unleashed against us...

And look at the sad succession of deaths of our writers, diplomats, scientists, spiritual elders, and artists. Vladimir Karpets was the first to introduce himself, and his death was like a bolt from the blue for us. And behind him is Igor Shafarevich, and behind him is Father Kirill (Pavlov)...

And this farewell on February 23 to the confessor of all Rus' was that mystical and symbolic action that showed us all that we are entering, have already entered, that very Last Time - what lies ahead, as in the 14th, as in the 41st - Great War.

That the first heroic generation of our Russian patriots is leaving. And that his place should be taken by those coming after them. But they kill both these middle-aged and very young people...

It is very important and symbolic that Fr. Kirill was buried on Defender of the Fatherland Day...

It is very important that Vitaly Churkin, Igor Shafarevich and Fr. Kirill left us on the Week of the Last Judgment. Here is the Last Judgment, - here it has begun - the Judgment Week! The Lord gathers his own so that they, now from Heaven, can help us with their prayers.

All of them are undisputed Russian heroes, all of them are great Russian warriors. But the fact that Father Kirill’s funeral service was held precisely on a military men’s holiday speaks of the mystical nature of this event. After all, he - it was he who defended the house of Sergeant Pavlov in Stalingrad - for forty days, essentially without food, among dust, broken bricks, among explosions, frost and snow, machine gun fire, shell explosions, the then young sergeant Ivan Pavlov defended - not just destroyed a house, not just a narrow strip of earth black with blood. Not just the city of Tsaritsyn - Stalingrad, not just another position of my regiment and our Army, but - maybe without realizing it then - I fought with the beast for forty days and forty long nights, not just “for the Motherland, for Stalin!” - but for the entire Great History of Russia, for the Russian people, and for Russian speech, for Pushkin, and Blok, for Mussorsky and Glinka, for Surikov and Vasnetsov, Feofan the Greek and Andrei Rublev. He fought so that later, when he was already the confessor of the Lavra, he would have it in his cell - the Trinity of Andrei Rublev. Yes, the most important thing for which Sergeant Ivan Pavlov fought then was the Most Holy Trinity of St. Andrei Rublev. For the Holy Trinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, for our Most Pure Lady, the Most Holy Theotokos, for Holy Rus', for the title of the people - God-Bearer, Father Kirill fought then, and that is why, there, among broken bricks, on the ruins of a house, he was given sheets of the Gospel. ..

Just imagine - the roar, the roar of guns, fire all around, machine-gun fire, automatic fire - brick dust, whistling fragments of bricks and shells, and suddenly, in the midst of all this truly pitch-black Hell, white sheets of the main Book of Life on Earth...

Some communists say that Sergeant Pavlov is a completely different person. Naive people. Yes, in Stalingrad then every house was the house of Sergeant Pavlov! And everyone who was in these houses were sergeants Pavlov. Sergeants Petrovs, and sergeants Smirnovs, and sergeants Ivanovs. Every single one of them were heroes. And almost everyone died. And only one of them became a monk and confessor of all Rus'.

This is how a Miracle happened: Sergeant Vanya Pavlov became the confessor of all Rus', Father Kirill (Pavlov).

And on February 23 we said goodbye to him. And we are entering new terrible times - our Week of the Last Judgment has begun...

Father Father Kirill, there in Heaven, at the Throne of the Lord, pray for Russia and for all of us sinners!

Leonid Donatovich Simonovic-Niksic , head of the Union of Orthodox Banner Bearers, chairman of the Union of Orthodox Brotherhoods, leader of the Serbian-Montenegrin Savez of Orthodox Barjyaktara

On February 23, in the Assumption Cathedral of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' performed the funeral service for the long-time confessor of the Lavra, confessor of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov), who died on February 20 at the age of 98. Mother Abbess Philareta was present at the funeral service and said goodbye to the great elder.

The coffin with the body of the newly deceased Father Kirill was installed on February 21 in the Assumption Cathedral of the Lavra. On February 21 and 22, funeral litias were held in all churches of the Lavra; access for believers to the Assumption Cathedral to bid farewell to the deceased elder was open around the clock.

Before the start of the funeral service, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill said a word dedicated to the memory of Father Kirill:

“Your Bliss! Dear bishops, fathers, brethren, mother abbess, brothers and sisters!

We stand before the tomb of Father Kirill (Pavlov), confessor of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, confessor of the late His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, confessor of many, many bishops of the Russian Church, clergy and a huge number of Orthodox believers who flocked to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra - and venerate the relics of the saint Sergius, and ask for spiritual advice from Father Kirill. He carried out the great service of confessor for thousands and thousands of people, and this service required a special feat. Not only because listening to a person's problems is never easy, but also because he didn't just listen to those problems. He penetrated deeply into a person’s mental state. At the moment of confession, he seemed to identify himself with the one who came to him for advice. This, of course, required exhaustion, a huge expenditure of internal strength and physical strength. But Father Kirill never grumbled and carried out his ministry with humility, not only confessing people, but also answering many, many letters.

I first met Father Kirill back in 1966. At that time he did not yet have the fame of an All-Russian elder and confessor; he was relatively young, strong, and active. And when I asked my spiritual leader, the ever-memorable Bishop Metropolitan Nikodim, which of the brethren should I go to confess, he calmly said: “Go to Father Kirill.” This was truly a special service of Elder Kirill to all our pious people, and especially to those who needed his spiritual advice.

Giving advice is always a very risky business. Sometimes people come to a confessor and ask about something that a person, due to his limitations, cannot know. Some confessors take a huge risk by giving advice from their own understanding. Father Kirill was a confessor who gave advice not from his understanding, but from his spiritual experience. There were times when he did not give any advice at all. But people were drawn to him because they felt his spiritual power, for clergy is not only a feat of sober spiritual reflection, but also a feat of prayer. Father Kirill showed many clergy an example of such spiritual guidance - genuine spiritual guidance to those who are ready to accept this guidance from the confessor.

In recent years, the Lord, preserving the physical life of Father Kirill, took him out of communication with the world. It was some kind of special shutter. He left this world, still remaining physically alive. Many did not understand why this happened to the elder. But this was also a kind of sign from God. He was needed even when he could no longer talk to people, and many came to Father Kirill just to stand by his bed and touch his hand. He continued to serve people with his silence, his illness, his detachment from this world, and in the 98th year of his life the Lord called him to himself.

It is joyful to see many people in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra today. Your presence, dear masters, fathers, brothers and sisters, is the most striking evidence that Father Kirill did something for each of you. Let us also repay our debt to him today. Let us pray for the repose of his soul, so that the Lord will accept him into His Heavenly Kingdom and create an eternal prayerful memory of him in our hearts. Amen".

Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov) born on September 8, 1919 in the village of Makovskie Vyselki into a devout peasant family. From the age of 12 he lived with an unbelieving brother and, under the influence of his environment, moved away from religion. After graduating from college, he worked as a technologist at a metallurgical plant. After the war, having taken monastic vows, every year Fr. During the Easter period, Kirill visited his native village and the village of Makovo, 12 km from Mikhailov, where his parents, brother and sisters are buried. In the village he helped restore the bell tower and the temple, which had not been closed throughout Soviet history.

During the war, Ivan Pavlov turned to faith. He recalled that while on guard duty in the destroyed Stalingrad in April 1943, he found a Gospel among the ruins of a house.

Sometimes Archimandrite Kirill is identified with the famous sergeant Ya. F. Pavlov, who also took part in the Battle of Stalingrad and defended the famous “Pavlov’s house”. However, we are talking about a namesake - guard senior sergeant Yakov Pavlov after the war was at party work and did not take monastic vows. Unusual parallels in their destinies are traced by the writer Nikolai Konyaev in the essay “Russia rests on the sergeants Pavlovs.” In this essay, published in 2004 in the newspaper "Rus Derzhavnaya", it was first noted in print that Elder Kirill was the spiritual father of three Russian patriarchs - Alexy the First, Pimen and Alexy the Second.

In the mid-2000s, he suffered a stroke, which left him unable to move and communicate with the outside world. According to the testimony of Archimandrite Alexy (Polikarpov), abbot of the St. Daniel Monastery in Moscow, communicating with his confessor, Elder Kirill is now “very weak, infirm, but he is praying for us. It’s very difficult for him to speak now, he can hardly speak, but he once said: “Everyone must do their own thing...”.

“The most important thing is to preserve love. There is no need to create any hostility or create any splits. The enemy is afraid of the world. Enmity is his most tried and tested remedy. Therefore, I wish you that the brotherhood will be unanimous. They would be forgiving to each other, they would forgive each other. As the Apostle Paul said: “Beloved and chosen of God, clothe yourselves with mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, bearing with one another and forgiving each other’s insults and complaints,” he said.

Archimandrite Kirill wrote an introductory word to Maria Zhukova’s book about her father - “Marshal Zhukov is my father.” In his introductory speech, characterizing the Marshal of Victory, Elder Kirill, in particular, noted: “His soul is Christian, the stamp of God’s chosenness is felt throughout his whole life.”

Before the start of the funeral service, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill said a word dedicated to the memory of Father Kirill:

“Your Bliss! Dear bishops, fathers, brethren, mother abbess, brothers and sisters!

Participating in the service that followed were: His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine; Metropolitan of Tashkent and Uzbekistan Vincent, head of the Central Asian Metropolitan District; Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate; Metropolitan Evlogy of Vladimir and Suzdal; Metropolitan of Ternopil and Kremenets Sergius; Metropolitan of Saratov and Volsky Longinus; Metropolitan of Chernivtsi and Bukovina Meletius; Metropolitan Zinovy of Saransk and Mordovia; Archbishop Anatoly of Kerch; Archbishop Eugene of Vereisky, rector of the Moscow Theological Academy, chairman of the Educational Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church; Archbishop Feognost of Sergiev Posad, vicar of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, chairman of the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism; Archbishop of Peterhof Ambrose, rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy; Bishop of Shumsky Seraphim; Bishop Theophylact of Dmitrov, abbot of the St. Andrew's Stavropegic Monastery; Bishop Pankratius of Trinity, abbot of the Valaam Stavropegic Monastery, chairman of the Synodal Commission for the Canonization of Saints; Bishop of Rybinsk and Danilovsky Benjamin; Bishop Paisiy of Shchigrovsky and Manturovo;

Liturgical hymns were performed by the fraternal choir of the Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, regent Archimandrite Gleb (Kozhevnikov), and the combined choir of the Moscow Theological Academy, regent Hegumen Nikifor (Kirzin).

The funeral service was broadcast live on the Soyuz TV channel.

The prayer of permission was read by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv.

Before burial, the body of Father Kirill was surrounded around the Assumption Cathedral.

Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov) was buried on the territory of the Lavra behind the altar of the Church of the Holy Spirit.