Priest John Peasant.  Church of the Life-Giving Trinity on Sparrow Hills. Last days of earthly life. Will

Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) February 5th, 2016

« Blessing of the Lord over Russia, over our holy Orthodox Church,
over the people of God and over us ». (c) Archimandrite John

Among famous priestsXX century Father John Krestyankin occupies a special place. He left such a bright mark on himself that for thousands of people in Russia, even now that he is not on earth, one memory of this amazingly clear person, one glance at his photograph, a short excerpt from his sermon or letter, is enough to find the strength to move on. He was characterized by that special kindness and special optimism in life, which gives rise to the experienced suffering for the confession of faith, for devotion to the Church and closeness to Christ.

Ten years ago Archimandrite John Krestyankin passed away to the Lord...

Childhood and youth

Father John said that he was the eighth last child in the family of the Oryol philistines Mikhail Dmitrievich and Elisaveta Ilarionovna Krestyankin. Born on March 29 (April 11, New Style), 1910, then this day fell on Monday of the fifth week of Great Lent. Vanya was baptized in the church of the Holy Prophet of God Elijah, which is popularly called the Nikolo-Peskovskaya Church. Baptism took place on March 31 (April 13 according to the new style). That year it was the Day of the Standing of Mary of Egypt. The baby was baptized by priest Nikolai Azbukin. Paraskeva Ilarionovna Ovchinnikova became the godmother, Native sister mother, godfather - older brother, Alexander Mikhailovich Krestyankin.

From the father's stories, it became clear that love for all living things manifested itself in him from early childhood. He wept over a dead chicken, arranging a “Christian burial” for him, fed blind mice, protecting their lives from the attempts of adult households. " Lisa, why are you looking at him, pull him out and that's it. Mice here to breed in the house! ' the uncle was angry. But the mother protected not so much the mice as her son from the harsh cruel sobriety of life, leaving his heart with sprouts of pity and love for everything weak and offended.

The future elder of childhood served in the temple, was a novice of the famous Archbishop of Oryol Seraphim (Ostroumov) (the future holy martyr, canonized in 2001). Already at the age of six he was a sacristan, then he performed the duties of a subdeacon. At the age of twelve he expressed his desire to be a monk for the first time. In the biography of the elder, this story is described as follows:

Bishop Nikolai (Nikolsky) of Yelets said goodbye to the pilgrims, leaving for a new place of service. The parting was drawing to a close, and subdeacon John also wanted to receive a parting word from the bishop for life. He stood next to him and dared to touch his hand to draw attention to himself. Vladyka leaned over to the boy (he was of small stature) with the question: “What can I bless you for?” And Vanya said in excitement: "I want to be a monk." Putting his hand on the boy's head, the Bishop paused, peering into his future. And he said seriously: “First you finish school, work, then you take the rank and serve, and in due time you will certainly be a monk.” Everything in life is determined. The blessing of Bishop Nikolai (Nikolsky), confessor and martyr, outlined the life of Ivan Krestyankin in its entirety.

Later, this blessing was confirmed by the Orel Bishop Seraphim (Ostroumov).

In 1923, a meeting took place in Vanya's life, which became a special milestone in his life. The headman of the Ilyinsky church, Pyotr Semenovich Antoshin, invited Vanya to go to Moscow. Moscow with its shrines made a very deep impression on the thirteen-year-old boy. But most of all, the meeting in the Donskoy Monastery with His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon and the blessing received from him. The grace of the patriarchal dignity, the grace of confession was vividly felt by the soul. Batiushka, already in his old age, said that he still feels the hand of the holy Patriarch on his head.

Only in 1929 did Vanya finish school, which did not leave any vivid impressions. For, as the priest recalled, at that time he was completely absorbed in church life and understanding what came into conflict with it.

After graduating from school, having studied accounting courses, he set to work, still remaining a zealous pilgrimage and church man. But it didn't take long to work. The fever of general contrition affected both the big and the small. Frequent rush jobs at work knocked down all the orders of life, there was almost no opportunity to attend worship services. And the young man, who was not essentially a rebel, suddenly objected: I am not the cause of your backwardness, nor am I a victim of its elimination. ».
The next morning, an order for his dismissal was posted.

All attempts to get a job in his hometown were unsuccessful. Ivan Krestyankin was among the unreliable. But even this was not an accident, even the mistakes of a person the Lord turns for good, if you trust in His Providence.

The question arose, what to do next? And Ivan remembered the first visit to Moscow by a thirteen-year-old boy, its shrines, an unforgettable meeting with the Patriarch. Increasingly at home, Vanya started talking about Moscow. Mom, not daring to answer her son's question herself, sent him to Mother Vera (Loginova) to find out the will of God from the lips of the blessed old woman. Matushka blessed Ivan to live in Moscow, and appointed a meeting with her in the future on Pskov land. And her prophetic words about the stay of Father John at the caves created by God came true more than forty years later. The memory of his heart kept the image of the old woman, and prayer for her, and prayer for her, accompanied him all his life.

Moscow priest

In Moscow, Ivan got a job as a chief accountant at a small enterprise. The team was mostly female, and very soon the young man began his first unspoken experiences as a confessor. The co-workers were imbued with Ivan Mikhailovich, as they called him, with such confidence that they confided their family secrets, your experiences. Sometimes, being too frank, they remembered that before them was a young man. They asked for forgiveness, but everything was repeated again and again.

Batiushka recalled that at that time he rarely visited his native Oryol. In 1936, during his vacation, his mother fell seriously ill. Vacation ended, and recovery did not come. I had to make a choice between the need to leave and the desire to stay with my mother. Ivan, as always, went to old mother Vera (Loginova), and she, hiding her spiritual talents, sent him to the pharmacist Ananiev: “ Dr. Ananiev, he, he will tell you everything ". Ananiev, in the same plaid pants and with a bicycle on the move, prescribed some kind of potion, saying: “ Tomorrow at twelve forty you will come to me and tell me everything ". The doctor, without knowing it, uttered prophetic words through the prayers of Mother Vera. The next day, exactly at twelve forty minutes, Mommy died. Taking mom to last way Ivan returned to Moscow.

The church life of the capital fascinated the young man. Moscow shrines, patronal feasts and feasts in honor of venerated icons, blessed services of clergy, future new martyrs and confessors - all this spiritualized life, called to action. Unanimous like-minded friends appeared, united by the desire to serve God.

In 1939, everything changed in the most unexpected way. One day, returning home, Ivan could not knock on the door and, climbing from the street to the window, saw the hostess lying on the floor. The doctor who arrived, pitying the young man, said to him: Pray, my dear, that she won't lie down, she's paralyzed ».

The Lord was merciful: three days later Ivan closed Anastasia Vasilievna's eyes. Having buried her in a Christian way and returning from the cemetery, he saw that his door was lined with knapsacks. Old women from all over the house brought their funeral bundles to him and pursued him for a long time with requests and testaments to bury them in the same way as Anastasia Vasilievna.

The result of his disenfranchised life in Bolshoi Kozikhinsky Lane was that the housing office itself petitioned for the registration of Ivan Mikhailovich Krestyankin in the vacated room. So he became a Muscovite.

When the War began, Ivan was not taken to the front: an eye disease left him in the rear. He continued to work in Moscow. On July 20, 1944, Ivan Mikhailovich Krestyankin was released from civil service and became a psalm reader in the Moscow Church of the Nativity of Christ in Izmailovo.

Six months later, a dispatch arrived: Metropolitan Nikolai called Ivan to him. Vladyka met him with the words: What did you do there? "Ivan was taken aback, thoughts rushed in his head:" Complained? He could not remember his guilt and was embarrassedly silent. " I ask you, what did you do there? "- the bishop repeated his question. Stuttering, Ivan said: I don't know, I didn't do anything ". And then Metropolitan Nicholas said that for the first time in his entire hierarchical service, the rector of the church came to him with a request to ordain a psalmist, who had not even served a year in the church. And he conveyed the words of the father of the archpriest: “ Vladyka, ordain him, let him squeak ».

January 14, 1945, on the day of memory of Basil the Great, in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ on Vagankovsky cemetery Metropolitan Nicholas ordained Ivan Krestyankin as a deacon. The first day of Father John's independent diaconal service fell on a feast Reverend Seraphim Sarovsky, and the Gospel of Luke, which the young deacon read, fell on the heart like a formidable warning to the whole later life: I send you like lambs among wolves...
In October 1945, John externally passed the exams for the course of the theological seminary, and on October 25, 1945, Patriarch Alexy I ordained him to the priesthood. The young father, Father John, remained to serve in the parish in Izmailovo, where he had already been recognized.

The labor day of the young priest was filled to the limit. After the service, he went without a hitch and meekly to the services of the parishioners, then it was still possible. Once he lingered in the temple, and when he came to the call - to give communion to the sick, it turned out that she did not wait for him, she died. Instead of receiving Communion, he celebrated the first funeral litia over her. The father was upset. The old woman's daughter comforted him, because they communed her daily. Returning from the deceased, Father John went deep into reflections about everything that had happened: is it not his own fault that he did not have time to find her alive?

He was brought out of deep thought by a woman standing at the gate of her house. She was dressed hastily, her eyes filled with tears. The priest, dressed in an ordinary coat, under which a cassock was tucked up, looked like a layman. He approached the woman with lively participation: " What's happened? And she, stricken with grief, spoke frankly about her young dying son. The main sadness of the mother was that he never went to confession and did not receive communion. Batiushka immediately expressed his readiness to enter this house of sorrow. Without undressing, so as not to reveal his dignity, he sat down by the sick man's bed and, having got acquainted with him, started a friendly conversation, which seemed not to concern the young man personally. He spoke about the joy of faith, about the heaviness of an unrepentant soul. Neither the priest nor the patient kept track of time. They already talked like close people. And from somewhere the young man took strength, he began to ask questions, he began to talk about himself, about his mistakes, delusions, about his sins. It was already dark outside, and only the lamp near the icon illuminated the heart-to-heart conversation of two young people. We agreed to the point that the patient was spiritualized by the desire to take communion. Behind the partition, light sobs of the mother were heard, but these were already tears of consolation. Father John opened his coat, threw it on a chair and appeared before the ailing not just an interlocutor, but a priest in a stole, with the Holy Gifts on his chest. There was no need to repeat the confession, it poured out all in the conversation. After reading the permissive prayer, Father John gave communion to the sick man.

So that was the Providence of God! Not to an old woman, but to a young man, the Lord called him with the Holy Gifts! And it was the answer to mother's tears and pleas. And the next day, in the morning, in the church, the mother of yesterday’s patient came up to Father John and called the priest to the coffin of her son. Wonderful are Your works, Lord!

In 1946, John was a sacristan in the revived Trinity-Sergius Lavra, but six months later he continued his service in the Izmailovo church. At the same time he studied at the correspondence sector of the Moscow Theological Academy, wrote a candidate's thesis on the topic: “ Venerable Seraphim of Sarov the miracle worker and his significance for the Russian religious and moral life of that time". However, shortly before the defense, in April 1950, he was arrested.

Conclusion

At the very first interrogation conducted by the young investigator Ivan Mikhailovich Zhulidov, he introduced Ivan Mikhailovich Krestyankin to a solid case collected against him and blatant about his dissent. A complete surprise for Fr. John were cuts from his conversations with an old nun, whom he lovingly took care of both spiritually and financially. He went to her, drawing for himself from her rich spiritual experience for himself living water life lived in Christ. They did not specifically talk about politics, no, but they confidentially and frankly touched on everything that the soul lived during this period. Together they rejoiced, mourned, perplexed. Both of them already knew the history of the Orthodox Church in its post-revolutionary period and, observing its current day, made predictions for the future. But it turned out that for some time now mother was taken care of by more than one Father John. From time to time, either gas workers, or electricians, or some agents came to her, before whom she could not close the door. Unaware of the true purpose of their visits, she received them kindly for their concern for her old age. This is where the tapes with the recording of the old woman's conversations with Father John came from.

The denunciations, provocations, slander that constituted the case, in the opinion of the investigator, should have forced the simple-hearted priest to change his view of his environment and people. And ideological opponents opposed each other. The assertiveness and rigidity of the investigator Ivan Mikhailovich Zhulidov broke against the silent benevolence of Father John. And all that happened could not darken the loving and trusting heart of God. When a priest was invited to the confrontation, who was carrying out special assignments for the authorities, the priest with sincere joy rushed to kiss his brother. The same one, who agreed to work for two masters, could not stand the painful reproach of conscience, slipped out of the arms of Father John and, losing consciousness, fell at his feet.

And during the investigation, the priest received a life program for himself for the entire term of imprisonment. It was short but exhaustive: Do not trust, do not fear, do not ask ».

For four months he was in pre-trial detention at Lubyanka and in Lefortovo prison, from August he was kept in Butyrka prison, in a cell with criminals. On October 8, 1950, he was sentenced under article 58-10 of the Criminal Code (“anti-Soviet agitation”) to seven years in prison with a sentence in a strict regime camp. He was sent to the Arkhangelsk region, to Kargopollag for the Chernaya Rechka junction.

In the memory of the priest, the years of imprisonment almost always resurfaced in connection with conversations and questions about prayer. " Now what a prayer he said with a touch of bitterness, - teaches prayer best harsh life. Here in the conclusion I had a true prayer, and this is because every day was on the verge of death. Prayer was that insurmountable barrier beyond which abominations did not penetrate outer life. To repeat now, in the days of prosperity, such a prayer is impossible. Although the experience of prayer and living faith acquired there is preserved for life ».

On the Black River, the priest had to endure another serious temptation - the temptation to alleviate his own lot, the temptation of freedom. In the harsh winter time, a call was announced in the camp to work on a timber rafting. Those who wished were promised a good reward: to halve the term of imprisonment. In thought, the father began to pray: Desirable freedom! But is it like God? Is it his mercy or the enemy's temptation? And the Lord made His servant wise. Father John decided not to interfere with his desire in the Providence of God. He refused the offer. And time was not slow to confirm the correctness of this decision. Everyone who went to this job did not have to reduce the term of imprisonment: they all had the end of their lives.

In the spring of 1953, for health reasons and without his request, he was transferred to an invalid separate camp unit near Kuibyshev - Gavrilov Polyana, where he worked by profession as an accountant. On February 15, 1955, he was released ahead of schedule.

Ten years on the Ryazan land...

In 1957, Father John Krestyankin was brought to the Ryazan land. Initially, he was the second priest in the Trinity Church in the village of Troitsa-Pelenitsa.
In December 1959, Father John became the second priest of the Church of Cosmas and Damian in the village of Letovo. Father John Smirnov (future Bishop Gleb) was the rector. Among the people they were called Ivan-big and Ivan-little. Batiushka spent two and a half years in this parish.

In Letov, Fr. John took special care of the believers in those neighborhoods where the churches had been destroyed. On the patronal feast of the no longer existing house of God, the priest went to that village, to those pilgrims who were deprived of the joy of church services. In every village where a temple once stood, Father John had his own “ commissioners for ecclesiastical affairs ". Basically, these were old women who prepared their hut for the arrival of the priest, and the village grannies - for the acceptance of the Sacraments, for the service.

How blessed were these holidays, these meetings with God's people. Senile, wrinkled faces, a meager, hard life. But from under white handkerchiefs, the clear eyes of mothers and sisters looked at the world, who had not lost their living faith and living prayer to God, and often it was the Jesus Prayer.

By the arrival of the priest in the hut " authorized” worshipers gathered. Large basins of sand were completely covered with burning wax candles, almost everyone kept their apiaries, the priest brought incense. The service began with a prayer service to the patron of the temple that once existed here. All those present sang with senile, trembling voices, but with great enthusiasm. After the prayer service, they performed Confession, Unction and Communion, and completed the prayer with a memorial service - so everything was for the urgent need of God's people. And what were the confessions! The old women washed their childish misdeeds and pranks with tears.

1961 was a year of intense confrontation for the Church. Local commissioners for religious affairs were zealous in fulfilling the directives given from above. And the enemy of the human race, who began a new pogrom of Christianity through those in power, did not lag behind the rulers, inspiring outrages against the Church and the faithful. Rural youth - members of the Komsomol - were involved in the fight against the priest and looking after him. "Activists" with reckless vehemence began to vigorously annoy the parish life. Noisy festivities were now taking place near the church during services, and billiard balls were flying over the heads of the worshipers with the sound of broken glass. Their own grandmothers undertook to pacify the grandchildren. The noise stopped, but the priests began to receive threatening letters, ugly in form and content.

On the night of January 1, 1961, shadows in masks and robes entered the priestly house, standing on the outskirts, not far from the church. After bullying with a demand to give out the keys to the church and money, and having received the answer that he had neither, the furious visitors fastened his hands to his legs behind his back, stuffed a cape into his mouth and staged a search-pogrom, accompanied by obscene abuse and beatings of the bound. When the fruitless search ended, the verdict was pronounced - to kill the witness. Mocking the priest's faith, they threw him bound in front of the icons " begging for paradise ". Lying on his side, the priest raised his eyes to the image of John the Theologian, standing in the center, and forgot himself in prayer. How much he prayed, he did not remember, and when dawn broke, he heard movement in the room. Alexey crouched down beside him, thinking that the priest was dead, but, making sure that he was alive, with trembling hands began to unwind the wire that had stuck into the body. Not immediately coming to his senses, he freed the father's mouth from the rag. Together they hastily put the devastated room in order, thanking the Lord: Punishing the punishment of the Lord, I will not betray death .

And in the morning the father served. And everyone in the church noted with surprise the unusual beginning of the service. Batiushka began the service with a thanksgiving service and commemorated his nightly visitors, whose names " You, Lord, weigh yourself ". And almost no one understood that he was praying for the robbers who they don't know what they're doing .

In the spring of 1966, by decree of the bishop, Father John was transferred from Nekrasovka to the small town of Kasimov. The energetic headman of the only, Nikolskaya, church in the city managed to break the resistance of the commissioner and ensure that the well-known active priest in the diocese, Father John Krestyankin, was appointed rector of the church.

About Father John Krestyankin, and especially about the period of his service in the Ryazan diocese, there are Memoirs of Archpriest Vladimir Pravdolyubov, who happened to serve with the future elder.

Elder

Father John arrived at the Holy Dormition Pskov-Caves Monastery on March 5, 1967, on the day of remembrance of the Monk Martyr Cornelius, together with his academic friend, Bishop Pitirim (Nechaev).

The first monastic obedience of Father John was the bearing of the series of the priest of the week. And very, very soon the meaning of the word " dangle” was revealed by life itself. Frequent trips to rural parishes became the lot of the priest. And in his cell, as a constant reminder that God had determined such a life for him, a cast of an angel appeared under the ceiling. And every time, when, tired, he fell down in exhaustion, prophetic words sounded reassuringly in his mind: “ All your life you will dangle ».

Father John had to stay in prayer solitude for a very short time. A little more than a year passed, and pilgrims from those parishes where he once served were drawn to the monastery. The Pecherians did not remain indifferent to him either. And the time came when pilgrims from all over the world went to the monastery.

Immediately after the end of the Liturgy, the reception began. In the altar, issues were resolved with the visiting clergy, on the kliros the relatives who had come with the priests were waiting for their turn, in the church local parishioners and visiting pilgrims were waiting. Batiushka left the church surrounded by many people when it was time for dinner. But even on the street, belated questioners and curious people ran up, whose attention was attracted by the assembled crowd. And the curious, having become curious, found in the center of the crowd at first an attentive listener, and in the future also spiritual father.

He prayed at night, but how much he slept - he kept silent about it. He was silent about himself, but the advice regarding the length of the night's rest was definite. The priest recommended that monks adhere to the rule of St. Seraphim of Sarov - to sleep for seven hours: three hours before midnight from nine to twelve and one hour after midnight (the hours before midnight take two hours). At his own place, the reception of visitors often continued well after midnight.

The first eight years of his stay in the monastery, under the governor of Father Alipia, the father defined in the following words: “ The fear of God and the love of God were the guides of the inhabitants in life ". The brethren of the monastery, together with their governor, resisted the pressure from outside, which was carried out by the theomachy power. Gathered into a monastery at the call of God, they all went through difficult life tests some by war, some by imprisonment and exile, and some literally wandered through the mountains and gorges of the earth.

In 1970, on the feast of Holy Pascha, Father John was elevated to the rank of abbot. Batiushka, sincerely embarrassed by his unworthiness, said: No, no, life has not yet tormented me so that I can wear a golden cross on my chest with dignity ". And in 1973, on the feast of the Annunciation Holy Mother of God, put a miter on him, raising him to the rank of archimandrite. They read a prayer over his head, and he has one thought: “ Lord, what am I going to do with this? "His spirit was completely timid, as he explained:" They didn’t give me what they deserved, but someone needs to go out, so I became needed as an archimandrite. And they put a miter on me, as if on a blank, but it was supposed to be done only after forty years, and then on special merit ».

Father John resisted the impending weakness for a long time. Until 1999, its routine was not much different from the statutory monastic life. He prayed in church, served Liturgy on feast days, received visitors, delivered sermons out of obedience, and answered letters. He vividly rejoiced at the sacramental guidance of the Reverend Father, who blessed him to preach such sermons, which eventually formed a year-long circle of teachings for major holidays. Seeing this external side of the father's life, we forgot that he is 89 years old, and what he does is already beyond human capabilities. In 1999 last time the catechumen of John Chrysostom, read by the priest, and his jubilant unearthly joy sounded with inspiration in the church on Easter " Christ is Risen! »

Since 2000, Father John has often spoken about his dual citizenship, that he is already more a citizen of heaven than earth. He testified to the same with his life. And on his 90th birthday, he publicly announced for the first time: “ The soul already longs for the sky and loves it more than the earth ».

In 2000, Russian President Vladimir Putin was on a visit to the Pskov region, visited the Pskov-Caves Monastery and had a conversation with Father Archimandrite John (Krestyankin). Since that time, a rare photograph has remained.

In 2001, Father John spoke out against the campaign to refuse to accept the TIN, which took place in church and near-church circles. Campaigners justified their position, in particular, by the fact that people are assigned a number instead of their Christian name. In his address to the faithful, Archimandrite John wrote:

Dear ones, how did we give in to panic - to lose our Christian name, replacing it with a number? But how can this happen in the eyes of God? Will someone forget himself and his heavenly patron, given at the time of baptism, at the Chalice of Life? And don’t we remember all those clergymen, lay Christians, who for a long period of their lives had to forget their names, surnames, they were replaced by a number, and many left forever with a number. And God accepted them into His Fatherly arms as holy martyrs and martyrs, and the white victorious robes hid under them the prison jackets. There was no name, but God was there, and His guidance led the believing prisoner through the shadow of death every day. The Lord has no concept of a person as a number, only modern computing technology needs a number, but for the Lord there is nothing more precious than a living human soul, for the sake of which He sent His Only Begotten Son Christ the Savior. And the Savior entered the world with a census.

From the notes of the cell attendant:
In 2001 " Easter Father”- that was the name of the inhabitants of the monastery, for the last time in his life he served Easter matins and Liturgy in the temple. But the grace of God visited him with Paschal night services even later and regardless of the church calendar.
So, on December 29, 2000, he served at night Easter service at home, in the heavenly abode. And in the morning he could not hide the exclusivity of his condition, meeting me with an Easter greeting: « Christ is Risen! » Continuing to live with the feelings and experiences of the past night, he spoke about unearthly grace, when everything rejoiced: the sky, and the earth, and everyone, everyone who was honored to be in this divine service. « What a joy, what a joy! Christ is Risen! » - repeated and repeated the father.

From that day on, the first words that he uttered in the morning, waking up from sleep, were: Christ is Risen! »

On August 26, 2003, at night, Father John exclaimed very loudly three times: « The world is dying! The world is dying! The world is dying! »

On September 6, 2003, at three o'clock in the morning, Father John called to me and, when I approached, made an exclamation in a strong and cheerful voice: « The blessing of the Lord over Russia, over our holy Orthodox Church, over the people of God and over us ". It was an undeniable statement. He spoke by the Spirit. And it was the voice of God.

Dying

From the notes of the cell attendant:

February 5, 2005 in an instant without any apparent reason during prayer, a deathly pallor, like a shroud, covered him. Heavy drops of cold sweat soaked his cassock. I screamed desperately. « What are you going to die? A faint shadow of life passed over the father's face, and he whispered in a barely audible voice: « No, no, I'll live a little longer ».

On November 29, at two o'clock in the afternoon, the priest suddenly sang in delight: « Isaiah rejoice, Virgin in the womb ... "- and repeated this troparion several times. A nurse present in the cell joined in his singing. Father John's face shone with an unearthly light. Quietly and reluctantly, he said:

- She came.
- Who?
- The Queen of Heaven came.

From December 18, Father John took communion every day.
On the morning of February 5, 2005, I was getting ready for Communion. Early in the morning he was dressed: a white cassock, a festive stole. Everything happened in complete silence. To the question of whether we will take communion, - a silent nod of the head. Communion, drink. Father Philaret read: « Now let your servant go, Lord... ”- and left for the late Liturgy.
Batiushka closed his eyes and turned slightly to the right.

Half past ten. Fifteen minutes later the bell tolled for the service, the celebratory ringing filled the cell. Dad closed his eyes...

On his last journey through the monastery, from the cell to the church, Fr. John marched in the tomb with an open face and a cross raised high above the coffin in his hands.

Lord, through the prayers of Father John, have mercy on us, Thy unworthy servants!

Biography

Childhood

was eighth and last child in the family of the Oryol philistines Mikhail Dmitrievich and Elisaveta Ilarionovna Krestyankin. Since childhood, he served in the temple, was a novice of the famous Archbishop of Oryol Seraphim (Ostroumov) (the future holy martyr, canonized in 2001). Already at the age of six he was a sacristan, then he acted as a subdeacon. At the age of twelve he expressed his desire to be a monk for the first time. In the biography of the elder, this story is described as follows:

At a civilian job

I remember how he walked with his light, swift gait - he didn’t walk, but flew - along the wooden walkways to our barracks, in his neat black jacket, buttoned up with all the buttons. He had long black hair - the prisoners were cut bald, but the administration allowed him to keep it - he had a beard, and in some places the beginning gray shone in his hair. His pale thin face was directed somewhere forward and upward. I was especially struck by his sparkling eyes - the eyes of a prophet. But when he spoke to you, his eyes, his whole face radiated love and kindness. And in what he said, there was attention and participation, and fatherly admonition, brightened up with gentle humor, could sound. He loved a joke, and there was something of an old Russian intellectual in his manner.

Initially, he worked at a lumberjack. In the spring of 1953, for health reasons and without his request, he was transferred to an invalid separate camp unit near Kuibyshev - Gavrilov Polyana, where he worked by profession as an accountant. On February 15, 1955, he was released ahead of schedule.

Service in the Pskov and Ryazan dioceses

After his release, he served in the Pskov diocese (in Moscow, as a previously convicted person, he was forbidden to live), was a member of the clergy of the Pskov Trinity Cathedral. The activity of the recently released priest caused dissatisfaction with the authorities, he was again threatened with criminal prosecution. Then, in 1957, he would have been forced to leave Pskov and continue serving in the rural parish of the Ryazan diocese. Initially, he was the second priest in the Trinity Church in the village of Troitsa-Pelenitsa, from December 1959 - the Church of Cosmas and Damian in the village of Letovo, from June 1962 - rector of the Resurrection Church in the village of Borets, then - St. Nicholas Church in the village of Nekrasovka. Since the spring of 1966, he was the rector of the St. Nicholas Church in the city of Kasimov. On June 10, 1966, he became a monk with the name John.

At the time of the late 50s, when the Soviet authorities forcibly closed numerous churches, Father John Krestyankin wrote: “We will not deprive ourselves of the church when we can, but we will also learn to carry it with us: exercise your heart in gentleness, your body in purity, both will make you a temple of God.”

Numerous translations about. John from one parish to another were connected with the influence of the authorities, who did not like the active priest, who not only preached excellently, but also was engaged in the economic arrangement of the churches in which he served. In 1967, Patriarch Alexy I signed a decree on his transfer to serve in the Dormition Pskov-Caves Monastery. Returning to the diocese, he learned that while he was in Moscow at a reception with the Patriarch, it was decided to transfer him from Kasimov to another parish (already the sixth in ten years), but it was canceled due to his departure to the monastery.

Elder

From 1967 until his death he lived in the Pskov-Caves Monastery. Since 1970 - abbot, since 1973 - archimandrite. Already a year after Fr. John settled in the monastery, believers from all over the country began to come to him - for advice and blessings. The archimandrite was also visited by Orthodox people from abroad. Believers considered him an old man and revered him for his high spirituality. His biography describes a typical day for Fr. John:

Immediately after the end of the Liturgy, the reception began. In the altar, issues were resolved with the visiting clergy, on the kliros the relatives who had come with the priests were waiting for their turn, in the church local parishioners and visiting pilgrims were waiting. Batiushka left the church surrounded by many people when it was time for dinner. But even on the street, belated questioners and curious ones ran up, whose attention was attracted by the assembled crowd. And the curious, having become inquisitive, found in the center of the crowd at first an attentive listener, and in the future, a spiritual father... Having reached his cell only with the ringing of the bell for dinner, he literally threw off his hood and mantle and ran away. After dinner, the journey from the refectory to the cell lasted at least an hour, and again in the crowd. And in the cell, visitors were already waiting for him, and in the evening a reception was scheduled for those leaving that day. And so every day. Not a day, not a month, but from year to year, until the Lord gave strength. In his phenomenal memory, the priest for a long, long time kept the names of those who addressed him, and prayed for everyone.

Already a very old man, Archimandrite John could not receive all the believers who wished to receive spiritual help from the elder, but until very recently he answered letters from many people from all over the world. Some of them were published - several editions of the "Letters of Archimandrite John (Krestyankin)" were published. Among Orthodox believers, the publication of his sermons and other books, including The Experience of Building a Confession, became widely known. The basis for this work was the conversations of Archimandrite John, which were held in the seventies of the XX century in the Pskov-Caves Monastery during the first week of Great Lent, after reading the penitential canon of Andrew of Crete.

Archimandrite John himself did not like very much when he was called an elder. Once he said to believers:

Do not confuse the old man and the old man. And there are different old people, who are 80 years old, who are 70, like me, who are 60, there are old people and young people. But the elders are God's blessing to people. And we don't have elders anymore. An old man runs around the monastery, and we follow him. And now the time is like this: "There are millions of two-legged creatures, we all look at Napoleons." And we need to learn that we are all essential uselessness and are not needed by anyone except God. He came and suffered for us, for me, for you. And we are looking for the guilty: the Jews are to blame, the government is to blame, the governor is to blame. "Take, eat, this is My Body" - because of me He was crucified. "Drink - this is My Blood" - He shed it because of me. And I am a participant in everything. The Lord is calling, calling us to repentance, to feel the measure of our guilt in the disorder of life.

Father John Krestyankin is widely revered by believers as a preacher and All-Russian elder, and the prospect of his future canonization is discussed. In his book Unholy Saints and Other Stories, Archim. Tikhon (Shevkunov) cites many cases of foresight by Archim. John. .

Notes

Links

• Seeing the evening light. Meeting with an old man. Holy Dormition Pskov-Caves Monastery. 2004
• Would you pray to St. Spyridon Trimifuntsky. Memoirs of N. A. Pavlova about Archimandrite John (Krestyankin). Vera newspaper, May 6, 2008.
• Life, morality, faith. About Archimandrite John (Krestiankin)

Categories:

• Personalities in alphabetical order
• April 11
• Born in 1910
• Deceased February 5
• Deceased in 2006
• Knights of the Order of the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Seraphim of Sarov, I degree
• Graduates of the Moscow Theological Academy
• Archimandrites of the Russian Orthodox Church
• Oryol and Livny diocese
• Repressed in the USSR
• Prisoners of Lefortovo Prison
• The dead in the Pskov-Caves Monastery

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John Krestyankin, also known as Archimandrite John, is a well-known minister of the Russian Orthodox Church. For 40 years he was a minister in the Pskov-Caves Monastery. Considered one of the most revered elders in modern Russia. He passed away quite recently, in 2006.

Childhood

John Krestyankin was born on April 11, 1910 in Russian Empire, in the city of Orel. His parents - Mikhail Dmitrievich and Elisaveta Ilarionovna - were bourgeois. There were 8 children in their family, Ivan was the youngest.

As a little boy, he began serving with the local Archbishop Seraphim (in the world, Mikhail Mitrofanovich Ostroumov).

Already 6-year-old John Krestyankin was Seraphim's sexton, a little later a subdeacon - a junior church official. At the age of 12, for the first time, he expressed his intention to become a monk in the future. Krestyankin himself talks about this episode as follows.

Bishop Nikolai from the diocese of Vladimir arrived to the pilgrims. When he was already saying goodbye, John, like the others, wished to receive parting words in life. And lightly touched his hand to draw attention to himself. Vladyka noticed him and asked him what he wanted. Young Ivan replied that he would like to become a monk. The priest put his hand on his head and seemed to be deep in thought. Only then did he admonish, recommending that he finish school, get a job, and only then take the rank and start serving. So he will come to monasticism.

Later, this episode from the life of the elder was also confirmed by Bishop Seraphim.

First Mentor

John Krestyankin received his first ideas about life and Orthodoxy from Seraphim. The future bishop was born in Moscow, graduated from the theological seminary and in 1904, at the age of 24, was tonsured a monk. At first he served in the St. Onufrievsky Yablochinsky Monastery, today located on the territory of Poland.

In the year of the outbreak of the First World War, he became the rector of the Kholmsk Theological Seminary. He was a famous priest in Russia. During the years of Soviet rule, he was arrested for participating in counter-revolutionary activities. Sent into exile in Kazakhstan, in Karaganda. Then his case was returned for further investigation to Smolensk. Sentenced to be shot. The sentence was carried out in December 1937.

In 2001, Archbishop Seraphim was canonized as a saint.

Civil life

Following the instructions and blessings, Krestyankin began to study. He graduated from high school already under Soviet rule, in 1929. Went to school to become an accountant. Then he got a job in his specialty in Orel.

The work was time-consuming, often having to stay up late or go to services on weekends to turn in reports. All this greatly distracted and interfered with church attendance. And as soon as he tried to disagree with such orders, he was immediately fired.

In 1932 he moved from Orel to Moscow. Gets a job in the same position as an accountant in a small business. Here the work was much calmer, nothing distracted from regular church attendance. In addition to services, he constantly participated in meetings at which they discussed topical issues of church life.

In the service of the church

During the years of the Great Patriotic War the churches were given concessions, life became much easier for the priests, the state no longer persecuted them and even supported them in some way.

Therefore, in 1944, Krestyankin became a psalm reader in the capital's Church of the Nativity of Christ in Izmailovo, which has survived to this day. Six months later, Metropolitan Nikolai ordained him a deacon. John accepts celibacy, that is, renounces marriage.

Already after the end of the war, in October 1945, he passed exams externally to the theological seminary. In the same month, with the blessing of Patriarch Alexy I, he becomes a priest. At the same time, it remains to serve in the Izmailovsky parish.

The prayers of John Krestyankin evoked a response from the parishioners, he often read sermons, they turned to him for help or advice. At the same time, he, like most priests after the end of the Great Patriotic War, was in bad standing with the Soviet authorities. Largely due to the fact that he refused to cooperate with them.

At the Trinity-Sergius Lavra

When the pressure of the Soviet authorities became especially strong, the young priest turns to the patriarch for help. Alexy I morally supported him and advised him to turn to the Missal and fulfill everything that is written there, and endure the difficulties of the world around him. As John himself later admitted, these parting words greatly helped him.

In 1946, he moved to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, located in the Moscow region, in the center of Sergiev Posad. In parallel, he begins to study at the Moscow Theological Seminary at the correspondence department. He is writing a candidate's thesis about the fate of Seraphim of Sarov and his significance for the religious and moral life of that time. However, he soon returned to the Izmailovo diocese.

Krestyankin does not have time to defend his candidate: in 1950 he was arrested.

Prison term

Krestyankin spent four months at the Lubyanka and Lefortovo. In August he was transferred to Butyrka prison. He was kept in the same cell with criminals.

On October 8, 1950, he was sentenced. Krestyankin was sentenced to 7 years in strict regime camps for anti-Soviet agitation under Article 58, which was popular at the time. He served his sentence in the Arkhangelsk region, in Kargopollag.

The campers recalled that the prison did not break him, he always moved with an easy and relaxed gait. All prisoners were shaved bald, but the administration allowed him to keep his long black hair, as well as a beard. His gaze was always directed forward and upward.

In the camp he worked at a logging site, in 1953 his health deteriorated. As a result, he was transferred to a light regime in a camp in Gavrilova Polyana, near Kuibyshev, where he worked as an accountant.

After release

After serving in the camps, Krestyankin returned to church service. At the same time, he was forbidden to live in Moscow, so he found a place for himself in the Pskov diocese, in the Trinity Cathedral.

Such activity has provoked new dissatisfaction with the authorities. He was again threatened with persecution. Therefore, Father John had to leave the regional center for a small rural parish in Ryazan region. First, to the village of Trinity-Pelenitsa, then to Letovo, then to Borets, and then to St. Nicholas Church in Nekrasovka. In 1966 he moved to the town of Kasimov. There, in 1966, he took the vows as a monk under the name John. The tonsure was performed by the elder Seraphim.

Such a frequent change of places was explained by the fact that Father John in a new place constantly began to actively preach and solve economic issues, which the Soviet authorities did not like very much.

In 1967 he was transferred to the Pskov-Caves Monastery at the insistence of Patriarch Alexy I. Returning from a meeting with Vladyka, Krestyankin learned about another transfer - the sixth in 10 years. However, it was canceled due to his departure to the monastery.

At the monastic service

From then until his death, that is, for more than 30 years, Father John lived almost without a break in the Pskov-Caves Monastery. In 1970, he received the clergy as abbot, and three years later, archimandrite.

Soon after he moved to the Pskov region, Orthodox believers from all over the country began to come to him. Many dreamed of getting to him for confession. Archimandrite John Krestyankin always gave useful advice and blessing. For his high spirituality, they began to consider him an old man. A typical day went like this.

Liturgy in the morning. Immediately after it - spiritual and worldly affairs. In the altar, issues were resolved with priests from other churches and monasteries, in the temple, local parishioners and believers who came from afar were waiting for a meeting. Even on the way to dinner, he was constantly surrounded by many people who tried to ask a secret question or receive a blessing.

After lunch, the reception of visitors continued, the day ended with communication in the cell with pilgrims who were to leave on the same day.

Archimandrite's letters

Having grown old, Archimandrite John Krestyankin could no longer receive such a number of people, but he constantly answered their letters. Some of them were later published. These books immediately became popular among believers. One of the most famous publications was published in 2002.

"Letters of John Krestyankin" is a collection of the elder's answers to several Orthodox, which he could no longer accept personally. They were published by the publishing house of the Pskov-Caves Monastery. They talk about everything that can be found in this world. About God, the world, man, the church, the need to follow the commandments.

The sermons of John Krestyankin contain helpful tips. In his speeches, the archimandrite discusses how to choose the right path in life. There are also instructions for parishioners.

"Sermon Building Experience"

During his life, he left many works that are highly valued by believers today, John Krestyankin. "The experience of constructing a confession" is one of the most significant.

The basis for this book was the conversations of John, which he conducted in the Pskov-Caves Monastery in the 70s during Great Lent, immediately after reading the canon of St. Andrew of Crete. During these evenings, many people remember the construction of the confession. John Krestyankin literally healed with a word.

Someone managed to record these conversations, and these records began to be passed from hand to hand. Each chapter is devoted to a separate commandment, which is described and interpreted in detail. In addition to the ten classic Christian commandments, the beatitudes are given. Among them are "Blessed are the poor in spirit", Blessed are those who mourn" and others.

Campaign against TIN

John Krestyankin, whose books were already actively published in the 2000s, had significant social weight.

In 2001, he spoke out against the campaign to end the TIN. Many clergy then claimed that they were trying to assign people a faceless number instead of a Christian name. Thus destroy their spirituality.

Krestyankin argued that in the eyes of God, a person cannot lose his Christian name. As an example, he cites dozens and hundreds of priests and ordinary believers who died in Stalin's camps. Everyone forgot about their name, in reports and documents they were listed only under a faceless number, but God certainly accepted them. After all, worldly affairs and worries are of little concern to Him. Moreover, many of them became martyrs, and some were even canonized as saints.

God is only interested human soul- John Krestyankin stated. Confession, communion, prayer - if a person observes these simple rituals, then God will never forget about him.

Archimandrite awards

In 2005, Father John turned 95 years old. For the anniversary, he was awarded the church order of St. Seraphim of Sarov, about which he once wrote his Ph.D. thesis at the theological seminary.

By that time, the archimandrite had already been awarded several significant awards from the Orthodox Church. In 1978 he received the Order of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir of the third degree, and in 1980 - the Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh, also of the third degree.

Already after the collapse Soviet Union, in 2000, was awarded the Order Holy Right-Believing Prince Daniel of Moscow.

Then, in 2000, Vladimir Putin, who headed the country a few months ago, went to meet with the archimandrite. This speaks of the respect and importance attached to the elder even by the first persons of the state. Photographs remain in memory of that meeting.

Memory of Father John

At the very end of his life, John Krestyankin was seriously ill. Confession and other church sacraments practically do not conduct independently. And he rarely got out of bed.

On February 5, 2006, he passed away at the age of 95. Elder John Krestyankin was buried according to Orthodox custom in the caves of the Dormition Pskov-Caves Monastery. The remains of other Cave monks are also buried there.

By the way, Father John himself did not welcome when he was called an elder. He thought it was God's blessed people which no longer exist today.

At the same time, in our time, Archimandrite John Krestyankin is revered by Orthodox believers both as an All-Russian elder and as a preacher. Now, on the sidelines of the Russian Orthodox Church, there is talk of his possible imminent canonization.

In 2011 at the publishing house Sretensky Monastery A collection of stories by Archimandrite (at that time, now - Bishop) of the Russian Orthodox Church Tikhon, in the world of Georgy Shevkunov, was published. Titled "Unholy Saints". A large number of works in the collection is dedicated to the life of the Pskov-Caves Monastery, as well as personally to John Krestyankin. In particular, his foresight and prudence.

Years in the city of Orel in the family of Mikhail Dmitrievich and Elizaveta Illarionovna Krestyankin. He was the eighth child in the family. The boy was named John in honor of St. John the Hermit celebrated on this day.

As a child, he served in the temple, was a novice at the Oryol Archbishop Seraphim (Ostroumov), known for his monastic rigor. When Vanya was two years old, his father Mikhail Dmitrievich died. A deeply religious and pious mother was engaged in raising her son. Father John preserved in his grateful memory the labors of love of those who led and instructed him spiritually. From infancy to youth, these are the Oryol archpriests: Father Nikolai Azbukin and Father Vsevolod Kovrigin. At the age of 10, he experienced the influence of Archpriest-Elder Georgy Kosov from the village of Spas-Chekryak, Oryol Territory, who was the spiritual child of St. Ambrose of Optina.

Father John received his first indication of future monasticism in his adolescence from two friends - bishops: Archbishop Seraphim (Ostroumov), the future holy martyr, and Bishop Nicholas (Nikolsky). Orel old nun Vera Alexandrovna Loginova, blessing him for life in Moscow, looked into the distant future of the young man John, arranging a meeting with her on Pskov land.

After high school he graduated from accounting courses and, having moved to Moscow, worked in this specialty.

Monasticism was taught by the priest and the monastic charter of life, and living elders who labored in the Caves monastery: Hieroschemamonk Simeon (Zhelnin), Schema-Archimandrite Pimen (Gavrilenko), Archimandrite Afinogen (Agapov), the vicar, Archimandrite Alipy (Voronov); also the last Valaam elders: Hieroschemamonk Michael (Pitkevich), Schemamonk Luke (Zemskov), Schemamonk Nikolai (Monks); Bishops who lived in retirement in the monastery: Bishop Theodore (Tekuchev) and Metropolitan Veniamin (Fedchenkov).

Father John is known and revered in the most different countries peace. Words cannot express what Father John meant to his spiritual children and to the entire Russian Orthodox Church. Last years, due to age and illness, he was not able to receive all those who thirsted for his advice. However, letters from different parts of the world continue to arrive at the address of the Pskov-Caves Monastery. The sermons, the books of Father John continue to open a new one, spiritual world for thousands of people and bring yearning souls to God.

Among the most famous and popular books compiled on the basis of his conversations and letters are “The experience of building a confession”, “Sermons, reflections, congratulations”, “A handbook for monastics and laity”, as well as a collection of “Letters from Archimandrite John (Krestyankin)”. The conversations and letters of Father John have been translated and published in foreign languages.

Archim. John (Krestyankina)

My dear family and friends! The day of my life has bowed to sunset. And I've been notified twice already. For the first time ten years ago, but someone's prayers bowed the Lord to mercy and prolonged my stay in the earthly vale. And now, on December 2, 2004, I visibly saw that I had already crossed the river of my life, and I was standing on the eve of Eternity. And as gratitude to God and the Holy Mother of the Church, and most importantly, as evidence that the Providence of God leads us along the path of life, I leave these brief notes, like a mirror reflecting this obvious truth. My scattered episodic narratives have been recorded since 1981. And these were not stories about me, but illustrations of some life situations for others from my life. Now, when this “patchwork quilt” has taken shape, and I have turned over the pages of my life, returning to the past, I myself was touched, seeing the richness of God's mercy to me, a poor and sinful person. And on the threshold of the New Life, the Life that has matured on earthly pastures, I stand with bated breath in anticipation of a meeting with my Lord, a meeting that my soul has longed for all my life. And to you, as a request for a prayerful memory of me, I leave these notes about life in God and a testament verified by my very life:

My dear children of God! Believe God, trust in His always good will for us. Accept everything in life, and joy, and joylessness, and prosperity, and villainy, as the mercy and truth of the ways of the Lord. And fear nothing in life except sin. Only he deprives us of God's favor and gives us over to the power of the enemy's arbitrariness and tyranny. Love God! Love love and each other to the point of selflessness. The Lord knows how to save those who love Him.

Bibliography

1. Chernyshev V. Blessed memory writer Oleg Volkov.. Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate.. Moscow. 1996 No. 3. p. 47..
2. John (Krestyankin). Sheet of the hospital church of St. blgv. Tsarevich Dimitri. Moscow. Hospital Church of St. blgv. Tsarevich Dimitry.. 0 No. 18. 6 p.. Sermon
3. John (Krestyankin). Sermon on Forgiveness Sunday. blgv. Tsarevich Dimitri. Moscow. Hospital Church of St. blgv. Tsarevich Demetrius. 0 No. 16. 8 p. Sermon
4. Derzhavin I., archpriest.. Rural father / Recorded by Anton Zhogolev.. Blagovest.. Samara. 1995 No. 15..

John Krestyankin was born on April 11, 1910, in large family, in the city of Orel. He was the eighth youngest child. John's father, Mikhail Dmitrievich Krestyankin, died early, and the mother, Elizaveta Illarionovna, took on the burden of responsibility for the maintenance and upbringing of the children. She was a deeply religious woman, and John owed his primary education in the field of Christian morality to her.

They say that in infancy, Vanya was not distinguished by enviable health, and his mother prayed a lot about this, and even made a vow to God to consecrate her son to Him.

By the providence of God, John joined the church life in early childhood. At the age of six, he was noticed by a bishop, for whose carriage John ran repeatedly when he went to serve in the cathedral. Once, meeting the child's gaze, the bishop ordered the coachman to stop, invited the boy to his place, asked what his name was and whether he would like to help him at the altar. For Vanya, this proposal was beyond all expectations, and he, happy, of course, gave a positive answer.

So, already at the age of six, he performed the duties of a sexton, and later a subdeacon. As a child, his spiritual mentors were local archpriests: Nikolai Azbukin and Vsevolod Kovrigin. Undoubtedly, Archbishop Seraphim (Ostroumov) also had a significant influence on his fate.

At about the age of twelve, Ivan expressed a preliminary, but quite firm desire to devote his future life monastic endeavor. When, on occasion, he reported this desire to Bishop Nikolai (Nikolsky), he, on reflection, said that it would certainly come true. And so it happened.

After school, which Ivan graduated in 1929, he continued his studies in accounting courses, and then got a job in his specialty in his hometown. Due to frequent overtime assignments, he could not adequately devote his personal time to attending the temple. This caused him dissatisfaction, but when he decided to confront his superiors with his disagreement, the authorities burst into discontent, and he was fired.

For some time he could not find a job and in 1932 he moved to Moscow, where he became the chief accountant at a small enterprise. Work did not prevent him from attending services. Soon Ivan entered the circle of Orthodox young people, discussed with them questions of spiritual life, and this friendship further strengthened him in his intention to follow the spiritual path.

During the war, he was not called to the front, as he was exempted from military service due to myopia. In 1944 he became a psalm reader in the Moscow Church of the Nativity of Christ in Izmailovo, in 1945 he was ordained a deacon in the same parish, and soon a priest.

As if there was no war...

The beginning of the pastoral journey

In 1944, John began to perform the duties of a psalm reader in the Church of the Nativity of Christ, located in Izmailovo. In January 1945, Metropolitan Nicholas (Yarushevich) ordained him a deacon, and at the end of the year, Patriarch Alexy I ordained him a priest.

Carrying out his pastoral service zealously and responsibly, Father John combined it with his studies at the Moscow Theological Academy — he passed the exams in the disciplines studied at the Theological Seminary as an external student.

The active preaching activity of the young priest, who was rapidly gaining popularity among believers, his principled position, unwillingness to make "impossible concessions" to the authorities, irritated the latter.

In April 1950 Father Ioann, without having had time to defend his Ph.D. thesis, was arrested on charges of being anti-Soviet. It is said that the parishioners announced a boycott to the priest who informed "who should" about the content of Father John's sermons. Father John later forgave him for his weakness and asked the parishioners to follow the same.

At first, the arrested person was kept at the Lubyanka and in the Lefortovo prison. And in August 1950, he was transferred to the Butyrka prison, where he was kept together with criminals. During interrogations, the investigator behaved rudely, threatened, exerted pressure, which cannot be said about the priest, who reacted to all accusations with restraint and prudentness, rejecting far-fetched slander.

It is reported that when a recruited clergyman was brought to him for a face-to-face confrontation, Father John was so heartily delighted at his visit that he, broken by a wound of conscience, lost consciousness and fell.

In October, Father John was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment and sent to Kargopollag (Arkhangelsk region). At first, the priest worked at a logging site, but then, for health reasons, he was transferred to another place.

After his early release, which took place in 1955, Father John was sent to the Pskov diocese, and after a short time (in 1957) to Ryazan. During this period, he changed several parishes. This was due to inertia and hostile attitude towards him from the local authorities.

Monastic feat

On June 10, 1966, Father John became a monk, and in 1967 he entered the brotherhood of the Pskov-Pechersk monastery. In 1970 he was elevated to the rank of abbot, and three years later, in 1973, to the rank of archimandrite.

In addition to the traditional duties associated with rank and position, Father John spent a lot of time meeting and talking with people who needed his instructions, prayers, and blessings. There were so many people wishing to meet the priest that the reception of visitors, which began after Divine Liturgy, lasted until late in the evening, with short breaks for a meal, and sometimes continued after midnight.

A significant part of the pilgrims who sought personal meetings with him revered him as a blessed, spirit-bearing elder. And this is not surprising, because in addition to numerous virtues, Father John possessed spiritual wisdom and, as they say, the gift of clairvoyance. Meanwhile, Father John himself, out of humility of heart, treated himself more than critically.

By the end of his life, due to poor health, partly undermined during his imprisonment, Father John could no longer accept everyone who wanted to communicate with him as actively as before. But with many he was connected by correspondence.

On February 5, 2006, Father John, having communed the Holy Mysteries of Christ, reposed in the Lord. He was 95 years old. Saying goodbye, the old man was given proper honors. The funeral was attended by bishops, dozens of priests and ordinary pilgrims, the spiritual children of the deceased. The body of the ascetic was buried in sacred caves.

The creative activity of Father John Krestyankin as a writer

Among the literary monuments of the spiritual heritage of the pastor, a significant part belongs to published letters (see:). As a rule, they are all filled with love and care. In them, he gives moral instructions and advice, sometimes reproaches, promises to pray.

In addition, many of the soulful instructions of Father John are known to us from such writings as "", "", "".

During the spread of unrest and panic among believers about the assignment of a TIN to Russian citizens, the priest expressed a firm judgment that, first of all, a Christian is distinguished not by the presence or absence of an individual number assigned by the state, but by faith and virtue.