2024-06-08

 A DESCENT INTO THE HELL OF HATE AND LIES


THE RED CLOWN YEGVENI CHIRICOV 1864-1932


I used to go back and forth every Saturday to the Riudavets stall on Cuesta Moyano, where I would load up my bag of out-of-print books and dreams.


This week I was rereading The Red Clown by Eugene Chirikov and I came face to face with a prophetic novel, dealing with the suffering of the Russian people, their strength, their deep faith in Christ. Scenes described with an illuminated glow, it was a descent into hell.


In one of the ergastulas of the Cheka the poor people await to be shot. Reds and Whites, who brought so much hate?


Captain Alexander Nicolaevich Musayev, hero of the Russian-Japanese war and decorated on the German front, is a hero. He had graduated as a lieutenant from the Frunze military academy.


He was the illegitimate son of a high-ranking figure in the Tsar's court and one of his domestics. He would bear the stigma all his life. When the revolution broke out, he joined the Bolsheviks and shot and imprisoned his fellow soldiers.


Some asked to be taken to the firing squad, wearing his epaulettes and the St. George's laurel.


Within the Red Army he was considered one of its top leaders. He was implacable with those loyal to the old regime.


A new era had dawned. Museyev had loved Elena, an aristocratic wife of a general who had died in combat, who left him to go with another, Captain Cordlitsky.


In the cells of the NKVD, a crowd of bourgeois people were crowded together waiting to be taken to the firing squad. They were shot by starting the engines of the trucks so that their moans would not alarm the population.


There were old men, women and children. Comrade Museyev sends them to the gallows without any mercy.


In one of the corners of these torture chambers lies a very beautiful lady with distinguished gestures despite her rags. It is Elena.


Her former lover recognizes her and shows himself willing to sacrifice himself by giving her and her former lover Cordlitsky a license to flee to Crimea and from there to Turkey.


However, the latter, brought to testify before the Cheka, takes off his epaulettes and to save his skin says that the Tsar was a criminal and that he never loved Elena, who was a worldly woman, one of his many flirtations at the imperial court.


The countess who attends the interrogation from behind a curtain faints (to save her the commissioner had kidnapped her and taken her to his house in Moscow where she is assisted by her elderly mother) and realizes that the true love of her life was Museyev.


Here is the crux of the plot of The Red Clown – Krasnii Siatogov – a Greek tragedy drama that, when I reread it on this June night, made me cry.


Elena and Musayev embrace, spend a night of love and, when the deception is discovered by the NKVD spies, they are shot. Labor omnia vincit, according to the evangelical maxim. Love conquers all.


Its strength is divine because on earth it is the arm of God. Chirikov, who was related to the revolutionaries and was a friend of Gorki and Andreiev, disheartened by the ravages and crimes of the revolution, whose leaders were mostly Jews, flees abroad.


He died in Hungary in 1932. Today my conscience was assaulted by a messianic idea: if Russia did not exist, it would have to be invented. It will once again defeat its enemies for the good of humanity.

 Une descente aux enfers de la haine et du mensonge



LE CLOWN ROUGE YEGVENI CHIRICOV 1864-1932




J'allais et venais tous les samedis au stand Riudavets de Cuesta Moyano, là j'emportais mon sac à dos rempli de livres et de rêves épuisés.


Cette semaine j'ai relu le Clown Rouge d'Eugenio Chirikov et je suis tombé sur un roman prophétique, il traite des souffrances du peuple russe, de sa force, de sa foi profonde dans le Christ. Des scènes décrites avec un éclat illuminé, ce fut une descente aux enfers.


Dans l'une des ergastules tchèques, les pauvres attendent d'être fusillés. Rouges et Blancs, qui ont apporté tant de haine ?


Le capitaine Alexander Nicolaevich Musayev, héros de la guerre russo-japonaise et décoré sur le front allemand, est un héros. Il avait obtenu son diplôme de lieutenant à l'académie militaire de Frunze.


Il était le fils bâtard d'un haut personnage de la cour du tsar et d'un de ses domestiques. Il portera cette stigmatisation tout au long de sa vie. Lorsque la révolution éclate, il rejoint les bolcheviks, fusille et emprisonne ses compagnons d'armes.


Certains demandent à être portés au mur avec leurs épaulettes et le lauréat de Saint Georges.


Au sein de l’Armée rouge, il était considéré comme l’une de ses plus grandes forces. Il se comporte sans relâche envers les accros à l’ancien régime.


Une nouvelle époque était née. Museyev avait aimé Elena, épouse aristocratique d'un général mort au combat, qui l'abandonne pour partir avec un autre capitaine Cordlitsky.


 Dans les cachots du NKVD, une foule de bourgeois se rassemble, attendant d'être emmenée au mur. Ils sont abattus en démarrant les moteurs des camions pour que leurs collaborateurs n'alarment pas la population.


 Il y a des hommes, des femmes et des enfants âgés. Le camarade Museev les envoie à l'échafaud sans aucune commisération.


Dans un des coins de ces chambres de torture repose une très belle dame aux gestes distingués malgré ses haillons. C'est Elena.


Son ancien amant la reconnaît et est prêt à se sacrifier, lui donnant ainsi qu'à son ancien amant Cordlitsky la permission de fuir en Crimée et de là en Turquie.


Cependant, ce dernier, amené à témoigner devant la Tchèque, enlève ses épaulettes et pour sauver sa peau affirme que le tsar était un criminel et qu'il n'a jamais aimé Elena, qui était une femme mondaine, un de ses nombreux flirts à l'empereur. tribunal.


La comtesse qui assiste à l'interrogatoire derrière un rideau s'évanouit (pour la sauver, le commissaire l'avait kidnappée et emmenée chez elle à Moscou où elle est assistée par sa mère âgée) et se rend compte que le véritable amour de sa vie était Museyev.


Voici le nœud de l’intrigue du Clown Rouge – Krasnii Siatogov – un drame tragique grec qui m’a fait pleurer en le relisant en cette nuit de juin.


Elena et Musayev s'embrassent, passent une nuit d'amour et, la tromperie découverte par les espions du NKVD, ils sont mis à mort. Labor omnia vincit, conformément à la maxime évangélique. L'amour peut tout faire.


Sa force est divine car sur terre elle est le bras de Dieu. Chirikov, qui était apparenté aux révolutionnaires et ami de Gorki et Andreiev, découragé par les ravages et les crimes de la révolution, dont les dirigeants étaient pour la plupart hébreux, s'enfuit à l'étranger.


 Il est mort en Hongrie en 1932. Aujourd'hui, ma conscience est assaillie par une idée messianique : si la Russie n'existait pas, il faudrait l'inventer. Il vaincra une fois de plus ses ennemis pour le bien de l’humanité.

 Спуск в ад ненависти и лжи



КРАСНЫЙ КЛОУН ЕГВЕНИЙ ЧИРИКОВ 1864-1932




Каждую субботу я ходил туда и обратно в киоск «Риудавец» на Куэста Мояно, носил там свой рюкзак с вышедшими из печати книгами и мечтами.


На этой неделе я снова прочитал «Красного клоуна» Евгения Чирикова и наткнулся на пророческий роман, в нем говорится о страданиях русского народа, его силе, его глубокой вере во Христа. Сцены, описанные с ярким блеском, были спуском в ад.


В одной из чешских эргастул бедняки ждут расстрела. Красные и белые, которые принесли столько ненависти?


Капитан Александр Николаевич Мусаев, герой Русско-Японской войны, награжденный на Германском фронте, является героем. Окончил Военную академию имени Фрунзе лейтенантом.


Он был внебрачным сыном высокопоставленного человека при царском дворе и одним из его прислуги. Он будет нести это клеймо на протяжении всей своей жизни. Когда вспыхивает революция, он присоединяется к большевикам, расстреливает и сажает в тюрьму своих товарищей по оружию.


Некоторые просят, чтобы их отвели к стене в погонах и с георгиевским лауреатом.


В Красной Армии он считался одним из ее самых сильных сторон. Он ведет себя беспощадно по отношению к тем, кто пристрастился к старому режиму.


Родилось новое время. Мусеев любил Елену, аристократическую жену погибшего в бою генерала, которая бросает его и уходит к другому капитану Кордлицкому.


 В застенках НКВД собирается толпа буржуазии, ожидающая, когда ее поведут к стене. Их расстреливают, запуская двигатели грузовиков, чтобы их помощники не тревожили население.


 Есть пожилые мужчины, женщины и дети. Товарищ Мусеев без всякого сочувствия отправляет их на эшафот.


В одном из углов этих застенков лежит очень красивая дама с выдающимися жестами, несмотря на лохмотья. Это Елена.


Ее бывший любовник узнает ее и готов пожертвовать собой, дав ей и ее бывшему любовнику Кордлицкому разрешение бежать в Крым, а оттуда в Турцию.


Однако последний, вызванный для дачи показаний перед чешкой, снимает погоны и, чтобы спасти свою шкуру, говорит, что царь был преступником и что он никогда не любил Елену, которая была мирской женщиной, - один из его многочисленных флиртов при императоре. суд.


Графиня, пришедшая на допрос за занавеской, теряет сознание (чтобы спасти ее, комиссар похитил ее и отвез в свой дом в Москве, где ей помогает пожилая мать) и понимает, что настоящей любовью всей ее жизни был Мусеев.


Вот суть сюжета «Красного клоуна – Красного Сятогова» – греческой трагедии, которая заставила меня плакать, когда я перечитывал ее в эту июньскую ночь.


Елена и Мусаев обнимаются, проводят ночь любви и, в результате обмана, раскрытого шпионами НКВД, их казнят. Labor omnia vincit, в соответствии с евангельской максимой. Любовь побеждает все.


Его сила божественна, потому что на земле это рука Бога. Чириков, который был родственником революционеров и был другом Горького и Андреева, разочарованный разрушительными действиями и преступлениями революции, лидерами которой были в основном евреи, бежал за границу.


 Он умер в Венгрии в 1932 году. Сегодня мою совесть одолела мессианская идея: если бы России не было, ее пришлось бы изобрести. Он еще раз победит своих врагов на благо человечества.

UNA BAJADA A LOS INFIERNOS DEL ODIO Y LA MENTIRA

 

EL PAYASO ROJO YEGVENI CHIRICOV 1864-1932

 

Iba yo y venía cada sábado al tenderete de Riudavets en la Cuesta Moyano, allí cargaba mi escarcela de libros y de sueños descatalogados. 

Esta semana volvía a leer el Payaso Rojo de Eugenio Chirikov y me di de manos a boca con una novela profética, trata de los padecimientos del pueblo ruso, de su fortaleza, de su acendrada fe en cristo. Escenas descritas con un fulgor iluminado, fue una bajada a los infiernos. 

En una de las ergástulas de la checa aguardan a ser fusilados las pobres gentes. Rojos y Blancos ¿quién trajo tanto odio? 

El capitán Alejandro Nicolaevich Musayev héroe de la guerra ruso japonesa y condecorado en el frente alemán es un héroe. Había salido graduado de teniente de la academia militar de Frunze. 

Era hijo bastardo de un alto personaje en la corte del zar y de una de sus domésticas. Arrastrará el estigma toda su vida. Al estallar la revolución se une a los bolcheviques y fusila y encarcela a sus compañeros de armas. 

Algunos piden ser llevados al paredón luciendo sus charreteras y la laureada de san Jorge. 

Dentro del ejército rojo era considerado como uno de sus máximos puntales. Se comporta implacable con los adictos al viejo régimen. 

Un tiempo nuevo había nacido. Museyev había amado a Elena una aristócrata, esposa de un general fallecido en combate, la cual lo abandona para irse con otro el capitán Cordlitsky.

 En los calabozos de la NKVD se apiña una multitud de burgueses en espera de ser llevados al paredón. Se los fusila poniendo los motores en marcha de los camiones para que sus ayes no alarmen a la población.

 Hay hombres ancianos mujeres y niños. El camarada Museyev les manda al patíbulo sin ninguna conmiseración. 

En uno de los rincones de estas cámaras de tortura yace una señora muy bella de gestos  distinguidos pese a sus harapos. Es Elena. 

Su antiguo amante la reconoce y se muestra dispuesto a sacrificarse él mismo dándoles patente a ella y a su ex querido Cordlitsky para que huyan a Crimea y de ahí a Turquía.  

Sin embargo, este último llevado a declarar ante la checa se despoja de sus charreteras y para salvar el pellejo dice que el zar era un criminal y que él jamás amó a Elena que era una mundana, uno de sus muchos coqueteos en la corte imperial. 

La condesa que detrás de una cortina asiste al interrogatorio sufre un desmayo (para salvarla el comisario la había secuestrado y llevado a su casa de Moscú donde es asistida por su madre ancianita) y se da cuenta de que el verdadero amor de su vida era Museyev. 

He aquí el nudo de la trama del Payaso Rojo –Krasnii Siatogov− un drama de tragedia griega que al releerlo en esta noche de junio a mí me hizo llorar. 

Elena y Musayev se abrazan, pasan una noche de amor y, descubierto el engaño por los espías del NKVD, son pasados por las armas. Labor omnia vincit, de acuerdo con la máxima evangélica. El amor todo lo puede. 

Su fuerza es divina porque en la tierra es el brazo de Dios. Chirikov que estuvo relacionado con los revolucionarios y fue amigo de Gorki y Andreiev descorazonado con los estragos y crímenes de la revolución cuyos capitostes eran hebreos en su mayor parte, huye al extranjero.

 Murió en Hungría en 1932. Hoy mi consciencia fue asaltada por una idea mesiánica: si no existiera Rusia habría que inventarla. Volverá a vencer a sus enemigos para bien de la humanidad.

2024-06-06

PUSHKIN ES PARTE DEL ALMA RUSA

 melodías de amor

Al 225 aniversario del nacimiento de A.S. Pushkin

06 junio 2024

Borís Shcherbakov. A.S. Pushkin sobre el lago al atardecer, 1978



melodías de amor

00:00 de 18:04

1x




Una vez, Pushkin escribió en el álbum de la pianista polaca Maria Szymanowska unas líneas que no parecían en absoluto un álbum: “De los placeres de la vida, la música es inferior al amor, pero el amor también es una melodía”. En la poesía de Pushkin, esta melodía suena en todos los registros, con todos los matices y matices. El poeta nos dejó su enorme y única experiencia espiritual, plasmada en una perfecta forma artística.


Las letras de amor son la parte más personal, íntima y, quizás, la más querida de su obra por los lectores. Parece que conocemos mejor estos poemas de Pushkin: a partir de sus textos se escribieron romances famosos, se leen desde el escenario y se citan ampliamente. Quién no recuerda: “Te amo, aunque esté furiosa”, “Te amé… cómo Dios quiera que seas amada para ser diferente”, “Es hora, belleza, despierta”. Mientras tanto, los poemas famosos a veces revelan significados completamente inesperados.


Preguntémonos: ¿quién es ese “yo” en cuyo nombre se escribieron los poemas de Pushkin? ¿Y quién es esa “ella” a la que se dirigen? A primera vista todo está claro. "Él" es Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, "ella" es una de sus amantes. En la literatura científica y especialmente de divulgación científica encontraremos mucha información sobre las mujeres favoritas del poeta y sobre las tramas asociadas a tal o cual poema. Tras un examen más detenido, a menudo resulta que esta información es muy inexacta.


En los primeros poemas del liceo de Pushkin, “él” es un joven melancólico que sufre la separación de su amada, que a menudo piensa en la muerte y está lleno de tristes presentimientos. Por ejemplo: “¿Nunca nos miraremos? / ¿Están mis días cubiertos de eterna oscuridad?..”; “¡Y tú estás conmigo, oh lira, abatida, / confidente de mi alma enferma!” etc. Por lo que sabemos por las memorias de sus contemporáneos, Pushkin, el estudiante del liceo, era un joven alegre con un carácter irascible y desequilibrado, un corazón cálido y una lengua afilada. En poesía, crea una imagen característica del héroe lírico de la elegía "triste", bajo cuya influencia estaba entonces bajo la influencia. Las heroínas de sus letras, todas estas "Elviras" y "Leilas", suelen ser imágenes ficticias. Sí, hubo un tiempo en que estuvo enamorado romántica y platónicamente de Katenka Bakunina, la hermana de su compañero de clase. Sin embargo, es imposible dirigirle a ella todos los poemas líricos de este período. Además, entre el joven poeta y Katenka no había ni podía haber ninguna relación real, como se insinúa en algunas líneas. Durante estos años, Pushkin todavía tenía muy poca experiencia en el trato con el buen sexo, pero conocía perfectamente la experiencia de los demás: la poesía ligera y erótica francesa. En su imaginación vive diversas historias de amor con las que sólo podía soñar, dándoles autenticidad con el poder de su don poético. Un día, debido a esto, se encontró en una situación extremadamente incómoda.


En el poema "A una joven viuda", el héroe lírico intenta calmar a su amante, que teme el fantasma de su marido recientemente fallecido. Inmediatamente surgió la sospecha de que los poemas estaban dirigidos a Maria Nikolaevna Smith, quien desde finales de 1816 vivió en la familia del director del Liceo E.A. Engelhardt. Era una mujer bonita, amable e ingeniosa que animaba la compañía que se reunía en casa de Engelhardt. Había enviudado recientemente y se estaba preparando para ser madre. Se creía que fue este poema el que se convirtió en el motivo de la relación hostil de Pushkin con Engelhardt.


Sin embargo, no hay razón para creer que Pushkin le haya regalado este poema a María Smith; tal acto fue más allá de todos los límites de la decencia. ¿Por qué un joven se expondría como un ignorante grosero e insultaría a una mujer dulce e inteligente? Quizás el poema cayó accidentalmente en sus manos, lo tomó como algo personal y por eso se sintió ofendida. También es posible que Pushkin no haya previsto tal reacción por parte de María: por supuesto, no existía ninguna relación íntima entre ellos.


El inmodesto mensaje tenía fuentes literarias bien conocidas: el motivo del regreso de un marido (amante) muerto fue utilizado por Voltaire, J.-J. Russo, Guys y Batyushkov. ¡Además, estaba la famosa leyenda de Don Juan! Como vemos, una simple interpretación biográfica del contenido de un poema lírico puede causar grandes problemas al poeta...


No hay datos que indiquen que en la vida de Pushkin hubo al menos una aventura con una mujer que acababa de enviudar. Pero por alguna razón, el motivo del regreso de su difunto marido adquirió tal importancia para él que después de doce años, llenos de enorme experiencia emocional e intelectual, volverá a él en la tragedia "El invitado de piedra".


En las letras maduras de Pushkin, la correlación de las tramas líricas con acontecimientos reales de su vida se vuelve mucho más difícil. Por ejemplo, en el poema “¿Me perdonarás los sueños de celos?” no sólo no está clara la imagen de la heroína, sino también la naturaleza de su relación con su amante.


La elegía se asociaba a menudo con los nombres de Amalia Riznich o Karolina Sobanska. Mientras tanto, una serie de detalles en el texto del poema indican claramente que, a diferencia de ellos, su heroína es una niña soltera bajo el cuidado de su madre. ("



Мелодии любви

К 225-летию со дня рождения А.С. Пушкина
Борис Щербаков. А.С.Пушкин над озером в вечерний час, 1978 г.
Мелодии любви
00:00 из 18:04


LAS MUJERES DE LOS POPES II

 

SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATOR, RHEUMATOLOGIST, POET, AND KNOWING A LITTLE OF EVERYTHING

Priests’ wives talk about their service in the Church. Part 2

To follow in God’s footsteps with the children”

Part 1. Pilgrimage Organizer, Speech Therapist, and the Mother of a Big, Second Family

Olga Koikova introduces children to the art of bell-ringingOlga Koikova introduces children to the art of bell-ringing    

Olga Koikova, teacher of the Rodnik Home for Children with Learning Difficulties in Murygino, wife of the rector of the Church of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God in the village of Girsovo:

Olga KoikovaOlga KoikovaFor thirty-seven years I have been working at the Rodnik Boarding Home for Children with Learning Difficulties in Murygino as a teacher, carrying on the cause of my parents, both of whom used to work here as well. In 2012, it occurred to me to organize a house church at the Home, and with the blessing of Vladyka Mark the building of the church commenced. It is small, only about 390 square feet, but this church has everything it should have: a sanctuary, a place where children from the Home can have confession, and a kliros; there are candle holders where you can put candles for the health and the repose of your loved ones.

Children from the Rodnik Home gladly come to services. The Divine Liturgy is celebrated once a month, and twice a month we organize prayer services. Batiushka comes to us to perform services. During the Paschal season there was a cross procession around the Home—it is a special joy for us and the children. We are so grateful to the priests who cooperate with us! After the Divine Liturgy, batiushka and I go to give communion to all the bedridden children and sprinkle them with holy water. It has been noticed that children become calmer after this. Sometimes as you walk along the corridor you hear children make noise and shout, but once batiushka gives the Body and Blood of Christ to the children, silence begins to reign there and the children calm down.

Our house church has existed for fourteen years now. Fr. Valery Goshev helped us and started organizing everything. Many good, kind-hearted priests pastored our Home. After him came Fr. Nikolai Repin, who miraculously found an approach to children. It was the very difficult time of the pandemic. He always called us, wondered how we were doing, and brought us prosphora and holy water when we were in quarantine. Many thanks to him for such support. Then Fr. Nikolai Veselov began to pastor us. Cheerful and good-natured, he found an approach to the children quickly, and they came to love him with all their hearts. Today we are pastored by Priest Alexander Popov.

Olga Koikova with her husband, Fr. VladimirOlga Koikova with her husband, Fr. Vladimir    

The children followed in the footsteps of God very cautiously. At first they took very timid steps. We just taught them the basics of Orthodoxy; the staff tried to show them by their example how to venerate icons, how to make the sign of the cross, and how to pray. But at first it seemed to us that the children couldn’t remember anything, and we even complained to the priests who visited the Home that we were unable to do anything. But they humbly said: “Keep sowing the seeds, and someday they will grow.”

Pilgrimage trips have greatly helped us to follow in the footsteps of God. For children who live in the Home in isolation it is a great joy to escape somewhere. The “From Vyatka” pilgrimage service took us under its wing. Nadezhda Shapoval developed itineraries that were understandable and interesting for our children with special needs. Pilgrims often confessed to us that at first, when Nadezhda informed them that children with special needs would join them, they were scared and even were about to cancel, fearing that the children would be very noisy. But everything turned out the other way around: the children were very obedient, they always stood calmly and upright at services and prayed sincerely with all their hearts. And, of course, the children in the Rodnik Home look forward to their next meetings with the Lord; they always behave perfectly at services and take Holy Communion. The older children help at the Liturgy in our house church. They have already grown up, so they help us with the younger children: they help them stand in line for Communion, give them some prosphora and some wine mixed with warm water right after Communion and teach them how to eat prosphora carefully so as not to drop any crumbs.

Olga Koikova with children from the Rodnik HomeOlga Koikova with children from the Rodnik HomeHere is one of my observations. For several years the children just stood at the service, listened to church hymns, watched and were silent. But quite recently we had a miracle: they started singing along with the choir! Now we have many mute children; we communicate with them using sign language. And once, they began to mumble! The choir director and I exchanged glances. We usually sang, while they just listened to us. And suddenly they started singing “Our Father”, then the Creed, and then quickly began to join in the singing throughout the service. The priest blessed the participation of these children in services. The choir director, Elena Grigorievna Mamayeva from the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in the village of Murygino, shows them with her hands where to sing “Lord have mercy” and where other words are needed. And on their own level, they have already begun to accompany almost the entire service with their “mute” singing: sometimes they help themselves with their hands as they are unable to pronounce words distinctly, but we humbly admire them and rejoice that they walk towards the Lord their own way.

The sacrament of Baptism in the Rodnik Home is always a special event. There was a point when we realized that some unbaptized children had been admitted to it, and batiushka baptized them. We would bring a font, appoint a day, and our friends from pilgrimage trips and Orthodox youth would come to us. These were touching, unforgettable moments. There were also moments when the older children became the godparents of the younger ones, and now they take them to Communion, rejoice for them, and help us take them on pilgrimage trips. That is, the older children guide the younger ones in their steps to God.

The children like to do crafts for the major feasts and draw churches. And if they go on a trip, they will definitely reflect their impressions in drawings later. They take part in the annual “My Dream Church” competition and win prizes.

Not long ago, my husband was ordained priest. Of course, it is a great responsibility. Becoming a priest’s wife was a serious step for me. I am supposed to help batiushka and the church parishioners. They ask a lot of questions, and sometimes I don’t know how to answer them and say that I will be able to give an answer at the next service. Then I prepare and answer these questions. Our parishioners like to gather for spiritual conversations. Meanwhile, from the time I became a priest’s wife I have had inner humility, more patience, and peace of mind.

The parish of the Church of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God in the village of GirsovoThe parish of the Church of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God in the village of GirsovoMy husband, Father Vladimir Koikov, was appointed rector of the Church of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God in the village of Girsovo. There are many things to do in the village church—you need to help in the church shop, read the Hours, and in the absence of a bell-ringer you fill in for him and provide the service with choir singing. The church is being built, and we are restoring the bell-tower on our own. Our parish is small, but very united; we decorate the church for the feasts, build Nativity scenes from snow, and clean up the area—we do everything together. And today the parish is already discussing meeting the Velikoretsky cross procession. How gratifying it is that people have joined the church, united, and are following in the footsteps of God together.

This year on the feast of the holy Myrrh-Bearing Women, after the Divine Liturgy Fr. Vladimir Koikov greeted the Orthodox women in the parish, gave them presents, wished them spiritual joy, prosperity and good health.

We also have this interesting aspect in our family—our children (daughter and son) support us. They know that the children in the Rodnik Home call me “mother”, and we take some of them to stay with us for a week in the summer.

I remember many stories about children with special needs from the Rodnik Home, how earnestly they prayed that their mothers who had not visited them for years would come to them, how icons started “weeping” after their prayers, how the older children prayed for their own homes… And everything was sorted out! Glory to God for all things.

The main thing is to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep”

Ekaterina Molokanova, administrator of St. Seraphim’s Cathedral, wife of the cleric of the Church of the Great-Martyr Panteleimon in Kirov, Priest Sergei Molokanov:

Ekaterina and Priest Sergei Molokanov at St. Seraphim’s ChurchEkaterina and Priest Sergei Molokanov at St. Seraphim’s ChurchI have been the administrator and shop assistant at the Cathedral of St. Seraphim of Sarov as an obedience for three years now.

It is a great joy to labor in such a holy place as our church, to be part of such a wonder as St. Seraphim’s Cathedral. It still evokes the atmosphere of pre-revolutionary Russia and preserves it. And, of course, I want everyone who enters this church to feel this, and take a bit of its warmth away with them, returning to the fuss of everyday life. The task of everyone who meets a parishioner on the threshold of the church is to help him feel this warmth in his heart.

Unfortunately this does not happen everywhere, and sometimes we hear sad stories from people who met indifferent or even unfriendly church workers in another church, who frightened them away from church with their rude words.

It was the same with me. I met a cantankerous church worker on my way to God whom I now remember with a smile. But then, after listening to my complaints, my father-confessor said: “You can’t put a kind and sensitive person at every candlestand. Try to work there yourself.”

These words became a “seed” that was destined to grow only seven years later. But I regret a single time that I labored in the house of God. As one elder said, if people could see with their spiritual eyes what abundant grace is poured out during the Liturgy, they would collect the dust from the floor and wash themselves with it.

I want to ask all of us: If you see someone enter a church without a headscarf, or light a candle from an icon lamp, or read prayers on a smartphone, don’t reproach them! People are coming to God—we mustn’t stop them. Visitors often ask church workers to show them one or another icon with the words, “Take me to the Mother of God.” And we do it. So, let’s walk together!!!

But any work that is pleasing to God is accompanied by difficulties and temptations. Moreover, there are plenty of them in working with people. It would seem, I gave a candle to a visitor, submitted intercession lists, and the job is done. But this is only at first glance. People come to church in the hope that they will be listened to, guided and treated kindly. All of them!

Therefore, the most important thing in our service is to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep, and all this on the same day. And I would place emphasis on the ability to listen to a person without judging him even with a glance or gesture. People are doubly grateful for this.

Ekaterina Molokanova and her husband Priest Sergei with their children during a horse rideEkaterina Molokanova and her husband Priest Sergei with their children during a horse rideOf course, we send people with purely spiritual questions to priests, but it often happens that it is easier for a person to ask a church worker about something, especially if he sees that she is friendly. Therefore, you have to be a psychologist, a missionary, a catechist, a historian, and even a guide. Last week, for example, an icon of the Apostle John the Theologian in our church reminded a visitor of the painting, “St. Luke”, by the Flemish painter Franz Hals, and it was vital for her to discuss with me all the differences between these two canvases. It appears that it’s good to be a little bit of an art critic. It is necessary to know Orthodox literature well in order to recommend books to parishioners for reading. At the same time, new prospects for inner development appear: there is room to grow, to explore the world of the Orthodox faith, Christian culture and literature in order to share discoveries with people around us—those whom we meet in the church of God.

The Velikoretsky cross procession is a special time for the entire Vyatka Metropolia and for our church. Indeed, at this time, the palette of interesting meetings shines with new colors. Communication with pilgrims is priceless! And we, in turn, want them to have kind memories of our St. Seraphim’s Cathedral. We help them find a pair of sneakers, a mug for the journey, or the way to the train station.

Ekaterina with her daughter ElisavetaEkaterina with her daughter ElisavetaBut moments of joy are rare and fleeting, while the sea of human tears that are shed in the church of God is bottomless. Today, of course, these are tears of the mothers and the wives of the fallen soldiers. Since the very beginning my husband, Fr. Sergei Molokanov, a cleric of the Church of the holy Great-Martyr Panteleimon in Kirov, and I have been compiling a list of fallen soldiers from the Kirov region for their prayerful commemoration. There are also several female parishioners in our St. Seraphim Church who, with the blessing of their father-confessors, pray for the killed soldiers.

Our family keeps in touch with the mothers of some soldiers—together we visit the graves of their heroic sons who laid down their lives for the sake of their friends. Their mothers are true myrrh-bearing women who, like our Mother Theotokos, sacrificed what they held dearest—their sons—for us.

And, of course we, the parish church workers, sometimes also need support. And we have someone to turn to. The church’s head priest, Archpriest Sergei Sizikhin, is like a spiritual rock, our support. Batiushka always cheers us up with his kind pastoral words.

He was touched by the fact that we in church are not mere church workers who “provide services”, but also part of the parish, brothers and sisters who had once decided to devote our lives to serving and helping others here in church.

Come to the church to pray, participate in the sacraments of the Church, light a candle or just pray to God quietly. And may you meet only good church workers!

After God, family should come first in our lives”

Xenia Filimonova, a rheumatologist, Associate Professor of the Department of Internal Diseases of Kirov State Medical University, a member of the Union of Writers of Russia, wife of the rector of the Church of the Archangel Michael of the Raduzhny neighborhood of Kirov, Priest Oleg Filimonov:

I am the mother of four children, but I also work. To be honest, I never believed that I should stay at home. After all, if God has given me talents, I must use them. I always studied well at school and chose my profession thanks to my mother. She is a teacher with fifty years of experience, and she used to tell my me and brothers: “Don’t become teachers—it’s very difficult and responsible.” Being a doctor is a wonderful profession. But in the end both my older brother (who had studied at the Polytechnic Institute) and I (after graduating from the medical academy) received Ph.Ds and stayed at our alma mater as teachers. Of course, I did not give up my medical work either. Our Department of Internal Diseases, of which I am an associate professor, is located at the Kirov Railway hospital, where I recieve patients as a rheumatologist.

I like my job because I feel that I can give something to students based on my own experience and knowledge. I try to instill in them the desire to be good doctors. Because now half of the success in treating patients is mere attention to them, since in our age of universal digitalization doctors often simply don’t have time to look at his patient—the main thing is to enter data into a computer. I don’t speak directly about the faith. If asked, I’ll answer, but I think I should set a good example by my behavior.

One of my main hobbies is writing poems and songs. I’ve written poetry since I was eight, and I started composing songs at the age of fifteen when I learned to play the guitar. Since 2017 I have been a member of the Union of Writers of Russia. In total, five books of my poems have been published, and an audiobook with poems and songs have been produced in the Living Voice project.

I am often invited to meetings in libraries with schoolchildren and adult readers, where I try to share the joy of life, faith, the beauty of my native land, love for children and the world. In my works I speak about the Velikoretsky cross procession and my favorite feasts: Christmas, Theophany and Pascha. Lately I have been writing melodies based on poems by Vyatka authors. I really like meeting good people in the provinces.

But let’s return to the most important thing—to the family. Even in my school years I would go to Sunday school, which was led by Fr. Vladimir Trukhin, and I always prayed to God to send me a good Orthodox husband. While studying in Kirov, I attended the “Philokalia” Orthodox youth club in Novovyatsk, where I met my soulmate. We dated for three years and were married in 2004. Now I can say that God sent me the life partner that I need. Priest Oleg Filimonov is my complete opposite; he does not like big events and performances. But he supports me in this, and it’s not a burden for him to sit with our children and cook dinner, for example. Now I help my husband (as the editor-in-chief of the Vyatka Diocesan Bulletin) by proofreading the newspaper’s materials. Another “obedience” is writing small congratulatory texts for Christmas and Pascha for the “From Vyatka” pilgrimage service, postcards with which circulate throughout monasteries and parishes of Russia.

Not long ago I realized that after God, family should come first in our lives, and only then work, hobbies, traveling and so on. No work, no colleagues, or audience will be with you always. When you realize this, everything falls into place; only your children, husband, and relatives will remain with you. Of course, there are problems in child-raising and in family life, but prayer, patience and love always help us!

Prepared by Lada Bayeva
Translation by Dmitry Lapa

Pravoslavie.ru

6/5/2024

See also