Candidate’s thesis of the student of the Petrograd Theological Academy V. S. Verevkin
Contents

From the compilers

From the publisher

Opening address by Metropolitan Herman

Preface to the second edition

Hegumen Barsanuphius wrote a dissertation on the famous collection “Philokalia”, containing extracts from the written works of thirty-eight Church Fathers of the 4th-14th centuries.

The vain wisdom in the grace of the Holy Spirit and the true beauty of this patristic heritage were so deeply felt and perceived by Father Barsanuphius that the dissertation can rightfully be considered the most unique of its kind and an independent work on the study of the teaching on prayer of the Ancient Orthodox Church.

This author’s work is capable of bringing great spiritual benefit and support to the pious reader in acquiring the gift of prayer.

The work that the reader holds in his hands is modestly called the dissertation of the student of the Petrograd Theological Academy V. S. Verevkin “Teaching on prayer according to the Philokalia.” It was created during a difficult period in the history of Russia and the church. The country, having survived the revolution and civil war, lay in ruins. The circumstances of life were very difficult – hunger, cold, oppression, persecution of the Orthodox faith. And it is at this time that a very young man, embarking on the path of spiritual growth, takes on a huge task – studying the heritage of the holy fathers on prayer.

It is noteworthy that this dissertation was one of the last ones considered by the council of the Petrograd Theological Academy before its closure.

For many decades, the manuscript of this work was kept in a family closely associated with Abbot Barsanuphius. It was written in pencil on large sheets of stitched notebook. There are many neat inserts with corrections and additions on almost every page. Judging by the dates written in the margins, the author began writing his work in the spring of 1920 and finished it a year later. On the last page it says: “12 o’clock at night, March 17, 1921.”

Professor of the Petrograd Theological Academy A. A. Bronzov, in his review of the dissertation, noted its main feature: “When reading Mr. Verevkin’s work, one is struck by the extraordinary love with which the author, undoubtedly, was imbued with his topic. It is clear that prayer interested him not just as a subject of study, but much more. As something closest and dearest to his heart… The author, having become acquainted with the patristic views, a ripe and vitally useful fruit, apparently would like to carry them, these views, into his own life… One can only be surprised how, under the most unfavorable conditions in which he found himself while studying the issue of prayer, he managed to think so carefully and deeply about the matter.”

In his review, the professor of the Theological Academy also wrote the following words: “One could express the wish that his work would see the light of day in printed form in the future. Printed, it would be an excellent addition to the work on similar topics that already exists in Russian theological literature. After all, the holy fathers, who spent their entire lives in prayer and in prayer, are the best leaders in this case.”

This was said at a time when it was impossible not only to publish this work in large quantities, but also to type it on a typewriter. Eighty years have passed – and on the ancient land of Yaroslavl, where, by the providence of God, members of that spiritual family, to which Abbot Barsanuphius belongs, gathered, the opportunity arose to fulfill this. God bless!

Abbot Barsanuphius’ dissertation is a solemn hymn to prayer, woven from those words of the holy fathers that were included in the Philokalia. Many books have been written about prayer. This dissertation differs from them in that the author did not include his personal thoughts regarding prayer work. And yet, the reader will clearly see his fiery love for this topic, will feel his admiration for the depth of thought of the holy fathers, vividly depicting the indescribable beauty of life in Christ.

In the process of comprehensively covering the topic of prayer, the author had to change the turns of speech of the holy fathers for coherence. At the same time, he still enclosed these words in quotation marks, giving the corresponding reference to the “Philokalia.” The publishers reviewed all links and, if there were any deviations from the text, the quotation marks were removed. It should be noted that if the name of the holy father is not in the text, then it is given in the link. For a deeper insight into the topic, Abbot Barsanuphius suggests comparing statements about this by several authors. Reading the work of Abbot Barsanuphius with the Philokalia in his hands will bring both benefit and joy to the God-loving soul. The joy of the response in the depths of his heart to the fiery call of the holy fathers to have a constant prayer connection with the Living God.

The author divided the dissertation into chapters, but did not give them titles. When preparing the manuscript for publication, the compilers gave titles to the chapters and divided them into paragraphs: the first number is the chapter number, the second is the paragraph number. There are no paragraph titles in the text itself; they are given in the table of contents. In total, the dissertation has 16 chapters and 118 paragraphs.

Having read the table of contents, the reader will immediately see that the topic of prayer is covered in this work extremely deeply and widely. Father Barsanuphius always manages to carry out the transition from one thought about prayer to another very naturally. He instills a new thought into the hearts of his readers very carefully, strives to imbue it with the words of the holy fathers so that his ascent to the mountain of virtues would be acceptable and easy. This is how the gracious elder teaches his spiritual son.

The literary editor of this book, Lidia Leonidovna Shamatonova, having deeply penetrated the topic of prayer, managed to ensure a high scientific level of this publication. She prepared the book for publication with great love both for the topic itself and for its author. This love helped her to endure a serious illness complacently, with gratitude to God. Her desire to die, having completed this work completely, by the grace of God came true.

The publication is dedicated to the memory of Metropolitan Guriy Egorov. It was he who laid the foundation for that spiritual family, which included Abbot Barsanuphius. It includes such ministers of the Orthodox Church as the living Metropolitan of Volgograd and Kamyshin German Timofeev and Archbishop of Yaroslavl and Rostov Mikhei Kharkharov, Archpriest Leonid Kuzminov, Archpriest Leonty Nikiforov, Archpriest John Belyakov, as well as the deceased Metropolitan John Wendland, Archbishop Innocent Tikhonov, Archimandrite Varlaam Sacerdotsky, Archimandrite Seraphim Sutorikhin, Archpriest Igor Maltsev and many others.

Metropolitan Gury was one of the founders of the Alexander Nevsky Brotherhood. It was formed in 1918 with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon and Hieromartyr Metropolitan Veniamin, now canonized. The entire life of Abbot Barsanuphius, including his work “Teaching on Prayer according to the Philokalia,” served the main cause of the Alexander Nevsky Brotherhood – preserving faith, hope and love for God in the difficult years of persecution.

In the stichera glorifying St. Nicholas, which is sung at Matins according to the 50th Psalm, it is said that the meekness of the saint of Christ “is known as your silent word,” that is, the word spoken by him testified to his meekness because it was pronounced with reverence, with trepidation, with love towards his neighbor. The word, filled with the fear of God and therefore quietly and easily perceived by the heart of the listener, was figuratively and succinctly described by the creator of the stichera as “a silent word.”

Every word of the holy fathers about prayer, contained in the five volumes of the Philokalia, by its very essence is a “silent word.” Having created a harmonious “Teaching on Prayer” from these words, the future confessor, Abbot Barsanuphius, did not dare to express his opinion on this subject. He kept silent about it, and as a result, the main thing was preserved – the creative, fragrant power of the words of the holy fathers. The “Teaching on Prayer” is also filled with creative power because the work was written with prayer, humble and contrite. The author learned it both from reading the works of the holy fathers, and from the grace-filled communication from his youth with the elders of Valaam and Optina Hermitage. The Hieromartyr Metropolitan Benjamin in 1921 paid special attention to this “source of living prayer,” and the all-merciful Lord vouchsafed him in 1922, four months before he accepted the crown of martyrdom, to create at this “source” a secret female monastic community consisting of only five sisters. The community lived in Old Peterhof in the premises of the deserted courtyard of the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery. The times were difficult: hunger, cold, constant expectation of arrest. And despite this, life flowed in the community for ten years, filled, according to the words of Father Barsanuphius’s friend, Archimandrite Varlaam, with spiritual amusement, indescribable joy, and heavenly fragrance. The basis of this life was prayer, both private and church. Father Barsanuphius and the sisters, as long as it was possible, taught the children the Law of God, and the heart of their evangelical preaching was sensitivity to others – the desire to help everyone and not condemn anyone. It was a “silent word.” Such silent preaching of the Gospel is described in the biography of Abbot Barsanuphius, which was compiled by the nephew of one of the sisters.

It is significant that, by God’s providence, the copyright of the first edition of Hegumen Barsanuphius’s master’s thesis, “Teaching on prayer according to the Philokalia,” 2002, belongs to Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov), the confessor of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. For we feel the same quiet light of the “silent word” when communicating with him. While Father Kirill was in power, he received many people burdened with sorrows. With extraordinary sensitivity, he listened to everyone and, quietly, affectionately saying one or a few words to him, then, generously giving him gifts, he let him go. As a result, the darkness of this person’s sorrows dissipated, and he was transformed. The source of this transformative power was, is and will be the unceasing prayer of Father Kirill for the granting of the great and rich mercy of God to all who seek Christ’s consolation.

The publisher hopes that the new version of the book, which for the first time contains an image of the life-giving cross donated by Patriarch Tikhon to the Alexander Nevsky Brotherhood, will help the reader to calmly and wisely bear the life-giving cross that is placed on him by the Life-Giving Trinity.

In the anniversary year 2000, with the blessing of Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov), Sergei Andreevich Zegzhda came to Volgograd, and here our joint work began on studying the spiritual heritage of the Alexander Nevsky Brotherhood. As a result, by the grace of God, the book was published: Zegzda S. A. Alexander Nevsky Brotherhood. By good example, life and word. Publishing house “WORLD NEWS”, 2009. – 488 p.

The Brotherhood arose on the basis of that living church community, which, on the initiative of the Hieromartyr Metropolitan Veniamin of Petrograd, arose in the fall of 1917 at his Church of the Cross in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God. One of the first to enter this community was Sergei Andreevich’s aunt, nun Sergia (Anastasia Sergeevna Zaspelova), and his mother, Varvara Sergeevna. During my years of study in St. Petersburg at the Theological Seminary and then at the Academy, I often visited these pious sisters, who always gladly received and treated me.

Of the fathers of the Brotherhood, the Zaspelov sisters knew and loved most closely Hegumen Barsanuphius (Vladimir Sergeevich Verevkin), a student of the Optina Elder Anatoly (Potapov). Hegumen Barsanuphius was a special worker in the field of Christ. The virtue of true Christ’s humility permeated all his words, all his deeds, and his entire appearance. He, possessing the gift of spiritual consolation, the gift of unceasing heartfelt prayer, the gift of insight, avoided answering the questions asked of him.

Looking affectionately and soulfully at the questioner, he told him: “I’m a pie with nothing.” And soon circumstances developed in such a way that this issue was resolved by itself. This was one of the characteristic forms of communication between the gracious shepherds and their spiritual children at that time of surveillance and insidious persecution. It was necessary to hide one’s spiritual gifts. According to the words of John Chrysostom, “life lived,” but all this happened in secret.

According to the words of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: “There is nothing hidden that will not be made manifest” (Mark 4:22). Secretly and carefully kept in the Zaspelov-Zegzda family was the manuscript of abbot Barsanuphius’s candidate’s dissertation, “Teaching on prayer according to the Philokalia.” Now this wonderful work, published in 2002 in Rybinsk, and now being published in Sergiev Posad, has become clear. It was also secret that everyone who turns to Abbot Barsanuphius in prayer for help receives what he asks for. And so, being in Novgorod on Sunday, September 7, 2003, I, having celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Church of the Apostle Philip with the blessing of Archbishop Leo of Novgorod, visited the grave of Abbot Barsanuphius. Here, after serving a memorial service, I turned to him with a very important request for our Volgograd diocese. And my prayer was heard. There was little hope that this would work out so well. An obvious miracle happened.

Hegumen Barsanuphius taught the Zaspelov sisters to reverently and humbly touch what relates to spiritual life and cherish sacred things. And the Lord vouchsafed them to be the guardians of a great shrine: the life-giving cross, donated to the Brotherhood by Patriarch Tikhon.

This cross was kept in his cell until the death of Metropolitan Guria (Egorov) in Crimea on July 12, 1965.

The eldest of the spiritual family of Bishop Guria was Archimandrite Mikhei (Kharkharov) at his funeral. He knew that in the Zaspelov-Zegzd family the memory of Abbot Barsanuphius was honored with special reverence and everything connected with him and in general with the life and activities of the Brotherhood as a whole was carefully preserved. That’s why he decided to give the cross to this family for safekeeping. From there, Varvara Sergeevna Zaspelova and her son Sergei Andreevich Zegzhda were at the burial of Bishop Guria. Then the life-giving cross returned to the city on the Neva.

Now, thank God, this life-giving cross resides in Volgograd, in the Holy Spirit Monastery.

In 1990, attention was drawn to the fact that the signature made by the hand of Patriarch Tikhon on the back of the cross was fading. In this regard, it was decided to reflect everything that was written on the cross. Here’s what was recorded then:

“March 19, 1990 Monday of the Week of the Cross.”

On the main horizontal stripe of the cross it is written:

“This life-giving cross is humbly presented

from the Society for Russia to the Great Lord His Holiness

Tikhon Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'”

On the inclined strip of the cross is inscribed:

“On the day of installation on the Patriarchal throne

November 21, 1917″

Below, on the vertical stripe of the cross, Patriarch Tikhon placed a cross and then wrote:

“To the Brotherhood at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in Petrograd

Humble Patriarch Tikhon

July 3, 1921″

The cross placed by the patriarch is still clearly visible. The words he had written faded.

His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon often used a new style when writing dates. This follows, in particular, from the report published in the above-mentioned book about the “Brotherhood…”, submitted on March 12/25, 1925 to His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon by Bishop Innocent (Tikhonov). When imposing the resolution, the Patriarch set the date: “March 25, 1925.” In the book: “Acts of His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon,” the date on many of the patriarch’s resolutions also corresponds to the new style.

On the cross is written: “July 3, 1921.” According to the new style, it was a Sunday – the day of All Russian Saints. The fact that this significant event in the life of the Brotherhood occurred on the day of this holiday is evidenced, in particular, by the fact that during the years of persecution during the life of the Brotherhood’s golden fund in Central Asia, services were secretly performed in the house on the throne in honor of the Russian saints. It is also significant that July 3 is the day of the transfer of the relics of St. Gury, Archbishop of Kazan, patron of Bishop Gury.

It is especially significant that two days after that, on July 5, 1921, professor of the Petrograd Theological Academy A. A. Bronzov, in his review of the dissertation of the future confessor Abbot Barsanuphius, wrote: “When reading Mr. Verevkin’s work, one is struck by the extraordinary love with which the author, undoubtedly, was imbued with his topic. It is clear that prayer interested him not just as a subject of study, but much more, as something closest and dearest to his heart… The author, getting acquainted with the patristic views, a ripe and vitally useful fruit, apparently would like to carry them, these views, into his own life… One can only be surprised how, under the most unfavorable conditions in which he found himself while studying the issue of prayer, he managed to think about the matter so carefully and deeply.”

This excellent review of the famous professor also contains the following words: “One could express the wish that his work would see the light of day in printed form in the future. Printed, it would be an excellent addition to works on similar topics that already exist in Russian theological literature. After all, the holy fathers, who spent their entire lives in prayer and in prayer, are the best leaders in this case.”

The prayer to our Lord Jesus Christ in the troparion of the Venerable Cross ends with the words: “… and preserving Your residence by Your Cross.”

Indeed, “Wonderful are Your works,” Lord! (Ps. 139:14). In conditions of hunger, cold and severe persecution of the Orthodox faith, both the dissertation and the cross are preserved. And now, 90 years later, the second edition of this dissertation is being published, and it is overshadowed by the life-giving cross of Patriarch Tikhon. What great mercy of God, what great consolation!

About the fact that the cross is a source of joy, on the Week of the Veneration of the Cross in the Lenten Triodion we read: “Life-giving joy is offered today, come, all of you, let us bow with fear to the Honorable Cross of Christ, so that we may receive the Holy Spirit.”1

And may the Holy Spirit grant us to understand the teaching of the holy fathers on prayer. Amen. Alleluia.

The first edition of the candidate’s dissertation of the student of the Petrograd Theological Academy V. S. Verevkin “Teaching on prayer according to the Philokalia” was published in 2002 by the publishing house OJSC Rybinsk House of Printing. It was prepared for printing by the spiritual children of Metropolitan John (Wendland) and Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov) and was dedicated to Metropolitan Gury (Egorov). The Yaroslavl diocese was then ruled by Archbishop Micah (Kharkharov), a student of Bishop Guria. He carefully read the dissertation of the future abbot Barsanuphius in the days of his youth, passionately fell in love with the author and always remembered him with special reverence in conversations with his spiritual children. This is evidenced, in particular, by the following remarkable fact. In 2001, on the eve of the Dormition of the Mother of God, Bishop Mikhei fell seriously ill – the stroke was extensive and deep. Despite this, exactly two months later, while in a hospital in Moscow, he gathered his strength, concentrated and, without looking up, wrote on a piece of paper handed to him on his bed:

“God bless the publication of the dissertation of Abbot Barsanuphius (Verevkin). A very useful work for people looking for ways to get closer to God. The most important of them is prayer. God grant that it finds its readers, who would find in it the most correct path, based on the works of the holy fathers.

† Micah Archbishop of Yaroslavl and Rostov.
October 27, 2001″

The dissertation was written in pencil on 224 pages measuring 22 x 33 cm. Abbot Barsanuphius wrote on both sides of the paper. The sheets are neatly sewn into seven notebooks. Many pages have inserts with corrections and additions. Starting from the twentieth page, the author began to write dates in the margins, and the first of them is April 28, 1920. An analysis of the dates indicated, and there are 95 of them in total, from the point of view of their connection with the immutable twelve feasts, as well as with the days of Great Lent and Holy Pentecost, showed that they correspond to the new style. On the last page it says: “12 o’clock at night, March 17, 1921.” It was Thursday of the first week of Great Lent. The work is completed – confession the next day, and communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ on Saturday. The work before this was very stressful. From November 23, 1920 (45 pages), the dates go almost continuously. In three and a half months, 80% of all work is completed.

Abbot Barsanuphius’ dissertation is a solemn hymn to prayer, woven from those words of the holy fathers that were included in the Philokalia. Many books have been written about prayer. This dissertation differs from them in that the author did not include his personal thoughts regarding prayer work. And yet, the reader will clearly see his fiery love for this topic, will feel his admiration for the depth of thought of the holy fathers, vividly depicting the indescribable beauty of life in Christ.

In the process of comprehensively covering the topic of prayer, the author had to change the turns of speech of the holy fathers for coherence. At the same time, he still enclosed these words in quotation marks, giving the corresponding reference to the “Philokalia.” When preparing the first edition for publication, all references were reviewed and if there were deviations from the text, the quotation marks were removed. It should be noted that if the name of the holy father is not in the text, then it is given in the link. For a deeper insight into the topic, Abbot Barsanuphius suggests comparing statements on this subject by several authors in references. Reading the work of Abbot Barsanuphius with the Philokalia in his hands will bring both benefit and joy to the God-loving soul. The joy of the response in the depths of his heart to the fiery call of the holy fathers to have a constant prayer connection with the living God.

The author divided the dissertation into chapters, but did not give them titles. When preparing the manuscript for publication, the chapters were given titles and they were divided into paragraphs: the first number is the chapter number, the second is the paragraph number. There are no paragraph titles in the text itself; they are given in the content. In total, the dissertation has 16 chapters and 118 paragraphs.

Having read the content, the reader will immediately see that the topic of prayer is covered in this work extremely deeply and widely. Father Barsanuphius always manages to carry out the transition from one thought about prayer to another very naturally. He instills a new thought into the hearts of readers very carefully, strives to imbue it with the words of the holy fathers so that the reader’s ascent to the mountain of virtues is acceptable and easy. This is how the gracious elder teaches his spiritual son.

The literary editor of the first edition was Candidate of Philological Sciences Lidia Leonidovna Shamatonova. Having deeply penetrated the topic of prayer, she managed to ensure a high scientific level of this publication. She prepared the book for publication with great love both for the topic itself and for its author. This love helped her to endure a serious illness complacently, with gratitude to God. Her desire to die, having completed this work completely, by the grace of God came true. The second edition is published without changes to the text of the dissertation.

S. A. Zegzhda

* * *

Notes

Wednesday of the 4th week, three canticle, tone 1, hymn 3, troparion 2.