Old age flourished in Russia in ancient times. This is described in detail in the Kiev-Pechersk Patericon of 1051, the source of various historical information about the first Orthodox ascetics. The powerful influence of the elders was not only in Kievan, but also in North-Eastern Russia, where the Trinity-Sergius Lavra was considered the heart of Orthodoxy . It was from here that the pious path of Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov), Hero of the Soviet Union, holder of military orders and medals, began. Among them was the medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad," but more on that later.
This great calling - to serve people and the Lord God - has long been determined by the purity of his heart, a high moral level and personal holiness. Possessing the gift of perspicacity, he began to heal people from spiritual and bodily diseases, indicating a righteous way of life, warning against dangers and revealing God's will.
Who are the elders
A person who wants to learn the basics of the true Orthodox faith may have questions about who the elders are, what role they play in the life of the entire church brethren and parishioners, why their authority is so great, and the memory of many of them is passed down from generation to generation. generation. At all times of terrible upheavals, wars and revolutions, his intercessors prayed for the people - people to whom God revealed his will.
The magnificent book Optina Deserts and Its Time was written about senility by writer and theologian I. M. Kontsevich. The very first chapter of this book is devoted to the concept of old age. It says that there are three church services, regardless of hierarchy, and they are divided into apostolic, prophetic and, finally, teacher. So, behind the apostles, disciples and followers of Jesus Christ, are the prophets, in other words, wise elders, whose ministry is determined in exhortation, edification and comfort. They can warn against dangers and predict the future. For these people, it is as if there are no boundaries of time and space.
Biography of the elder archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov)
In worldly life, Ivan Dmitrievich Pavlov was born in the early autumn of 1919 into a peasant family in a small village in the Ryazan province. He was brought up and grew up in a family of believers. When Ivan was 12 years old, since they did not have a seven-year school in the village, his father took him and his brother to study in the city of Kasimov, where they fell under the godless course of that time. In that difficult period, the atheistic fervor of the Soviet five-year plans completely poisoned the consciousness of the people and almost destroyed its soul. In the thirties, and more precisely from 1934 to 1938, Ivan Pavlov was trained at the Kasimov Industrial College, after which he was drafted into the army and sent to the Far East.
War as Atonement for Human Sins
Soon the Great Patriotic War came. According to the elder himself, at that fateful time moral morality and lawlessness in society reached a serious decline, and the Lord did not suffer this anymore, so they were allowed to go to war. It was during these brutal bloody years of war and violence that the people felt all the wild sorrow and tears of despair on themselves. And then he reached out to God and turned to him for help. This prayer reached the hearing of God, and the Lord took pity and replaced his anger with mercy. The elder said that inevitably they will grieve us with misfortunes and calamities because we ignore the path that the Savior showed us in the Gospel. Each of us should ponder his words. After all, the mouth of Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov) always tirelessly pray for every Orthodox Christian.
How the war affected the life of Ivan Dmitrievich Pavlov
Ivan Dmitrievich Pavlov was in the midst of hell: he fought in the Finnish War, marched from Stalingrad to Romania, was in Austria and Hungary, and also participated in the war with Japan. In those terrible war years, he, like hundreds of thousands of other people, returned to the true Christian Orthodox faith. The constant death before his eyes and the harsh living conditions in the war made him think about being and seek some reasonable solution. He had various kinds of doubts, and for all this he received answers in the Gospel. He collected this divine book on leaflets in a ruined house in the city of Stalingrad just after his release. The found Holy Book did not leave him indifferent and aroused genuine interest. The guy was so inspired with her that she became a kind of miraculous balm for his soul tormented by war. From that moment on, he no longer parted with her and carried her in his pocket until the end of the war, which he ended with the rank of lieutenant.
Desire to become a priest
The gospel throughout its entire course of life has always been comforting and saving, and in 1946 it led to the Moscow Theological Seminary at the Novodevichy Convent. And a little later there he graduated from the Theological Academy. In 1954, Brother Cyril took the monastic path in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, where he was entrusted with the obedience of the confessor of the brethren of the laurel. Humility and great love for God and the Orthodox faith was soon marked by the highest monastic rank - archimandrite.
It is simply impossible to read the list of all those who turned to Father Cyril for help. He filled the troubled hearts of people with optimism and spiritual joy, which later spread further to various monasteries, dioceses and throughout Holy Russia.
The elder archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov) became the spiritual father of many bishops, abbots and abbesses of monasteries, monks and nuns, as well as a huge number of laity. When people talk about him or remember him, first of all they see before their eyes the peaceful and wrinkled face of a gray-haired old man, his gentle mysterious smile and hear a kind voice. Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov) was the confessor of the three holiest patriarchs: Alexy I, Pimen and Alexy II.
Secrets of Archimandrite
In Holy Trinity Sergey Lavra, parishioners often passed on the incredible story that the supposedly old archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov) was the very protector of the legendary Pavlov’s House, Guard Sergeant Ivan Dmitrievich Pavlov. Although everywhere in official sources it is indicated that a certain sergeant Yakov Fedorovich Pavlov was holding the defense of Stalingrad under fascist pressure for the whole 58 days along with his 29 comrades.
Reading the early stories about the defense of the Pavlovs House, you constantly find various strange inconsistencies and inaccuracies in those historical events. It is as if someone deliberately keeps silent some very important facts of those terrible heroic days. And most interestingly, the names of people who heroically defended this house are hiding and confused.
Say I'm dead
The elder himself does not deny this fact, but does not confirm it either. However, there is evidence that speaks for itself. Sergeant Pavlov Ivan received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, as well as the award order of the Patriotic War of the Guard, with absolute reluctance to join the Communist Party because of his religious beliefs. How was this possible at that time? But still he received these awards precisely for his personal heroism and courage. Such a few forgiven. Almost immediately after the war, the fighter Pavlov decided to enter the theological seminary. However, the ubiquitous NKVD could not allow such a decision so that the Red Army soldier, Hero of the Soviet Union, went to the monastery and became a priest. And therefore, his documents at the seminary were not accepted for a long time.
Vow of silence
But once, praying earnestly in a church near the crayfish of St. Sergius of Radonezh, a certain old man approached him, who for some reason already knew all his desires and sorrows in advance, and that is why he advised Pavlov to take a vow of silence. This could only mean that now he vowed to keep his secret all his life and in conversations did not mention anywhere else the topic relating to this secret. And after that, in the future, Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov) never again spoke about his front-line awards and exploits. The date of adoption of his monastic rank coincided with the start of the war - June 22, but only in 1954.
With this, he captured himself as a defender of the Russian Orthodox people from all visible and invisible misfortunes. He once repelled some people from misfortunes by the power of arms, and others by the power of Jesus prayer. This is how Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov) forever buried his military past in himself. They even told a story about how one day, just before the anniversary of the Victory Day over fascism, an elder in the local military ranks came to an old man in Sergiev Posad to talk about the “Pavlovian issue”, but the elder did not speak to them and ordered the guests to be told that in the spirit that Lieutenant Ivan Pavlov died.
Vision of the Virgin
There is an amazing story about how once Ivan Pavlov was with his detachment in German captivity, where he was seized by wild horror. And suddenly the heart remembered the maternal mandate - to pray. And Vanya began to pray intensely with tears to the Most Holy Theotokos. Suddenly her image appeared, and she turned to him with the words: "Stop and do not move." Ivan remained on the deserted road and stood for a long time, until the convoy of captured Russian soldiers, driven by the SS men with machine guns and barking shepherds, disappeared from sight. It was then, on the day of his salvation, that he swore to the Theotokos that if he survived, he would become a monk and would devote his life to serving God.
The Mother of God came to him for the second time, but only this time she warned him that after his death a war would begin in Russia again, and that the Russians might prepare for it with might and main. When one day the elder was asked about how to save Russia, he thought for a long time and answered that morality should be raised in Russia. And when they asked a question about the meaning of life, the elder saw him in God-belief. His answers are always very simple and concise, but how enormous and wise they make sense.
Where is the elder now
Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov) is always with us in his prayers. 2014 was the 95th anniversary of his life. Interestingly, in infancy he was christened in honor of John the Theologian, who was the apostle of love. After he was tonsured a monk, he began to bear the name of Cyril Belozersky, where Cyril means "sun." And so, if we draw an analogy between these words, it turns out that love, like the sun, illuminates and warms sinful and weak people of the whole Russian Orthodox world.
Having frontal wounds, contusion and numerous surgical operations, the blessed archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov) courageously overcomes the disease. Where is he now? This is the question that many are interested in. However, the elder has long been bedridden. A stroke that occurred permanently immobilized him. Today, monk Kirill (Pavlov) is practically devoid of communication with the outside world. Archimandrite is now hard to see and hear. But he doesn’t need consolation and felt sorry when his strength returns, he himself begins to console and support us, his lips begin to move in prayer for Russian Orthodoxy and Russia gaining new strength. Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov), whose health condition is rapidly deteriorating, is still fulfilling his special mission to God and to all believers.
For all comers the works of the elder are available. Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov), whose sermons were published by his native laurel, provides answers to the most exciting questions.
Conclusion
A Greek bishop, visiting a sick old man, said: "Archimandrite Cyril is now crucifying on a suffering cross - one for all of Russia." This means that the staunch and strong spirit of the guard, Lieutenant, Hero of the Soviet Union in the world Ivan Dmitrievich Pavlov, and monastic brotherly confessor of the Holy Trinity St. Sergius Lavra Archimandrite Kirill, repeats his Stalingrad feat.