The Life of Hiero-Confessor John Olenevsky
AND John was born to an unmarried peasant woman, Ksenia Ivanovna Kalinina. The father is unknown, he received his middle name on behalf of his godfather, probably his uncle Vasily Ivanovich. He studied at the Olenevsky zemstvo school. He was engaged in shoemaking, knitting gloves and scarves. Since childhood, he was a strict faster and prayer book. He lived with his mother, and then with his widowed sister, in a small old house near the church. After the death of his sister, he took care of 4 nephews. Sang in the rural Vvedenskaya church. on the choir, read psalms, was a canonarch. Wandered around St. places, visited local devotees of piety. According to oral tradition, he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He enjoyed great authority among believers who came to him for advice even from distant places; revered for a righteous life, the ability to console in troubles and sorrows, to answer any question, to grant healing of soul and body. When in 1918, during the revolutionary unrest, John's old house at the church burned down, the parishioners themselves built a new one for him under an iron roof.
In 1920, Penza Archbishop. sschmch. John (Pommer) ordained a celibate deacon. He served outside the staff at Vvedenskaya Church. With. Olenevka. As a deacon he was deprived of his voting rights. O. John was widely known, many sought to receive spiritual guidance or healing from illnesses from him. In 1924, in the local press against Fr. John, a smear campaign was launched. His house was taken away from him, Fr. John lived with relatives or spiritual children in neighboring villages. In 1930, after the arrest of the rector, the Vvedensky Church in the village was closed. Olenevka, o. John began to serve as a deacon at Trinity Church. With. Solovtsovka, as well as in the temple with. Nikolaevka. In June of the same year, he, together with the clergy and parishioners, prevented the capture of the Trinity Church by renovationists, led by the renovationist “archbishop” Nikolai Rozanov, who arrived in Solovtsovka.
8 Apr. 1932 o. John was arrested. He was involved in a group case of the “counter-revolutionary organization of clergy “True Orthodox”” together with a large group of rural Orthodox clergy. Penza diocese. He was accused of “campaigning through visiting pilgrims”, of “sowing religious infection and carrying out hidden work aimed at disrupting the activities of the Soviet government.” During interrogation, he refused to determine which “direction” in the Orthodox Church he belongs to. He stated that he commemorates the Patriarchal Locum Tenens Sschmch during the service. Peter (Polyansky) and Penza bishop. Kirill (Sokolov; imprisoned since January 1931), and about Metropolitan. Sergius (Stragorodsky; Deputy Patriarchal Locum Tenens; eminently Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus') and Bishop of Gdov. Demetrius (Lyubimove; leader of the Josephites) knows nothing. May 14, 1932. A special troika at the Plenipotentiary Representative of the OGPU in the Middle Volga region sentenced him to deportation outside the region for 3 years, but on May 22 he was released on his own recognizance.
Returned to live in the village. Olenevka, where he had his own house-cell, where believers came to him. Penza clergy used his advice on organizing assistance to the poor, and were interested in his opinion on how to relate to various kinds of self-proclaimed “prophets.” 30 Jan 1934 Father John was detained and placed in prison, but the next day he was released on his own recognizance. During the investigation, he testified: “The people consider me to be a righteous man and a seer, I did not dissuade them from this... To everyone who came to me with complaints or for advice, I gave this advice, reassured them and called for patience.” 26 Feb. case regarding Fr. John was terminated “due to his illness and old age.”
Father John, despite the prohibitions of the authorities, continued to receive those who sought his advice and guidance. Served in Trinity Church. With. Solovtsovka, and after its closure in 1935 he went to serve in the Assumption Church. With. Knyazevka. Oct 24 1936, following a denunciation about the reading of spiritual poems after the service, he was arrested and placed in the district prison of the village. Condole, then to the prison hospital. 28 Nov moved to prison in Penza. He was accused of “spreading rumors about himself as a “perceptive old man,” and the visits of his believers to a number of villages served as an opportunity for him to arouse distrust in the Soviet system.” At the trial he said: “I don’t plead guilty. People came to me to talk with grief. I didn’t say anything to anyone about Soviet power.” March 19, 1937 visiting session of the Special Board of the Kuibyshev region. sentenced to 6 years in prison. On May 26, the Collegium for Special Cases of the Supreme Court of the RSFSR overturned the verdict, Fr. John is released.
During the Great Patriotic War, he prayed for victory over the Nazis. In Oct. 1945 believers achieved a decision to open in the village. Solovtsovka of the previously closed Trinity Church. 2 Sep. In 1946, the temple was solemnly consecrated by the Bishop of Penza. Mikhail (Postnikov). On the same day, Bp. Michael ordained Father John as a priest. For his many years of service to the Church, Fr. John was awarded a pectoral cross with decoration. The last years of his life he was revered as an elder; he received pilgrims every day, showing the gift of insight, spirituality, healing and consolation. He gave short advice and instructions, full of deep meaning, and healed the sick. Not only Orthodox Christians, but also local Muslim Tatars treated Father John with deep respect and often turned to him for advice. As before, he led a strictly fasting lifestyle. He ate neither fish nor meat, prayed on his knees at night, slept in a coffin. He continued to serve on holidays in Solovtsov’s Trinity Church, which displeased the commissioner of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church, who demanded that the diocesan authorities “stop these violations.” He foresaw the day of his death. Before his death, Father John received the Holy Mysteries. Funeral service in Solovtsovskaya Trinity Church. 4 priests served. Aug 8 The coffin with the body of Father John was carried in their arms from Solovtsovka to the cemetery in the village. Olenevka accompanied by a large procession of believers. Aug 5 1996 with the blessing of the Penza Archbishop. Seraphim (Tikhonov), the opening of the coffin of Father John took place, then he was transferred to the Solovtsov church and buried behind the altar. 27 Dec 2000 by definition of the Holy. Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church name of Fr. John was included in the Council of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia. The relics of the saint rest in the church in the name of the Life-Giving Trinity. Solovtsovka.
Throughout his life, Fr. John tried his best to hide his exploits, but he could not hide the grace he received from God and shone like a lamp lit on the top of a mountain...
The abundant and amazing insight of the holy elder, with which he was awarded for his exploits, virginity and his holy life, permeates the stories of everyone who meets him.
There were no secrets for the elder; he foresaw the future life of every person, everyone’s sins and even their thoughts were revealed to him. He knew how to bless as it was necessary for this person, and he was never mistaken, because the elder did not act with his own mind, but his mind was controlled by the Holy Spirit, who, thanks to his holy life, did not depart from him.
Everyone was amazed at the foresight of the old man, who read in the hearts of people as if in an open book. The blessed father encouraged everyone, supported everyone, consoled, instructed and led everyone, and no one dared to disobey the elder, since everything done with his blessing came out well, and disobedience entailed bad consequences.
The story is told by Anna Ivanovna Kochetkova, a resident of the village of Kevda-Melsitova, Kamensky district, a 90-year-old old woman.
During the war of 1914, my man, Tikhon Kochetkov, went missing and was not heard from for 3 years and 7 months. I heard that there is an old man in Olenevka who knows everything. Having persuaded her niece, Maria Vasilievna, she went to him. My niece’s husband also disappeared in the same war. She and I got to Penza, where we took a bus from Penza-1 to Penza-3 and took the Serdob train to Olenevka. About fifteen of us went to Ivan Vasilyevich. Who with what grief. We all sat in the hallway and waited for the priest to receive us. One by one, a woman let us in. The old man was sitting on his couch. The walls of the hut were almost all filled with images. I approached and asked:
- I suffer. I haven’t heard anything from my husband for three years now. God knows, maybe he’s not alive.
- Alive, alive, alive, there will be news. And he said to Maria Vasilievna:
- There’s no one alive, don’t wait.
And in front of me the woman turned to him:
“I haven’t heard anything about my husband, it’s been a long time since the war.”
And he waved his hands and raised his voice:
- Hurry, hurry, hurry to the train. Stand by the train and wait.
From the elder we all went to the station together. This woman approached the train, which had just arrived, and her man got off the train, recognized his wife, rushed to her, kissed her and they went to the station...
I went to see the elder as a meat eater, and on Palm Sunday a letter arrived from my husband, but there was no return address: “I am alive and well, I am in the city of Tyrol.” The Austrians stood here with us and told me that this city of Tyrol was their capital and that they were not ordered to indicate a return address.
On our street, Sergei Pchelintsev suddenly came from captivity. I ran to him. “Greetings from Tikhon,” he tells me. “We all stood in line.” Tikhon is 5 people away from me. Suddenly they called me: “Sergey Pchelintsev” and sent me home. And Tikhon called out to me, we talked. Aunt Anna, he will come soon, wait.” And my man came before St. Nicholas, after the elder’s words, about three months later.
Two policemen came to the elder’s cell and announced that they had been sent for him: “Get ready, grandfather!” The priest was silent for a while, then humbly and meekly said: “I’ll get ready now, and we’ll bury you tomorrow,” he waved his hand at one policeman. They took the old man to prison, and the next day the policeman died.
Aksinya says.
My family and I didn’t do anything without Father’s blessing. Father John was a great man, he knew how and when to bless, he was guided by the Holy Spirit, he was a constant faster, a strong man of prayer, a saint of God. The Lord heard him immediately. He was a wise spiritual educator.
- Father, how am I going to live now: all three of us are at the front, two sons and a husband?
- What is your name?
- Alexander.
Crossed himself:
- They will come, but there is no bread without tails (garbage). -Said it suddenly and bluntly...
- I want to move in with my brother, he’ll give me a three-walled apartment...
He didn’t let me finish, interrupted:
“And don’t think about moving, live at home and bury me,” he says quickly and baptizes me, gives me a hand to kiss, as he always does...
And it definitely happened: I buried my mother-in-law, my husband and son returned, but the other son died and didn’t come - that’s the problem. Truly it was not man, but the Holy Spirit who spoke in him.
War. 1943 One nun gathered to visit the priest. Her friends found out about this and decided to send something to the elder with her. One gave flour, the other cereal. Then cakes, sweets, gingerbread cookies, apples, and bread appeared in the bag. The nun, a servant of Christ, loaded up and set off. Appearing to the elder, she first of all sat down on a bench standing near the door along the stove. Tired of the burden, she could not even approach him for his blessing.
- Don’t sit, go quickly, not along that road, but along this one! – the elder waved his hand in the direction of Borisovka.
- I brought you something, father. Natalia sent this, and this...
“I don’t need anything,” the elder interrupted her and again waved his hand at Borisovka. - Go quickly along that road. Natalya, pack her another bag of groceries. The old maid Natalya quickly filled her bag with rolls, bread and everything that happened to them at that time.
“Go, go, hurry,” the seer blesses the nun, “but don’t linger anywhere, carry everything.”
Having kissed the hand raised to her lips, she did not even have time to bow and quickly left the cell. Having tied the bags together, she lifted them over her shoulders with the help of Natalya and walked along the road indicated to her by the priest. She was accustomed to unquestioning obedience, so she did not ask the priest who should carry all this, and did not bother with the question of why he blessed her so much: to carry both her burden and his burden along this road. “So that’s how it should be,” she usually answered herself in bewildered situations.
She walks along the road calmly and prays to God. Through the elder’s prayer, the burden became completely light. And then she sees a woman approaching her. She walks slowly, sobbing inconsolably, even swaying as if drunk. Monks are not supposed to be curious, but something prompted mother to ask the woman what she was crying about. “My children are hungry. She told them to wait: I’ll bring you something, and the chairman will write it out. I asked him to give me at least some potatoes, because I have four of them, and the chairman answered me: “Where can I get you some potatoes? I'm not a cash cow." What will I feed the children?..” the woman said with difficulty, choking with tears.
The nun realized that the priest ordered her to quickly carry these two bags along this road precisely for the hungry children of this unfortunate mother. A few minutes later, mother, smiling, joyfully watched the woman quickly moving away from her, loaded with two heavy bags and completely calmed down...
Three blind women came to church. One of them sang in a bass voice. Father went to the altar, took off the cross from the grieving Mother of God, went up to one of them, Annushka (and she had forgotten the cross at home), gives her the cross and says: “Annushka, put on the cross. You are blind, don’t give up this cross, it will be useful to you: summer is coming, and you will be afraid.” A week later, blind Annushka’s mother died; she became afraid of living alone and was consoled by her father’s cross.
Polya, my sister, lost her cow, we searched everything. Finally they ran to the priest. “Go to this side,” he waved his hand. We went, and there she grazed calmly, and before visiting the priest, we were looking in this place too...
***
Anastasia says:
- Now is Maslenitsa, we need to go to the elder.
She tied the knot, and her husband saw and asked sternly, loudly:
- Do you have something in your bundle?
- I’m going to see my father.
- Eh, if you carry it around like this, you’ll build a whole house for it.
Anastasia appeared to the elder, and he, like her husband, shouted, and made a voice exactly like her husband shouts:
– What’s that in your bundle?
- Olivet brought you, and this...
“Eh, if you wear such a bundle, you’ll build a whole house for me,” the priest interrupts her.
At one time I was leaving the church, an old woman was standing:
- Whoever is through Moskovskaya, bring me there. I walked over and took her.
- How long have you been blind?
- No, recently, my two sons disappeared. I went to see my father. And he: “Give Ivan a drink, but don’t give Dmitry a drink.” 12 years have passed. I went to the hospital. In the morning, my daughter came: “Mom, Dimka is back.” He returned shell-shocked and stupid. They held him, didn’t let him in, he ran away behind the mountains, kept silent. They took him to a madhouse. I screamed. I was kicked out of the hospital. I cried and cried and took him to me.
I suffered with him and went blind...
One old woman went to the priest to ask if her son, who had gone missing, was alive. On the way, she remembered that yesterday she had washed and forgot to put the cross on herself.
And as soon as I went to the elder:
“I left the cross at home, father,” she approached the blessing almost in tears.
- You have a cross on, why are you coming to me?
The old woman felt around her neck with her fingers and said:
- No, father, I left it at home.
- You have a cross on you. Well, what are you talking to me about?
“My son has gone missing.
“Alive and well,” the priest cut off briefly, blessed and gave his hand to kiss. - Go!
The old woman came home and told the old man:
– What does he say: the cross is on me? I don't have it on me.
The old man went to bed, the old woman later sat down on the bed with her back to him and began to take off her jacket...
- Eh, old fool, there it is, a cross, dangling from you.
There was a cross hanging on the back, held on by a strap.
One day a woman came to him with deception:
- Father, my cow died, what should I do?
- Hand over the skin and the carcass into the ravine... Go.
The woman thinks:
- And they say he is perspicacious. But he doesn’t know that my cow is alive.
I came home and there was a dead cow lying around. So that’s what I had to do: hand over the skin and the carcass into the ravine.
Galina Alekseevna, a resident of Penza, tells the story.
Once again, my mother and I came, and he: “Hurry, hurry, hurry, go home. And visit the nuns again.” And we visited them when we went to see the priest. We obeyed, came in again, and together with us they were surprised how he knew everything. The nuns gave us an icon. Let's go home with the icon. On the way to the village, we suddenly see a house on fire, and the owner is sitting, spinning, and doesn’t see. We shouted for people and helped her get her things out ourselves. Everything was saved. That’s why he urged us to go home quickly and that’s why the nuns, through his prayer, gave us an icon with which we walked around the house, and it was saved from the fire along with our things.
And my brother asked for a blessing to buy a cow. “No, I don’t bless you, you drink milk and will continue to drink.” And indeed, he always has an abundance of milk in his family. And his friend asked for a blessing to buy a cow, but the priest did not bless him. However, he still did not listen and bought a cow, which soon died.
We lived in 1945 in Andreevka, Kondolsky district. My Vasily Ivanovich bought stolen grain and ground it: someone reported it, and my husband was imprisoned. My daughter ran to the priest: “He won’t sit,” the elder answered briefly. There was a trial right away. And they sentenced the thieves to 10 years, and my husband two years. I was offered to take care of him through bribes. I went on a date and told my husband about it. The husband loved Ivan Vasilyevich: “Go to Ivan Vasilyevich, whatever he says.” I go to him, and on the way dirty thoughts about him creep into my head: why did I slander the priest himself? I pray, but this thought doesn’t go away... Father saw my dirty thoughts and they didn’t let me see him:
– Vasily Ivanovich’s wife came.
- Well, then.
– Vasily Ivanovich was sentenced to two years.
- Well, then.
- She asks whether to bother with money or...
Said:
- If he doesn’t sit, let him go home.
I went home. I’m walking and already I see: they’re dancing along the street. The war is over! And they released my husband and others together. And he didn't have to sit.
Tatiana, an old maid from Solovtsovka, tells the story.
My sister Anna and I decided to sell the house, but we couldn’t decide to do it. Buyers came and put money on the table. I ran to the elder to ask for a blessing. “Wait a little, then sell it.” We stopped. And the last buyers were refused. And then two weeks later suddenly there was a money reform. When exchanging for 10 rubles they gave a ruble. If we had not listened to the elder then and sold the house, we would have been left without a home and without money. Then we sold it normally...
Rosakova Evdokia tells.
I came to the priest with the girl who was left from my sister. People knock me down: “Give her to an orphanage.”
- Father, they are trying to convince me to send her to an orphanage, but I feel sorry for her, she is only 9 months old.
- No, let him live with you for a little while...
And the girl did not live a year - she died.
I myself wore shobols, received money for my husband, sold potatoes and wanted to buy a cow. I call someone to go with me to Kondol, but no one agrees. I go to my father:
- Father, I’m going to buy a cow, they say they’re cheap in Serdobsk.
Interrupts:
- Well, well, take it and buy it...
I go home and think: “Who will lead? Where will they lead from? Where will I buy? And two months later they run to me: “Duska, come to us, they brought a cow, they are taking us to Penza to sell. She’s heavy and will calve by Christmas.” I bought it. And it was a good cow.
One woman came to him with her sorrows. He answered her and gives her 100 rubles (in old money).
- Father, I don’t need it, I have it.
- Necessary. So as not to grumble...
She arrived home, poked her head into the chest, where her hundred lay, but there was no hundred. You know, the student tenant stole it. And she remembered the priest’s words: “So as not to grumble.” And without a murmur she put my father’s hundred in the chest instead of her own.
The story is told by Matryona Markina, who lives in Penza. I lived during the war with five children, and my husband wanted to leave me, so he packed up and left. I went to my father and cried:
- My husband wants to leave me, he’s gone somewhere...
- He won’t leave, he’ll come. You will live until the grave.
And after my return, my husband returned from my father, and they lived well all the years. Then he was paralyzed, lay there for a year and died... The elder’s words: “You will live until the grave” came true.
The great prayer of the elder before God. He, like St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, refuses nothing to anyone and begs everything from God, no matter what a person complains about.
***
Maria Ivanovna, a resident of Solovtsovka, tells.
We installed an electrical line. One young man from Odessa and stick your groom to me. His mother agreed to give it for him. Let's go to the father:
- My dear, he is not your fiancé. He will pick you up and leave you. I came home and started repeating:
- I won’t go, and I won’t go. Will not go!
And she refused. And then it turned out that he was married with children...
Maria got ready to go to the elder in Olenevka. Not seeing any particularly terrible sins behind her, she happily ran from her house down the street, confident that she was bringing the old man a joyful gift - mushrooms. “He loves mushrooms very much,” Maria thought to herself, “and will be very happy when he sees them in his hands.” A young woman walked quickly and unevenly down the street towards Maria. Having caught up with Maria, she stops her with a question:
– Tell me, please, where does the woman who performs abortions live? – the young woman asked, barely audible, like a thief.
In front of Maria stood a young, thin woman who looked like a girl. Her blue, moist eyes nervously and impatiently ran left and right, her painted lips trembled slightly, knitted eyebrows, nervous movements of her hands - all this indicated that the woman was in great grief. Maria was silent, looking at the stranger.
– Where does Aunt Dunya live? Does she perform abortions? – the woman repeated her question in a whisper, and again her eyes began to dart.
- Eh, Aunt Dunya? “She lives on that street, the second house from the corner,” Maria muttered quickly, in order to quickly get rid of this woman, and ran on, again immersed in thoughts about the priest: how will he rejoice and what will he say to her? I was dozing on the train. On the road across the field to the village from the station, Maria walked with a crowd going there. All the way the conversation was about the priest, about his miracles. And everyone trembled: “He doesn’t accept some people or kicks them out... Lord, how scary it is to go to him... What if he kicks you out, scolds you, and maybe won’t let you enter his cell.”
Finally, they are already standing at the door of the cell.
One of them knocked meekly on the door. Natalya came out. With a stern look, she rudely poked: “Come in!”
Maria trembled with joy and immediately the thought came into her head: “Father knows that she brought him mushrooms, and he ordered me to go first.” She barely audibly entered the cell, crossed herself at the icons and cheerfully stepped from the threshold towards the priest, folding her palms crosswise. She said humbly, smiling with both lips and heart:
- Bless, father! - and suddenly hears a cry:
- Why did you come to me? Go, show the way. “Go kill the children,” thundered in a strong bass voice. It seemed to Maria that thunder shook the entire cell.
- Father! Oh! Oops! What have I done?
“Go, go, go,” the elder suddenly reassured in a humble tone.
“Father, here are the mushrooms, I picked them myself,” Maria muttered breathlessly and handed her her purse with shaking hands.
“I don’t need anything, go,” the old man said tiredly, and his head fell on his chest.
Maria flew out of her cell like a bullet, shedding tears of repentance: “Lord, I didn’t even bless you. Oops, what have I done? Why didn’t I stop her, but showed her the way where children were being killed!”
Groaning and crying, Maria trudged to the station: now she will atone for her guilt by repentance, confession in church. “The Lord will have mercy on me, but I am an accomplice in the murder of a child, now I have to worry about this murdered child too... Oh, horror! She didn’t do it herself, but she was listed as a murderer! Lord, have mercy!” On the way, she didn’t notice how she slipped mushrooms to someone and began to tell how she turned out to be an accomplice in sin...
This is how the old man, our dear teacher, taught me. This means that now we need to understand that not only the sin that we ourselves have committed falls on us, but also the one that we push into, or from which we do not stop.
A health worker from “Selmash” in the Kamensky district, Evdokia Vasilievna Konshina, came to see Elder John. I asked him something. He answered humbly and suddenly blurted out in his thick bass voice: “Go, toadstool, to your toadstools!” She jumped out from him and thought, “How can I understand this? I didn’t get married, so I lived as a girl. Why am I a toadstool? And then, with the help of others, I figured it out. She is a girl, already elderly, worked all her life as a nurse, and many times she had to help kill children in the womb of their mothers in the hospital. So the elder’s words are understandable, that is, “go to those workers who performed abortions and whom she helped.” This is how a spiritual doctor causes people to repent of those sins that they do not even notice.
Elder Father John, who led a holy, strict life, was a spiritual doctor, causing people to repent to heal sin... And he read sin in the heart, as in an open book, by the power of the Holy Spirit. The wise old man knew how to treat this or that sin in a person...
One day a man came to the priest. Father blesses and asks him:
- Do you remember your sin? - He lets you kiss his hand.
“There are many of them, sins, father,” answers the embarrassed man.
– Do you remember the big sin?
– I don’t know which one you’re talking about.
– In church, I mentally condemned the priest. For this, 40 bows for 40 nights, after 12 at night, - with a clear, thick, ringing bass, the priest cut into the peasant’s heart.
“Yes, father, I see that he didn’t do everything the way he was supposed to, so I thought in my mind: “The priest was too lazy to do something...”
- Great sin! - the wise old man cut off sharply and briefly and, baptizing the man, blessed him, poking his hand into his lips, rather painfully. - Go!
A little man came out and thought: “Here is an old man! He knows my thoughts. It's good that he imposed a punishment of 40 bows on me. Now I will know what a great sin it is to condemn a priest even in thought.”
Tatiana says.
I asked for a blessing to go home from my father to Penza. And he says:
- No, you'll walk home.
“Yes, father, I don’t have enough strength,” I say, but I think to myself: “And there’s no bread for the road.”
And he answers my thoughts:
“You go into the forest, three soldiers will come out and give you three loaves of bread.” And you will get there.
I obeyed, I go, I lean on the badik. I reached the forest, walked through the forest, and three soldiers came out and gave me three loaves of bread. White buns. I sat down, had a snack and slowly walked to Penza with prayer. The saint of God, our helper, was amazing.
One person gave him a bag of money, and the priest took the bag from him and immediately handed it to the woman who had just come in. The man says with trepidation:
- Father, I gave you money in the package...
- I know.
– There’s a lot there, 500 rubles.
- I know. She needs it, she will buy a cow.
The woman threw herself at his feet and said in tears:
- How do you know that my cow died?
- Go buy...
There was no letter from my husband after the war. I think: “I hid somewhere and got married.” I went to the old man.
- There are no letters from my husband... The elder answers, interrupting:
- Alive, alive, alive, good health, news soon...
And at the same time I agreed with him:
– How should I remember my husband: for his health or for his repose? – I finished my thought later.
The old man was silent. He already answered me ahead. I have two children, and I myself am sick. After returning from the priest, I receive a letter: “Your husband is in the hospital, seriously wounded.” Then he began to write himself and, having recovered, came home. The elder’s prayers are so strong and he is so perspicacious that one could not explain anything to him, but only hint, and he already knows everything...
One woman said that her son was lost at the front: “No hearing, no spirit.” She brought his linen to Father John. He waved his hand:
- I do not need. Go to the station now, walk with those feet, don’t stop anywhere.
She went, she was in a hurry, she was carrying the laundry and was grieving: “Why didn’t you take the laundry?” I came to the station, stood by the line and chatted. Suddenly some kind of military train arrived, military men were hanging out in all the carriages: where they were arguing, where they were singing, and many were just looking at a bunch of women. Suddenly a familiar voice shouts: “Mom! Mother! Mother!" Her hair stood on end, she looked around, and it was her son. The train stopped for a few minutes, and she handed him the laundry out the window. And she found out that he was not wounded, and, shedding tears, waved to the departing train in which her blood son was leaving her. Through the prayers of the old man, he was soon seriously wounded, recovered a little and was sent home to his mother.
***
From the Vadinsky district, Pavlov’s wife Ivana went to see the priest:
- Bless me, my husband is missing.
- Alive, alive, alive, he will come, he will live with you. Maria returned and said to the children:
“Father apparently doesn’t want to upset me, he says, my father will come back alive, but how can you stay alive in such a war?”
And three months later, suddenly the people shout: “Your father has returned, welcome.” And he goes. And he was not injured...
Yarochkin Egor disappeared from Krasnopolye and was captured. The family turned to Father John: “Alive, alive, alive, he will return,” answered Fr. John. And Yarochkin soon returned home.
Nikolai Vasilievich tells.
I tell the old man:
- My name is, father, I’ll go to...
- You know me?
- I know.
– Don’t go to anyone else: they are controlled by an Angel, and I by the Holy Spirit.
- Yes, father, when you listen, everything works out well, and God punishes the disobedient.
- It’s not me-a-a-a!
- Then who?..
- This is the Holy Spirit. I will put my hand to the Queen of Heaven, and the Holy Spirit gives me thought, admonition...
Miracles of healing of John Olenevsky
For his holy life, Father John received from the Lord the greatest reward of healing sick people with one touch of his holy hand. It was enough to complain to him, and the disease disappeared.
He was a physical and spiritual healer for people and a helper in diseases of livestock.
Elizaveta, a resident of a farm near the Olenevka station, tells.
Doctors diagnosed her as having appendicitis and quickly took her to a Penza hospital, but when they announced that they would perform an operation on her, she stated that without the blessing of the elder priest she did not dare to have the operation. At her persistent request, she was discharged home. She sent her niece to the elder to take his blessing for the operation.
“I don’t give my blessing for the operation,” the old man answered briefly and gave him holy water. Elizabeth drank this water for three days and recovered. 27 years have passed since then. The elder has been lying in the grave for 25 years, and Elizabeth has not felt any pain in her stomach over these years.
Solenkov Alexander, an employee of the Olenevka crossing, says.
I got sick with my stomach. I underwent treatment in hospitals and resorts, but my illness did not respond to treatment. There were attacks that caused me to vomit: it got to the point that everything I ate came back as vomit. And all this went on for 13 years. The doctors didn't help me. I turned to Father John, but he did not let me tell me about my illness to the end, he interrupted me and asked me for an empty bottle. I gave it to him, he poured water, blessed it and said: “Drink, and everything will pass!”
I did as he said. From that time on, everything went away: my stomach began to work normally, I no longer felt painful sensations. 27 years have passed since then, and I am not sick. And he changed my soul: I became a believer and clung to the church and, having received a pension, I sing in the choir...
Euphrosyne, who lives in Manchuria, tells.
9 years before the death of Elder John, I had already been registered with doctors for three years: they recognized cancer in both breasts and scheduled me for surgery. I went to the elder for a blessing. Getting in...
- Ooo! - the old man drawled with some kind of sorrow, with some kind of grief, wincing painfully.
She rushed to his bed, knelt in front of him, folded her hands in blessing:
- Father, bless me for the operation: cancer of both breasts is recognized, the doctors spend three years...
He didn’t let me finish, he baptized me, gave me his hand to kiss and pulled:
- No, I don’t bless you. Save you, Lord, have mercy and save you! - and began to baptize me.
I felt as if I was crawling into some narrow crack or coal hole. From above it reached my breasts, and it was like the skin was peeling off of me. Everything came off - it became easy. I came home and my daughter began to worry about a heating pad.
- No need, daughter, everything has already been done, it doesn’t hurt: the priest healed it with one touch.
After a few days, the swelling on the breasts softened and soon disappeared completely. I didn't go to the doctors. They sent for me for surgery.
“I’m not sick, I have nothing,” I told them. They sent me to a doctor, the doctor was surprised, but I was embarrassed to say that it was the priest who healed me.
For his virgin, holy life, the elder was awarded by the Lord with the power of supernatural healing. Even cancer, which is incurable for doctors, was treated by the holy old man, destroyed without a trace with prayer and holy water.
I, Anyuta, fell into the cellar: I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t lie down, I couldn’t sit down, I couldn’t shake myself - everything hurt, especially my side. I went up to the anointing in church and said to the elder who anointed while sitting:
- My leg and side hurt. He anointed my forehead and said:
- With God blessing...
It went away and all the pain disappeared. I come home and even run for water: neither my leg, nor my side, nothing hurts, as if I never fell into the cellar.
There was no case when a person left the elder unhealed; he healed any illness.
One woman and I went to the grave of an old man, and she said: “I had breast cancer. Doctors refused to perform the operation. I went to see my father. He baptized me, gave me some water and said: “If you drink, everything will pass,” and touched me with his holy hand. And the cancer disappeared. The tumor gradually began to resolve. It’s been 24 years and I’m healthy.”
One day I had a strangulated hernia. I was walking from the Church of the Myrrh-Bearers, and I was gripped. I was already 70 years old. Somehow they got me home. My Procopius decided that I would die. We need to have an operation. I think I would go to my elder’s grave, but I can’t... I prayed, asked for his blessing in absentia and fell asleep. I see in a dream: I am at the grave of an old man. A lilac bush grows near his grave and pats me on the head, and I say:
- Bless me, father, for the operation.
Suddenly I hear:
- The Lord blessed. I'm not alone here. There are three of us here: St. Nicholas, St. Seraphim and I am with them...
I woke up and went to the operation, it went well, the operation was successful, and now I have lived to be 90 years old. And how old the old man was when he died, I never thought about it, it was knocked out of my head. I can’t imagine how much older he was than me. He's an old man, and that's all. A dry, noble, handsome old man, about 100 years old or so.
After his death, the elder shows great attention to everyone who comes to his grave: Anna Grigorievna Plakhova, an old woman from Varezheki, Kamensky district, suffered for several years from aches in her right shoulder and arm. Sometimes my hand would ache, and there would be no consolation for it. I tried everything, both medical and folk remedies, but no help. She asked to go with us to the grave of Father John in Olenevka. We took her, but on the way on the train we didn’t know what to do with her, she felt sick: her heart stopped, and she lay on the bench as if dead. They gave me some holy water and I felt better. But finally we arrived at Olenevka.
Anna walked towards the grave with great heaviness. We led her by the arms. We arrived at night, lit candles, placed them on the grave in the ground, and as the candles flared, from a distance it seemed as if a fire was burning. We stand, read the canon, the 17th kathisma, akathists...
Anna stood there for a short time, and then complained that she couldn’t stand. We laid her down on the grass, right next to the priest’s fence. She lay down with her sore arm on the ground and fell asleep. People say: “This woman is still sleeping, we need to wake her up and pray.” - “Don’t touch her, let her sleep, she’s healing, it’s hard for her to stand, she’s very sick...”
All night the people read and sang. Morning. Dawn. We woke her up and went to church in Solovtsovka. Another three kilometers. Anna walks and doesn’t understand why she feels so good and easy? And only at home she noticed that her hand had not hurt since it lay at the elder’s grave. And now 20 years have passed, and she no longer feels any pain in her arm, from which she suffered for several years before healing, today she reminded me of this long-ago incident.
Elder Fr. John reposed, and we began to go to his grave. In 1952 we went to see him as a souvenir. Klava Shiltsova, a resident of Kamenka, was traveling with me; she works at a sugar factory. She still remembers this incident with Masha with fear. Someone advised Masha the possessed to go to her father’s grave for healing, she readily agreed. We walked from Olenevki station in the dark. At first we didn’t know that Masha, the possessed woman, had come with us on the same train, accompanied by women, and they were walking ahead of us. Halfway through the road, Masha began to rage. We caught up with a group of people who were fighting with Masha. 8-10 women pulled her by the arms, pushed her from behind, and pulled her by the clothes in front, but she turned out to be stronger than all of them, and they tortured her. Then she fell, they grabbed her: some by her legs, some by her arms, some by her head - and they dragged her along the canopy, and she wriggled her belly up and down and screamed. Her screams were terrible: she was a woman, but she called herself in the masculine gender: “I went into it and I won’t come out! Where are you taking me? Oh, they are going to kill me! I won't go out, I'm used to it. I don’t want to go there, I won’t go. Ah-ah-ah-ah, they are going to kill, now they will kill me!” And Masha growled like a beast.
With such screams and still incomprehensible exclamations and squeals, she accompanied the entire second half of the road to the priest’s grave. Just before the grave, she screamed loudly and fell, touching her head to the grave ashes in front of the fence. And immediately she became quiet, woke up, quietly began to rise, and knelt down, all wet, sweaty, disheveled. Someone adjusted her handkerchief, and she quietly asked:
- Where are we?
“At Father’s grave,” they answered her.
-Have you reached it yet? – Masha asked in surprise. This means she was unconscious the whole time. Then she started vomiting. And when she felt better, she got up and stayed with us at the grave until the morning. I went into the fence and prayed quietly there.
In the morning everyone came to the Solovtsov church, to which they always took the priest. At this mass, Masha was again next to me. While singing “Izhe Cherubim” she stood completely calm. After the service, she said: “I fell in church for 20 years, and they told me that she barked like a dog, but today she didn’t fall. The priest at the grave helped me.”
Then we saw this Masha many times and often talked to her: she is completely healthy after this visit to the grave of our wonderful healer and does not go berserk, but out of old habit they still call her “Masha the Possessed.” 25 years have passed and Masha is healthy.
I was about 6 years old when my right arm started to hurt. It started hurting from the time when my mother accidentally laid on my hand in a dream and injured a bone. From that time on, she began to turn red and a tumor appeared. We visited many doctors, but they could not do anything with her; they offered to amputate her arm, but my mother did not give consent.
Meanwhile, my hand began to bother me very much. Pus appeared. He kept flooding the pillow. My tuberculosis process began.
And at this time, one of my friends suggested that my mother go with me to Fr. John. We went to see him in Olenevka. It was summer. We were let into a small room near the door; to the right there was a couch, and on it was reclining a thin, thin old man, very handsome, pleasant, with a bright face. For some reason he seemed angry to me, as he spoke rather harshly. I was getting a little scared.
I approached his blessing with trepidation and again caught the same smell of perfume as in the entryway, emanating from his hands; a kind of wondrous purity and holiness radiated from his entire appearance. He is silent, looks at me piercingly and, it seems, does not listen to my mother, who explains about my illness, and, without listening to her, suddenly and quickly says:
- It will pass, it will pass, it will pass.
I gave my mother holy oil and holy water and asked me to prayerfully lubricate my festering wound three times. The bone in my hand has already begun to rot right through. And a miracle, which we find difficult to believe in, happened! On the third day, the wound stopped festering, and the tuberculosis process immediately stopped. The wound began to scar and heal. It’s hard to describe the feeling of joy at this – there’s no need to cut off your hand!
Tuberculosis disappeared, and my hand became healthy, but with a scar for life: this trace of my illness reminds me of the old man.
The memory of the elder will forever remain in my memory, and every time I remember everything, he stands so vividly in front of me!
And he treated the cattle with prayers. Dad had a lot of cattle, when someone got sick, he would go for Ivan Vasilyevich, for his father, the deacon. Father John will pray at home or come to our yard, and all the cattle will recover. Even if she was dying, she would still rise.
The Legend of the Life and Miracles of the Blessed Elder
John Olenevsky. St. Petersburg: Satis, 2001.
Miracle of Elder John Olenevsky
On May 30–31, 2001, the discovery of the relics and glorification of the holy priest took place. And in June, parishioners of our church made a pilgrimage to the holy relics, which rest in the Trinity-Sergius Church in the village of Solovtsovka. The temple in Solovtsovka was built with the blessing of the holy righteous John of Kronstadt; he himself made a donation for the construction. There are many icons of Athonite writing in the temple. A few years ago, 18 icons streamed myrrh. During our visit, the image of the Mother of God “Mammal” exuded myrrh.
After a prayer service at the relics, the pilgrims went to the miraculous spring of the holy martyr Paraskeva Pyatnitsa, located not far from the temple, in a picturesque place under the arches of the forest. We plunged into the healing waters of the spring and returned home with gratitude to the Lord and His saints. We were in Solovtsovka on Thursday, and on Sunday we learned that one of our pilgrims received healing of an arm that she had not been able to lift for 4 years. The woman showed everyone how her healed hand worked and thanked the Lord with tears.
But a truly evangelical miracle happened on the same Sunday at the relics of Father John Olenevsky. Young parents brought a baby girl to the Solovtsov Church. Their daughter was born blind... After the liturgy, the parents touched the girl to the relics - and she received her sight! The fact of this miracle was confirmed by the rector of the Trinity-Sergius Church, Father Alexander. God is marvelous in His saints!
Come to Elder John, and he will not leave you without consolation. Father said: “I won’t forget anyone. Whoever comes to the grave, I will help him with my prayers at the Throne of the Heavenly King.”
Priest Georgy Dobrolyubov,
rector of the Ascension Church
To display page content correctly, you must enable JavaScript or use a browser that supports JavaScript.
Kontakion 1
Chosen servant of Christ, warm prayer book and wonderful confessor, Our Father John. Having loved from a young age an undefiled life, he conquered the sadness of our land, and confessed the faith of Christ without fear before the atheists. The most wonderful miracle worker appeared, giving healing and consolation to all who suffered. But we, who are unworthy, offer thee songs of praise in tenderness of hearts:
Ikos 1
You desired a life equal to the angels from your youth, preparing everything for yourself to serve the Lord with fasting and prayer. Revealing your soul as a holy abode for sad orphans and widows, interceding and instructing those who come to you on the path of salvation:
Rejoice, foretold before birth by the wandering monks;
Rejoice, prophecy: This one is truly great among the faithful, revealed by his life.
Rejoice, having prepared your soul through fasting and prayer as a holy abode for those who mourn;
Rejoice, thou who loves spiritual poverty more than the sweets of the world.
Rejoice, you who spent the youth day and night in prayer to the Lord;
Rejoice, thou that negligent Christians may go to the holy temple with understanding.
Rejoice, having served diligently as a church clerk from a young age;
Rejoice, you who have given endless mercy to orphans and widows.
Rejoice, Our Father John, warm prayer book and wonderful miracle worker.
Kontakion 2
Having a mind enlightened by grace, you are a child who invites people to go to the Church of God. Remembering immutably the Divine words of the Savior: Where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them. We all call to him with tenderness: Alleluia.
Ikos 2
The power of the Most High enlightened your soul, and you humbly knew the will of the Lord, learning from an early age to live a strict life, leaving the charm of this world and incessantly thinking about heavenly things. We thank God and praise you:
Rejoice, thou who has acquired humility from a young age;
Rejoice, imitating the great saints with constant feat.
Rejoice, having humbly recognized the Will of the Lord within yourself;
Rejoice, for the sake of the Lord you have tasted no more meat or sweets.
Rejoice, all the red of the world, imputed to nothing;
Rejoice, you who as an orphan placed all your hope in God.
Rejoice, you who have shown good love for the temple of God;
Rejoice, you who delight those who pray with the euphonious voice.
Rejoice, Our Father John, warm prayer book and wonderful miracle worker.
Kontakion 3
Seeing your holy life as the fierce enemy of the human race, Our Father John, you constantly do dirty tricks to make your relatives angry at you, and you drive you out and don’t give you shelter, but you are like the wonderworker of Sarov, praying for those who offend you, chanting thanks to God: Alleluia.
Ikos 3
Hungry for the zealous feat, you went through the whole path of a mournful ascetic life: fasting, night vigil, shedding tears endlessly. He himself was strange and received the orphan boy, instructing him and feeding him with his labors. Likewise, we all, marveling at your mercy, cry out to you:
Rejoice, victorious through the love of Christ the wiles of the devil;
Rejoice, you who pleased God with your glorious life.
Rejoice, you who healed the mortal wound with the sign of the cross;
Rejoice, you who earnestly prayed for those who offend and persecute Him.
Rejoice, for those who inflict wounds on you: God is with them, constantly answering;
Rejoice, you who shed flaming tears in prayer for the whole world.
Rejoice, having shown unfailing mercy to the orphan boy;
Rejoice, having generously given from your labors to the poor.
Rejoice, Our Father John, warm prayer book and wonderful miracle worker.
Kontakion 4
Having acquired the love of Christ with all your heart, raising your mind to the heights, you loved sweetness and peace in prayer, and directed your path further into the wilds of the forests, so that there you could continually cry out in silence to the Creator God: Alleluia.
Ikos 4
The land of Penza preaches your deeds and miracles, Our God-bearing Father John. I hide your holy life from the eyes of men and rush into the desert, looking for the priceless beads of Christ, you suffered from evil wounds, for I eat you and knit to the tree. You earnestly pray for them and answer meekly: God is with them. With the same radiance of your feat, we magnify you with joy and reverence:
Rejoice, you who have made our land fragrant with your labors;
Rejoice, you who have acquired the grace of Christ with all your heart.
Rejoice, imitating the Sarov wonderworker by your life;
Rejoice, you who most ardently sought the sweetness of heaven in prayer.
Rejoice, diligently directing your mind to heaven;
Rejoice, hiding your deeds from human sight.
Rejoice, you who constantly cried out to God in temptations;
Rejoice, having placed all your trust in Him in troubles and sorrows.
Rejoice, Our Father John, warm prayer book and wonderful miracle worker.
Kontakion 5
Great in life and great in miracles, you appeared like the thorn of paradise, fragrant with your wondrous deeds throughout our entire land, giving endlessly suffering consolation and healing to the sick, singing with gratitude to God: Alleluia.
Ikos 5
Great sanctuary, blazing and shining with spiritual gifts, you were a most remarkable miracle worker. When, with the touch of your hand, the demoniac was healed and the holy water and oil left the ulcers of the sick. Marveling at this God's favor for you, we sing to you:
Rejoice, quick healer and wonderful helper in troubles;
Rejoice, having driven out the spirit of malice with the touch of your hand.
Rejoice, by anointing the wounds of the afflicted with oil;
Rejoice, having glorified the Lord through many miracles in your life.
Rejoice, you are an unquenchable sanctuary through fasting and prayer;
Rejoice, guided by the Holy Spirit all the days of your life.
Rejoice, before the throne of the Almighty I warmly intercede for us;
Rejoice, vigilant prayer book to God for us.
Rejoice, Our Father John, warm prayer book and wonderful miracle worker.
Kontakion 6
Grace from God has been given to you: the power to trample the enemy and heal every ailment and illness in people, to reveal to those who come to you the thoughts of the heart and to proclaim the coming, wondrous miracles and the signs of God in the Trinity, singing to Him: Alleluia.
Ikos 6
In zeal for God, you labored gloriously, becoming like the holy saint of God, the great wonderworker Saint Nicholas and the Venerable Seraphim. Truly and affirming this, the Lord reveals to people that in a vision we will glorify you in your cell, standing with them in the robes of equals. We, rejoicing in God’s thought for you, cry out to you with love:
Rejoice, jealous of the great wonderworker in his wondrous labors;
Rejoice, in the vision standing with the saints of God in the robes of equals.
Rejoice, you who zealously care for the Penza flock with love;
Rejoice, for those who seek the future as if the present one foretold.
Rejoice, you who guide those who come to you on the path of salvation;
Rejoice, you who saved those perishing in the abyss of sin through prayer.
Rejoice, you who affirmed faith in the Providence of God for the faint-hearted;
Rejoice, you who revive sinners to correction and repentance.
Rejoice, Our Father John, warm prayer book and wonderful miracle worker.
Kontakion 7
The enemy of our salvation has raised a storm of evil, to persecute the faith of Christ in times of trouble and to torment the faithful people of the Orthodox Church from the atheists. Exactly and clearly, for the sake of the weak, the Lord is unshakable, like a pillar and confirmation, having come to earth to confess God in the flesh, singing to Him with thanksgiving: Alleluia.
Ikos 7
Enduring tribulations and hardships with your beloved flock, you undauntedly confessed your holy faith, even to the point of prison bonds, our holy confessor Father John, revealing the image and rule to your flock. In the same way, we pleasingly appeal to you:
Rejoice, persecuted in this time of trouble for the faith of Christ;
Rejoice, you who joyfully endured the bonds of prison for Christ.
Rejoice, thou who humbly endured wounds and strangulations;
Rejoice, confessor of Christ, God-wise and perspicacious.
Rejoice, having destroyed the power of the enemy with your meekness;
Rejoice, indestructible adamante of faith.
Rejoice, fearless priestly confessor;
Rejoice, unshakable pillar of Orthodoxy.
Rejoice, Our Father John, warm prayer book and wonderful miracle worker.
Kontakion 8
People are possessed by malice, having seen your praiseworthy deeds, they raised up a fight against you and put you to the test, when the guards came to your cell to take you away. You told one of them: They will bury you in the morning, and so it will be. We glorify God with joy and sing to Him: Alleluia.
Ikos 8
Without realizing godlessness, the great wonderworker appeared before them, and when he aimed fiery arrows at you and shot you, you were unharmed and unharmed, glorifying God. For this reason we cry to you, the glorious saint of God and wondrous miracle worker:
Rejoice, thou who humbly accepted fierce abuse from evil people;
Rejoice, you who strengthen weak people in captivity.
Rejoice, you who meekly answered the questions of the executioners;
Rejoice, you who suddenly indicated the death of one guard.
Rejoice, striking the atheists with your wondrous patience;
Rejoice, you who showed a great miracle during the fiery torment.
Rejoice, preserved unharmed by the Lord in torment;
Rejoice, you who gave glory to God in struggles and persecutions.
Rejoice, Our Father John, warm prayer book and wonderful miracle worker.
Kontakion 9
The disembodied face, marveling at the height of your service, at the dawn of godlessness, you arose and became for us an unstoppable light, illuminating our land with many miracles. You accepted martyrdom, shame and humiliation, singing to Him: Alleluia.
Ikos 9
Every kind of orgy of earthly beings cannot adequately praise you, Our Father John, for you have given everything to yourself to serve everyone who comes to you, and for this reason we are fiercely tormented by evil people, when I throw you in shrouds and throw you from the shore to the word of the night, and the Lord is in good health you are saved. From here we bring worthy praise to you:
Rejoice, having driven away the storm of evil with the rays of your miracles;
Rejoice, you who bravely endured the hardships of prison.
Rejoice, you who offer up prayer for your enemies day and night;
Rejoice, shame and humiliation, as if you have received the sweetness of heaven.
Rejoice, you who revealed martyrdom for the Lord’s sake;
Rejoice, you who did not retreat from God in times of depletion of faith;
Rejoice, thou temple of the soul not desecrated by any heresy;
Rejoice, thou who teachest to preserve faith in the abyss of trials.
Rejoice, Our Father John, warm prayer book and wonderful miracle worker.
Kontakion 10
You, the sufferer, achieved a considerable feat of salvation before your honorable death, when during Great Lent you ate only one prosphora a day and only drank a little holy water, and the devil took revenge on you, bringing the people against you who unlawfully tormented you and left you alive. You, like a gentle lamb, have endured everything, praying to God for those who offend you, singing: Alleluia.
Ikos 10
You are a wall to all Christians who come to your intercession, Our Christ-loving Father John, help us sinners, so that we may bear the fruit of repentance and teach us to remember all the days of our last, when he himself foresaw his death and went to his grave with many children and departed on his own what? We strive for love, we dare to sing to you:
Rejoice, thou who hast revealed the angelic life in the mortal body;
Rejoice, great faster, having served God from youth.
Rejoice, most praiseworthy virgin, surprising us with your fragrance;
Rejoice, you who walked until your departure to the funeral grave.
Rejoice, St. Seraphim deigned to visit your cell in a vision;
Rejoice, many people have turned away from this disastrous path.
Rejoice, you who tearfully prayed to God for the salvation of Russia;
Rejoice, you who illuminated the land of Penza more than the sun.
Rejoice, Our Father John, warm prayer book and wonderful miracle worker.
Kontakion 11
You continually offered up songs of thanksgiving to the Creator, O servant of God; through all your life and confession for Christ, the great wonderworker appeared, and after your death the sun burst forth and the heavens, like a rainbow, covered the sheets of your glorious relics, sealing the appearance. We cry out to God with joy, kissing them: Alleluia.
Ikos 11
The luminous light in the land of Penza shone with grace and miracles, and again your honest relics exude many miracles and healings to this day for everyone who flows to you with faith and love. Moreover, we cry out to you as a kind representative and wonderworker for us:
Rejoice, inexhaustible storehouse of miracles;
Rejoice, you who do not fail in prayer to the Lord.
Rejoice, inimitable image of meekness;
Rejoice, our indefatigable prayer book.
Rejoice, constantly adorned with virtues;
Rejoice, wonderworker, praised by the angels.
Rejoice, you who are the source of grace for us;
Rejoice, thou who fillest hearts with love.
Rejoice, Our Father John, warm prayer book and wonderful miracle worker.
Kontakion 12
Saving grace and your great intercession before God, leading, righteous elder, we pray diligently, pray for us unworthy to the All-Merciful Savior, may He rule His Holy Church from schism and heresy and preserve the Russian land from troubles and misfortunes, may we glorify God, who benefits us: Alleluia .
Ikos 12
Singing your wondrous glorification, we magnify you, holy confessor, Our Father John, we worship your multi-healing power, we bless your holy memory, and we know you as our shield and protection from the evil adversary, and the prayer book is multi-powerful before the throne of the Lord. For this reason, with love, we exclaim to you:
Rejoice, praise and affirmation to our city;
Rejoice, wonderful adornment of the Russian land.
Rejoice, strong intercession for the Orthodox;
Rejoice, quick healing for those who suffer.
Rejoice, reliable consolation for those who mourn;
Rejoice, you who ask for inexhaustible help.
Rejoice, our unshakable hope for salvation;
Rejoice, our indestructible fence.
Rejoice, Our Father John, warm prayer book and wonderful miracle worker.
Kontakion 13
Oh, great servant of Christ and wonderful confessor, Our Father John, quick helper to all who come to you in need and illness. Accept from us, the unworthy, the singing of praise offered to you with faith and love. Protect us with your prayers from enemies visible and invisible. Let us glorify the wondrous God in our saints, who has shown great mercy in you, singing the victorious song: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. (This kontakion is read three times)
Therefore, Ikos 1: “Equal to the Angels’ Life...” and Kontakion 1: “The Chosen Servant of Christ...”.
First prayer
Oh, great, glorious confessor of Christ and wondrous miracle worker, Our Father John!
A fair faster, a virgin, a perspicacious, a wise teacher and a quick healer. Look upon us, the orphans and burdened with many sins, heal passions, illnesses and grave sorrows, pacify our lives and protect us with your prayers from the fierce Belial and every adversary rising against us.
To her, Holiness of God, hear our prayer offered to you with faith and love, and do not despise us who demand your intercession, be the protector and patron of your people, this city, and every city and power of Russia. We place our hope in you, glorious miracle worker, for you yourself proclaimed to your flock: I will not forget whoever comes to me, I will help him with my prayers at the throne of the King of Glory, where you abide with your angels, interceding for our land, glorifying God in the Trinity , To Him be glory, honor and worship forever and ever. Amen.
Second prayer
Oh, wonderful and glorious servant of Christ, Reverend Father John the Confessor. In your life and labors you became like St. Seraphim and Righteous John of Kronstadt. Likewise, we, resorting to Your firm intercession, in contrition of heart, pray to You: illuminate us with the light of the grace given to You and, through prayerful intercession before the throne of God, confirm and increase our faith. Even in times of fierce persecution, you showed reinforcement and consolation to the weak, healing and intercession to the sick, correction to the lost, timely help to the needy. And now do not leave us, with faith and hope flowing to the race of Your relics. Pray to the All-Blessed Lord the peoples of our Fatherland in unanimity of faith and in all piety to observe, to pacify internecine warfare, to revive the spirit of piety, brotherly love and fear of God in the sons of the Russians. Imams for You, the never-ceasing prayer book and intercessor, unceasingly praise with love the wondrous God in our saints - the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
John Olenevsky, in the world Ivan Vasilyevich Kalinin, is considered the most revered ascetic of the Penza land. Born August 5, 1854.
Possessing poor health, he earned his living by doing small crafts - knitting scarves and mittens. But the main thing to which he devoted himself with all the fervor of his soul was prayer and visiting the local church, where he helped the priest as an altar boy. From the age of seven I read the Book of Hours and sang in the choir. From a young age he got up at night to pray, prayed with tears, and limited himself in food.
At the age of 65, I. Kalinin was ordained by Archbishop John, the future head of the Latvian Church, to the rank of deacon and served in the churches of the villages of Olenevka and Solovtsovka, Penza region, and became a priest in 1946. Lived in his cell from 1930 to 1951.
On March 26, 1951, the elder was severely beaten by unknown assailants, and on July 24 (old style), 1951, Monday, at 7 a.m. he died. He was buried in the cemetery in Solovtsovka; in 1996, the elder’s coffin was reburied on the territory of the Trinity-Sergius Church in the village of Solovtsovka.
On December 27, 2000, by a resolution of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, Priest John Kalinin, Olenevsky was included in the Council of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia of the 20th century.
Now his holy relics are in the church in the village. Solovtsovka, Penza region, in the cemetery of the neighboring village. In Olenevka there is a grave preserved, the place for which Father John himself chose during his lifetime. In Olenevka itself the cell of Fr. John.
Commemoration of Hiero-Confessor John Olenevsky - May 18 and July 24.
August 6th, 2014
Today, August 6, is the memory of a saint especially revered by our family. Holy Righteous John of Olenevsky, wonderworker (Priest John Vasilyevich Kalinin, priest, years of life: 1854-1951)
Metropolitan Seraphim led the celebrations dedicated to the day of memory of John of Olenevsky in the village. Solovtsovka
…
August 6, Wednesday, the day of remembrance of the holy confessor John Olenevsky, in the village. Celebrations dedicated to one of the most revered saints of the Sursky region took place in Solovtsovka, Penza district.
In the morning, a religious procession took place from the ascetic’s native village, Olenevka, to Solovtsovka, where his relics rest.
Father John was very loved and revered both during his life and after his death.
There were a lot of people, and it’s nice that they came from neighboring regions.
Metropolitan Seraphim leaves after the celebration
Sources: photo by and from http://odnoklassniki.ru, group "Admirers of St. John of Olenevsky", "Orthodox miracles and shrines of Orthodoxy"
LIFE
The great blessed wonderworker, Elder John was born in 1854 on the feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist, August 29 (September 11, new style), in the village of Olenevka, Penza province. The year and exact place of birth of Elder John are still officially considered unknown, since no documentary evidence has yet been found.
Even before the birth of the great baby, two monks arrived in Olenevka and informed the Orthodox people of God’s prophecy: “Soon a baby will be born here to you, who will be great among the faithful.” After the departure of these monks, a year passed, and a son was born to the virgin Xenia. At baptism he was given the name John. From birth until his death, he did not miss a single church service, except for the time when he was in prison for six months. At first his mother carried him to church, and then he ran around on his own. He learned to read early, and from the age of seven began to read in church with his melodic, sonorous tenor and treble.
Probably, for the abundant tears of his offended mother, Xenia, the Lord generously rewarded her son with great grace and holiness from an early age. “What are you building here, Vanyusha?” - the adults asked the boy. “Tselkova,” answered the baby, who was only two years old at that time. And indeed, from raw clay, pebbles and wood, the child created a small, albeit disorganized church.
Ksenia's father severely punished his daughter for her sin and kicked her out of the house. Later, still taking pity on her, he built her a cell near the village church. Ivan grew up under the grace of this church, not missing a single service, first with his mother, and then on his own, delighting visitors with his pleasant, euphonious, strong tenor or treble. The people reasoned like this: “Why should we go to the Borisov Church, better yet to the Olenevskaya Church, we will at least listen to Ivan Vasilyevich and enjoy his singing.” As soon as he starts singing, the whole church is “in the air.” He sang in a treble, high and clear.
His mother, Ksenia, left Ivan an orphan early, and the boy was raised by relatives. Relatives said that when he was little, he played with dolls, made a church out of clay, the dolls went to church to pray, and whoever died, he carried them to the cemetery, built right next to the church, and buried them. I sewed dresses for them, knitted stockings and hats, and sang with dolls. I played in a circle with 12-13 year old children and swam with them. And at night he secretly prayed. Natasha, his cousin, was mending his clothes and grumbled at him: “All his knees were torn and torn.”
As a boy, he began to accustom himself to a strict life: he slept little, sitting or bent over on the floor, like a kitten. He took food rarely and little by little. From an early age, Ivan refused to eat meat. He usually drank a glass of tea, which he brewed himself; He bakes round potatoes on a pole and washes them down with tea without bread. He didn’t take sweets from an early age, but gave candy to the children, but his tea was only slightly sweetened. Egg only took one on Easter, when they broke their fast. Occasionally he will drink a glass of milk when his throat hurts. One day, feeling unwell, he asked me to cook buckwheat porridge with milk. They cooked it for him, but he only tried it. He loved church, he never missed a single service, he sang and read in church, helped at the altar and called people to church: “The Mother of God will punish you for not going to church. Here are both Kyiv and Jerusalem.” This is what he said about the Solovtsovskaya Church.
His mother was Ksenia, but no one knew his father. They named him Vasilyevich after his godfather. The mother’s cell was set on fire twice, she and her mother were rebuilt and assembled as a world-cathedral. When the mother died, the cell was completely taken away and a fur cooperative was placed in it, and the orphan was moved to the cell of Martha and Tatyana’s nieces, where he was raised further. The girls sewed, and he collected the scraps and distributed them to the children. After their death, the boy began to live in the cell of his cousin Natalia. Ivan Vasilyevich did not go to school. He ran to the bakery, visited orphans, knitted scarves and stockings, and worked as a psalm reader in the church. But I never took anything for work.
His night was devoted to prayer. He slept little, intermittently, jumped up to pray, only tears could be heard in the darkness... He was not taken into the army. Relatives said that Ivan Vasilyevich raised an orphan shoemaker, sewed boots with him and buried him at 18 years old. One day, at the age of 14, Ivan ended up in Kochetovka, Kamensky district, where the blessed elder John Kochetovsky lived. This old man approached the young man Ivan Vasilyevich, put his hand on his shoulder and extended: “You will be taller than me. People will flock to you like birds from heaven.”
Ivan Vasilyevich was the first to come to church and the last to leave. Selivanov, the master, the head of the province, subsequently wanted to make him a deacon, but he was illegitimate. Because of his righteous life, he was worthy, but an illegitimate one was not allowed to become a deacon... Ivan Vasilyevich did not work anywhere except the church, but at home he made shoes, knitted down scarves, treated cattle, and treated teeth for everyone who turned to him. He worked in church and prayed secretly at home, without showing off his exploits. And he inspired people: “Don’t show it, don’t pray for show!” “I have always lived only in church,” said Ivan Vasilyevich, “but at home I get up from the coffin and lie down in the coffin, I crawl out of the house as if from a grave.” This is what the priest said when he lived with Natalia, his cousin. The priest had to change many places of ministry during his life as the Bolsheviks closed more and more churches one after another. But most of all in his life it was connected, of course, with the Olenevskaya church, where he grew up and where he was ordained a deacon (in 1920), and with the Solovtsovskaya church, where he served his last years and was elevated to the rank of priest (2 September 1946).
Throughout his life, the priest disappeared several times in the forest. No one knew what he was doing there except God... They searched and searched for him and did not find him. He loved the forest and used to say: “I will go to the sinless forest.” The old man's bed was half the length of his body. He always slept crouched, never stretched out. Rough felt replaced his mattress, and an old thin blanket always covered his body. Throughout his life, Father John tried in every possible way to hide his exploits, but he could not hide the grace he received from God and shone like a lamp lit on the top of a mountain...
The spiritual mentor, educator, and spiritual doctor was brief in his speech; he never made rude reproaches to the weak, did not get irritated, but cried a lot both for himself and for everyone. About everyone and everything. There was no need to tell him about sins and shortcomings; he himself knew them and pointed them out to the person, bringing him into tearful repentance and correction.
When the persecution of the Church began, Ivan Vasilyevich immediately became suspicious of the Soviet authorities. After the defeat of the “true Orthodox churchmen” in Penza, led by Bishop Kirill of Penza, in 1932 the first case was opened against Ivan Vasilyevich Kalinin, who then lived in the village of Elizavetino and served in the church of the village of Nadezhdino, Teleginsky district. He was arrested “for carrying out anti-Soviet religious propaganda” and by the decision of the troika was sentenced to deportation for a period of three years. At the end of 1933 - beginning of 1934, he was involved in a new case as “one of the leaders of the counter-revolutionary education of churchmen,” but due to his advanced age and extremely ill condition, the case against him was dropped. In November 1936, Father John was again arrested and kept in Penza prison awaiting trial for almost six months, but with God's help he was released again.
His house was repeatedly searched, his property was described, the elder was banned from living in various villages, from receiving visitors... Several times someone beat him in the forest and at home, but he did not complain, he only prayed. One day, when he was praying in the forest, he was grabbed and tied to a tree, and the peasant Ivan Morozov found him and brought him home, barely alive, he was so exhausted, tied to the tree. But he didn't complain. “God is with them, God is with them, God is with them!” - the old man answered those who wanted to know who tied him to the tree and why. Once the hooligans threw him from the dam into a ravine littered with manure, snags, all kinds of garbage and sewage. He crawled there all night, but could not get out. In the morning he was pulled out of the ravine, bloodied and with bruises on his body. Many people say that they once wanted to shoot Father John. They placed it on the shore and fired a volley, but the bullets bounced off it “as if it were made of iron.” Then the atheists, without coming to their senses, decided to drown the holy elder. They wrapped him in a blanket and let him go from the high bank to the river. He rolled right up to the water and stopped. Then the women came and took him away. One day, two policemen came to the elder’s cell and announced that they had been sent for him: “Get ready, grandfather!” The priest was silent for a while, then humbly and meekly said: “I’ll get ready now, and we’ll bury you tomorrow,” he waved his hand at one policeman. They took the elder to prison, and the next day the policeman died, as the elder had predicted. Upon the elder’s return from prison, even sister Natalya was afraid to keep him in her cell: “People come to him, they’ll put me in prison with him.” Father had to wander among people. But he never lost heart, and always in all his troubles he only strengthened and thanked God for everything... Contemporaries recall that in all kinds of sorrows and illnesses, the priest was a helper and mentor, and a healer, he consoled everyone and did not reproach anyone. His cousin died, leaving behind three daughters and a son. Ivan Vasilyevich helped them with deeds, bread, and money. He worked in the church until he was old. Lately, almost motionless, he was taken to church by the Tatar Boris Donyushin. The young men Lenya and Sasha helped him. Everyone who met the elder in any way at any age was amazed at his wonderful insight. In recent years, he was always led around the church under two arms, bent almost double. Walking through the church, he blessed both individual parishioners and everyone together, and the expression on his face showed bliss. This means that he was pleased: fasting and prayers bore fruit - sorrows floated and sank in the blissful state of the elder’s soul, his holy life.
The abundant and amazing insight of the holy elder, with which he was awarded for his exploits, virginity and his holy life, permeates the stories of everyone who meets him. There were no secrets for the elder; he foresaw the future life of every person, everyone’s sins and even their thoughts were revealed to him. He knew how to bless as it was necessary for this person, and he was never mistaken, because the elder did not act with his own mind, but his mind was controlled by the Holy Spirit, who, thanks to his holy life, did not depart from him.
Everyone was amazed at the foresight of Elder John, who read in the hearts of people as if in an open book. The blessed father encouraged everyone, supported everyone, consoled, instructed and led everyone, and no one dared to disobey the elder, since everything done with his blessing came out well, and disobedience entailed bad consequences. For his holy life, Father John received from the Lord the greatest reward of healing sick people with one touch of his holy hand. There was no case when a person left the elder unhealed; he healed any illness. He was a physical and spiritual healer for people and a helper in diseases of livestock. It was enough to complain to him, and the disease disappeared.
Elder Father John, who led a holy, strict life, was a spiritual doctor, causing people to repent to heal sin... And he read sin in the heart, as in an open book, by the power of the Holy Spirit. The wise old man knew how to treat this or that sin in a person... Father said: “The evil spirit cannot be completely driven away. The Lord even allowed him to come to Himself, and we need him for salvation...” Father was an educator, teacher and spiritual doctor. He healed not only physical, but also mental illnesses and cast out demons from those possessed. He was a great helper in sick cattle. This was God's worker. He loved the forest, loved to wander. He would go into the forest and work there for several days, secretly from everyone.
No matter where a person came from, the elder said: “I was there.” It was as if he went to all the places. Whether he walked or drove - no one knows. I was on Mount Athos and in Jerusalem, from where I brought an icon with several faces. The blessed elder was a prophet: all his words are predictions, they are fulfilled and come true. He was a patient, uncomplaining sufferer-martyr. Father was a clairvoyant of the paths of every person: “No, I don’t bless...” But as he blesses, so it will be, and it will be very successful. He was a wise, silent preacher with very limited and very meaningful speech. He will say two words and give a whole speech. In his cell the Holy Spirit ruled in such a way that he forced people to be brief in their speech. There was not a shadow of vanity in him; on the contrary, he tried to hide everything: both exploits and insight. Acquisitiveness was alien to him; he gave everything away.
And most importantly, he forgave all offenders and did not even reproach them. He had many offenders. But he tried to do so so that people would not punish his offenders. He carried out great labors of fasting and prayer, but did not impose much obedience on people. But he loved to direct sinners to night prayer.
On August 6, 1951, at the age of 97, the Lord called the elder to His monastery. The revered priest was buried in the cemetery in Olenevka in the very place that he had chosen for himself during his lifetime. And just as during his life an endless stream of people came to him for help, so after death numerous pilgrims continued to go to John Olenevsky at his grave, turning their prayer requests to the one who did not leave them even beyond the grave.
On the 45th anniversary of his death, August 6, 1996, with the blessing of Bishop Seraphim, the remains of the great seer were transferred to Solovtsovka to the St. Sergius Church for worthy veneration.
For his confessional activity and ascetic life, continuous popular veneration and numerous cases of healing, at the request of Archbishop Seraphim, by the determination of the Holy Synod of December 27, 2000, Priest John Kalinin-Olenevsky was included in the Council of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia of the 20th century.
Great Martyr Marina of Antioch. Orthodox calendar for July 30 Main church holidays, days of remembrance of saints and Orthodox shrines of today Author: Mikhail Tyurenkov July 30 (July 17 according to the “old style” - the church Julian calendar). Tuesday of the 7th week after Pentecost (the seventh week after the Feast of the Holy Trinity, otherwise known as Pentecost). There is no post. In the Russian Orthodox Church there is a commemoration of four saints and a celebration in honor of one shrine. Next we will briefly talk about them. Conquering demons: the life and miracles of Saint Marina of Antioch *** Great Martyr Marina (Margarita) of Antioch. One of the many Christian sufferers from the times of the fierce persecutor Emperor Diocletian, who ruled the Roman Empire in 284-305 AD. Marina was born into the family of a pagan priest from Antioch. Having heard at the age of 12 the story of the Immaculate Conception and the Nativity of the Savior, Marina believed in Him and decided to leave the world and become the bride of Christ. When Marina was 15 years old, the local ruler Olimvriy tried to persuade her to cohabitate and renounce Christ, first tempting her with untold riches, then torturing her with terrible torture. To which Saint Marina answered the tormentor: Do the works of your father Satan, shameless dog! I will fulfill the commandments of my Master, the Bridegroom Christ. Seeing my feminine weakness, you hope in vain to break me by force. I am ready for any torment, for Christ helps me. A demon in the form of a dragon appeared to the captive saint. With prayer and the sign of the cross she overcame him. After which Satan himself attacked her. This time Marina offered physical resistance, defeating the evil one with a copper hammer. But the saint did not resist people - the pagans beheaded the young martyr in 304, along with thousands of other Christians. And today the Great Martyr Marina is one of the most revered saints both in the Christian East and in the West, where she is called Margaret. *** Venerable Irinarch of Solovetsky. Russian saint of the first half of the 17th century, abbot of the legendary Solovetsky monastery, who did a lot to strengthen this monastery, the pearl of the Russian North. In the royal charter of the Solovetsky monastery dated 1621 from the Nativity of Christ, the monks were commanded: To live according to the rules of the Holy Fathers in complete obedience to the abbot Irinarch and the elders. Father Irinarch spent the last two years of his earthly life in prayerful solitude and the feat of silence. The monk peacefully departed to the Lord in 1628 from the Nativity of Christ. *** Reverend Leonid of Ustnedumsky. A younger contemporary of the Venerable Irinarch of Solovetsky, Father Leonid performed his monastic exploits in the first half of the 17th century after the Nativity of Christ, departing to the Lord at more than 100 years of age in 1654, on the eve of the tragic schism of the Russian Church. For the first half century of his earthly life, the Monk Leonid lived in the world and was engaged in agriculture. In 1603, the Most Holy Theotokos Herself appeared to him in a miraculous vision and commanded the future elder to go to the Morzhevskaya Nikolaev Hermitage on the Dvina, take the image of Hodegetria and transfer it to the Ustyug region, where to build a temple in Her honor and live there until death. This was done, and for about 50 more years the elder labored at the temple he had built. Leonid Reverend Leonid of Ustnedumsky. Photo: pravoslavie.ru Transfer of the relics of St. Lazarus of Galicia. This saint performed his feats of prayer near the city of Ephesus, on the deserted mountain of Galicia. There he was rewarded with a miraculous vision: a pillar of fire ascending to heaven, surrounded by angels singing: “May God rise again and let His enemies be scattered.” Saint Lazarus died in 1053 from the Nativity of Christ. Svyatogorsk Icon of the Mother of God. This miraculous image of the Most Holy Theotokos was revealed in 1569 from the Nativity of Christ, during the time of Ivan the Terrible, to a native of Voronichey, a suburb of Pskov, to a young shepherd - the holy fool Timothy. In the same 1569, the famous Svyatogorsk Assumption Monastery was founded in his honor on the Pskov Holy Mountain, today widely known as the burial place of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. Icon of the Svyatogorsk Icon of the Mother of God. Photo: pravoslavie.ru Congratulations to Orthodox Christians on the memory of all today's saints! Through their prayers, Lord, save and have mercy on us all! We are happy to congratulate those who received names in their honor in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism or in the rank of monastic tonsure! As they used to say in Rus' in the old days: “To the Guardian Angels - a golden crown, and to you - good health!” To our departed relatives and friends - eternal memory!
Loading...