Religious procession

On that hot and stuffy summer morning, the already quiet area of Khabarovsk, colloquially called the KAF Base (after the Red Banner Amur Flotilla that had recently been quartered here), seemed especially quiet. At ten o'clock in the morning, from the Alexander Nevsky Church along the central street named after Admiral Rudnev, the commander of the legendary "Varyag", the procession of the cross moved - the most significant in recent years. It was timed to coincide with the consecration of the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos - an ancient, rare work that the church recently acquired by the will of fate, and Khabarovsk artists skillfully restored, as well as the 55th anniversary of the foundation of the Alexander Nevsky Church, opened back in 1943, literally - coincidentally-on the eve of the Battle of Kursk. The opening of the church was associated with the spiritual uplift of the people in the holy war against Nazi Germany. Parishioners of the church, according to documents, not only served prayers, but also raised funds by making a contribution to the defense fund in the amount of 38 thousand 259 rubles (a huge figure at that time). In addition, they gave 25 thousand rubles for the construction of the tank column "Dmitry Donskoy", for which the community and the rector of the church received the gratitude of the Supreme Commander.

The day before, during a press conference, the rector of the church, Priest Sergiy (Meshcheryakov), stressed that one of the main goals of the procession is to pray for the patronage of the city, our Motherland, and to protect it.

It is significant that the icon of the Kazan Mother of God is reputed to be the defender of the Russian land.

...People moved slowly. In front, with church banners and an icon, there are women, all in headscarves, men, sedate, absorbed in themselves. And all the way to the Amur River, a strange and unusual church hymn sounded in our everyday life. It was as if it calmed everything around and silenced even the restless little children.

People on the sidewalks watched the slow, solemn flow with approval. No one hurried past. And from the institutions and shops located along the street, biased spectators came out. Someone was baptized...

Soon the train turned onto a road that sloped steeply down to the Amur River.

We walked and looked at the participants of the procession, still not quite understanding what was going on. It is known that there is such a church rite (we were told) that during the most difficult time of the Great Patriotic War, in the winter of 41, near Moscow, the same icon of the Kazan Mother of God helped the Red Army and militia fighters repel the onslaught of the enemy. These are not easy times either. But not so much?! Nevertheless, it turned out that all these people were going to defend Khabarovsk as much as possible:

with the help of the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, it was supposed to protect the city from all misfortunes. In those days, I must say, unpleasant news spread across Khabarovsk: the sanitary and epidemiological service warned that the content of harmful substances in the Amur River was several times higher than normal. The source of infection could not be determined. And so, during the procession, it was supposed to consecrate the Amur water (two days later, the SES lifted its warning).

It is very easy, of course, to smile: well, people believe in the miraculous power of the icon and let them believe. Their actions don't bother anyone. On the contrary, they arouse respect, because the fate of the Fatherland and native cities today is very much concerned, but very few people are doing anything concrete to revive, if you will, protect Russia. And here gathered mostly people who are not very young and, despite the forecast of weather forecasters, who promised +36 degrees Celsius on this day, moved around the city. God, as they say, helps them.

Soon we descended to the Amur, directly to the berths of the flotilla, the successor of the CAF.

The procession was already waiting for the usual river "pebble" named "Lapis Lazuli", which takes about a hundred people on board. The icon with all precautions, under the control, by the way, of military sailors, was placed on the bow of the steamer. We also boarded and went up the Amur River, not even assuming that our route only in one direction would take more than five hours. Then it became clear why: firstly, we were going against the current, and secondly, the course of the Lapis Lazuli did not run along the "well-worn" country routes, but along the coast of the entire city, where regular steamers practically do not appear, and continued further, to the village of Kazakevichevo, and then to the "extreme" point - Tarabarova Islands, where not so long ago, just a few meters from the shore, two Orthodox crosses of worship were installed, facing China :also, according to believers, the defenders of Khabarovsk and our entire Far Eastern land. One of them was brought here by the Cossacks of the Amur-Ussuri Cossack army, and the second was installed by participants of the Vladivostok - Moscow cross procession dedicated to the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ.

The border guards, who have an outpost on the island, of course, had more trouble: Chinese fishermen (mostly outright poachers), whose dugouts are located literally across the channel, about two hundred meters from the cross, have already tried to cut it down more than once, because they have such a "hobby" - to drag everything from our shore that they can find. bad, and sometimes good lies.

Once upon a time, such crosses, installed by Orthodox explorers of distant lands, from the Kuril Islands to Chukotka and Kamchatka, served as a kind of border signs. If there is a cross, then this land is a possession of Russia. In those days, such acts were not disputed by anyone: the state and the church were united in geopolitical issues, and the Orthodox tsar could declare war for desecrating the church symbols of the state. Now, apparently, it's different. Unity of opinion is probably already beginning to be restored, and as for the shrines...

So I thought, while the "pebble" was diligently fighting the mighty current of the Amur: maybe this, in returning to Orthodoxy, is the way to revive our state? People, after all, obviously have not lost respect for the church, and since all the landmarks for a bright future were trampled underfoot during many years of democratic get-togethers, without offering anything new, and ostracizing the old, it may not be necessary to invent anything new. Just-go back to the historically verified one?

"It won't work! - an energetic atheistic principle intervened in the slow flow of thoughts. "Just give me an idea." They will begin to impose the Law of God everywhere by decrees and orders, turn it into a semblance of former political jobs. And write - it's gone. People will immediately start composing new jokes and comparing religious processions with the former May Day demonstrations..."

And if you do not impose - just do not interfere, let everything decide by itself. "Well, that's how long it takes! Decades!" What's the fire?" We are used to meeting five-year plans in three years. It is necessary to develop evolutionarily at some point. Yes, do not drag "in happiness" by a rope around your neck. "Well, that's fine. Let's say. But what about those who are as firm in their atheistic views as the one who truly believes is firm?" But not at all. You can't make the whole world Orthodox, and you can't turn all of humanity into a single atheist society. But it is possible and necessary to live in peace and harmony, respecting other people's views and beliefs, if they are moral. "Who's objecting?" the atheistic beginning muttered, and the argument stopped, although there was still something to think about.

Not far from the mouth of the Ussuri, we were met by a border patrol boat and went ahead. The part of the shore where the simple wooden crosses stood was already visible. In a few minutes we were descending to the ground, where even three paces from the shore, the sweltering heat was still and stifling. We looked cautiously at the decrepit old ladies, who together with us still had to endure the divine service to the Mother of God, the akathist to the great Saint Alexander Nevsky, read and sung right at the foot of the cross.

It's been over an hour... Father Sergius, in a suitably heavy garb, conducted a kind of" marching " service. The church choir sang very well.

I must admit that we did not quite understand the meaning of what was happening, but by the end of the service we were sure that something worthy and perhaps even useful was happening. And it was becoming somehow embarrassing for its certain idleness. But we could no longer feel innocent.

I suddenly remembered the words of Bishop Mark of Khabarovsk and the Amur Region, sent to the participants of the procession: "I am deeply convinced that the intercession of the great Saint Alexander Nevsky will serve to protect our state." It can't fail to serve. Who else will intercede?..

Father Sergius was finishing his service. We were standing on the edge of the main crowd, who were exposing their faces to the drops of consecrated water, rejoicing when the life-giving moisture touched their flushed cheeks. We were a little shy of this ritual as invited people, as if we could "take away" someone's share of joy. The priest approached us and waved vigorously, smiling. We all smiled, too... and we went along with everyone to be photographed as a souvenir. Such an event really should be stored not only in memory.

Father Sergius had already taken off his headdress and stood a little apart. It was amazing to watch from the outside. Here is the year 1998, the Kazakevicheva Bayou, Tarabarov Island, an Orthodox cross about five meters high, next to the second, smaller Cossack one, a major of the FPS and a captain of the 3rd rank, two soldiers, and in the center of the motley group is Father Sergius, a strong and tall man with a full beard and a thick cap of absolutely gray hair.

Father Sergius of the Special Forces

It is difficult to say what attracts attention in this priest. Under the black, as befits the abbot of the temple, the robe is easily guessed strong male figure. Thick mane of hair - all white-white. The look is sharp, but not piercing, attentive. Unhurried. A man of few words, he listens to others more often than he speaks. His church, Alexander Nevsky, is located on the most remote outskirts of Khabarovsk. But people are coming here. They also come from far away.

It was possible to assume that he was a hereditary priest - such are the look, the posture, and the ability to listen... Nothing like that. When you learn his biography , you are surprised: what only in life does not happen. And he became a priest in his mature years. True, the beginning of the path was outlined after one prophetic incident.

...Seryozha Meshcheryakov, an unbeliever and unbaptized Russian, like many of his peers in those years, was called up for military service in the late sixties. The military enlistment office, taking into account his heroic health, sent the young man to the Navy, and the personnel officers of the Pacific Fleet identified the young sailor in the school of divers, which gave him a specialty that was not at all educational and humanitarian, in a matter of months making the young man a special forces scout diver, foreman of the 2nd article. It seemed like serving yourself, following orders, and not thinking about anything. But after that terrible incident for him, Sergey began to think seriously: about life, about its essence and meaning. And about the human faith...

On that memorable day, planned combat training was conducted-a typical skill development, but in conditions close to combat.

The team of divers received an order: to arrive in the designated area by submarine, get out of the boat with the cargo through the torpedo tube and deliver the cargo to the designated place along the bottom of the sea. The score was determined by three parameters. The first is the exit to the exact specified location. The second is strictly limited time to complete the task. And the third is total silence mode.

He brought up the rear. Ahead of him is a squad of burly lads just like him, rushing to carry out their orders. Only the strongest nylon cable connected them. The water was muddy, and visibility was almost nonexistent.

Neither he nor the high commanders who had to investigate the incident could understand the reasons for what happened. The signal buoy snapped the breathing hose, and a knot tightened on the metal hook of the torpedo tube. And the group, the mighty group, was pulling him forward.

The air supply stopped, the diving suit crackled, and then Sergey was dragged to the bottom. It was then that the sergeant-major realized that his life was hanging in the balance: "My God, if you are there, save me!" - only he managed to pray.

What happened next was even more mysterious. He felt an unknown dark force loosen its grip, caught a breath of oxygen, felt the slack of the nylon cable, and was able to stand up...

Later, experts claimed that the scout naturally returned from the other world, since the overlap itself could not jump off the hook, and there was no one to unhook it in the torpedo tube: the trailing one came out last.

Be that as it may, he went on one of the layoffs... to church: a very unusual act in those days. Commanders, not to mention political workers, treated the Orthodox Church very, let's say, coolly. Well, peers raised by atheists would probably laugh at their friend. But I went...

When his term of service was nearing its end, they offered him to enroll in a military school - by all accounts, he would have made an excellent officer. Refused. After the service, it was possible to go to any institute, and out of competition (there was once such a right for soldiers who served). Refused. He could stay and work as a diver (a very prestigious and well-paid job at that time). Refused. Finally, they advised: go as a sailor on a ship of foreign voyages, any captain will take you without hesitation. He refused again. I went to a place where there were no temptations either in the present or in the future: I became... a cabinetmaker. And years and years later, at the age of thirty, I suddenly came to the priest in the Church of the Nativity of Christ in Khabarovsk and said: "I want to be baptized!" However, before that I had already read more than a dozen spiritual books.

For three years I pondered, hesitated: which way should I go? And then - a new sign.

Once in winter I was walking on the ice of Tunguska and fell through. In heavy winter clothes, on a rapid where the thin ice breaks under the weight of the body. I was almost exhausted when I suddenly remembered the patron saint of sailors, Nicholas the Saint. And, as he had done at sea, he begged for help... Maybe it's all about autosuggestion?.. However, suddenly a solid edge turned up, he pushed the body out of the water and, rolling over the cracking ice, reached a safe place...

After this incident, he came to the church and said that he wanted to devote his life to serving God. They appointed him a novice. After a short time, I was persuaded to submit a request for referral to a theological seminary. When all the interviews were over, I went to the Bishop of Khabarovsk and Priamursky Gavriil, who was then the head of the Khabarovsk diocese, for a blessing. The bishop listened attentively and kindly to the novice. .. didn't give a blessing. After some time, unexpectedly for everyone, and first of all for him, a former submariner, they offered him... a parish - the very church of Alexander Nevsky, of which Father Sergius is still the rector. By the way, it is located in the Krasnoflotsky district of Khabarovsk.

Today, the church is always cramped during the service. And not because the church is small. People are increasingly turning to God. Sometimes they come here across the city to baptize small children. Sometimes, even at a respectable age, with ranks and merits, they go to be baptized.

There is a Sunday school attached to the church - 55 teenagers learn the truths of Christianity here under the guidance of experienced teachers. The church library of Orthodox books is also gradually growing. And the abbot is already planning to create a school of crafts and arts at the church, where the main thing will be the revival of now forgotten folk crafts: Russian folk architecture, beadwork.

"They say that in the United States, in Alaska, where there are still villages of Russian Orthodox immigrants," says Father Sergius, " beads are valued as jewelry, as unique works of art. Therefore, while our masters are still alive, we need them to teach this art to our children as well.

With the blessing and active participation of the rector, parishioners hold traditional "round tables" on the topic "The Army and the Church - ways of rapprochement". And, speaking, Father Sergius repeated many times that the army consists of the people, that it is by birth a defender of the Russian state and for many centuries has been closely connected with Orthodoxy. Maybe that's why people in uniform come to him with unusual requests so far: they ask to consecrate the ship of the border flotilla or the Battle Flag of a military unit...

Many who often see Father Sergius are surprised: where does a person get his strength from? Early in the morning, before the sun has risen, he is already in the altar reading prayers. Then the liturgy in the church, where the priest is the main character. After the liturgy, there is usually epiphany. And a lot of people come to the epiphany. And military personnel.

Then-the wedding. And at any free moment, there are parishioners next to Father Sergius, asking for advice and longing for the wise word of the rector of the Alexander Nevsky church. And more confessions... How many words of human pain you have to listen to and how difficult it can be to calm down, encourage, and give the right answer to an always difficult question.

Not so long ago, Father Sergius blessed his eldest son Andrey to fulfill his military duty. Now he serves, like his father, as a military sailor. The youngest son, Vasily, performs the duties of a novice in the church.

Despite being very busy, Father Sergius managed to complete the course of the theological seminary on his own and successfully passed the exams. To this day, he reads a lot of spiritual literature, is fond of the history of the Russian State and the Russian Orthodox Church. This is why the homilies with which he ends the service contain motives in the patriotic spirit inherent in them. By the way, Father Sergius is a regular contributor to the military newspaper "Battle Banner", where the column" Word of the Shepherd " has a fairly wide range of readers, which, however, is not surprising, because it is dedicated to the cause of faithful service to the Fatherland. Here are some excerpts from Father Sergius ' sermons::

"...Do not spare yourself for the sake of saving Russia. Serve God and your neighbor in order to find the holiness that has always been inherent in the Russian land."

"Many saints of the Orthodox Church were military men, were military leaders and commanders who defended their Homeland. Remember the holy Princes Dmitry Donskoy and Alexander Nevsky, remember that Sergius of Radonezh blessed Dmitry Donskoy for the Battle of Kulikovo and gave him the monks Oslyabya and Peresvet, who began this greatest battle, which ended in victory. Only our enemies are trying to oppose the army and the Orthodox Church. We need to look for ways to bring the Russian army and the Church closer together."

"Today we must all become brothers and sisters, truly become loyal sons and daughters of our Russia..."

What's the objection?

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