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In
the hot summer of 1995 Boris Yeltsyn visited the famous Caves Monastery
of the Dormition near Pskov. Looking around the caves there, the Head of
the State was surprised that there was no smell of decay, though the coffins
are not buried there, but rather are left visible, so that you can even
touch them. They explained to the President : ''This is a miracle of God.'
The excursion continues, and after some time Boris Nickolayevich asks the
same question in perplexity. 'So God has done it like this,'- he is told.
In several minutes, when they are leaving the caves, the President whispers
to Father Archimandrite : 'Let me in on the secret - what do you spread
them with?' 'Boris Nickolayevich,-says Archimandrite - is there anyone
who smells badly in your circles?' 'Of course not.' 'So why do you think
that someone may smell badly around Heavenly King?'
This incident really took place in the Pechersky (Caves) Monastery near Pskov, which got its name from 'God-created caves'. From their discovery the history of the monastery actually started. The miraculous property of the caves is that after putting the deceased in there, the smell of decay completely disappears. That's why not anyone can be buried there, but only local monks and the most zealous donors, among whom there are many famous people - of Pushkin's kin for instance. At present there are about 11 thousand people buried there.
The Cave church of the Dormition, the oldest
in the monastery, was also dug out in the sand. The monastery, surrounded
by the mighty walls, is in a kind of a cave itself, being located in a
deep ravine. So who are its main inhabitants?
THE ESSAYS ON
THE CAVE LIFE
The monks, as real cavemen, are conspicuous
by the lush vegetation on their heads : long hair, thick beards, some almost
reaching the ground. The black dresses of these people symbolize their
death to night clubs, drunken orgies and the like. At taking monastic vows
novices' hands are taken away - symbolically of course - they start wearing
sleeveless mantles, as a sign of the renunciation of self-will.
Naturally, the cavemen must have cave outlooks on life. And there they are - the monks think that one should pray to God incessantly, love your neighbours and try not to sin.
So what do the cavemen do? Very generally their daily routine looks like this:
5:30 -- arise from sleep
6:00-7:30 -- common prayer for the brothers
7:30 - 8:00 - breakfast
8:00 - 12:30 - work (obedience);
12:45-13;15 -- lunch
13:30 - 17:00 - work (obedience);
18:00 - 21:00 - evening Divine service;
21:00- 21:30 dinner and evening prayers
22:00 - 23:30 - prayer rule in one's cell
23:30 - 5:30 - free time.
On
the whole, traditions and rites of the cavemen deserve a close study. For
example, on entering the monastery, women in trousers or mini-skirts are
offered long skirts, men in shorts - something like overalls. You feel
as if you are in a museum, where throngs in huge slippers walk around.
In this connection an anecdote told by the monks comes to mind.
A girl in mini-skirt passes the monastery by. Suddenly she sees an elderly monk and asks him with a sneer : 'What, they say the Antichrist has already come?' 'Not yet,- he replies.- When you'll walk around skirtless, that will mean he has come.'
It must be mentioned, that in the caves they zealously prepare to face the Antichrist : read and re-read the Gospels and the Apocalypse of St.John the Divine, and stay alert in sum. The Stone Age, in a word.
They have another kind of rule : no one
can leave the cave ( that is to say, the monastery) without the abbot's
blessing. Although the monks come out at times. When a caveman goes through
the city, people don't take runs or shout 'Help!' They are used to it.
THE CAVEMEN IN
THEIR "PREVIOUS LIFE"
It's no exaggeration to say that every
of the 'cavers' has an unusual life, which can give plenty of material
for novels. Here you can meet yesterday's barons and hippie, scientists
and farmers, veterans of War and of Labour. The cavemen have lived rich
and stormy lives, and they can tell quite a lot about their 'previous life',
if they feel like it.
See, for example, father Philip (all the names have been changed, as the cavemen don't want publicity), the oldest inhabitant of the monastery and the veteran of the Great Patriotic War. When he is in the mood and has time(however he is almost always hard up for the latter), he enjoys it to recall amusing episodes in the life of the monastery, often what had happened in Soviet times.
Once the guests from Finland come to the monastery. They are taken to the excursion, told about the shrines and holy possessions of the monastery, given dinner and treated to the monastery's kvas (Russian national non-alcoholic drink). All are pleased. Then suddenly one Finnish comrade says smirking exultantly : 'Austronauts explored space but didn't find God there.' Father-archimandrite replies : 'You could be out of luck too- been to Helsinki but haven't seen the President.'
Or another incident. As it's known, in the Soviet years everyone must have taken part in voting, not excluding monks. Usually they brought the ballot-box straight to the monastery. But then a new local Communist leader indignant at inappropriate for monks honour, decided to 'put an end to disgrace' : 'Let them come to vote themselves.' -'Wonderful,'- said Archimandrite Alipy, the abbot at that time. So the Sunday, long-expected day of the election, came. After the Divine Liturgy and brothers' meal, the monks lined up and with holy singings went through the town to the polling station. Imagine the emotional state of peaceful Soviet citizens watching the procession. And when on top of all the monks started on to pray right at the polling station, the officials tried to object. 'This is our way of doing it,'- answered Father Alipy. Having voted, the monks equally decorously walked through the entire town back to the monastery. Subsequently the ballot-box was always taken to the monastery.
Here is Father Jerome, a theatrical director from St.Petersburg in the past, and before that - the country's junior diving champion. He says: 'I used to think that people should be led to God through Art. But then I decided : let at least one man-myself-actually turn to Faith - and came to monastery. When you sacrifice anything for Christ all the best and true returns to you in a more beautiful state'. Now Father Jerome carries on an active pedagogical activity in Pechory(even professors from Moscow come to the 'cave conferences'), has seriously got down to photography, is going to publish a magazine. At the same time he, being a monk-priest, serves in church, confesses, consecrates houses and submarines.
Here, at the monastery, live well-known throughout Russia elders : Father Jonah and Father Andrew, and people from all over the world - the French, Americans, Australians, whoever - seek their advice. A lot of pilgrims help to run the monastery's household, take part in cave rituals, for example in processions of the cross. On the main feast of the monastery, the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God (August 28)- a great number of people come out of the monastery following the Miracle-working Icon and go round it praying and singing.
Many are afraid of the caves. They think it is cold, dark and frightening there. But you'll hardly find more radiant and happy dwellers anywhere else on earth. Anywhere else you would hardly warm your soul as good, calm down and get rest from the roar of the modern civilization as fully as here.
