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Archimandrite Naum Bayborodin. The prophecy from Elder Naum Bayborodin is true and you

Archimandrite Naum Bayborodin. The prophecy from Elder Naum Bayborodin is true and you

Inherit Father Naum's burning spirit

, resident of the Moscow Donskoy Monastery:

The hour has struck for the departure to the Lord, I am not afraid of these words, of one of the pillars of the eldership of the twentieth century, Father Naum (Baiborodin).

The number of his spiritual children, scattered throughout the post-Soviet space on both sides of the Urals, among whom are lay people, monastics, abbots and abbess of holy monasteries, is incalculable.

Today, early in the morning, even before official notifications in the media about the sad news, all the hospices of Sergiev Posad were already filled to capacity.

The deceased had miraculous gifts of insight and healing.

His talents and burning spirit met with an ardent desire for Truth, which was characteristic of the younger generations after the death of Stalin, “a young tribe, unfamiliar” to veterans of the CPSU...

Father Naum quickly involved young people in church life. He had such a gift to convert even people completely far from the Church to faith.

At one time, he sent those who communicated with him, one after another, to the Lenin Library, where, with his blessing, they had to find a certain book; when people started reading it, they understood that it described in every detail how to lay a Russian stove. Father Naum blessed those who are able to return to the earth. And in our area, the main thing in the village is not to freeze. It is in cities that residents do not even think about where the heat comes from in their houses in winter, but in villages they need to take care of the fireplace.

I also remember that Father Naum blessed his children to prepare spiritual literature; we copied it on photocopiers wherever anyone could. And I did this with his blessing. Father Naum, even before the decades of church growth, said that many monasteries would soon open, and tried, with the help of his flock, to provide future monasteries with spiritually beneficial reading.

There are many known cases of healing through his prayers. He could send those who needed healing of the soul to certain dispensaries to work so that people would come into contact with what happens when someone leads an ungodly life. These visual examples had a powerful impact.

When communicating, he found out what specialty someone had in order to understand how this person could be useful for the monastery, for the Church. He blessed young enthusiasts to study as sisters of mercy who have a pedagogical education - to teach children and adults the Law of God. Young people - study solfeggio and vocals in order to become choir members and deacons. He burned himself and ignited the young with his “senile” burning of spirit...

Watchmaker of Church Life

Archpriest Sergius Tkachenko, rector of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Vladykino:

In 1977, I returned from the army, I had to decide how to continue living. This is how I ended up with Father Naum. He was still abbot then. Not many people came to see him. Although even then it was clear that he was an amazing person. A scientist who became a monk. Seer. When he first saw me, he immediately gave me the Gospel. I leave him with this Gospel in my hands, and there is some nun sitting on a bench at the entrance and saying:

– If you become a seminarian, you will become a priest.

- Why? - I ask.

– And Father gives the Gospel only to those who are ordained.

“I’m not going to become a priest,” I shrugged and moved on...

But my life’s path was already open to Father Naum’s gaze.

When he gave me the Gospel, he made an appointment. I came. He talked to me and gave me a lot of valuable advice regarding my inner life. They later came in handy as a shepherd. And then he asked:

- Who do you want to be?

“Yes,” I answer, “I have a technical mindset...

- Let's go to the seminary!

- I can't!

- Then to the medical one.

- Yes, I don’t have any doctors in my family.

- Go ahead, I’ll help.

Later I found out that he had a lot of medical friends. And then he asks me:

-Where are you planning to go?

“At MPEI,” I answer. This is the Energy Institute.

“Go ahead,” he blesses, “I’ll pray.”

I got in. Returned to him. And he tells me about the remaining piece of summer before the start of school:

- Go to Pyukhtitsa, there you can talk with Father Tavrion (Batozsky) in the Riga Hermitage.

And then after the army I didn’t even have the money to travel that far. He gave me 30 rubles, and the three of us and our friends used it to go there. I then breathed a lot of confessional spirit into myself, communicated with those who did not leave the temple of God under Soviet rule, went through persecution, exile, and camps.

Arriving in the Riga desert, we realized that male strength was needed there: there was a lot of hard work. We stayed there to work. Father Tavrion mentored us all this time. Then, when we were about to return to Moscow, he suddenly comes and brings, just like Father Naum, 30 rubles. Such a roll call in actions. Then I brought money to Father Naum to return it, but he never took it back. And for me then this trip became a significant milestone in my inner journey.

Then, when I was already studying at the institute, I constantly came to Father Naum and was cared for by him. Also after - already working at the Academy of Sciences. I took many of my colleagues to the priest, people were converted and became church members.

What was remarkable about Father Naum? He filled your life with meaning and gave it direction.

There were two pillars in the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra: Father Kirill and Father Naum. Father Kirill is the shepherd of love. You will tell him that while studying at the institute, it is very difficult to read the morning and evening prayers in full, and so you have to get up early, you constantly write some work at night... “Well, shorten your rule,” said Father Kirill. And if you approach Father Naum with the same thing, he will immediately: “Then learn it by heart.” Father Naum was very demanding.

It used to be that you would come to him and he would say:

- Let's get ready, there was a fire among people there, we need to go help.

And this means going somewhere in the distant Moscow region. You start to resist:

- Father, I need to do my homework...

That's it, the next day he doesn't notice you anymore. If you are not mature, then you are not mature, you still need to realize something. It was internally open to the elders whether a person was ready to obey the will of God or not yet ready, clinging to his own will.

He taught us to pray in such a way as not to ask for anything for ourselves: no money, no position, no prosperity - just pray, that’s all. Taught the Jesus Prayer. It would seem, who are we? Simple young guys, not some hermits, to share such a gift with us.

Father Naum is a great patriot of Russia. He loved her very much and somehow felt her story intimately. He often talked about the Battle of Kulikovo. Now it’s the holiday of Intercession - he just somehow felt the Intercession over Russia. I could mentally turn to the times of Saints Anthony and Theodosius, to whom the Mother of God blessed to found the Kiev Pechersk Lavra and sent builders to erect the first temple. Father selflessly loved the Mother of God. He deeply revered St. Sergius. I felt their intercession for the Russian people.

All over Russia, in all the monasteries and churches, wherever you go, you meet the children of Father Naum serving there. How many abbess he raised into monasteries!

I often went to see Father Naum. And then, when I became a priest, the rector of a large parish, sometimes things got so drawn out that I couldn’t escape. Moreover, I remember, you come to Father Naum, and he has a lot of people there, you sit in this closet, waiting for him. Once upon a time, Father Venedikt, the current governor of Optina Pustyn, was there waiting for a reception. And so I haven't been for several years. And then I came a year ago to Father Naum. He was already quite weak. I brought my spiritual children with me. And he put his hand on my head and asked:

- Why haven’t you visited me for four years?

He certainly had insight.

I know that one day a woman came to him, brought another with her, and began to tell him about her:

“Father, she’s so unhappy, she can’t do anything, she’s sick, she’s penniless.

And the priest looks at the one she brought and says:

- Why did you bring such a rich woman to me?

- Which rich one?! I even bought her a train ticket here...

And then it turned out that that woman was very wealthy, she simply hid her income and savings. And the old man, like an x-ray, saw everything.

Father Naum covered with his inner gaze the entire mechanism of spiritual, church-wide life, saw where things were breaking, where they needed to be lubricated, where someone needed to be replaced. He immediately sent people to where the failure occurred. Having stood in the place of this broken gear that you are replacing, you might not be able to withstand it, you yourself might break - but you will be saved if you listened to the elder and stood in this formation. Father Naum was a strong, decisive man, a kind of military leader of the spiritual fronts. He sent his children to where you must show the maximum of your strength: whoever you will be there - abbot, abbess or simply a monastic, you are needed.

Now this is somewhat lost in our church life, but for all of us Father Naum was a truly spiritual father. Then, when the priest was weak, he blessed us each to choose someone younger as our confessor, so that we could constantly confess, and then come to him to resolve fundamental issues.

Such two great elders left one after another: Father Kirill, Father Naum.

We addressed both. Father Naum simply said about this:

– You won’t find everything at once, you won’t get everything from one person. Where you see a cherry, pick it there.

That is, you felt somewhere gracious help, God’s participation? – It is the Lord Himself who is acting now through this or that confessor. He had a deep experience of the Church as the one Body of Christ. He is still with us in his prayers today.

“Did the Reverend have them?”

, cleric of the Church of St. Nicholas of Myra in Zayaitsky:

I met Father Naum at the very beginning of my churching. I remember I found myself in the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra in 1983. And they ask me:

- Did you see the reverend?

- Go.

- What will he tell me? - I ask, thinking that we are talking about St. Sergius.

“He’ll say something,” they answer me, meaning, it turns out, Father Naum.

He talked to me. He advised me what spiritual literature I should read. He blessed me at that moment to continue doing science. I told him about my work. Then we even came to him with my supervisor. He himself was a scientist, and people from the academic community often turned to him. I know that he sent many to monasteries, some became abbots or abbesses with his blessing.

“People like Father Naum showed our time the path of true asceticism”

, Doctor of Church History, Professor of the Moscow Theological Academy and Sretensky Theological Seminary:

The Lord showed me great mercy: He sent me an amazing elder of the Russian land - our father, Father Naum. I met him in 1980, while still a completely secular person, that is, a relatively young scientist, proud, rather arrogant and flaunting his erudition. It is noteworthy that he did not receive me for a long time: he simply passed by and glanced at me briefly. Probably my natural stubbornness forced me to come again and again to his then damp reception room in the basement.

True, during this time the first steps in church life had already been taken: we went to Pechory, and Father John (Krestyankin) together with Father Adrian (Kirsanov) blessed my wife and me for our wedding. The current governor of Optina Pustyn, Father Venedikt (Penkov), also did a lot for us, who “discouraged” me from my diligent studies of Gnosticism and Manichaeism (my doctoral dissertation was in many ways already ready), drawing my attention to the works of St. Maximus the Confessor. At first, naturally, I resisted (it was almost like “starting life anew,” I thought), but then, having started translating the works of the reverend father, I realized what great treasures they contained.

And when Father Naum finally began to talk to me, at first I didn’t even notice how my life began to change dramatically. The process of becoming a church member was quite painful for me: every step was given by the “blood of the soul.” One memory of how I quit smoking still leaves me in awe: how the priest fought with me, and how much he prayed for me to break with this “innocent”, as I then considered, sin! How much work it took him to convey to me what real spiritual life is! I remember how he taught me to pray: he would bow his head to me and quietly whisper: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

In general, the entire church life of our family passed under his leadership. He blessed our children and helped them decide on their life path. The daughter married a future priest. Through the prayers of Father Naum, our grandchildren were born, and when the grandson became hopelessly ill at the age of three (doctors gave him one or two years to live), and then went blind, it was the priest who begged him. Through his prayers, to the surprise of the doctors, he got rid of not only his incurable disease, but also his blindness (now he has 100 percent vision).

But the most important thing that I saw in the priest was that he never insisted on anything, but simply made it clear that God’s will is for you, and then left you to decide for yourself whether to arrange your life according to the will of God or according to your own. I began to clearly discern that if I leaned towards my desire, then somehow everything immediately went awry. And I came to a clear conclusion: if we always obeyed our shepherd, our life would be much deeper and more correct.

When the old man was ill recently, we seemed to be orphaned, left without his care. I even dreamed about him:

- Well, now you are on your own...

- How are we? - Think.

But I am sure that Father will not leave us, he is with us in spirit. The last time I confessed to the priest was when he could no longer react, even just let me know whether he heard me or not, although I was sure that he heard and understood me. I saw how bad he was in, covered in tubes. And he clearly realized: our beloved priest is suffering for us, his children, of whom he had a great many in monasteries all over Russia and among the laity. He, like the Apostle Paul, was everyone everything(1 Cor. 9:22).

So the enemy took revenge on him for the fact that he converted people to faith, giving himself entirely: there were so many attacks and insinuations of all kinds against him. But I am deeply and adamantly confident that the priest is the bearer of a spiritual tradition that comes from the first centuries of Christianity through St. Anthony the Great, Maximus the Confessor and others, as well as our great Russian elders. As a matter of fact, he was the great elder of the Russian land. People like Father Naum, Father John (Krestyankin), and the recently deceased Father Kirill (Pavlov) showed our time the path of true asceticism. In all these 36 years, I have probably never grieved for anyone, not even my own father, as much as I do now, having learned about the death of our beloved Father Naum.

Kingdom of Heaven, our dear father Naum!

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ARCHIMANDRITE NAUM (BAIBORODIN) ABOUT THE REVIVAL OF RUSSIA

According to the preaching of one prophet Jonah, Nineveh and all its inhabitants repented and were saved at a time when their city was about to perish. And before the revolution we had so many saints! Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt, blessed Pasha and Pelageya of Diveyevo... After all, they could all pray to God so that He would not allow the revolution. How many seminaries and parochial schools were still operating across the country at that time! But the country was already ruled by Satanists. Orthodox believers were fired from various leadership and teaching positions. They installed some French guys. Previously, priests taught the Law of God, but by the beginning of the 20th century, fornicators began to teach in classes. My mother went to school in 1908. I went once, I went twice... Then he comes and says: “There’s no point in going to such a school.” - “What were you taught there?” “The teachers say: “We will now build a happy life without priests and without kings!”” At the same time there were so many visionaries, why didn’t they take care of the people? Why was the revolution allowed to happen? And almost everyone in the army turned out to be traitors.

There are many people in power in the world today who worship the devil. They hate the Gospel, the Church and Orthodoxy. For Satanists, everything is perverted. It was they who organized the revolution in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, and in this century they also repeatedly tried to organize a coup. But V.V. Putin nevertheless took measures and prevented civil war. There was no coup, there was no shooting.

The main thing is to maintain the unity of the people. It’s still a mystery: how during World War II all of Europe worked to destroy Russia, but we survived. We were still able to quickly establish the production of tanks and aircraft in sufficient quantities, even science developed during the war. When, at the beginning of the war, the Soviet government was faced with miracles occurring at the fronts, it was ordered to open churches and restore the Patriarchate. Churches were also opened in the occupied territory.

The question of faith was decisive then. On September 4, 1943, Stalin met in the Kremlin with the locum tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky), Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod Alexy (Simansky) and Metropolitan of Kyiv Nikolai (Yarushevich). At the same time, a decision was made to open the Lavra and resume theological courses.

Today in Russia it is necessary to define people so that everyone has their place. You can't trust anything to saboteurs or stupid people. We need to mobilize now and remove morally deficient officials and bosses from leadership positions. 100 years have passed since the coup in Russia. The Satanists have not abandoned their plans for our country. And now the enemies of Christ, who fiercely hate the Church, are being promoted to power. If you start seriously speaking the truth about Christ somewhere at school or college, you might get fired. Leadership positions should not be held by morally unscrupulous people. This applies to the management of individual enterprises, city government, and the federal government - ministerial chairs.

The people today need good rulers at all levels. It is necessary to attract old and wise people in order to consult with them and so that the Name of God is not blasphemed through stupid rulers. It is necessary for people themselves, feeling God’s order in everything in life, to become kind. The Lord has invested certain talents in everyone. And everyone must keep the commandments. They are given for everyone. How can one observe the Law of God if it is unknown? The Bible must be read. Moreover, it is better to read even in Church Slavonic. I am the Lord your God, let there be no gods for you other than Me.(Ex. 20:2-3).

And now the world is establishing a system of legal recognition of same-sex marriages, and laws on gender reassignment are being promoted. In the Anglican Church they marry people like that, they even have bishops like that. It is necessary to exclude sodomy, the murder of unborn babies, and the sale of lands and property of the Russian state. In the provinces, they say, foreigners often buy up production in the district, Russians are fired and robbed, they suck out resources, and send the money abroad. If this goes on, you will come to the owner of the Russian land: “Did you come from a monkey?” - “I am from God!” - “So go with God, eat.”

If evil continues to spread in Russia, then the end of the world will be approaching. There could be a big war. If you take a large rope and one end is pulled by some, and the other by others, then it is clear that someone will eventually pull it. Now, if modern Sadducees and Pharisees, fornicators, murderers, thieves and debauchees win, then the prayer of believers will no longer stop disasters. It must affirm the Gospel, establish Truth, goodness and holiness. Women especially need to be put in order and fornication stop. The faith of God must be built up, not demolished. Russia will perish if blasphemy is not stopped.

Apparently the end is near. There are many miracles happening in Africa right now. Many are baptized. They convert from Islam and confess Christ, the Mother of God. There is a known case where one killed his Christian wife and young daughters, buried them, and one of the girls appeared and said: “Mom breastfed us, the Lord raised us all.” Or there was also the case of a Muslim Arab in Syria: for a long time he and his wife did not have children, and his parents were already demanding that he divorce his wife and take another who could give birth to an heir. But he loved his wife, prayed to the Mother of God, and She sent him a child. Then he collected his money and went to the monastery to make a donation to the holy monastery dedicated to his Benefactor. The Muslims, having learned about this, robbed him and, having cut his body into pieces, hid it in the trunk of a car. We drove for some time, and their car stopped. Doesn't go any further, that's all. The police drove by and stopped. The police decided to check them. They told me to open the trunk. There was nothing left to do but do it. They open it and see that he is alive! Bleeding, but alive! “The Mother of God,” he says, “gave me life, She stitched me up.” This Arab was baptized. Muslims deliberately did everything to keep silent about this story.

At one time, the Jews - the sons of the Kingdom - erupted. The pagans, the descendants of Japheth, and the European nations, who are now increasingly deviating into wickedness, were called. And just like the Jews once were, the European peoples are now being ejected due to unbelief, and the descendants of Ham - primarily those living in Africa - are known Yu and they confess Christ.

Previously, in the Russian Empire, the Law of God was taught in schools. People observed fasts, the Apostolic Rule was preserved. Monasteries were strongholds of faith. And according to the people’s faith, how many miracles happened! The church enlightened the people, there were many parochial schools. They taught how to live for the salvation of the soul, how to preserve a family, how to raise children to be morally strong and viable. Everything was done to ensure that there was harmony in society, families and souls. The church was in alliance with the state. How did this union come about? The church taught that abortion was murder, and the state prohibited abortion. The nation did not die out. There should be almost a billion of us today! During the 20 years of the reign of Sovereign Emperor Nicholas II, the population increased by 50 million people. After the atheistic period, the population decreased by almost a million a year. How many abortions are there still? They kill and kill babies. And the country so needs warriors, scientists...

Archimandrite Naum Bayborodin is a famous clergyman of the Russian Orthodox Church. For many years he was the confessor of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and was one of the most revered elders among the Russian clergy.

Biography

Archimandrite Naum Bayborodin was born in 1927 in the Novosibirsk region. He was born in the small village of Shubinka, in the Ordynsky district. His parents were Alexander Efimovich and Pelageya Maksimovna Bayborodin. At birth he received the name Nikolai.

Almost immediately after his birth, he was baptized in his native village in the Sergius Church. Soon after this, his family moved to Primorsky Krai. The hero of our article went to school in the city of Sovetskaya Gavan. He only managed to complete 9 grades.

Family

The parents of the future Archimandrite Naum Bayborodin were associated with the Russian Orthodox Church. For example, his mother Pelageya had the status of a schema-nun. There were seven brothers and sisters in total, but they all died as infants. Therefore, the parents raised only one son, who later became Archimandrite Naum Bayborodin.

The Great Patriotic War

Nikolai interrupted his studies at secondary school because the Great Patriotic War broke out. At the very beginning, he was too young to go to the front. He was mobilized into the ranks of the Red Army only in 1944. He served in military aviation units.

At first, Nikolai was assigned to the radio engineering school in the city of Frunze, then he was transferred to Riga, and then to the military units of Kaliningrad and Siauliai. Baiborodin was mainly involved in the maintenance of airfields. He did not take part in hostilities. In 1952 he was demobilized. By that time, Nikolai had received the rank of senior sergeant. For his excellent service, he was solemnly presented with a photograph of the banner. The future archimandrite returned to the city of Pishpek (now the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek), where he continued his studies at evening school. After graduating, he became a student at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at the local Polytechnic Institute.

Spiritual life

Nikolai was unable to complete his studies at the Polytechnic Institute. At the insistence of his parents, he left the “secular” university in order to devote his life to serving God. His mother especially wanted this. In 1957, Baiborodin left for the town of Zagorsk near Moscow, where he became a novice at the capital’s theological seminary. This was a very serious step for a person living in Soviet society, which prohibited the church and everything connected with it.

In the same year, Nicholas was enrolled in the brethren of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. A year later, he was tonsured a monk and received the name Naum in honor of the Venerable Saint Naum of Radonezh. The tonsure was conducted by Archimandrite Pimen Khmelevsky. At the end of 1958, Naum had already received the rank of hierodeacon. This happened on the feast of St. Sergius of Radonezh. Metropolitan of Barnaul and Novosibirsk Nestor Anisimov himself elevated him to the rank. Since 1959, Naum has been a hieromonk. In the Assumption Cathedral of the Lavra, he was elevated to this rank by Metropolitan Boris Vik of Kherson and Odessa. The future Archimandrite Naum Baiborodin, whose photo is presented in our article, graduated from the seminary in 1960. After that, he entered the capital's Theological Academy to study. After graduating, he received a candidate's degree in theology.

Church career

Subsequently, the church biography of Archimandrite Naum Bayborodin developed very successfully. In 1970 he was promoted to abbot. After another 9 years, he received the rank of archimandrite.

Bayborodin’s activities were associated with the popularization of the ideas of the Russian Orthodox Church. He was involved in the construction of several cathedrals and churches in different parts of the country. For example, in 1996 he contributed to the construction of the Archangel Michael Convent in his native village of Maloirmenka in the Novosibirsk region, which was formerly called Shubinka. The monastery was erected on the site of a rural church destroyed during Soviet rule. Since 2000, Bayborodin has played an important role in the Spiritual Council of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. At first he joined the council as one of the members, and since 2001 he has become a trustee of an orphanage in the village of Toporkovo near Moscow. She has long patronized this orphanage

Bayborodin's sermons

The sermons of Archimandrite Naum Bayborodin are widely known. In them he tried to find answers to the most difficult questions that plague most of those around him.

For example, his sermon “The Will to Holiness,” delivered at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra in 1998, became popular. In it, he talked about the three main sins that exist in our world. After his death, his sermon, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution, began to actively spread. Bayborodin wrote it long before this anniversary. Unfortunately, in 2016 the elder fell ill and fell into a coma. Doctors kept him alive in this condition throughout 2017. On October 13, Archimandrite Naum Bayborodin died. Early in the morning of October 15, his funeral service was held in the Assumption Cathedral, located at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. He was 89 years old. In his sermon on the events of 1917, Archimandrite Naum noted how many saints there were in Russia before the October Revolution. After the events of 1917, the situation changed dramatically. He placed responsibility for the events of those years on rulers subservient to the devil, who hated everything connected with the Bible. It was they, according to Bayborodin, who organized the revolution in Russia. The elder saw the preconditions for a revolution at the beginning of this century. He noted that a new Civil War did not start because Vladimir Putin did not allow it.

Memories of Naum Bayborodin

Many famous people met with Archimandrite Naum. He made an indelible impression on almost everyone. Singer Nadezhda Babkina recalled that one could “drown” in his kind eyes. After a frank conversation with him, my soul became light and light, a real feeling of happiness descended. Metropolitan Kirill Nakonechny recalled the times when Archimandrite Naum took confession from parishioners. People walked in crowds, he talked to everyone and gave practical advice. He guided many not only in worldly life, but also in church life. Parishioners who had the opportunity to talk with the elder say that he knew how to look into the most hidden corners of their souls. It was impossible to hide anything from Naum Bayborodin. However, he never scolded or reproached for sins, but only guided them on the right path.

A deep-voiced girl and a nurse from the maternity hospital

On October 13, Archimandrite Naum (Bayborodin), the oldest monk and confessor of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, reposed. He foresaw the fate of his spiritual children, often helping them with advice. Thanks to him, some Russian monasteries found abbess. Nina Stavitskaya talks about two abbess.

The abbess of the Murom Holy Trinity Convent, the ever-remembered Abbess Tabitha (Gorlanova), told me a year and a half ago how she chose her path in life. One day she “tagged along” with her older friend to the Assumption Pyukhtitsky Monastery, and when she saw this monastery, she immediately became attached to it with her soul and did not want to leave. However, I heard the following from Abbess Varvara (Trofimova): “You know, child, get an education, then you’ll think about whether you want to go to a monastery.” “Baby” graduated from high school, medical school and got a job in a hospital in Estonia to be close to her beloved monastery - go to services, sing in the choir. But then suddenly, unexpectedly, blessed by Archimandrite Naum, she finds herself in the Riga Trinity-Sergius Convent, where she takes monastic and then monastic vows. There the future abbess undergoes a great school of monastic life.

Now about how this “suddenly” happened. On the eve of the day of the angel, the abbess of the Riga monastery, Abbess Magdalene (Zhegalova), the sisters wanted to give their beloved mother a gift: to sing the Gospel stichera to the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene. But the old bass just didn’t hold up! And then the teacher of the regency school at the Moscow Theological Academy, Svetlana Romanenko, declares: “I know a girl who sings in a bass voice!” (referring to Tamara Gorlanova). An urgent telegram was sent to Tamara, and she sang the stichera in Riga. And the abbess here says: “I’ll take you to the monastery.” It was only after these words that the girl felt... fear in her soul: in her heart was Pyukhtitsa! She left the Latvian capital and wrote about everything in a letter to her spiritual father, Archimandrite Naum. Soon he receives an answer: “Go to Mother Magdalene.”

Later, when Abbess Tabitha was reviving the now famous monastery for a quarter of a century (the location of which, before the resumption of monastic life, was considered one of the most crime-prone spots in Murom), she more than once turned to the dear Lavra elder for advice. Abbess Tabitha, who took the great schema with the name Tamar before her death, passed away last August. The fruits of her great labor remain: a revived splendid monastery with courtyards, a monastery publishing house and an orphanage where orphan girls are raised. And in all this there is also the merit of Father Naum, who perspicaciously saw in the young Permian an ascetic of our days, who, according to the words of the ruling bishop, Metropolitan Evlogiy of Vladimir and Suzdal, managed to return the monastery from oblivion.

Thanks to Father Naum, Abbess Fevronia (Maratkanova), the abbess of the Vvedenskaya Island Hermitage on the Vladimir land, also chose the monastic path. With what warmth she recalled that amazing time when believers, with the blessing of their confessors, settled closer to the monastery! Their family included. With the blessing of Father Naum, they left Kazakhstan. The priest blessed the girl to finish school and enter medical school. Afterwards, she worked for some time in a maternity hospital, in the department for premature babies, and sang in the choir for six years with Archimandrite Matthew (Mormyl). And she entered the Riga Trinity-Sergius Monastery at the age of 27.

“Back then it was forbidden to take young people into monasteries,” says Abbess Fevronia. “We were assigned to different jobs, but we lived in a monastery. True, when the Commissioner for Religious Affairs appeared on the horizon, a cry was heard: “Young people, hide!” Fourteen abbess for the newly opened monasteries were raised by Abbess Magdalene!

By the way, the entire Maratkanov family, cared for by Father Naum, having gone through numerous difficulties, remained faithful to Christian ideals. Mother Superior's brother became a priest: today Archpriest Sergiy Maratkanov heads the correspondence education sector of the Moscow Theological Academy and Seminary. Ten years before her death, their mother took monastic vows with the name Varvara. Abbess Fevronia herself calls herself and her family members amazingly happy people, because on their way they met such spiritual mentors, whose words and parting words helped them not to give up even in the most difficult circumstances.

“Let us seek holiness - and then the Lord will send us adoption, His protection, and then nothing will be scary. And after the general resurrection the Lord will place us on the right side. Our nature will change, and we will be there like angels, eternally blissfully joyful,” Elder Naum once said, addressing all of us. Let's remember these words.

We were assigned to various jobs, but we lived in a monastery. When the Commissioner for Religious Affairs appeared on the horizon, a cry was heard: “Young people, hide!”

Nina Stavitskaya

Reference

Archimandrite Naum (Nikolai Alexandrovich Bayborodin)

Born on December 19, 1927 in the village. Malo-Irmenka, Ordynsky district, Novosibirsk region, in a peasant family. In October 1944, he was drafted into the Soviet Army and served in military aviation units. In November 1952 he was demobilized with the rank of senior sergeant. Returning home, he entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the Kyrgyz State University, and in 1957 - the Moscow Theological Seminary. On October 14 of the same year, he was accepted as a novice into the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra. A year later he was tonsured a monk. Then he was ordained a hierodeacon, and exactly a year later he was ordained a hieromonk. In 1960 he successfully graduated from the seminary in the first category. On April 25, 1970, he was elevated to the rank of abbot, and in 1979, on the day of Holy Easter, to the rank of archimandrite.

For many decades, after the fraternal prayer service, he received pilgrims daily for confession and spiritual guidance. His tireless prayer work and zeal for service set a high example for the monastic brethren.

He reposed in the Lord on October 13, 2017, at the age of 90. He was buried behind the altar of the Spiritual Church of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra next to the grave of Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov).

On October 13, 2017, at the 90th year of his life, the oldest monk of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, the elder and confessor Archimandrite Naum (Bayborodin), known throughout Russia, reposed in the Lord.
You can say goodbye to the deceased elder in the Church of St. Sergius with the Refectory Chamber (Refectory Church of the Lavra).
The Divine Liturgy and funeral service will take place in the Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra on Sunday, October 15, at 7:30 am. At the end of the funeral service, the burial ceremony will be performed.
We are publishing the elder’s word about the essence of what happened in Russia 100 years ago, and about the essence of current times.

The people today need good rulers at all levels. It is necessary to attract old and wise people in order to consult with them and so that the Name of God is not blasphemed through stupid rulers. It is necessary for people themselves, feeling God’s order in everything in life, to become kind. The Lord has invested certain talents in everyone. And everyone must keep the commandments. They are given for everyone. How can one observe the Law of God if it is unknown? The Bible must be read. Moreover, it is better to read even in Church Slavonic. I am the Lord your God, let there be no god for you except Me (Ex. 20: 2-3).

At one time, the Jews - the sons of the Kingdom - erupted. The pagans, the descendants of Japheth, and the European nations, who are now increasingly deviating into wickedness, were called. And just like the Jews once were, the European nations are now being cast out through unbelief, and the descendants of Ham—primarily those living in Africa—know and confess Christ.

Archimandrite Naum (Bayborodin)
Recorded by Olga Orlova

On October 13, 2017, at the 90th year of his life, the oldest monk of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, the elder and confessor Archimandrite Naum (Bayborodin), known throughout Russia, reposed in the Lord.
You can say goodbye to the deceased elder in the Church of St. Sergius with the Refectory Chamber (Refectory Church of the Lavra).
The Divine Liturgy and funeral service will take place in the Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra on Sunday, October 15, at 7:30 am. At the end of the funeral service, the burial ceremony will be performed.
We are publishing the elder’s word about the essence of what happened in Russia 100 years ago, and about the essence of current times.