“Anyone who hasn’t been to Anthony’s is not accepted by Tikhvin.” Alexander Trofimov

Words of the poem by G.R. Derzhavin, in which the lyrical hero, listening to the sounds of the harp, indulges in memories of his native Kazan, will eventually become a catchphrase. What lies behind the bright image? Smoke that hides the true outlines of objects and clouds people’s faces, constricts breathing and corrodes the eyes. But he, too, a symbol of his homeland, instills joy in the soul of a weary traveler, because it is in the love of his father’s tombs that the human heart “finds food.”

That is why it seems by no means accidental that the monastery, founded in the 13th century by the disciple Anthony in 15 fields from Tikhvin, received the name “Ontonia Monastery on Dymekh”, and Anthony himself began to be called Dymsky: indeed, the history of the monastery itself and the memory of its reverend founder as if shrouded in a foggy veil and haze of oblivion, the evidence of his Life was considered unreliable for a long time, and Anthony himself was considered an almost mythical, legendary person. And despite this, already in the mid-1990s, after the installation of a worship cross in the waters of Lake Dymskoye opposite the place where, according to legend, the monk prayed, the memory of the ascetic of bygone times began to be revived in the hearts of the surrounding residents, and the path to the waters of the saint The lake widened day by day.

“Devoting myself entirely to God”

The historical Anthony was born in 1206 in Veliky Novgorod. The only thing that is known about Anthony’s parents (the saint’s secular name, presumably, has not been preserved) from the Life is that they were pious Christians and raised their son “with good discipline,” that is, literally the way Sylvester would advise to do it, author of the famous "Domostroy". Anthony spent his youth in Novgorod, diligently visiting churches and moving away from the noisy companies of his peers. During the service, the young parishioner stood aside in one of the chapels, avoiding conversations even with pious prayer books: a conversation with God did not require witnesses, and in the soul of the young man there was no room for everyday chaff.

This inner youthful concentration on prayer, this self-sufficiency, which does not feel awkward from its solitude, predicts the ease with which Anthony later decided to leave a warm place within the walls of the monastery of tonsure, if circumstances required it of him. Here, perhaps, is the key to explaining the nature of the conflict that later arose between Anthony and the brethren of his native monastery: the monk’s internal freedom and emotional isolation aroused hostile feelings and set the smaller brethren against him.

One day, having heard the words of the Gospel during a service about the need to take up the cross and follow Christ, Anthony leaves the world and becomes a monk in the Khutyn monastery, taking monastic vows from the hands of the famous abbot and founder of this monastery, Varlaam. The Life does not indicate the age of Anthony at that moment, however, since the hagiograph does not indicate any obstacles that could delay parting with the world, and at the same time does not focus on the youth of the ascetic, it can be assumed that Anthony was about 20 years old, that is this happened around 1226.

About ten years of Anthony's monastic life passed under the watchful patronage of the Monk Varlaam. During these years, the spiritual mind of the young monk grew, matured and became stronger: “From then on, Anthony betrayed everything to God, obeying his mentor Varlaam in everything, and thought he was doing more than anyone else in that monastery.” All this time, says the Life, the monk “with care and humility in simplicity of heart” went through monastic services, without abandoning the cell and cathedral prayer rules.

Constantinople

Anthony's ten years in the Khutyn monastery ended... with the delegation of the monk to Constantinople

Anthony’s ten years in the Khutyn monastery ended with the saint’s delegation in 1238 to Constantinople “for the sake of church wines.” This honorable business trip of the monk was, on the one hand, a sign of high appreciation by the clergy (primarily Varlaam) of his monastic virtue, intelligence, and diplomatic abilities, on the other hand, a difficult test associated with many dangers and hardships. Accompanying his beloved student on the road, Varlaam strengthens his spirit, promising to prayerfully support him throughout his journey. The abbot does not hide that the journey will be long and grueling: “May God arrange your path, even if this path is difficult and sorrowful for you, but behold, through narrow and sorrowful gates it is fitting for us to enter the Kingdom of God.” Anthony himself strengthens himself with his trust in, who is strong to protect him from “men of blood”, usually attacking merchant and pilgrim caravans marching along the path “from the Varangians to the Greeks”: “Reverend Anthony, putting all this in his heart, makes it convenient to accept a new feat appearing obediently, having in the words of Christ the Savior the medicine against all confusion in the Gospel, saying: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and then are unable to do anything.”

Anthony spent about five years away from his native monastery, returning back only in 1243. In Constantinople, Anthony is granted an audience with the patriarch and receives instructions on how “in this multi-rebellious world it is appropriate to steer the ship of temporary life” and in all misadventures “to be complacent with meekness and humility.” The monk, perhaps, could not even imagine how quickly the spiritual covenants of the patriarch would become relevant to him.

“The monastery betrayed him into his hands”

On November 6, at the hour when the dying abbot Varlaam gathered his disciples around him to announce to them his will about the successor who should take the abbot’s staff in his hands after his death, Anthony walked the last miles of his many-day journey. Hail, snow, bare sand and the spirit of storms greeted the monk, who had matured in worthwhile processions, on the outskirts of his native Novgorod. How different it was from what he had seen for the past five years under the hot sky of Byzantium! More than one gray hair was silvered with a moonlit shine in his hair and thick beard. Since he, blessed by the hand of the Khutyn elder, set off in the midday direction, more than once he had the opportunity to look into the eyes of death, into the eyes of murderers who knew no remorse and the pangs of repentance...

Varlaam's will was expressed clearly: Anthony should be the abbot, and he is about to knock on the gates of the monastery

Varlaam’s will was expressed in an extremely clear, even ultimatum form: the abbot should be Anthony, who in these seconds, as Varlaam revealed to the amazed listeners, who, perhaps, were no longer looking forward to meeting with the monk who left the monastery many years ago, enters the Holy Gates of the Transfiguration Monastery . By the fact that the continuation of this story was by no means complacent and Varlaam’s decision in fact sowed discord among the brethren, one can judge how unpleasant a surprise the abbot’s news of an imminent meeting with the one who had been cast off in the struggle for power over the house of the All-Merciful Savior was for some of them Anthony. Deathly silence hung in the cell of the dying old man, but it echoed in the hearts of those present with an even more deafening ringing when Anthony’s almost forgotten voice was heard outside the door: “Through the prayers of the saints our fathers...” “Amen,” answered Varlaam, and he crossed the threshold, shaking off frosty dust from his mantle, a 37-year-old priest. Varlaam, in the presence of Anthony, repeated his last will, arguing his choice by the fact that Anthony was his “peer,” and this despite the fact that, according to the most conservative calculations, he was forty years younger than his spiritual father and mentor!

Even if Varlaam uses the word “peer” in the meaning of “equal,” “close in spirit,” the obvious discrepancy between the context and the direct meaning of the word makes the abbot’s statement paradoxical: Anthony, Varlaam claims, being several decades younger than me, has achieved spiritual prudence equal to me.

At the heart of the conflict between Anthony and the inhabitants of the Khutyn monastery, which will develop in full a little later, lies, apparently, ordinary human hostility towards the favorite favored by the abbot: a monk who spent five years, albeit obeying the will of the abbot, far from the monastery, not knowing its current adversities and shortcomings, should not take the place of abbot...

In all likelihood, this decision of Varlaam seemed unfair to many, but no one dared to argue with the abbot directly during his lifetime. Moreover, Varlaam also foresees the doubts that should have arisen in Anthony himself, and addresses him in the presence of a council of monastery elders with the following mysterious phrase: “Before his monastery was in the hands, it reads like this: “ Your former thoughts were about this holy place ”».

A ray of light on the mysterious words of Varlaam is shed by the inscription on the shrine of one of his closest students and followers - the Venerable Xenophon of Robei, according to which Xenophon himself and his friend Anthony of Dymsky, while asceticizing in the Lissitzky monastery, once saw pillars of light and “smoke” in a place nicknamed Khutyn gloomy". The monks, the inscription says, together with their spiritual father Varlaam, went towards the dense forest, where the light so clearly fought with the darkness, as if wanting to take a direct part in this metaphysical confrontation between good and evil, and there Xenophon and Varlaam began to work on the founding of a new monastery. The fact that Anthony, according to the chronology of his Life, could not have participated in the founding of the Khutyn Monastery (the monk was born 15 years later) is clear, but the question is how this legend, reflected in two Lives at once, could have arisen. Was Xenophon a friend of Anthony and did he share with him his memories of the signs that preceded the founding of the Khutyn monastery? One way or another, Varlaam was convinced that Anthony was connected to the Khutyn monastery by some kind of providential connection and was more worthy than others to take care of its well-being.

Dymsky ascetic

Anthony's abbess in the Khutyn monastery, due to the disturbances that arose inside the monastery, lasted less than a year, during which the abbot managed, however, to complete the construction of the Transfiguration Cathedral in stone, since the work begun by Varlaam was cut short by his death in the middle of the journey: the cathedral was built “to the heights of Prague” , that is, only to the top of the doorway. Having completed the construction of the stone cathedral, Anthony considered it best to retire. And here the patriarch’s instructions on keeping the ship, rocked by demonic machinations, afloat could not have been more useful to him, and the axiom of venerable holiness - not every abbot experienced the hardships of a long journey, but everyone experienced the desert temptations of lonely prayer - suggested the trajectory of the future. The saint's soul longed for achievement.

Having left everything in the monastery - books, treasury, utensils, vestments, which could be useful later, when a new monastery is built (just think - a gain!) - Anthony was alone, without companions and spiritual friends (the principle of “walk the unknown road yourself, and then others will pass along it” became central in his biography) went to the northeast, went around the ancient Tikhvin, walked another 15 miles and finally stopped in the area of ​​​​the town later called Dymi, near the shore of Lake Dymskoye, not far from the mouth of the stream flowing into it Black Haze. Then, in the middle of the 13th century, this area was deserted, but over many subsequent centuries, the Antonevsky churchyard and its parish church of St. Nicholas were adjacent to the monastery and its churches of Anthony the Great and the Nativity of John the Baptist. However, after one of the devastations of the monastery, both churches were united: St. Anthony's throne was located on the first floor, Nikolsky was located higher - on the second. One of the miracles of the Life of Anthony describes the appearance in a dream of a Tikhvin merchant of an icon of the Mother of God with St. Anthony and St. Nicholas standing before her. Through the prayers of the patron saints of the Dymskaya monastery, the sufferer was healed of his illness.

Anthony placed an iron cap on the head, which he did not part with until the end of his days.

How was Anthony’s life on the shores of Lake Dymskoye? According to the testimony of the Life, the monk came to Dymi even before he turned 40 years old. Here the monk excavated a cave, in which he lived for the first time, imitating, perhaps, another famous Anthony in the history of Russian monasticism - the venerable founder of the Pechersk Monastery. Later, however, Anthony emerged from the ground, building himself a cell “for bodily rest.” The ascetic alternated daytime labors cultivating fields with night prayers, and Anthony placed an iron cap on his head, which he apparently did not part with until the end of his days. As you know, you cannot come with your own charter only to someone else’s monastery (and Anthony himself learned this from his own bitter experience, although the Khutyn monastery was not a stranger to him in the full sense of the word), but here Anthony was already building his own monastery, in which the charter was determined by his will.

This will, however, turned out to be very attractive for those monks who came to Anthony, as the Life testifies, from other monasteries, despite the fact that traditionally the monasteries were replenished mainly from the laity, who, having heard about the feat of the saint, left everyday life and came to the ascetic in search of spiritual guidance. What could attract ordinary monks to the old man who settled in the impenetrable forests of the Obonezh Pyatina? What kind of spiritual deficiency did the Dymsky prayer book manage to fill? Probably, Anthony attracted other monks with his emphasized asceticism.

The monk built his monastery far from the urban centers of civilization - and this was an innovation for monasticism of that time: it is widely known that the monasteries of the pre-Mongol and early Mongol times were urban or at least suburban. Anthony practiced wearing chains, direct asceticism, and was a supporter and perhaps even an ideologist of “cruel living.” It was not for nothing that he was later called one of the first Russian hesychasts. The monk more than once retired to an island on Lake Dymskoye, where he spent time in contemplation and prayer. In addition, Anthony became famous as a disciple of the Monk Varlaam, whose name became a household name already during the life of the ascetic himself: many spiritually gifted chicks flew from his nest.

Through the veil of years

The Dymskaya monastery was completely settled during the life of its founder and after his death in 1273 continued its existence throughout the centuries of Russian history. This centuries-old path of the Anthony Monastery was reflected with zealous diligence in the Life of its founder by the hagiographer. Thus, the birth of the monk occurs during the reign of Mstislav Udatny in Novgorod, the blessed letter for the establishment of the monastery is presented to Anthony by Mstislav’s grandson Alexander Nevsky, whom the monk met probably at the funeral of his teacher Varlaam, and the first discovery of his relics occurs during the reign of Demetrius Donskoy, It was then that Anthony’s local canonization took place; perhaps the first life was created. Describing the tragic events of the Time of Troubles, the hagiographer bitterly complains about the deposition of Vasily Shuisky by seditionists, which led to disastrous anarchy and brought countless troubles to the inhabitants of the Muscovite kingdom: “It happened that this second holy monastery was embittered in the time of troubles in Russia... when it was quickly deposed by sedition Vasily Ioannovich, the Swedes, having captured Novgorod, plundered and devastated many monasteries and churches.”

The evidence of Anthony's Life is supplemented by historical documents. Thus, the scribe book of the Obonezh Pyatina of 1496 tells about the “Ontonyevsky graveyard in the Dymsky Grand Duke of the village”, the refusal book of 1573 already mentions the peasants of the Dymsky monastery, and the scribe book of the clerk Semyon Kuzmin for 1583 talks about the graveyard with the wooden church of St. Anthony and the refectory the Church of John the Baptist, thirteen cells and a wooden fence, behind which there were a stable and a cowshed.

The monastery suffered devastation in 1408, during the campaign of Edygei, when many other monasteries of the Moscow kingdom suffered. In those days when the Monk Nikon of Radonezh, together with the Trinity brethren, took refuge in the dense Yaroslavl forests, the monks of the Anthony monastery saved the monastery’s shrines in the waters of Lake Dymskoye, plunging to its bottom the famous iron cap, which the monk had once consecrated with his feat. During the Time of Troubles, the well-maintained Dymsky Monastery sheltered within its walls the monks of the Valaam Monastery, expelled from the place of their feat by heterodox invaders.

In the middle of the 17th century, stone construction of the monastery churches began. The year 1764, tragic in the history of Russian monasticism in modern times, when a parish community was established on the site of the monastery, briefly interrupted the course of monastic achievement within the walls of the ancient monastery: already at the end of the same century the monastery was resumed. Throughout the 19th century, the monastery was visited by crowds of pilgrims; in 1864 alone there were more than 25 thousand of them...

Could a monastery, remote from big cities, for so many centuries, a monastery associated with the veneration of a mythical person and a legendary character, as it was believed in scientific literature quite recently, flourish, be renewed every time after the next historical blow and attract crowds of pilgrims from all of Rus'? It seems the answer is obvious.

The image of St. Anthony is clearly depicted in the smoky sky above the contours of the monastery buildings, because it was his fatherly intercession that made this centuries-old prayerful standing of his monastery possible. So the smoke that shrouded the “Ontonian churchyard” and the temple buildings of the ancient monastery gradually dissipates, and the truth appears before the readers of the ancient Life in its holy simplicity.

ANTONYEV-DYMSKY MONASTERY. BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF THE HOUSE

Last July, a small group of believers from the Moscow region made a pilgrimage to the ancient shrines of the Novgorod land. We visited the Tikhvin Dormition Monastery, the Holy Trinity Zelenetsky Monastery and Staraya Ladoga with its oldest Church of St. George in Rus'. We will begin our story about the pilgrimage with a description of the day of celebration of the memory of St. Anthony of Dymsky.

We arrived in Tikhvin on the night before the saint’s memorial day and stopped for the night in the house of Antonina Sergeevna Orlova, the sister of our unforgettable parishioner Maria Sergeevna Trofimova. Tikhvin is her homeland; she has told more than once how she visited Dymskoye Lake as a child at the site of the Saint’s exploits. From Tikhvin to Lake Dymskoye – 20 kilometers.

Early in the morning of July 7, we drove up to the Tikhvin Monastery, where we were informed that at five o’clock in the morning the procession of the Cross began from the main city Transfiguration Cathedral to the Anthony-Dymsky Monastery, with the arrival of which the festive service scheduled for half past nine in the morning would begin.

We arrived just in time, since literally a few minutes later from the monastery a bus with pilgrims left for Lake Dymskoye. We set off and followed the bus. Soon a lake and monastery buildings appeared. The time has come to tell or remind readers about the shrine to which we arrived on the memorable day of July 7th.

Dymskoye Lake and the Anthony-Dymsky Monastery located on its shore are the place of the exploits of one of the great ascetics of Holy Rus' - St. Anthony. He was born in Veliky Novgorod from pious parents. At a young age, he left his parents' home and was accepted into the monastery of the Savior, which is in Khutyn near Novgorod. The founder and abbot of the monastery was the Monk Varlaam of Khutyn. This was truly a Holy Russian hero of enormous stature. He wore a hair shirt and heavy chains, and during his lifetime he performed great miracles. It is known from his life how he resurrected a dead youth and brought down abundant rain from the sky during a drought in Veliky Novgorod. Anthony was appointed abbot of the Khutyn Monastery. For the brethren, he became the second Varlaam, led the spiritual life of the monastery, increased the number of monks, and completed the construction of a stone church in honor of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos. The Khutyn monastery was visited by many pilgrims and noble guests, the abbot was revered and glorified throughout the Novgorod land.

Earthly glory weighed heavily on Anthony, and with tears he asked the Lord and His Most Pure Mother to indicate the resting place of his old age. Having received a revelation about the path of his salvation, Anthony secretly left the monastery and went into the remote wilds of the Russian north in search of a place for a hermit’s life. After the abbot left, the brethren elected another student, Rev. Varlaam - Rev. Xenophon Robeysky. One day Rev. Anthony came to the shore of Lake Dymskoye, located among the dense Tikhvin forests on the far outskirts of the Novgorod land. As the life of St. Anthony reports, he came to know this region as the place of his salvation and “loved it dearly.” Anthony cut down a small cell with the words of the psalmist: “Behold my rest, here I will dwell forever.” On a hill near the lake, the hermit dug a cave “for the sake of winter stay” and began to live here in complete solitude. He spent his days in labor and prayed at night. The monk took upon himself a special feat: on his head he wore a heavy forged iron cap with wide brims, nailed to the crown. The heads of the nails dug into the head, stopping on the hard skull bones, and the weight of the hat intensified the pain. The saint’s iron “hat” constantly reminded him of the torment of the crown of thorns, accepted by Christ for the salvation of people. Anthony wore this hat until the last day of his life.

In the middle of Lake Dymsky St. Anthony discovered a large stone, the top of which barely peeked out of the water. Depending on the water level in the lake, the stone either went under water or appeared on the surface again. Anthony sailed a boat to the stone and prayed alone for long hours and nights, standing on this stone. The Dym Stylite for many years preceded the feats of standing on the stone of St. Seraphim of Sarov and Seraphim Vyritsky. But he also became the only saint of the Russian Church who accomplished the feat of pillar-bearing on the waters. In winter, the ice thawed and the water became warm from the prayer of the elder, so that he did not give up his feat throughout the year. With his prayers and many years of standing, St. Anthony consecrated Lake Dymskoye, which became known as the Holy Lake. A legend has been preserved that the monk commanded the pilgrims not to enter the monastery he founded without washing in the waters of the Holy Lake. Subsequently, the custom arose of swimming around the Anthony Stone with prayer to the monk. It is also remarkable that most of the posthumous miracles were due to the prayers of St. Anthony, recorded in monastic manuscripts, was performed through immersion or ablution in Lake Dymskoye.

Gradually people learned about the exploits of the blessed hermit. Soon, on the shores of Lake Dymskoye, the first cells of those wishing to labor under the spiritual leadership of the great elder appeared. When enough brethren had gathered, with the blessing of the Novgorod Archbishop, a monastery was founded and a church was consecrated in honor of St. Anthony the Great. Later, chapels were built in it in honor of the Intercession of the Mother of God and in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Then they erected a warm church in the monastery in the name of the Nativity of St. Prophet John the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord with a fraternal refectory. It is significant that the patronal feast day of this church - June 24 / July 7 - was connected with the memory of the saint himself. Anthony, who died on this day. Admirer of St. Anthony was St. noble prince Alexander Nevsky, who granted a charter for the establishment of the monastery. In the Dymsky Monastery a legend has been preserved that St. Alexander Nevsky visited the monastery and immersed himself in the Holy Lake, after which he was healed of rheumatism. For many centuries the Dymsky Monastery revered the holy prince as its heavenly patron. In images of the monastery, it is usually above the monastery along with St. Anthony the Great, Anthony of Dymsky and St. St. John the Baptist was also necessarily depicted. Alexander Nevskiy.

There is an immutable and deepest spiritual connection between St. Anthony of Dymsky and the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God. The monk prayed in the Tikhvin forests a century and a half before the miraculous image appeared here. With his prayers and deeds, he prepared this place and called upon this once deaf and uninhabited region the blessing of the Mother of God. The Tikhvin icon appeared in 1383, 15 versts from the place of the saint’s exploits. Antonia. And it is not for nothing that spiritual tradition calls the Reverend the forerunner of this event. Many of the miracles and phenomena of St. Anthony were performed together with the Mother of God. Perhaps the most famous of them is the healing of the sick Simeon, to whom St. Petersburg appeared in a subtle dream. Anthony with the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God. St. Anthony walked from the Tikhvin Monastery with a cup of water from the Queen of Heaven and, sprinkling it with it, healed the sick man. Since ancient times, Russian pilgrims have understood the heavenly connection of St. Anthony and the appearance of the Tikhvin icon. A pious custom arose: on the way to a pilgrimage to the Tikhvin Monastery, first go to the Dymskaya monastery. There was even such a saying: “Whoever has not visited Anthony will not be accepted by the Tikhvin Mother of God.” It is no coincidence that the Tikhvin icon was constantly located above the relics of the saint. Another spiritual sign is the celebration of the day of memory of St. Anthony (June 24 / July 7) on the eve of the feast of the appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God (June 26 / June 9).

In 1409, during the invasion of Khan Edigei to the Novgorod lands, the monks of the monastery hid the relics of St. Anthony under the cover of the temple. Church utensils, bells, chains and the saint's hat were lowered to the bottom of Lake Dymskoye. The Tatars plundered and burned the monastery to the ground. However, the shrines were rescued and taken from the waters of the Holy Lake. The relics of St. Anthony have been kept under wraps since then, and the iron hat found in the waters of the lake was kept on a shrine installed above the burial place of the relics.

During the Time of Troubles (1611), the Swedes plundered and burned the temples and cells of the monastery. But soon, with the blessing of Patriarch Filaret, the first Tsar of the House of Romanov, Mikhail Feodorovich, ordered the restoration of the Dymsky Monastery. At the same time, Tsarina-nun Daria Alekseevna (the fourth wife of Tsar Ivan the Terrible), who labored in the Vvedensky Monastery of Tikhvin, donated 5 rubles (at that time quite a significant amount) for the restoration of the monastery. During the reign of Emperor Alexei Mikhailovich, the first stone church was erected - in the name of St. Anthony the Great with a chapel in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Its consecration took place on the patronal feast day of the monastery - January 17/30, 1656.

In 1764, after the decree of Empress Catherine II on monastic staffs, the monastery was closed. The cathedral church was a parish church for 30 years. On September 1, 1794, Metropolitan Gabriel of St. Petersburg and Novgorod, himself a famous ascetic and planter of the elders, reopened the Dymsky Monastery with a cenobitic charter drawn up by him with his own hand. The saint gave his blessing to revive the monastery as the Holy Trinity Antoniyevo-Dymsky. The brotherhood of the monastery numbered 30 people and remained unchanged until October 1917.

Abbot Tikhon was appointed the first abbot of the monastery. The 19th century was the heyday of the monastery. New stone temples, chapels, a fence with four towers at the corners and holy gates were built. In the 1860s, the “Historical and Statistical Description of the Dymsky Monastery” was published, outlining the ascetic life of St. Anthony, which became the main source of information about the monastery. The main shrine of the monastery remained the relics of St. Anthony, who were hidden in the monastery cathedral in the lower church under the central vault between the chapels of the Kazan Mother of God and St. Anthony the Great. Near the tomb, on a special lectern, lay the iron hat of the founder of the monastery. Pilgrims placed it on their heads, receiving grace-filled consolations and healings through the prayers of the Dymsky Wonderworker. On the day of remembrance of the Saint - June 24 / July 7, a religious procession was made from the monastery to Lake Dymskoye, where the blessing of water and general bathing took place. This path, paved with polished cobblestones, has been preserved to this day.

The last document in the pre-revolutionary history of the monastery was the “Report on the number of monastics...”, submitted to the Novgorod Consistory in 1918. According to it, 27 people lived in the monastery, of which 11 were monks, including the abbot, Abbot Theoktistus, and the rest were novices and workers. The Soviet government closed the monastery in 1919, renaming it the “Red Armored Car” village. Trinity Cathedral was mentioned as being active as early as 1931 as a parish church. Pilgrims came here from Tikhvin, where all the churches were already closed. At the same time, the monastery cemetery was destroyed and most of the monastery buildings were dismantled into bricks. By the end of the 20th century, not a single temple remained on the site of the large, flourishing monastery, the fence disappeared, and most of the monastery buildings were destroyed to the ground. Only the skeleton of the bell tower stood alone on the ashes of the monastery.

In 1994, St. Petersburg admirers of St. Anthony was made and brought to the ruined monastery with a cross with an icon and installed it at the bottom of the lake next to the stone on which the saint prayed. For the first time after many decades, a prayer service was served on the shore of the lake with an akathist to St. Anthony, which became annual from that day on. In the following years, more and more pilgrims gathered on the day of remembrance of the saint. And so in 1997, on the eve of the patronal feast of the monastery - the day of St. Anthony the Great (January 17/30) - a decision was signed to transfer the remaining buildings of the former Dymsky Monastery to the Orthodox Church. And on the very day of memory of the saint, the first divine service took place in the monastery returned to the Church - a prayer service with an akathist by St. Anthony. The first candle lit at the Dymskaya Monastery was a candle from Jerusalem, burned by the Holy Fire. The Dymsky Monastery was transferred to the Tikhvin Monastery as a registered monastery. Despite the enormous difficulties in the Tikhvin monastery, the brethren began to restore the Anthony Monastery. The first Divine Liturgy in 80 years was celebrated in the only building that remained undestroyed.

In 2001, through the efforts of the brethren, a new refectory church was built in the name of St. Varlaam Khutynsky - teacher of St. Antonia. Then a miraculous event took place, filling the hearts of all those who loved the Rev. with great joy.

In the spring, the brethren began to restore the Trinity-Kazan Cathedral of the monastery, which stood over the relics of the Reverend. The search for the old foundations began, and simultaneously with the excavations, hope arose for the discovery of the relics of St. Antonia. On May 17, 2001, the abbot of the Tikhvin Monastery, Euthymius, submitted a request to conduct archaeological excavations in order to find the burial place of St. Anthony Dymsky.

CELEBRATION OF THE DAY OF REP. ANTHONY DYMSKY IN THE CONVENTION. CANCER WITH THE RECENTS OF THE REVEREND ANTHONY. JULY 7, 2011

During the work, the brethren prayed and read the akathist to the monk every day. After 20 days, the relics of the founder of the monastery were found. Subsequent examinations fully confirmed their authenticity. For the first time in many centuries, Orthodox people could venerate the holy relics of the saint.

The very first service at the relics was marked by a miracle of healing. One man with an eye disease, wearing glasses with thick lenses, after praying in front of the relics, venerated them and immediately began to see everything without glasses. He left the glasses, which had become unnecessary, in the monastery as evidence of a miraculous healing. This was followed by new miracles, recorded in the chronicle kept in the Tikhvin Monastery. Here are some of them.

ANTONYEV-DYMSKY MONASTERY. CANCER WITH THE POWERS OF THE PRP. ANTONY DYMSKY

In January 2001, a pilgrim from St. Petersburg, who suffered from severe joint pain in both hands and had already lost hope of relieving the pain, since medications did not help, dipped her hands into an ice hole on the holy lake. Upon arrival home, the pain and inflammation completely disappeared, as reported by the pilgrim the next day at the courtyard of the Tikhvin Monastery in St. Petersburg.
A 50-year-old woman was healed of pain in her spine after praying to the monk and rubbing the inflamed area with water from Lake Dymskoye.

In January 2002, during a pilgrimage trip, a woman was healed of arthritis of the lower extremities. With great difficulty, overcoming pain, the pilgrim, after the prayer of St. Antonia poured cold water (!) on her sore legs - and was healed of her illness, running from the ice hole to the bus in front of all the pilgrims.

After the opening of the relics of St. Anthony and transferring them to the Assumption Cathedral of the Tikhvin Monastery, a miracle occurred in the healing of the nine-year-old boy George from inflammation and swelling of the middle ear due to otitis media. After prayer, venerating the holy relics, the child instantly felt relief, and then the absence of pain in the ear, and the next day the doctors confirmed the complete absence of the disease, although the boy did not take any medications.

And in March 2002, the youth George was healed of enuresis.

CANCER WITH THE POWERS OF THE PRP. ANTONY DYMSKY

Let's continue the story of our pilgrimage. While the arriving brethren were preparing to celebrate the Divine Liturgy in the newly built refectory church of St. Varlaam of Khutyn, the relics of St. were placed right next to the temple. Anthony, brought from the Tikhvin Assumption Cathedral. Arriving pilgrims reverently kiss them, and at the same time the sacrament of confession is performed next to the shrine. At this time it appears

Procession from Tikhvin with icons, crosses and banners. The faces of those approaching shine with joy. 20 kilometers are left behind, and the participants of the procession venerate the relics and stand in line for confession. As was said, at nine o'clock 30 minutes the Divine Liturgy begins. Most pilgrims - and there were a lot of them - take communion. After reading the prayers of thanks, a moleben is served to St. Anthony, then a procession of the Cross is formed, and all those gathered, singing the troparion to the St. and the chants of the moleben, head along the ancient road to Lake Dymskoye, where the rite of blessed bathing is to take place.

During the procession it starts to rain, so swimming begins even before diving into the waters of the lake. And what’s great is that at first people open their umbrellas, and then they put them away. Many feel that this rain is not accidental, the Lord Himself gives a blessing for a gracious bath. Water on the ground - puddles all around; water flows from the bushes and trees surrounding the path to the lake; water pours from above; and a surface of water opens up before us, on which we can see a cross next to the stone on which St. Anthony prayed for more than thirty years. The procession approaches the chapel erected

on the shore of the Holy Lake. It is remarkable that the roof of the chapel exactly repeats the shape of the iron hat worn by the Reverend. In the chapel there is a shrine with the relics of the Venerable. The first exclamation is given, and the singing of a prayer service with an akathist to St. Anthony begins. In the hands of many are books with the texts of the akathist, and people, gathering around these books, “with one mouth and one heart” sing the words of the akathist exclamations. And suddenly, at the very beginning of the singing of the akathist, the clouds parted and the sun appeared - affectionate, joyful, playful. The rain seems to have stopped, but in the air there is a pearly suspension of light drops of water. The rays of the sun shimmer in them - an amazing, mesmerizing sight...

Finally, the singing is over, everyone gathered kneels, and the abbot of the monastery reads the prayer to St. Anthony. Then the water blessing prayer continues. When the moment of consecration of the water comes, the abbot enters directly into the Holy Lake, singing “Save, Lord, Thy people...” and immerses the cross in its waters three times. After this, he approaches the relics of St. Anthony and speaks about the feat of the saint, that his prayers called

the favor of the Mother of God to the Tikhvin lands: “The coming of the miraculous icon filled these lands with grace, made our Tikhvin and this lake holy places. There was a time when our ancestors were given the joy of finding the relics of the Saint, who protected the monastery and our lands. It was soon after its discovery that the Tikhvin Icon appeared in the northern reaches of Great Rus', becoming the greatest shrine and guardian of our state. And so the Lord destined you and me to live in an amazing time. In 2001, we found the relics of the great miracle worker and patron of our region, this became the first such event in the spiritual history of the new 21st century. And after this, an even more significant event occurred in the spiritual life of our Fatherland: the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God returned to its place in our Tikhvin Assumption Monastery. And we believe that this return of the shrine did not occur without the participation of the prayers of St. Anthony.

ANTONYEV-DYMSKY MONASTERY. AFTER THE CONSECTION OF THE WATER IN THE LAKE

Since ancient times, in our Tikhvin land there has been a pious custom of “floating the cross” around the stone on which the monk prayed. According to legend, to pray for one person, you need to swim around the Anthony Stone three times with the prayer: “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” and with a prayerful appeal to the saint. By this washing our souls and bodies are healed, faith is strengthened, and zeal for a pious life in God is confirmed. This graceful swimming is a font for the soul, and everyone who came here today can feel this grace. According to the tradition accepted in the Church, men are the first to perform the graceful bathing and immersion in the waters, and then women. The blessing of the Lord be upon you all."

And so, in single file, one after another, the men headed into the water and further to the cross and the Anthony stone. We repeated this path together with everyone. The sun was shining over the lake. The women on the shore waited patiently until the men finished swimming and finally it was their turn. It is impossible to convey in words the atmosphere of this bathing. It was truly blessed and unforgettable. We had the opportunity to visit the monastery of the saint on the day of the main celebration and, of course, the mood was high and festive. But this happens once a year. And on other days the Dymskaya Monastery continues to remain an amazing island of blessed silence and peace.

It is here that the spirit of old Tikhvin is fully felt, which has largely lost its former beauty, the splendor of its inhabitants, that pilgrimage, prayerful spirit that once reigned in the city.

Memorial Days:

January 17 (January 30 - new style) - St. Anthony Dymsky
(St. Anthony the Great)
June 24/July 7 - Rev. Anthony Dymsky
(death 1273)
The Nativity of John the Baptist and the day of the discovery of the relics of St. Antonia

Our venerable and God-bearing father Anthony of Dymsky was born in 1206 in Veliky Novgorod under the military prince Mstislav Mstislavovich and in the days of the Grand Duke of Vladimir Vsevolod (in holy baptism Dmitry) Yuryevich the Big Nest. Parents, whose names, unfortunately, remained unknown, as legend says, diligently instilled virtues in him, raising Anthony in Christian piety from infancy. From an early age, he loved God more than all the visible blessings of this world and felt an attraction to monastic life. Every day the boy came to church and tried to stand there at a distance from other people, so that during singing and prayers he would not enter into conversations with anyone about perishable and earthly things.

Once, when the Holy Gospel was being read in church, the words of the Savior penetrated deeply into his soul: “If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and come after Me” (Matthew 16:24). Thus, the Providence of God appeared on it, which leads the chosen ones to the path destined for them. Reflecting on what he had heard, he firmly decided to leave his parents’ home and, through monastic deeds, acquire salvation for his soul.

In 1225, Anthony came to the monastery of the All-Merciful Savior on Khutyn, near Novgorod, and asked the founder of the monastery, Varlaam, to clothe him in an angelic image. He was then nineteen years old. The abbot did not immediately fulfill the request of the young novice. Two years passed before Varlaam, seeing the persistent and sincere desire of his student, tonsured him in 1227. From that time on, the Monk Anthony, showing perfect obedience to his mentor, devoted himself entirely to the Lord. He tried to appear smaller among those living in the monastery, although he sometimes worked more than others; He carefully and humbly went through the obediences entrusted to him, without missing either his rules or church services. He was the first to arrive at the temple and the last to leave.

In 1238, the need arose to send someone from the brethren on church affairs to Byzantium to the Ecumenical Patriarch. The humble Anthony, who was more successful than anyone else in spiritual deeds and virtues, was chosen by the brethren to accomplish this new feat. Sending him on a long journey, the abbot said to his beloved student: “Go, child, in peace. May the Lord arrange your way. If it seems too difficult and regrettable to you, remember that through narrow gates we have to enter the Kingdom of God.”

Having received the blessing, Anthony set off on his dangerous journey with the words of the Savior himself in his heart: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and then are unable to do anything else” (Luke 12:4). He endured a lot, overcame everything on his way, thanking the Lord for the path that led him to the Heavenly Fatherland.

It is not known what exact needs were the reason for his embassy; however, upon his arrival in Byzantium, he was honorably received by the patriarch. Anthony talked with him more than once, listening to the wise instructions of the saint about how in a troubled world one should steer the ship of temporary life, how it is appropriate to overcome with meekness and humility all the misadventures that await us on our earthly journey. Having settled all matters, fulfilled his assignment and succeeded in every possible way, Anthony received a blessing and hurried to return to the Khutyn monastery.

Before his death, Varlaam called together the weeping brethren. Comforting the disciples, he commanded them not to weaken in fasting, labor and prayer and to live every day as if it were their last. Saying goodbye, he said that in his place as a mentor, as the steward of their souls and bodies, he was leaving his peer, which means his equal in spiritual gifts, Anthony, who, led by his prayer, was now returning from Byzantium. The brethren were perplexed: how could Anthony become their abbot if he was not in the monastery and it was unknown where he was now? But before the words of their spiritual mentor had time to fall silent, Anthony himself appeared in the monastery, came to Varlaam’s cell, hugged his teacher and gave him the patriarchal gifts, which the saint had sent as a blessing to the abbot and to decorate the monastery.

The Monk Varlaam joyfully met his peer, accepted the patriarchal gifts he brought, and handed over the monastery and the entire brethren to his beloved disciple. Then, placing the sign of the cross on himself, he betrayed his all-honorable soul into the hands of all God, in memory of Paul the Confessor, Patriarch of Constantinople, November 6/19, 1242.

Varlaam was buried by the Archbishop of Veliky Novgorod with many priests, abbots and monks who arrived for the funeral.

After the death of the teacher, Anthony took over the monastery building and had vigilant care for the brethren entrusted to him. In the management of the monastery, he was a faithful guardian of the rules of the monastery, left by the Monk Varlaam. Fulfilling his order, Anthony completed the stone Church of the Transfiguration, begun by his teacher, beautifully decorated and painted it (1).

1-This small stone church stood for 273 years, became very dilapidated, after which it was dismantled so that a new Transfiguration Cathedral, which still exists today, could be built on this site by order of Grand Duke Vasily Ioannovich. This temple was consecrated on August 6, 1515 under Abbot Sergius and with the blessing of Metropolitan Varlaam.

In less than a year, the Khutyn monastery was destined to be decorated and prosper through the care of Anthony. The humble disciple of the Monk Varlaam preferred unknown asceticism in the wilderness to the complex and honorable concerns of the abbot. Once, during prayer, the abbot for a long time, with tears, asked the Lord and His Most Pure Mother to show him the resting place of his old age. Having finished praying, he secretly, without telling anyone, left the monastery in 1243.

One of the lists of his life says that he left Khutyn due to the crowds. There we learn about the sedition and contradictions of the brethren. They did not want to agree that after a five-year absence he became their abbot. After Anthony's departure, the Khutyn monastery was ruled by the Monk Xenophon of Robey, who subsequently founded his own monastery.

Anthony covered a considerable distance, bypassing mountains and wilds, until he finally reached a secluded place where the Anthony-Dymsky Monastery stands today and where his holy relics now rest. Below, at the foot of the hill, hugging it, a small lake breathed freshness. Above its surface, which reflected the sky and the surrounding forest, a light white fog rose like smoke, which is why it was called Dymsky. The desert, full of pristine silence, was perfectly suited for monastic life.

This happened one hundred and forty years before the appearance of the miraculous Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, which in 1383, during the reign of Moscow Prince Dimitri Ioannovich Donskoy, under Metropolitan Pimen and under Archbishop Alexy of Veliky Novgorod and Pskov, radiantly walked through the air in these places, invisibly carried angels. She then appeared before eyewitnesses seven times. At first it was seen by fishermen over the waters of Lake Ladoga. The icon flew “through the air like a second sun passing through the great Lake Nebo, with indescribable speed faster than an eagle’s flight.”

Then the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos crossed Lake Ladoga and appeared near the Svir River in the Smolkovo churchyard. Then she stopped on the Oyat River in a place called Vymochenitsy. After this, the icon was seen on the Pasha River, on Kukova Mountain, where it stood for only one hour. Then the icon appeared on a mountain in the town of Koshele until it reached the Tikhvinka River, where it stopped in two places. On its left, low-lying and swampy bank, the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was erected. And no one could touch the miraculous icon during its wondrous walk through the air, but many received miraculous healings from their illnesses from its contemplation. And since the relics of St. Anthony of Dymsky were found immediately before the appearance of the miraculous icon, he is called the forerunner of the Tikhvin Mother of God.

Having found the newly found place near Lake Dymsky very convenient for a monastic settlement, Anthony raised his hands to the sky and prayed for a long time with tears, thanking the Lord and calling on the blessing of the Creator to the chosen place. Then, getting up from prayer, he erected a small hut, which was fenced on all sides by tall grass and bushes. And after some time, he dug himself a cave for his winter stay and built a cell. He was then thirty-seven years old. He spent the second half of his life in the Dymskaya desert.

Working during the day and standing in prayer at night, Anthony avoided bodily rest. To further exhaust his flesh, he constantly wore heavy chains on his body, and covered his head with a heavy (weighing about six kilograms) iron hat with wide brims. The brim of this hat was nailed to the crown so that the points cut into the head of the monk. As a result, non-healing ulcers formed on his honest head. The heaviness of the hat intensified the pain, reminding Anthony of the torment of the Savior’s crown of thorns. There is evidence that this hat lay with the saint’s shrine until the end of the 19th century.

The dense smoke forests and swampy swamps could not hide the saint’s godly life for long from the sincere followers of his chosen path in life. As the rumor about his exploits spread, the brethren began to gather around him. Many wanted to share with him his labors, nightly prayer vigils, fasting, heartfelt contrition and tears of holy repentance, so that under his leadership they could acquire humility and purity of heart. Monastics from other monasteries also came to him.

So, over time, the deaf, deserted and wild desert began to be populated. The future inhabitants, having consulted among themselves, with common consent, turned to the Novgorod prince Alexander Yaroslavovich Nevsky with a request to give them a charter for the lands around Lake Dymsky to create a monastery on them.

According to the Pskov presbyter Vasily, the author of the life of the blessed Prince Alexander, he revered the priesthood and loved monks, and therefore ordered a grant of land to be given for the establishment of a monastery. And Archbishop Isaiah, who was then in Novgorod, blessed to erect in it a wooden cathedral church of St. Anthony the Great, in honor of the founding angel of the Dymskaya Hermitage, with a limit in it of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, and cells for the monastics to live in. When this church fell into disrepair, a wooden two-story church was built in its place with the boundaries of St. Anthony the Great, and on the second floor, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. After the construction of the first temple, a warm church was also erected with a meal in the name of the Nativity of the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John. There was a monastery cemetery just down the road from the monastery.

After much labor, having given exactly thirty years to build his monastery and foreseeing in spirit the day of his departure to the Lord, Anthony gathered the monks to say goodbye to them. Then, before the separation of his soul from his body, he communed with the Holy Mysteries of Christ, on June 24 (July 7, BC) 1273, with a prayer on his lips he gave up his soul to the Lord. His hardworking body was laid on the left side in the church of St. Anthony the Great, built by his hands. In total, the founder and builder of the Dymskaya monastery lived in a multi-rebellious world for sixty-seven years.

The Lord glorified His saint with many miracles and the incorruption of his relics. Almost a hundred years later, in 1370, during the reign of Prince Dimitri Ioannovich Donskoy, his relics were first found incorrupt, and we can still venerate them with prayer.

The text was compiled by priest Dimitry Ponomarev based on the manuscripts of the life of St. Anthony of Dymsky.

Edition of the Antoniyevo-Dymsky Monastery.

January 30 at the Church of St. prpm. Andrey Kritsky A festive night service took place dedicated to the memory of St. Anthony of Dym, whose relics are kept in the St. Nicholas Church of the Constantine-Eleninsky Monastery, and a large icon of the saint with his life and reliquary is constantly in the church of St. prpmch. Andrey Kritsky. On January 30, the Orthodox Church celebrates the name day of St. Anthony of Dymsky, this day is the day of veneration of St. Anthony the Great, one of the founders of monasticism.

Venerable Anthony of Dymsky born in Novgorod, according to some sources - around 1157, according to others - in 1206. In the Khutynsky monastery he took monastic vows and in the same monastery, after the death of St. Varlaam Khutynsky (according to the first version - in 1192), he became abbot with the blessing of the saint himself. Varlaam. However, some modern researchers of the saint’s life and historians believe that St. Anthony of Dymsky was not the abbot of the Khutyn Monastery, did not go to Constantinople with an embassy, ​​and due to the similarity of the names of historical characters, events associated with another Anthony, Archbishop of Novgorod, who was his contemporary and died in 1232, are erroneously attributed to him. This can be found in the monograph by priest Dmitry Ponomarev, which he published in 2014 on the basis of his dissertation, where numerous arguments are given and historical information is given that speak in favor of revising some dates and facts from the life of St. Venerable Anthony of Dymsky. However, already now on the official website of the Anthony-Dymsky Monastery (dymskij.ru/zhitie) the dates of the saint’s life are given as 1206-1273, the date of his arrival at the Khutyn Monastery is 1225. The same information about the dates of the saint’s life and some facts of his life is given in Wikipedia.

The generally accepted version of the monastic path of St. Anthony of Dymsky and his founding of the monastery says that when the Khutyn monastery became too crowded, the hermit-dwelling ascetic St. Anthony Dymsky retired to the forests, searched for a long time for a place of solitude and finally settled on the shores of Dymnoye (or Dymskoye) Lake, 15 versts from the city of Tikhvin. The foundation of the monastery dates back to 1243; the abbot of this monastery was St. Anthony of Dymsky until his death in 1273. There is also a version that the monastery was “Ontonium on Dymy” and bore this name in honor of St. Anthony the Great. The name of one of the chapels of the Trinity Church of the monastery speaks in favor of this, and Saint Anthony the Great was the heavenly patron of St. St. Anthony of Dymsky (January 17, old style and January 30, new style).

According to the legend of St. St. Anthony of Dymsky reposed on June 24 (July 7, new style). The body of St. Anthony was buried in the temple he built, on the left side. The holy relics of St. Anthony were found incorrupt several times - in the 14th century, in the 17th century, and in modern times - in the 20th century. The transfer of the saint's relics to the Anthony-Dymsky Monastery took place in 2008. This is where they remain for the time being.

Veneration of St. St. Anthony Dymsky

After the annexation of the Novgorod principality to the Moscow principality in the 15th century, they began to record miracles from the relics of St. Venerable Anthony of Dymsky. The most reliable of the ancient evidence of the saint’s miracles are considered to be the records of the monks of the Valaam Monastery, who twice briefly settled in the monastery. “The more literate monks of the Valaam Monastery, who by the will of fate found themselves in the Anthony-Dymsky Monastery, probably noticed that its library did not contain the life of the founder at that time. This is evidenced by the monastery prologues, which we wrote about above. They advised me to write the life of Anthony. Perhaps they were also the creators of the brief edition of the life, which we find in the list of 1671. The result of the influence of the Valaamites was the spread of veneration of the saint throughout the Russian North, as evidenced by the appearance in the area of ​​​​icons of Anthony of Dymsky, where he was depicted “in the pose of the upcoming, in growth, against the background of the architectural buildings of the monastery, first wooden, and then stone” (quoted from the monograph of priest Dmitry Ponomarev, 2014, p. 61).

According to the generally accepted opinion, for monastics to be canonized as saints, glorification from God with the gift of miracles was and is recognized as a necessary condition. There is a publication of the life of St. Anthony and the Dymskaya monastery, dating back to the late 17th - early 18th centuries, where there is already a glorification of the saint, a prayer to the saint, and a description of his miracles. In particular, these documents are mentioned in the Novgorod diocesan bulletins of the 18th century, and they are referred to by a researcher of the Dymsk monastery and the life of St. Anthony Dymsky Isaac Petrovich Mordvinov (1871-1925). Mordvinov also explains the gap in the history of the Anthony-Dymsky Monastery by the fact that from the end of the 17th century the monastery lost its significance and was first assigned to the Tikhvin Assumption Monastery, and then to the Novgorod Sophia House.

The memory of St. Anthony was celebrated in the monastery twice: on January 17 (January 30, new style) - on the day of his name (memory of St. Anthony the Great) and on June 24 (July 7, new style) - on the day of his death, when a religious procession was held from the monastery to the lake Dymskoe.

On the icons the Monk Anthony is depicted holding a charter in his hand with the words: Behold, he went away in flight and settled in the desert (Ps. 54:8).

How did Saint St. Anthony Dymsky is connected with our courtyard - the temple of the Holy Martyr. Andrei Kritsky?

It was on January 30, 2007 that the Church of St. Andrew of Crete was opened to the public. This temple had already been put in order - the interiors had been restored, everything looked beautiful, but empty; the temple had to be filled with liturgical life. Regular services began on April 12, Thursday of Holy Week. At the time of opening, there were only two icons in the temple, one of which was B.M. Joy and Consolation, and the second - St. St. Anthony Dymsky. And soon the holy relics of St. Anthony of Dym arrived at the temple. Therefore, the sisters of the monastery consider Saint Anthony of Dymsky their patron.

Every year in the temple of St. Andrew of Crete on the night of January 29 to 30, an All-Night Vigil and Liturgy are celebrated. This year marked the 10th anniversary of the opening of the temple for visits by believers. This time, three choirs sang at the night service: the professional choir of the metochion, the amateur choir of the School of Piety and the monastery choir (sisters and singers). Some chants were sung by the clergy at the altar.

Troparion of St. Anthony of Dymsky
voice 4

A zealot of virtues, / a desert dweller, / an ascetic of the faith of Christ our God, / who mortified carnal lust through fasting and labor, / the same name as the great Anthony, / whose life you were jealous of / and in whose name you erected a Divine temple, / together with him, Reverend Anthony, pray to the Savior of all, / that He may also create us conquerors of carnal lusts, / and temples of the Holy Spirit, / according to His great mercy.

Alexander Trofimov.
REVEREND ANTHONY DYMSKY AND HIS HOUSE.

Monasteries were of great importance in the settlement of the Tikhvin region. Some elder settled in a deserted area, but convenient for a solitary prayer life. Rumors of his holy life attracted those who wanted to live under his spiritual guidance. A monastery grew up around the cell. Following this, residents came to the already developed lands and founded towns, villages, settlements and suburbs.

In the second half of the 13th century, according to legend, the Khutyn abbot Anthony came here and settled by the lake on Dymy. He was born in Veliky Novgorod at the beginning of the 12th century from pious parents. At a young age, he left his parents' home and was accepted into the monastery of the Savior, which is in Khutyn near Novgorod. The founder and abbot of the monastery was the Monk Varlaam of Khutyn. This was truly a Holy Russian hero of enormous stature. He wore a hair shirt and heavy chains, and during his lifetime he performed great miracles. It is known from his life how he resurrected a dead youth during a drought in Veliky Novgorod.

The Monk Varlaam, seeing in the young man the future great saint of God, accepted him into the monastery, and soon tonsured him with the name Anthony in honor of the great founder and teacher of Orthodox monasticism, the Monk Anthony the Great (356, commemorated January 17/30). Thus, Anthony became one of the successors and associates of the Monk Varlaam, who is called in our spiritual history the heli-grader and planter of monasticism in the north of the Russian land.

At the feet of the Monk Varlaam, the monk Anthony ascended “from measure to measure,” undergoing various obediences in the monastery. One day, with the blessing of the Novgorod Archbishop, Rev. Varlaam sent Anthony to Constantinople with an important church assignment. In Constantinople he was received by the Ecumenical Patriarch. The Monk Anthony stayed here for five years, made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, venerated the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, and became acquainted with the life of Palestinian monasteries. – Anthony returned to his native monastery with gifts from the Patriarch.

At the time when Anthony was approaching the walls of the Khutyn monastery, Abbot Varlaam was in his dying illness, giving his last instructions to the brethren. Seeing the confusion of the monks as to who would be the abbot after his death, the Monk Varlaam said: “Behold, brethren, the end of my life has come near, and I am departing from this world. I commend you into the hands of God. Anthony will be your mentor in my place...” Just before his teacher departed into eternity, Anthony managed to see him and receive his final obedience: “I leave you with God, Anthony, builder and ruler of this holy monastery. And may our Lord Jesus Christ preserve and strengthen you in His love. But although I am leaving you in body, I will remain with you in spirit. Let it be known to you that if I have found grace before God, and you have love for each other, then the monastery, even after my death, as during my life, will not lack in anything.”

Anthony was appointed abbot of the Khutyn Monastery. For the brethren, he became the second Varlaam, led the spiritual life of the monastery, increased the number of monks, and completed the construction of a stone church in honor of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Many pilgrims and noble guests visited the Khutyn Monastery; the abbot was revered and glorified throughout the Novgrod land. Earthly glory weighed heavily on Anthony, and with tears he asked the Lord and His Most Pure Mother to indicate his resting place in old age.

Having received a revelation about the path of his salvation, the monk secretly left the monastery and went into the remote wilds of the Russian north in search of a place for a hermit's life. After the abbot left, the brethren elected another disciple of Varlaam, the Venerable Xenophon of Robey, as abbot.

The Monk Anthony came to the shore of Lake Dymskoye, which was located among the dense Tikhvin forests on the far outskirts of the Novgorod land. The life of the saint reports that he came to know this region as the place of his salvation and “loved it dearly.” Anthony cut down a small cell with the words of the psalmist: “This is my rest for ever and ever, here I will dwell as I please” (Ps. 131:14). On a hill near the lake, the hermit dug a cave “for the sake of winter stay” and began to live here in complete solitude. He spent his days in labor and prayed at night.

The monk took upon himself a special feat: on his head he wore a heavy forged iron cap with wide brims, nailed to the crown. The heads of the nails dug into the head, stopping on the hard skull bones, and the weight of the hat intensified the pain. The saint’s iron “hat” constantly reminded him of the torment of the crown of thorns, accepted by Christ for the salvation of people. The monk wore this hat until the last day of his life.

In the middle of Lake Dymskoye, the Monk Anthony discovered a large stone, the top of which was barely visible from the water. Depending on the water level in the lake, the stone either went under water or appeared on the surface again. Anthony sailed a boat to the stone and prayed alone for long hours and nights, standing on this stone. The Dym Stylite preceded by many years the feat of standing on a stone by the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, and then by an ascetic close to us in time, the Venerable Seraphim of Vyritsky. In addition, he is the only saint of the Russian Church who accomplished the feat of pillar-bearing on the waters. In winter, the ice thawed and the water was warmed by the prayer of the elder: so throughout the whole year he accomplished this feat that surpassed human strength.

With his prayers and many years of standing, the Monk Anthony consecrated Lake Dymskoye, which began to be called Holy. A legend has been preserved that the monk commanded the pilgrims not to enter the monastery he founded without washing in the waters of the Holy Lake. Subsequently, the custom arose of swimming around the Anthony Stone with prayer to the monk. It is also remarkable that most of the posthumous miracles through the prayers of the saint, recorded in monastery manuscripts, were performed through immersion or ablution in Lake Dymskoye.

Gradually people learned about the exploits of the blessed hermit. Soon, on the shores of Lake Dymskoye, the first cells of those wishing to labor under the spiritual guidance of the great elder appeared. When enough brethren had gathered, with the blessing of the Novgorod Archbishop, a monastery was founded and a church was consecrated in honor of St. Anthony the Great. Later, chapels were built in it in honor of the Intercession of the Mother of God and in the name of the Saint and Wonderworker. Nicholas. Then they erected a warm church in the monastery in the name of the Nativity of the Baptist and Baptist John with a fraternal refectory.

It is significant that the patronal feast day of this church (June 24 / July 7) was connected with the memory of the Monk Anthony himself, who died on this day.

An admirer of the Monk Anthony was the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky, who granted a charter for the establishment of the monastery. In the Dymsky Monastery, a legend has been preserved that the blessed prince Alexander Nevsky visited the monastery and immersed himself in the Holy Lake, after which he was healed of rheumatism. For many centuries the Dymsky Monastery revered the holy prince as its heavenly patron. In images of the monastery, usually above the monastery, together with the Venerable Anthony the Great, Anthony of Dymsky and Saint John the Baptist, the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky was always depicted.

There is a deep spiritual connection between St. Anthony of Dymsky and the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God. The monk prayed in the Tikhvin forests a century and a half before the miraculous image appeared here. With his prayers and deeds, he prepared this place and called upon this once deaf and uninhabited region the blessing of the Mother of God.

Since ancient times, Russian pilgrims have seen a spiritual connection between the prayerful feat of St. Anthony and the appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God. A pious custom arose: on the way to a pilgrimage to the Tikhvin Monastery, first go to the Dymskaya monastery. There was even such a saying: “Whoever has not visited Anthony will not be accepted by the Tikhvin Mother of God.” The Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God was always with the relics of the saint. The celebration of the feast day of St. Anthony (June 24/July 7) the day before the feast of the appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God (June 26/July 9) is also confirmation that these spiritual events are inseparably connected.

The Monk Anthony spent more than thirty years on the shores of Lake Dymskoye and died on June 24/July 7, 1273. The body of the saint was buried in the chapel of St. Anthony the Great near the choir of the temple he created. The Lord glorified His saint with many miracles and the incorruption of the relics, which were found in 1370 during the reign of the holy noble prince Demetrius Donskoy.

alexandrtrofimov.ru